CAPITAL DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

Meeting Minutes

March 6, 2008

MEMBERS ATTENDING

Bill Bruce, representing Mayor Jerry Jennings, City of Albany

Mark Evers, Town of North Greenbush

Michael Franchini, representing Mike Breslin, Albany County

Bruce Hidley, representing Mayor Michael Manning, City of
Watervliet

Terry Hurley, Albany Port District Commission

Steve Iachetta, representing John O’Donnell, Albany County
Airport Authority

Scott Johnson, City of Saratoga Springs

Joseph LaCivita, representing Paula Mahan, Town of Colonie

Mayor John T. McDonald III, City of Cohoes, Chairman

Ray Melleady, Capital District Transportation Authority

Marybeth Pettit, representing Mayor Daniel Dwyer, City of
Rensselaer

Frank Quinn, Town of Glenville

Dave Rettig, representing, Brian Rowback, NYS Department of
Transportation Region 1

Thomas Richardson, representing Mayor Anthony Sylvester, City of
Mechanicville

Phil Serafino, representing William Rinaldi, NYS Thruway
Authority

Mike Stammel, Capital District Regional Planning Commission

Linda von der Heide, representing Kathleen Jimino, Rensselaer
County

STAFF AND OTHERS

Ross Farrell, Capital District Transportation Authority

Dave Jukins, Capital District Transportation Committee

Jim Moore, Town of East Greenbush

Sreekumar Nampoothiri, Capital District Transportation Committee

Andrea Poley, City of Troy

John Poorman, Capital District Transportation Committee

Jason Purvis, Capital District Transportation Committee

Jim Shields, Clough Harbour

Deb Stacey, Capital District Transportation Committee

Don Wilson, Interested Citizen

Cathy Woodruf, Times Union

OPENING REMARKS

Chairman McDonald opened the Capital District Transportation Committee meeting at approximately 3:05 p.m. and welcomed those in attendance to the CDTC offices. Members and attendees then introduced themselves.

ADMINISTRATION

December 6, 2007 Meeting Minutes

Members approved the December 6, 2007 meeting minutes as written.

Administrative & Financial Standing Subcommittee Report

The Administrative and Financial Standing Subcommittee met twice at the end of 2007. A new position, Deputy Director, was approved by the A&F. David Jukins was promoted to that position. The two remaining open positions have been filled. Kelly Monty filled the receptionist position and Jennifer Ceponis will start on March 17^th as a Transportation Planner. A tentative line item budget was also adopted.

Nominating Subcommittee Report

Due to scheduling issues, the Nominating Sub-committee did not have a quorum at the February meeting. Consequently, several “proposals” are on the table for Policy Board concurrence. The Nominating Sub-committee has proposed that Mayor McDonald remain as chair and that Ray Melleady be appointed to vice-chair (Bob Phillips resigned the vice-chair position). The Nominating Sub-committee also proposed to keep Brian Rowback as secretary. Members approved the Nominating Sub-committee’s proposal.

The Nominating Subcommittee also addressed representation of at-large Town and Village members. It was proposed that John Cunningham, town of Bethlehem Supervisor, complete Ellen McNulty-Ryan’s term as a member and that Mark Evers, town of North Greenbush supervisor serve as the second at large member. Proposed alternates are Mindy Wormuth, town of Halfmoon Supervisor and Steve Tommasone, town of Rotterdam Supervisor. Individuals would serve until March 2009. Common practice would appoint the alternates as members for the following year (March 2009-March 2010). The members approved these appointments.

At-large Town and Village Planning Committee representation was also discussed by the Nominating Subcommittee. The Planning Committee has a voting slot for towns and villages that have professional staff. The nominating subcommittee proposed that Barbara McHugh remain in this position with Kevin Corcoran (Glenville), Kathy Matern (Niskayuna), Steve Watts (Halfmoon), George Leveille (Bethlehem), Peter Comenzo (Rotterdam) and Jim Moore (East Greenbush) serving as alternates. Members approved this nomination.

Appointment of the 2008 A & F

It is CDTC’s practice for the Chairman to appoint members to the Administrative and Financial Standing Subcommittee on an annual basis. For the coming 2008-09 fiscal year, Ray Melleady 9CDTA), Charles Hotaling (Albany County), Brian Rowback (NYSDOT Region 1), Tom Richardson (Mechanicville) and Tom Werner (Saratoga County) have been appointed to the A & F.

PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR

Don Wilson addressed the Board as a concerned citizen. Mr. Wilson is concerned about transportation, pollution and the environment. Mr. Wilson read the article that recently appeared regarding ridership on CDTA’s Route 50 bus and was pleased to see that ridership increased beyond CDTA’s expectations. However, Mr. Wilson does not believe that we are doing enough to promote transit and alternatives to driving cars. Mr. Wilson feels that transportation policies in the Capital District should be greener. Chairman McDonald invited Mr. Wilson to stay to hear and see the next agenda item (CDTA’s Transit Development Presentation) because the presentation addresses many of Mr. Wilson’s concerns. Chairman McDonald thanked Mr. Wilson for his comments.

PRESENTATION ON CDTA TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT:BRT IN THE CAPITAL DISTRICT/CURRENT FUNDING ISSUES

Ray Melleady prepared a PowerPoint to share CDTA’s long term vision with the board. CDTA has been addressing issues such as: How can transit promote the regional economy? and Can New York State or the Capital Region achieve long term strategic objectives without effective Public Transportation? CDTA has developed a “Plan” that calls for 100 miles of high quality, high frequency “rail like” transit, 3 Transportation Centers and 7 Transfer Stations. The estimated cost of CDTA’s Plan is expensive (2 – 8 million dollars per mile for bus rapid transit system depending on type, 10 million dollars for transportation centers and 2 million dollars for transfer stations) but CDTA maintains that “the only thing more expensive than this option is deferring the inevitable need to invest in transit to our children.”

2008-10 UNIFIED PLANNING WORK PROGRAM

Public Comments

Copies of the draft 2008-10 UPWP were mailed to resopurce agencies and the draft was posted on CDTC’s website for public comment. Few comments were received. Of those received, most were largely complimentary. None of the comments necessitated a change to the document.

Resolution Approving the UPWP

Resolution #08-1 was included in member’s packets. The resolution authorizes NYSDOT to submit the UPWP to FHWA to secure PL and STP funding and authorizes NYSDOT to submit an application to FTA to secure Section 5303 funds on behalf of the Committee. Members approved the resolution #08-1.

2007-12 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENTS

A473 Albany Waterfront/Corning Preserve Improvements

The City of Albany prepared a proposed amendment to the 2007-12 TIP which would add $4.8M to project A473 as demo funds. Project A473 originally received $6.8M from a federal earmark in 2005 but there was some confusion regarding the intended location of the project—Corning Preserve, Albany vs. Corning NY. The project location for $2M of this earmark is still unresolved, but the $4.8M earmarked for the city of Albany was never added to the TIP.

Members approved the amendment to add project A473 to the 2007-12 Transportation Improvement Program.

Request from CDTA to delegate TIP Action to the Planning Committee

CDTA would like to apply for $4M in intercity rail funds to fund improvements at the Rensselaer Rail Station. Improvements to the track and lengthening of platforms would be funded if the application is successful. The improvements have been identified in CDTA’s station improvement plan. CDTA is requesting the Board members to delegate the Planning Committee to add this project to the TIP if the project is approved. $8m would be added to the TIP; this is a 50/50 matched program. Members approved this request.

STATUS OF PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES

Capital District Regional Planning Commission

Mike Stammel reported that a number of presentations have been made by staff outlining the results of the Fiscal Impact Study. Employment projections are being finalized for each of the 900 plus traffic Analysis Zones in the region. CDRPC staff is providing assistance to communities to review Master Address files provided to them as a prelude to the 2010 Census.

New York State Department of Transportation

Dave Rettig reported that NYSDOT is hoping to launch a 511 program within a year. The Main office will present information on the planned program to the Planning committee sometime in the near future. NYSDOT let the cable replacement job for the twin Bridges. Bids came in $3M under the programmed amount. NYSDOT plans to replace the Route 9P Bridge over Saratoga Lake by the end of the year. This will likely be an expensive project (~$12m); the department is reviewing less expensive options.

Albany County Airport Authority

Steve Iachetta the market for storing and maintaining light jets has increased and that the airport has hired 30 additional employees to meet the demand.

Port of Albany

Terry Hurly reported that overall tonnage handled at the Port in 2007 was about the same as 2006. The Port is currently dredging to ensure a berth depth of 32 feet.

CDTC Staff

CDTC’s federal certification review is scheduled for April. This review occurs every four years and looks at CDTC policies and process. In the past, members have been contacted as part of the review process. It doesn’t appear that this will be the case for the 2008 review.

ADJOURNMENT

The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for 3:00 pm, Thursday June 5, 2008 at the CDTC offices.

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:05 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Brian O. Rowback

Secretary