PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING
Meeting Minutes
Regional Planning Commission
STAFF
VISITORS ISSUES
Action Items
ADMINISTRATION
Election
of Officers
Approval
of the
The meeting notes from the December 5th
meeting were approved as written.
Approval
of the Semi-annual Progress Report
The semi-annual progress report covering the period from
LINKAGE PROGRAM
CDTC staff contacted project sponsors as directed by the
Planning Committee at the November 2007 meeting. Staff has received written
confirmation from the top ranked sponsors that they are willing to increase
their local share for their proposed linkage projects, which increases the
consultant budgets to realistic amounts.
Given the 2008-09 Linkage program budget, the top five study sponsors
will receive funding—Schaghticoke,
TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT
PROGRAM
Programming
Competitive Set-Asides
During the 2007-12 TIP update, CDTC set-aside
funds in four competitive regional set-asides—RG102—Alternative Fuel Retrofit,
RG103—Bicycle/Pedestrian Set-aside, RG104—Intersections, Queue Jumpers and
Roundabouts, and RG105—Safety Set-aside for Non-State Roads. Committee
members suggested at an earlier meeting that solicitation for the set-asides
occur simultaneously with the possible exception of diesel retrofits, so that
project sponsors will be able to pick and choose which set-aside pot (if any)
they would like to develop a proposal for. The merit of converting the local ITS
set-aside (RG39) to a project solicitation was discussed. Members
agreedIt was determined that projects
eligible for local ITS monies should probably come from a solicitation, rather
than a first come first served basis. Members
agreed that the entire set-aside dollars for all but the retrofit set-aside
would be available for programming via competitive solicitation.
Maximum
use of the web to disseminate the information was requested.
Options
for Competitive Safety Set-Asides
Lengthy discussions regarding the safety set-aside and
options for solicitation, evaluation and programming ensued. Basically, three options were put on the table. The options were described in the mailout
material, and briefly are: 1) program/solicit for the CDTC Planning area only
2) program/solicit for the Region 1 (eight counties) area or 3) program/solicit
using a procedure similar to the enhancement program. The discussions quickly boiled the decision
down to the first two options. Some
members voiced concern about the need and approach of option 2, stating that
option 2 subverts the MPO process. Mr. Rettig stressed that he believed the
eight count approach would be simpler and fairer. is not
justified. Process was also discussed. CDTC staff has been developing rigorous
evaluation criteria for the safety set-aside.
It was determined that CDTC staff should continue to develop evaluation
criteria that are sensitive to CDTC’s policies, and have a meeting with the
“larger” (8 county) group to determine if CDTC’s process could be adopted by
the larger region. The feasibility of
using CDTC’s evaluation criteria and solicitation process will be reported back
to the Planning Committee at the February meeting.
Diesel
Retrofit Project Solicitation and Proposed Evaluation
The Alternate Fuel Retrofit draft solicitation was
included in member’s packets. CDTC staff
recommended a $500,000 solicitation for diesel retrofits (1/4 of the $2.0M
set-aside) so that future solicitations can account for changing technologies
and needs. CDTA expressed concern that
RG102 is for non-CDTA fleets; and requested that their eligibility be
considered if the solicitation does not generate $500,000 in proposed projects. Members approved the draft Diesel Retrofit
Project Solicitation and Evaluation material.
Tentative
Proposed Schedule for Competitive Set-Asides
Committee members approved the proposed schedule for the
remaining three set-asides (RG102—Alternative Fuel
Retrofit, RG103—Bicycle/Pedestrian set-aside, and RG104—Intersections, Queue
Jumpers and Roundabouts), as well
as RG 39 (Local ITS Signals).
Discussion
Items
DRAFT 2008-10 UNIFIED PLANNING
STATUS OF PLANNING
CDTC
The A&F Committee conducted their year end review of
staffing and salaries.
CDRPC
The Fiscal Impact Study is complete; CDRPC is currently
publicizing this document. CDRPC staff
met with the Times Union and will be doing a piece on growth issues. Employment projections should be wrapped up
shortly.
CDTA
1/4 Million
feasibility study for a CDTA garage in
NYSDOT
NYSDOT distributed a summary of recent Bids and
Lettings. A trend is emerging showings bidsBids coming in
at a price lower than the estimate.
NYSDOT has been appointed to the Governor’s Smart growth Cabinet. NYSDOT received a letter from Niskayuan and CDTC staff will be
invited to participate.
NYSTA
The Exit 23/24 improvement project has been pushed back
to 2009.
Halfmoon
The new town hall is now complete and occupied. There is a Linkage meeting scheduled at the
new Town hall this evening.
OTHER
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned
at
Respectfully submitted,