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Meeting Minutes June 5, 2008

A meeting of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee (PCAC) to the MTA was convened at 12:00 p.m. on June 5, 2008, in the 5th floor Board room, at MTA Headquarters, 347 Madison Avenue, New York City.

The following members were present:

Andrew Albert
Jessica Gonzalez-RojasJames F. Blair
Ira Greenberg
Ronald Breuer
William K. Guild
Gerard P. Bringmann
Marisol Halpern
Richard Cataggio
Gerard Kopera
Shirley Genn
Trudy Mason
Jerome I. Shagam
The following members were absent:

Gary Babyatzky
Maureen Michaels
Francis T. Corcoran
Edith Prentiss
Thomas M. Jennings
Sharon Santa Maria
Thomas Jost
Michael Sinansky
Sandra Krebelj-Douglas
Burton M. Strauss Jr
Patricia L. McCauley
Norman Werner
James L. McGovern
Toya Williford
In addition, the following persons were present:

William A. Henderson – PCAC Executive Director
Jan Wells – PCAC Associate Director
Ellyn Shannon – PCAC Transportation Planner
H. Dale Hemmerdinger – MTA Chairman
Earamichia Brown – MTA-OIG
Barry Kluger – MTA-OIG
Nathan McNeil – MTA-OIG
Holli Dunayer – LIRR
Steve Ritea – Newsday
Matt Sweeney – am New York
Chris Dolmetsch – Bloomberg
Patrick Gallahue – NY Post
Bobby Cuza – NY1
Catlin Millat – NY Daily News
Ken Stewart – Concerned citizen
Yvonne Morrow – Concerned citizen
Matt Shotkin – Concerned citizen
Joseph Garber – Concerned citizen
Meg Reed Mian – Concerned citizen
Linda Black – Concerned citizen
Bruce Zimmern – Concerned citizen
George Haikilas – Concerned citizen
Peter Robbins – Concerned citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the June 5, 2008 meeting was approved. The minutes of the March 6, 2008 meeting were approved.

Chair’s Report
The PCAC, LIRRCC, MNRCC and NYCTRC Chairs’ Reports are attached to these minutes.

Andrew Albert also noted that Howard Permut had been named President of Metro-North Railroad.

Old Business
There was no Old Business discussed.

New Business
Bill Henderson introduced Barry Kluger, MTA Inspector General. Mr. Kluger spoke briefly on his office’s mission and invited the members to contact his office on any topic of mutual interest.

PCAC 2009 Research Project Topic
After a brief discussion, the members voted on a topic for the 2009 PCAC research report and chose Regional Fare Policy.

Introduction of H. Dale Hemmerdinger, Chairman, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to discuss his perspectives on the MTA, its Operating Agencies, and its future

PCAC Chairman William K. Guild made some introductory remarks about Mr. Hemmerdinger. Mr. Hemmerdinger thanked Mr. Guild and Jim Blair for their remarks and support.

Mr. Hemmerdinger noted that he is troubled that riders have great discontent withthe MTA Board in that the Board members are the stewards of a publically owned system. He said he would like to see the riders be partners in the MTA system. Mr. Hemmerdinger cited the fare hearings as an example of the apparent adversarial relationship between the MTA and its riders. He noted that that the major interest expressed was the avoidance of a fare increase. He noted that the speakers said nothing about efforts that had been made to reduce the fare in the past. Mr. Hemmerdinger stated that because of the introduction of MetroCard and changes in the fare structure that it made possible, the average NYC Transit fare is $1.37, while in 1994 it was $1.46. He further noted that, taking inflation into account, the real value of the average fare had fallen from $1.46 in 1994 to $.97 at present.

Mr. Hemmerdinger challenged the PCAC to be the most vocal supporter to improve the system.

Mr. Hemmerdinger addressed some of the financial concerns that have been expressed over the last several months. He said that in contrast to a public perception that the MTA has not been open in discussing the agency’s financial state, revenue and expense information has been included in the monthly Budget Watch that is presented at the MTA Board committee meetings and posted on the MTA website. He noted that increased ridership has led to an increase in operating revenue, but that tax revenues are down sharply and that at present they are $81 million below budget. He said that if current trends continue, the surplus with which the MTA began the year will be gone by the end of 2008. This is a serious matter because previous financial plans had counted upon a carryover of surplus funds from 2008 to help counter a growing gap between expenses and revenues in 2009.

Mr. Hemmerdinger spoke about the state of the Capital Program, saying that the 2008-2013 Capital Program prepared as a part of the debate over congestion pricing will provide a good preview of the upcoming 2010-2014 Capital Program. Taking the figures from the 2008-2013 Capital Program, Mr. Hemmerdinger said that the core program will require approximately $20 billion, which works out to $4 billion per year. This is in addition to the $11 billion per year in operating costs that the system requires. He noted that the 2008-2013 Capital Program also included $5 billion to continue work on existing system expansion projects such as East Side Access and the Second Avenue Subway and $4 billion for new system capacity expansion projects. He said that in the coming years the MTA has to fund the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway, Communication Based Train Control, flood prevention construction on the Queens Boulevard line, the LIRR’s Third Track project, and improvements to bring Metro-North into Penn Station. He said they are trying to distribute investments throughout the entire network and that he would very much like to hear the PCAC’s priorities.

Mr. Hemmerdinger talked about rising construction costs and indicated that many of the recommendations put forth by the Blue Ribbon Panel for Construction Excellence were already being implemented. He also spoke about the commission on MTA financing that Richard Ravitch is heading up, which will be moving toward making recommendations over the next several months. He also spoke briefly about the Blue Ribbon Panel on Workforce Development and the report that it issued late last year.

Mr. Hemmerdinger spoke very highly of the current members who make up the MTA Board. He said that they take their roles and responsibilities very seriously and that he feels the public needs to know how important a role the Board plays and how hard its members work. He said they are committed to making the operations of the Board as transparent as possible and have already held one public engagement workshop and two webinars.

Mr. Shagam asked if the MTA has attempted to quantify the stress on the MTA budget from rising fuel costs. Mr. Hemmerdinger said there has been some impact but he can’t say how much of an impact fuel costs will have in the final analysis.

Trudy Mason asked if the sale of Starrett City would have an impact on revenues. Mr. Hemmerdinger said it would help to move a number of projects forward and the taxes that result from the sale help raise revenues for the MTA’s operations. He noted that the service enhancements planned for 2008 have not been implemented because of lower than expected revenues.

Ellyn Shannon suggested that it might be helpful if the MTA Board’s Long Island Committee had members from Queens and Brooklyn since these boroughs are served by the LIRR. Ira Greenberg said it is important to address how the LIRR can better serve these communities.

Mr. Hemmerdinger said the problem is how to increase revenues in order to provide the level of service needed to address these areas. He noted that the impetus for big expansion projects often comes from political sources. He said without political support for funding there are no dollars available for expansion. He said he would consider increasing representation on the Long Island Committee.

Mr. Albert said the railroads are a great asset that is not being fully utilized. In response to Richard Cataggio’s question of what the MTA is doing about implementing shared services, Mr. Hemmerdinger said that the MTA is moving forward in this area and had just recently appointed Len DeSimone as head of the Business Services group.

George Haikalis said it would be helpful for the MTA Board to ask staff to create a vision of the future of the system if a specified amount of additional funding were available. He said that the MTA withdrew from involvement in the Access to the Region’s’ Core study, but half of its cost comes from New York State. Mr. Haikalis asked if the MTA would consider rejoining the project as a full partner. Mr. Hemmerdinger said whether the MTA is involved is not the MTA’s call but is a decision that comes directly from the Governor.

Joseph Garber reported that he is very disappointed that since 2002 New York City Transit has not published a hard copy of their phone book. As a result there are no phone numbers available to him for staff located at 2 Broadway. He also said that bus operators are not acting properly and that the staff at the Bus Customer Service Center is not very responsive.

Matt Shotkin thanked Mr. Hemmerdinger for his work and for implementation of the Select Bus Service initiative.

Ken Stewart asked to what degree the MTA elicits public input on the design of equipment and what the Board’s perspective is on this issue. Mr. Albert suggested that the PCAC should be used as a source of public input on equipment issues.

Ms. Mason said that the public does not want to hear good news but does want to feel that their voices are being heard.

Ellyn Shannon noted that flooding season is fast approaching and noted that the MTA’s report on about the flooding of August 8, 2007 was excellent. She said that the list of action items in the report is a great tool. She asked if the MTA Board would be briefed about the status of action plan prior to the start of this year’s flood season.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 2:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Karyl Berger

Research Associate

Chair’s Report- William K. Guild
It is with regret that I announce the resignation of Edward B. Rich from the Council. Ed, a representative from Suffolk County, served on the Council for fourteen years. His knowledge and dedication will be sorely missed. Because of a new job and its restrictions on attending meetings during the workday, John Hunter has resigned from the New York City Transit Riders Council. Although John was only appointed to the Council in July 2004, his concern for the system and the people that it serves will be missed. We wish him all the best and thank him for his service.

I am pleased to note that the sale of development rights over the MTA’s West Side Yards appears to be on again, with the original successful bidder, Tishman Speyer replaced as the buyer of the yards’ development rights by a joint venture of The Related Companies and Goldman Sachs. The MTA Board approved the new deal, which is essentially the same as the original agreement between the MTA and Tishman Speyer, on May 22. Nothing, however, is ever certain until sale proceeds are in the bank, so staff will continue to keep you informed on this issue.

In other developments on the West Side, the issue of Moynihan Station is still in flux. On May 13, Bill Henderson attended a program entitled “Moynihan Station – What Needs to Happen Next” at the Municipal Art Society. The general consensus at the May 13 program, the panel for which included Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, was that the project is now likely to revolve around the Farley building and that it is important to build something, although the result may not be an ideal facility. In the last month US Senators, Members of the State Assembly, the Governor, and the Mayor have weighed in on that same topic, without complete agreement. The position of the PCAC has always been to evaluate plans for Moynihan Station on their merits as plans for a transportation facility, regardless of any design’s contribution to the area’s economic development. On April 11, a small group of PCAC members and staff met with Tom Schulze, the Director of the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) project, which aims to construct additional tunnel capacity between New Jersey and Manhattan. Mr. Schulze discussed the factors that had guided the form of the project, including the elimination of track connections between the new tunnels and New York Penn Station. Mr. Schulze explained that, while he wishes to preserve options for expansion and connection to other projects, his primary focus is on completing the ARC project to provide badly needed tunnel capacity between Manhattan and New Jersey.

Aside from the Governor’s scandal, in the month after our last meeting the State government was occupied with the issue of congestion pricing, a plan for which was approved by the New York City Council on March 31. On March 11, Bill Henderson went to Albany with a group from the Empire State Transportation Alliance to lobby for congestion pricing. Unfortunately, this was the day after the Spitzer scandal broke, and between this distraction and other business that kept the Assembly and Senate in session, the ESTA members were not able to see as many people as they had hoped. Another group went back to speak to the legislators who had been missed. As you are well aware, the State Assembly chose not to act on the proposal even in the face of losing $354 million in federal funds that would have flowed to the City. These revenues constituted a substantial part of the funding proposed for the MTA’s 2008-2013 Capital Program, which was produced pursuant to congestion pricing legislation. Since no congestion pricing plan was approved, the MTA’s 2005-2009 Capital Program remains in force.

Following Mr. Spitzer’s resignation, the PCAC sent a letter of congratulation to David Paterson, who was sworn in as New York State’s 55th governor. The letter briefly explained the role of the PCAC and advocated the funding of the entire MTA Capital Program and swift approval of the congestion pricing plan. We are also reaching out to other elected officials. Under separate cover you were sent a copy of the letter PCAC staff sent to New York City Council and the region’s New York State Senate and Assembly members about the work that PCAC does and the need to recruit new members.

On March 24, Karyl Berger attended the New York City Council hearing on congestion pricing. She heard testimony from City agencies. The hearing continued on all day with testimony from congestion pricing advocates and opponents, and in the evening, Bill Henderson testified in support of congestion pricing with the proviso that the system must be designed so that its revenues flow to the MTA to improve public transportation.

On April 14 Bill Henderson attended the press conference held by the MTA and the Governor to announce the interim report of the MTA’s blue ribbon panel on sustainability. That evening Jan Wells attended the third forum of the series celebrating the 40th anniversary of the MTA, which focused on the sustainability proposals. The proposals discussed at these events were limited in scope and included projects such as studying energy conservation strategies for NYC Transit, installing more efficient lighting, harnessing wind energy to generate a modest amount of electricity, and installing photovoltaic cells on some facilities. The next major issue on the horizon appears to be the next federal transportation bill. Yesterday morning, Bill Henderson and I attended a symposium on transportation finance sponsored by the NYU Wagner Rudin Center. The general consensus is that the next transportation bill is likely to have a greater emphasis on performance standards and cost effectiveness for projects, which would benefit the MTA region as most transit projects in our area have a very competitive cost per unit of results, however measured. In May, Bill Henderson attended a roundtable on the future of financing transportation infrastructure, also convened by the NYU Wagner Rudin Center. The panelists agreed that the needs for transportation infrastructure financing are immense and that new stable revenue sources will be required to fund them. There is an opportunity in the next federal transportation bill, which will be considered in 2009, to made fundamental changes in the way that transportation is financed, and we need to be involved in making transit riders’ voices heard in this debate.

Please take a moment to look at the PCAC website, it has been updated with May news and approved minutes can now be found on the drop-down menus for each council.