1999-118 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

representatives) was close to the unincorporated proportion of the total County population. Another advantage of this alternative was that the smaller municipalities, with the exception of the Town of Orchid, had direct representation on the MPO Board. Each of the other options considered resulted in inadequate representation on the MPO Board for the smaller municipalities. While the seven member option would have included the three smallest municipalities (Town of Indian River Shores, City of Fellsmere, and Town of Orchid) with unincorporated residents and provide them representation through County Commission representatives, eight and nine member alternatives would have assigned a shared representative for the three smallest municipalities. Because of the dissimilarities among these municipalities, it was determined that a shared representative approach would not be feasible. After careful consideration, it was determined that all municipalities except Orchid should have voting representation on the MPO Board. When the initial MPO apportionment plan was developed in 1993, an important consideration was whether the IRCSD could be represented as a voting member of the MPO Policy Board. Although representatives of the general purpose local governments within the MPO area agreed that the IRCSD should have voting representation on the MPO Board, FDOT disagreed. According to FDOT, Chapter 339, F.S. specifically listed criteria for MPO membership and that criteria would not allow a school board to have voting representation on an MPO Board. 1993 Apportionment Plan Table 3 depicts the MPO Policy Board structure established by the 1993 Indian River County MPO apportionment plan. As indicated in that table, the MPO Policy Board had nine voting members. These included four County Commissioners, two Vero Beach City Councilmen, one Sebastian City Councilman, one Fellsmere City Councilman, and one Indian River Shores Town Councilman. The MPO Board also included as nonvoting members one representative of the Town of Orchid and one representative of the IRCSD. As structured, the MPO Board had direct representation from five of the six general purpose local governments within the MPO area. Only the Town of Orchid, which had a 1990 population of 10, did not have direct representation on the MPO Board. 1999 Apportionment Plan Analysis Since 1993, FDOT's position regarding school board voting representation on MPO Policy Boards has changed. For example, FDOT, in addressing initiatives by the Broward MPO to add a school board member to its MPO Policy Board, has interpreted Chapter 339, F.S. to allow school board representatives to serve as voting members of MPO Boards. This is based on Chapter 339's provision that representatives of agencies operating major modes of transportation may have voting representation on MPO Boards, and a recognition that school boards are agencies operating a major mode of transportation. As written, Chapter 339.175(2)a, F.S., states that an MPO "may include, as part of its apportioned voting members, an ... official of an agency that operates or administers a major mode of transportation." In Indian River County, the Indian River County School District (IRCSD) provides a greater number of trips over a greater number of miles with a larger fleet than any other transportation provider, including the County's public transportation provider. Unlike the County, 3