Minutes 03 13 08
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority MINUTES OF THE CAPE FEAR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY March 13, 2008 Mr. Jeff Bellows, Chair, Presiding MEMBERS PRESENT Mr. Jeff Bellows,
Chair Mr. Don Betz Mr. George Dolan Mr. Andrew Koeppel Ms. Aileen Mair Ms. Christine McNamee Ms. Laura Padgett Ms. Nancy Pritchett Mr. John Stukes STAFF PRESENT Mr. Albert Eby, Director
Mr. Arlanda Rouse, Assistant Director Mrs. Kathy Williams, Administrative Assistant Mr. Matthew Kunic, Planner CONTRACT MANAGEMENT STAFF PRESENT Mr. Lamont Jackson, General Manager,
First Transit Mr. Bobby Hunter, Operations Manager, First Transit Mr. Sam Baxter, Maintenance Manager, First Transit Mr. Andrew Olsen, Attorney GUESTS PRESENT Mr. Mike Kozlosky, Transportation
Planner, Wilmington Urban Area MPO Mr. Joshuah Mello, Associate Transportation Planner, Wilmington Urban Area MPO Ms. Lawless Bean, Transportation Demand Management Coordinator, City
of Wilmington Mr. Chris Hawkins, Citizen Ms. Maureen McCarthy, former Board Member Mr. Bill McCarthy, Citizen Ms. Kay McCarthy, Citizen Mr. Pat McCarthy, Citizen Ms. Jacqueline McCullough,
Citizen Mr. Ricky Meeks, Citizen Ms. Lawanda Zilk, Citizen CALL TO ORDER Chairman Bellows called the meeting to order at 12:10 pm Mr. Bellows opened the meeting with a moment of
silence APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the January 11, 2008 regular meeting of the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority was made by Mr. Koeppel
The motion was seconded by Ms. Padgett and carried unanimously Mr. Bellows presented Maureen McCarthy with a gift of appreciation for her service with the Cape Fear Public Transportation
Authority and First Transit Ms. McCarthy thanked the Authority and wished Wave much success in the future CONSENT AGENDA Mr. Bellows presented the consent agenda Mr. Betz made
a motion to approve the consent agenda Ms. Padgett seconded the motion which carried unanimously PUBLIC HEARING Mr. Bellows opened the public hearing and presented the proposed budget
for the Authority for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008 thru June 30, 2009 Mr. Eby stated that the budget was made available at the Castle Street office and the public notices
went out in the Star News on Saturday March 8, 2008 Mr. Eby stated that no comments or any requests were made to review the budget Mr. Meeks spoke and wished Wave good luck on the
new budget Hearing no further comments, Mr. Bellows closed the public hearing PUBLIC COMMENT COMMENT Chairman Bellows opened the public comment period Mr. Meeks expressed concern
for drivers after the proposed route restructure Hearing no further comments, the Chairman closed the public comment period EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Mr. Bellows stated that the committee
had not meet Mr. Bellows inquired on the response from the board about the proposed retreat date Ms. Williams stated that most respondents preferred May 8, 2008 before the regular
monthly board meeting The board agreed to meet at 9:00 am on May 8, 2008 and Mr. Eby stated that staff would secure a location Mr. Bellows suggested the location of the retreat be
on the bus line Mr. Koeppel suggested that Mr. Eby send agenda items to the board for their input and suggestions Mr. Bellows said that he would like reducing headways and expanding
service to be added to the agenda items Ms. Padgett requested that Mr. Eby send the board the strategic five year plan Mr. Eby said he would send the short range plan and the executive
summary Mr. Bellows stated that a nominating committee will need to be formed with at least three board members Mr. Bellows stated that the committee would need to recommend a slate
officers candidates by July 1, 2008 He stated that the committee needed to recommend the officers no later than the June 2008 meeting Mr. Eby stated that Mr. Stukes, Ms. Freeman
and Mr. Bellows’ terms are ending and they are not eligible for re-election Mr. Bellows said he would ask Mr. Stukes and Ms. Freeman if they would join him on the nominating committee
ROUTE COMMITTEE
Mr. Bellows recognized Mr. Koeppel to give the report for the Route Committee Mr. Koeppel stated the committee had not meet Mr. Koeppel stated that preparations for the restructured
routes was on schedule for March 31st Mr. Eby stated that Wilmington City Council authorized an easement encroachment to place four shelters at the new transfer point He stated that
lights were being installed, along with wheelchair ramps at the new site Mr. Eby stated that installation of the bus stop signs had begun and that they have been covered until the
start of the new routes Mr. Eby recognized Mr. Kunic to give a map update Mr. Kunic stated that unfolded maps will be delivered on March 14 and will begin distributing the maps to
agencies after that date Mr. Eby said that flyers notifying passenger of the changes will be passed out on the buses Mr. Eby recognized Mr. Jackson to give the operations training
update Mr. Jackson stated that operations training should be completed within a week and was going well Mr. Koeppel requested that packets containing the new maps and schedules be
given to all the board members Mr. Eby stated that the new routes will start on March 31, 2008, and on the first rollout day the fare will be free as approved on the consent agenda
Mr. Eby stated that staff will work closely with First Transit the during the first few days of the new routes and have shuttles available in order to minimize confusion by passengers
Mr. Kunic stated that to kick off the new routes, WECT was planning to interview Lillie Carroll, who has been with Wave Transit at the Castle Street location for 30 years, Mr. Koeppel
suggested that staff submit a press release a few days before the start of new routes Mr. Eby stated a press release was issued the first of the month notifying the radio stations
of the new routes and that an additional one would be released as requested Mr. Eby stated that the ads have been running on the both GTV stations since March 1st Mr. Eby stated
that an insert will be included in the Star News on Thursday March 27th Ms. Padgett suggested that the ad on GTV be placed as a banner to help with notifying the public of the changes
as well as advertising Mr. Bellows thanked everyone for their help with the new routes MARKETING COMMITTEE Mr. Bellows recognized Mr. Betz to give the Marketing Committee report
Mr. Betz stated that the committee had met twice Mr. Betz stated that the committee had very good input from Colonial Marketing, as well as assistance from Mr. Mello and Ms. Bean
He stated that the committee postponed spending any funds February prior to the route restructure He stated he appreciated all of the input from the committee members as well as
the support from Colonial Marketing Mr. Bellows suggested sending Colonial Marketing a thank you card from the committee and the chairman FINANCE COMMITTEE Mr. Bellows recognized
Mr. Dolan to give the Finance report in the absence of the chairman Mr. Dolan presented the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority’s budget for fiscal year 2008-2009 The finance
committee made a motion to accept the budget as presented Mr. Betz offered a substitute motion to recommend the marketing and publishing budget be increased to $100,000 and the fund
balance reduced to $170,000
Mr. Betz stated that due to $35,000 being spent on maps next fiscal year, the proposed marketing budget was cut in half He stated that in order to get Wave’s message out, the committee
needed more funding Mr. Koeppel seconded the substitute motion to approve the amended budget change Mr. Koeppel inquired as to the reasoning for the Finance Committee allocating
$70k for marketing Ms. Cole stated that the committee decided to give marketing the same amount from last year because it is one of the few line items which could be reduced without
reducing service Mr. Betz stated that increasing the marketing budget could possibly restart marketing plans and messages Mr. Betz stated that if the budget is not amended, Wave
will be forced into a radio marketing campaign The substitute motion was approved by a vote of 5 in favor to 2 against The annual budget was approved by a unanimous vote FACILITIES
COMMITTEE Chairman Bellows recognized Ms. McNamee to present the facilities report Ms. McNamee stated that committee did not meet Ms. McNamee recognized Mr. Eby to give the facility
update Mr. Eby stated that the engineers met with the Division of Water Quality of the State of NC and examined soil samples for the Cando Street extension Mr. Eby stated that the
road project was moving ahead slowly and will be able to apply for permits within the next two weeks Mr. Eby stated that he and Ms. Cole were hoping to meet soon with the contract
engineers and Corning to begin work on the project budget MANAGEMENT SELECTION COMMITTEE Ms. McNamee stated that the committee received bids from four management companies The bids
were available at the Wave Transit office for review by the board Ms. McNamee stated that the committee divided into sub-committees to review different parts of the proposal and will
meet on March 17, 2008 to determine which contractors to invite to the interviews Ms. McNamee stated that the committee hoped to have a recommendation to the board at the April meeting
STAFF REPORT REPORT Chairman Bellows recognized Mr. Eby to present the staff report Mr. Eby stated that the ridership for January was up almost ten percent Mr. Eby stated that
the NCPTA Legislative Committee traveled to Washington DC and met with elected officials about several issues that directly and indirectly affected the Authority OTHER AGENCIES Ms.
Bean stated that the Cape Fear Breeze has a web site that in which people that use alternate transportation may register She stated that the website also had a feature which could
convert the number of miles and the amount of gas which could be saved by using alternative transportation OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Dolan inquired about which buses are usually at capacity
Mr. Eby stated that the number five hospital bus was usually near capacity during the first of the month
Mr. Mellow stated that he was still working with Independence Mall on the satellite transfer stop near Dillard’s Mr. Eby stated that on April 15, 2008 NCGo! will have a summit and
candidate forum Mr. Bellows asked if anyone worked in the office that speaks a foreign language Mr. Eby stated that if someone encountered a language barrier, a phone service was
in place to help with the situation He also reported that the website now contains a link to convert the information into Spanish Mr. Bellows inquired about the complaint line
Mr. Williams stated that there has been an increase and explained the steps taken during the complaint process SCHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING Hearing no further business, Ms. Padgett made
a motion to adjourn the meeting Mr. Stukes seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting The next meeting of the Authority is scheduled for April 10, 2007 at 12:00 pm in the Wave Transit
conference room Respectfully Submitted, Albert Eby Director /kw