Minutes 03 11 04
Wilmington New Hanover Transportation Agency MINUTES OF THE WILMINGTON NEW HANOVER TRANSPORTATION AGENCY March 11, 2004 MEMBERS PRESENT Ms. Christine McNamee, Chair Mr. Jeff Bellows,
Vice Chair Ms. Barbara Kane Ms. Fannie D. Freeman Ms. Maureen McCarthy Mr. Howard Capps MEMBERS ABSENT Mr. Robert Ronne, Secretary Ms. Nancy Pritchett Mr. William Bryden Ms. Laura Padgett
Mr. John Stukes STAFF PRESENT Mr. Albert Eby, Director Ms. Deborah Houston, Assistant Director Mr. Jonathan David, Associate Transportation Planner, City of Wilmington Ms. Lawless Bean,
TDM Coordinator, City of Wilmington Mr. Mark Tinkler, Senior Transportation Planner, City of Wilmington Mr. Lamont Jackson, Assistant General Manager, WTC Mr. Bob Kingsbury, Manager,
First Transit GUESTS PRESENT Mr. Kemp Burpeau, Deputy County Attorney, New Hanover County Ms. Dolores Williams, Assistant City Attorney, City of Wilmington Ms. Kris Frasure, Citizen
Mr. Bill Williamson, Regional Vice President, First Transit Representative Daniel F. McComas, State Representative 13th District Mr. Jonathan Ellis, Co-Chair, Wilmington Mayor’s Committee
for People with Disabilities Councilman Jim Quinn, Wilmington City Council CALL TO ORDER Chair McNamee called the meeting to order at 12:07pm. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve
the minutes of the February 12, 2004 regular meeting of the Board was made by Mr. Capps. The motion was seconded by Ms. Kane and carried unanimously.
NORTH CAROLINA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Representative Danny McComas spoke to the Board about legislative issues concerning public transportation. He spoke of his support for the Southern
Bridge. He also expressed to the Board the important role public transportation plays in congestion and air quality issues. Rep. McComas also congratulated the Board and BOT Representative
Wilson for securing funding from the Moving Ahead Initiative for the maintenance/administration/transfer facility. He stated that he fully supported the Governor’s initiative to create
jobs with Moving Ahead funds. He urged the Board to use as much local labor and businesses in completing the important project. He spoke of some of the initiatives that the legislature
has undertaken this year including bus operator safety, and deceleration lights on buses. Both initiatives had his support. Representative McComas asked the Authority to consider offerings
outside the current service area, including the beach communities. Mr. Eby provided Mr. McComas with an update on the Moving Ahead initiative including the site recommendation and
preliminary planning study. He reported the contract for the study should be signed by the end of March. Chairman McNamee updated Representative McComas on the short range transit
plan, informing him that service to the beaches as well as outlying parts of the county was a priority of the Authority. Mr. Eby informed Representative McComas that the Wave fleet
was 100% bike rack accessible. Mr. Eby also reported that ridership was up over 45% over the same period in 2002-2003. Chairman McNamee asked what future funding for transit looked
like at the State level. Representative McComas stated that support for transit was still strong at the state level, but lobbying to continue FTA support was always needed. Representative
McComas asked how he could assist the Authority in any current or future efforts at the state level. Chairman McNamee stated that some legislative assistance may be needed as the merger
progressed. Representative McComas offered his assistance both legislatively and financially. The Chair asked Mr. Eby to update Representative McComas on the technology initiatives
of the Authority. Mr. Eby explained that a technology grant for automatic vehicle locators and passenger information systems utilizing GPS was pending with NCDOT. Mr. Eby stated
that all of the initiatives either completed or being undertaken were the result of support from the state and our elected officials like Representative McComas. Mr. Eby thanked the
representative for all of his support, both past and future. Vice Chairman Bellows asked Mr. Eby to address the funding issues that would be faced by the new Authority should the urban
area exceed 200,000 population in the 2010 census. Mr. Eby explained that FTA operating assistance would be lost under current FTA regulations should the UZA population exceed 200,000.
Mr. Eby stated that dedicated operating funding would allow the authority to operate efficiently and effectively. State legislation for this effort may be required.
Representative McComas stated that he would be willing to assist the authority in its efforts. On behalf of the Board, Chair McNamee thanked Representative McComas for his time and
willingness to help the authority in its efforts. REPORT FROM THE PERSONNEL COMMITTEE Board Chair McNamee reported in the absence of Committee Chair Ronne. She reported that the
committee was working on personnel policies for the authority employees. A full committee report would be presented at the April meeting. REPORT FROM THE YEAR TWO INTERLOCAL & LEGISLATIVE
COMMITTEE Committee Chair Bellows reported that staff and the attorneys had a conference call with FTA concerning the merger. The purpose of the call was for FTA to ensure that the
process was meeting their guidelines. FTA stated that they reviewed the documents prepared for the local bodies and that they were satisfied that the process was in compliance with
their guidelines. The call also included discussion of the new authority becoming the grantee and recipient of FTA funds. FTA was open to this suggestion and stated that a delegation
from the authority should make a trip to Region IV headquarters In Atlanta over the summer to discuss this possibility. Mr. Bellows reported that the biggest compliance issue would
be accounting and that contracted accounting services should be implemented once the fiscal year begins in July 2004. Mr. Bellows stated that the Resolution, Interlocal Agreement and
Ordinance for creation of the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority were scheduled to be voted on by the Wilmington City Council on March 16, 2004 and the New Hanover County Commissioners
on March 22, 2004. He stated that legal staff has suggested that if the City and County approve the new Authority, the July meeting be held on July 01, 2004 to address necessary legal
duties. He further stated that the original charge of the committee was now complete and that the committee would now focus on the new authority becoming the designated recipient and
grantee for FTA and NCDOT funds. This process was expected to take approximately one year. The committee would not meet in April. The committee would reconvene in May on their regular
meeting day, which was prior to the regularly scheduled Board meetings. The Chair thanked the committee, especially the attorneys, for their tireless work in making this effort possible.
REPORT FROM THE MARKETING COMMITTEE Committee Chair McCarthy introduced Jonathan Ellis, co-chairman of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities. He stated that transportation
was often overlooked when needs of the disabled community are addressed and that his committee was supportive of the plans of the authority. Ms. McCarthy presented the Board the travel
training voucher policy. She briefly explained the need for the policy and related program.
Mr. Ellis stated the need for this type of training and the positive impact increased service would provide to people with disabilities. Ms. McCarthy recognized Mr. Eby who explained
that the agencies were chosen at the request of the Human Service representative to the Board. The agencies would have to agree to abide by the policy when distributing the vouchers.
Ms. McCarthy and Mr. Eby were confident that the chosen agencies were responsible and staff was confident that the program would be administered within the parameters set by the authority.
A motion to approve the Travel Training Policy was made by Committee Chair McCarthy and seconded by Mr. Capps. Mr. Bellows asked for assurance that the program would be monitored
to prevent abuse. Committee Chair McCarthy stated that she was confident that staff and the responsible agencies would proved adequate oversight. The motion carried unanimously.
Ms. McCarthy also stated that the committee was investigating the policy on interior bus advertising, currently limited to PSA’s. Route maps and schedules, park & ride, wavetranist.com,
a mission statement and general promotion of the system and public transportation in general were the main focus of the committee. Thirty minute headways and the new service offerings
in scheduled for July would also be a marketing focus. Some discussion ensued about PSA advertising. Mr. Eby informed the Board that the committee would work with the attorneys in
refining the current plan or developing a new plan. Mr. Capps stated that the original advertising plan, which included full bus wraps, was implemented in 2000 in order for the authority
to raise revenue during times of lagging support from state and federal sources. Mr. Eby stated that the program failed to generate expected revenues and public perception of the “rolling
billboards” was negative. Increased funding led the authority to abandon the program in January 2003. Chairman McNamee stated that the committed would need to be the leader in promoting
our future plans and initiatives. REPORT FROM THE BUDGET COMMITTEE Board Chair McNamee, representing Committee Chair Bryden, stated that many Board Members, including Committee Chair
Bryden, had asked to be excused in order to serve as leaders at UNCW’s Leadership Development Course. The Chair stated that having completed the FY 2004-2005 budget, the committee
was on hiatus. REPORT FROM THE FACILITIES COMMITTEE Committee Chair Capps stated that the committee was waiting until NCDOT Rail Division released its report on passenger rail to Wilmington
before progressing with plans for the multimodal transportation center. Mr. Capps recognized Mr. Eby for an update on the maintenance/administration/transfer facility. Mr. Eby stated
that a consultant had been selected for the preliminary planning and site recommendation portion of the study. The City purchasing department was in negotiation with the consultant
for the study.
STAFF REPORT Ms. Houston stated that the Azalea Festival Shuttle would be the first joint offering by WTA and NHTS. Seven buses would provide service to the parade beginning at 7:30am
and ending at 9:00am. Service from the parade would be from 12:00pm until crowds diminished significantly. This service would be provided by Wilmington Transit Company. Service from
the street fair beginning after the parade shuttles would be provided by First Transit and will run from Second and Dock to Legion Stadium and Independence Mall. This service will conclude
at 6:00pm. Headways are estimated to be approximately 15 minutes. All vehicles will have the Wave logo. Advanced ticket sales will be available. Both contractor staffs will be uniformly
dressed. Advertising will be through Cumulus Broadcasting, the Wilmington Star News, wavetransit.com and the Azalea Festival website. A motion to approve a special shuttle route
for the Azalea Festival was made by Ms. Kane. Mr. Bellows seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Mr. Eby updated the Board on reauthorization of the transportation bill,
TEA 21. Staff is most concerned with Incentive Tier funding in TEA 21 Reauthorization. He briefly updated the Board on the transportation bill which had been passed by the Senate
and was pending in the House. The Senate version passed with funding levels at $56 billion for transit over the next six years. Transit intensive communities like Wilmington were identified
specifically in the Senate and House legislation. Only two cities in North Carolina were identified as transit intensive and eligible for the funding. Under the proposed legislation,
Wave Transit would receive $1,024,096 over the six years the bill covered. The funds would equal 80% of capital purchases. OTHER BUSINESS, SECHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING Mr. David stated
that staff had reviewed the final draft of the Short Range Transit Plan and that delivery of the final plan was expected in less than one month. The Chair asked if all Board members
had reviewed the Resolution, Interlocal and Ordinance as amended. She asked for a motion to approve the final versions of the documents, as amended. Mr. Bellows moved passage of
the revised documents. Mr. Capps seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. The Chair recognized Wilmington City Councilman Jim Quinn and asked if he had any comments. He
stated that he and Councilmember Padgett had met with elected representatives in Washington and discussed reauthorization of TEA 21. The next regularly scheduled meeting was set for
April 08, 2004. Chair McNamee asked the Board for support at City Council on March 16th and the County Commissioners on March 22nd. She also informed the Board that she and the budget
committee chair, as well as staff were in the process of preparing budget projections for the next five years to address concerns of the County Commissioners.
Hearing no further business, a motion was made by Ms. McCarthy for adjournment. The motion was seconded by Ms. Kane and carried unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Albert Eby Director