SLIDE 11 Albuquerque’s FTA Funding Process Is Far From Completed
DESCRIPTION OF POST-FUNDING RECOMMENDATION PROCESS FOR RECEIPT OF SMALL STARTS CONSTRUCTION FUNDING President Obama’s recommendation of the City of Albuquerque as a recipient
- f Small Starts funding is just the first step in an evaluative process
necessary for the City to actually receive the federal funds necessary to construct ART. The City’s ART proposal is still subject to another phase of evaluation and rating by the FTA before the FTA will sign a construction grant agreement with the City. Specifically, the FTA will re-evaluate and rate ART
- n project justification and local financial commitment criteria, which includes
a review of the project definition, scope, cost, and schedule. ART must receive an overall rating of at least “Medium” to qualify for the federal funds. FTA also reviews the City’s Project Management Plan and sub plans to ensure that ART, as proposed, has the capacity and capability to carry out the project. The FTA also reserves the right to “undertake[] other appropriate
Even if the City successfully completes this reevaluation phase, the entire ART package of information is still subject to the review and approval of FTA executive leadership, USDOT leadership, and others within the Administration. If ART passes these two phases of evaluation, federal law then requires that the unsigned construction grant agreement be sent for a 10-day congressional notification period. Only after this third and final phase is completed may the construction grant agreement be executed. The factors for which the FTA must reevaluate ART include Project Justification, which includes consideration of land use, cost effectiveness, mobility, congestion relief, environmental benefits, economic development, and Financial Commitment, which includes consideration of current financial condition, commitment of funds, and reliability/capacity. These factors are set forth in more detail in Appendix A.
