GTC Planning Committee - Minutes

You are here

GTC PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING

Ontario County Safety Training Facility

October 17, 2002

PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT

James Brady, Wayne County Highway Department

Joan Dupont, NYSDOT Region 4

Steve Hendershott, Monroe County Supervisors Association

Kristen Mark Hughes (Committee Vice-Chairman), Ontario County Planning Department

Terrence J. Rice, Monroe County DOT

David Woods (Committee Chairman), Livingston County Planning Department

Wayne Zyra, Monroe County Legislator

ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT

David Cook, representing Don Riley, RGRTA

Paul Johnson, representing Rocco DiGiovanni, Monroe County Planning

Alicia Nolan, representing Jonathan McDade, FHWA

David Thielman, representing Richard Garrabrant, NYS Thruway Authority

John Thomas representing George Stam, City of Rochester

David Zorn, representing Paul Howard, G/FLRPC

OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE

Kristin Bennett, GTC Staff

Deborah Elliott, GTC Staff

Erik Frisch, GTC Staff

Steve Gleason, GTC Staff

Harriet Haynes, Seneca County

Scott Leathersich, Monroe County DOT

Maria Rudzinski, Ontario County

Rob Slaver, NYSDOT Region 4

Lisa Smith, GTC Staff

PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT AND UNREPRESENTED

S. William Baker, US EPA

Philip Brito, FAA

Glenn Cooke, Seneca County

Donald Cooley, Orleans County

John Czamanske, Yates County Planning Department

Stephen Ferranti, Member-At-Large, Monroe County

Glenn Guarino, Member-At-Large, Monroe County

Timothy Hens, Genesee County

John T. Hicks, NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation

Charles Nesbitt, Jr., Empire State Development

Thomas Skoglund, Wyoming County Planning Department

Larry Stid, City of Rochester

William Sullivan, City of Rochester

Clara Wallace-Douglas, FTA

1. Call to Order

David Woods called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.

Steve Gleason advised the committee of two additions to the agenda.

2. Public Forum

No public comment was offered.

3. Approval of Minutes

Steve Hendershott made a motion for approval of the minutes from the August 22, 2002 Planning Committee meeting as submitted. Wayne Zyra seconded the motion. The motion passed unopposed.

4. Reports and Action on Old Business

a. Reports on UPWP Projects and Other Activities

Steve Gleason reported on GTC Staff and Committee activities:

The Transportation Safety Information Analysis scope of work was approved at the July Planning Committee meeting, but no action has been taken yet

The Transportation and Industrial Access scope of work was approved at the July Planning Committee meeting. GTC is working with G/FLRPC to finalize the data items for the inventory

GTC staff is progressing the Regional Rights-Of-Way Preservation Study. Data collection has been completed for Monroe, Ontario, and Genesee counties (fieldwork is required for the remaining counties)

One proposal was received for the Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Study. RGRTA and GTC staff are in the process of evaluating it

The Regional Trails Initiative Steering Committee met on September 16 to kick off Phase 2 of the Initiative. The Committee also recommended a slate of projects for Priority Trails Advancement funding, which will be reviewed later in the meeting

A scope of work for the Congestion Management System Implementation project will be reviewed at a future Planning Committee meeting (upon completion of the Congestion Management System Plan)

Richard Perrin is attending the NYSMPO directors meeting being held today and will advocate for having one of the planned Context Sensitive Solutions training sessions held in Rochester

GTC staff held a TIP informational workshop on September 25. There were 14 attendees. TIP project applications are due November 1

The UPWP Call for Projects was issued on September 25. UPWP applications are due October 25

The revised budget reduction for GTC for FY 2003-2004 is $187,000 (a 15% reduction). GTC staff has identified $30,000 in savings in the FY 2002-2003 budget and another $88,000 in savings in the FY 2003-2004 budget. A net loss of approximately $76,000 to the GTC budget remains for next year

GTC staff and its on-call air quality consultant will be meeting with NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) staff on October 17 to review the air quality monitor assessment report, including issues relating to the placement of the monitor and pollutant transport, and to define a mutually acceptable course of action

GTC staff has been working with transportation modeling staff from the other New York State MPOs to identify a new transportation model to be used. GTCs selection of a new transportation modeling platform will likely be identified the week of October 21

The UPWP Development Committee has agreed to defer the selection of a project in the second round of the Regionally Significant Corridors program until after the first of the calendar year

Monroe County

Terry Rice reported:

The GIS Database Integration for Monroe County DOT project is still awaiting final setup of the required software. This project has been delayed due to the retirement of key staff persons from the County survey unit. A newly hired surveyor will work on this

The inventory for the Multi-Lane Conversion Study has been completed. The consultant, Sear Brown, is performing a review of 50-55 segments of roadway, including approximately 30 roads or road segments within the City of Rochester

Paul Johnson reported:

The 2001 Monroe County Land Use Monitoring Report has been completed. Data collection for the 2002 report will begin in December

Ontario County

Kris Hughes reported:

Phase 1 of the Route 332 Corridor Management Study should be completed by the end of the year (December)

The Routes 5 & 20 Corridor Study scope of work is on the agenda for presentation later in the meeting

County staff has made significant progress manipulating the data for the Ontario CATS Bus System Plan. The final plan and report should be on the agenda for the January Planning Committee meeting

Wyoming County

Steve Gleason reported:

Allee, King, Rosen and Fleming was chosen as the consultant for the Transportation & Scenic / Historic Resources project in Wyoming County

Yates County

Steve Gleason reported:

The baseline condition report for the Route 14A Corridor Study has been completed. The first public meeting for the Study will be held in early December. The next steering committee meeting will be held October 30 (note: subsequently rescheduled to November 14)

City of Rochester

John Thomas reported:

Bergmann Associates has been selected to serve as the consultant on the Street Condition Rating Update Study

White topping pavement treatments are currently being installed at various bus stop locations on Main Street in Downtown Rochester as part of Phase 1 of the High Volume Bus Stop Pavement Management Study. Additional bus stop locations outside of downtown will be treated following completion of Phase 2 of the project. A final report for the project is forthcoming

G/FLRPC

David Zorn reported:

The 2001 Rural County Land Use Monitoring Report has been completed. Data collection for the 2002 report will begin in January 2003

The Regional Roundtable for the Main Street Transportation Tools project held on September 5 was well attended. Study findings for Warsaw and Spencerport will be presented at the G/FLRPC Fall 2002 Local Government Workshop (to be held November 15, 2002 at the Genesee River Hotel & Conference Center in Mt. Morris). The survey and data analysis work is complete. A draft report on the study will be written next month

The scope of work for the Technical Assistance portion of UPWP Task #5800 will be addressed later in the meeting

The Regional Atlas project is progressing on schedule. G/FLRPC staff will be meeting with GTC staff about additional maps and data displays to be included in the Atlas

RGRTA

David Cook reported:

The initial Request for Proposals for the Gates-Chili Transit Study was not successful. RGRTA has delayed this project in order to seek additional funding

RGRTA staff is preparing the RFP for the Area Wide Job Access and Reverse Commute Plan

Public forums were held in Wayne and Wyoming counties for their respective Public Transportation Strategic Plans. Stuart Brown Associates, the consultant for these projects, is currently developing the draft Strategic Plans for each county

The scope of work for the Security and Safety Plan for Public Transportation will be addressed later in this meeting

The Route Analysis Information System project has begun with initial data entry work underway. RGRTA staff member, Ryan Gallivan, and a contract employee are working on route data collection. RGRTA has hired a consultant to conduct a parallel project looking at area wide demographic trends and transit route needs

The Alternative Fuels Technology Study scope of work will be presented to the Planning Committee at its November meeting

Livingston County

David Woods reported:

Livingston County continues to work with RGRTA on implementation of the Livingston County Public Transportation Strategic Plan

Other Agencies

The Route 14 Truck Study Steering Committee finalized draft study recommendations at its September 19 meeting. A public meeting has been scheduled for December 3 to present the study findings and draft recommendations

A Request for Proposals was issued by the Town of Brighton for the Monroe Avenue/I-590 Interchange Study (proposals are due October 25)

Bergmann Associates has been chosen to serve as the consultant on the Town of Greeces Lexington Avenue Extension Study

b. Any Other Old Business or Announcements

No old business or announcements were reported

5. Planning Committee Action Items

a. Planning Committee Approval of project recommendations for Priority Trails Advancement funding

Steve Gleason reviewed the projects recommended for approval, noting the significant amount of cash match being provided by the local communities involved ($31,500 cash match).

Terry Rice motioned to approve the Project Recommendations for Priority Trails Advancement Funding. John Thomas seconded. The motion passed unopposed.

b. Recommendations to GTC Board concerning Accepting the report, Seneca County Public Transportation Study, as evidence of completion of UPWP Task # 8218/Proposed Council Resolution 02-30

Harriet Haynes reviewed the study findings and thanked GTC for their financial and technical assistance.

John Thomas motioned to recommend approval of Proposed Council Resolution 02-30. Steve Hendershott seconded. The motion passed unopposed.

c. Approval of UPWP Project Scopes of Work

Task #5800 G/FLRPC Land Use and Technical Assistance/Technical Assistance

David Zorn from G/FLRPC reviewed the Project Scope for Task #5800

Task #7540 Routes 5 & 20 Corridor Study

Maria Rudzinski from Ontario County reviewed the Project Scope for Task #7540

Task #8270 Security and Safety Plan for Public Transportation

David Cook from RGRTA reviewed the Project Scope for Task #8270

Task #8740 Regional Trails Initiative Phase 2

Steve Gleason reviewed the Project Scope for Task #8740

Wayne Zyra motioned to approve UPWP Project Scopes of Work for Task #s 5800, 7540, 7270, and 8740. David Thielman seconded. The motion passed unopposed.

6. Planning Committee Information Items

An informal retirement party for Paul Howard, G/FLRPCs Executive Director, will be held at Jillians (in the High Falls Entertainment District) on October 30, starting at 5:00 p.m.

7. New Business

a. Steve Gleason outlined a memo from Paul Howard, that was faxed to Planning Committee members on Wednesday, requesting G/FLRPC be appointed to the TIP Development Committee (TDC).

After some discussion about the possible need for and benefits of the appointment, the Planning Committee tabled the request. G/FLRPC will draft a memo outlining the reasons why it is requesting the appointment and the likely benefits of their participation on the TDC, to be considered at the November Planning Committee meeting.

b. Steve Gleason announced that GTC was one of nine MPOs selected from across the country to receive a training grant from the National Center for Bicycling & Walking and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. GTC will receive funding for eight half-day Walkable Community workshops during 2003.

A local cash match of $7,000 is required to match the approximately $20,000 of funding provided to the region. GTC staff is recommending that $4,000 or $5,000 from UPWP Task #8510 (Transportation Information Resources) be reallocated to help cover this cash match. This funding is presently earmarked for a context sensitive design workshop, but a planned CSD training initiative by the NYSMPOs can fill this need. The balance of required cash match ($2,000) will be provided through next years UPWP.

John Thomas motioned to approve use of $5,000 in contractual funding from Task #8510 to provide a portion of the required cash match for the Walkable Communities training grant. Terry Rice seconded. The motion passed unopposed.

c. Steve Gleason distributed the 2003 Meeting Calendar, and noted that a consolidated meeting calendar with all TDC, UDC, and Planning Committee meetings necessary to develop the new UPWP and TIP will be mailed to TDC and UDC members in the near future.

8. Next Meeting

The next Planning Committee meeting will be held on November 21, 2002 at 10:30 a.m. at NYSDOT Region 4 on Jefferson Road in Henrietta

9. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m.