Chairman Rodriguez asked the board on Oct. 30 to direct the TPO executive director to work with the Fiscal Priorities Committee to convene a meeting and prepare a report on the cost and funding-framework scenarios for the SMART program. Members spoke in favor of examining costs and funding, but several asked that committee deliberations be shared with the full Governing Board.

Commissioner Peters said she supported the effort but emphasized transparency: “I don't want the bad habit ... that only a couple of people are gonna be [involved],” and asked that the board receive the report and that meetings not be limited to a subset of members. Other members reiterated the need for committee collaboration with the county or municipalities and for written reporting back to the full board.

After discussion, a motion to defer the work to the next TPO meeting was made and seconded; the board voted to defer. Members asked that when the Fiscal Priorities Committee meets it produce a written report outlining costs, funding scenarios, and project status so the full board can review the analysis before any substantive policy action.

Why it matters: The SMART program is a multimodal planning initiative with major cost and funding implications. A committee report would synthesize estimated build costs and possible funding pathways; the board’s decision to defer reflects a desire for broader review and shared information before advancing policy or program commitments.

Next steps: The board directed the executive director to coordinate the committee meeting and to present the committee’s findings to the full Governing Board at a future meeting.