CAPITAL
DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes
March 4, 2010
MEMBERS ATTENDING
Paul
Cassillo,
representing Mayor Brian Stratton, City of
Schenectady
Rocky Ferraro,
representing Michael Stammel, Capital District
Regional Planning Commission
Michael Franchini,
representing Michael Breslin, Albany County
Alan Grattidge,
representing Willard Peck, Saratoga County
Terry Hurley, Albany Port
District Commission
Mary Ivey, NYS Department
of Transportation Region 1, Secretary
Andrew
Kreshik, representing Mayor Harry Tutunjian,
City of Troy
Joseph LaCivita,
representing Paula Mahan, Town of Colonie
Joe Landry, Town of Niskayuna
Mayor John T. McDonald III, City of Cohoes, Chairman
Rosemary
Nichols,
representing Mayor Michael Manning, City of
Watervliet
Phil
Serafino,
representing William Rinaldi, NYS Thruway
Authority
Ann
Shaughnessy, representing Martin Reid, Rensselaer County
Shauna
Sutton, representing Mayor Scott Johnson, City of
Saratoga Springs
Mike
Valentine, representing Tom Werner, Saratoga County
Linda von der Heide, representing Kathleen Jimino, Rensselaer
County
Kristina
Younger,
representing Carm Basile,
Capital District
Transportation Authority
STAFF AND OTHERS
Virginia Hammer, Pine Hills Neighborhood Association
Bob Hansen, NYS Department of Transportation
Dave Jukins, Capital District Transportation Committee
John Poorman, Capital District
Transportation Committee
Glenn Posca, Capital District
Transportation Committee
Jason Purvis, Capital District
Transportation Committee
Deb Stacey, Capital
District Transportation Committee
Don Wilson, Interested Citizen
OPENING REMARKS
Chairman McDonald opened the
Capital District Transportation Committee meeting at 3:05 pm and welcomed those in
attendance. Members and attendees
introduced themselves.
ADMINISTRATION
December
3, 2009 Meeting Minutes
Members
approved the December 3, 2009 meeting minutes as written.
Administrative & Financial Standing
Subcommittee Report
The Administrative &
Financial Standing Subcommittee met in February. The A & F approved the distributed
equipment plan and the draft 2010-11 line item budget.
Nominating Subcommittee Report
The Nominating Subcommittee
met in February. The nominating
subcommittee nominated John McDonald to continue as chairman and Mary Ivey to
continue as CDTC’s secretary. Carm Basile was nominated to fill the vacant vice-chairman
position. The committee also nominated
at-large Town and Village Members. Richard McCabe (supervisor of East Greenbush) and Mayor Jim Gaughan of Altamont were nominated as members. Chris Koetzle (Town
of Glenville Supervisor) and Frank Thompson (Town of
Milton Supervisor) were nominated as alternates. Practice suggests that alternates are
appointed as members for the following year (March 2011-2012). Board members approved these nominations.
At-large Town and Village Planning
Committee representatives were also nominated by the subcommittee. Barbara McHugh from the Town of Clifton Park
was nominated as the at-large member. Nominated
alternates included Kevin Corcoran (Glenville), Kathy Matern (Niskayuna), Steve Watts (Halfmoon),
Mike Morelli (Bethlehem), Tony Tozzi
(Malta), Peter Comenzo
(Rotterdam), Jim Moore (East Greenbush), Paul Reuss
(Menands) and Kate Maynard (Wilton). It was also suggested that the town of Guilderland be extended an invitation to
participate as an alternate member of the Planning Committee. Don Csaposs’ name
was mentioned as a possible participant.
Members approved the Nominating Subcommittee’s recommendations.
Appointment of the 2010 A & F
Carm Basile, Mary Ivey, Joe Landry,
Mike
Franchini, Tom Richardson and Tom Werner were appointed to the 2010 Administrative
and Financial Committee.
PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR
Chairman McDonald indicated that CDTC provides an
opportunity for visitors to address items on the agenda. Virginia Hammer, from
the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association and Don Wilson, an interested citizen both
registered to address the board. Ms. Hammer voiced concern that the Madison Avenue
project proposed by the City of Albany for the 2010-15 TIP, as written, would not be
beneficial to the bicycling and pedestrian environment. Ms. Hammer advocated that the project should
include a “road diet” treatment, which would provide three travel lanes and a
turning lane, rather than 4 travel lanes. Ms. Hammer indicated that the road diet
concept for Madison Avenue would have many neighborhood livability benefits,
particularly for pedestrians and bicyclists.
A fair amount of stakeholder support is documented for this project; the
College of St. Rose and the Pine Hills
Neighborhood Association (representing 10,000+ residents) are two of several. Ms Hammer stated that the opportunity to road
diet Madison Avenue should not be lost.
Don Wilson expressed
dissatisfaction about the pace of “progress” in the Capital District with
regard to use of alternative transportation modes. He stated that we need to make the Ccapital District an exciting place to be and need further
investment in bus and rail.
UNIFIED PLANNING WORK PROGRAM
Approval of the 2010-12 UPWP
A table that describes the status of current UPWP
tasks was inadvertently left out of the UPWP Document that was mailed to
members. David Jukins highlighted the accomplishments that staff has made since
the previous UPWP was approved. New
tasks in the 2010-12 UPWP included an emphasis on data collection, with
consultant assistance, freight planning, energy and climate change, security
planning and ADA compliance. Members approved the 2010-12 UPWP as written.
2010-12 UPWP Resolution
Members approved the resolution approving the
2010-12 UPWP.
2007-12 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENTS
Amendment A Batchellerville Bridge Replacement—NYSDOT bid the
project in 2008 but rejected all the bids because the cost of each bid was
unaffordable. Since then, NYSDOT and Saratoga County have agreed that once the
bridge is replaced, the county will take over maintenance and ownership of the
bridge. In addition, the bridge was
redesigned with cost cutting in mind.
The engineer’s new estimate is $58.6M.
Approximately $42.6M was programmed in the 2007-12 TIP for the bridge replacement.
The state will fund the gap using federal HBRR funds, which will be matched with
toll credits. Members approved this motion.
Amendment B NY 40 Bridge over
the Hoosick River—The cost to replace this bridge
is almost double the initial estimate.
The initial estimate was not a “good” estimate. If the bridge is closed, long detours will
result. Members approved the cost increase.
Amendment C Bridge over CSX Selkirk Yard
Removal—This bridge was slated for replacement, but after some
investigation, it was determined that the bridge could be removed without
significantly affecting those that use the bridge most. The cost to remove the bridge is about a fifth
of the cost to replace it; however, HBRR funds cannot be used to remove a
bridge. Members approved the funding
decrease and the switch of fund source from HBRR to STP.
Amendments D-H State Rail Initiatives—these sets of amendments are all related to NYS’s
High Speed Rail Initiative. The long awaited double track between Albany and Schenectady will be completed, as will
the Ballston Spa Siding.
Amendments I-M These sets of amendments would fund preventative
maintenance projects that will help maintain state roads in a state of good
repair. These activities are not those
that are usually funded with Federal Aid.
The Planning Committee is concerned that this could set a precedent and
asked CDTC to express concern regarding the perpetual NYS transportation
funding shortfall. Members approved the
amendments and asked John Poorman to draft a letter to the
Governor’s office.
CHANGE TO THE TIP PROJECT SELECTION PROCEDURES
John Poorman briefly reviewed the
material that was previously distributed regarding the proposed change to the
Project Selection Procedure, which would allow the flexibility to move projects
among all four years of the TIP and to make project selections from the fourth
year of the TIP. The change is necessary
so that year four of the current TIP/STIP can be accessed in the event that the
approval of the new STIP is delayed beyond October 1,
2010. Members approved the change.
2010-15 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
John Poorman reported that the Planning Committee met an several occasions to draft the 2010-15 TIP. Although
the financial outlook is unknown, it was decided to program $150M in
anticipatory funding. This decision puts
the development of the TIP on a two track approach: Track 1 is a fiscally
constrained four year program based on SAFETEA-LU apportionments and NYSDOT
funding estimates. Track 2 will include
additional project commitments that reflect a more optimistic financial
scenario.
The Planning Committee will meet in April to continue
to program the remaining out years (years 6-9) of the TIP. Projects approved will address the New
Visions categories; will be balanced geographically and by project type.
Members approved the Draft 2010-15 TIP and proposed approach.
STATUS OF PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
ACTIVITIES
Port of Albany
Terry Hurley reported the Port that the dock and
wharf improvements should be complete by the end of 2010.
CDTA
CDTA just partnered with Price Chopper to provide
transit pass discounts much like the Price Chopper Fuel AdvantEdge
program. Twelve of the busiest price
Chopper supermarkets will sell CDTA’s transit fare at
customer service desks. If the program
proves successful, patrons will be able to purchase CDTA passes at any Price
Chopper.
NYSDOT
NYSDOT let the 9P project with a very aggressive
schedule. Work on the Patroon Island Bridge is on-going.
Staff is following up on some projects that are beginning to bump up
against the Federal 10-year rule.
CDTC
The NYS MPO Conference
will be held in Syracuse June 14-15th. Several members have been promoted at their
workplace, including Kristina
Younger and Mike Franchini. Mayor
McDonald recently received the American Public Works Association (APWA) Elected
Official’s Award. Bob Hansen was awarded
the Public Works Leader of the Year Award.
Steve Watts was awarded the APWA Distinguished Service Award.
ADJOURNMENT
There
being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:40
pm. The next meeting is scheduled for 3:00
pm, Thursday June 3, 2010.
Respectfully
submitted,
Mary
E. Ivey
Secretary