CITY OF WORCESTER

Public Service and Transportation Committee Meeting

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Esther Howland (South) Chamber

Convened: 5:11 P.M.

Adjourned: 6:33 p.m.


Mayor
Joseph M. Petty

 

www.worcesterma.gov

 

Clerk of the City Council
David J. Rushford

Committee Members

Chairperson Philip P Palmieri
Councilor Frederick C Rushton
Councilor Kathleen M Toomey
 

City Hall - 455 Main Street Worcester, Massachusetts


Present Were:Chairperson Councilor Philip P. Palmieri
Councilor Kathleen M. Toomey
Councilor Frederick C. Rushton
 
Also:City Manager Michael V. O'Brien
MassPort CFO John Pranckevicius
MassPort Director of Aviation Edward C. Freni
MassPort Aviation CFO Brian R. McMorrow
Worcester Regional Airport Director Andrew Davis
City Clerk David J. Rushford, clerk
 
1.

Discussion Item - Future Plans for Worcester Regional Airport & Potential Investments

1a.

Speakers:
1. Roberta Schaefer, Worcester resident
2. Joseph Zwirblia, Worcester resident

Attachments
2.

Airport

2a.

Order of Councilor Philip P. Palmieri as amended by Councilor Kathleen M. Toomey - Request the City Council Standing Committee on Public Service and Transportation Committee invite MassPort to discuss plans for the Worcester Regional Airport. Further, request the Committee discuss with MassPort provide the new capital investments being made at Worcester Regional Airport.
# 12j March 20, 2012

Attachments

Recommend Hold

Chairman's Orders

Request City Manager work with MassPort Administration to find a way to get an airline, even with a subsidy.

Request City Manager arrange to have the Worcester Technical High School become a part of Massport's Airport Expo Day.

2b.

Communication of Dr. Roberta Schaefer, President & CEO of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, transmitting report "Worcester Regional Airport Positioned to Take Off".
# 13e June 08, 2010


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

2c.

Communication of City Manager transmitting informational communication relative to the transfer of the Worcester Regional Airport.
# 4a June 01, 2010


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments
In Committee for informational purposes only

Recommend Hold

3.

Communications of the City Manager - Part I

3a.

Relative to CSX contract with the MBTA.
#8M CM August 17, 2004
# 4a June 01, 2010


In Committee October 13, 2004 - Held
In Committee November 30, 2005 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

3b.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to Properties in the City Owned by CSX Corporation.
# 7.29A April 01, 2008


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

3c.

Transmitting informational communication relative to CSX and Hazardous Material Transportation.
# 9.39B June 15, 2010


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

3d.

Transmitting informational communication relative to CSX Terminal Expansion Project.
# 10.39C August 10, 2010


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

3e.

Relative to KKO study.
#8D CM April 15, 2003


In Committee October 13, 2004 - Held
In Committee November 30, 2005 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

3f.

Relative to KKO/HNTB Studies.
#8H CM August 17, 2004


In Committee October 13, 2004 - Held
In Committee November 30, 2005 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

3g.

Relative to MBTA Commuter Rail Service Improvement Project.
#8C CM June 29, 2004


In Committee October 13, 2004 - Held
In Committee November 30, 2005 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

3h.

Transmitting informational communication relative to transportation options for residents of the City of Worcester and the entire region.
#34D CM September 27, 2005


In Committee November 30, 2005 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

3i.

Transmitting informational communication regarding the status of city projects submitted to the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
# 9.12A October 30, 2007


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

3j.

Transmitting informational communication regarding the Rail Summit held on May 9, 2008
# 11a May 13, 2008


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

3k.

Transmitting informational communication relative to a Worcester Regional Mobility Study Public Informational Meeting.
# 7.5A April 28, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

3l.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Proposed Fare Increases and Service Reductions.
# 8.32A January 31, 2012


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

3m.

Transmitting informational communication relative to Present and Future Funding for the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA).
# 7.39C September 01, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

3n.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the Worcester Regional Transit Authority and Paratransit Brokerage Services, Inc.
# 10.39A October 20, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

3o.

Transmitting Informational Communication relative to the Worcester Regional Transit Authority's (WRTA) Building Progress at Union Station.
# 10.4A March 13, 2012


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

3p.

Transmitting informational communication relative to Taxi and Livery Companies.
# 8.17A December 15, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

3q.

Transmitting informational communication relative to Livery Businesses.
# 8.17A December 22, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

3r.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the City's Cable Franchise License.
# 8.38B March 04, 2008


In Committee March 19, 2008 - Held
In Committee October 15, 2008 - Held


Attachments
In Committee for informational purposes only

Recommend Hold

3s.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the Government Channel Program Guide.
# 8.4A April 15, 2008


In Committee October 15, 2008 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

3t.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to the Cable Television Advisory Committee's Review of Public, Educational and Government Access Programming.
# 7.4A May 20, 2008


In Committee October 15, 2008 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

3u.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to the Transition from Analog TV to Digital TV.
# 8.12A October 07, 2008


In Committee October 15, 2008 - Held In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

3v.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to the City of Worcester's Government Access Channel 12 Receiving First Place Honors by the Alliance For Community Media-Northeast Region in the 11th Annual Northeast Region Video Contest.
# 9.12A December 02, 2008


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

3w.

Transmitting informational communication relative to Charter Communication's Switched Digital Network Transition that is scheduled to begin on February 11, 2009.
# 8.12A February 03, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

3x.

Transmitting informational communication relative to Charter Communication's Restructuring under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Law.
# 8.12A February 24, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

3y.

Transmitting informational communication relative to an Agreement with Charter Communications for Production Services Support.
# 10.11A August 10, 2010


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

3z.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to the Cable Television License Renewal Process with Charter Communications.
# 9.11A December 14, 2010


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4.

Communications of the City Manager - Part II

4a.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to Charter Communications' Third Quarter 2010 Report on Charter's Response Time to Customer Phone Calls.
# 9.11A November 30, 2010


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4b.

Transmitting informational communication relative to Charter Communication's 4th Quarter 2010 Report on Response Times in Handling Phone Calls to Customer Care.
# 8.11B January 25, 2011


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4c.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to Charter Communication's 1st Quarter Report on Response Time in Handling Phone Calls to Customer Care.
# 10.11A June 07, 2011


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4d.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to Charter Communication's 4th Quarter Report on Response Time in Handling Phone Calls to Customer Care.
# 8.4A February 28, 2012


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

4e.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to a Petition that Charter Communications' Filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
# 10.13A March 13, 2012


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

4f.

Relative to the City of Worcester Telecommunications Analysis.
#15A CM April 5, 2005


In Committee February 27, 2006 - Held
In Committee October 23, 2006 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

4g.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the City's response to Google's request for proposals for a "dark fiber" network.
# 9c March 09, 2010


In Committee March 19, 2012 -Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4h.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the City of Worcester being awarded the 2007 E-Government from Common Cause Massachusetts.
# 8.32A April 03, 2007


In Committee April 30, 2007 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 -Held


Attachments

Recommend File

4i.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the use of Live Streaming Video on the City's E-Government Channel.
# 7.36A January 06, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4j.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the City of Worcester's Receipt of the 2009 E-Government Award.
# 10.36A April 14, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 -Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4k.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the launch of the City's Redesigned Website on Monday, October 19, 2009.
# 10.33A October 20, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4l.

Transmitting information relative to the Use of Technology for the transmittal of information to the General Public.
# 9.39E December 01, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4m.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the use of Social Media for City Business.
# 9.39B October 19, 2010


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

4n.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to a Status Report on the City's Street Light System.
# 10.7A March 13, 2012


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

4o.

Transmitting informational communication relative to an Update on the City's Purchase of the Street Light System from National Grid.
# 7.13B September 15, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4p.

Transmitting informational communication relative to legal opinion as to the rights and responsibilities of Towing Operators.
#16B CM May 14, 2002


In Committee April 23, 2003 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

4q.

Transmitting informational communication relative to future DPW issues.
#24B CM March 18, 2003


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4r.

Transmitting informational communication relative to Green Energy Sources Available.
#17A CM August 17, 2004


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4s.

Transmitting informational communication relative to Policy for Massachusetts Electric to Site Transformers/Switch Gears.
#23A CM September 7, 2004


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4t.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the City of Worcester's East-West Corridor.
#11B CM November 22, 2005


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4u.

Transmitting informational communication regarding the Implementation of the Climate Action Plan and the procurement of an Energy Service Company.
# 10.37B August 14, 2007


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

4v.

Transmitting informational communication relative to the City's Snow Storm of October 29-30, 2011.
# 17b November 01, 2011


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5.

Communications of the City Manager - Part III

5a.

Transmitting an update of the Economic Development Initiatives - May 2007.
# 5a May 15, 2007


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5b.

Transmitting the Monthly Economic Development Initiatives Status Report for the Month of June 2008.
# 9.5D July 08, 2008


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5c.

Transmitting the Monthly Economic Development Initiatives Status Report for the Month of August 2008.
# 11.5B August 12, 2008


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5d.

Transmitting the Monthly Economic Development Initiatives Status Report for the Month of September 2008.
# 8.5D September 09, 2008


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5e.

Transmitting Monthly Economic Development Initiatives Status Report - October 2008.
# 5a October 14, 2008


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5f.

Transmitting the Economic Development Report for the Month of October 2008.
# 8.5C November 10, 2008


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5g.

Transmitting the Monthly Economic Development Initiatives Status Report - December 2008.
# 9.5F December 02, 2008


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5h.

Transmitting the January 2009 Economic Development Report.
# 8.5C January 20, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5i.

Transmitting the February 2009 Economic Development Report.
# 8.5A February 24, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5j.

Transmitting the February 2009 Economic Development Report
# 8.5A March 17, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

5k.

Transmitting the July 2009 Economic Development Quarterly Report.
# 9.5B July 28, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

6.

Miscellaneous Items

6a.

Communication of the Department of Telecommunications & Energy Notice of investigation into the appropriate pricing, based upon total element long run incremental costs, for unbundled network elements and combinations of unbundled network elements to be charged by Verizon New England, Inc. d/b/a Verizon, Mass. as well as appropriate avoided cost discount for Verizon's Resale Services, in the Commonwealth on Mass.
#58 CM January 30, 2001


In Committee April 23, 2003 - Held
In Committee June 23, 2004 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

6b.

Report of the Committee on Public Service and Transportation upon the Communication of the City Manager relative to taxicabs that are handicap accessible.
#89 CC July 6, 2004


In Committee September 30, 2004 - Held
In Committee June 12, 2006 - Held
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend Hold

6c.

Order of Mayor Timothy P. Murray, Councilor Kathleen M. Toomey, and Councilor Gary Rosen - Request the City Manager to seek the input of the general public professionals in real estate development and leasing, graduate students in college or university management programs, among others, to formulate a new and exciting marketing plan for Union Station and to suggest what strategies, besides the RFP process, might be available to implement such a plan.
#39 CC February 7, 2006.


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend File

6d.

Report of the Committee on Public Service & Transportation Upon the Communication of the City Manager tansmitting the City of Worcester Climate Action Plan that recommended adoption of the accompanying Order That the City Council hereby approves and supports the Climate Action Plan.
15a CC January 30, 2007


Order adopted - August 28, 2007
In Committee for Informational purposes only
In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend File

6e.

Order of Councilor Paul P. Clancy, Jr. - Request the City Council Standing Committee on Public Service and Transportation explore the heaviest possible fines the city could issue against violators of the taxi and livery licensing. Further, request the committee with the City Solicitor and the Police Chief determine what other options are available to enforce payment of fines.
# 20b December 15, 2009


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

6f.

Order of Councilor Fredrick C. Rushton - Request the Committee on Public Service and Transportation explore the feasibility of the long term benefits in creating a Worcester municipal utility for electrical power generation and distribution.
# 17g November 01, 2011


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

6g.

Order of Councilor Philip P. Palmieri and amended by Councilor Frederick C. Rushton, Councilor Konstantina B. Lukes and Councilor George J. Russell - Request City Manager to ask the MBTA if there will be any changes to the commuter rail and CSX plans that were previously agreed upon by City Council and the Administration. Further, request the Standing Committee on Public Service & Transportation invite the MBTA and any other entity to a meeting to discuss commuter rail services and further, request the Administration consider holding a Transportation summit. Further, request towns and cities in metro Worcester be included in a future transportation summit as the city acts as the connection to metro Boston through commuter rail service. Further, request City Manager report to City Council the process the MBTA will use to get input from the public. Further, request City Manager report to City Council what was the actual commitment made by the MBTA in terms of increased commuter rail services when the city agreed to the CSX freight yard and if there was no commitment what is the plan to get a commitment. Further, request City Manager inform the Grafton Hill Business Association the timetable for construction activity associated with CSX on Grafton Street.

Order adopted - In Committe for Informational Purpose Only
# 10k January 24, 2012


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held

Attachments

Recommend Hold

6h.

Order of Councilor Philip P. Palmieri, Councilor Kathleen M. Toomey, Councilor Tony Economou, Council William J. Eddy, Councilor Frederick C. Rushton, Councilor Joseph C. O'Brien, Councilor Sarai Rivera, Councilor George J. Russell, Councilor Konstantina B. Lukes and Mayor Joseph M. Petty - Request the Standing Committee on Public Service & Transportation to hold a public hearing and invite representatives from National Grid and the Department of Public Utilities to discuss the trimming of trees around electrical power lines and informing the city administration when power outages take place in the City of Worcester.
# 10b February 07, 2012


In Committee March 19, 2012 - Held


Attachments

Recommend Hold

Chairman's Orders

Request City Manager consider providing access to information to Worcester Community Cable Access as part of the franchise renewal process.

Request City Manager consider including capital support for PEG channels through the use of franchise funds during the franchise renewal process.