The 2017 Call for Projects has approximately $5.5M million in Federal Transit Administration funding available for competitive award in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (DFWA) and Denton-Lewisville (DL) urbanized areas. A map of the North Texas region identifying the urbanized areas can be reviewed here.  Projects submitted for consideration should focus on an urbanized area, or originate/terminate in an urbanized area.

 

Estimated funding available for competitive award is listed in the table below – actual amounts will be confirmed in Summer 2017.

Program	Est. Funds Available for DFWA UZA	Est. Funds Available for DL UZA	Eligible Expenses
Urbanized Area Formula Program (§5307) - Job Access/Reverse Commute Projects	$3.0M	$223k	Capital, Operating, Planning
Enhanced Mobility for Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program (§5310)	$2.0M (up to $516k may be used for operating)	$222k (capital projects only)	Capital and Operating

 

 

 

The North Central Texas Council of Governments will hold two pre-proposal workshops for prospective project applicants to learn more about the Call for Projects. Applicants are encouraged to attend at least one of the pre-proposal workshops (both workshops will cover the same information). Please RSVP to Therese Bergeon at tbergeon@nctcog.org or (817) 695-9267 for the workshop you plan to attend.

 

DATE	March 8, 2017	March 10, 2017
TIME	1:30 pm to 3:00 pm	10:00 am to 11:30 am
LOCATION	Denton City Hall	NCTCOG Offices Centerpoint II Building
ADDRESS	215 E. McKinney Street Denton, TX  76201	616 Six Flags Drive Arlington, TX  76011

Questions will be taken at the workshops or through email to Leah Brown at lbrown2@nctcog.org until Friday, March 17, 2017. Responses to all questions will be posted on the NCTCOG website at www.nctcog.org/ftafunding no later than Friday, March 24, 2017.

 

Due to technical difficulties, a video recording from the March 10^th meeting is not available at this time. Please find a link to the presentation here along with an audio file here. Below is a time index of the audio file that follows the agenda shown on slide 2. Feel free to contact Leah Brown for any questions or clarifications on the presentation provided at the workshops.

 

Agenda Topic	Time Index (minutes)
Agenda	1:05
NCTCOG and the Metropolitan Planning Organization	2:23
2017 Call for Projects Overview & Funding	3:10
Urbanized Area Forumula Program funds for Job Access/Reverse Commute (JA/RC) Projects	6:30
Enhanced Mobility of Seniors & Individuals with Disabilities Program	8:17
Application Information	10:36
Project Evaluation and Timeline	21:20
Other Related Information	25:51
Questions	32:55

 

 

 

 

 

Completion of an Intent to Submit Form (below) notifies NCTCOG staff of an organization’s interest in the 2017 Call for Projects. A reminder notice will be sent two weeks in advance of the application deadline. Completion of this form is optional.

 

To be considered for Job Access/Reverse Commute project funding and/or the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program, project proposals must be received by 5 pm, Central Standard Time, on Friday, April 7, 2017.   

 

Project proposals must consist of one (1) original hard copy and one (1) electronic copy to be provided on a CD or flash drive in portable document format (PDF).  Graphics, such as maps or photographs, can also be submitted as PDF files. 

 

NCTCOG must have the submitted project proposals “in hand” at the NCTCOG office by the submission deadline.  Proposals that are postmarked, but not received, by the deadline do not constitute an on-time submission.  In addition, supplemental information will not be accepted after the submission deadline.  Project sponsors are encouraged to submit their proposals far enough in advance of the submission deadline to allow NCTCOG staff to review proposals for completeness.

 

Application Information Packet

 

Job Access/Reverse Commute Project Submittal Form

 

Job Access/Reverse Commute Project Budget Form

 

Enhanced Mobility for Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Project Submittal Form

 

Enhanced Mobility for Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Project Budget Form

 

 

Projects will be awarded through a competitive selection process. Each project proposal will be screened for completeness and timeliness. Proposals that are deemed incomplete or arrive after the deadline will not be reviewed. Complete proposals will undergo a two-step screening and evaluation process. 

 

The initial screening process will seek to confirm basic requirements such as agency, program, and project eligibility, as well as consistency with the Access North Texas Plan. Projects that meet these basic eligibility requirements will be evaluated based on the following scoring matrix:

Needs Assessment	25 points
Implementation, Operations and Sustainability	40 points
Coordination, Collaboration and Partnership	20 points
Overall Strategic Value	15 points
TOTAL	100 points

 

Applications will be evaluated based on responses to brief questions relating to the criteria above.  Projects recommended for funding will be brought to the Surface Transportation Technical Committee (STTC) and the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) for final approval. Applicants will be notified of the final awards after the Executive Board takes action on recommended project selections, tentatively scheduled for October 2017.  

 

NCTCOG is not obligated to fund a proposal from a project sponsor that has demonstrated marginal or unsatisfactory performance on previous grants and/or contracts with NCTCOG or other state agencies. NCTCOG is not obligated to fund a proposal from a project sponsor based on a determination of the risks associated with the project sponsor, including the financial condition or organizational capacity of the project sponsor as well as other risk factors as may be determined by NCTCOG. 

 

NCTCOG may base funding decisions on factors associated with best achieving the goals of the program, and NCTCOG is not obligated to select a project for funding. Additionally, NCTCOG may select parts of a proposal for funding and may offer to fund less than the dollar amount requested in a proposal.  NCTCOG reserves the right not to fund every project and reprogram remaining funds for a later call.

 

Call for Projects Opens	February 27, 2017
Pre-Proposal Workshop	March 8, 2017
Pre-Proposal Workshop	March 10, 2017
Questions/Answers Due	March 17, 2017 / March 24, 2017
Call for Projects Closes	April 7, 2017
Public Meetings on Recommended Projects	August 2017
NCTCOG Committees Approval of Recommendations	August-October 2017
Contract Execution with Successful Applicants	November 2017
Projects Start	March 2018
Note: The dates above are anticipated and may be subject to change.

 

Please contact NCTCOG Project Staff listed below for questions or comments regarding the 2017 Call for Projects.

 

Leah Brown
Transportation Planner III
lbrown2@nctcog.org
(817) 695-9295

 

Jamie Patel
Principal Transportation Planner
jpatel@nctcog.org
(817) 608-2377

 

For a list of Questions and Answers from previous Calls for Projects, click here.