I. PROGRAM COORDINATION

TASK 1.51 Committee Activities

This task covers CDTC meetings and maintenance of committee membership and structure.

TASK 1.52 Financial Administration / AMPO Dues

Included under this item are membership dues for the national Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations on behalf of New York’s 12 MPOs. Funding for the dues is pooled by the MPOs and administered by CDTC. Supplemental funding for policy development by AMPO and also by the NYS MPO Association staff was included in 2003-04, in preparation for TEA-21 Reauthorization discussions. This is not expected to be repeated in 2004-05.

TASK 1.68 Statewide MPO Association Support

Sarah Siwek and Associates was retained by CDTC in 2000 to serve as the NYS MPO Association’s staff on a contractual basis. The $120,000 annual budget is designed around an estimated 1,000 hours of effort per year (professional and/or support staff), providing sufficient resources for travel to statewide meetings and national (AMPO, etc.) activities. The firm will continue to develop and organize statewide meetings and conferences, develop outlines for potential statewide initiatives, and represent the perspectives of NY’s MPOs at statewide and national meetings. For 2003-04, an additional $25,000 was provided to assist with materials related to the reauthorization of TEA-21. The funding balance will be carried over and an additional $120,000 added.

Early in 2004, the NYS MPO members will consider soliciting interest from a range of firms for the future in order to maintain fairness.

TASK 1.61 Certification Review

The formal certification review by USDOT was conducted in late 2000. Self-certification was complete during FFY03 (prior to October 2003) and submitted with the TIP approval in June 2003. Formal federal certification review can be anticipated in the FFY04 period; a tentative date of March 2004 has been set for a field visit to CDTC.

TASK 1.65 UPWP Development

The coming work program (for adoption in early 2004) was intended to move CDTC to a two-year UPWP cycle. The two-year cycle would reduce the administrative load of UPWP development and also put the two-year TIP cycle and two-year UPWP cycle on alternate years.

However, the lack of reauthorization of TEA-21 makes it unexpectedly challenging for a two-year UPWP development effort. It was for this reason that CDTC has already deferred development of the coming year’s Linkage program.

Additionally, the implications of NYSDOT’s transformation process are emerging slowly. The transformation effort will result in the separation of NYSDOT into an operating and an integrating division. Roles with regard to MPO activity have yet to be defined. Changes to TIP development and approval triggered by the transformation are also unknowns.

For these reasons, CDTC will make plans for another one year UPWP for 2005-06. The two-year UPWP concept would be revisited for 2006-08 (the next off-year relative to TIP development).

TASK 1.66 DBE Plan/ Environmental Justice

Civil Rights and Environmental Justice explorations will continue to be primary areas of investigation for CDTC staff. Environmental Justice assessments were included in TIP evaluations for the first time in the 2003-08 TIP update.

TASK 1.67 Prospectus Update

The need for a formal document containing all organizational, operational and work program aspects of CDTC's program in one place continues to be modest. The "Guide to the Capital District Transportation Committee" is updated annually and has proven to be an accessible description of roles, responsibilities and policies for use with new members and the general public. CDTC intended in 2003-04 to find the time to compile all official material into a comprehensive document to address the federal comments made in the most recent certification report. CDTC may choose to not include a strategic five-year work program in the comprehensive document, limiting the document to roles, responsibilities, policies and procedures. NYSDOT’s current transformation effort needs to develop further before a new CDTC document is prepared; this may be in 2004-05. The multi-year work program is the most elusive piece and the coming year may not be the best time to try to resolve one; longer-term commitments are highly influenced both by emerging issues from New Visions efforts and by the uncertain details of the TEA-21 reauthorization.