Policy Committee Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Attendees Agency
Mitchell Suprenant (Chair) Supervisor, Town of Fort Edward
Ralph Bentley (Vice Chair) Supervisor, Town of Horicon
Sam Zhou (Secretary) Regional Director, NYSDOT Region 1
Frank Bonafide Planning and Program Manager, NYSDOT Region 1
Kevin Geraghty Chairman, Warren County Board of Supervisors
Scott Sopczyk Director, GGFT
John Strough Deputy Supervisor, Town of Queensbury
Jeff Tennyson Superintendent, Warren County DPW
Mike Valentine Senior Planner, Saratoga County

A/GFTC Staff:
Kate Mance
Aaron Frankenfeld

1. Welcome and Introductions: Chairman Mitch Suprenant opened the meeting at 10:10. A
quorum of affected parties was declared.
2. Visitors Issues: none
3. AGC – EDC Infrastructure Study – no report
4. Completed and Ongoing Staff and Consultant Activities – Aaron reported on the following
projects:
 Exit 17 / Route 9 Study – Town of Moreau. Goal is to formulate transportation and land
use strategies that encourage economic development while preserving the functionality
of the existing transportation systems. The study is about 60% complete. Preliminary
analysis indicates that should future development occur at a level equivalent to what
existing zoning permits then the Town could be faced with sever traffic congestion. The
next advisory committee meeting and a public workshop will be scheduled soon.
 Fire Road / Crandall Park / Kensington School area pedestrian improvements report is
in final draft; plan identifies a mix of sidewalks and a multiuse path as the preferred
solution for reasons of cost and effectiveness – estimate is $468,000.
 We are awaiting word from the Town of Queensbury regarding a new analysis for Exit
20. The TAC was presented with a request to have another look at the corridor, and in
turn requested that the Town look to set up a meeting with the development
community to determine interest and commitment before initiating any additional
technical work.
 Regional bicycle and pedestrian plan is in development; the hiring of an intern was
beneficial to this effort; analysis refinement is ongoing.
 Bay / Sanford crash analysis is also in final draft, awaiting comments from the Glens
Falls Board of Public Safety – study concluded that signal visibility may be a
contributing factor in the crash history
Adirondack / Glens Falls Transportation Council
11 South Street, Suite 203
Glens Falls, NY 12801
p:  (518) 223 – 0086  f:   (518) 223 –  0584
info@agftc.org
www.agftc.org

 Initiated an intersection review of the intersection of Crandall and Sherman to review
safety data and determine any beneficial alteration to the signal, including removal
 Completed crossing guard location analysis for the GFPD
In response to a question from Sam Zhou, Aaron listed the consultants engaged in those
projects as follows: Creighton Manning Engineering: Exit 17 and Fire Road; CHA:
Bay/Sanford; Chazen Companies: Crandall / Sherman
5. A/GFTC Long Range Transportation Plan – Aaron summarized Resolution 13-7, the adopting
resolution for 2035 Ahead, the A/GFTC Long Range Plan. The resolution affirms that the LRP
was:
 prepared in consultation with NYSDOT, GGFT, and state and local resource agencies
 made available for public comment and reviewed in a public meeting
 fiscally constrained, and
 approved by the TAC and recommended to the Policy Committee for its consideration
Chairman Suprenant requested a motion to approve Resolution 13-7:
 Motion: Ralph Bentley Second: Sam Zhou Motion Carried
Aaron acknowledged Kate’s efforts in writing the plan, crediting her for the
improvements in the plan’s organization, content and formatting. Chairman Suprenant also
expressed appreciation.
6. Greater Glens Falls Transit Update (Scott Sopczyk) – Scott briefed the committee on ongoing
transit capital and operating projects. The original (1989) roof at the GGFT facility was
recently replaced. Four replacement mini-buses have been purchased. The 2014 FTA grant
will facilitate preventative maintenance for existing GGFT equipment and the purchase of one
new trolley. Annual ridership is down around 2%; poor weather during Memorial Day and
Americade as well as major road projects were cited as contributing factors. SUNY Adirondack
services have been well-utilized, but recently reinstated evening services have
underperformed to date. Sam Zhou asked about revenue; Scott replied that farebox revenue
amounted to about $250,000 for a recovery rate of about 24 percent.
7. TIP
A. Project Updates (major developments since May 2013)
1) Warren County: Jeff Tennyson gave the following project updates:
 The Grist Mill Road reimbursement dispute with FHWA has been resolved, with
the County receiving its full reimbursement. Jeff credited Region 1 for its
assistance.
 Milton Street disputed work issues have been resolved.
 Beach Road is complete. EFC has withdrawn funding for long-term monitoring of
environmental factors, but Darrin Freshwater Institute has expressed an interest
in future analysis.
 Lanfear Road Bridge is complete.
 Hicks Road is underway and should be completed in Spring 2014.
 Crane Mountain Road bridge will open this week; wetland work will continue in
Spring 2014.
 Blair Road, Palisades Road, and Valley Road bridges are in design. Creighton
Manning has been awarded the design contract for the project
 MTC projects are progressing. Complications are expected with the West Brook
sidewalks given the other projects underway in the area. In response to a

question from Sam Zhou regarding the letting schedule, Jeff noted that the work
would be done in-house next summer.
2) Washington County – Aaron shared the report from Washington County DPW
presented at the last TAC meeting, with some updates:
 CR 12 over the Mettawee River is now open
 CR 61 over Batten Kill should be completed in Spring 2014.
 The county is working to resolve utility relocation issues related to CR 16
over Halfway Brook in Fort Ann.
 Closeout was progressing on the Dewey’s Bridge removal.
 County Route 12 / Hatch Hill Road safety project will be started in Spring
2014.
3) Saratoga County – Mike Valentine noted the continued planning effort for Exit 17
and Route 9, following through on prior recommendations from the 2002 BF&J
study, the Regional Access Management Plan, and the updated Comprehensive
Plan. He also noted the rapid progress of and minimal delays associated with the
Route 9 safety project in South Glens Falls.
4) City of Glens Falls – no report.
5) Town of Queensbury – John Strough reported on Aviation Road. The Town Board
recently approved ROW acquisition for portions of four parcels. Project completion
is expected in Spring 2014.
6) NYSDOT – Frank Bonafide gave the following project updates:
 Vendor Placed Pavement (VPP) contracts are out for Route 22 in White
Creek, Cambridge, and Salem, as well as Route 372 in Cambridge.
 Route 4 / 149 intersection was let. Contract is for $1.3M.
 Beach Road Phase II has encountered delays involved with archaeological
discoveries. Letting is scheduled for December.
 VPP for 372 between Greenwich and Cambridge is scheduled for 2014.
 Route 28N over the Hudson River was let last month.
 Whitehall bridges (removal of the theater bridge and replacement of the
Route 4 bridge over the Champlain Canal) should be let soon.
 Route 9 over Trout Brook and Route 196 over the Feeder Canal are in
design and scheduled for repair, depending upon timetable and budget.

Ralph Bentley asked about the status of pavement repairs to Route 8, noting that it
was in very bad shape. Frank reported that those repairs would likely be pushed out
another year; 28N in Newcomb and I-88 have had large impacts upon the regional
capital program. Sam Zhou has traveled the road, noting that eastbound was in
worse shape than westbound, possibly due to loaded logging trucks headed in one
direction and empty trucks returning in the other. Sam has asked the Residency to
shim the roadway as a short-term repair.

Jeff Tennyson noted that DEC had been referring to the Beach Road project as a two-
phase project. Frank Bonafide stated that the parking lot repairs were not part of the
NYSDOT project., but were a separate DEC project. Jeff stated that there may be
some complaints with the road project, as it appears to be inconsistent with the
public comments received while Warren County was administering the project. The
County had no input into the latest design, which appears to be based upon an
earlier inclusion in the design report. Frank stated that DEC was very concerned

about pedestrian safety near the beach entrance, and that those concerns may
account for the change in traffic pattern.

Ralph Bentley raised the issue of the Middleton Bridge replacement, contending that
ORPS has stated that the land bordering the Schroon River, (which would be the
preferred location for a new structure to replace the one that is currently closed) is
not Forest Preserve. Sam Zhou stated that NYSDOT legal staff had contacted DEC
legal staff to present a way forward that would not entail amendments to the state
constitution; he also stated that he would look into the status of that discussion.

Sam Zhou announced that Rob Fitch was NYSDOT’s new Resident Engineer for
Warren County.
B. Transportation Enhancements Program: Aaron reported that review and prioritization of
regional projects had been completed through a collaborative process involving staff from
A/GFTC, CDTC, NYSDOT, and Essex and Greene Counties. A list of five projects was sent from
Region 1 to NYSDOT Main Office. The Warrensburg streetscaping and pedestrian improvement
project was among the five on the list. Frank stated that the list was comprised of the
Region’s recommendations; those responsible for project selection could choose other
projects, but having a good, single list that includes regional priorities should be beneficial to
the process. An end-of December project award announcement is still targeted. Sam and
Aaron both noted the cooperation evident in the regional prioritization process, with Aaron
directing credit to Frank and his staff.
C. Upcoming Funding Solicitations
1) Pavement and bridge preservation programs – Aaron informed the committee that
the Transportation Improvement Program listed over $3.0M in bridge preservation
and $2.2M in pavement preservation that would be available for qualifying projects
in FFY 2014-5. Design funds for those projects would be made available via project
solicitation soon; additional discussions with potential project sponsors would be
needed to inform the solicitation process.
2) Make the Connection Program will be available within the week. The purchasing of
speed feedback signs has been added to the list of eligible expenses. Application
deadline will be December 16, 2013.
3) FTA 5310 – MAP -21 has changed the program requirements, which has caused a
delay in the program solicitation. Staff will be participating in an information
webinar on 11/13.
4) UPWP Projects – Also upcoming is the annual solicitation for planning projects to be
undertaken by staff and its consultants. In addition to level funding from the
current year, we anticipate a surplus of between $150k and $200k so we will have
the programming capacity to entertain a variety of municipal requests. We have
already been presented with some regional trail projects and a safety study
candidate. Staff and the TAC will work on assembling the work program over the
winter – which will be presented to this committee in March for approval.
Sam Zhou asked if the municipalities were considering packaging the preservation
projects together. Jeff responded that this was under active consideration, perhaps even
among multiple municipalities.
8. Other Items: Aaron Thanked Mitch Suprenant for chairing the committee during the last two
years, and noted the impending retirements of Ron Montesi and Ralph Bentley (currently our
longest-serving committee member).

Sam Zhou encouraged the committee to participate with the ongoing Capital District
Regional Economic Development Council’s Infrastructure Workgroup, to ensure that the
northern portion of the region was represented. Aaron noted that the Adirondack Gateway
Council AGC was actively participating, and that a regional infrastructure needs survey that
was recently completed by AGC and EDC of Warren County was largely consistent with
previously identified MPO priorities.

9. Next meeting and motion to adjourn – The next meeting will be held in the first or second
week of March in order to approve the annual work program.

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting.

Motion: Ralph Bentley Second: Sam Zhou Motion Carried -meeting adjourned at 11:12.