MTA Construction Industry Working Group Meeting

October 31, 2003
10:00 a.m.

NYBC Attendance:

MTA Attendance:

Connie Crawford, Thomas DeMaria, Bill King, Linda Kleinbaum, Gregory Kullberg, Mysore Nagaraja, Howard Sackel, Stan Vonasek, Ron Yutko.

Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson expressed appreciation to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for hosting the meeting at MTA headquarters, especially to Deputy Executive Director of Administration Linda Kleinbaum for making the arrangements. He said the Working Group was suggested by former MTA Chairman Peter Stangl in the mid-1990's as a way for the industry to work with MTA staff on contractual and procedural questions. Over the years, substantial progress has been achieved on a number of issues.

Linda Kleinbaum thanked the Building Congress for forming the Working Group. She said the meeting will begin with brief reports from each of the MTA's operating organizations and be followed by discussion of issues raised by industry participants.

Capital Program Progress and Projects

Greg Kullberg provided an overview of the 2000-2004 Capital Program. It has grown to over $20 billion and is "mostly on track." He said the MTA capital programs have evolved from primary emphasis on state of good repair to greater activity with new initiatives. The addition of Lower Manhattan restoration and security improvements are primarily responsible for the increase from the original $18 billion five-year program. Mr. Kullberg said funding for the program is in good shape, largely because debt restructuring has been very successful. He said Federal funding also is on target.

Bill King said the Transit Authority gets about half of the overall Capital Program. Another $3.5 billion goes to the commuter rail roads; about $1 billion to Bridges and Tunnels; and about

$5 billion to the new Capital Construction Company. He also highlighted key projects, rolling stock acquisitions, and buses.

Mysore Nagaraja summarized the projects under his purview, especially in Lower Manhattan, including the Fulton Transit Center, South Ferry Station, and the aggressive schedule being pursued. He said $4 billion in construction among several agencies will be commenced during the period 2005 to 2007 in Lower Manhattan. The new Construction Coordinator, announced by Governor Pataki on October 30, will oversee the huge effort.

Mr. Nagaraja also mentioned East Side Access, Second Avenue Subway, and the Flushing line extension. He said the overall effort is very ambitious.

Connie Crawford described the MTA New York City Transit $10 billion capital program, which will be 85 percent completed by the end of 2003. She highlighted a number of projects across the City.

Tom DeMaria described the $2.2 billion Long Island Rail Road capital program, particularly the Jamaica Station renovation and Atlantic Avenue projects.

Ron Yutko said Metro North has a $1.4 billion program emphasizing station renovations and track improvements.

Stan Vonasech said Bridges and Tunnels is emphasizing continuing maintenance, especially deck replacement, within a $1 billion program.

Discussion

Neal Forshner summarized a letter from ACEC New York to Executive Director Katherine N. Lapp on several issues. A copy of the letter is attached. He said retainage questions continue to be a high priority for the industry, and the letter makes several suggestions for possible improvements. Mr. Nagaraja mentioned that the industry could help expedite payments and approvals by completing paperwork promptly. He said the credibility of the MTA and the industry are on the line and partnering to deliver the best possible products is extremely important.

In response to a question from Bill McGuinness, Mr. Nagaraja said incentives will be increased going forward.

Other participants asked questions regarding insurance issues and dispute resolution procedures. MTA participants suggested that the industry should provide concrete suggestions for any possible changes.

One issue regarding foreign steel prompted the suggestion that the MTA could be more specific about its requirements and thus reduce potential problems.

Next MTA Capital Program

Ms. Kleinbaum said the next capital program is required by October 2004 and must be drafted by next summer. She said the agencies are working on twenty-year needs statements, which will define the scope of the program, and the draft proposal will be submitted to the MTA Board in September 2004. She said the objective is to "stay the course," even though potential funding is problematic.

Ms. Kleinbaum asked the industry participants to help stress importance of the program and the need to secure adequate funding. Mr. Anderson added that the industry has direct responsibility to do exactly that.

Construction Outlook

Mr. Anderson highlighted preliminary findings of the next Building Congress Construction Outlook. He said there are still several strong sectors of construction activity in New York City, but important questions are looming. The publication is due early next year.

Next Meeting

Mr. Anderson suggested that the Building Congress host the next Working Group meeting early in 2004. Ms. Kleinbaum agreed.

Prepared by: Richard T. Anderson, President