Metro seeks applicants for three community member seats on influential transportation committee
Metro’s Transportation Policy Alternatives Committee, or TPAC, is seeking residents interested in transportation issues to serve on the panel starting January 2012. There are three community member positions up for appointment. The positions are for appointment to a two-year term, with the possibility of a second term.
TPAC is an advisory committee that reviews regional plans and federally funded transportation projects across the three-county Portland area. It advises regional leaders on transportation spending priorities as well as policies related to transportation, such as efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and create communities with easy access to public transit. It also recommends needs and opportunities for involving the public in transportation matters.
An essential responsibility of TPAC is to advise the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation, JPACT, a panel of elected officials and transportation agency executives that controls federal transportation spending in the Portland area. TPAC also advises the Metro Council, which reviews and must approve all major JPACT actions.
TPAC is comprised of 15 professional transportation staff appointed by area cities, counties and government agencies, and six at-large community members. Metro seeks residents for appointment this year who can bring expertise in the following areas related to transportation planning:
- The transportation needs of low income and minority communities, commonly referred to as environmental justice concerns;
- Economic development, the economy or the movement of freight;
- The needs of underserved communities such as the elderly and disabled
Community members of the committee are often members of nongovernmental organizations that have members who are concerned with particular transportation modes or a set of issues that relate to transportation. Though an affiliation with such a group is not required, Metro seeks community members who can demonstrate that they can help inform the community about upcoming transportation projects and decision points. Applicants who work as consultants for firms doing business with the local government agencies represented on the committee will need to demonstrate in their applications and interview materials that they have community interests beyond their professional interest in the committee’s work.
Community members of TPAC are selected through an application, interview and appointment process. Metro council members who serve on JPACT and Metro staff will conduct interviews and recommend candidates for the Metro council president to nominate. Candidates nominated by the council president must be confirmed by the Metro council.
All applicants should be able to attend regular meetings that take place on weekdays during normal working hours. The committee normally meets from 9:30 a.m. to noon on the final Friday of each month, though additional special meetings are sometimes called.
Metro seeks diverse representation on all its advisory committees. Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Visit www.oregonmetro.gov to submit your application online, or download the form and mail it completed to Metro Council Office, Attn. Kelsey Newell, 600 NE Grand Ave., Portland, OR 97232. Applications are due at Metro by 5 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2011.
For more information on the application process, call Kelsey Newell, 503-797-1916. For more information on TPAC roles and responsibilities, call Dylan Rivera, 503-797-1551. Hearing impaired may call TDD 503-797-1804.
Learn more information on TPAC, including bylaws, a member roster and meeting agendas
