SOUTH JERSEY TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ORGANIZATION Policy Board Reorganization Meeting Monday, January 28, 2013-11:00 A.M. Vineland City Hall, 2 nd Floor Caucus Room The meeting was called to order at 11:03 a.m. by Executive Director Timothy Chelius, followed by the flag salute. Mr. Chelius then advised that the requirements of the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act were met through Annual Notice on January 24, 2012 to The Press of Atlantic City, The Bridgeton Evening News, The Daily Journal, Today's Sunbeam, and to the Clerks of the four member counties. Also, the Notice was posted on the designated bulletin board in Vineland City Hall. Attendance of members was then taken by roll call: ATTENDANCE: Members: Frank Sutton, Atlantic County (By phone) Gerald Thornton, Cape May County (By phone) Tony Surace, Cumberland County (By phone) Benjamin Laury, Salem County (Not present) Lorenzo Langford, Atlantic City (Not present) Jeffrey Ridgway, Pittsgrove Township (By phone) Leonard Desiderio, Sea Isle City (By phone) Ruben Bermudez, City of Vineland Thomas Wospil, NJDOT Louis Millan, NJ Transit Samuel Donelson, SJTA (By phone) Also in attendance: Kathleen Hicks, City of Vineland Brian Myers, City of Vineland Leslie Gimeno, Cape May County Robert Brewer, Cumberland County Louis Joyce, Salem County (By phone) Patty Leech, FHWA (By phone) Ray Tomczak, NJDOT Paul Heck, SJTA (By phone) Keith Davis, Nehmad, Perillo & Davis (By phone) Nancy Ridgway, Resident Timothy Chelius, SJTPO Monica LoGuidice, SJTPO Jennifer Marandino, SJTPO John Petersack, SJTPO Michael Reeves, SJTPO
REORGANIZATION 1. Report of the Nominating Committee Executive Director Chelius reported that the Nominating Committee consisting of Freeholder Sutton, Mayor Desiderio, Committeeman Ridgway, and Freeholder Director Thornton recommended the 2013 Officers as follows: Freeholder Sutton as Chairman, Mayor Desiderio as Vice Chairman, and Committeeman Ridgway as Secretary/Treasurer. There were no additional nominations. 2. Election of Officers On Motion by Freeholder Director Thornton and seconded by Freeholder Surace, the selection of officers was 3. Resolution 1301-01: Adopting Annual Notice of Schedule of Regular Meetings On Motion by Vice Chairman Desiderio and seconded by Freeholder Surace, Resolution 1301-01 was APPROVAL OF MINUTES: November 26, 2012 On Motion by Committeeman Ridgway and seconded by Mayor Desiderio, the minutes of November 26, 2012 were approved by roll call vote with abstentions from Mayor Bermudez, Mayor Desiderio, Samuel Donelson, and Thomas Wospil. TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT Chairman Louis Joyce reported that at the January 14, 2013 Reorganization meeting, he was reappointed Chairman for an additional year. He also reported that TAC recommended Board approval of the scheduled Resolutions. The TAC had some critical comments that they forwarded to the consultant pertaining to the Urban Boundaries Map, which he hopes to get resolved prior to the March meeting. CHAIRMAN S REMARKS Chairman Sutton thanked the nominating committee for his reappointment and congratulated all other nominations. The Policy Board was very productive the past year in accomplishing many goals. On January 22, 2013 the NJDOT hosted a special informational meeting, which Mr. Chelius will report on. REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Executive Director Chelius reported that the Commissioner of NJDOT called together elected officials, Chairmen and Directors of the three MPO s, NJ Transit and NJDOT representatives to emphasize the importance for timely authorization of local projects. Because this has been a problem in the past few years, both the Commissioner and FHWA Division Administrator Ernie Blais stated that the local agencies need to be very proactive and clear on the timeframes in which they need to submit the information supporting their projects. Mr. Chelius then reviewed the Project Status Report that was included in packets, stating that all of SJTPO s local projects have completed the first step in the process. Jennifer Marandino then highlighted some changes that occurred since the Project Status Report was issued. Atlantic County (Bears Head Road) had their CED forwarded to NJDOT for environmental review, Cape May County (Bay Avenue) had their CED approved, and Salem County (Salem-Hancocks
Bridge Road) received NJDOT review on ADA issues. Mr. Chelius stated that he will keep Board members informed of any significant news about the capital program, and he explained that not only does SJTPO anticipate authorization of the $10.5 million share of STP-SJ funds, but that the agencies should have other plans or projects in mind in the event that other areas fall short in authorizing their projects. SOUTH JERSEY TRAFFIC SAFETY ALLIANCE Mr. Chelius explained that Teresa Thomas was originally summonsed for Jury Duty, but was excused late yesterday. Ms. Thomas will send out a report to the Policy Board later this week. NEW BUSINESS 1. Resolution 1301-02: Approving an Amendment to the FY 2013 Transportation Improvement Program to Add the Median Crossover Protection Contract #12 Project On Motion by Freeholder Director Thornton and seconded by Thomas Wospil, Resolution 1301-02 was opened for discussion. Thomas Wospil explained that the Median Crossover Protection Contract #12 project is under development and will be federally funded. The project will require preliminary engineering in FY 2013 in the amount of $100,000, Design in FY 2013 in the amount of $831,000, and followed by Construction in FY 2015 in the amount of $8,519,000. The project is a regional contract in the Central and Southern parts of the State. This contract will not be funded with federal safety funds, due to technical difficulties between FHWA and NJDOT on project eligibility. We hope a compromise between agencies can be reached in a timely manner. With no further comment, Resolution 1301-02 was 2. Resolution 1301-03: Approving an Amendment to the FY 2013 Transportation Improvement Program to Add the Valley Avenue Mill and Overlay Resurfacing Project On Motion by Freeholder Surace and seconded by Mayor Desiderio, Resolution 1301-03 was opened for discussion. John Petersack explained that the City of Vineland has elected to delay their Landis Avenue Resurfacing project until 2014 to advance the Valley Avenue Mill and Overlay project from 2016 to 2013. He emphasized that the project is ready and that all the environmental documents should be approved with the final construction package to the State by April. On question by Tom Wospil, Mr. Chelius confirmed that the FY 2013 Project Status Report will be updated to reflect the change. With no further comment, Resolution 1301-03 was 3. Resolution 1301-04: Approving an Amendment to the FY 2013 Transportation Improvement Program to Add the Bus Acquisition Program Project On Motion by Committeeman Ridgway and seconded by Freeholder Director Thornton, Resolution 1301-04 was opened for discussion. NJ Transit is recommending the purchase of approximately (37) Diesel Electric Hybrid Cruiser Buses at a cost of $27,260,000. Louis Millan explained that NJ Transit operates one of the largest bus fleets in the United States. The agency has taken measures to reduce emissions by using clean diesel to fuel its buses, and also uses compressed natural gas buses in another part of the state, but had not yet purchased hybrid buses. Hybrid vehicles have been available for approximately fifteen years, but hybrid buses have been around less time, and it was advantageous to wait for the technology to mature, as buses must be able to endure day-to-day transit operations. He further commented that these (37) hybrid buses will be operated exclusively out of their Egg Harbor garage. He stated that these buses will operate on routes emanating from Atlantic City, on the 552 Route to Cape May, the 553 Route to Upper Deerfield, and the 559 Route to Lakewood - 24/7, 365 days a year. This project will be funded with Section 5309 Bus & Bus Facilities Program funds through the
Federal Transit Administration. With no further comment, Resolution 1301-04 was unanimously approved by roll call vote. 4. Resolution 1301-05: Approving the SJTPO FY 2014 STP-SJ Local Lead Program On Motion by Mayor Desiderio and seconded by Freeholder Surace, Resolution 1301-05 was opened for discussion. John Petersack reviewed the list of projects that were provided in Board packets explaining that they highlight the projects that were agreed upon by county engineers and recommended by TAC. The FY 2013 program includes $10,147,000 of projects, which is a slight increase from last year. He re-emphasized the importance of getting projects authorized in a timely manner and ready for the chance that additional funding may become available from the other two MPO s who may not be prepared to spend all of their funding. With no further comment, Resolution 1301-05 was unanimously approved by roll call vote. 5. Resolution 1301-06: Endorsing the Proposed List of Appointments to the JARC/New Freedom Ranking Committee On Motion by Committeeman Ridgway and seconded by Samuel Donelson, Resolution 1301-06 was opened for discussion. Michael Reeves explained that SJTPO receives and ranks applications for both the Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) and New Freedom programs, the purpose of which is to provide both transportation services to the disabled and for those needing transportation to work. The call for applications went out early December with a submission due date of February 14. The initial step of the application ranking process is to choose a Ranking Committee. The TAC, at its January 14, 2013 meeting, recommended the following representatives: Jim Flynn, NJ Transit; Paul Heck, SJTA; Michael Reeves, William Schiavi, SJTPO; Louis Joyce, Salem County; John Peterson, Atlantic County; Leslie Gimeno, Cape May County; and Robert Brewer, Cumberland County. With no further comment, Resolution 1301-06 was 6. Resolution 1301-07: Approving Funding for the Airport Circle Safety and Operational Analysis Project from the Congestion Management Process Data Collection Project On Motion by Samuel Donelson and seconded by Freeholder Surace, Resolution 1301-07 was opened for discussion. Executive Director Chelius explained that this action will set up the funding for the consultant selected to conduct the Airport Circle Safety & Operational Analysis project. SJTPO was able to devote the highest amount of Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds of any local project. FHWA requires agencies that use HSIP funds to re-evaluate the project three years after a project has been opened to traffic to compare its safety performance. Since there has been public interest in how the Airport Circle is operating and whether it can be tweaked to operate better, SJTPO and Atlantic County desire to conduct the review well before the three year deadline. Mr. Chelius stated that the FY 2013-2014 UPWP includes $150,000 for data collection and analysis that supports safety programs, which is where the project will be funded. With no further comment, Resolution 1301-07 was 7. Resolution 1301-08: Approving the Selection of Consultant for the Airport Circle Safety and Operational Analysis Project On Motion by Freeholder Director Thornton and seconded by Mayor Desiderio, Resolution 1301-08 was opened for discussion. Executive Director Chelius reported that the Consultant Selection Committee consisting of SJTPO staff, Atlantic County, and SJTA reviewed eleven (11) proposals, approximately 140 firms were notified, and the Committee recommend Taylor Wiseman & Taylor in association with MBO Engineering (an NJDOT Certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise), Burton- Lawson Engineering, and Signal Control Products, Inc. to conduct the analysis for an amount not to
exceed $59,942.64 with a 28.2% DBE allocation. With no further comment, Resolution 1301-08 was 8. Resolution 1301-09: Supporting Proposed Storm Mitigation Improvements in Atlantic City On Motion by Committeeman Ridgway and seconded by Mayor Desiderio, Resolution 1301-09 was opened for discussion. Executive Director Chelius explained that Atlantic City is seeking SJTPO s support for various proposed storm mitigation improvements due to Hurricane Sandy. With no further comment, Resolution 1301-09 was approved by roll call vote with an abstention from Thomas Wospil. 9. Resolution 1301-10: Recognizing the Services of Robert Romano On Motion by Freeholder Director Thornton and seconded by Mayor Desiderio, Resolution 1301-10 was opened for discussion. Chairman Sutton read the resolution in its entirety. Executive Director Chelius commented that during Mayor Romano s term, Vineland became a full partner in the Local Lead Program with a project each year. With no further comment, Resolution 1301-10 was NJDOT UPDATES Raymond Tomczak commented that NJDOT has prepared the RFP for the Procedures Audit stating that it is with Procurement and should be advertised in approximately a couple of weeks. Thomas Wospil commented that NJDOT is appreciative of the concerns SJTPO is experiencing with advancement of Local Aid projects in FY 2013. Both Mr. Chelius and Kathleen Hicks reached out to him regarding their concerns mentioning that it could be a problem for their region if issues are not resolved in a timely manner. Mr. Wospil stated that all Local Aid authorizations are being held in abeyance until pay-to-play and other local technical issues are resolved. As the NJDOT Commissioner and FHWA Division Administrator indicated at the meeting on January 22, there are on-going issues between agencies, but he is cautiously optimistic that there will be a resolution in a timely manner. Mr. Wospil pointed out that if SJTPO is not satisfied with progress of these discussions, to please reach out to NJDOT on status of where things stand. On question by Chairman Sutton, Mr. Chelius confirmed that he would keep the Policy Board informed on the status. PUBLIC COMMENT Nancy Ridgway wanted to thank however was responsible at NJ Transit for the purchase of the hybrid buses, stating that it s a great idea. ADJOURNMENT On Motion by Freeholder Surace and seconded by Mayor Desiderio, the meeting was adjourned at 11:35 a.m. Approved Minutes Certified Correct: Jeffrey T. Ridgway, Secretary/Treasurer