The Executive Board approved additional PSRC funds to the projects on the contingency lists from the 2006 selection process.

An additional $29.4 million in federal Surface Transportation Program and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds became available in early 2008, in addition to $4.4 million from PSRC's project tracking program. PSRC will distribute $30.9 million of these funds to projects on the contingency lists from the last funding cycle and keeping $2.9 million in reserve due to potential future federal funding cuts. Projects recommended to receive contingency funds include: Pacific Highway South HOV Lanes in Federal Way, King County Bus Rapid Transit Implementation, and several local projects in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. View the projects online at psrc.org.

For more information, contact Karen Richter at 206-464-6343 or kricther@psrc.org.

The Executive Board approved the consulting contract for implementation of the Prosperity Partnership's Minority Economic Development Working Group's strategy.

The Minority Economic Development Working Group is strategizing ways to improve the business climate for minority owned businesses. Census data shows that the number of minority owned business is not proportional to the minority population. The strategy seeks to improve this by growing the capacity of minority small businesses to access credit and secure contracting opportunities. The focus is on small businesses because they have the most potential to improve job creation in the Puget Sound region.

For more information, contact Eric Schinfeld at 206-971-3053 or eschinfeld@psrc.org.

The Executive Board welcomed Barb Graff, Director of the Seattle Office of Emergency Management, and Steve Bailey, Director of the Department of Emergency Management for Pierce County, for a presentation on the resiliency of the Puget Sound region in the case of an emergency.

PSRC is examining its role in security and emergency management due to the new requirements in federal transportation law to address security in long-range transportation plans. Part of this effort has included reaching out to emergency management professionals in an effort to learn more about current regional emergency planning, associated gaps and the potential value PSRC could add.

For more information, contact Stephanie Rossi at 206-971-3054 or srossi@psrc.org.

The Executive Board enjoyed a presentation on new tools for analysis of alternatives in Transportation 2040, the update to the region's long-range transportation plan Destination 2030.

PSRC is developing an integrated modeling system to conduct analysis of alternatives for the environmental impact statement of Transportation 2040. The new tools are necessary to address the new policies set forth in VISION 2040, the new types of solutions being proposed (such as tolling, signalization, and other technologies), and new impacts to be measured such as greenhouse gas emissions and cost benefits of projects. New tools include UrbanSim for land use forecasts, activity-based travel forecasts, EPA Moves for air quality and climate change, a Geodatabase for tracking the transportation system and a new benefit cost analysis.

For more information, contact Maren Outwater at 206-971-3274, moutwater@psrc.org.

In other business, the Executive Board: