PLANNING
COMMITTEE MEETING
Meeting Minutes
August 5, 2009
Melissa Ashline-Heil, City of Cohoes
Bradley Birge, City of Saratoga Springs
Wayne Bonesteel, representing Fred Howard, Rensselaer County
Peter Comenzo, Town of Rotterdam
Frank Commisso, Albany Port Commission
Steve Feeney, Schenectady County
Michael Franchini, Albany County (Chairman)
Robert Hansen, NYS Department of Transportation Region 1
Steve Iachetta, Albany County Airport Authority
David Jukins, Capital District Transportation Committee
Joseph LaCivita, Town of Colonie
Kate Maynard, Town of Wilton
Mike Morelli, Town of Bethlehem
Rosemary Nichols, City of Watervliet
Paul Reuss, Village
of Menands
Bill Roehr, City of Troy
Deidre Rudolph, City of Albany
Phil Serafino, representing Bill Rinaldi, NYS Thruway Authority
Michael Valentine, Saratoga County
Kristina Younger, Capital District Transportation Authority (Vice-Chair)
STAFF AND OTHERS
James Allen, Buckeye Albany
Anne Benware, Capital District Transportation Committee
Arthur Brown, The Walters Consulting Group
Stephen Carus, City of Schenectady
Jennifer Ceponis, Capital District Transportation Committee
Rob Cherry, NYS Department of Transportation Region 1
Christina Douglas, CHA
Danica Ehmann, The Walters Consulting Group
James Fredericks, NYS Department of Transportation Region 1
Shelly Johnston, Creighton Manning Engineering
Mary Anne Mariotti, NYS Department of Transportation Region 1
Fred Mastroianni, Greenman-Pederson Inc.
Sandra Misiewicz, Capital District Transportation Committee
Larry Mulvaney, NYS Department of Transportation Region 1
Christopher O’Neill, Capital District Transportation Committee
Glenn Posca, Capital District Transportation Committee
Jason Purvis, Capital District Transportation Committee
Kevin Schwenzfeier, Capital District Transportation Committee
Brian Smith, NYS Department of Transportation Region 1
Deb Stacey, Capital District Transportation Committee
Josh Westfall, Town of Clifton Park
John Zepko, Town of Malta
VISITORS ISSUES
Chairman Franchini opened the meeting at approximately 9:35 am. There were no
visitor’s issues.
Action Items
ADMINISTRATION
Approval
of the July 1, 2009 Meeting
Minutes
The meeting notes from the July 1st meeting
were approved with two clarifications. Bob Hansen clarified that the
stakeholder group formed for the Balltown Road study will meet continually until the project is
re-designed. At the last meeting, Bob also made
the point that the $98M in highway ARRA projects were either certified or in
the process of being certified.
Draft
Metropolitan Planning Agreement
The draft agreement included in member’s material is a
brief agreement that defines the role of the NYSDOT and CDTA in the MPO
process. The roles outlined in the
agreement are nothing new; the requirement for a written agreement is now
required by the FTA. Members discussed
the agreement and suggested that the word “unanimous” (in the document in two
separate places) be stricken and replaced with “consensus among all affected
parties…”. It was also noted that the
word “NYSDOT” in the third footnote should be replaced by the word “CDTA”. CDTA advised the committee that this brief
format might not satisfy the federal requirements and that additional review might
be necessary. Members endorsed the agreement,
with the noted changes, and directed CDTC to investigate whether it satisfies
the federal requirement.
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND
REINVESTMENT ACT
CDTC/NYSDOT
Report on Project Implementation
Bob Hansen reported that $93 M of the $98 M in projects
have been certified and that many of the projects have been bid. Many of the bids are coming in lower than
expected, accounting for almost $5M in savings.
Given this “savings”, the Albany Port project was submitted to the Governor’s office for
certification. Region 1’s set of ARRA projects contains a larger portion of
off-system projects than any of the projects sets submitted by the other
regions in the state. A federal auditing
committee will be established to monitor progress on all projects, to ensure
that the projects meet the rules for ARRA funding. Glenn Posca reported that the Zim Smith Trail
project is double counted in the table that is included in the material mailed
to Committee members prior to this meeting.
Bob Hansen reported on the TIGER grant initiative. CDTA’s BRT
project and a project requesting funds for a bypass track for the CSX
yards in Selkirk were submitted from Region 1.
About a dozen projects were submitted statewide; the Governor will
endorse all projects on the list. Members moved to accept the report.
2009-14 TRANSPORTATION
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
Section
5310 Applications
Deborah Stacey briefly summarized the information contained in the
mailed material pertaining to the 2009 Section 5310 program. The Section 5310 program is a federal program
administered by NYSDOT and provides funds to human service agencies to purchase
vehicles that are used to provide transportation to elderly and disabled
clients. The MPO is asked to evaluate the applications and submit their evaluation
to an interagency review committee that also evaluates the submittals. The SAFETEA-LU legislation initiated the
requirement that all applications must be consistent with the CDTC’s locally
developed, coordinated public transit-human services transportation plan and
puts more emphasis on the “coordinated” aspect of the applications. Eight Section 5310 applications were received
from human service agencies located in the Capital District (3-Albany County, 1-Rensselaer
County, 1-Saratoga County, 3-Sch’dy
County). The eight applicants are
collectively applying for fifteen vehicles at a total cost of $1,082,305. All eight applicants currently coordinate
some services, such as maintenance and driver training. CDTC staff evaluates the applications using standardized
evaluation forms provided by NYSDOT. An
increased emphasis on coordination is new this year. Members concurred with CDTC evaluations, but
noted that the total cost figure on the cover sheet did not match that on the
spreadsheet. The spreadsheet figure is
correct and the cover sheet will be changed.
2009-14 TRANSPORTATION
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM UPDATE
Changes to
Draft Project Listings Since July
1, 2009
Glenn Posca reviewed fund source name changes that have occurred
since the last TIP was printed.
STP-Safety is now referred to HSIP and STP-Rail is now referred to
Rail. Furthermore, HSIP can be used both
highway or rail safety projects; however, CDTC’s TIP makes a distinction
between these two labels. Consequently,
CDTC staff will globally replace STP-Rail with “Rail” and STP-Safety with
“Safety” in the 2009-14 TIP.
Glenn
further noted that TIP Project R265 had double counted some funding
requirements and that the new letting target should be changed to $7M with
“rail” as the fund source. Committee
members approved the Safety and Rail label change and the change to project
R265.
Members were then directed to the information that was
previously distributed regarding Editorial Changes to TIP listings (no action
required), Minor Changes to Actions Already Taken (action required) and Major
Changes to Actions Already Taken (action required). One additional handout was distributed that
noted major changes to existing TIP projects.
With regard to the editorial changes, project SA198 erroneously
identifies the construction phase for which funding is to be changed; the phase
is ROW; this change moved this project to the list of Minor
Changes to Actions Already Taken (action required). Members reviewed the changes requiring
action, including those shown in the handout titled, Additional Changes to the
Draft Project Listings and approved all minor and major changes.
Approval
of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 Draft FFY 2009-14 TIP Project Listings as Amendments
to the 2007-12 TIP
CDTC has made a commitment to completing the 2009-14
update, given that much of the work has already been completed. Consequently, it was decided that the best
approach would be to make changes to the 2009-10 and 2010 -11 TIP Listings by Amendment
to reflect the work that has progressed to date.
Steve Iachetta expressed
concern about the description of TIP Project A240. The description states that bridge work on Albany
Shaker Road takes priority over the Airport
Connector. NYSDOT responded that several
options are being discussed and the timeline has not been set for construction
phasing. It was concluded that this
sentence should be removed from the project description. Members approved the 2009-10 and 2010 -11 listings of the TIP with the
description of project A240 changed as discussed above.
CMAQ
Funding Status
Members were directed to the summary provided in the
previously distributed material that describes the CMAQ Programming
issues. This item is before members as
an informational item. It is feasible
that the over-programming of CMAQ will not be an issue if the new federal
reauthorization increases the CMAQ allocations.
Members embraced the option of handling CMAQ amendments one at a time
and finding offsets on an as needed basis.
Solicitation
Letter
Members were directed to the draft TIP project
solicitation letter. Members questioned
the need to specify a target funding amount (page 2). After some discussion, it was suggested that
the funding availability be portrayed as an order of magnitude. It was also recommended to identify the
source of the estimate shown in item five. Members approved the letter as amended.
Tentative
Proposed Schedule
Glenn Posca stated that the November 18th date in the
schedule was in error and that the date should read November 16th. Members approved the proposed schedule for
CDTC’s 2009-14 TIP Update with this change noted.
Additional
Agenda Item—NYSDOT Capital Program Outreach
NYSDOT has asked the MPOs across the state to provide
detailed information to representatives from all the towns, counties, villages,
and cities about the Capital Program, implications of budget shortfalls and
system deterioration. David Jukins reminded the group that CDTC’s new Visions Plan has
already provided this information to the locals. NYSDOT would like the local governments to
send a message to the legislators, reminding them how important it is to keep
the transportation system in a state of good repair. Members suggested drafting a letter to
representatives to all 78 municipalities in NYS that outlines the capital needs
of the region and identifies the broad based implications of funding
shortfalls. The letter should also serve
as an invitation to the September Policy Board meeting where a presentation
will be provided by NYSDOT on these issues.
TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT
PROGRAM AMENDMENTS
SA220—Stewart Dam
Bridge over the Sacandaga
This agenda item was deferred at the July Committee
meeting because the cost estimates of replacing the Batchellerville Bridge were being reviewed. The cost issue related to the Batchellerville Bridge will not be totally addressed for several months. Consequently, NYSDOT has proposed to delay
this project for another few months until cost estimates for the Batchellerville Bridge can be fleshed out.
SA221—Geyser
Road Bridge over the D&H RR
This agenda item was deferred at the July Committee
meeting because the cost estimates of replacing the Batchellerville Bridge were being reviewed. NYSDOT has proposed to move project SA220
forward in the meantime.
R279—US 4/Mannix
Road Roundabout
NYSDOT would like to advance PE by one year and leave
the construction in its current phase. A
roundabout at this location is the preferred alternative, but because of an
elevated crash history, intersection work might be done for safety reasons if
the roundabout is not in design.
$305,000 in PE and $11,000 Incidentals will be moved to the current
year. Letting targets will be reconciled
by NYSDOT.
A479—Western
Gateway Speed Table
Members approved the motion to delete this project from
the TIP.
A435—ITS
Transit Signal Priority
Although no action is necessary, NYSDOT must find an
offset unless some of the rules regarding offsets are relaxed. It is anticipated that FHWA will be revising
their guidelines within the next few weeks, which would make this issue
disappear.
Discussion Items
NYS MPO Shared
Cost Study
David Jukins reviewed the summary of the findings with the
group. The report was generally very
positive. Not surprisingly, some MPO’s
have done better than others in certain areas.
CDTC is doing well against all of the criteria listed; CDTC’s Linkage Program
was cited as a national example.
NYSERDA/NYSDOT
Energy Efficient Transportation System Program
Deborah Stacey quickly reviewed the NYSERDA/NYSDOT Energy Efficient
Transportation System Grant Program Opportunity Notice. This PON seeks proposals that would conduct
feasibility studies, demonstrate underutilized strategies and policies or
demonstrate underutilized commercial technologies. TDM, ITS and other strategies are
specifically mentioned. In addition,
NYSERDA is particularly interested in proposals that would address anticipated emerging
congestion along the I-87 (Northway) corridor.
Proposals are due September 17th. Deb has been asked to be a part of NYSERDA’s Project
Evaluation Team, so additional questions about the PON should be directed to
Chris O’Neill (CDTC) or Joe Tario (NYSERDA).
Oberstar
Surface Transportation Bill: NYSDOT
Preliminary Analysis
Bob Hansen commented on NYSDOT’s preliminary analysis of the
Oberstar Transportation bill. First
round figures suggest an increase in funding by as much as 80%. Several new funding categories are mentioned,
more information on the guidelines is needed before the full implications can
be identified.
Buckeye
Partners Letter to Tim Gilchrist
Representatives from Buckeye Partners attended the
meeting to express concern about the Canadian Pacific Railway/Global Partners
(CP/Global) project that recently received approval from the Capital District
Transportation Committee (CDTC) for $4.2 million in federal stimulus funding. Buckeye
Partners sent a letter to Mr. Gilchrest; members received a copy of the letter in the meeting
material. NYSDOT responded that the Rail
Division met with representatives from Buckeye Partners and explained their
support for the project since it was included in the NYS Rail Plan. However, given the priority list and
available funds, it is unlikely that their will be sufficient funds available
to fund this project. The representatives
of Buckeye were thanked for their comments.
Bids and
Lettings
NYSDOT distributed a list of Bids and lettings as a FTYI
for members. The list was not reviewed
or discussed.
STATUS OF PLANNING ACTIVITIES
CDTC
David Jukins reported that CDTC staff attended the Balltown Road
Stakeholder meeting earlier in the week.
Jason Purvis has been working with NYSDOT and NYS Parks on a pedestrian plan for Route 50 near SPAC. David distributed an outline for CDTC’s
Prospectus; John Poorman is working on the update. The
process was tested in three locations, the test cases are included in three
separate appendices. The tool
was designed for local government. The
developers of the tool would like to know if the tool works and if anything
needs to be tweaked.
CDTA
CDTA’s CFO is retiring.
CDTA has five job openings; descriptions of the jobs are posted on
CDTA’s website. The vanpool pilot, a
joint venture between a national vanpool company, VPSI, CDTA, CDTC, and the
Downtown Albany Bid is moving along. The
region’s first vanpool has been formed and just began. The vanpool was formed by a group of
Watervliet Arsenal employees who commute from Johnstown to the Arsenal daily.
Thruway
Authority
The Thruway just began a night project between Exits 23
and 24.
Albany International Airport
The red checkered water tank at exit 6 is being
replaced. The airport received stimulus
funds for this project; only two airports in NYS received stimulus funding, the
other being JFK.
City of Watervliet
The city is updating their comprehensive plan. The new plan is almost half complete and will
have a transportation component.
OTHER
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned
at 12:35 p.m. The next
Planning Committee meeting is scheduled for October 7th.
Respectfully submitted,
John P. Poorman
Secretary