STAFF:

MICHAEL W. BEHRENS, P.E., Executive Director
STEVE SIMMONS, Deputy Executive Director
RICHARD MONROE, General Counsel
DEE HERNANDEZ, Chief Minute Clerk

PROCEEDINGS

MR. WILLIAMSON: Good morning. It is 11:04 a.m. and I call the May 4, 2005, meeting of the Texas Transportation Commission to order. Please note for the record that public notice of this meeting, containing the item on the agenda, was filed with the Office of Secretary of State at 4:06 p.m. on April 26, 2005.

Let me remind everyone that if you wish to address the Commission on today's agenda item, please complete a yellow speaker's card that you may locate at the registration table out in the lobby. Also, we won't go through an elaborate procedure, but if you would take a moment to turn off your pager and cell phone or put them on silent mode, so that we won't be disrupted by that irritant.

Mike?

MR. BEHRENS: Thank you, Chairman. We have one agenda item for this meeting this morning, and that will be concerning the issuance of bonds through our Texas Mobility Fund program. I will ask James Bass to come forward and present.

Oh, John Munoz, I am sorry. John?

MR. MUNOZ: For the record, my name is John Munoz. I am the deputy director of the Finance Division. This minute order authorizes the establishment of the Texas Mobility Fund financing program through the readoption of the Master Resolution, Supplemental Resolutions and other documents governing and relating to the issuance of obligations for authorized purposes of the Texas Mobility Fund.

This minute order re-approves those documents and authorizes the Department to execute necessary ancillary documents and take necessary steps to effect implementation of the Texas Mobility Fund revenue financing program, including authorization to execute and deliver obligations for authorized purposes of the Texas Mobility Fund. This minute order also authorizes the filing of an application with the Bond Review Board to approve the issuance of Texas Mobility Fund bonds and other obligations in an amount not to exceed $4 million.

Staff recommends your approval. And I will be glad to answer any questions you may have.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Members, you have heard the information presented. Do we have questions for John?

MR. HOUGHTON: This restores the construction projects that were previously delayed?

MR. WILLIAMSON: Amadeo?

MR. SAENZ: Good morning, Commissioners. For the record, I'm Amadeo Saenz, assistant executive director for Engineering Operations. This action that you take today and then of course, the action that will happen tomorrow by the Bond Review Board, if we are able to go out and issue the bonds, then we will be able to go back and catch up the project.

So our plan probably will be that we delayed projects in April, and we delayed projects in May. In June, we may be able to catch up with the portion of the April projects, or all of the April projects. That maybe in July we'll be able to include also the May projects that were delayed. And of course, August, we'll have a normal letting.

MR. WILLIAMSON: So the answer to the question is, all the projects will be restored. But inevitably when you delay your project letting by 60 or 90 days, you delay your project beginning and your project conclusion. MR. SAENZ: Yes, sir.

MR. WILLIAMSON: So we'll be 60 to 90 days behind where we would have been otherwise, but with the same number of projects that we anticipated over the next however many years this lasts.

MR. SAENZ: Yes, sir.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Does that answer your question, Ted?

MR. HOUGHTON: That answers my question.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Any more for Amadeo, Ted?

MR. HOUGHTON: No.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Hope? A question for Amadeo? (No response.)

MR. WILLIAMSON: Questions for any member of the staff or John?

(No response.)

MR. WILLIAMSON: Comments?

MR. HOUGHTON: What was the original bond authorization that we are now amending? What was the amount of it?

MR. MUNOZ: The amount was an amount not to exceed $1 billion.

MR. HOUGHTON: And now it is $4 million?

MR. MUNOZ: $4 billion.

MR. HOUGHTON: $4 billion.

MR. MUNOZ: Yes.

MR. HOUGHTON: That last, the previous was $1 billion?

MR. MUNOZ: Yes, sir.

MR. HOUGHTON: Thank you.

MR. WILLIAMSON: I am going to have a comment, but I am keeping it open. Any other comments? Any other questions?

MR. NICHOLS: Well, the comment that I was going to make was that -- it was not just a question, it is just a comment -- is that if this is approved, which I certainly hope it is, by the Bond Review Board, that it will answer the vision that was seen by the Legislature and the Governor when they approved the Texas Mobility Fund four years ago, and funded it two years ago, in that it will be an incredible injection of infrastructure rapidly put to work throughout the state to help relieve congestion, which a lot of communities have worked and pushed for.

And by locking in 4 billion, or up to 4 billion, it sends a strong message out to the people of the state that the intention is to get the job done. It is very positive.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Amadeo, are you still here? If I may speak to him a moment.

If the Department moves forward with issuing the entire -- or asking the Bond Review Board to issue the entire 4 billion, and the entire 4 billion is issued, and if the Department allocates its unallocated Fund 6 cash and other sources of cash that might be available to it, and if the eight metro areas fully meet their local leverage projections as reflected in our strategic plan, over the next ten years approximately how many dollars total will be invested in capacity expansion in our state?

MR. SAENZ: Over the next ten years, we just -- for the record, I am Amadeo Saenz again. We just adopted last November, you all adopted or you all approved the Unified Transportation Program for 2005.

And that was the first program that incorporated the leverage effect of being able to use the new tools of 3588. We were able to use $6 billion of Fund 6 money, leverage it with an additional 4 or $5 billion of money coming in from other sources; mobility funds, tolls, to be able to let about $12 billion worth of projects over that ten-year period, and mobility projects only.

MR. WILLIAMSON: So this would be projects that mostly if not completely would expand capacity or improve throughput?

MR. SAENZ: Yes, sir.

MR. WILLIAMSON: And how much, how does that compare to the last ten years, would you estimate?

MR. SAENZ: Over the last ten years, we have been able to do about 5- to $6 billion over that ten-year period.

MR. WILLIAMSON: For capacity?

MR. SAENZ: Yes, sir.

MR. WILLIAMSON: So we are going to better than double in the next ten years what we have done in the last ten years?

MR. SAENZ: Yes, sir. And part of the program, the eight metro MPOs were still working on some of the, what I would call, the rollover effect. Of being able to now incorporate some of these projects and then take advantage of better numbers to determine how much more they could leverage from tolls that are generated from those projects.

I would expect that over that same ten-year period, those numbers are going to increase. We'll be able to see a lot of that, as we go through this year's cycle of the STP.

MR. WILLIAMSON: You brought up the matter of tolls. We have recently received a letter from one of the Bond Review Board members asking us to clarify our position on communities adopting toll projects to access the mobility fund.

We have responded to that letter, and it is a matter of record now. But just for the record of this meeting, did this Commission, or did any of its employees, ever tell a local official the only way that you can access mobility funds is to have a toll road?

MR. SAENZ: To my knowledge, sir, no.

MR. WILLIAMSON: It was always the past habit of the relationship between local government and state government was the more you generate locally, the more the State will be willing to invest in your local plan?

MR. SAENZ: Yes. And of course, the strategic plan that the Commission adopted for the use of the Mobility Fund put in their guiding principles that we wanted to be able to leverage that Mobility Fund through other sources of money, be it local money, be it through public transportation projects, or be it through tolling. Because that will allow you to bring in an additional funding source on future projects.

MR. WILLIAMSON: So just so we are clear to the citizens of, example, Cameron County, when this statewide official presumes that the strategic direction we took here somehow forced communities into doing things that they didn't want to do.

The citizens of Cameron County know that, for 20 years, they couldn't find the money at the local level to access any share of mobility funds or strategic priority funds until House Bill 3588 was passed. And the Mobility Fund strategic plan adopted -- for the first time put them on the same-level playing field as the more cash-wealthy communities in the State.

MR. SAENZ: That is correct.

MR. WILLIAMSON: And every community was given the opportunity to leverage their projects any way they chose, including the use of commuter rail proposals?

MR. SAENZ: That is included in our strategic plan and that was very well communicated to all the communities out there.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Thank you, Mr. Saenz.

Any other questions for Mr. Saenz, members?

MR. NICHOLS: Just for clarification on the record. When you use dollars referring to expansion money, as I understand it, the way we do the categories, it normally is strictly construction dollars?

MR. SAENZ: That is correct.

MR. NICHOLS: In addition to that, there are other dollars that are spent for expansion related to right of way acquisition and planning.

MR. SAENZ: Yes. We track those separate. We keep a percentage of it.

MR. NICHOLS: Somebody reading this record, I just want to make sure they understand that there are other dollars.

MR. SAENZ: Those are just construction dollars that I just mentioned. Yes, sir.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Okay. Members, you have heard the information, you have heard John's proposal.

John, did you say you had a recommendation? I missed that. Or did you make that recommendation?

MR. MUNOZ: Yes. The staff recommends your approval.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Oh, excuse me. We do have a witness. Hang on a second, John.

Ron Whitlock. Ron?

MR. WHITLOCK: Good morning, Chairman.

MR. WILLIAMSON: How are you?

MR. WHITLOCK: I am fine.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Good to see you.

MR. WHITLOCK: Ron Whitlock with Valley Newsline, which is on the worldwide web as a webcast, and also on KRGV television on a Sunday morning. We have visited with all of the Commission other than new Commissioners Andrade and Commissioner Houghton, Houghton from the Border and Andrade from San Antonio. Informationally, I will just tell you what we have had on our webcast and television program, so you have the information.

If you would like to review that information and then contact us for an interview, we are going to be talking to Chairman Williamson at the end of this meeting. And if you want to join us at that time, we'll be more than happy to do that or at a later time, if you would rather your staff look at the information.

The information is this. President Fox's Secretary of Foreign Affairs Derbez on the program two weeks ago, called the Valley the cornerstone of business between Mexico and Texas, the United States. He is very concerned about the Valley infrastructure being completed, especially realizing, as he admitted, that Mexico City seems to know very little about the Valley.

On our side, Austin and Washington, D.C., sometimes knows very little about the economic dynamics of South Texas and the Valley. So Secretary Derbez, Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst and Governor Perry were on that program talking about this issue.

Both the Lieutenant Governor and the Governor on the program were talking about desiring for the issue before you today to get taken care of and completed, which hopefully, it will occur on the part of some people. Some people want it one way; some do not.

Additionally, finally, the House Speaker from Tamaulipas, Amira Gricelda Gomez Tueme and the Secretary General Enrique Garza Tamez both commented that they see it as very important that I-69 and the infrastructure on this side, and the two bridges, Anzalduas and Progreso, be opened so the highway infrastructure to -- let this -- flow through can occur.

If I have any questions, or if you want to respond now to this, we are taping in an hour. Or if you want to join us with the Chairman later, we will tape you on whenever you want to do that. The question will be, does the Commission continue to see the Valley as important to get I-69 completed for the reasons that Mexico is seeing, and the Governor is continuing to push for.

And all of you has commented on that the Valley is critically important to get completed. It is obvious by the constructions going on along the highways in South Texas, even though it is the last remaining area without an interstate highway system completed. Thank you, Chairman.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Thank you, sir.

Now John, you had a recommendation?

MR. MUNOZ: Yes. Staff recommends your approval of this minute order.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Members, you heard the recommendation.

MR. NICHOLS: I so move.

MR. HOUGHTON: And I second.

MR. WILLIAMSON: I have a motion and a second. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye.

(Chorus of ayes.)

MR. WILLIAMSON: All opposed, no.

(No response.)

MR. WILLIAMSON: The motion carries.

MR. MUNOZ: Thank you.

MR. WILLIAMSON: Thank you. Thank you, members. And there being no other business to come before the Commission, I will entertain the most privileged motion.

MR. HOUGHTON: So moved.

MR. ANDRADE: Second.

MR. WILLIAMSON: I have a motion and a second. All those in favor of the motion to adjourn, will signify by saying aye.

(Chorus of ayes.)

MR. WILLIAMSON: All opposed, no.

(No response.)

MR. WILLIAMSON: The motion carries. Please note for the record that it is 11:20 a.m. and this meeting stands adjourned.

(Whereupon, the meeting was concluded.)

C E R T I F I C A T E

MEETING OF: Texas Transportation Commission

LOCATION: Austin, Texas

DATE: May 4, 2005

I do hereby certify that the foregoing pages, numbers 1 through 16 inclusive, are the true, accurate, and complete transcript prepared from the verbal recording made by electronic recording by Penny Bynum before the Texas Department of Transportation.

__________05/03/2005
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