Attendance

NAME	ADDRESS	TELEPHONE NUMBER	E-MAIL ADDRESS
Donald Odell	97 Manning Blvd., Apt A Albany, NY 12203	482-4574	dodell@nycap.rr.com
Teresa LaSalle	CDTC 5 Computer Dr. West Albany, NY 12205	458-2161	cdtc@crisny.org
Jason Purvis	CDTC 5 Computer Dr. West Albany, NY 12205	458-2161	cdtc@crisny.org
Jesse Day	NYBC PO Box 8868 Albany, NY 12208	505-9499	jesse@nybc.net
Denise Farnan	NYSOPRHP 19 Roosevelt Dr. Saratoga Springs, NY 12866	584-2000 X 205	Denise.Farnan@OPRHP.state.ny.us
Debbie Jacques	Cohoes City Hall 97 Mohawk St Cohoes, NY 12047	233-2118	djacques@ci.cohoes.ny.us
John DiMura	NYS Canal Corp 200 Southern Blvd Albany, NY 12209	436-3034	john_Dimura@canals.state.ny.us
Howard Halstead	141 Willow Creek Ave. Schenectady, NY 12304	393-0558	halstead@ieee.org
Andy Labruzzo	Albany County 112 State St., Room 1006 Albany, NY 12207	447-5645	alabruzzo@albanycounty.com
Ken Kovalchik	HRVG Capitol Station, Room 254 Albany, NY 12224		Kenneth.Kovalchik@hudsongreenway.state.ny.us
Kevin McLoughlin	HRVG Capitol Station, Room 254 Albany, NY 12224	474-4903	Kevin.McLoughlin@hudsongreenway.state.ny.us
Crystal Alesio	38 Edward St Cohoes, NY 12047	237-0673
Steve Marsh	109 Huston St Scotia, NY	372-4054	imirish@worldnet.att.net
Elaine Troy	NYSDOH Healthy Heart Frear Building, 4^th Floor, 2 Third St., Troy, NY 12180	271-2760 X 763	EHT01@health.state.ny.us

1. Updates

q John DiMura

John distributed several handouts. These included

§ a New York Times June 2, 2002 article “Waterford Journal: Haul Up Your Anchor, Mate, and Stay Awhile;

§ a brochure: “Inn to Inn Touring along the Erie Canalway Trail, Lockport to Palmyra, New York”;

§ the April 2002 issue of “Canalway Trail Times” (The next issue is under development. Articles are needed.);

§ a May 9, 2002 press release from the Governor’s Office: “Governor Unveils $50 Million Canal Revitalization Program, 2002 Launch for Five-Year Plan To Complete 348 Mile Erie Canalway Trail.”

A question was raised about the eligibility of Albany County to acquire Canalway funding. It is not eligible at this time. The State legislation extending the Erie Canal communities to the City of Albany has not been enacted. So, the trail presently ends at Waterford.

q Jason Purvis

· The consulting firm Clark Patterson has been hired for the Albany County trail connections study.

· Spot improvements applications are due July 31, 2002.

q Jesse Day

The NYBC notes that Assembly bill A-11500 is in need of support. It would give the pedestrian the right of way once in a crosswalk at a non-signalized crossing, rather than just in the half of the road in which the pedestrian is walking. A Senate version of this bill has passed.

q Denise Farnan

· The north bridge will not be completed until October 2003, and will therefore not be available for the August 10 event (see below).

· A Saratoga-Capital District Region Eric Canal Trail map with ownership highlighted was distributed.

q Andy Labruzzo and Kevin McLoughlin

· An outreach committee is being formed to carry out the Albany County trail connections study. A joint meeting with the regional canalway committee is being requested at the Mohawk Hudson Canalway October meeting.

q Elaine Troy

· There will be Walk our Children to School Safety Assemblies on June 17, 19 & 21, 2002 in Cohoes. NYSDOT is sponsoring the events. There will be a school assembly with safety information and then a safety walk around the schools. The Statewide Center for Healthy Schools has sent a newsletter to every Superintendent in the State promoting the Walk Our Children to School International Day on Oct. 2, 2002.

A successful event was held at the Hovey Pond in Glens Falls on the recent National Trails Day.

The Eat Well, Play Hard Ambassador bike riders are coming from Buffalo and are scheduled to arrive at the Empire State Plaza at 2 PM, July 30.

q Howard Halstead

A report was given on the June 1 Trails Day clean up in Schenectady County. There were several volunteers.
Volunteers were being sought to assist host communities for the Cycling the Erie Canal event occurring during July.
Referring to a press release issued by the Canal Corp., Howard noted that $600,000 is being provided to the City of Schenectady to implement trail improvements. The stretch from Nott St. to Jay St. was noted in particular.

At this point, there was some discussion about on-road signage in Watervliet, Green Island and Cohoes. This project has been completed. Jason Purvis noted that the Mohawk Hudson Bike Hike map would not be able to be reprinted under present circumstances and restraints.

2. Hudson Greenway Trail Tour

q Ken Kovalchik distributed and reviewed material pertaining to the August 1-10, 2002 Hudson Greenway Trail Tour, including the sign up form, the Daily Communities Itinerary, and the draft itinerary for the Hudson to conclusion part of the tour.

q Kevin McLoughlin noted that logistical support is needed.

q The goal is to have 40 riders in the Capital Region. The intent is to meet at the Albany boat launch. Departure time will be 4 PM with the intent to proceed north to Waterford. The contact for riders’ names will be John DiMura. The deadline for getting the names of participants to Ken Kovalchik is the close of business on July 19. Those at the meeting expressing an interest in cycling along included: John DiMura, Jason Purvis, Jesse Day, Howard Halstead, Debbie Jacques, Crystal Alesio and Don Odell.

q There will be the Hudson Way ribbon cutting in the early to mid afternoon, and any other events in Albany County would be logistically difficult. After some discussion, it was decided to hold an event at Waterford. Elaine Troy will provide Kevin McLoughlin with some healthy meal options that might be applicable for an event at Waterford. Debbie Jacques, Jason Purvis and John DiMura indicated an interest in working on the Waterford event. John DiMura will look into getting a boat to transport bicyclists from Peebles Island to Waterford.

3. Outreach Plan.

The group discussed modifying the Friends of the Mohawk-Hudson Trail brochure for use as an outreach piece. Copies of the brochure were distributed and people were asked to mark possible changes for the next meeting,

The discussion focused on trail identification. Andy Labruzzo will investigate the possibilities of getting Mohawk Hudson signs based on the sign layouts in the Albany County DPW. Kevin McLoughlin indicated that Greenway on-trail signs are available.

There was some discussion about further reach out to the City of Schenectady and the Village of Scotia. Steve Marsh and Howard Halstead have had some communications with the Scotia Mayor McLaughlin. He has expressed some interest in the bike path.

4. Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for 3:00-5:00 PM, Tuesday, July 16, 2002 at the Scotia Village Hall. Please note that this is a change from the date discussed at the last meeting.

In addition to outreach plan activities, the Erie Canal Trail ownership map distribute by Denise Farnan will be discussed at the next meeting.

SUBMITTED BY:

Don Odell, recorder