Minutes 02 09 06
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority MINUTES OF THE CAPE FEAR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY February 9, 2006 Ms. Christine B. McNamee, Chair, Presiding MEMBERS PRESENT Ms. Christine
McNamee, Chair Mr. Jeff Bellows, Vice-Chair Ms. Nancy Pritchett Ms. Maureen McCarthy Mr. Andrew Koeppel Ms. Fannie Freeman Mr. Robert Ronne Mr. Howard Loving Mr. John Stukes STAFF PRESENT
Mr. Albert Eby, Director Mr. Arlanda Rouse, Assistant Director Mr. Mike Kincaid, Finance Director Ms. Raquel Wilson, Administrative Assistant Ms. Melissa Watson, Apprentice CONTRACT
MANAGEMENT STAFF PRESENT Mr. Corey Johnson, General Manager, First Transit Mr. Lamont Jackson, General Manager, Paratransit, First Transit Mr. Andy Olsen, Attorney at Law GUESTS PRESENT
Ms. Deborah Houston, NCDOT Ms. Lawless Bean, Transportation Demand Management Coordinator, City of Wilmington Ms. Pat Melvin, Assistant County Manager, New Hanover County Mr. Ricky Meeks,
Citizen Mr. Keith Bordeaux, Citizen Ms. Hillary Brady, Talk PR Dr. Milan Dluhy, UNCW CALL CALL TO ORDER Chairman McNamee called the meeting to order at 12:10pm. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Koeppel asked for a correction to the gender reference on page four. A motion to approve the minutes from the December 08, 2005 regular meeting of the Cape Fear Public Transportation
Authority as revised was made by Mr. Koeppel. The motion was seconded by Mr. Stukes and carried unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENT The Chair asked if anyone in attendance had public comment. Mr. Ricky Meeks stated that he didn’t agree with the fare increase for the Brunswick Connector. Mr. Meeks
stated that the Authority should allow the Brunswick Connector to operate on Saturdays. He stated that Route six should operate on Sundays. He stated that this would be possible
if the Authority added another bus to Route six. Mr. Meeks stated that he would like to see the Monkey Junction Shuttle operate on Sundays. He also stated that he would also like
to request the Castle Hayne Shuttle run on weekends. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chairman McNamee stated that the committee did not meet the past month and had no report. ROUTE COMMITTEE
Chairman McNamee recognized Ms. Freeman to present the report. Ms. Freeman stated that the committee discussed transportation to St. Andrew’s Drive. She stated the Monkey Junction
Shuttle could accommodate that area. Ms. Freeman stated that the route change would not alter the scheduled time but two stops on South College road would be eliminated. Mr. Koeppel
motioned to approve the Monkey Junction Shuttle Route change as presented by the Route Committee. Ms. Pritchett stated implementation should be delayed in order to give staff a chance
to research the number of passengers who would be affected by the elimination of stops. Mr. Koeppel rescinded his motion. The item was referred back to the committee for further
study. MARKETING COMMITTEE The Chair recognized Committee Chair Ms. McCarthy to present the report. Ms. McCarthy stated that she wanted to thank Mr. Loving for getting donations
of 3,000 bus maps. Ms. McCarthy recognized Ms. Hillary Brady from TalkPR to present an update on marketing initiatives. Ms. Brady stated that TalkPR had increased awareness of Wave
Transit through the recent marketing campaign. She advised against discontinuing marketing efforts. She proposed an increase the monthly retainer to $2500 a month in order to keep
the Authority in the public eye. She stated that the increase would also be to help Wave Transit more with public affairs. Chairman McNamee asked if it would be wise to make a mid-year
budget change. She stated that the information in the packet affirmed that the Authority was already over budget for the current fiscal year. Mr. Ronne stated that the money is not
currently available to meet the request, but the Budget Committee could investigate the request for FY 2006-2007. Ms. Brady stated that TalkPR has won two more awards for the Wave
Transit jingle. Chairman McNamee stated that if items like the Azalea Festival needed additional promotion during the current fiscal year, additional hours from TalkPR would be considered
by staff.
FINANCE COMMITTEE In the absence of Committee Chair Mr. Bryden, the Chair recognized Wave Transit Finance Director Mr. Kincaid to present the report. Mr. Kincaid presented a revision
for the 2006 budget. He stated that he had identified additional revenues not contained in the adopted budget for the Columbus Connector, apprentice, the recent fare increase and additional
revenue from DSS for taxi service. Mr. Kincaid stated that he identified increased expenses in salaries and wages, fringe benefits and dramatic increases in fuel. He stated that
reallocating money from miscellaneous material and supplies and purchased services to the insurance category would allow the Authority to remain compliant with NC budget guidelines.
A motion was made by Mr. Bellows to approve the revised FY 2005-2006 budget. The motion was seconded by Mr. Koeppel and carried unanimously. FACILITIES COMMITTEE The Chair recognized
Mr. Bellows to present the report. Mr. Bellows stated that the Authority was continuing to wait on a response to the contingent offer. STAFF REPORT Chairman McNamee recognized Mr.
Eby to give the staff report. Mr. Eby introduced Dr. Milan Dluhy from UNCW. Dr. Dluhy is assisting the Authority with a survey of public attitudes toward Wave Transit. Mr. Eby
stated that the first item on the staff report was the Agreement for the Columbus Connector Project. He stated that under the agreement, the Council of Governments (COG) would reimburse
the Authority in the amount of $32,185 for the project year. The COG was the recipient of funding for the program from the North Carolina Department of Commerce. He stated that ridership
has failed to meet expectations for the pilot program and staff was investigating marketing initiatives and funding to promote the program. A motion to approve the agreement with COG
was made by Mr. Koeppel. The motion was seconded by Ms. Freeman and carried unanimously. Mr. Eby stated that the next item was the JARC Agreement between the Authority and the North
Carolina Department of Transportation. He stated that the purpose of the JARC Grant Program was to provide the remaining fifty percent of the funding necessary for the Columbus Connector
pilot program not provided by the agreement with the COG. He stated that the grant was developed to provide employment transportation for residents of rural areas with high levels
of unemployment to urban areas with available jobs. A motion was made by Mr. Koeppel to approve the JARC Agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation for funding
of the Columbus Connector pilot project. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bellows and carried unanimously. Mr. Eby stated that the next item on the agenda was the JARC and ROAP authorizations.
He stated that the agreement is between the Authority and New Hanover County and provides the legal authority for the county to pass public transportation funds to the Authority.
The agreement was drafted by Deputy County Attorney, Mr. Kemp Burpeau.
Mr. Koeppel made a motion to accept the JARC and ROAP Authorization. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bellows and carried unanimously. Mr. Eby stated that the final item in the staff
report was the Contract for Automatic Vehicle Locators. He stated that funding for this project was from a technology grant with NCDOT. He stated that the total cost of the project
was bid at $79,356. Mr. Eby stated that the matching funds in the amount of $11,000 would be provided by the City of Wilmington. A motion to approve the contract for Automatic Vehicle
Locators was made by Mr. Stukes. The motion was seconded by Ms. McCarthy and carried unanimously. SCHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING Hearing no further business, a motion was made by Mr.
Stukes to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Ms. McCarthy and carried unanimously. The next meeting of the Authority was scheduled for March 9, 2006 at 12:00 pm in the Wave Transit
Conference Room. Respectfully Submitted, Albert Eby Director /rw