WILLIAMSPORT AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES

April 30, 2012 Public Meeting: LycomingCountyExecutivePlaza; 330 Pine Street, Williamsport, PA 17701 (1st Floor Commissioners Rear Conference Room)

(Attendance Sheet is Attached)

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Mullins called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM.

Mr. Murawski introduced Mr. George (Herm) Logue Jr. as a new Technical Committee voting member representing the Lycoming County Planning Commission.

MINUTES:

March 9, 2012 Joint Technical and Coordinating Committee Public Meeting

A clarification was made by Mr. High regarding costs related to the ARC application for the Reach Road Reconstruction Project. Mr. High indicated that the ARC funding is only a portion of the full cost estimate for this project with the City being responsible for the remaining costs.

Mr. High motioned for approval of the meeting minutes as amended which was seconded by Mr. Hart and unanimously approved.

PUBLIC COMMENT

There was no public comment.

ACTION ITEMS

FFY 2011 TIP AMENDMENTS / MODIFICATIONS

Mr. King presented this item by noting the TIP amendment adds $ 56,000 for the construction phase of the Williamsport School District Safe Routes to School project in FFY 2013. Mr. King noted numerous other TIP modifications. Mr. Murawski explained the different definitions of TIP amendments and modifications and noted that only amendments require MPO formal approval and modifications are presented to the MPO for informational purposes as per the MPO adopted TIP administrative procedures.

Mr. Hausammann Jr. motioned for WATS MPO approval of the FFY 2011 TIP amendment as presented by Mr. King which was seconded by Mr. High and unanimously approved.

FFY 2013 Draft Transportation Improvement Program, (TIP)

Mr. Murawski began discussion on this item by noting that the TIP contains all federal and state funded capital highway, bridge and transit projects to be programmed in LycomingCounty during the next four federal fiscal years. The TIP Highway and Bridge portion was cooperatively developed by PennDOT and LCPC Staff and the Transit portion is developed by River Valley Transit. Approximately $ 50 million in highway / bridge projects are contained on the draft TIP and most projects are carryover from the FFY 2011 TIP although there are 7 new projects proposed for the FFY 2013 TIP which are currently undergoing the Linking Planning and NEPA screening process. Mr. Murawski indicated the draft TIP is fiscally constrained in accordance with the PennDOT issued Financial Guidance. Mr. King and Mr. Kilpatrick provided additional details and status regarding certain TIP funded projects such as the US 15 safety barrier project and RVT CNG Fueling Station project. Mr. Murawski noted the TIP needs to be advertised for a 30 day public review and comment period prior to WATS MPO adoption which is tentatively scheduled for June 1-30, 2012 with MPO adoption on 7/6/12. Messers. Kilpatrick and Plankenhorn also reviewed the River Valley Transit and STEP portions of the draft TIP Transit Portion, respectively.

Mr. Hart motioned for approval to advertise the FFY 2013-2016 Draft TIP for the required 30 day public comment period which was seconded by Mr. Grado and unanimously approved.

LycomingCounty Growth Area/Land Use / Transportation Plan

Mr. Murawski presented this plan by stating that the plan is in fulfillment of a UPWP funded supplemental PL fund task and provides a technical analysis of traffic impacts on the transportation network in the 6 growth areas based upon build out scenarios contained the future land use component of the Lycoming County Comprehensive Plan and County/municipal land use ordinances such as Subdivision and Land Development and Zoning. Larson Design Group and subconsultant Trans Associates conducted the study and developed a travel demand model to generate and assign trips to the roadway network. Existing traffic counts that reflect Marcellus related traffic were compiled at over 50 intersections throughout the study area and new trips from potential land development were phased in over a 20 year horizon to determine the operational capacity and level of service at these intersections. A listing of deficiencies are included in the report along with candidate project needs that will require further planning analysis, including Linking Planning and NEPA screening forms completion prior to programming on the WATS Long Range Plan and TIP. Mr. Cullison representing Larson Design Group provided additional clarification regarding the model assumptions and findings and noted candidate project cost estimates are at a planning level and would need better scopes and engineering analysis for further refinement for programming purposes.

Mr. High suggested that field views be scheduled for the PennDOT and County staff on the higher priority projects identified in the plan to obtain better scopes as part of the Linking Planning and NEPA screening process. In addition, Mr. High stated the plan should have a revised introduction to clarify that not all projects are being advanced at this time and that further study may be necessary to determine whether a project or projects should be included in the WATS Long Range Transportation Plan and TIP for programming purposes. Mr. High also commented that the reference in the plan regarding sliding scale zoning should be further defined and simplified for clarity purposes. It was agreed there will be a phone call between Chairman Mullins, Mr. High and Mr. Murawski to finalize plan corrections.

Mr. Grado motioned to recommend approval of the Lycoming County Growth Areas Land Use / Transportation Plan to the Coordinating Committee as amended and subject to the conference call which was seconded by Mr. Hausammann Jr. and unanimously approved.

Title VI Complaint Procedures

Mr. Murawski noted that he participated in a meeting with PennDOT District 3-0 staff regarding Title VI training as it applies to our MPO program administration and public outreach efforts. A draft Title VI Complaint Procedures document was distributed that was provided by the PennDOT Bureau of Equal Opportunity that all MPO’s RPO’s need to review and consider adopting as soon as possible. Minor changes to the draft procedures document were noted by Mr. King for consistency purposes.

Mr. Hausammann Jr. motioned to recommend approval of the Title VI Complaint Procedures to the Coordinating Committee with the minor changes noted by Mr. King which was seconded by Mr. Grado and unanimously approved.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

WATS MPO Bylaws

Mr. Murawski began discussion of this item by noting that WATS currently has no formally adopted bylaws. Other documents do exist such as a 1968 agreement which formed the creation of WATS along with some other separate documents which provide some bylaws type information, however a formal bylaws single document is lacking.Chairman Mullins advised that PennDOT recommends all MPO’s and RPO’s adopt an official bylaws document. In order to facilitate development of formal bylaws, Mr. Murawski referred to an example of bylaws in the packet which was prepared and adopted by the SEDA-COG RPO. It was the consensus of Technical Committee members that WATS bylaws be developed for consideration at a subsequent Technical Committee meeting to be scheduled in November, 2012.

Federal Transportation Reauthorization Bill and State Funding Update

Mr. Murawski led discussion on this topic by indicating that some progress is being made by Congress to pass a new federal transportation reauthorization bill. The Senate has passed their version of a 2 year bill named MAP-21. The House version was stalled due to controversial issues such as removing dedication of transit funding from the Highway Trust Fund and subjecting transit funding to an annual appropriations process which is strongly opposed by transit agencies nationwide.A conference committee will convene soon to attempt to iron out differences between the Senate bill and the House Transportation Committee bill. A new continuing resolution extends the current legislation until June 30, 2012 so some action will need to occur by Congress very soon to either approve a new bill or pass another time extension. Mr. Murawski concluded that Federal funding levels are not really adequate with either bills in order for WATS to perform proper asset management of existing system or build new capacity.

Mr. Murawski indicated that a revenue enhancement at the state level as per the TFAC funding report is still under discussion, however the Governor has not yet publicly announced what portions of the TFAC report, if any, that he can support and urge legislative action to enact. Most legislators are looking for the Governor to lead on this issue. It is anticipated that meetings will be held soon with legislative leaders and the Governor to further explore this matter.

With no further business or public comment, Chairman Mullins adjourned the meeting at 11:19 AM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mark Murawski

LycomingCounty Transportation Planner