Capital District June 25, 2013
Transportation
Committee
REGIONAL
TRANSPORTATION COORDINATION COMMITTEE
DRAFT RECORD OF MEETING
DATE/TIME: June 18, 2013, 1:30 pm
ATTENDANCE: Bill
Garrison, Center for Disability Services, Carlos Maisonet, Center for
Disability Services, Darci Carter, OTDA, Ed Wolk, CDTA, Michelle Abel, Catholic
Charities of the Diocese of Albany Wheels & Ways to Work, Tom Vaughan,
NYSDOT, Rosemary Nichols, Watervliet Green Island Transit Co., Kimberly
Coonrad, ARC of Rensselaer County, Bob Morey, Schenectady
ARC/Ridge Service, Rocco Ferraro, CDRPC, Margo Mahoski, Catholic
Charities Senior Services Schenectady, Bryan
Baszczuk, ACCES-VR, Anne Benware, CDTC
1.
Welcome/Introductions
and Review of draft meeting notes from 4/30/13 regular RTCC meeting and 5/16/13
special meeting
Both sets of draft
meeting notes were distributed via email to the group just a day before the
meeting. As a result it was decided that
additional time should be given for RTCC review. Members were asked to submit corrections or
other changes needed to Anne in one week.
2.
Review
of New Freedom Proposal and results of Evaluation Committee meeting/RTCC recommendation to CDTC Planning
Committee
The group reviewed
the write up previously sent via email regarding the New Freedom Program
Solicitation Results. This is the last
solicitation for the New Freedom Program and will utilize federal fiscal year
2012 funds of which there is $223,116
available for the combined urbanized areas in our region (Albany-Schenectady-Troy
and Saratoga Springs). Anne
reported that the evaluation committee made up of one representative each from
CDRPC, ACCESS VR and CDTC met on June 14, 2013 to review their scores. The
sole proposal submitted and evaluated by the Evaluation Committee is a project
sponsored by the Center for Disability Services in collaboration with Catholic
Charities Senior Services in Schenectady and Senior Services of Albany. The
evaluation committee determined the proposal is worthy of funds and links
strongly to the need for coordination among human service agency transportation
providers, addressing identified needs, gaps and barriers listed in the
coordinated plan. The project also meets
eligibility requirements and goals of the New Freedom program. Consequently, the evaluation committee
recommended the project should be funded.
The proposed
project includes two components: a Regional Driver Training Center to be
located in a redeveloped building and site at 700 South Pearl Street and
development of standard driver training curricula and training practices for
use by the project partners and potentially others in the future. Wheel Chair Lift training, defensive driving,
and mandatory trainings such as Article 19A and Drug and Alcohol Awareness will
be items covered in the trainings. Standardized
training will be provided to partner agency staff, and will also be made
available to the employees of other human services agencies and private
companies that carry individuals with disabilities to cut costs and avoid
duplication of services. New Freedom
funded components of the project include Transportation Training Center
equipment for a capital cost total of $249,542 including the local match of $51,670. The project includes a collaborative effort
by partner agency staffs to develop standardized Regional Training Curricula
and printing of Training Manuals. Operational
components total $65,000 including the local match of $40,000. The total project cost is $314,542, with the amount of federal funds requested
totaling $222,872.
Ed Wolk reported
that CDTA asked FTA for a decision regarding the project’s eligibility for use
of New Freedom funds. FTA verbally
indicated the project is eligible if it is consistent with the Coordinated Plan. CDTA will seek final approval from FTA
through its formal grant agreement approval, as is the standard practice with
sub-recipient projects.
There were several
questions from the group and responses from the project sponsors as summarized
as follows. Is the driver training intended for those with a Commercial Drivers
License (CDL) or others? Bill Garrison from the Center for Disability Services
(CFDS) indicated the training is intended for several types of CDL drivers as
well as non-CDL drivers. Bill also
indicated that they are looking to provide supervisory training to assist
agencies to keep up with constantly changing legal requirements/regulations.
Are the New Freedom
funds intended to provide startup funds?
Will the project be continued after the period of availability of the
New Freedom funds? The response was yes: each of the partner agencies are
participating financially to the project and the intent is to open up both the
training facility and use of the standardized curricula to other agencies that
would pay a small fee to assist in sustaining the program over time. The CFDS will work toward having a calendar
on their website that would post available trainings. They also plan on developing “virtual”
trainings for wider spread use. For
hands on training on-site for mechanics, for example, motors, transmissions,
wheel chair lifts, etc. can be brought into the Training Center while the
simulator and other equipment would be used for training drivers. The training facility will have room for 60
to 65 trainees and the computer terminals can handle 30 students at one time. The facility will be available to other
agencies who may want to bring in their own trainers and trainees while for
smaller agencies the CFDS or others may provide the trainers.
A motion was put
forward for consideration by the RTCC: The
RTCC recommends to CDTC’s Planning Committee that the New Freedom proposal by
the Center for Disability Services in collaboration with Catholic Charities of
Schenectady and Senior Services of Albany be endorsed as it is a good plan, consistent
with the region’s Coordinated Plan and it is the RTCC’s understanding that it
is compliant with planning requirements. The motion was approved.
Tom Vaughan asked
that the RTCC and NYSDOT be informed when Planning Committee action is taken
regarding adding the project to the Transportation Improvement Program.
3.
Review
of Options and Implications of Designated Recipient Assignment for the 5310
Program
Next on the agenda, the RTCC took
up consideration of the Designated Recipient assignment for the 5310 program
under MAP 21. Anne distributed a one
page summary on Consideration of
Designation of Direct Recipient for sub-allocated FTA Section 5310 funding
and noted that the RTCC has discussed this issue at several recent
meetings. The group reviewed the hand
out summarized as follows:
MAP-21 has resulted in several changes to the 5310
program one of which requires an action by CDTC to assign a Designated
Recipient, responsible for administering the program within the region. MAP-21 includes a provision for the direct
sub-allocation of funds under the new FTA Section 5310 Enhanced Mobility of
Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities (FTA Section 5310) program. 60 percent of these funds will be allocated
to urbanized areas with populations over 200,000 such as the CDTC planning
area. MAP-21 also consolidated the
former Elderly and Disabled Program and New Freedom Program into the 5310
program. The amount sub-allocated to CDTC for projects in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy
and Saratoga Springs Urbanized Areas is estimated to be $816,000 annually in
FFY 2013 and FFY 2014.
As mentioned, in urbanized areas with a population
above 200,000, the MPO is responsible for identifying a Designated Recipient to
administer projects selected to receive FTA Section 5310 program funds
sub-allocated to it. The Designated Recipient is responsible for ensuring that
funds are applied for from FTA, awards to sub-recipients are derived from the
regional coordinated plan and are made based on a competitive selection
process, and that sub-recipients can meet all FTA requirements. CDTC and CDTA
staffs participated in a statewide teleconference held May 10 between
NYSDOT-Main Office, NYSDOT regional offices, MPOs, and public transportation
operators to review the requirements of the 5310 program and discuss potential
Designated Recipients. Although both
CDTC and CDTA are potential candidates to be the Designated Recipients in this
region, it seems most efficient to ask NYSDOT to serve in this capacity since NYSDOT
has years of experience in successfully administering the FTA Section 5310
program and will likely be taking on this task for the majority of other MPOs
in New York State. Furthermore, pursuant
to MAP-21, if NYSDOT is selected as the Direct Recipient for this region, our
direct sub-allocation would have to be awarded to projects in the CDTC region and
such projects need to be derived from our coordinated public transit-human
services transportation plan (adopted in 2011).
NYSDOT has offered to serve as the Designated
Recipient (DR) for any MPOs wishing them to do so. NYSDOT has requested that a
final decision via MPO Board action occur by September 15 to ensure that any
areas choosing NYSDOT as the DR will be included in the planned statewide
solicitation this fall. Accordingly, a Designated Recipient for the
Albany-Schenectady-Troy and Saratoga Springs Urbanized Areas must be identified
by the CDTC Board via resolution no later than its September meeting.
After review of the handout there were several
questions. The first concerned NYSDOT’s
ability to turn around payments to grantees in a timely manner should they be
the DR for the region. It was noted that CDTA has had a good record on New
Freedom type projects as they have been able to turn around contracts and
payment requests within 30 days in the past. Small agencies have issues with
delays due to cash flow. Tom Vaughan
indicated that NYS is moving toward a comprehensive grants management system
with one uniform grant agreement for all state agencies. The intent is to streamline the process which
should result in faster turnaround times for contract management and payments.
Tom also noted his office has administered the New Freedom grants in the rural
areas and understands the cash flow issues facing small agencies. Tom
also mentioned that with the state’s new financial management system anyone
receiving payments needs to register and get a Vendor ID. Some RTCC members
stated they had been notified of this and had begun the process. It was suggested entities without current
grants should consider registering for a State vendor ID. The NYS Office of the
State Comptroller website has details.
A motion was put
forward: The RTCC recommends to the CDTC Planning Committee that NYSDOT should
be made the Designated Recipient for the 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and
Individuals with Disabilities (FTA Section 5310) program under MAP 21. Members approved the motion.
4.
5310
Draft Solicitation Discussion – identification of elements and regional
priorities to be included in 2013 solicitation package to achieve broader
participation in regional coordination activities.
Several handouts
were distributed including a draft flow chart from NYSDOT illustrating how the
5310 application and process would be structured to integrate MPO needs.
Anne suggested that
the items to be included as priorities for the 5310 solicitation as listed in
the May 18 Special Meeting notes is a good start for our regional priorities. These included items such as Shared
maintenance (opportunities currently exist in the region), Pooled resources?
Insurance? Driver/Mechanic Training? (New Freedom proposal addresses this),
among others.
There was a
discussion on the best way to integrate our region’s priorities into the 5310
application. This could include posting potential
coordination ideas and resources on the RTCC webpage on CDTC’s website. Tom indicated there should be a way to have
applicants verify they have visited the website. Someone
mentioned that Easter Seals is also a good resource. Tom would like input on developing the
application/guidance. It is anticipated
the application will be set up as shown in the flow chart where applicants from
specific MPO regions would be directed to a portion of the application specific
to that region in terms of project type priorities etc. Tom also indicated that the upcoming
solicitation may cover two years worth of funds. CDTC staff, through the NYS
MPO Transit Working Group, will provide input to NYSDOT on the draft application
and other solicitation materials. Anne
noted that the RTCC will be kept informed over the summer on the progress and
can provide their input via email to CDTC staff. The
desire for a user friendly application was expressed. It was noted that last
year’s 5310 application was better than in the past . Tom indicated it was better
but could be further improved. Margo Mahoski suggested people print out last
year’s 5310 application and note what worked and what needs tweaking and provide
feedback to CDTC staff who will then pass it on to NYSDOT.
5.
Brief
status of Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan update
effort
Census data needed
for the update was expected to be available in May but it has since been learned
that it won’t be available until August. Work on the update needs to begin this summer but
we are also awaiting FTA guidance on development of coordinated plans under
MAP-21. Anne will reach out via email to
those interested in participating in a working group to help with this task as
several RTCC members have already indicated.
If you are interested please email Anne.
6.
RTCC
Activities
NYSDOT – Tom noted NYSDOT
is processing the 2012 5310 orders and contracts. If anyone is wondering about
their order they should send him a fax of their marked up order for vehicles by
July 1st. Bill Garrison asked if there was any money left over (due
to some grantees no longer having their match) as has happened in the
past. Tom indicated he wasn’t aware of
any left over 2012 funds due to that issue.
CDTA – Ed Wolk
reported that all of the Accessible Taxis are now on the road thanks in part to
hard work by Maryellen Casey Usis and a consultant Tony Grieco. The CST or Community Solutions for
Transportation transit passes for eligible Albany County residents are being
distributed. The Wheels and Ways to
Work JARC project is currently in review by FTA. Ed added that all grant
applications have to be in to FTA by July 17th and he will work with
the Center for Disability Services on their New Freedom project if it is
approved by the Planning Committee for addition to the TIP. Anne will send the information regarding the
results of the July Planning Committee to CDTA as soon as it is available.
7.
News
Around the Table
Rosemary Nichols
reported there has been no recent update on the Watervliet Shuttle. The transit group is relying on CDTA for data
but volunteers are also doing physical ridership counts.
Margo Mahoski noted
there is concern about the reporting process for grant recipients and the need
for streamlining, especially as grants will now go from CDTA to NYSDOT
administration. Tom Vaughan noted that
with the new state financial and grants management systems coming online that
they should be able to require more clear reporting and streamlining should
occur, as that’s the intent.
Bill Garrison noted
that the CDTA rodeo was very well done and that the CDFS is holding a similar
rodeo on July 13th starting at 7:30 or 8:00 am in conjunction with
the NY Association of People Transportation Convention. There will be a series of 3 rodeos (for
special education vehicles, regular buses, and mechanics). The top 3 drivers from this event will go to
the national competition as will the top 2 mechanics. Ed Wolk noted that CDTA is also doing a
mechanics competition in July.
Darci Carter
reported that the NYS Office for Temporary Disability Assistance released
awards for the transportation initiative which combined CST with Wheels to Work
funds. An average of $65,000 was
available for each of the 13 districts across the state; this is an increase
over previously available amounts.
7. Adjournment Next Meeting – Proposed for September 24th @
1:30 pm