MINUTES OF MEETING OF THE A/GFTC TAC February 2, 2012
Attendees Agency
Members
Brian Abare Village of South Glens Falls
Stuart Baker Town of Queensbury Community Development
Edward Bartholomew City of Glens Falls
Frank Bonafide NYSDOT-Region 1
Robert Cherry NYSDOT-Region 1
Edward Doughney Warren County DPW
Mike Fiorillo Village of Hudson Falls
Kevin Hajos Warren County DPW
Preston Jenkins Town of Moreau
Tori Riley Washington County LDC
Scott Sopczyk GGFT
Steven Sweeney NYS Canal Corporation
Scott Tracy Washington County DPW
Mike Valentine Saratoga County Planning Board
Others
Staff
Aaron Frankenfeld A/GFTC
Kate Mance A/GFTC
Monika Bulman A/GFTC
Minutes of the Meeting
1. Welcome & Introductions – Aaron Frankenfeld called the meeting to order at 1:08
2. Visitor Issues – none
3. Administrative Items, Aaron
A. Federal legislation update-The House is considering HR7, which is their version of the
transportation reauthorization bill. Currently it is proposed as a 5-year bill at about
260 billion dollars with a present shortfall of approximately 50-60 billion dollars.
Similar to the Senate bill, the House attempts to consolidate or eliminate a number of
programs. The set-asides for Enhancements would be eliminated, as would the Safe
Routes to School program. Emphasis area include streamlining of review and
accelerated project delivery. The House bill does preserve small MPOs, unlike the
Senate bill. The House bill is scheduled go to the floor on the 13
th.
B. Host Agency agreement- The Host Agency agreement has been signed by the
Regional Planning Board for a term of ten years as prescribed by the NYSDOT.
C. Warren County Planning Board Review Applications-Because Warren County has
disbanded their Planning Board, there is no entity within the County that can legally
process planning review applications. General municipal law 239, those
planning board reviews can be transferred to a Regional Planning Board. The Lake
Adirondack / GlensFallsTransportationCouncil
11 South Street, Suite 203
Glens Falls, NY 12801
p: (518) 223 – 0086 f: (518) 223 – 0584
info@agftc.org
www.agftc.org
TAC Minutes-February 2, 2012
Page 2
Champlain/Lake George Regional Planning Board will take over reviewing the
applications on a temporary basis until legal issues at Warren County are resolved (2-
3 months estimated). Kate Mance and Aaron will assume these responsibilities on
behalf of the LC-LGRPB.
4. Annual Work Program
A. Ongoing Activities
1) Warren County Bicycling Master Plan, Kate -At the last TAC meeting a
presentation of the draft plan was given. Comments from the TAC and
DOT were integrated into the document. The draft will be presented to
the Warren County DPW Committee on February 28
th. Once sign-off is
made, the draft will go to the full Board of Supervisors in March to get the
Plan adopted. The Healthy Communities Coalition in Washington County
is interested in a similar plan. Ed Bartholomew asked about the
involvement of the Warren County Safe and Quality Bicycling
Organization. Kate stated that they provided recommendations and will
take the implementation part of the plan to the County and local
municipalities. Additional discussion included the Community Challenge
Grant, printing of bike maps, draft plan posting to web site.
2) Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan, Kate-DOT requested an
update to the CHSTP for 2012. Kate has been working on the Plan, which
will not be a full re-write but rather an update of Census data, mapping
and integration of results from an online survey that was sent to
transportation providers. There was a 76% response rate to the survey. A
draft will be sent to all of the agencies that we will follow up with a
stakeholder meeting. It is hoped that the Plan update will generate the
necessary level of interest to pursue a Regional Mobility Management
Plan.
3) Queensbury Commercial / Industrial Access Road, Aaron – A draft
document has been reviewed by staff and the advisory committee. The
next public meeting will be February 7 at 6:30 at the South Queensbury
Fire House. The findings concluded that construction of a new connector
road does not alleviate any existing traffic conditions on Quaker Road and
Dix Avenue. Upgrading the traffic signal at Quaker and Dix Avenue could
result in some substantial improvements. Rob Cherry suggested that a
statement in the draft report that suggested that “public funds” could be
used towards the project be refined. Aaron agreed to revisit that clause.
4) Traffic engineering services, Aaron- Since the last TAC meeting, the
following on-call services contracts have been initiated.
A. Signal warrant analysis – Bay/Cronin: Warren County would like an
intersection evaluation of Bay/Cronin Roads in the Town of Queensbury.
This intersection has a significant crash history. Creighton Manning will
conduct the analysis. At the County’s request, an aggressive schedule
has been set for the completion of this study.
B. GFSD circulation issues: This study, requested by the City of Glens
Falls on behalf of the Glens Falls School District, will analyze traffic
conditions around the middle and high schools relating to circulation
(student drop-off and pick-up). Access to the school from one of the
primary roads has been restricted during periods of high traffic, and
this restriction has diverted traffic into the adjacent neighborhood.
Resource Systems Group is the consultant on board for this study.
TAC Minutes – February 2, 2012
Page 3
4) iPoolNorth update, Kate- The software developer decided they needed to
update their platform. A complete overhaul of the system was needed and
took much longer than originally anticipated. The new software should go
on-line by February 6
th. The new system will better along-the-route
matching. The interface looks better and is easier to navigate. The in-
house site management will also be improved. Upon reviewing our
usership, Kate found our site had been spammed with numerous
fraudulent accounts. Kate will reboot the Facebook page. Mike Valentine
wanted to know how many users we had. Kate replied that users totaled
around 120-150. Questions were posed as to how we would market the
availability of the site, and adding profile to the presence of existing park
and ride facilities was suggested.
B. 2012-13 UPWP
1) Financial summary (handout) – Aaron briefly reviewed the financial
summary for the upcoming work program.
2) Task summary (handout) – Aaron briefly reviewed the summary of tasks
for the upcoming work program. Additional detail was provided for the
following listed tasks:
A. Climate Change Adaptation Vulnerability Assessments: Kate
attended a FHWA training session that explored ideas about climate
change mitigation. A large segment of the seminar was on adaptation,
which is planning to preserve infrastructure that could be adversely
affected by weather events that result from continuing climate changes.
We propose a county- or region-wide assessment study to figure
out which climate conditions will actually effect us, what the effects
would be on infrastructure and operations, and what measures may be
possible to mitigate or prevent those effects. After discussion, it was
agreed to retain this project listing within the draft.
B. Regional Mobility Management Plan: Aaron stated that the request
that is most frequently asked of A/GFTC is to do something about
transportation services for rural areas. A plan that would identify the
necessary steps to establish a system of mobility management is the
logical progression of the HSTP.
C. Long Range Plan 2035 update: Aaron explained that the due date
for the LRP update is two years away, but, given the amount of data
collection and outreach that is required, it is not too early to start
working on that update during the upcoming program year.
3) Approval for release for public comment- a motion was made to release the
UPWP for public comment and for Policy Committee consideration at a
meeting in March.
MOVED BY: Stu Baker SECONDED BY: Mike Fiorillo MOTION CARRIED
Rob Cherry noted that he had some minor revisions to make to the UPWP.
The committee agreed staff’s request to entertain those changes.
5. Transit Update – GGFT, Scott Sopczyk
2011 was the best ridership year ever. Planning for the summer is taking place. Trolley
changes will be made due to new events coming to Lake George and work on Beach
Road. The schedule should be finalized by early March. Many things hinge on the
TAC Minutes – February 2, 2012
Page 4
Governor’s Budget/State budget. Fortunately, no cuts to transit are anticipated. Glens
Falls Hospital will be working with Transit. GGFT is exploring the development of a
smartphone-friendly version of its website with Mannix Marketing with the hope of that
being ready by the summer season. GGFT is working with the Washington County
Economic Opportunity Council as they are exploring rural transportation options.
6. TIP
A. Project Updates
1) Warren County – Ed Doughney reported the following:
• Corinth Road: the project is complete and the books are being reconciled
• Middleton Bridge: no significant progress since last TAC, looking at forest
preserve status on the land and to relocate the existing bridge
• Milton Street: project is complete
• Harrington Road: project is complete, the final change order went to DOT
• Beach Road: PS&E was dropped off to DOT at 11 AM today, the ROW is in
process, anticipating an end-of-March letting
• Alder Brook Road: project is complete and closeout is starting
• Hicks Road: A public meeting was held on January 25; project is not
controversial and was well received;, the draft design should be at DOT
within the next two weeks
• Lanfear and Palisades Bridges: projects are in the same stage, design
approvals should be issued tomorrow
• Crane Mountain bridge: draft design report is being reviewed in-house
• Make the Connection projects: West Mountain Road Bike Improvements
have been completed and reimbursement request is ready; the Bikeway /
149 connection will be done in the spring
• Valley Road over Patterson Creek Bridge – Creighton Manning should start
work by the end of March. An amendment to change the dates for
obligation for ROW will be needed.
• Blair Road: Could be progressed ahead of original schedule/
2) Washington County – Scott Tracy reported the following:
• CR 16 over Halfway Brook: consultant (GPI) selected; kick-off meeting was
held
• CR 12 over the Mettawee River: meeting was recenyl held between
consultant and utility reps
• CR 61 over the Batten Kill: final design approval has been received
• Dewey’s Bridge, Fort Ann: the bridge is advertised for reuse and an RFP is
out for lead paint testing
3) City of Glens Falls – Ed Bartholomew reported that the South Street project
is being closed out and the Broad Street project with Creighton Manning is
beginning.
4) Town of Queensbury – Stu Baker reported that Creighton Manning has been
selected for the design of the Aviation Road / Dixon Road / Farr Lane
intersection
5) Saratoga County/Moreau/South Glens Falls – Aaron reported on the follow-
up meeting with SGF and DOT staff regarding the proposed safety project
on Rte 9 in So. Glens Falls. Concerns persist regarding the proposed design
and impacts on parking. The Village continues to pursue coordination with
desired infrastructure upgrades and this project.
TAC Minutes – February 2, 2012
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6) NYSDOT – Frank Bonafide reported that design approval is complete for
Route 29 over Black Creek and a May 2012 letting is anticipated. A July
letting is anticipated for Route 4 in Hudson Falls. Three bridges (Route 197
over the Hudson River, Route 4 over the Champlain Canal, and Route 28N
over the Hudson River) all are 2013 lettings but are currently being
scrutinized to determine if rehabilitations are feasible alternatives. NYSDOT
is leaning towards pursuing rehabilitations in all three cases.
B. Amendments and Modifications
1) Capital Program Update – Frank Bonafide reported that the program was
submitted to the Commissioner in September was rejected. To meet
preservation goals, almost every major road rehabilitation or
reconstruction project with the exception of Route 4 in Hudson Falls was
removed from the program. A requirement now is that any project that is
deemed “beyond preservation” (major rehabs, replacements,
reconstruction) require an in-depth explanation. Local projects fall under
the new stipulations. The current fiscal climate will require that we
collectively look to extract every day of usable life out of all of our assets.
2) New York Works Program – The Governor’s program aims to put people to
work quickly and the best way to do that is to put money into
infrastructure repair in NYS. The Governor is proposing 1.16 billion dollars
in addition to the regular transportation allocations. There will be $250
million statewide for pavement preservation, $212 million for bridge
preservation, $700 million for signature transportation projects throughout
the state. Signature projects are large accelerated projects around the
state that are on the program now or those that were no longer affordable.
This will be funded with advancing construction funding (borrowing forward
upon future allocations) of Federal Aid, which exposes NYS to the risk that
the reimbursements may not be available. The timeframe is very short.
Aaron noted that this is only for state-owned infrastructure and that the
timing is interesting as NYSDOT just subjected all MPOs in the state to a
TIP readjustment in light of future funding uncertainty.
Frank also reported the Governor has also proposed consolidating the
eleven NYSDOT regions down to six statewide. There is no information
available yet. Also, by the end of March, Region 1 will be moving their
offices from Schenectady to the main office in Albany.
Preston Jenkins had some questions about NYS 197 between Routes 9 and
32 and the depth of the ditches on the north and south side as pertaining
to potential flooding. Frank agreed to look into the issue.
3) Make the Connection project solicitation, Aaron
Nine project applications were received. A selection committee, of not directly
involved committee members, will meet to review the applications and
made the selections on February16.
7. Other Items: Rob Cherry complimented Mike Valentine on the success of the recent
Planning Conference held in Saratoga.
8. Next meeting schedule and adjourn
A Policy Committee meeting will be held on the first week in March.
Preston Jenkins made a motion to adjourn at 2:57.