Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/12/2008 - STAFF REPORTS - 2.J. QpLM Sa ;0 4� c u � CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT March 12, 2008 CONSENT CALENDAR Subject: MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, THE AGUA CALIENTE BAND OF CAHUILLA INDIANS, AND THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS REGARDING THE INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS PROGRAM From: David H. Ready, City Manager Initiated by: Public Works and Engineering Department SUMMARY The Indian Reservation Roads Program addresses transportation needs of tribes by providing funds for planning, designing, construction, and maintenance activities. The program is jointly administered by the Federal Highway Administration's Federal Lands Highway Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in accordance with an interagency agreement. Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (Tribe), and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), is the first step to identifying Indian Reservation Roads in the City and ensuring the Tribe receives its allocation of federal funding that may be used for construction and maintenance of streets in Palm Springs. RECOMMENDATION: 1) Approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Palm Springs, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs regarding the Indian Reservation Roads Program. 2) Authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents. STAFF ANALYSIS: The Office of Federal Lands Highway (FLH) works with numerous agencies. Approximately 30 percent of the land in the United States is under jurisdiction of the Federal government. The federal land management agencies (FLMAs) are: the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service (NPS), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (MSDDC), U.S. Army, U.S. Army Corps of ITEM NO. 7. - City Council Staff Report 101 March 12, 2008- Page 2 City/Tribal/BIA IRR Program MOU Engineers (USACOE), U.S. Navy, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR). The FLH also works closely with many State and Territorial partners. The Federal Lands Highway Program (FLHP) is subdivided into five core areas, namely, the Forest Highway (FH) Program, Park Roads and Parkways (PRP) Program, Public Lands Highway Discretionary (PLHD) Program, Indian Reservations Roads (IRR) Program, and the Refuge Roads (RR) Program. The FLHP is administered through partnerships and interagency agreements between FHWA's Office of Federal Lands Highway and FLMAs and Tribal customers. The FLHP also supports other important FLMA partners by providing funding (about $6 million per year total) for integrated transportation planning, bridge inspections and other technical assistance activities. The FLHP was created with the 1982 Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA). The primary purpose of the FLHP is to provide funding for a coordinated program of public roads that serve the transportation needs of the Federal lands which are not a State or local government responsibility. The Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) Program addresses transportation needs of tribes by providing funds for planning, designing, construction, and maintenance activities. The program is jointly administered by the Federal Highway Administration's Federal Lands Highway Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in accordance with an interagency agreement. The Indian Reservation Roads are public roads which provide access to and within Indian reservations, Indian trust land, restricted Indian land, and Alaska native villages. Approximately 25,000 miles are under the jurisdiction of BIA and tribes and another 24,000 are under State and local ownership. IRR funds can be used for any type Title 23 transportation project providing access to or within Federal or Indian lands and may be used for the State/local matching share for apportioned Federal-aid Highway Funds. The Fiscal Year 2008 allocation for the IRR Program is $410 Million, increasing to $450 Million for Fiscal Year 2009. These funds are allocated to the different Indian Reservations based on an individual Indian Reservation Roads Program for each Tribe, outlining all of the public roads that provide access to and within the Tribal Reservation. The Tribe has provided the City with a standard MOU that will facilitate the Tribe's IRR Program for public roads within the City of Palm Springs that would be eligible for funding under the IRR Program. Approval of the MOU is the first step in identifying for the federal government all of the public roads within Palm Springs that facilitate access to and within the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians' Reservation, opening up the Tribe to receipt of federal funds under the IRR Program, which may be passed to the City for use through future cooperative agreements for specific projects. 000032 City Council Staff Report March 12, 2008 - Page 3 City/Tribal/BIA IRR Program MOU FISCAL IMPACT: Approval of the MOU will allow the City to indirectly receive an unknown amount of federal funds from the IRR Program from the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Submitted: David J. Barakian Thomas J. Wil Director of Public Works/City Engineer Assistant City anager David H. Ready, City ATTACHMENTS: 1. Memorandum of Understanding APPROVEDAS TO PORE; BY.