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

 

Membership dues for the national Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations on behalf of New York’s 13 MPOs have historically been handled by CDTC.  For 2005-06, this responsibility is being assumed by the Binghamton Metropolitan Transportation Study (BMTS) to lessen cash flow impacts on CDTA and reduce payment delays for AMPO.

 

 

TASK 1.68          Statewide MPO Association Support

 

Sarah Siwek and Associates was re-hired by CDTC in 2004 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.

 

TASK 1.61          Certification Review

 

The formal certification review by USDOT was completed in 2004.  A positive report cited a number of best practices for national consideration; a few comments and recommendations were cited.  Self-certification will be performed in 2005-06 in conjunction with the TIP action.

 

TASK 1.65          UPWP Development

 

The coming work program (for adoption in early 2006) will move CDTC to a two-year UPWP cycle.  The two-year cycle will reduce the administrative load of UPWP development and also put the two-year TIP cycle and two-year UPWP cycle on alternate years. 

 

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 and repeated in the 2005-10 TIP and 2005-06 Linkage submission reviews.

 

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.  NYSDOT’s current transformation effort still needs to develop further before a new CDTC document is prepared; this may be in 2005-06. The multi-year work program is the most elusive piece; longer-term commitments are highly influenced both by emerging issues from New Visions efforts and by the uncertain details of the TEA-21 reauthorization.