TPO Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)

Thursday, July 24, 2025 9:30 AM Polk County FDOT District One Conference Center 801 N. Broadway Bartow, FL 33830 Room 413 TPO Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Meeting Minutes July 24, 2025 TPO TAC Polk County Administration Building 4th Floor Room 413 330 West Church Street Bartow, Florida 33830 Introduction 1. Call to Order - 9:30 a.m. (Tess Schwartz, Chairperson) Minutes: Members Present: Representing: James Philips City of Lakeland Chuck Barmby City of Lakeland Tess Schwartz, Chair City of Lakeland Sean Byers City of Winter Haven Ted Adkins City of Haines City Bob Wiegers City of Bartow Jeffrey Ball Town of Lake Hamilton Raymond Perez City of Davenport Richard Ranck CFRPC Jay Jarvis Polk County Roads & Drainage Ben Ziskal Polk County Land Development Carlie Flagler, Vice Chair Citrus Connection Others Present: Representing: Ryan Kordek Polk TPO Staff Julia Davis Polk TPO Staff Angela Kaufman Polk TPO Staff Cindy Mitchell KC Rivera Polk TPO Staff Polk TPO Staff William Roll Kimley-Horn 1. Call to Order Chair Tess Schwartz called the TAC Meeting to order at 9:30 am. 2. Confirmation of Quorum - Roll call was taken, and a quorum was confirmed by KC Rivera, Polk TPO Staff. 3. Approval of Meeting Minutes- May 22, 2025 Motion to approve May 22, 2025, meeting minutes. Motion: Motioned to approve made by Carlie Flagler, seconded by James Philips. Motion carried without dissent. 4. Agenda Review Julia Davis, TPO staff, gave an overview of the TAC agenda. Action items included TIP Page 1 of 5 Amendments to FY 2025/26 - 2029/30 and Amendments to the Fiscal Year 2024/25 - 2025/26 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). Presentation and Status Report for the Envision 2050 update. Action Items 5. Review/Approve Draft Amendments to FY 2025/26 - 2029/30 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Angela Kaufman, Polk TPO Staff, presented the projects from the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) roll forward report. The Report identifies projects that were not committed in the previous state fiscal year 2024 and have automatically rolled into state fiscal year 2025 of the FDOT Work Program. Therefore, they must be included in the current TIP which will become effective October 1, 2025. Motion: Motioned to approve was made by Chuck Barmby, seconded by Carlie Flagler. Motion carried unanimously. 6. Review/Approve Amendments to the FY 2024/25 - 2025/26 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Ryan Kordek, TPO Executive Director, presented the proposed amendments to the TPO’s Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). FDOT recently notified the TPO there are federal planning funds available in FY 2025/26 to cover the cost of these proposed projects. The first proposed task is to enhance the polktpo.com website with a dashboard emphasizing safety and transportation data. Second task proposes to add city and county road context classifications to the major roads in the Roadway Network Database. The third proposed task consists of the preparation of grants using the TPO’s general planning consultants in support of the TPO’s priority transportation projects. The fourth proposed amendment to the UPWP is being called the I-4 Intermodal Passenger Rail Station Planning & Feasibility Study and allocates funding for consultant services to evaluate candidate locations for a high-speed rail station along Interstate 4 in Polk County. Mr. Kordek gave an update on the status of Brightline passenger rail service in south and east central Florida. He also covered the status of the Sunshine Corridor which is being studied by FDOT to provide a passenger rail corridor (SUN Rail and Brightline) between Orlando International Airport and Disney Springs/I-4. From Disney Springs, Brightline is planned to extend west through Polk County and then to Downtown Tampa. Mr. Kordek then provided an overview of studies and plans that have been prepared by MPO/TPOs in support of potential station locations for Brightline. While Brightline is likely still years away from connecting to Tampa, it is important for Polk County to begin studying potential locations, needs and costs associated with such a facility. This study could be the Page 2 of 5 basis for future investment in a stop in Polk County. Julia Davis explained the process for the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Passenger Rail Station Planning and Feasibility Study. Staff anticipates the project could be underway by spring of next year. Motion: Motion to approve was made by Chuck Barmby, seconded by Richard Ranck. Motion carried unanimously. Presentation and Status Reports 7. Envision 2050 Update William Roll, Kimley-Horn, provided the committee with an update on the long-range transportation plan (LRTP). He covered the regional projects and other key projects being considered in the LRTP. As part of his presentation, Mr. Roll discussed the costs of the projects being considered in the LRTP and the amount of available revenue to fund the candidate projects. Cindy Mitchell, Polk TPO Staff, presented the Envision 2050 public comments from the Polk TPO website and Facebook. Thus far the majority of comments pertained to roadways, with comments related to intersections, transit, funding, sidewalk, safety. Similar to other public involvement efforts of the TPO, the majority of comments received are from northeastern portion of the county. Communications and Reports 8. Committee Member Comments Carlie Flagler stated Citrus Connection is hiring a new transit planner. 9. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10:54 a.m. The next TAC Meeting is scheduled for September 25, 2025, and will also be held at the Polk County Administration Building Room 413. Respectfully transcribed by KC Rivera, TPO Office Manager IV Section 286.105, Florida Statutes, states that if a person decides to appeal any decision made by a board, agency or commission with respect to any matter considered at a meeting or hearing, he will need a record of the proceedings, and that, for such purpose, he may need to ensure that a verbatim record of proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. Page 3 of 5 2. Confirmation of Quorum 3. Approval of Meeting Minutes Attachments: AI3-A1_Draft TAC minutes 5.22.25 4. Agenda Review - Ryan Kordek, Polk TPO Executive Director Action Items 5. Review/Approve Amendments to FY 2025/26 - 2029/30 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Attachments: AI5-A1_Polk Roll Forward Amendment letter_FY25-26 pdf AI5-A2_Polk_TPO_Roll_Forward_Report_FY26-30 6. Review/Approve Draft Amendments to the Fiscal Years 2024/25 - 2025/26 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) Attachments: AI6_A1_UPWP Revision Form_082825 AI6_A2_TPO_UPWP Amended Pages_082825 Presentations and Status Reports 7. Envision 2050 Update Communications and Reports 8. Committee Member Comments 9. Adjournment - Next TAC Meeting is scheduled for September 25, 2025, at the Polk County Administration Building Room 413 Page 4 of 5 In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons with disabilities needing special accommodations to participate in this proceeding should contact the Board of County Commissioners, Communications Office, at 330 W. Church Street, Bartow. Telephone (863) 534-6090, not later than four days prior to the proceeding. If hearing impaired call: (TDD) (863) 534-7777 or 1-800-955-8771, or Voice impaired call: 1-800-955-8770, via Florida Relay Service. The TPO planning process is conducted in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Related Statutes. Any person or beneficiary who believes they have been discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or family status may file a complaint with Cindy Mitchell, the TPO’s Title VI Specialist at (863) 534-6597, or by writing to her at Post Office Box 9005, Bartow, Florida 33831-9005. Page 5 of 5