GTC Board - Minutes

You are here

GENESEE TRANSPORTATION COUNCIL

QUARTERLY BOARD MEETING

Park Plaza Hotel

Henrietta, NY

March 10, 2005

GTC BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT

Marvin Decker, Wayne County (GTC Chairman)

Lois Giess, Rochester City Council

Esther Leadley, Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council

Ed Marianetti, Monroe County At-Large

Wayne Zyra, Monroe County

ALTERNATE REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT

Mark Aesch, RGRTA, representing John G. Doyle, Jr.

Chris Bollin, Monroe County At-Large, representing Daniel Hogan

Bill Bordeau, Seneca Count y, representing Robert Shipley

Ed Doherty, City of Rochester, representing William Johnson

Joan Dupont, NYSDOT Region 4, representing Joseph Boardman

Richard Garrabrant, NYS Thruway Authority, representing Michael Fleischer

E. Joseph Gozelski, Wyoming County, representing A. Douglas Berwanger

Kristen Mark Hughes, Ontario County, representing Carmen Orlando

Paul Johnson, Monroe County Planning Board, representing Bonnie Pedrick-Coles

Charles H. Nesbitt, Jr., Empire State Development Corporation, representing Charles Gargano

Terrence J. Rice, Monroe County, representing Maggie Brooks

David Woods, Livingston County, representing James Merrick

GTC BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT AND UNREPRESENTED

Robert Arnold, Federal Highway Administration

Philip Brito, Federal Aviation Administration

Mary Pat Hancock, Genesee County

Paul E. Haney, Rochester At-Large

Dana K. Miller, Rochester City Planning Commission

Robert Multer, Yates County

David W. Schantz, Monroe County Supervisors Association

Denise M. Sheehan, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Letitia Thompson, Federal Transit Administration

Marcia Tuohey, Orleans County

OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE

Christopher Burns

Deborah Elliott, GTC Staff

James Fabino, Town of Lyons

Erik Frisch, GTC Staff

Richard Perrin, GTC Staff

James Stack, GTC Staff

John Thomas, City of Rochester

David Zorn, Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council



1. Call to Order

Chairman Decker called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m.

2. Roll Call

James Stack, GTC staff, called the roll; a quorum was present.

3. Public Forum

Christopher Burns, founder of the Rochester Young Professionals and representing ROC City Coalition, distributed a survey that was conducted among young professionals in the Rochester area. He wanted to inform the Council of the transportation comments that were included in the survey results.

4. Approval of Minutes

Charles Nesbitt moved for approval of the minutes from the December 9, 2004 GTC Quarterly Board meeting; Bill Bordeau seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as submitted.

5. Communications and Announcements

Since the last Board meeting we have received the following Planning Committee Appointment:

Received the following GTC Board Appointment:

         Richard Perrin announced the following appointments to the GTC Board:

      Livingston County David Woods reappointed as an Alternate to the Board

      Monroe County Edward Marianetti and Daniel Hogan reappointed as an At-Large Members of the Board and James Smith and Chris Bollin reappointed as their respective alternates

      Monroe County Supervisors Association David Schantz appointed to the Board and Austin Warner appointed as his Alternate

      Ontario County Samuel Casella reappointed as an Alternate to the Board

      Wyoming County E. Joseph Gozelski appointed as an Alternate to the Board

6. Reports and Action on Old Business

a.       Planning Committee Report David Woods, Chairman

David Woods provided the following report:

At its January 21, 2005, the Planning Committee:

         Approved the draft 2005-2010 Transportation Improvement Program Update Project Lists for public review

         Recommended that the Board accept the reports, Auburn Line Rail-to-Trail Feasibility Study, Canandaigua Rail-with-Trail Feasibility Study, Edgerton Neighborhood Trail Connector Study, and South Wedge Neighborhood Trail Connector Study as evidence of completion of UPWP Task 6510

         Approved the scope of work for UPWP Task 5375 Cluster Development Enhancement Project Feasibility Study

At its February 17, 2005 meeting, the Planning Committee:

         Recommended that the Board accept the reports, Traffic Count Collection Final Summary and Regional Rights-of-Way Preservation Action Plan Abandoned Railroads, as evidence of completion of UPWP Tasks 4360 and 5700, respectively

         Recommended that the Board amend the 2003-2008 TIP by:

      increasing the total cost of the Intersection of CR 20 and CR 4 project

      adding the Atlantic Avenue Reconstruction project

      increasing the total cost of the CBD Wayfinding Signs project

      adding the Big Ridge Road Reconstruction project

      adding the FFY 2005 Jobs Access Reverse Commute Program project

         Approved the scope of work for UPWP Task 5380 Neighborhood Traffic Calming Concept Design/Implementation Study

b.      GTC Executive Directors Report Richard Perrin

Richard Perrin provided the following report:

        GTC staff has worked with the Transportation Improvement Program Development Committee (TDC) and the Planning Committee to develop the Draft 2005-2010 TIP Update. As part of the TIP Update, 105 applications totaling $239.3 million were reviewed and evaluated.

The TDC met on December 7 and 21, 2004 and January 4 and 7, 2005 to develop a Draft 2005-2010 TIP Update for Planning Committee approval for 30-day Public Review. The Planning Committee approved the draft update as proposed by the TDC for 30-day public review at its January 21 meeting.

The draft update included 75 of the 105 applications submitted totaling $151.6 million, the projected allocation as developed by NYSDOT and GTC. The projects included in the draft update:

      address the following: the most congested roadway links throughout the system

      fully fund every bridge project submitted that is eligible for Federal replacement and rehabilitation

      include monies for two public transportation facilities (Renaissance Square and Ontario County joint public transportation and highway maintenance facility) and vehicle replacement for RTS, Lift Line, and the Monroe County Department of Human Services

      provide for development of three trail projects

      increase funding for Intelligent Transportation System projects that eliminate or reduce the need for road expansion projects.

The 30-day Public Review Period included four public meetings and ran from January 24 through February 22. Public comments were accepted via mail, fax, email, and at the public meetings. Approximately 70 comments were received. The TIP Draft Update was accessed on the GTC website over 400 times.

The TDC reviewed the public comments at their March 3 meeting and are recommending that no changes be made to the draft update.

The Planning Committee will meet on April 21 to consider the TDC recommendations and make their own recommendations for Board consideration at the May 5 meeting.

        GTC staff has also been working with the Unified Planning Work Program Development Committee (UDC) to allocate almost $390,000 in Federal planning funds that the Board voted to accept at its last meeting

The UDC met following the January 21 Planning Committee meeting and directed GTC staff to issue a call for projects to all municipalities in the nine-county region. The call for projects was issued and 20 proposals were received by the March 4 deadline. The proposals and a summary were mailed to the UDC on Tuesday, March 8. The UDC will meet Tuesday, March 15 to evaluate and begin developing a draft FY 2005-2006 UPWP Update for Planning Committee consideration for 30-day public review.

        An RFQ for graphic design services was issued for the Long Range Transportation Plan: 2005-2025 that was adopted by the Board at the December 9, 2004 meeting. GTC staff will select a graphic designer to provide layout and visual theme development for the final document

        GTC staff is also working with NYSDOT Region 4 and the Interagency Consultation Group (NYSDOT Environmental Analysis Bureau, NYSDEC, EPA, FHWA, and FTA) to demonstrate that the Long Range Transportation Plan and TIP conform to Federal air quality standards. GTC staff will have completed the two preliminary Interagency Consultation Grouprequirements by the end of next week validation of the GTC Travel Demand Model for regional emissions analysis and classification of federally-funded projects for inclusion in the conformity analysis.

To insure that the decision-making process for the approximately $400 million in federal transportation funds included in the TIP is done with proper TDC, Planning Committee, and Board guidance plus public review and comment periods, the schedule has been slightly delayed. The conformity determination and associated document is a technical and administrative activity and not a policy-making one. The Board will be required to take action on the conformity document either through a special meeting in May or by mail ballot. The technical document will be provided to the Board at the May 5 meeting but the required 30-day public review period will not have ended.

        GTC has received certification that its process has met federal requirements as a result of the triennial federal certification review conducted on site from November 29 through December 1, 2004. The federal certification includes nine recommendations that GTC is already pursuing. The one corrective action is for GTC to prepare a listing of federally funded transportation projects status. The listing is required by TEA-21, passed by the federal government in 1998 and was not mentioned in the 1998 or 2001 certification reviews.

c. Old Business

There was no old business.

7. New Business

a.       Accepting the final project reports as evidence of completion of various UPWP tasks

The Chairman suggested that the following three Proposed Council Resolutions be considered under one motion. The Board concurred.

(1) Accepting the reports, Auburn Line Rail-to-Trail Feasibility Study, Canandaigua Rail-with-Trail Feasibility Study, Edgerton Neighborhood Trail Connector Study, and South Wedge Neighborhood Trail Connector Study, as evidence of completion of UPWP Task 6510 Action on Resolution 05-1

(2) Accepting the report, Regional Rights-of-Way Preservation Action Plan Abandoned Railroads, as evidence of completion of UPWP Task 5700 Action on Resolution 05-2

(3) Accepting the Traffic County Collection Final Summary, as evidence of completion of UPWP Task 4360 Action on Resolution 05-3

Richard Perrin explained the three Proposed Council Resolutions, 05-1, 05-2, and 05-3. He provided highlights of each report and noted that executive summaries, which provided additional information, were included in the meeting package.

Terrence Rice moved to approve Resolutions 05-1, 05-2, and 05-3; Ed Doherty seconded. The motion passed unopposed.

b.      Adopting amendments to the 2003-2008 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)

The Chairman suggested that the following five Proposed Council Resolutions be considered under one motion. The Board concurred.

(1) Amending the 2003-2008 TIP by increasing the total cost of the Intersection of CR 20 and CR 4 project Action on Resolution 05-4

(2) Amending the 2003-2008 TIP by adding the Atlantic Avenue Reconstruction project Action Resolution 05-5

(3) Amending the 2003-2008 TIP by increasing the total cost of the CBD Wayfinding Signs project Action on Resolution 05-6

(4) Amending the 2003-2008 TIP by adding the Big Ridge Road Reconstruction project Action on Resolution 05-7

(5) Amending the 2003-3008 TIP by adding the FFY 2005 Jobs Access Reverse Commute Program project Action on Resolution 05-8

Richard Perrin explained each of the five Proposed Council Resolutions, 05-4, 05-5, 05-6, 05-7, and 05-8.

Wayne Zyra moved to approve Resolutions 05-4, 05-5, 05-6, 05-7, and 05-8; Joan Dupont seconded. The motion passed unopposed.

c. Any Other New Business

There has been movement on reauthorization of the federal transportation bill which provides funding for planning and investment through Metropolitan Planning Organizations, including GTC. The House of Representatives is expected to pass their version by the end of the week and that proposal will not exceed $284 billion. The Senate continues to delay in an attempt to develop a proposal in excess of $284 billion. The Administration has stated that it will not sign a bill above that amount.

8.                 Next Meeting

The next Board Meeting will be held Thursday, May 5, 2005 at 8:30 a.m. at the Park Plaza Hotel in Henrietta.

9. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 a.m.