# [Bonneville Case Study]{.underline}

+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **1990 Census   | 56,356                | ![](media/image1.wmf){wid |
| Population**    |                       | th="2.2944444444444443in" |
|                 |                       | heig                      |
|                 |                       | ht="3.178472222222222in"} |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **Central       | Idaho Falls, Idaho    |                           |
| City**          |                       |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **Air Quality   | Ozone: attainment     |                           |
| Status (1990)** |                       |                           |
|                 | CO: attainment        |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | PM-10: attainment     |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **Governor      | March 19, 1992        |                           |
| Designation     |                       |                           |
| Date**          |                       |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **Voting Policy | Mayor of Idaho Falls  |                           |
| Board Members** |                       |                           |
|                 | Mayor of Ammon        |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | Mayor of Iona         |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | Three Idaho Falls     |                           |
|                 | City Council members  |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | Bonneville County     |                           |
|                 | Commissioner          |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | Idaho Transportation  |                           |
|                 | Department (ITD)      |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | Targhee Regional      |                           |
|                 | Public Transportation |                           |
|                 | Authority             |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
|                 |                       |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
|                 |                       |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
|                 |                       |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **Non Voting    | ITD (until 1994)      |                           |
| Policy Board    |                       |                           |
| Members**       |                       |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| ### PL and 5303 | \$79,283 (federal     |                           |
|  Funding (Year  | funds only)           |                           |
| of Designation) |                       |                           |
|                 | FY 92 was only a      |                           |
|                 | partial year          |                           |
|                 | (March-September)     |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **Initial Staff | Two (one part time)   |                           |
| Size**          |                       |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **Initial Staff | City of Idaho Falls   |                           |
| Location**      | offices               |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **Modeling      | BMPO                  |                           |
| R               |                       |                           |
| esponsibility** |                       |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **GIS           | BMPO                  |                           |
| R               |                       |                           |
| esponsibility** |                       |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **AQ Conformity | N/A                   |                           |
| R               |                       |                           |
| esponsibility** |                       |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+
| **Contacts**    | Darrell West, MPO     |                           |
|                 | Director\             |                           |
|                 | Alex Siqueiros, MPO   |                           |
|                 | Secretary             |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | \(208\) 528-5530      |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | Steve Anderson, Idaho |                           |
|                 | Falls                 |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | \(208\) 529-1276      |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | Ron Kerr, ITD\        |                           |
|                 | Ro                    |                           |
|                 | nKerr@itd.state.id.us |                           |
|                 |                       |                           |
|                 | \(208\) 334-8272      |                           |
+-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------+

The Bonneville MPO covers a portion of Bonneville County including the
cities of Idaho Falls, Ammon and Iona, as well as a portion of the
unincorporated area of the county. It was formed in 1992 after being
designated an urbanized area by the 1990 Census. The 1990 population of
the Bonneville MPO was 56,356. As of the 2000 Census the population of
the MPO had grown to 66,973.

# Steps Leading to MPO Designation

There had been several discussions between ITD and a local planning
official in 1990 speculating that growth in the Idaho Falls area over
the past decade would result in its designation as an urbanized area.
After being notified that Idaho Falls would be designated an urbanized
area, ITD staff contacted officials with the City of Idaho Falls and
other local governments. This initial contact took place in November
1991. In December, an interim work plan was developed to provide funding
to the nascent MPO for start-up costs. This work plan provided \$10,000
(in federal and local funds) to cover the period from January to April
1992. The work plan specified four areas in which the money would be
spent---administrative functions, committee support, public
transportation planning, and MPO liaison---and in what amounts.

In January 1992, a joint meeting was held between FHWA (a transportation
planner from the Idaho Division and another from the former Region 10
office in Portland, Oregon), FTA, ITD, and most of the elected officials
and planning staffs from the local governments in the urbanized area.
Issues covered at the meeting included an explanation of the Intermodal
Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA), MPO requirements, and
how to develop a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Following
this meeting, additional meetings and communications between ITD and
local staff resulted in a determination of policy board membership,
creation of the TAC, definition of planning boundaries, and drafting of
articles of association, fiscal agreements and bylaws. The articles
included the name of the new entity, its powers, the organizational
structure of the policy board, TAC, and CAC, and the allocation of
operational costs.

# In early March 1992, ITD forwarded a package of materials to the Governor. This package included the articles of association, the MPO boundary map, a letter explaining the reason for the MPO's creation, and a suggested letter to designate the MPO for the Governor's signature. With minor changes to the letter, the Governor officially designated the Bonneville MPO on March 19, 1992---roughly four months after the initial contact between ITD and local officials.

# 

# MPO Committees

The Bonneville MPO has had two standing subcommittees during its history
in addition to the policy board.

The nine current members of the MPO's policy board are:

-   Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) District 6

-   City of Idaho Falls Mayor

-   Three City of Idaho Falls Council Members

-   City of Ammon Mayor

-   City of Iona Mayor

-   Bonneville County Commissioner

-   Targhee Regional Public Transportation Authority (TRPTA)

ITD and the public transportation authority were not voting members of
the policy board initially. ITD District 6 had been an ex-officio member
of the board until 1994 when it was added as a full voting member. A
non-profit transportation provider was added as the ninth member in
1994. In 1998, the Targhee Regional Public Transportation Authority was
formed and replaced the non-profit as a member of the MPO's policy
board. The Bonneville MPO deals only with transportation.

The MPO originally had two standing committees---the Technical Advisory
Committee (TAC) and the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC). The TAC's
regular membership consists of 15 members (11 from organizations
represented on the policy board, two from private transportation
providers, one from the Economic Development Organization, and one from
MPO staff). The CAC's membership was drawn from a similar assortment of
organizations, with two school districts and five activist groups also
included. However, BMPO no longer has a standing citizen's committee.
Advisory committees are now formed for specific projects or tasks.

# ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

# Policy Board Structure

After the designation of Idaho Falls as an urbanized area, the
stakeholders responsible for organizing the MPO relied heavily on the
MOUs guiding the makeup and activities of the state's two other
MPOs---Boise and Pocatello. Population was one of the factors used to
determine policy board membership. Over 80% of the urbanized area in the
Bonneville MPO fell within the City of Idaho Falls. Because of this
concentration of MPO population within one municipality, a policy board
having one representative of the chief elected official from each of the
three cities was perceived as being unrepresentative. In order to
achieve consensus, Idaho Falls was given three more seats to be held by
city council members. One problem with structuring the policy board in
this fashion was that Idaho Falls had a majority of the votes on the
policy board and planning decisions could therefore be "veto-proof" if
all of the city's representatives voted the same way. MPO staff
described the situation as one where they had to constantly battle the
perception that Idaho Falls was benefiting more from the MPO than the
other cities. This situation was addressed two years after formation
when the by-laws were amended to make ITD a voting member and to add the
public transit provider. Targhee Regional Public Transportation
Authority was created after the county passed a ballot initiative in
1998. The authority, which previously had been a non-profit entity using
the City of Idaho Falls as its designated FTA grant recipient, now has
its own governing board.

# 

# Funding

In the initial organizational meetings, the parties to the agreement
determined that funding for operational costs would be raised through
assessments to the member local governments. The policy board would
determine the budget annually and the assessments would then be levied
on the local governments based on population. The ITD official described
the hesitation that the smallest municipality initially exhibited with
regard to MPO membership. ITD explained to them that, as part of the
urbanized area, they would no longer be receiving funds from ITD's Urban
or Rural Surface Transportation Programs (STP). Without a seat on the
MPO policy board, they would also have no voice when it came to
decisions about the STP funds that would be spent in the region. This
interest in having a seat at the table when spending decisions were
made, coupled with the fact that the population-based formula for
setting assessments meant that their contribution would be fairly
minimal, resulted in more confidence on the part of the smallest town on
the MPO's policy board.

In 1992, the first year of the MPO, PL and section 5303 funds (Section 8
funds at the time) amounted to almost \$80,000. With local and state
funds added, the overall budget of the MPO in the first year was roughly
\$91,000. Since this was a partial fiscal year (March through
September), not all funds were expended. This grew to \$135,000 in year
two (\$102,000 of which were federal funds). About two-thirds of these
funds were used to pay the salaries of staff. The MPO's initial staff
person was a planner who had worked with an MPO in Ocala, Florida. At
the time of formation, he was working for the city of Idaho Falls and
was shifted into the MPO. According to the state, one of his most
important functions was that of being a change agent. His experience in
Ocala put him in a position to explain the role of an MPO to policy
board members and the public. The second employee was hired part-time to
perform clerical duties. A technical assistant was hired after the first
year.

# Administrative and Technical Support

Another challenge that the MPO has been presented with is the
relationship with the City of Idaho Falls. As mentioned above, the City
initially had a majority of votes on the policy board, and as the
largest municipality in the county, had traditionally been the largest
local planner of transportation infrastructure. This dominance at the
local level by Idaho Falls has made the current office location for the
MPO---it is housed within the city's offices---a challenging one in
which to maintain independence. MPO employees are city employees
contracted to do work for the MPO. This method for handling fiduciary
needs of the MPO was selected because it facilitated the provision of
benefits to MPO employees. MPO staff cited the lack of money available
to a start-up MPO and the reimbursable nature of program funds as the
rationale for becoming a subdivision of city government.

There was agreement among all of the respondents as to the quality of
federal support. The MPO staff, city, and state officials agreed that
FHWA had been an excellent resource and had provided needed support.
After the initial designation of Idaho Falls as an urbanized area, FHWA
staff from the Idaho division office visited the Idaho Falls area
occasionally to discuss with MPO staff, local officials and the
community what their responsibilities were in setting up and maintaining
an MPO. In the opinion of ITD staff, the timing of the Bonneville MPO's
formation was very fortuitous as it coincided with ISTEA and its more
prescribed definition of an MPO's responsibilities. Although the
relative isolation of Idaho Falls (five hours drive from Boise, the
location of the FHWA Idaho office) has inhibited FHWA's ability to
provide a consistent physical presence with the Bonneville MPO, they
still provide support in other ways. The MPO's Director is in frequent
contact with the traffic engineer at FHWA's Idaho division office and
considers FHWA staff as being very helpful with questions. The Director
also cited informational documents provided by the federal agencies,
particularly those on financial programming, as being very helpful. In
addition, FHWA and FTA hold an annual joint meeting with the Bonneville
MPO to evaluate how the process is working and to provide an update on
new regulations at the federal level. Although one member of the MPO's
staff did suggest that any additional help the federal agencies could
have provided would have helped as they were initially improvising, a
City of Idaho Falls official involved in the MPO's formation believes
that there was not much more that FHWA could have done.

# 

Both MPO staff and the City of Idaho Falls voiced support for the
state's role in creating the MPO. At the beginning of the process, the
city had many questions regarding funding and officials from ITD did a
good job of answering them. The ITD official most involved with
assisting local officials in MPO formation believes his personal
experience in the creation of the Pocatello MPO in the 1980s was
important. This official believes that the cooperation between the state
and the MPO has been very good, citing the feedback ITD received at the
most recent Intermodal Working Group meeting. This group consists of the
state's MPOs, all ITD districts, and local governments and it meets
every three to four months. At the last meeting of the group, one theme
that emerged was the strength of the relationship between MPOs and ITD.

# 

# MPO Products

Although the restructuring of the policy board helped to ensure a more
balanced MPO process, there were still significant challenges facing the
Bonneville MPO in the first years. According to the City of Idaho Falls,
it was a very difficult transition from the previous system in which the
city was the recipient of transportation funding, to the current MPO
framework where all member governments have access to these funds. Part
of the difficulty of this transition was due simply to the city's
resistance to what was perceived to be an additional layer in the
process (although many of the MPO's responsibilities had previously been
the state's).

Staff at ITD believes that housing a small MPO in city offices provides
the administrative infrastructure (office space, payroll, equipment,
etc.) that the MPO needs to get up and running. However, it might lead
to problems in the independent planning of programming documents since
"they are members of the policy board but they are also your boss." The
early years of the MPO were a learning process for all stakeholders, as
MPO members and ITD adjusted to coordinating the planning and
programming of projects through the MPO's TIP. According to MPO staff
these problems have subsided over the last couple of years.

Although some challenges that the City of Idaho Falls and the MPO have
had to overcome have been mentioned above, both entities emphasized that
their evolving working relationship has more areas of agreement than
not. Although the Bonneville MPO has no impact on land use decisions in
the region, the city brings all large development projects to the MPO so
that an analysis of transportation impacts can occur. City officials
consider the technical support that they provide the MPO to be a
priority. This is to a certain degree out of necessity, as the city is
frequently coming to the MPO with requests. In general, the relationship
between Idaho Falls and the other cities has also moved from one of
apprehension to collaboration. This healthy working relationship is
viewed as resulting from the scientific process used to select most MPO
projects. TRPTA's relationship with the MPO has also been smooth,
although MPO staff note that the transit agency is very new and is still
developing its technical expertise with regard to funding issues.

Note: Four individuals involved in the early years of the Bonneville MPO
were contacted for this study. These individuals were an official from
ITD, both members of MPO staff, and an official with the City of Idaho
Falls.

![](media/image2.wmf){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.631944444444445in"}

Map created by Planners Collaborative, Inc.