OACES Newsletter for June 25, 2024 | |
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Upcoming OACES Meetings:
- Virtual Meeting - June 27
- Virtual Meeting - Sept. 26
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Joint Committee on Transportation Listening Tour | |
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The Joint Committee on Transportation (JCT) 2024 listening tour kicked off with stops in Portland, June 4, and Tillamook, June 18, in preparation for the consideration of a new transportation funding package during the 2025 legislative session. Each listening tour stop is expected to include roundtable discussions with local leaders, a site tour, and a public hearing.
The JCT will hold two listening tour meetings in July:
- Albany: July 16
- Eugene: July 17
The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) encourages our members to save the date for their area meeting and be prepared to participate on behalf of their county’s local road, bridge, and transportation needs and priorities.
County road project tours and roundtables: The 12-2 p.m. local operations, maintenance, and safety project tours are coordinated by ODOT Region Managers. If your county is a host location please contact your ODOT Region for more information and to coordinate tour stops to visit county projects or facilities that would convey county road needs to the legislature. AOC county members wanting to attend the 2:30-4:30 p.m. local roundtable should contact AOC Legislative Affairs Director Mallorie Roberts before the meeting.
The AOC County Road Program and the Oregon Association of County Engineers and Surveyors (OACES) will provide additional suggested talking points, statewide county road needs data, and individual county road priorities one-pagers, to help your county communicate its needs effectively with the legislature. ...[Read More]
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Save the Date: 2024 OACES Fall Conference Registration Opens Soon | |
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Please save the date for the annual OACES Fall Conference, which will be held at Mt Hood's Timberline Lodge, October 7 and 8.
More information, including how to register and reserve your room, as well as the conference agenda, will soon be available on our OACES Conference & Meeting page.
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2024 OACES Skills Demo to be Held at Jackson County Expo, Sept. 10-12 | |
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Mark your calendar for this year's OACES Skills Demo and Safety Conference, which will be held at the Jackson County Expo in Central Point, Sept. 10-12.
More details, including lodging information, an event schedule and a registration link will be available in July on the OACES Skills Demo and Safety Conference page.
Click here to view photos and learn more about last year's Skills Demo, including the final rankings for all events.
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IRIS 9: Beginning of New Fiscal Year Updates | |
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As we enter into summer, we are also approaching the end of the current fiscal year. With Fiscal Year 2025 set to begin, July 1, there are several maintenance tasks that you will need to perform in IRIS v9's Cost Accounting System to ensure that you are ready to begin posting time cards for the new fiscal year.
The four areas you will need to update are:
- Resource Classes
- Equipment Rates
- Employee Rates
- Budgets
To help you work through this annual task the IRIS team has created a tip sheet to walk you through the process. You can view and/or make a copy of the tip sheet here. If you run into any issues updating your information or have questions about the process, please please contact us at support@aociris.org.
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Clackamas County Celebrates Grand Opening of New Transportation Services Building | |
Recently, the Clackamas County Department of Transportation and Development held an open house to allow the public to tour the new Transportation Services Building, which opened in Oregon City last October.
In addition to touring the new facility, attendees had the opportunity to explore road equipment such as road graders and snowplows, and learn more about the services the Transportation Maintenance team provides.
You can view a video of the open house here. To learn more, please visit the Clackamas County Transportation Maintenance Division website.
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USDOT Funding Opportunities | |
Grant Application Deadline Extended for Projects That Reduce Emissions in Small, Rural Communities | |
The Oregon Department of Transportation recently announced it's extending the application deadline for the federal Carbon Reduction Program’s latest grant funding opportunity for specific jurisdictions.
This extension only applies to projects in Oregon counties, cities, tribal governments, and local transportation agencies that serve areas with fewer than 5,000 people.
The new deadline is July 10, 2024
Examples of eligible projects include public transit, bike infrastructure improvements, low-emission vehicles or fuels, electric vehicle charging stations, and intelligent transportation systems.
Start your application online today. Applicants must get signed approval from an ODOT region manager on your proposed project by June 26. Learn more about completing this required, pre-application step here.
For questions or more information, please contact Climate Program Coordinator Rye Baerg at 503-798-0589
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USDOT Selects 99 Communities for Grants Aimed at Making Local Roads Safer; Invites Applications for Future Rounds of Funding | |
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently announced more than $63 million in grants from the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. The funding will go directly to 99 local, regional, and tribal communities to improve road safety and help prevent deaths and serious injuries on their roads, including safety for bicyclists. In 2023, the program provided $1.7 billion in direct funding to more than 1,000 local communities, supporting roadway safety for around 70% of the nation’s population.
These Safe Streets and Roads for All awards represent the first of three rounds of awards that will be made in 2024. The grant program is still actively accepting applications through August 29, and communities are encouraged to apply as funding remains available for the third and final round.
You can view the full list of FY24’s first round of awards here. The second round of SS4A grants is expected to be announced in August. For more information on the SS4A program, including how to apply for the open third round, please visit the SS4A Grant Program webpage.
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USDOT Announces Third Year of SMART Grants, Funding Transportation Technology and Innovation | |
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has announced that it is accepting applications for the third year of its Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program.
The SMART Grants Program will fund up to $500 million in grants over five years to conduct demonstration projects focused on advanced smart community technologies and systems that improve transportation safety and efficiency. In the first two rounds of SMART Grants, USDOT selected 93 projects in 39 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, totaling $148 million.
Through this SMART Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which is now open, USDOT will accept applications for Stage 1 Planning and Prototyping Grants. During Stage 1, the SMART program will fund technology demonstrations and prototypes that solve real-world transportation problems and build data and technology capacity for state, local, and tribal governments. Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. (EDT), Friday July 12, 2024 to the Valid Eval Submission website. Later this year, recipients of Stage 1 grants will be eligible to expand their projects through the first of several Stage 2 grant opportunities.
To learn more, please visit the USDOT's SMART Grant Program website.
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FHWA Opportunity for Transportation Agencies to Host Planning, Environment Linkages Course | |
This summer, the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) National Highway Institute (NIH) will offer its Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL) course (NHI-142078). Integrating PEL into the transportation planning and environment review processes promotes more informed decision-making and accelerated project delivery.
The two-day, instructor-led training course will help participants:
- Identify the benefits of PEL
- Understand how planning and environmental review processes interface
- Learn how states and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPOs) approach PEL
- Explore how PEL informs the environmental review process
- Summarize how to use PEL in screening and eliminating unreasonable alternatives in planning
- Describe how public involvement supports PEL
Although not required, use of PEL is encouraged by FHWA. PEL helps transportation decision makers consider environmental, community, and economic goals early in the transportation planning process. Practitioners can also use the information, analysis, and products developed during planning to inform the environmental review process. PEL benefits include consistency, improved sharing of information, and savings of costs and time by eliminating duplicative efforts.
Learn more by checking out the PEL handbook and resources on the PEL website. For more information about the PEL course, please contact Sarah Smith at 202-366-2042.
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Oregon Technology Transfer Center: Upcoming Trainings | |
New Roads Scholar classes and other trainings are now available at T2!
The mission of the Oregon Technology Transfer Center (T2) is to foster a safe and efficient transportation system throughout Oregon by offering training, technical assistance, and technology transfer to local transportation agencies.
For more information on T2 programming, Roads Scholar classes, training calendars, publications, and lending library videos, please visit the Oregon T2 Center website.
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County Engineering, Road Department, and Surveyor Jobs
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The AOC job posting page provides counties and other government organizations with a platform to advertise job opportunities while also providing a resource for job seekers looking for a new challenge.
Current engineering, road department, and surveyor postings include:
Find out more specifics for each position and how to apply on the AOC jobs postings page. If you have an open job listing to post for your county, please contact jobs@oregoncounties.org.
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County Road Program Director
Legislative Director
Transportation Policy Analyst
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Malea Stockton
Member Services and Education Coordinator
Robert Yde
IT Trainer and Communications Coordinator
IRIS Support
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