Title
Metropolitan Planning Program Grant Municipal Agreement
Action
Action:
A. Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute a municipal agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to support transit planning activities for the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization,
B. Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, to execute interlocal agreements with Iredell County Area Transportation System, Union County Transportation System, and Mecklenburg County Transportation System to support transit planning activities for the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, and
C. Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager, or his designee, to execute Interlocal Agreements with Centralina Regional Council, the Town of Cornelius, the Town of Huntersville, and the City of Statesville to support transportation planning projects.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
David Hittle, Planning, Design, and Development
Robert Cook, Planning, Design, and Development
Temekia Dae, Planning, Design, and Development
Explanation
§ The CRTPO is the federally designated metropolitan planning organization for the Charlotte urbanized area. It provides long-range transportation planning services to Mecklenburg, Union, and Iredell counties.
§ The city is CRTPO’s lead planning agency, and its staff is housed in the Planning, Design, and Development department.
Actions A and B
§ The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded the Fiscal Year 2027 Metropolitan Planning Grant to the City of Charlotte in July 2026.
§ The city receives the grant annually as the lead planning agency for the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) and as the major fixed-route transit operator for the urban area.
§ The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) requires grant recipients to enter into a new municipal agreement to receive the annual allocation.
§ The city is responsible for the deliverables outlined in this grant, including:
- The federally compliant travel demand model required for transportation planning and air quality conformity, and
- Updating the Transit Element of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan, developing transit travel demand forecasts, conducting ridership surveys, and monitoring and updating the Transportation Improvement Program, as necessary, to advance projects and ensure compliance with federal regulations.
§ A portion of the FY 2027 grant funding was sub-allocated for local projects to Iredell County Area Transit System, Union County Transportation, and Mecklenburg County Transportation System.
- Iredell County Area Transportation System will receive up to $110,441 for transit planning activities, including public transportation, data and planning support, public transportation, and statewide and supplemental regional planning.
- Union County Transportation will receive up to $177,380 for transit planning activities, including data planning support, public participation, and statewide and supplemental regional planning.
- Mecklenburg Transportation System will receive up to $74,250 for transit planning activities.
- A local match of $135,061 will be shared by the City of Charlotte ($94,831), Iredell County Area Transit System ($12,271), Mecklenburg Transportation System ($8,250), and Union County Transportation ($19,709).
Action C
§ Surface Transportation Block Grant-Direct Attributable (STBG-DA) are federal funds used to support CRTPO’s transportation planning activities.
§ The CRTPO suballocates some of its federal STBG-DA funds to its member jurisdictions to carry out local transportation planning activities:
- The Centralina Regional Council will receive up to $56,200 for Best Practices using the Metrolina CommunityViz Model;
- The Town of Cornelius will receive up to $64,000 for the Cornelius Bailey Road/NC 115 Intersection Study;
- The Town of Huntersville will receive up to $320,000 for the Huntersville Downtown Transportation Plan and the Seam Trail Phase 2 Study; and
- The City of Statesville will receive up to $176,000 for the Statesville Micro Transit Feasibility Study.
§ The required 20 percent match of federal funds is provided by the sponsoring jurisdictions. The local match for local transportation planning activities will be shared by all jurisdictions in the Centralina Regional Council ($11,240).
Fiscal Note
Funding: NCDOT Funding and General Grants Fund
Attachments
Attachment(s)
Resolution - Action A
Resolution - Action B
Resolution - Action C