RECORD OF MEETING
FREIGHT TASK FORCE
DATE/TIME/PLACE: Monday, October 21, 1996; 2 PM;
CDTC Offices, Colonie
ATTENDANCE: Steve Iachetta (Albany County Airport), Ted
Thompson (NYSDOT Region 1), Jack Earl (NYSDOT Freight and Economic Development
Division), Tom Magliocca (Port), Roger Bergeron (Boston & Maine), Kristina
Younger (CDTC)
DISCUSSION SUMMARY: Welcome and
introductions started the meeting.
Status Reports: Port: Cargo tonnage is down mostly due to seasonal
nature of grain shipments and decrease in road salt from last year's peak. The CIBRO property on the Albany side is
still in court. On the Rensselaer side,
a new recycling company is very interested in steel shredding facility --
negotiations are ongoing. The takeover
of Meehan (the stevedore) by Federal Navigation has not yet had any impact, but
might as the Longshoreman's contract is up for renewal next year. NYSDOT Region: Ted Thompson reported on the recent ride on
the B&M by a group of interested people and politicians. NYSDOT
Main Office: Jack Earl handed out
a new organization chart for the Freight and Economic Development
Division. RAILROADS: The Conrail/CSX merger announcement was
noted. The Boston & Maine discussed
their desire to increase their presence in the Capital Region and some specific
clearance restrictions that are currently present. TRUCKING:
No trucking representatives were present but there are a number of
issues impacting Capital Region trucking that are emerging, including: potential closure of tandem yard at Exit 23,
necessitating action on new yard at the Port; Route 50/Glenridge Road/Balltown
Road corridor planning in light of Exit 26 opening; corridor planning for Route 29 in Saratoga
and CDTC's Planning Committee negative reaction to a $15M price tag. Efforts to ensure continued participation by
truckers is needed to address these issues.
AIRPORT: The continued growth of
air cargo volumes was noted, and the progress on both the cargo facility and
passenger terminal were noted. UPS: Fleet conversions to alternative fuel (CNG)
vehicles were discussed with the lack of adequate fueling stations cited as a
major impediment. UPS has a history of
partnering with utilities, primarily, in getting stations built and would like
to see more incentives from the state for such efforts. Any increase in the Thruway tolls is of great
concern to UPS, and they will fight it or seek relief at the legislative
level. The Teamsters contract is up for
negotiation next August. Technological
advances are being implemented that will allow individual package tracking by
6/97. The Postal Reform Bill, at the
federal level, is a piece of legislation UPS is tracking quite closely. And yes, after the Christmas season,
passenger service on the weekends in UPS planes is likely.
Fall Roundtable: The impacts
of the FHWA visit and the success of the Roundtable event were briefly
discussed.
Status of CDTC TIP
Update, New Visions Plan: About an hour was spent reviewing the status
of these CDTC efforts and providing background information on funding sources,
project eligibilities, decision-making structures, and criteria for project
selection. The proposed revisions to the
project selection criteria were highlighted, particularly the stronger tie
between the budgets in the New Visions long range plan and targets by category
in the TIP. This approach was supported
and applauded by the members present as being responsive to their
concerns. Major concerns with the
proposed structure and criteria is perhaps with the definition of some
categories -- when an intermodal project has significant economic development
impacts, where will it be placed? The
approach of applying different (but comparable) merit criteria to different
project types also made sense to this group.
ACTION ITEMS:
* NEXT MEETING: Monday,
January 27, 1996, 2 - 4 PM, CDTC Offices.
Agenda to include: Presentation
by the Port of Albany (hopefully including new promotional video), member
updates, status of New Visions and the TIP update relevant to freight projects.