Mercer County Regional Planning Commission, Hermitage, Pennsylvania

 

Mercer County Transportation Planning

Mercer County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

2005 MPO Meeting Minutes

SHENANGO VALLEY METROPOLITAN
PLANNING ORGANIZATION COORDINATING/TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
10:30am - MCRPC Offices, Hermitage, PA

PERSONS PRESENT & REPRESENTING

  • Marcia Hirschmann Hermitage City

  • Daniel Gracenin MCRPC

  • Dave Ryan Mayor - Sharon City

  • Barb Brown Springfield Township

  • Kevin McCullough PennDOT

  • Don Hall PennDOT

  • Bob Zarecky PennDOT, Maintenance

  • Erin Wiley PennDOT, District 1-0

  • Deborah Schreckengost PennDOT, District 1-0

  • Mark Miller Mercer County

  • Robert Davis Wheatland Borough

  • LaVon Saternow Farrell City

  • Tom Paxton Pine Township

  • Pete Longiotti Greenville Borough

  • Terry Farren Grove City Borough

  • Ron Faull Liberty Township

  • John Getchey Eastgate Regional COG

  • Kathy M. Zook Eastgate Regional COG

  • Mirta Reyes-Chapman Eastgate Regional COG

  • David George West Middlesex Borough

  • Mariah Hanson PennDOT

  • Ken Seamans Wilmington Township

  • Margaret Dutkowski Senator Rick Santorum

  • Gary Hittle Hempfield Township

  • Denise L. Anthony Senator Bob Robbins

  • Brad Gosser Greenville-Reynolds Development

  • Stephen Theiss Sharon City

  • Harmon Fennell West Middlesex Borough

  • Nathan Clark NSCJ Logistics

  • Nancy Leone Representative Dick Stevenson

  • Michele Brooks Mercer County

  • Robert McGhee Coolspring Township

  • Jack Thompson Grove City Borough

  • Chuck Gilliland Shenango Township

  • Phil & Mary Yasnowsky Residents

  • Jeremy Coxe MCRPC

  • Bill Jones Mercer County Regional COG

  • Tom Tulip Mercer County Regional COG

  • Brian Barnhizer MCRPC

  • Matt Stewart MCRPC

CALL TO ORDER

Ms. Hirschmann called the meeting to order at 10:30 A.M.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING APRIL 28, 2005

Ms. Hirschmann asked for any additions, deletions, or corrections to the Minutes of the April 28, 2005 meeting. There being none, Ms. Hirschmann asked for a motion to approve. Mr. Seamans so moved, Mr. George seconded. The motion passed.

DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL OF ADDITIONAL 2005/2006 TRANSIT TIP FUNDING AND 2005-2008 TIP ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

Mr. McCullough explained the additional allocation of $344 million of federal funds that the Governor announced recently. Also, some additional state funding was identified, which brought this to nearly $1 billion identified state-wide. He noted that this coincided with the needs of two of our larger transit operators in the Commonwealth of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. He noted that in 2005, they had flexed some money to those systems and will flex some additional funding to those agencies in 2006. As part of this, there will be additional funds flexed to other transit agencies that have operating needs and one of those would be the Shenango Valley Shuttle Service. He explained that there are $69,636 which will be flexed to the Shenango Valley Shuttle Service for preventive maintenance, on an as needed basis. Next, he noted that they are asking to move some money from the Porter Road Bridge to the Quaker Road Bridge to advance the construction phase of this project. He also noted that there is an additional flex project, which is a part of their annual flexing of projects, where there is money that is identified ahead of time from the state-wide TIP which they flex dollars to these agencies on an as needed basis. In this particular case, there was an additional $25,000 of federal funds that was identified to replace a maintenance vehicle in the 2006 TIP. He stated that he will need a motion to this amendment for flexing $69,636 to the Shenango Valley Shuttle Service. After brief discussion, a motion was made by Mr. George to flex $69,636 to the SVSS. Ms. Brown seconded. The motion passed.

Mr. McCullough next distributed a chart that showed the administrative actions that already has taken place in order to move projects along. The first three relate to some betterment projects. The district moved some money around from the betterment line item in order to keep projects moving along and to take advantage of some cost savings. He next noted that there was money moved into a bridge maintenance project from an interstate line item in order to cover some of the estimates for construction.

SELF-CERTIFICATION RESOLUTION

Mr. Gracenin explained that the Self-Certification Resolution is an annual document which the MPO is required to adopt. It certifies that the planning process is being carried out in conformance with all of the applicable federal requirements and certifies that the local process to enhance the participation of general public, including the transportation disadvantaged, has been followed in developing all plans and programs, including the FFY 2005-2008 TIP. There being no questions on the resolution, a motion was made by Ms. Brown to approve the Self-Certification Resolution. Mr. Ryan seconded. The motion passed.

MOU BETWEEN MPO AND SVSS

Mr. Tulip explained that every three years the SVSS is subject to an FTA overview, which this year they were asked to formalize the planning arrangement with the MPO through the MCRPC. FTA certainly is not aware of both organizations sharing a common office facility and how they talk/plan on a regular basis. A Letter of Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding was written to recommit and reconfirm the ongoing working agreement and to continue the process of structured planning by the parties/organizations herein listed as the planning and administrative entities responsible for Mercer County Public Transportation Services. Mr. Jones stated that there was an original agreement done awhile back, but apparently no one seems to have the signed original. In order to satisfy the FTA, a MOU was written between the MPO and SVSS. There being no questions on the MOU, a motion was made by Mr. George to approve the MOU between the MPO and SVSS. Mr. Ryan seconded. The motion passed.

STATE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION HEARINGS

Mr. Gracenin explained that it is time to prepare for the State Transportation Commission’s (STC) 12-Year Transportation Program update. The STC Hearing will provide you with the first opportunity to promote any large capital transportation projects or issues that may affect your community. The STC Hearing for our region is set for September 22, 2005 at the Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center in Erie, PA. Should you or your community wish to present oral testimony at the hearing, he asked that you speak with him after the meeting. He stated that a block of time will be set aside for those individuals from Mercer County wishing to present testimony to the STC. Also, testimony can be submitted electronically. He explained that an application and additional information can be found on the internet. A link to the PennDOT website has been established on the MCRPC website front page. In preparation for the STC Hearing, a workshop will be held on September 7th at 1:00 p.m. in the MCRPC offices.

TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT/SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL/HOMETOWN STREETS APPLICATIONS

Mr. Gracenin explained that over the past few years we have had projects funded around the County under the Transportation Enhancement Program. This year it has been joined with the Safe Routes to School/Hometown Streets. The applications are due September 30th. A workshop will be held on August 25th at 1:00 p.m. to discuss projects. This workshop is very important.

LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN – PROJECT DISCUSSION PRIORITIES

Mr. Gracenin explained that this item will be reviewed by the Technical Committee, instead of this evening, because there are a lot of projects identified under the Long Range Plan. He stated that the Long Range Plan and the TIP are Federal documents and the 12-Year Program is a State document. The State document is important because it provides the local match to the Federal dollars. He noted that he would like to provide a Long Range Transportation Project list for projects around the county prior to the STC Hearing Workshop, which will be held on September 7th at the MCRPC offices, and possibly to combine the Technical Committee and the STC Hearing Workshop meeting at the same time to review and prioritize them properly.

OTHER BUSINESS

Mr. Gracenin explained that he received a request from Grove City Borough concerning a congested corridor along Rt. 58 coming in from the west side of town and going all the way through town where Rt. 208 and Rt. 173 cross Rt. 58. He noted that there is a program at the State level called the Congested Corridor Improvement Program (CCIP). An application would need to be submitted on behalf of the community from the MPO, which in turn is submitted to the State. If the State would fund the program, they would provide all of the engineering to come up with solutions and analyze the corridor for improvements to the congestion situation and eventually that project would be put into the TIP. The State would suggest a commitment from the MPO that $250,000 be put in for preliminary engineering into the TIP. Mr. McCullough noted that they encourage the MPO’s to do this, but they realize that there are priorities. He noted that if they do commit the money to the study, the State would expect the MPO to program the project and follow through with the project. After some discussion, a motion was made by Ms. Brown and seconded by Mr. Seamans to submit an application on behalf of the Grove City corridor and set aside some money for the project and follow through with the project. The motion passed.

Mr. Hall from PennDOT discussed the 62 bridge on the freeway that goes toward Ohio and the bridge on East State Street in downtown Sharon. He noted that both projects are high priority. Mr. Ryan, Mayor of Sharon, stated that the State Street Bridge might last until 2008, but the sidewalks will not. He noted that the bridge is owned by PennDOT and the sidewalks are owned by the City. Mr. Ryan felt that the State Street Bridge is more of a safety factor and should be moved up on the TIP in order to get it completed. Mr. Hall stated that no action is needed on this today, but we should make sure that when they are working on the update, that they fund the State Street Bridge as a higher priority than the 62 bridge on the freeway.

Mr. Gracenin explained that we received earmarked monies specifically for the State Street Bridge ($1Million) and for the I-79/Rt. 208 interchange ($2.4 Million) and in Pymatuning Township – East Lake Road ($100,000). Mr. McCullough gave a brief overview of the East Lake Road project.

Mr. McCullough next gave a brief overview on the SAFETEALU funding. He explained that a Transportation and Energy Bill was signed by the President and Congress passed them on July 29th. The SAFETEALU funding is for over a period of 6 years and is retroactive. He stated that if anyone had any questions concerning this to either see him after the meeting or give him a call.

Mr. Gracenin explained that the next MPO meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 15th at 10:30 a.m. at the MCRPC offices. He also noted that Mr. Jeremy Coxe, Assistant Director-Planning will start at the next meeting taking more of an active and lead role on the day to day activities of the MPO. Next, there was a question regarding the I-376 designation and how it will affect Mercer County. Mr. Gracenin gave a quick overview on where this project stands.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Daniel M. Gracenin,
MPO Secretary

 

Mercer County Regional Planning Commission
2491 Highland Road, Hermitage, PA 16148
[email protected]    www.mcrpc.com

 

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