May 10, 2017 Dear Commissioners: Enclosed Please Find Relevant Information to the Wednesday, May 17, 2017 Commission Meeting. M
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May 10, 2017 Dear Commissioners: Enclosed please find relevant information to the Wednesday, May 17, 2017 Commission Meeting. Minutes of the March 29, 2017 Commission Meeting are included for your review. This meeting will be held at The Ohio Department of Transportation, 1980 W. Broad St., Room GA. A Joint Committee meeting will be held in room 2A at 10 a.m. The ORDC Commission meeting will begin promptly at 11:00 a.m. If you haven’t already done so, please contact Julie Kaercher to confirm your attendance. You may reach her at 614-728-9497 (telephone) or by e-mail at [email protected]. We look forward to seeing you. Sincerely, Mark Policinski Chairman Enclosures The Ohio Department of Transportation 1980 West Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA Wednesday, May 17, 2017, 11:00 a.m. Room GA THERE WILL BE A JOINT COMMITTEE MEETING @ 10 a.m. Room 2A CALL TO ORDER: Mark Policinski, Chairman Welcome Roll Call Approval of Minutes from March 2017 Meeting EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT: Matt Dietrich FINANCE REPORT: Megan McClory ITEMS FOR APPROVAL 17-05 Nucor Modernization; Nucor Steel Marion, Inc. 17-06 Ohio South Central Railroad/Jackson Line Hamden to Jackson Rehabilitation – Second Amendment 17-07 Indiana & Ohio Railway Midland Subdivision Rehabilitation COMMITTEE REPORT OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS PUBLIC COMMENT ADJOURN MINUTES FROM THE OHIO RAIL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION REGULAR BI-MONTHLY MEETING March 29, 2017 CALL TO ORDER The meeting of the Ohio Rail Development Commission was called to order by Chairman Policinski at 11:07 a.m. on Wednesday, March 29, 2017. MEMBERS PRESENT Members present included: Executive Director Dietrich, Chairman Mark Policinski, Commissioners Andrew Pusateri, Bill Lozier, Tom Maphet, Solomon Jackson, Mark Johnson, and Johann Klein, representing ODOT, were in attendance. Commissioners Tom Zitter and Eric Richter, as well as Senator LaRose were unable to attend. There were 7 voting members present, therefore a quorum was obtained. Chairman Policinski began the meeting by introducing ORDC’s newest Commissioners, Mark Johnson and Eric Richter. Next, Chairman Policinski welcomed Mrs. Penny Greenlese and family, who were invited so Commissioners and staff could honor the late Commissioner. ORDC staff member Lou Jannazo introduced an honorary resolution. Commissioner Jackson made personal, heartfelt comments about his time working with Rob Greenlese. Chairman Policinski shared memories of Rob Greenlese from his first meeting at the ORDC, and his pleasant interactions since. Secretary-Treasurer McClory read Resolution 17-04. Commissioner Maphet made a motion to approve Resolution 17-04 and Commissioner Johnson seconded it. Roll Call was taken and the resolution was approved as presented with 7 votes in the affirmative. Chairman Policinski presented Mrs. Greenlese with a framed resolution. Mrs. Greenlese thanked the Commission and said Rob would be honored. A five-minute recess was taken. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER MEETING Chairman Policinski asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the November 16, 2016 meeting. Commissioner Pusateri moved to approve the minutes and Commissioner Jackson seconded the motion. The minutes were approved with 7 votes in the affirmative. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT Executive Director Dietrich presented his report to the Commissioners, which can be found on page 7 of the packet. In addition to the items in the packet, Mr. Dietrich elaborated on ORDC's partnership with ODOT on preemption projects, as well as bike/pedestrian crossing standards. Mr. Dietrich also announced recent staff changes. Mr. Dietrich announced staff is still awaiting a ruling on the FASTLANE grant opportunity. Also, he touched upon Ohio's role in the Midwest Passenger Rail Study. Mr. 2 Dietrich reiterated the current standing with budget proceedings. Lastly, Executive Director Dietrich announced staff has signed the FRA grant for the City of Jackson Line. There were no questions. FINANCE REPORT Megan McClory, ORDC’s Secretary-Treasurer, presented the Finance Report to the Commissioners, which can be found on page 10 of the packet. Ms. McClory announced ORDC has 8 loans currently in repayment and in good standing, and we are in good standing to use all available funding at the May meeting. Additionally, Ms. McClory discussed the 2018-2019 Budget proceedings and that the transportation bill should pass out of Conference Committee this week. Commissioner Lozier asked if there was any significant changes in funding levels. Ms. McClory stated the levels are consistent with the last biennium. Executive Director Dietrich expanded on that point, and Commissioner Pusateri noted the healthy partnership between ODSA and ORDC on economic development projects. There were no comments. RESOLUTION 17-01 – Kanawha River Railroad Bridge Rehabilitation Commissioner Jackson recused himself at 11:35 am. ORDC staff member Lou Jannazo presented to the Commissioners the briefing on page 22 of the commission packet. Mr. Jannazo provided the background information found in the packet and introduced Laura McNichol from the railroad to further discuss the project. Ms. McNichol provided background on Watco companies and their operations of the Kanawha line since taking over service in 2016. Ms. McNichol elaborated on the work required to address the deferred maintenance on the line, the efforts the railroad is making to bring new customers on the line, and why it is important to Ohio rail service in general. Chairman Policinski asked if KNWA would be requesting assistance for the other Ohio bridges in the future. Mr. Jannazo stated he expected so. There were no additional questions. Commissioner Lozier made a motion to approve Resolution 17-01 and Commissioner Maphet seconded it. A discussion followed. Roll Call was taken and the resolution was approved as presented with 6 votes in the affirmative. Commissioner Jackson returned to the meeting at 11:43 am. RESOLUTION 17-02 – Wheeling & Lake Erie Twin Tunnels Portal Repair Project ORDC staff member Lou Jannazo presented to the Commissioners the briefing on page 27 of the commission packet. Mr. Jannazo provided the background information found in the packet and introduced Dan Reinsel, Alec Jarvis and Jeff Sunderland from the railroad to answer any 3 questions about the project. Mr. Reinsel further elaborated on the basic understanding of the rail line and this project, as well as the railroad’s current investments in the line. Commissioner Maphet asked how feasible it would be to daylight the tunnels. Mr. Reinsel said it would be a very large, difficult undertaking. The biggest concern is the large mountains above and the potential rock slides that would occur. There were no additional questions. Commissioner Johnson made a motion to approve Resolution 17-02 and Commissioner Maphet seconded it. A discussion followed. Roll Call was taken and the resolution was approved as presented with 7 votes in the affirmative. RESOLUTION 17-03 – CMAQ Improvements for Central Railroad Company of Indiana Chairman Policinski recused himself at 11:49 am. By voice vote, Commissioner Jackson was named Temporary Chairman. ORDC staff member Julie Kaercher presented to the Commissioners the briefing on page 32 of the commission packet. Ms. Kaercher provided the background information found in the packet and introduced Scott Sandoval from the railroad to further discuss the project and answer questions. Mr. Sandoval elaborated on the reasons for the siding project, including increased efficiency in service multiple customers in the area, as well as the Honda through traffic. Commissioner Maphet asked for clarification on the location of the project and Mr. Sandoval provided more specifics. Commissioner Lozier asked for more information on the CMAQ program, in general, and how this project qualified for the grant. Mr. Sandoval explained the operations in Cincinnati, service CBT and Enos, and how the addition of the siding would remove the need for an entire second locomotive for their 3-4 switch moves a day. There were no additional questions. Commissioner Lozier made a motion to approve Resolution 17-03 and Commissioner Maphet seconded it. A discussion followed. Roll Call was taken and the resolution was approved as presented with 6 votes in the affirmative. Chairman Policinski returned at 11:56 am. Project Briefing – State Rail Plan Update ORDC staff member Tim Brown presented to the Commissioners the briefing on page 36 of the commission packet. Mr. Brown gave a presentation to further clarify the information provided in the packet, including why ORDC needs to complete a current rail plan, the negotiations of scope with WSP to reduce the cost, and how ORDC will accomplish the new plan. Commissioner Lozier thanked staff for reviewing the needs of the plan, including ORDC staff in the entire process, giving more agency involvement in the plan, and the efforts of staff to reduce the cost. 4 There were no additional comments. COMMITTEE REPORT The committees did not meet. OLD BUSINESS There is no old business. NEW BUSINESS Chairman Policinski announced that with the appointment of new Commissioners, he would like to reconstitute the committees. There is a Policy Committee, focusing on “what should we be doing,” and an Administration Committee, focusing on “how are we doing it”. Each Commissioner should serve on one of the two committees, and both committees need a chairperson. Mr. Policinski asked Commissioners to indicate to Executive Director Dietrich which committee