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Toolkit Report

Contents

• Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Executive Summary
• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1 Background
  • 1.2 Training
  • 1.3 LPA Realty Oversight Literature Review
  • 1.4 FHWA Division Office Survey on Stewardship and Oversight of LPAs Realty Activities
• 2. LPA Toolkit Peer Exchange
• 3. Challenges
• 4. Solutions/Takeaways
• 5. Toolkit Recommendations
  • 5.1 Toolkit Content
  • 5.1.1 Existing resources
  • 5.1.2 Resources that would need to be created
  • 5.2 Toolkit Delivery Options
  • 5.3 Conclusion.
• Appendix A. LPA Training Wrap-Up
• Appendix B. LPA Peer Exchange Participants and Meeting Agenda
• Appendix C. Literature Review
• Appendix D. Index of Materials Provided by Peer Exchange Participants

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Executive Summary

Local Public Agencies (LPAs) own and operate the majority of the Nation's highway system. When a State Department of Transportation (DOT) elects to have an LPA administer all or part of a Federally-funded project, it is the State DOT's responsibility to ensure that the LPA complies with all applicable Federal laws and regulatory requirements.[1] Therefore, when LPAs receive Federal-Aid funding, they should begin working closely with their respective State DOT, which works with its respective Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Division Office, to meet all Federal-Aid requirements. Accordingly, FHWA is making a concerted effort to bring more visibility to the LPA program area to help LPAs and State DOTs avoid non-compliance and improve how the complex issues involved in Federal-Aid projects are managed through stewardship and oversight. FHWA's Office of Real Estate Services (HEPR) LPA research activities align with this effort and FHWA's August 14, 2014 Order outlining official internal policy and procedures relative to stewardship and oversight of LPA-administered Federal-aid projects.

In November 2014, HEPR sponsored a peer exchange that brought together approximately 30 subject matter experts from Federal, State, and Local government to discuss stewardship and oversight of LPAs' realty activities across the country. Conversations about challenges faced and solutions developed and implemented were at the core of the peer exchange. The event was a follow-up activity to a survey of the state of the practice in LPA realty stewardship and oversight that HEPR conducted earlier in the same year.

Now, HEPR is using the survey results and content of the peer exchange interactions as the foundation for an "LPA Stewardship and Oversight Toolkit" that is being developed. The envisioned Toolkit will be a clearinghouse of materials and resources that serves to strengthen the successful oversight of LPAs' realty programs. Preferred Toolkit content and methods for making the Toolkit available as considered at the peer exchange are described in this report.

Select highlights of suggested LPA Toolkit content include:

• County managers and local city official handouts. Peer exchange participants agreed it would be useful to have materials emphasizing the importance of the Uniform Act and its requirements that can be provided to local politicians and high-level administrators. The group suggested that the format might be a letter, brochure, or presentation for a city council or county administration meeting.
• Georgia DOT's detailed cost estimate tool. This electronic tool allows Georgia's LPAs to enter project-specific figures in order to calculate detailed cost estimates. GDOT also provides local agencies that receive Federal funds a CD containing checklists and a series of template letters that the LPAs can use in the implementation of the various right of way program phases.
• Washington State DOT's (WSDOT) sufficient property rights flowchart. WSDOT has created a flowchart to assist local agencies navigate regulatory permits associated with the realty process. A team of state, federal, local and private representatives collaborated to develop the flowchart, which was incorporated into WSDOT's Local Agency Guidelines Manual.
• HEPR Training Video Modules. HEPR has video recorded an abbreviated version of the course "Federal-Aid Right of Way Requirements for Local Public Agencies." The introductory course focuses on applying the Uniform Act and other Federal regulations. The videos are divided into six sessions ranging from 25 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes in length.

[1] 23 CFR 710.201(h)