This item seeks to request that the Lake Jackson Ecopassage be included as the #1 priority on the Enhancement Priority Project List.

Option 1: Amend the approved Enhancement Priority Project List to include the Lake Jackson Ecopassage as the #1 priority.

Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) - Held their meeting on Tuesday November 4, 2008 and approved a motion (without a quorum) to amend the Enhancement Priority Project List to include the Lake Jackson Ecopassage as the highest ranking priority.

Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) – Held their meeting on Tuesday November 4, 2008 and approved a motion (without a quorum) to amend the Enhancement Priority Project List to include the Lake Jackson Ecopassage as the highest ranking priority.

Multimodal Advisory Committee (MAC) - Held their meeting on Tuesday November 4, 2008 and approved a motion (without a quorum) that the Lake Jackson Ecopassage “should have a special priority”.

In 2002, a biology student from Florida State University, appeared before the Board of County Commissioners, requesting action be taken to preserve wildlife along the North Monroe Street corridor, between Clara Kee Boulevard and Old Bainbridge Road. Mr. Aresco stated an increasing number of animal deaths had occurred along this corridor due to years of the historic migratory routes being impeded by the physical location of North Monroe Street (US 27).

AGENDA ITEM 6C – LAKE JACKSON ECOPASSAGE NOVEMBER 17, 2008 PAGE 2

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) funded the Feasibility Study. Since North Monroe Street is a State road, the Tallahassee-Leon County MPO staff has offered to manage the Feasibility Study Project for FDOT.

The intention of the Feasibility Study Project was not to single out a specific species of animals for which to provide a mitigative action(s), but to study the existing conditions of animal and vegetative habitats, hydrological conditions, and roadway conditions. The types of mitigative action(s) that resulted from the Lake Jackson Ecopassage Feasibility Study ranged from the construction of animal tunnels to a wildlife wall (a wall that prevents animals from crawling over onto the road and attempting a crossing), or a combination of both.

In November of 2004, the CRTPA approved the Lake Jackson Ecopassage Feasibility Study, which included the construction of a wildlife wall and several culverts for the movement of animal between Lake Jackson and Little Lake Jackson.

The PD&E Study kicked-off in April 2006 with a nine month project schedule, and included additional funds to complete a full historical site survey. The PD&E Study was approved by the CRTPA in January 2007.

The design phase was kicked-off in July of 2007 and called for a two-year completion schedule. To date the plans are at approximately the 60% level with an anticipated completion date of April 2009.

The current estimate for the Ecopassage is $6,078,981, which includes construction ($5,332,439) and Construction Engineering Inspection ($746,542). This includes wildlife barriers (retaining walls), turnback walls, and wildlife crossings (culverts).

The funding for the Lake Jackson Ecopassage to date has been provided through the use of environmental funs to the total of $742,504. These funds were utilized for the Feasibility Study, Project Development and Environment Study and the Design (currently underway) of the Ecopassage.

Since the inception of the Lake Jackson Ecopassage, the project has received significant support from people around the world. This support has been not just at the district-level but at the state-level. In fact, all of the funding to date for this project has come from the FDOT without the project having to be prioritized by the MPO or CRTPA.

Lastly, the Ecopassage has already become a Public/Private Partnership through the purchase of property (by private means) along the corridor to ensure the project can cover as much of the Lake Jackson frontage as possible.

Given the uniqueness of this project, staff was unsure how to proceed with prioritizing this project for a couple of reasons. First, the project does not fit in any of the “Priority Project Lists” with the exception of the District 3 Enhancement Priority Project List, and this did not appear to be a good fit given the funding limitations of the program. Second, the cost of the project appeared to be geared more towards a state-wide enhancement program than a district-level source. At $6,078,981 for construction, there are not a lot of programs that can accommodate that funding level.

Based on these concerns staff did not include any recommendations for the Lake Jackson Ecopassage on any priority project list. However, staff entered into discussions with FDOT regarding this project to lie out a course of action for this project with the following results (pending CRTPA approval):

1. Prioritize the Lake Jackson Ecopassage as the #1 on the Enhancement Priority Project List (Attachment 1).
2. The Florida Department of Transportation currently has $3,130,868 programmed towards construction of the Lake Jackson Ecopassage in FY 2010.
3. If the CRTPA opts not prioritize the Lake Jackson Ecopassage as the highest ranking project for the CRTPA, then the funds will revert to the highest ranking Enhancement project for the District (not necessarily in the CRTPA planning area).

After approval of the Lake Jackson Ecopassage as the #1 Enhancement Priority, staff will amend the Priority Project List and forward it to the FDOT. Additionally, staff will continue to work with FDOT to seek funding for the remainder of the construction funds.

Option 1: Amend the approved Enhancement Priority Project List to include the Lake Jackson Ecopassage as the #1 priority.

Option 2: Provide other direction.

Attachment 1: Amended CRTPA Enhancement Priority Project List as submitted to FDOT.