Policy Committee Meeting

Minutes of Wednesday, December 18, 2007

Attendance:

Members:
Ralph Bentley, Supervisor, Town of Horicon
Harry Gutheil, Supervisor, Town of Moreau
James Lindsay, Supervisor, Town of Kingsbury
Brian Rowback, Regional Director, NYSDOT Region 1
Dan Stec, Supervisor, Town of Queensbury
Louis Tessier, Supervisor, Town of Lake George
Steven Sweeney, NYS Canal Corp. (rep. Bill Rinaldi)
William Thomas, Chairman, Warren County Board of Supervisors
JoAnn Trinkle, Chairman, Washington County Board of Supervisors

Others:

Willy Grimmke, Washington County DPW
Bill Lamy, Warren County DPW
Dave Rettig, NYSDOT- Region 1
Scott Sopczyk, GGFT
John Wheatley, EDC Warren County

A/GFTC Staff:

Monika Bulman, Administrative Assistant
Aaron Frankenfeld, Transportation Planning Director

Prior to the official start of the meeting Aaron expressed appreciation to Mr. Thomas
and Mr. Gutheil for their many years of supportive contribution to our Committee.
They will be missed. We wish them well in their retirement.

I. Welcome & Introductions
A. Introductory remarks-Chairman William Thomas introduced Mr. Brian
Rowback, the new Regional Director for NYSDOT Region 1.
Mr. Rowback has been in his current position since October 1, having
previously worked in the Main Office in addition to previous experience
with an MPO. He is working on becoming familiar with the unique regional
issues and the regional program. He assured the Policy Committee he is a
hands-on person and is accessible. Mr. Rowback commented on the
Adirondack Park (three separate regions cover the Park) and the need for
uniformity. Mr. Lamy expressed his concerns to Mr. Rowback with pass
through projects and the backlog with the State Comptrollers Office. Mr.
Grimmke indicated he was very happy with residency relationships.

Chairman Bill Thomas called the formal Policy Committee to order at
10:17 am.
II. Visitors Issues – None
III. Administration
1. Approval of last meeting’s minutes

Motion was made to approve the June 13, 2007 minutes

MOVED BY : Dan Stec SECONDED BY: Ralph Bentley MOTION CARRIED
Adirondack / Glens Falls Transportation Council

Washington County Municipal Center
383 Broadway, Room A-231 Fort Edward, New York 12828
phone: (518) 746-2199 fax: (518) 746-2441
www.a
gftc.org info@agftc.org

Policy Committee Minutes
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December 18, 2007

IV. Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)
1. Transit
A. GGFT Report-Scott Sopczyk (handout)
Two small buses will be replaced in 2008; an agreement will be
entered to replace larger buses in 2009; new trolleys with air
conditioning were put into service this year; extended evening
services have started and will operate on a trial basis through
June; an agreement has been entered with West Mountain ski
center to operate a shuttle service between Glens Falls and the
West Mountain facility to accommodate skiers and employees;
overall ridership in 2007 was up except for FAME.
B. AlterNet Rides development-Aaron, GGFT brought an internet-
based carpooling match finding service to A/GFTC’s attention; it
is now on our website. It allows members to search for or offer
rides to 20 preset destinations. Membership is free. Corporate
sponsorship is what A/GFTC would like to obtain to support this
program. Destinations include Glens Falls Hospital, City of Glens
Falls, Washington County Municipal Center, Sagamore Resort,
etc. A/GFTC has paid for the web application. The Aviation Mall
had security and capacity concerns for a park and ride and after
some discussion, Dave Rettig has agreed to have Region 1 staff
contact the mall to pursue a possible leasing arrangement.

2. Consultant Projects, Aaron
A. Access Management Study-expecting production of the final
document to begin next week; the report will be presented to the
Policy Committee at its next meeting for MPO adoption.
B. Aviation Road Corridor Study-the study advisory committee will
be meeting today at 3; in June there was a very well attended
public workshop at the Ramada; we had over 60 people; the
documentation of the plan needs work; the recommendations are
very solid and have good support from the School and the Town.
Intersection modifications were examined; a series of
roundabouts appear to be very beneficial work. A revised draft of
the plan will be posted on our website.
C. Traffic Count Program-we just received our second season of
traffic count data from our consultant; we are in the process of
reviewing this new information against our old count data.
D. On-call engineering services-Aaron wanted to remind everyone
that we do have 3 contracts available with consulting engineering
firms with the express purpose of assisting municipalities in the
form of transportation engineering services. These were set up to
provide municipalities with services that we do not have staff
expertise for. The contracts are capped at $10K and a local
match of 20% is required. Brief discussion ensued regarding Exit
20.

3. Staff Activities – Aaron
A. Long Range Plan Update,
1. Status of Plan development/draft chapter
The Plan has been taken on at a chapter by chapter basis; the
introductory materials, setting, goals and objectives,
summary of public survey results, draft copies of the

Policy Committee Minutes
Page 3
December 18, 2007

public transportation chapter and the bridge chapter are
completed; we still have considerable work remaining on the
highway chapter, need to update the bicycle and pedestrian
chapter and a chapter on rail and freight and finances.

2. Review and approval of draft Principles-(handout)
Aaron envisions the Principles as a conclusion to the
Long Range Plan. These set general policies for the Council as it
considers future projects and programs.

A motion was made to approve the Principles

MOVED BY : JoAnn Trinkle SECONDED BY: Dan Stec MOTION CARRIED

B. Coordinated Human Services Transportation Program-Aaron
This Program is a required Plan in order for areas to access three
different Federal Transit Administration programs designed to provide
additional transportation services for elderly and disabled individuals
as well as access to jobs and reverse commuting. Since the last
meeting, tabulations of a number of returned surveys from municipal
department heads have been completed. A funding prioritization
strategy for the program needs to be established. Hope to complete
this Plan before April.

V. Transportation Improvement Program(TIP)
1. Recent development or action items
for ongoing federal aid projects:
A. New York State Department of Transportation, Dave Rettig –
Most of the projects have been shut down during winter; several
projects are in design; at the last TAC meeting, Mary Ricard,
Project Manager for the 197 bridge, explained the reasoning for
the change in the scope of the project and the need for a TIP
amendment. At the TAC the consensus was that DOT allow the
public to hear more about the project before changing the
original scope. There will be a public informational meeting on
this project. Region 1 staff and Aaron attended a meeting at
CDTC to discuss a proposed local highway STAR (short-term
accident reduction) program. The MPOs agreed with the Region1
proposal to apply all of the Region’s STP Safety money to this
program, using a data driven approach with no suballocations.
Discussion took place regarding source and use of accident data.
B. Warren County, Bill Lamy
▪Corinth/Exit 18 Corridor-in the process of acquiring ROW; going
through the actual payment of checks to property owners for
about half of the of the 90 parcels that will need to be acquired.
There has been a statute change in the eminent domain process
resulting in the need for another public hearing. Working closely
with the Town of Queensbury to come to an ultimate decision on
whether the undergrounding of utilities is the way the project will
be presented in final design. It is doubtful this project will be
under construction in 2008.
▪The Beach Road Corridor – The County has partnered with
NYSDEC to do the entire corridor. 60% of the road is owned by
Warren County, 40% by NYSDEC. There have been several public
informational meetings. Close to finalizing a scoping document.

Policy Committee Minutes
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December 18, 2007

▪Construction on the Padanarum Road Bridge in the Town of
Bolton is completed.
C. Washington County DPW, Willy Grimmke
▪Since the last Policy Committee, the following bridge projects
have been completed: County Rte. 21 over the Mettawee in the
Town of Granville, and the rehabilitation Buskirk, Eagleville and
Rexleigh Covered Bridges.
▪County Rte. 12 over the Mettawee in Granville is under design
▪County Rte. 42 in the Town of Fort Edward is under construction
and should be complete in the spring of 2008
▪County Rte. 41 getting ready to go to consultant selection
▪County Rte. 61 over the Battenkill has been reopened
D. Saratoga County/Town of Moreau, Harry Gutheil – no recent
developmentss

E.
City of Glens Falls, no representation present
F.
Town of Queensbury, Dan Stec
▪Rte 149, business owners are concerned about the duration the
timing of the closure on Rte. 149. Mr. Stec hoped it would be
possible to pick and choose what end of the stretch the
construction would start on. The suggestion was also made to
have a second or off shift construction schedule to expedite the
work.
▪Rte 9 will be resurfaced, going from city line to Round Pond Rd.
▪Bridge slated for replacement on 9L near Haviland Road
▪Dunhams Bay Bridge in Lake George has very low clearance and
should have greater clearance.
2. 2007-2012 Transportation Improvement Plan
A. Status of STIP, the STIP has been approved
B. TIP Changes/Amendments
• Make the Connection Program, Aaron
This program allowed for small – scale bike/pedestrian
projects. Our solicitations resulted in 4 applications.
Three applications were accommodated in full in addition to
the partial funding of the fourth request.
C. Annual Listing of Obligated Projects, Aaron
MPOs have to put together a list of obligated projects. We are
working on it.
Mr. Rowback had some closing comments, noting his favorable
impression with scope of the MPO activities.
Mr. Gutheil asked about Exit 12.

VI. Next meeting and adjourn
Hope to have a meeting in March
Mr. Thomas adjourned the meeting at 11:40.