CAPITAL DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes
September 3, 2009
MEMBERS ATTENDING
Michael Franchini,
representing Michael Breslin, Albany County
Terry Hurley, Albany Port
District Commission
Steve Iachetta,
representing John O’Donnell, Albany County
Airport Authority
Mary Ivey, NYS Department
of Transportation Region 1, Secretary
Arthur Johnson, Saratoga
County
Joseph LaCivita,
representing Paula Mahan, Town of Colonie
Mayor John T. McDonald
Watervliet
Marybeth Pettit,
representing Mayor Daniel Dwyer, City of
Rensselaer
William
Roehr, representing Mayor Harry Tutunjian, City of Troy
Michael
Stammel, Capital District Regional Planning Commission
Linda von der Heide,
representing Kathleen Jimino, Rensselaer
County
Thomas Werner, Saratoga
County
Don Adams, Creighton Manning
Thomas Carlo, Village of Schaghticoke
Steve Caruso, City of Schenectady
Timothy Collins, Interested Citizen
Pete Comenzo, Town of Rotterdam
Bob Hansen, NYS Department of Transportation Region 1
Dave Jukins, Capital District Transportation Committee
Maryanne Mariotti, NYS Department of Transportation
Region 1
Mayor Ellen McNulty-Ryan, Village of Green Island
Robert Mitchell, Town of Colonie
Dennis O’Malley, Consultant
Chris O’Neill, Capital District Transportation Committee
Paul Reuss, Village of Menands
Peter
VanKeuren, NYS Department of Transportation
Region 1
Sean
Ward, Village of Green Island
OPENING REMARKS
Chairman
McDonald opened the Capital District Transportation Committee meeting at 3:00 pm
and welcomed those in attendance. Members
and attendees introduced themselves.
ADMINISTRATION
June 4, 2009 Meeting Minutes
Members
approved the June 4, 2009 meeting minutes as written.
Administrative & Financial Standing
Subcommittee Report
The Administrative
& Financial Standing Subcommittee met in August. The A & F approved a minor line item
change to cover printing costs associated with a bicycle education campaign
that CDTC staff is working on with the city of Albany. The A & F reviewed the results of the
required assessment of liability of post retirement benefits. The report showed that CDTC’s liability is modest
over the next 10 years. The A & F
will meet again in November.
PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR
Chairman McDonald
indicated that CDTC provides an opportunity for visitors to address items on
the agenda. Timothy Collins, a CDTA and
TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENTS
Item A on the Agenda provides information on the changes that
were made to the draft 2009-14 project listings since the August 5th
Planning Committee meeting.
Item B requires action by the Board. CDTC’s normal practice is to update the five
year program every two years. CDTC was
well into that update process when the Federal
Item C on the agenda if approved, would give NYSDOT the latitude
to pursue FRA funding for the Ballston Spa Siding. Members approved this motion.
Item D on the agenda, if approved, would delete the Western Gateway
Speed Table project from the TIP. The
sponsor has determined that this project is infeasible. Members approved the deletion.
Items E and F on the agenda increases the scope of these two
projects. It was determined that the
scope expansion would be allowed if ARRA funds were available. Members concurred with this willingness to
amend the scope.
2009-14 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
One item, not on the agenda, was briefly
discussed. CDTA submitted an application
to fund the remaining capital items for the
The last full TIP solicitation was conducted in
2002. Although funding targets are up in
the air, CDTC should be poised with a list of projects in the event that the
region receives additional monies under the next highway bill. The draft TIP solicitation letter is included
in member’s packets. The ballpark funding availability will be in the $100M
range. Staff is currently updating the
Project Justification Package and TIP project evaluation criteria. Staff will conduct workshops in each of the
four counties within the next few weeks.
Candidate projects must be submitted by November 9. Members approved the letter and the TIP
update schedule.
NYSMPO SHARED-
David Jukins reported
on this study. With another surface
transportation authorization act and the potential for major federal program changes
on the near-term horizon, the New York State MPOs determined that it was an
appropriate time to debrief their members and policy partners regarding the
progress made in metropolitan planning during the TEA era. To this end, the
Association of New York State MPOs (NYSMPO) authorized a self-assessment survey
of all the New York State MPOs. In general, the report suggested that New
York’s MPOs have met the challenges offered by the TEA legislation. The TEA era led to real and substantial changes
to metropolitan planning in New York, especially in the areas of freight
planning, bike/ped design, land use, and safety. CDTC was noted as exemplary in several
categories.
STATUS OF PLANNING
Terry Hurley reported the Port is continuing Phase
1 of dock and wharf improvements and is looking for monies to complete Phase II.
There has been a downturn in Port
Activity, but the Port wants to be well positioned when the economy turns
around.
CDTA
There have been a number of recent staff changes at
CDTA. Ray Melleady has accepted a job in
the private sector; Carm Basile is the acting director. CDTA has experienced a decline in ridership
since the fare was increased; however, the ridership declines have not been proportionately
distributed. CDTA will analyze the
ridership trends and adjust schedules.
Albany
Airport
The Albany Airport has been cited by USEPA as a
model airport for water quality measures.
The Authority is working on their five year plan and is pursuing runway asphalt
rehabilitation. Enplanements are down
about 5-7%.
CDRPC
CDRPC is gearing up for
extensive Census work. CDRPC will work
with CDTC staff on some of the initiatives.
CDTC
Staff
CDTC staff is working on the Draft
Metropolitan Planning Agreement. This 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. This agreement will be available for Board
review at the December 2009 Policy Board meeting. Work on the NYSDOT/CDTC operations initiative
will be handled during the TIP update.
Mary Ivey reported
that Stan Gee asked NYSDOT to reach out to as many groups as they can to
discuss the department’s core program and budget limitations. The goal is to convey a message of dire need
and urgency; and to garner support for additional funding. Bob Hansen provided a PowerPoint presentation
that summarizes the Department’s message.
A copy of the slides was distributed to members. Bob delivered this presentation to local NYS
Legislature representatives recently.
Bob described the region’s highway and bridge needs, and attendant
funding shortfalls. The department has
been hit hard by inflation; inflation has totaled $2.2B over the past five
years, which has decreased the number of projects that could be obligated. Gas tax revenues have also declined,
diminishing the Department’s budget further.
Bob provided some alarming statistics.
For instance, when a pavement rating goes from fair to poor, repair
costs increase by 400%. When a bridge
sufficiency rating declines to below 50, weight and lane restrictions are often
required, and in some cases, bridges are closed.
Members agreed that
the presentation was an eye opener and should be widely disseminated. Some
discussion ensued. Some members feel
that the public would vote for some sort of tax increase or fee, if they were
aware of the dire condition that our state roads and bridges are in.
ADJOURNMENT
There
being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:50 pm. The next meeting is scheduled for 3:00 pm,
Thursday December 3, 2009.
Respectfully
submitted,
Mary
Ivey
Secretary