Minutes 05 19 03
MINUTES OF THE WILMINGTON TRANSIT AUTHORITY May 15, 2003 MEMBERS PRESENT Mr. Dick Scott, Chairman Mr. John Stukes, Vice Chair Mr. Mike Saylor, Secretary Mr. Howard Capps Ms. Fannie D.
Freeman Mr. Jeff Bellows MEMBERS ABSENT Ms. Laura Padgett STAFF PRESENT Mr. Gary Miller, President CCL Management Mr. Albert Eby, General Manager Mr. Corey Johnson, Assistant General
Manager Ms. Lawless Bean, TDM Coordinator, City of Wilmington Mr. Jonathan David, Associate Transportation Planner, City of Wilmington CALL TO ORDER Chairman Scott called the meeting
to order at 11:38 am. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Capps made a motion to approve the minutes from the April 17th, 2003 meeting. Mr. Saylor seconded, and the motion was approved unanimously.
REPORT FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER Mr. Eby introduced the pilot bus and informed the Board that minor modifications could be made, should they be necessary. Mr. Eby proposed that the
WTA Board hold a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 3rd at 4:30pm in front of the Hilton on Water St. for the new fleet of buses. This would coincide with the NCPTA conference being held
at the Hilton. Mr. Eby suggested that the Board hold the June meeting on the third at 3:00pm and the Board could ride the new bus to the ribbon cutting. Mr. Eby brought before the
Board a recommendation on a new fare structure for that would include weekly and monthly passes which will be available with the electronic fareboxes. Mr. Eby’s proposed fare structure
is included in this package. At the request of the Board, Mr. Eby also provided statistics on transfer revenue. His report stated that transfer revenue for the past twelve months was
approximately $13,480.00. Although the fiscal year 2003-2004 budget has been adopted, Mr. Eby reported that the accuracy and the inability to
evade fares with the new fareboxes would make up for the loss in transfer revenue. Mr. Eby reported that an unscientific study of transit systems similar in size to the WTA that posted
fares on their website showed that about half of the systems charged for transfers and half did not. Typically many systems similar in size to the WTA that enact fare increases from
.75 to 1.00 eliminate a charge for transfers. Not charging for transfers will allow the WTA to deal with transfers for social service agencies, as well as meet the goal of increasing
ridership and meeting the needs of our passengers while maintaining a fiscally responsible fare structure. A motion to accept the proposed fare structure was made by Mr. Saylor and
seconded by Mr. Stukes. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Freeman sought staff feedback concerning resuming service to Hanover Center with the number two bus. Mr. Eby reported that
the new buses were longer than the current fleet and staff had a plan to service the bus stop at Hanover Center without going through the entire parking lot. The pilot bus would be
tested for accessibility to the stop and if successful, service would resume with the introduction of the new fleet. Ms. Freeman also voiced concern over the cobblestone design of
Castle St. between Front & Third. She feared that this may lead to increased maintenance costs and the ride was uncomfortable to passengers. Mr. Eby agreed that both points had merit,
but staff has not found a way to detour around the area, which has high ridership rates. Ms. Freeman also passed along compliments on the new amenities around the hospital. Mr. Eby
informed the Board that 24 additional benches and trash cans would be installed throughout the city in the coming weeks. REPORT FROM THE BOARD CHAIRMAN Mr. Scott spoke about the NCPTA
conference and that it was a good place to meet others in the field of transportation and attend some very good workshops. Mr. Scott invited all the Board members to attend. Being
no further business the meeting was adjourned at 12:00. The next meeting of the Board was scheduled for Tuesday June 3, at 3:00pm. Respectfully Submitted Albert Eby General Manager Attachment:
MEMO Proposed Fare Structure
MINUTES OF THE WILMINGTON TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND NEW HANOVER TRANSPORTATION SERVICES BOARD MEETING May 15, 2003 MEMBERS PRESENT Mr. Dick Scott, WTA Chair Ms. Chris McNamee, NHTS Chair
Mr. John Stukes, WTA Vice Chair Ms. Annette Crumpton, NHTS Vice Chair Mr. Mike Saylor, WTA Secretary Ms. Barbara Chestnut Kane, NHTS Mr. Howard Capps, WTA Ms. Kim Roane, NHTS Ms. Fannie
D. Freeman, WTA Mr. William Bryden, NHTS Mr. Jeff Bellows, WTA Ms. Jacqueline Reaves, NHTS STAFF PRESENT Mr. Gary Miller, President, CCL Management Mr. Albert Eby, General Manager, WTA
Mr. Corey Johnson, Assistant General Manager, WTA Ms. Lawless Bean, TDM Coordinator, City of Wilmington Mr. Mark Tinkler, Senior Transportation Planner, City of Wilmington Mr. Jonathan
David, Associate Transportation Planner, City of Wilmington Mr. Debra Houston, Program Manager, NHTS GUESTS PRESENT Mr. Jeff Crouchley, Transit Planner, NCDOT-PTD Ms. Dolores Williams,
Assistant City Attorney, City of Wilmington CALL TO ORDER Chairman Scott called the meeting to order at 12:10 pm. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Mr. Scott and Ms. McNamee welcomed everyone
and asked for everyone in the room to introduce themselves. Mr. Scott encouraged NHTS members to tour the new bus.
MERGER IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE AND DISCUSSION Mr. Scott and Ms. McNamee reviewed the history of the merger study. The study is phase one of a study commissioned by the WTA for merger
feasibility and to form a five-year plan for either the combined entity or the two separate entities should a merger not be deemed feasible. Mr. Scott informed the Boards of the members
of the steering committee, which was responsible for the direction of the merger study to this point. The Wilmington City Council and New Hanover County Commissioners had directed
city and county staff to work together to develop an Interlocal agreement to combine the WTA and NHTS boards to work out further details on how to fully merge the two entities. A draft
Interlocal Agreement Between the City of Wilmington, New Hanover County and Wilmington Transit Authority Creating an Agency to Jointly Operate Transportation Facilities and Services
was distributed by Assistant City Attorney Ms. Dolores Williams. Ms. Williams also responded to legal inquiries concerning the agreement. The draft agreement was presented section
by section, with the majority of discussion focusing on Section 4: Personnel. An agreement was reached that would allow the NHTS Program Manager to serve as the combined Authority
Assistant Director, and the NHTS Administrative Assistant to serve as the combined Authority Administrative Assistant. The Director would be hired by the Board and employed by the
City of Wilmington for the first year. The process could begin as early as July 2003. The study calls for the Authority Director to assume his or her duties in November 2003. Should
an Interlocal agreement not be forthcoming in year two, a Transit Director could continue to be utilized by the WTA based on the availability of funding for the position. It was noted
that the initial agreement was for only one year, and the merged Board would have to come back to the City and County with its recommendations and funding requirements beyond year one
for an additional Interlocal agreement. Mr. Scott and Ms. McNamee spoke about the need for a new facility where a merged staff could be centrally located. Some discussion focused
on the need to return to the North Carolina General Assembly to modify the current authority language. Mr. Scott and Ms. McNamee pointed out that the agreement would go back to the
attorneys to be finalized before presentation to the Wilmington City Council on June 16, 2003, and the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners on June 17, 2003. Both Board Chairs
encouraged as many members as possible attend these meetings to show our support for the merger.
Staff and Mr. Crouchley indicated that a preliminary planning study would be out for bid early in the summer and that funding for the facility was being secured. The study would
focus on using the facility as a WTA facility and a merged facility. The study is expected to be completed before the end of the calendar year. A motion to accept the draft Interlocal
agreement for presentation to the Wilmington City Council and the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners was made by WTA Board member Stukes, seconded by NHTS Board member Bryden.
The motion carried unanimously. Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:10pm. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Houston Program Manager, NHTS Albert Eby General Manager,
WTA Attachment: Draft Interlocal Agreement