00:00:12,470	Good afternoon and welcome. It is 1:30 July 21st, 2026. We are in the Ed Bosh Froehlich meeting room at Mandan City Hall. This is the Bismarck Mandan Metropolitan Planning Board. At this time. Take the roll. roll. Mayor Berglund. here and Commissioner Tokach. Here. Commissioner. Bakken. Commissioner. Risch here. Uh, vice chair Mayor Froelich here.

00:00:49,770	And at this time, we will now stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, we’ll move to public comment. Are there any public comments online? Hearing none.

00:01:23,930	We will move to the agenda. And at this time, I would like to add, Stephen. Yes, we would be looking for a motion to accept the addendum to the regular agenda. So moved. Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Tokach. Second by Commissioner Rich. Any further discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. Mayor Berglund. Yes. Commissioner Tokach. Yes.

00:01:54,400	Commissioner. Risch. Yes. Vice chair. Mayor Froelich. Yes. We’ll move on to the consent agenda. Are there any items that you would like removed or would. I would entertain a motion to approve the entire consent agenda. I’ll move. We approve the consent agenda. Second motion by Commissioner Risch. Second by Commissioner Tokach. Roll call, please. Mayor Berglund. Yes.

00:02:21,130	Commissioner Tokach. Yes. Commissioner. Risch. Yes. Vice chair. Mayor Froelich. Yes. We will now move on to the addendum. Kim. Ah. Thank you. Item seven eight. All right. Thank you very much. Chair Mayor Froelich, members of the board. Um, thanks for approving the addendum.

00:02:45,130	Item number one on the addendum today is seven A, which is the consideration of from the request of the Bismarck Mandan MPO for the recommendation of approval of the 2026 2027 unified Planning Work Program, or UPW Administrative Modification. While this does sound like something that is requiring formal approval of the board, it actually is an informational item.

00:03:09,730	Administrative modifications are administered by the MPO staff and then brought forward to the TAC and Policy Board, along with our oversight agencies for your information. And if you bear with me just one moment, I will share. Screen. Oops. Share.

00:03:30,070	How come I can’t find my share screen on here? Right here. It was there and gone. All right, there we go. My apologies for that delay. So the first item I again is the administrative modification to the UPW.

00:04:17,470	This is a modification to just provide clarity as to who will perform work relating to specific traffic count, data collection, and the analysis of the collected data within task 102 of our 2026 project Task table, the description has been expanded so that we can include how the tasks of the project will be divided now amongst three separate efforts to accomplish the overall project.

00:04:40,470	And we’ve also provided cost estimates for each part of the project. There are no changes to the overall 122 or $102,000 budget, and there are also no no changes to the total federal funding or the local match amounts for this project. Um, I’m going to jump right into our up to detail the changes that were made.

00:05:09,500	Uh, there was a change to the cover on page five of your PDF document, and all that was was to indicate that there is an administrative modification that was performed on July of 2026. The major changes occurred to the table on page 26 of the document. And we’ll get there. Okay.

00:05:36,000	Um, you can see that the original description of this task was fairly vague. It said analysis of raw traffic data collected in 25 and collection of additional traffic data in locations not collected in 25 to inform the update of the travel demand model in 2027, as part of the next MTP effort.

00:05:54,600	And while that’s true, it didn’t add a lot of detail or a good indication of how we were actually going to do that, with the budget being $102,000, we decided that it was probably beneficial to break that into three components and to provide the budget for each of those components and activities.

00:06:12,870	So we did add the language to say the total effort will involve three separate components detailed below. The first is that attack will add 29 signalized intersections that are located in the city of Bismarck to their existing traffic and pedestrian data collection effort. Using the Traffic analysis tool.

00:06:34,330	This will be through an addendum that will be taking a look at to the master agreement, and we are budgeting $55,000 for this effort. The second component of this collection effort would be to issue an RFP or a request for proposals to secure a consultant to, uh, conduct additional spot count collections.

00:07:00,630	And that would include traffic, bicycle, pedestrian and turn movement counts at up to 40 locations on the east side of the Missouri River within the MPO planning area. Uh, this would be again procured through an RFP, and it would also include vehicle classification and some analysis of raw data from that and previous collections. We’ve estimated the cost for this effort to be $37,000. You will notice that it says 47,000 under the description.

00:07:24,400	Uh, that will be changed to accurately portray the 37,000 that’s indicated in the two columns to the right. And then finally, we will also be looking at another addendum in the future whereby attack will add three signalized intersections in the MPO area to the existing traffic and pedestrian data collection.

00:07:43,730	And this has in Bismarck, but it’s not going to be in Bismarck. It will be actually in Mandan. So that will be changed in the upward to accurately reflect that.

00:08:00,200	It says that this will be through an amendment to the Mandan Signalized Traffic Data Collection addendum, because we already do have that project in place, and all we will have to do is add these three intersections to it for an additional cost of $10,000 total. Okay. Um, and so if there are any questions on this administrative modification, I would be happy to answer those at this time before we go into the actual, um, addendum and RFP details.

00:08:22,600	Any questions for Kim? Was that seven be. Uh, that was seven A and seven B would actually take us into an action item. Okay. Okay. All right. So moving on to seven B. Uh, this is uh, the attack addendum. And we can find this on page 37 of our packet of our addendum packet.

00:08:49,870	So I will jump there. Okay. Um, so, um, this is an addendum to the master agreement with NSA’s upper Great Plains Transportation Institute. Advanced Traffic Analysis center. Uh, we call them attack for short. Right now, there are currently 21 signalized intersections in the city of Bismarck that are on attacks.

00:09:18,100	Traffic data analysis tool for which attack is collecting traffic data using camera based video detection. Uh, the city has found that this is a very valuable and useful tool, and they’ve indicated a desire to continue to add intersections to this long term collection project as budget permits.

00:09:42,670	Now, this addendum would add 29 intersections and collect traffic data like traffic volumes, speeds, turn movements, seasonal variances, and pedestrian counting using 15 minute intervals on a 24 hour plot with automated import and analysis capabilities so it automatically uploads and it’s there for retrieval at any time in the future. This is a very handy tool.

00:10:07,500	If approved today, the project would begin as soon as August 1st, with the setup in the calibration of the 29 locations. While the setup and the billing would be completed by December 31st, 2026. To align with our UPW of the actual video collection and the benefits are long term.

00:10:30,670	And just as the analysis capabilities are, the MPO budgeted $55,000 for this. As we just previously discussed in the 2026 up for this project and the a total addendum cost is estimated to be $50,612, with the MPO paying 80% of that. So approximately a little over four $40,000, and the city of Bismarck picking up the 20% local match, which is just slightly over $10,000.

00:10:59,000	Yesterday, TAC recommended approval of the attack addendum for the addition of the 29 Bismarck locations to the Traffic Data Collection project, and staff is requesting the Policy Board approve the addendum as TAC recommended. Would there be any questions on the addendum or the project? Yes. Mr. Chairman. Commission.

00:11:21,830	Um, Kimberly, I just want to make it clear these cameras being put at the stoplights will not look at license plates. They won’t write tickets for running stoplights or anything. I’m just I’m just want to clarify that. So somebody watching this might say, oh, they’re putting up cameras on all these traffic lights now. Thank you. Chair Mayor Froelich.

00:11:38,030	Commissioner Risch, thank you very much for pointing that out. No, this is not the objective of this study at all. In fact, all of the license plates. So with the video detection, it does see the the oncoming vehicles as they approach a stop bar at an intersection. Uh, the license plates are not red.

00:11:57,330	They’re blurred. We are just looking for traffic numbers. So we’re counting, uh, we want speeds. Yes, but not for any, um, any penalty type situations. We’re just trying to gain information about travel patterns and tendencies and trends. That’s a good question. Any other questions for Kim? Commissioner Bakken good.

00:12:34,000	If not, no other questions would entertain a motion to approve. I’ll move. We approve an action item seven B as presented. A second. We have a motion by Commissioner Risch. Second by Commissioner Tokach. Any further discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. Stephen. Mayor Berglund. Yes. Commissioner Tokach. Yes. Commissioner. Risch. Yes. Commissioner. Bakken. Yes. Vice chair. Mayor Froelich.

00:13:07,830	Yes. We’ll move on to action item seven. C Kim. Thank you. Chair Mayor Froelich. Uh, item number seven, C is a traffic data collection and analysis project. Request for proposals.

00:13:26,400	Now, the MPO and its partners have a current inventory of vehicle counting data, which was obtained through the years of 2024, 25 and 26. However, there are a few locations that were not counted, and since these counts will be used for very important road funding decisions in the future, it’s important to have current count data and analysis that is accurate and trustworthy.

00:13:45,770	This is especially important when we begin the process of updating the MPO. Travel demand model, and that will occur in early 2027. The impending TDM update does create a compressed time schedule for this project, requiring that collection and analysis be substantially complete by December 31st, 2026. And we’ve identified as we’ve identified in our 2026 up.

00:14:12,800	Now, this project is for spot traffic data collection, which is actually 48 hour collection as opposed to long term. And we have 40 locations that have been identified on the east side of the river in the MPO planning area.

00:14:39,600	For this collection to occur at the collection will include vehicle classifications at all locations, and there are six specific locations within the city of Bismarck that have not been identified to include turn movements and bicycle and pedestrian movements. In addition, the turn movement, bicycle and pedestrian counts will be collected at all other locations as may be appropriate because those types of counts are not appropriate at every segment or intersection.

00:15:05,800	Locations are approximated, as I said, within the RFP, but they will be finalized at the time of contract negotiation. Additionally, data from locations that were previously collected by North Dakota Dot and attack through 2024, 25, and 26. Along with these new counts require compilation by the consultant into one single file that can be used for the travel demand model.

00:15:34,470	This, as was stated, does include a compressed project schedule and that is available to us on page 51. And I’ll jump to that. Now, assuming that there is approval of this RFP today, we believe that it can be placed on MnDOT. S website for solicitation by July 4th, and that would result in a proposal deadline of August 14th.

00:16:02,270	Um, we would project that consultants would be, uh, hopefully prepared for interviews between August 31st and September 3rd. That would occur prior to the Labor Day weekend. Uh, and then, um, we would have our ranking exercises post Labor Day weekend, bringing the consultant selection to the TAC and Policy Board on September 14th and 15th, respectively.

00:16:27,370	Uh, there are some, some processes in there that have to occur before we can issue a notice to proceed, but we’re hoping that that notice to proceed could be issued by approximately September 29th, and that we could have the project begin either at the very end of September or perhaps the beginning of October.

00:16:48,670	The field work could begin right away for a mobilization and deployment of the um 48 hour collection, um, analyses may occur simultaneously with that, according to. However, the consultant wants to approach that and then the project would be substantially complete with reports and files provided by December 31st, 2026. This is a very aggressive timeline.

00:17:17,030	We have been assured that it’s actually doable. Um, within the budget that’s been identified. So with that in mind, this project does have a not to exceed budget of $37,000, and TAC did recommend its, um, approval of of the RFP.

00:17:45,200	Um, based on no, uh, substantive comments coming from North Dakota dot because at the time, North Dakota Dot was still reviewing the RFP. We have since the MPO has since received comments from North Dakota Dot. Uh, none of the comments have resulted in any substantial changes.

00:18:09,870	And so based on text recommendation and the last 24 hours, MPO staff would request that the policy board, uh, accept and approve the RFP as presented today. And I’d be happy to stand for questions. Any questions for Kim? Hearing none. What are your wishes? Moved to approve. Second motion to approve by Commissioner Bakken. Second by Commissioner Risch. Any further discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. Stephen. Mayor Berglund. Yes. Commissioner Tokach. Yes. Commissioner. Risch. Yes. Commissioner. Bakken. Yes. Vice chair. Mayor Froelich.

00:18:45,570	Yes. We will now move on to item number eight, the Curb Curb Management study. Stephen. Thank you very much, vice chair. So the, uh, the MPO, uh, received three proposals for our curb management study in Bismarck before the June 12th deadline. CL, SRF, and Walker Consulting submitted proposals for this project, and we held interviews with the proposers.

00:19:16,530	On July 6th, the selection committee consisted of representatives from Bismarck, Planning, Bismarck Engineering, Bismarck Police and the Bismarck downtown owners. And after an interesting and competitive proposal and interview process, the selection committee has recommended Walker Consultants as the preferred firm to perform the study.

00:19:40,130	Uh, so today we would be seeking a motion to approve the selection and authorize the MPO to move forward with contract negotiations with Walker and TAC recommended the same at their meeting yesterday. Any questions? Any Commissioner Risch. Mr. Mayor Stephen, so when they do this study of curves, they look at heights, they look at condition, they look at.

00:20:00,300	So it’s a pretty expansive it the focus would be on curb uses not so much. The physical curb is then looking at like um parking. Um recreational uses. Uh, Ada access. Um, really transit bus stops, loading zones.

00:20:28,100	So the study area includes all of downtown Bismarck and has the potential to also include some school areas within the Bismarck area, depending on our kind, we are going to be working with Bismarck schools to see what, uh, what they may want to look at as well. So it’s going to be a pretty extensive kind of area wide look at.

00:20:44,900	Yeah, that kind of curb area and how businesses and the public are using the space. Any other questions for Stephen, if not commissioners? What are your wishes? Mr. chairman, I move to approve the selection committee’s recommendation of Walker Consultants with a sub consultant of Bolton and Menke as the preferred consultant for the project, and also authorize them to pursue contract negotiations with the selected consulting team.

00:21:15,530	Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Tokach, second by Commissioner Risch. Any further discussion? Hearing none. Roll call please. Mayor Berglund. Yes. Commissioner Tokach. Yes. Commissioner. Risch. Yes. Commissioner. Bakken. Yes. Vice chair. Mayor Froelich. Yes. Item number nine. The 2026 Fringe Area Road Master plan. Joel. Good afternoon, board members.

00:21:47,600	I’ll give a brief update today because we are currently in review of some draft materials with our project steering committee and plan to meet with the steering committee early next month and then start a public review period of draft materials.

00:22:05,800	That would be through the middle of August and into the middle of September. So, um, a plan draft and other related materials are going to be going through a lot of comment over the next couple of months. So this update and probably the next update we give you will be pretty brief, just because we’re still kind of hearing back from people.

00:22:21,400	But as comments come in and we have some overall summaries and, you know, updates to give on how we are responding to those, that’ll be the nature of our updates. I have a brief presentation here that I’ll pull up just to share really quickly.

00:22:40,470	And we’ll talk through some of the the key issues that we have been working on with the steering committee and Technical Advisory Committee, as well. So bear with me while this all comes online here. All right. There we go.

00:23:03,070	Um, just to give a quick overview of next steps and timing, uh, we are looking at the, um, the sorry about this window continuing to pop up. We’re looking at the, um, the review period going through August and September, like I said. And this would put us in a place to have, um, meetings for adoption with the member jurisdiction, uh, legislative bodies in early October.

00:23:21,130	And then we would bring this back to the Tech and Policy Board and the October meeting cycle, um, so that we originally were looking at a shorter timeline for that. We’ve been giving our steering committee a little bit more time to review materials. Um, so we’ve we’ve decided to push that schedule back a little bit.

00:23:36,470	Um, in terms of some of the big issues, though, that are being explored right now, one thing that we want to point out is that, you know, the the plan is keeping the structure fairly similar to what it’s been before. It’s a it’s a framework plan. It’s really there for growth management.

00:23:55,200	And we refer to it as a plan without a timeline, because unlike a lot of other kind of action oriented or project oriented plans that set windows by which you want to implement things, this is really responding to the development and real estate market and how growth happens and when, and just making sure that you’re setting the right kinds of decisions around transportation, especially with

00:24:13,030	right of way dedication, if and when that development ever happens. But one of the things that we’ve seen in going through this update is that the current forecast for growth in the region, um, certainly call for more growth to happen, but not uniformly throughout the region.

00:24:29,600	There’s, you know, a concentration of higher density growth within the ETAs of the two cities. And then the forecast for continued growth is for lower density further out. It’s kind of consistent with the way patterns have been happening.

00:24:46,270	But the fringe area roads plan, if you see the network showing up here on the map, has expanded far beyond, you know, the ETAs and really through most of the metropolitan planning area of the MPO. So one thing that the plan will be looking at is making some recommendations on the right balance of right of way dedication versus, um, expected growth and expected levels of traffic impact.

00:25:07,170	And that’s something that we’re discussing more with the steering committee. But the bigger question is do we need to have arterials as frequently spaced as they were called for in the past version of the plan? Um, is it better to maybe rethink what the arterial right of way reservation is so that we can make sure we’ve got

00:25:23,030	enough space and just finding that right balance? That’s going to be one of the plan’s main recommendations. Another one that, um, has been a topic of discussion is this major regional corridors network concept, which is something new with this plan update.

00:25:44,130	But that’s really setting aside, uh, I would say a handful of corridors that either respond to previous concepts like the north south Beltway or that look at some major connections that have been contemplated in planning documents, like bridges over the Missouri River and the Hart River.

00:26:05,000	And it’s making sure that those, um, are kind of looked at from a regional lens when development applications would be directly affecting those corridors with access. So the question is, do these corridors need to get the same level of scrutiny? Are some of them going to be more important than others? And we’ve provided an overall map in the draft plan documents.

00:26:25,330	We’ve also proposed a series of classifying these with what we’re calling a major regional connection, really being the the key corridors to preserve in terms of mobility across the river and throughout the region. Um, those major regional connections from our network directly affect four of the six identified hotspot focus areas for this study, where we were looking at some more kind of complex problems and developing, um, concept solutions to those.

00:26:46,670	So we would say that this major regional corridors network, you know, is, is sparse and limited on purpose so that you’re not having to apply that level of scrutiny to all the roads in the in the region that we get built.

00:27:05,370	But I guess one thing that we’re wanting to to fine tune here is to what degree each of those needs to be considered. If it’s if it’s some of them, or if it needs to be. All of this network shown here, some of the other types of connections that have been identified are not really regional mobility corridors.

00:27:18,670	You can see some of these green lines here are pretty short, where some of the red lines. But they’re they’re key to providing an important connection, like a bridge over the heart River. Or they are here to connect existing developed areas like the city of Lincoln to the rest of the roadway network.

00:27:36,800	And we’re wanting to make sure that any development applications kind of keep in mind that special nature of the corridor. And then another big thing that we are wanting to fine tune as we’re continuing the comments, is the process by which the MPO would have that review and that voice in in development applications.

00:27:54,930	And what we’ve proposed is a fairly streamlined process similar to what happens today, in that the early steps of development review are where local governments are just kind of, you know, doing their thing, working with applicants to review applications that come in.

00:28:16,870	But it’s when there’s that, um, that change to anything identified on the regional corridor network that the MPO would be advised of this and that we’re you know, we’re seeing that there are some conflicts here with what the fringe area roads plan is recommending. That’s where the MPO would be involved to take a look at this, look at it from a regional perspective and offer your own commentary on this.

00:28:32,870	Our big questions with this that we’re working with the steering committee and other stakeholders and leadership to resolve, or how formally we need to define a process like that, it seems like a lot of the fringe area road plans implementation today kind of works on an understanding that local governments follow the plan.

00:28:52,600	The developers understand their requirements there, and if there are amendments needed, local governments write those up and send those back to the MPO. It could be something as simple as that.

00:29:10,200	But, you know, maybe there are some standardized forms of documenting these things or recording them, but just to make sure that there is a process here and that everyone is following it uniformly, we want to continue to get consensus from our, um, our member jurisdiction representatives on that. So with that quick update, the next couple of these will probably be fairly brief as well. Just to give you updates on what we’re hearing from review and comments, and I’m happy to answer any questions.

00:29:28,830	Any questions for Joel. Oh, Mr. Mayor, I was just impressed with the potential bid bridge north of Mandan across the Missouri. That’s long term ahead of us, but that would really take a lot of pressure off some of the traffic in the center of our two communities. Yes, and a bridge across the heart also. Would be nice.

00:29:51,730	Yeah. Any other questions. Mr. Chairman? Yeah, not a question, but a comment. Uh, you know, it’s everything we’re doing here is is appropriate and and, uh, uh, fitting into the larger master plan, but, uh, just be cognizant of timelines and adding, uh, bureaucratic hurdles that that drag projects out.

00:30:18,000	Yes. Anything else for Joel? If not, thank you. Joel. Thank you very much. We will move on to transit development plan. Thank you. Vice Chair. I’m here to let you know that we’ve started off with the transit development plan.

00:30:46,500	And as some of you may recall, we, um, got started last month and today we have Mr. Irwin, Aaron Bartlett of Bolton and Bink to give us an update on on what we’ve done so far. And we want to welcome Aaron. Hello, Aaron. Thanks, Paulette. I’ll get my screen shared here. So like mentioned, my name is Aaron Bartlett and I am the project manager for the 2026 Transit Development Plan Update.

00:31:14,070	And today’s update will be pretty high level as we’re just kind of getting going on the process overall. But I’ll give you an update on what’s been completed so far, what’s kind of gotten kicked off, and then what’s ahead in the next couple of months. And then an overview of the entire process as well.

00:31:30,600	So just a quick status update. Last month we held our kickoff meeting with our PMT group. Uh, this is where we, uh, kind of confirmed the scope and then initiated that data collection process to help us with the existing conditions evaluation task, which were deep into right now of reviewing data and trying to pull out some trends

00:31:52,700	that we’re seeing from the system over the last five years or so. As part of that kickoff as well, we also started drafting the stakeholder in Public Engagement plan, and I’ll briefly introduce what we’re kind of thinking for our approach for, um, engaging with both the public and stakeholders.

00:32:11,800	And we also confirm some of the initial project branding as well, which we’ll see on any public engagement materials or report documents that are coming out of this process as well. So just to give a little bit of overview on the TDP or transit development planning process overall.

00:32:32,300	So we’ve laid out a timeline that spans a little over a year. Um, our goal is to wrap it up by next August with final plan approval. Uh, so to start that effort, uh, like I mentioned, we’re in that existing conditions phase right now, which is kind of a big piece of the next few months or so.

00:32:51,900	And as part of that, we’ll also be meeting with stakeholders. We have our first steering committee coming up, and then we’ll also be launching our first phase of public engagement as well.

00:33:06,800	And the goal with this first phase is really just to understand what are the issues and opportunities that exist in the system today, and what are we seeing that works well, or what areas could maybe be improved? And then following that is when we’ll get more into the future system needs, uh, into the late fall, winter months. Um, and throughout the process overall, we’ll be having multiple touchpoints with this group, with the transit board, steering committee and the public as well.

00:33:29,130	So when it comes to the community engagement piece of it, there’s essentially four different buckets with how we’re engaging with the community. So first one being MPO updates, uh, like this meeting here. So each month will be coming with updates.

00:33:48,400	Some might be a little bit more in depth than others, just depending on what’s kind of happening with the project at that time. Um, but in addition to that, we also have our steering committee. So this is made up of representatives from planning and engineering departments from the different cities. Um, North Dakota dot representative FH, a FTA, and then some of the human service organizations as well will be making up that steering committee group.

00:34:12,670	And for this project, we have four planned meetings with that. So the first one was just scheduled for um, later in August, where we’ll really be focused on issues and opportunities. We’ll review our results from these existing conditions analysis and then kind of confirm some engagement approaches as well.

00:34:35,530	And then that will be followed by a planning workshop meeting later in the fall, where this one is intended to be a little bit more interactive, probably a longer meeting to start setting some priorities and goals for what we want the future system to look like.

00:34:51,700	And there’ll be some scenario planning work as part of that workshop as well, and it’ll be brought into additional, um, attendees beyond just the steering committee as well, to get a broader group involved in those, um, future planning discussions. And then the following two meetings, I really focus on implementation and then draft recommendations coming out of transit development plan. In addition to that, we’ll also be giving updates to the transit board.

00:35:13,800	We have five planned for that. So similar to the MPO updates. So we’ll be engaging the transit board. And then when it comes to public engagement, we have three phases planned throughout the process. That first one starting this fall sometime.

00:35:31,970	And then in the winter months probably into the next year, we’ll come back with some scenario planning, um, efforts and get feedback from the public on potential scenarios for looking at service and how it could be operated in a different way, or keeping things the same.

00:35:52,330	It’s really an opportunity to kind of test some different strategies and see what the community is interested in, and then towards the end of the process, we’ll come back with draft plan recommendations. So as part of this first phase that we’re in now, it’s really focused on the existing conditions. Right.

00:36:11,930	And a large piece of this is looking at the fixed route system and its overall effectiveness, but also kind of recognizing the paratransit system as well and understanding trends and future needs for the paratransit side of operations. Um, so we’ll be looking at, um, performance for each of the routes, understanding where current ridership is, where there’s potential demand that maybe isn’t being served today, things like that.

00:36:32,800	Uh, and then also be doing some peer comparisons to other systems across North Dakota, but also across the broader Midwest, too. So finding some of those PR agencies that have similar geographic makeups, demographic makeups to understand how, um, the Bozeman Transit system compares to those areas as well.

00:36:55,370	Uh, and I just threw on there just an initial annual ridership chart there, broken out by route, which you can see some very positive trends in terms of ridership growth over the last several years.

00:37:12,330	So we want to understand, um, why that’s happening and keep building off that momentum that we’re seeing on the system, which has continued into 2026 as well. And then following the existing conditions, work is when we’ll really start to dive into what are the future system needs. So there’s a lot of different considerations that will go into this effort. Building off of what we found in the existing conditions analysis, what we’re hearing from the public.

00:37:31,530	Um, but it’ll really kick off with that planning workshop that I mentioned with this steering committee, uh, which is tentatively planned for October, uh, which will help kind of guide what we look at for the future system and different strategies to test out.

00:37:52,330	Um, and then part of the future system needs task will also be looking at, um, some infrastructure components. So designated stops will be a topic of conversation and understanding. Where might these be necessary if at all.

00:38:10,630	And then how do we kind of approach that, um, on a step by step basis throughout the system and then looking at the transit hub analysis as well, and kind of understanding what are the important needs around the transit hub and reviewing the Front Avenue location a bit further. So just a brief look ahead at what’s next. So, uh, as I mentioned, we’re deep into the existing conditions analysis.

00:38:30,870	So we’ll be continuing those efforts and wrapping that up as we prep for the first steering committee meeting. Uh, which will be held in August. And then along with that, we’ll be preparing for that first round of public engagement, uh, this fall, sometime. And with that, I would be happy to take any questions on the TDP. Okay.

00:38:50,500	Any questions for Air Commissioner Risch? Mr. Mayor? Eric, um, we’ve seen a lot of things at the federal level where there’s been reductions in sharing with the cost sharing with the states and communities.

00:39:13,970	How’s it been looking for the transit? Are they keeping up with their previous commitments or any indications that we might see less in the future? Yeah. Um, so transit funding is always an interesting one. Right. And I think when it comes to the Bismarck Mandan region, um, we’re sitting pretty well.

00:39:32,700	And I think it’s not something that as we look at the scope for this project, we’re going to be assuming kind of existing or status quo with what we have out there today with, um, recent investments in transit and some of the increased revenue that has come in the last couple of years. Um, but we’ll really be looking at status quo as we look at future recommendations. Okay. Any other questions for Aaron? Okay. Thank you. Aaron. Thank you.

00:39:54,500	We will move on to item number 11, passenger rail update Kim. Thank you. Chair Mayor Froelich, members of the board. The very final exhibit that was included in your packet is just a staff memo. Um, providing some updates on the passenger rail status at the MPO.

00:40:14,970	And I would just like to highlight a couple of those items. First of all, just to remind you that we are embarking on our passenger rail station siting study. This is a 12 month study and last month this board did approve the recommended consultant of CLG to conduct the study along with their sub consultants, Uber Design Group, and also

00:40:37,800	David Evans and Associates. So right now we are just finalizing our contract negotiations. Um, they’ve been submitted to North Dakota Dot for review. Uh, we have a few little hurdles to jump through, but we anticipate having this study kicked off early in August.

00:40:57,530	Um, if not the latter part of July. So, um, really looking forward to getting that off of the ground. And again, with a 12 month study, we expected that would conclude in August of 2027. So stay tuned for more information there. I have a couple of items regarding the big Sky Passenger Rail Authority or Supra.

00:41:18,430	Number one is that we are members of their government partner program, and as such, when I say we it is not just the MPO, but it is the MPO. On behalf of all five of our jurisdictions.

00:41:39,200	So all three cities and our county jurisdictions, um, we can participate in spring activities and board member or board meetings, which are held every two months. And I would certainly encourage everybody to do so if their schedule permits. We do get a lot of good information from those board meetings.

00:41:57,330	The last meeting that was held was on July 8th, and at that meeting they did provide an update on their corridor ID project, which impacts us to a very large degree because that is the reinstatement of the former North Coast Hiawatha Line, which is now being called the big Sky North Coast Corridor.

00:42:24,000	And that would reinstate passenger rail service from Chicago to Seattle via the southern tiers of North Dakota and Montana. So that would pass right through our communities and be very impactful to us. And we really want to make sure that we’re I kind of keeping track of what’s going on with that. They had anticipated that the phase one that had been submitted previously for the project would have been reviewed and approved by now.

00:42:46,470	But the consultant for the project indicated that the Federal Railroad Administration has enacted several changes in their requirements for submittals. And so they’ve had to submit several different iterations. And they do anticipate, with this final submittal in July, that they should be able to progress on to phase two of the project. Phase two is pretty exciting.

00:43:13,200	It’s also the most arduous phase of the project, but it will be the service development plan whereby they’ll be taking a look at, uh, station locations. Also, uh, route timing and, um, dwell time with each station, things like that.

00:43:31,470	So, uh, that’s something that we want to keep our eye on as we progress forward with our passenger rail station siting. Uh, study. Uh, additionally, the big Sky Passenger Rail Authority has an annual conference. I attended their conference last year. It was very good in September. However, this year they are actually combining it with the greater Northwest Rail Summit for 2026.

00:43:53,030	And that’s going to be held in Helena, Montana on August 25th through the 27th. And the BSP fra is offering something that’s very advantageous for its government partner program members. And that is one free conference registration, uh, to a government, to their government partner program members.

00:44:19,930	So, the registration costs vary greatly because you can get a virtual, uh, participation registration for $50, or you can do the full three day registration that includes the banquet for $275. And what BSP is offering is the full three day registration, with the banquet included.

00:44:41,930	So, um, what this means is that as as members of the GPP, we would be entitled to one free registration. And so I’m just putting it out there. If any of our jurisdictions, um, any of our jurisdictional representatives or elected leaders, um, had intended to attend this conference in person and take advantage of that three day conference and would be interested in using this free conference

00:45:04,270	registration. Uh, please contact me. Um, and I will certainly convey your registration information directly to BSP on your behalf. Um, I don’t know that it actually bears, you know, um, an approval. Uh, we’re kind of offering this on a first come, first serve. Whoever wants to take advantage of it.

00:45:28,000	But it would be a shame to let it go to waste. So, um, there are links included on the memo that can take you to, uh, BSP board member or board meetings, uh, minutes. And also a link for conference, um, agendas and format and information. So just want to leave that with you.

00:45:50,700	Are there any questions that I can answer? Commissioner Risch yes. Mr. Mayor. Commissioners. Uh, Kimberly, this is exciting. And of course, when you study where these stations will be located, everybody wants one, right? Uh, certainly.

00:46:13,330	Mandan has a great location with the depot downtown here, but, uh, when I attended a previous meeting discussing this, there was talk about all. Bismarck doesn’t have room for a station because of the crossings and things. I would, as somewhat used to operate passenger trains. I would say that would not be correct.

00:46:29,830	I mean, we could stop at a depot between third and fifth, and these trains are about 1000ft long, depending on the number of cars I used to run. Uh, the Empire Builder up in Minot to Williston, to Devils Lake and back. We’d stop at Stanley and Rugby. 5 to 7 minutes would be to stop, to drop off and pick up people.

00:46:45,730	It takes more than 5 to 7 minutes for a coal train to go through Bismarck, and they block the crossings longer than it would take than a passenger train would. Plus west of ninth to 12th.

00:47:01,900	There’s certainly room for a passenger train to stop there, so I’m just providing the impact that input that they can stop and unload and load very quickly. Then they get the Mandan would be the place where if they’re going to load up new supplies and whatnot, take a little more time. And Mandan, because they’ve got room and they’re not blocking any crossings. But anyway, you should go to the conference. I’ll vote for you. Actually.

00:47:19,570	Thank you very much, Commissioner Risch, for your vote. Um, I’m, uh, I’ve been asked to present, and so I’ve. I’m being comped a registration, so we do have one that’s available. But I appreciate that very much. Thank you. Any other questions for Kim? Thank you. Kim. And now we will move to transit service operations update. Deidre.

00:47:44,930	Good afternoon, chair Mayor Froelich and policy board members. I just wanted to give a brief update on a few items. Bozeman Transit has been working on since my previous update. Um, the first item I’d like to discuss is the voucher program.

00:48:00,070	Um, so we had been working on a Cat bus voucher program with the city of Bismarck on June 9th, the Bismarck City Commission approved Bozeman Transit’s request to utilize $5,000 in sales tax funds to develop a Cat bus voucher program. The Community Development Advisory Committee has been tasked with developing the actual program requirements and implementation of the framework.

00:48:20,870	That committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow to review the proposed application process and the criteria for selecting participating agencies. The goal is to roll out the program before winter. Next, a brief update on our fleet. On June 17th. One of our fixed route buses was involved in a traffic accident in which Bozeman Transit was determined to not be at fault. Unfortunately, the incident did result in significant damage to a vehicle.

00:48:42,070	A 2019 Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 bus. Um, we’re still waiting on insurance to assess the repair costs and determine how long that vehicle will be off the road, or if it’s a deemed a total loss.

00:48:58,300	We’re really hoping that it is not because it takes about two years from, um, submitting our order for a new fixed route vehicle to the delivery time. So that’s a bus that we need to continue our service. Um, next item I want to talk about is our coordinated Human Service Transportation plan.

00:49:17,800	Bozeman Transit is required to update our coordinated Human Service transportation plan every five years to maintain eligibility for our section 5310 enhanced mobility for Seniors and Individuals with disabilities. Grant funding to support this effort. Surveys have been developed for both human service providers and transit riders, and have been distributed throughout the community. Public comment meetings are also scheduled to gather input from stakeholders and residents.

00:49:36,600	These meetings will be held on July 28th at the Mandan Morton Public Library and the Bismarck Transit Facility. An additional meeting will be held on July 30th at the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Library. The completed plan will be presented to the Bismarck Transit Board for approval on August 27th, the last item I wanted to talk about was our ridership update.

00:49:56,730	Um, we obviously went through a pretty significant service expansion back in April, since both fixed route and demand response service hours were increased, we’ve seen significant utilization of the additional service opportunities between April and June, we provided 1728 early morning fixed route trips during the new service hour from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. or 7 a.m. excuse me.

00:50:19,730	During the extended evening service period from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., we provided an additional 4024 trips. Together. These service enhancements resulted in 5752 trips that would have not been available prior to the service expansion. These changes also expanded access to our demand response services for the general public on Sundays and holidays.

00:50:38,070	Since April, we provided 48 general public demand response trips. Under the new service offerings. Additionally, expanded Sunday service hours have resulted in 185 trips during the added service period, highlighting the continued need for accessible and flexible transportation within our communities. Thank you and happy. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Deidre. Thank you. Thank you Peter.

00:51:06,230	Any other business before the commission? If not, motion to adjourn. Moved.