NTTA May 7th Agenda

AGENDA
NTTA SYSTEM PROJECTS AND OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING
NORTH TEXAS TOLLWAY AUTHORITY
BOARD ROOM, SUITE 200
5900 WEST PLANO PARKWAY
PLANO, TEXAS 75093
May 7, 2008
8:00 AM
All agenda items are subject to possible discussions, questions and actions by this
committee of the North Texas Tollway Authority Board of Directors. Agenda item
numbers are assigned for ease of reference only and do not necessarily reflect the order of their consideration by the committee. The committee reserves the right to discuss anyitems in executive session whenever legally justified under the Open Meetings Act.
Unless otherwise noted, a resolution recommending the award of a contract or any other action refers to the committee’s recommendation of the action in question to the NTTA Board of Directors.

CALL TO ORDER
1. Establishment of quorum
2. Resolution approving minutes of the April 2, 2008 meeting of the NTTA System
Projects and Operations Committee.

BRIEFINGS AND RELATED ACTION ITEMS
State Highway (SH) 121
3. Recommend authorization of a supplemental agreement to the contract with
Bridgefarmer & Associates, Inc. for revision to design of SH 121 main lanes at
future Exchange Parkway in an amount not to exceed $700,000.
3. Recommend authorization of a change order pertaining to the agreement with
Austin Bridge and Road L.P. for the relocation of a main lane toll gantry
additional construction of two ramp toll gantries on SH 121 in an amount not to
exceed $638,022.

President George Bush Turnpike Eastern Extension (PGBT EE)
5. Recommend approval of a work authorization with PBS&J for construction
management services on Section 30 of the PGBT EE and PGBT EE corridor
construction management oversight in an amount not to exceed $16,060,603.20.
6. Recommend authorization of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (“DART”) in connection with adjustments of DART
facilities required for Section 30 of the PGBT EE in the amount of $4,500,000.
7. Recommend authorization of three contracts for asbestos abatement and
demolition of structures on PGBT EE to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder
for each such contract from among the following seven pre-qualified responsible
bidders: CST Environmental Inc.; F. Hall Mowing; Intercon Environmental Inc.;
J.C.’s Environmental Technologies; 1 Priority Environmental Services Inc.; Lynx
Contractors, Inc.; and RNDI Companies, Inc., in the amount of $1,100,000.

8. Recommend authorization of a contract for construction of PGBT EE Section 30
with Zachry Construction Company in the amount of $121,867,755.52.
9. Recommend authorization of an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with the City of
Dallas regarding a permanent easement and a bridge and storm water retention system to be constructed in PGBT EE Section 32 over Lake Ray Hubbard.
10. Recommend approval of a work authorization with Jacobs Carter Burgess for
mechanically-stabilized-earth-wall design services on Section 30 of the PGBT EE
in an amount not to exceed $368,886.

Southwest Parkway
11. Recommend authorization of a utility agreement with Atmos Energy for
Southwest Parkway Section 4 regarding the relocation of a gas transmission line
in the amount of $935,500.
State Highway (SH) 161
12. Recommend authorization of a contract and work authorization with HDR for
corridor management services on SH 161 in an amount not to exceed $900,000.
Conversion to All-Electronic Toll Collection (all-ETC)
13. Recommend approval of a work authorization with HNTB Corporation for
preparation of a comprehensive project plan for conversion to all-ETC on the
NTTA System in an amount not to exceed $317,200.
14. Recommend authorization of a supplemental agreement to a contract with
Kimley-Horn Associates, Inc. for design modifications required for all-ETC
conversion of ramp toll plazas along the DNT from IH 635 to SH 121, and
development of precast gantry standard drawings in an amount not to exceed
$730,908.
15. Recommend authorization of a supplemental agreement to a contract with Halff
Associates for design modifications required for all-ETC conversion of ramp
plaza plans along DNT south of IH 635 in an amount not to exceed $290,558.
16. Recommend authorization of the purchase of Violation Enforcement System
equipment from Science Applications International Corporation, Electronic
Transaction Consultants Corporation, Northstar Controls, Davis Inotek, and
Graybar Electric to be used for all-ETC on DNT, AATT and MCLB for an
aggregate amount of $2,800,000.
17. Recommend authorization of a contract with MasTec North America, Inc. for
fiber relocation along the DNT, MCLB and AATT in the amount of $648,151.50.
Information Technology (IT)
18. Recommend authorization of the purchase of ONSSI software licenses required to
implement internet-protocol-based incident detection content analysis from
SecureNet, Inc. for the NTTA’s Incident Detection System from under its existing
NTTA contract at a cost not to exceed $500,000.
Maintenance
19. Recommend authorization of the purchase of dump trucks from Grande Truck
Center as part of the vehicle fleet to be used to maintain SH 121 in an amount of
$2,406,709.80.
Communications
20. Recommend authorization of a new trailblazer sign design to be utilized
throughout the NTTA system.

BRIEFINGS AND UPDATES
21. Project Focus
A. Southwest Parkway
B. DNT – 4A
C. DNT Phase 3
D. PGBT EE
22. Project Updates
23. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Pursuant to chapter 551, subchapter D, Texas Government Code:
A. Subsection 551.071(1), to receive advice from counsel about pending or
contemplated litigation and/or settlement offers
B. Section 551.072, to deliberate the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of
real property
C. Section 551.074(a)(1), to deliberate the appointment, employment,
evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public
officer or employee
D. Section 551.076, to deliberate regarding security devices
24. CONSIDERATION OF ITEMS FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION
A. Recommend authorization of the purchase of land for the location of a
maintenance center to be constructed to support maintenance of SH 121.
ADJOURNMENT

NOTES
A quorum of the Board of Directors may be present at this meeting for information-gathering purposes. However,NTTA Directors that are not Committee members will not vote on any Committee agenda items.
The North Texas Tollway Authority System includes the Dallas North Tollway (DNT), the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT), the Addison Airport Toll Tunnel (AATT), Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge (LLTB) and the Mountain Creek Lake Bridge (MCLB).
The term TxDOT refers to the Texas Department of Transportation; NCTCOG refers to the North Central Texas Council of Governments.
SWP refers to the Southwest Parkway Project, State Highway (SH) 121 from IH 30 to FM 1187 in Tarrant County; EE refers to the Eastern Extension of the PGBT from SH 78 to IH 30 in Dallas County; SH 121 refers to SH 121 in Denton, Dallas, and Collin counties between Business SH 121 and U.S. 75; Chisholm Trail refers to SH 121 between
FM 1187 in Tarrant County and U.S. 67 in Johnson County; Trinity Parkway refers to the proposed Trinity Parkway project between SH 183/ IH 35E interchange and U.S. 175 in Dallas County; SH 161 refers to SH 161 between SH 183 and IH 20 in Dallas County; SH 170 refers to SH 170 between SH 114 and SH 199 in Denton, Tarrant and Parker
County; SH 360 refers to SH 360 between Green Oaks Boulevard and U.S. 67 in Tarrant, Johnson and Ellis County; SH 190 refers to SH 190 between IH 30 and IH 20 in Dallas County. Note that the end points for each of the referenced projects are approximate.
Persons with disabilities who plan to attend this meeting and who may need auxiliary aids or services such as interpreters for persons who are deaf or hearing impaired, readers, large print or Braille, are requested to contact Kiven.

State Highway 121 Project Agreement Completed

By Sam Lopez nnd Lara Rodriguez - NTTA & NCTCOG - Aug. 23, 2007
North Texas – In the true spirit of teamwork, representatives from the Dallas District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) have finalized a historic project agreement. The NTTA will develop, finance, design, construct, maintain and operate State Highway (SH) 121 from McKinney to Coppell for the next 50 years. Staff representatives of the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) participated in the negotiation of the major terms of the project agreement and quantified the anticipated public benefit.

Today, the Texas Transportation Commission (TTC) approved a Minute Order authorizing TxDOT’s Executive Director to enter into the project agreement with the NTTA, subject to environmental clearance of Segments 1 through 4 of the SH 121 toll project. That clearance is expected in September 2007.

The SH 121 project agreement has now been signed by Jorge C. Figueredo, NTTA Executive Director, and submitted to TXDOT. When TxDOT’s Executive Director signs the agreement, the NTTA will then have 45 days to achieve the “financial close” and to deliver a $2.5 billion upfront payment to TxDOT. An additional $833 million upfront payment, representing the current value of 49 future annual payments, will be made at TxDOT’s direction to the RTC for regional transportation projects. The RTC has already received proposals from cities and counties and will decide how the $3.3 billion will be used for additional mobility projects throughout North Texas.

“We are nearing the final execution of SH 121 project agreement and I thank all of our partners who have worked tirelessly and expeditiously to complete it,” said Paul N. Wageman, Chairman of the NTTA Board of Directors. “The NTTA looks forward to delivering the upfront payment to TxDOT and the RTC in the near future. The real work begins when our team of designers and contractors complete this critical roadway for Collin, Dallas and Denton counties.”

“The motor fuel tax can no longer keep up with the growth we are experiencing in North Texas and falls short of meeting our transportation needs. TxDOT has a plan to make up the financial shortfall and it involves doing exactly what occurred on SH 121. This included seeking innovative solutions, working with partners like the NTTA and empowering local communities and the RTC to help fill the transportation funding gap," said Bill Hale, P.E., District Engineer, Dallas District of the Texas Department of Transportation.

“This region, like the rest of the nation, is facing a tremendous shortfall in transportation funding,” said Michael Morris, director of transportation of the NCTCOG. “This agreement with NTTA will mean freeway, thoroughfare, passenger rail and air quality projects can be built years ahead of schedule. Keeping up with the tremendous growth and transportation needs of the region is a high priority.”

On June 28, the TTC, the Board that oversees TxDOT, instructed the NTTA and TxDOT staff, in cooperation with the RTC, to prepare a project agreement term sheet within 60 days. The three partners worked diligently to meet the demanding schedule.

The SH 121 toll project is a 25.9 mile all-electronic toll road through Collin, Dallas and Denton counties from McKinney where SH 121 intersects with U.S. 75 west to near the Tarrant County line. Segments 1 and 2 run east from 0.23 miles east of Business 121 to the ramp pair on the east side of the Hillcrest Road overpass. Segment 3 runs east from the ramp pair on the east side of the Hillcrest Road overpass to the ramp pair on the west side of the Watters Road overpass. Segment 4 is the ramp pair on the west side of the Watters Road overpass through the north, east, and south limits of the construction required to complete the U.S. 75/SH 121 Interchange. Segment 5 is the Dallas North Tollway interchange.

TxDOT say they wrote critique of NTTA bid for SH121, KPMG-GS just reviewing it

TollROADSnews - May 11, 2007

James Bass, chief financial officer of Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) says we erred in attributing a two-page critique of the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) to KPMG/Goldman Sachs. He says it was written by TxDOT Dallas staff. TxDOT asked both KPMG and Goldman Sachs to review it and comment.

But he says this became moot once NTTA released their executive summary of their proposal.

Here is the email, we received:

For the avoidance of any doubt, neither KPMG nor Goldman Sachs authored the two page paper that is referenced by your article posted at The paper in question was authored by TxDOT Dallas District staff.

Last Friday TxDOT requested that both KPMG and Goldman Sachs review the paper and provide their commentary, but as the NTTA released the Executive Summary for their proposal on SH 121 on Monday the review of the paper in question became moot and is no longer required.

Thanks,
James M. Bass
Chief Financial Officer
Texas Department of Transportation (end email text)

We had it on what seemed very good authority it was written by KPMG and GS.

The paper does not have any identifying letterhead or signature

See Brett Shipp report, (WFAA NEWS, Monday, May 14, 2007) -- TxDOT Dallas District official (and RTC member) Robert Brown wrote the memo published as an analysis falsely attributed as being prepared by investment banker Goldman Sachs. The question was raised about excluding TxDOT from voting due to their being "tainted" with authoring a controversial memo which was published falsely attributed as an analysis by investment firm Goldman Sach. GS denied the memo and investigative reporter Brett Shipps discovered that the memo origniated in the Dallas District of TxDOT. NTTA presented numerous reports from bonding companies refuting the assertions in the memo that NTTA would be bankrupted if they won the SH121 bid.

FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ISSUES

SH 121 - Funding:

The $200 million, 17 mile, SH 121 project is in the process of being funded. The funding for this project represents a collaborative effort by the affected cities (Grapevine, Coppell, Lewisville, Carrollton and The Colony) and Denton County to provide monies to support this project. The local funding provides monies to leverage additional State and Federal funding (through coordination with the North Texas Council of Governments and TxDOT) to bring this project to reality much sooner than originally planned. The funding mechanism also makes use of the State Infrastructure Bank which was created by federal legislation in the early 1990's for use in helping local agencies advance critical projects and implement them sooner than expected. Through these innovative financing techniques, the combined efforts of Denton County, the affected Cities, TxDOT and use of the State Infrastructure Bank have moved this project ahead of schedule by at least 10 years.

Source

TX Dome - What is so bad about applying market valuation? (+)

Crossposted on DAILY KOS - TEXAS KOS and GRASSROOTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
What is so bad about the "apply market valuation" clause in SB 792?
Q. Does this clause give landowners a better price for land confiscated by eminent domain?A. No, in this bill, they are referring to market valuation for the ENTIRE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT rather than for getting an appraisal on the real estate before they pay the land owner. There are rules that apply to acquisition of land by eminent domain which will not be changed by this phrase in this bill.
Q. What is Market Valuation as used in HB 792?A. What they are referring to is HOW THEY VALUE the land years after it is acquired, how they VALUE the entire infrastructure throughout the life of the contract.
Q. Is it a common practice?
A. Applying Market Valuation to state highway projects is a new concept. Market Valuation is a private sector practice where an owner of an asset values that asset over time as the value of the real estate escalates. As demand for adjacent property rises, rental and usage fees rise to reflect what the private company would have to pay for that house or business or real estate on the day they lease it to a user. For example, a friend of mine rents a house she purchased for $20, 000.00 but which appraises on today's market for $45,000.00. Years ago she charged $150.00 a month for rent but today she charges $750.00 a month for a tenant to rent the house.
This is a common practice in the public sector because she used her personal funds or credit to acquire the property. She is not a public housing authority which uses public funds.
Q. Why is it a such "big deal" in this particular bill?
A. Until a few years ago, only public toll authorities were legally allowed to build toll roads in Texas. With changes in the law, we now allow private companies to partner with the state to build toll roads. We also have public toll authorities which build toll roads in Texas. Public and private toll companies are in competition for bids on lucrative projects. Public toll companies (like NTTA) have an advantage in the bidding process because they operate on different rules than private companies like Cintra. A private company is supposed to invest private investor capital into the project and the private investors, wherever they live in the world, get a return on their investment and they can spend or invest that money anywhere in the world in any kind of project they choose. A public authority uses taxpayers money as an agent of the people and the return or user fees goes back into the public coffers, not to private investors. The return must remain in the region for use on public works projects for the public good. READ MORE

Collin County Commissioner Prefer NTTA Bid for SH121

BY DANNY GALLAGHER, Staff writer for The Frisco Star
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 12:50 PM CDT)

When it comes to the North Texas Tollway Authority's new proposal for State Highway 121, several Collin County commissioners said they like what they see.

"I think it's a great proposal," said Precinct 3 Collin County Commissioner Joe Jaynes

. Read more

Tolling topic of Collin County Commissioners' workshop

By Penny Rathbun, staff writer for The Frisco Star
Friday, May 4, 2007 2:34 PM CDT)

The Collin County Commissioners Court held a work session Monday night in Frisco's City Hall...
Five people spoke to the Commissioners Court on the issue of tolling State Highway 121, including Frisco Mayor Mike Simpson, City Manager George Purefoy, and Frisco Mayor Pro Tem Maher Maso.

All of them were against the tolling, and Purefoy presented a detailed report on the flaws in the Texas Department of Transportation's plan for SH 121 His report shows that the toll will continue to escalate with a 45 percent higher rate for users without toll tags

. Read more

Spanish company picked for SH 121 toll contract

By Brandi Hart and Penny Rathbun, The Frisco Star
Friday, March 2, 2007 4:28 PM

Gov. Rick Perry announced Tuesday that Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, the Spanish company that is half of the partnership the state contract for the Trans-Texas Corridor, won the bid to build, operate, and maintain State Highway 121 toll lanes in Collin and Denton counties.

Perry joined officials from Collin and Denton counties on Tuesday to announce the award. On Wednesday, Texas Department of Transportation recommended that the Texas Transportation Commission grant conditional award of the CDA to Cintra - who partnered with Zachary Construction Company of San Antonio for the Trans-Texas Corridor contract - based upon the TxDOT staff review and scoring of the proposals.

Read more