11 South Street, Suite 203 Glens Falls, NY 12801
Policy Committee Meeting
Minutes of Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Attendance:
Members
:
Ed Bartholomew, City of Glens Falls (rep. Jack Diamond)
Ralph Bentley, Supervisor, Town of Horicon
Frank Bonafide, NYSDOT Reg. 1 (rep. Mary Ivy)
Preston Jenkins, Supervisor, Town of Moreau
James Lindsay, Supervisor, Town of Kingsbury
Frank McCoy, Supervisor, Town of Lake George
Daniel Stec, Chairman, Warren County Board of Supervisors
Mitch Suprenant, Supervisor, Town of Ford Edward
Steven Sweeney, NYS Canal Corp. (rep. Michael Loftus)
Mike Valentine, Saratoga County (rep. Thomas Wood)
Others
:
Michael Fiorillo, Village of Hudson Falls
Wayne LaMothe, Warren County Planning
Mary Anne Mariotti, NYSDOT-Region 1
Joseph Rich, Federal Highway Administration
Jeff Tennyson, Warren County DPW
A/GFTC Staff:
Aaron Frankenfeld, Transportation Planning Director
Monika Bulman, Administrative Assistant
1. Welcome & Introductions
Chairman Dan Stec called the meeting to order at 1:37
2. Visitors Issues – None
3. Administration
A. Host Agency agreement (Aaron): Another municipality, the City of Glens Falls,
has presented itself as a possible host agency. GGFT has indicated that their
experience with having the City as a host has been positive. At times the
LC/LGRPB has experienced cash flow problems resulting in late payments to
consultants, but a bank loan recently acquired by the RPB may help avoid
future late payments.
A motion was made to establish a committee to explore alternative hosting
arrangements.
MOVED BY : Jeff Tennyson SECONDED BY: Ralph Bentley MOTION CARRIED
4. Transit
A. 5310 Program- (Aaron) This is a federally funded, state administered program
for vehicle purchases for private not-for-profit transportation providers that
serve elderly and disabled passengers. The deadline to submit applications is
May 4, 2011. A/GFTC will assist in the review and selection of applicants.
Adirondack / GlensFallsTransportationCouncil
11 South Street, Suite 203
Glens Falls, NY 12801
p: (518) 223 – 0086 f: (518) 223 – 0584
info@agftc.org
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Policy Committee Minutes
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March 9, 2011
B. GGFT Update – In absence of a full report from GGFT, Aaron briefly noted that
GGFT was planning to hold public workshops to present possible service
changes as identified in the Transit Development Plan.
5. Annual Work Program
A. Review of Staff and Consultant Activities
1) Local Transportation Planning and Engineering Assistance Program
a. Glens Falls residential traffic calming (Aaron): RSG is continuing
to work on the methodology for a spring 2011 deployment of
data collection and neighbor surveys.
b. Request from GGFT for design services (Aaron): GGFT has
requested using our Local Traffic Engineering Assistance
Program with design, striping, signing and utilization of space at
City Hall for the bus terminal. This would also include specs for
materials. The program has sufficient funds to carry this project
and no committee approval is required to advance this.
c. Request from Town of Lake George (Aaron): Stemming from
their recent gateway corridor study facilitated by A/GFTC, the
Town of Lake George has requested assistance for development
of a wayfinding signing plan. Mr. McCoy reported that currently
the corridor has cluttered signage and lacks pedestrian and
landscaping. Improved signage is the first step in the Town’s
vision for an improved corridor. Frank Bonafide noted that signs
placed in state rights-of-way would require DOT review. Aaron
recommended that this project be initiated following completion
of the GGFT and City of Glens Falls projects noted above. Mr.
McCoy stated that this was acceptable.
2) Travel Demand Modeling contract (Aaron): Warner Transportation
Consulting is completing the methodology report and users guide for
the new model, and is also attempting to reconcile model outputs with
data used by the Interagency Consultation Group in their review of air
quality conformity. The entire project should be completed within two
months.
3) GIS Services contract (Aaron): The data collection tools are complete
and include a transit passenger data collection tool (this will allow us to
assist GGFT with FTA ridership requirements), pavement scoring data
collection device and on-line TIP project and traffic count browsers.
GGFT has requested a transit map browser which we will work over the
course of the upcoming state fiscal year pending UPWP approval.
4) iPoolNorth update (Aaron): We currently have 115 people signed up.
The increase is due to Glens Falls Hospital publicizing the program to its
employees. Additional increases are likely to coincide with rising fuel
costs.
B. Upcoming Activities
1) WWIDA Shovel Ready Certification (Aaron): A preliminary traffic
generation estimate for IDA in support of their shovel-ready
certification request from New York State is on hold pending data
collection done on behalf of Warren County as part of the Hicks Road
reconstruction.
2) Bicycle Map update/reprint (Aaron): Reprinting of the regional bicycle
map is on-hold as Queensbury and Glens Falls consider designating
additional on-street bicycle routes.
Policy Committee Minutes
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March 9, 2011
C. 2011-2012 Work Program
1) Review of Draft (Handout): Aaron summarized the work program and
pointed out that we had to make a change of $142.00 from the initial
draft. The total program amount is $656,799. We are anticipating an
additional $190K carryover in savings from the 2010-2011 year but,
because those savings have not been released by FHWA, they were not
included in the draft program. Without these funds, A/GFTC has
adequate funds to accomplish the tasks in the UPWP. If we find that
mid-year we need the carryover funds for additional tasks, the UPWP
can be amended.
A motion was made to approve the 2011-2012 UPWP.
MOVED BY : Mike Valentine SECONDED BY: Ralph Bentley MOTION CARRIED
6. TIP
A. Make the Connection (MTC) Awards (Aaron): Four projects were awarded:
Warren County for establishing bicycle space along West Mountain Road;
Warren County for the bikeway a new connection between the Warren County
Bikeway and the factory outlet stores on Route 9; Village of Argyle for
sidewalks along Sheridan Street; Village of Granville (joint venture with Town)
for sidewalks. Recommendations for improvements to the application and the
selection process are a high priority. Jeff Tennyson wondered if some of the
additional UPWP funds could be used towards the development of stronger
MTC projects. Aaron noted that A/GFTC was not leaving the additional funds
on the table but that those were savings from prior years and that the TAC
could explore MTC project development in greater detail as the year
progressed.
B. Project Updates
1) Warren County (Jeff Tennyson) Consultant selection for Crane Mountain
Road Bridge (Creighton Manning Engineering) and Hicks Road
reconstruction (Greenman – Pedersen Inc.) has taken place; bids are in
for Harrington Road Bridge; the utility phase for Corinth Road is nearing
completion.
2) Washington County: No one was present to give project report, but Jim
Lindsay expressed concerns about the limitations of the bridge program
as related to Dewey’s Bridge over the Champlain Canal. A new road
could easily be constructed for what it would cost to replace the bridge,
which doesn’t see much traffic. Aaron agreed that the proposed road
solution was something that A/GFTC generally concurs with but that
that is not a permissible solution within the current program. Funding
programs could change as part of the new federal highway bill.
3) Saratoga County (Preston Jenkins): The Spier Falls safety project had
good results, there are concerns about dark conditions along Route 9
between Exit 17 and the new intersection. Mr. Jenkins also expressed
concern with vehicular speeds exiting I-87 at Exit 17 to Route 9
northbound. Mary Anne Mariotti agreed forward these concerns to the
appropriate personnel at NYSDOT R1.
4) NYSDOT- (Mary Anne Mariotti): Design for the Route 4 project in
Hudson Falls is progressing; there will be public meeting in the
summer, the soil on John Street is being tested. The beams are being
installed for the Route 372 bridge project in Greenwich.
Policy Committee Minutes
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March 9, 2011
Frank Bonafide reported that the new DOT Commissioner is Joan
McDonald. The Federal Transportation Act has been extended through
the end of September. The new bill could be ready at the end of the
fiscal year.
Joe Rich stated that the $38 billion included in the extension is
approximately 2/3 of what is needed for basic maintenance of the
existing transportation system.
Mitch Suprenant wanted to know the status of the 197 bridges over the
Hudson River. NYSDOT responded that work on the west branch
structure is scheduled to begin in spring of 2013. Because of recent
repairs, the east branch (concrete arch) structure is currently in better
condition than the west branch structure and it is not currently
programmed for rehabilitation or replacement.
Jeff Tennyson noted his concerns with state reimbursements for federal
aid project costs incurred at the local level. The delays have forced the
County to bond certain projects and increased project costs. Frank
Bonafide acknowledged the problem and noted that cash flow is an
issue for many state agencies.
C. Amendments and Modifications
1) City of Glens Falls request to reprioritize projects (Aaron): The City of
Glens Falls has requested adding the Broad Street project to the TIP,
while deferring the Hudson Avenue and Dix Avenue projects as
necessary to preserve fiscal constraint. The thirty-day public comment
period for this amendment is complete.
A motion was made to approve adding the Broad Street project to the TIP.
MOVED BY : Frank McCoy SECONDED BY: Jim Lindsay MOTION CARRIED
2) Aviation Road scope expansion (Aaron): The Town of Queensbury has
requested a scope of expansion of the existing Aviation Road / Dixon
Road intersection project to include the entrance to Queensbury
Schools. Chairman Stec noted that installation of a right turn lane was
included as a possible alternative within the recently completed Aviation
Road Corridor Study. Aaron indicated that, working with NYSDOT R1,
we believe that we have found a sufficient amount of financial offset to
add the project. Additional funds for design have already been included.
3) Route 9 Outlets/Exit 20 ramp Discussion took place regarding the
possibility of a rear access road behind the outlets (east side of Rte 9).
There is land available for this road. The Town f Queensbury may come
forward with a more formal request for this project.
7. Other Items
Mr. Suprenant referred back to the Fort Edward Truck Access study and asked about
the recommendation for constructing a new access road between Route 4 and County
Route 37. Aaron stated that a TIP project request was never received from the Town.
8. Next meeting and adjourn
At 3:20 a motion was made to adjourn the meeting.
MOVED BY: Frank McCoy SECONDED BY: Ed Bartholomew MOTION CARRIED