IN THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI
Title
A RESOLUTION authorizing and expressing support for the Rock Island Rail Corridor Authority’s grant application to the Department of Transportation’s BUILD Program for construction of the Greenwood Connector.
Intro
RESOLUTION NO. 19921, July 16, 2018
INTRODUCED BY Theresa Galvin, County Legislator
Body
WHEREAS, the County has issued $51,950,000 in bonded indebtedness to purchase and develop the Rock Island Rail Corridor into a bicycle and pedestrian shared use path that would eventually connect to the KATY Trail and to preserve the Corridor for future multi-modal transit; and,
WHEREAS, in 2014 the County was awarded $10,000,000.00 in Federal Surface Transportation Program grant funds in 2014 for construction of the Rock Island Rail Corridor Shared Use Path Project; and,
WHEREAS, the Rock Island Rail Corridor Shared Use Path Project is currently under construction to its southern terminus near the intersections of Scherer Road and Jefferson Street in southern Lee’s Summit; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Pleasant Hill has built and is building trails (the “MOPAC” trail) to the north from the Missouri State Parks “Rock Island Spur of the Katy Trail”; and,
WHEREAS, there remains an eight-mile gap between the southern terminus of the Rock Island Rail Corridor and the KATY Trail system, passing through Lee’s Summit and Greenwood, both Jackson County municipalities; and,
WHEREAS, the construction of the Greenwood Connector is vital to the goals of the Rock Island Shared Use Path, and to the many Jackson County communities that will benefit from being connected to the KATY trail; and,
WHEREAS, the County led a multi-jurisdictional effort over several months to develop a Greenwood Connector strategy, including Jackson County, the City of Greenwood, the City of Pleasant Hill, the City of Lee’s Summit, the City of Kansas City, the Missouri Department of Transportation, and the Missouri Department of Conservation; and,
WHEREAS, the aforesaid stakeholders and public meeting attendees support the most direct connection between the Jackson County Rock Island shared use path and the Pleasant Hill MOPAC trail; and,
WHEREAS, the aforesaid stakeholders and public meeting attendees support separated facilities that accommodate both bicyclists and pedestrians; and,
WHEREAS, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy recently awarded Jackson County a $25,000.00 grant to purchase right-of-way at the end of the Rock Island Corridor for the Greenwood Connector Project; and,
WHEREAS, on March 19, 2018, this Legislature adopted Resolution 19783 on to support the Greenwood Connector Project and to examine future grant opportunities to fund the project; and,
WHEREAS, the Rock Island Rail Corridor Authority wishes to pursue a BUILD Program grant in the sum of $12,000,000 through the Department of Transportation to fund the entirety of the Greenwood Connector project to be obligated by fiscal year 2020 and requiring no local match; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the County Legislature of Jackson County, Missouri, that the Legislature supports the completion of the Greenwood Connector project and authorizes the submission of a grant application to the Department of Transportation’s BUILD Program for the implementation of the Greenwood Connector Project.
Enacted and Approved
Effective Date: This resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage by a majority of the Legislature.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Chief Deputy County Counselor County Counselor
I hereby certify that the attached resolution, Resolution No.19921, of July 16, 2018 was duly passed on July 16, 2018 by the Jackson County Legislature. The votes thereon were as follows:
Yeas_________8___________ Nays________0_________
Abstaining ________0_________ Absent _______1__________
____________________ _______________________________
Date Mary Jo Spino, Clerk of the Legislature