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.