AASHTO-Research Advisory Committee, Region 3

Meeting Minutes

Date

/ July 17, 2013 /

Time

/ 3:00 pm (Central)

Facilitator

/ Amy Schutzbach / Secretary / Michael Townley
Subject / RAC Region 3 Meeting
Attendees / Member states attending:
Illinois – Amy Schutzbach, Megan Swanson
Indiana – Tommy Nantung
Iowa – Peggy Knight
Kansas – Rick Kreider
Michigan – Michael Townley
Minnesota – Linda Taylor
Missouri – Bill Stone
Ohio – Cynthia Gerst
Wisconsin – Daniel Yeh, Jacqueline Kamin
Others attending:
Azmat Hussain – FHWA
Dale Peabody – Maine
Harold (Skip) Paul - Louisiana

Key Points Discussed

No. / Topic / Highlights
1. /

Review agenda / roll call

/ Agenda approved. Roll call attendance marked above.
2. /

Review previous meeting minutes

/ A motion to approve the minutes was made and seconded. Motion carried.
3a. /

Review action items from March meeting

/ Action items were reviewed
1.  The NCHRP ballot was received by each state CEO. It was approved.
2.  Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Indiana presented our region’s top four High Value Research Projects during July 16 Summer RAC meeting session.
3.  Attendance is optional at the Thursday July 18, 2013 afternoon meeting at the end of the 2013 RAC summer meeting to hear and learn from an evaluation of this summer’s meeting. Members of the 2014 RAC summer meeting planning and program committees may want to attend.
4.  Daniel Yeh sent an email to region 3 members requesting potential 2014 summer meeting sponsor names. AASHTO will approach the sponsors. Sponsors names were provided
5.  On May 28, Daniel Yeh and his staff met with Meghan Wozniak-Adams from AASHTO to walk through the hotel and review the 2014 summer RAC meeting venue. AASHTO signed the contract for the facility.
6.  Daniel Yeh will present the 10 minute invitation to RAC 2014 at the end of the summer 2013 meeting.
7.  Daniel Yeh sent the 2014 summer RAC meeting save the date flier to Louisiana. It was used in the printed program.
3b. /

Mentoring of new members

/ Linda Taylor provided an update. Monthly meeting has continued. Rick Kreider would like to have a mentor. Cynthia Gerst agreed to be a mentor for Rick Kreider after the meeting.
4a. /

Operating Guidelines Review

/ Members discussed reviewing the RAC region 3 operating guidelines. A review was last done in 2009. Cynthia will update some items in the current guidelines and email them to the committee. Tommy has old records from the 1991 update. The secretary’s guidelines may need to be updated to include current technologies but it would need to be flexible to make allowances for future technologies.
4b. /

Region 3 update accomplishments

/ The following Region 3 accomplishments from the past year were discussed for presentation on July 18:
·  New members will be presented
·  2013 Accomplishments
o  Prepared for annual meeting and set up planning and programing committee.
o  Shared information within the region meetings and updates from RAC leadership.
o  Submitted at least 3 implemented high value research projects per state. An additional topic was mentioned that the research makes a difference brochure.
o  New leaders elected.
o  All states were represented at annual meeting.
o  Meetings minutes are up to date on RAC website.
o  Tasks forces are up to date.
o  Actively involved in SCOR or RAC leadership.
o  Mentoring has continued this year.
o  Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana have a peer exchange planned.
o  All fact sheets are up to date.
o  Research Manual has been updated in Wisconsin and Michigan.
o  4 pooled funds were started in the region.. Ignition news from TRB newsletter covered an idea project that is now a pooled fund.
o  Midcontinent symposium hosted by region member states has continued to be a successful event.
o  Hosting the 2014 annual meeting.
o  5 states were chosen for SHRP 2 implementation.
·  2014 goals
o  Review the operating guidelines.
o  Prepare for the annual meeting.
o  Stay active on task forces.
o  Submitted at least 3 high value research projects per state in 2014.
5a. / SHRP2 Implementation coordination at the national level
/ Technical assistance and communication has been limited from SHRP2 to some of the states. The following concerns and questions were presented to Skip Paul:
·  What projects will be included in SHRP 2 implementation?
·  Will there be products that are implementable rather than just final reports for each project?
·  Should the program be delayed to roll out the implementation in a more organized way? Concerns about effective communication and appropriate contacts for some of the SHRP II projects were mentioned.
·  SHRP2 funding will need to come out of FY13 funds and this may cause problems for DOT’s.
Skip will share these ideas with FHWA.
5b. / 2014 Summer RAC Meeting Update in Madison, WI July 20-24, 2014 / Daniel shared the list of potential sponsors. Preliminary Louisiana 2013 RAC meeting event budget estimates were $30,000 to $35,000. Registration fees pay for 80% of this cost. There is an interest in decreasing registration fees this year.
A theme for next year’s meeting is needed in the next month and a half.
The traditional day for evening social events may have to change because Downtown Madison is very busy on Wednesday nights.
RAC Leadership calls will include updates on the 2014 meeting planning progress. RAC Leadership will provide some limited input and assistance.
5c. /

Reauthorization tasks force

/ Jim McDonald indicated that ASSHTO is working on position papers for reauthorization. FHWA, TRB, and 2 or 3 SCOR members will be on a task force to advise ASSHTO. A RAC reauthorization task force will develop feedback for SCOR. Skip Paul would like to know if any Region 3 RAC members would like to be on the RAC reauthorization task force. Contact Skip if interested.
5d. /

AASHTO Technical Service Programs

/ Tommy noted that more Technical Services Programs are eligible for SPRII funds. Some members expressed concern that the eligibility of another national project decreased the amount of funding available for state research projects.
Action Items
No. / Action Item /

Owner

/

Target Date

1 / Cynthia will update some items in the current RAC region 3 operating guidelines and email them out to the committee for review and comment. / Cynthia initiates this action and all Region 3 members conduct a review. / September
2 / Skip Paul would like to know if anyone wants to be on the RAC task force advising AASHTO on Reauthorization. / All / No date provided

AASHTO-RAC Region 3 Meeting Minutes

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