Minutes 08 11 05
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority MINUTES OF THE CAPE FEAR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY August 11, 2005 Ms. Christine B. McNamee, Chair, Presiding MEMBERS PRESENT Ms. Christine
McNamee, Chair Mr. Jeff Bellows, Vice-Chair Ms. Laura Padgett Mr. William Bryden Ms. Maureen McCarthy Ms. Fannie Freeman Mr. Robert Ronne STAFF PRESENT Mr. Albert Eby, Director Mr. Arlanda
Rouse, Assistant Director Ms. Raquel Wilson, Administrative Assistant Mr. Michael Kincaid, Finance Director Ms. Melissa Watson, Apprentice CONTRACT MANAGEMENT STAFF PRESENT Mr. Corey
Johnson, General Manager, First Transit Mr. Lamont Jackson, General Manager Paratransit, First Transit GUESTS PRESENT Mr. Andy Olsen, Attorney at Law Ms. Deborah Houston, NCDOT Mr. Mike
Kozlosky, Senior Transportation Planner, City of Wilmington Mr. Kemp Burpeau, Deputy County Attorney, New Hanover County Mr. Howard Capps Ms. Annette Crumpton, Director, New Hanover
County, Department of Aging CALL TO ORDER Chairman McNamee called the meeting to order at 12:12:04pm. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion to approve the minutes from the July 14, 2005 regular
meeting of the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority was made by Mr. Bellows. The motion was seconded by Ms. Freeman and carried unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT The Chair asked if
anyone in attendance had public comment. Hearing no comment, the Chair closed the public comment period.
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority Official Meeting Minutes August 11, 2005 RECOGNITION OF FORMER AUTHORITY MEMBER Chairwoman McNamee recognized former Cape Fear Public Transportation
Authority member Mr. Howard Capps. Chairwoman McNamee stated that the Authority was very appreciative of all the work that he had done for the Authority and for public transportation
in the region. Chairwoman McNamee presented Mr. Capps a plaque. Mr. Capps stated that he enjoyed being on the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority Board and serving the community.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT Chairman McNamee stated that the committee had met and reviewed the work plans for the Director and developed a work plan for the Authority. She stated
that the committee would like the Authority to review the work plan for suggested revisions. She stated that the committee wanted to give the Authority an idea of what each of the
committees would be undertaking during the fiscal year. The committee makeup and committee membership was requested to be updated. Chairman McNamee asked the CFPTA to review the
work plans and make changes to the membership on the various committees. Chairman McNamee distributed a committee list and asked Authority members to add their name to committees that
they would like to join and to cross their name off committees that they were no longer interested in participating on, with the understanding that committees were limited to five appointed
Authority members. FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT The Chair recognized Committee Chairman Mr. Bryden to present the report. Mr. Bryden stated that the committee had not met since the last
meeting of the Authority. Following reorganization of the committee, Mr. Bryden would call a meeting. He stated that the committee would be meeting to discuss the impact of the cost
of fuel. Mr. Bryden stated that the committee would also discuss the budget and fare structure. He stated that as past chair of the ad hoc long range funding committee, the finance
committee had assumed responsibility of implementing the revenue recommendations made by the ad hoc committee. Funding sources, not currently in use, were suggested. These were a
five dollar vehicle registration fee, with the proceeds designated toward transit, and a rental car fee. Mr. Bryden stated that he would accept the challenge of working with the Authority
and other committees to approach the elected officials of the County and the City to seek support for a tag fee. Mr. Bryden stated that other initiatives were a rental car tax and
the establishment of a foundation. He stated that the committee would need someone to volunteer to lead each of those activities. Concerning the subject of expenses, Mr. Eby stated
that over the past twelve months, in diesel fuel cost alone, the Authority was spending over $550 or more a day in diesel fuel. He stated that the committee would need to address this
dramatic increase and identify a source of revenue to offset the cost. One possibility would be to study the current fare structure.
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority Official Meeting Minutes August 11, 2005 Ms. Padgett stated that she had received comments from citizens that fares were extremely low. ROUTE
COMMITTEE The Chair recognized Committee Chair Ms. Freeman to present the report. Ms. Freeman stated that the committee met last month and would meet again next week. Staff was
made aware of some route issues and would make a report to the committee at the next meeting. She stated that route modifications to the Monkey Junction Shuttle were forthcoming. MARKETING
COMMITTEE The Chair recognized Committee Chair Ms. McCarthy to present the report. She stated that mascot naming contest was running in the Wilmington Star-News. Ms. McCarthy stated
that information about the contest would also be on WECT-TV. She stated that the committee thought the marketing initiatives were making Wave Transit more visible. She stated that
the public was realizing that the City and the County offered one public transportation system. Ms. McCarthy stated that the campaign was scheduled to launch on September 01. She
stated that Talk PR had been working very hard and doing their research in order to make Wave Transit a valuable entity in the region. Chairman McNamee asked when the PowerPoint presentation
would be ready. Ms. McCarthy stated that everything should be ready by the September meeting. Chairman McNamee stated she would like to have interested Authority members and staff
present the presentation to civic groups and other interested community organizations. She stated that the outreach would let organizations know who Wave Transit is and the benefits
of public transportation. Ms. McCarthy stated that the Committee and Authority members would be making a presentation to the County Commissioners at their October 17, 2005 meeting.
The meeting would be at 9:00 am at the Commissioners Board room in the historic courthouse. She stated that public transportation would be on the agenda and they would be taking the
County Commissioners to lunch on the trolley. FACILITIES COMMITTEE Chairman McNamee recognized Mr. Bellows to give the report. Mr. Bellows stated that the facilities committee did
not have a meeting last month. He stated that they were in a holding pattern pending property appraisals on the 12 acre site being considered. Mr. Bellows stated that North Carolina
General Statutes require two appraisals for properties with values in excess of one million dollars. One appraisal was included in the site recommendation study. Staff had issued
a purchase order for the second appraisal. Mr. Bellows asked how long it would take to do complete the first appraisal. Mr. Eby stated that estimates were eight weeks from the starting
date of August 01, 2005. The second appraisal was scheduled to be completed on September 23, 2005. Ms. Padgett stated that the new development in that area could impact the appraisal.
Mr. Eby stated that the appraisal would take this into account where applicable and legal. Mr. Eby stated that decisions could be made once the parcel was appraised.
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority Official Meeting Minutes August 11, 2005 STAFF REPORT Chairman McNamee recognized Mr. Eby to give the staff report. Mr. Eby stated that
the first item on the staff report was the Safety and Security Policy. He stated that during the most recent triennial review from FTA it was suggested that staff include Department
of Homeland Security threat level assessment into the Authority security plan. He stated that the Safety and Security policies were identical to the policy approved by the Authority
on July 1, 2004 with the exception of the final item which was the Adoption of the System Security Plan dated July 1, 2005. Ms. McCarthy motioned to accept the System Security Plan
update. The motion was seconded by Ms. Padgett and carried unanimously. Mr. Eby stated that the next item was a Financial Policy update. Mr. Eby recognized Mr. Mike Kincaid, Wave
Transit Finance Director, to present the item. Mr. Kincaid stated that NCDOT asked for a procedure concerning check reconciliation. Mr. Kincaid stated that he would perform reconciliations
that would be reviewed and approved by the Director. Mr. Kincaid stated that for those checks outstanding within 90 days of contact, the payee would be contacted to present those checks
for payment. Mr. Kincaid stated that he included in the policy a description of the procedures to maintain property records for all fixed assets. Mr. Bryden made a motion to accept
the revised Financial Policy. The motion was seconded by Ms. Freeman and carried unanimously. Mr. Eby stated that the next item was the Meetings Policy Update. He stated that it
was suggested that staff develop a standard for how Authority meetings would be conducted. He stated that with the help of the Deputy County Attorney Section 7.2 was added to the policy
which states that “Robert’s Rules of Order” would govern the meeting. The Policy stated that the Chair would be presiding over meetings of the Authority. Ms. Padgett motioned to
adopt the Meetings Policy. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bellows and carried unanimously. Mr. Eby stated that staff had worked with the Deputy County Attorney, NCDOT Public Transportation
Division and FTA to make sure the Procurement Policy Manual had all the state, local and federal regulations. He stated that the document had been forwarded to NCDOT for approval.
Mr. Eby stated that they were confident that it would meet NCDOT’s guidelines. A motion to adopt the Procurement Policy was made by Ms. Padgett. The motion was seconded by Mr.
Bryden and carried unanimously. Mr. Eby introduced an update to the Wave Transit Conflict of Interest Policy. He stated that the Conflict of Interest Policy was identical to the
one adopted July 1, 2004 with the exception of the members of the Authority being added specifically to the policy. Chairman McNamee asked if there were any issues that of concern
with the current Authority members. Mr. Eby stated that he couldn’t think of any, but wanted to avoid the perception of any conflicts of interest. A motion to adopt the Conflict
of Interest Policy was made by Mr. Bellows. The motion was seconded by Ms. Padgett and carried unanimously. Mr. Eby stated that the next item was the Memorandum of Understanding
for Public Transportation Planning within a Wilmington Urbanized Area.
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority Official Meeting Minutes August 11, 2005 He stated that as a designated recipient, Wave Transit and the MPO must have a written Memorandum
Agreement to address transit planning. Mr. Eby asked that the item be tabled until specific funding issues concerning the planning process can be addressed. Mr. Eby stated that this
year the allocation was about $39,000. He stated that staff was looking at how the funds were going to be split between the Authority and the MPO. Mr. Eby stated that Ms. Dolores
Williams suggested staff include a specific amount in the agreement, at least for the first year and have a written agreement on how much that would be. He stated that he and Mr. Kincaid
were going to work out how much that amount needs to be for the current and future fiscal years. Mr. Bellows asked if staff was going to replace the mutual agreed portion of the allocation
with a specific allocation in the wording. Mr. Eby stated that Ms. Williams had already done so in the second revised draft. Mr. Eby stated that the recipient of the funding needed
to also be addressed. Chairman McNamee asked was if there were issues should the item be tabled. Mr. Eby stated that it wouldn’t be an issue. Mr. Bellows asked what CFPTA was anticipating
using the 5303 funds for. Mr. Eby stated that the funds would help pay for a planner and planning activities. Mr. Eby stated that the next item was the Wilmington Public Transportation
Policy. He stated that the policy was drafted to be presented to local, state and federal elected officials to let them know more about Wave Transit and some of the policy issues facing
the Authority. He stated that they would like to present the document to local elected officials if the Authority approves. Mr. Eby stated that he would like permission to send the
policy to elected officials. Chairman McNamee asked for a motion to send the policy to elected officials. A motion was made by Ms. McCarthy. The motion was seconded by Ms. Padgett
and carried unanimously. OTHER BUSINESS, SCHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING Chairwoman McNamee asked Mr. Eby if the Authority supplied trash cans for bus stops. Mr. Eby stated that the policy
was to include trash cans at all new bench and shelter locations. Chairwoman McNamee stated that she had received a complaint about trash at the bus stop at 901 Shipyard Blvd. Mr.
Eby referred the item to the First Transit General Manager for investigation and resolution. Mr. Eby updated the Authority on Reauthorization of the Transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU.
He stated that the $286.4 billion dollar bill includes $52.6 billion dollars for public transportation over six years. The bill was passed by the House and Senate and signed by the
President. Mr. Eby stated that intensity tier funding was included in the bill and would possibly allow the authority additional operating funding. He stated that the multimodal
would receive $846,000 in the form of an earmark from Congressman McIntyre. Additional funding for the project was being discussed. Mr. Eby introduced Wave Transit Apprentice, Ms.
Melissa Watson.
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority Official Meeting Minutes August 11, 2005 Mr. Eby gave Ms. Watson the opportunity to introduce herself. Ms. Watson stated that she was from
Greensboro, N.C. and that she graduated from N.C. A&T University in May 2005. Mr. Eby stated that Ms. Watson was in the NCDOT Apprenticeship program and would be working for the Authority
for one year. He stated that NCDOT would pay 90% of her salary and fringe benefits. Ms. McCarthy stated that Route 6 takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get to Mayfaire. She stated
that the problem was that the passengers who want to go to the college have to ride a long way just to get there. The item was referred to the route committee. Chairman McNamee updated
the Board on the Wave Transit/CFCC partnership. She stated that last month the Authority voted to offer semester passes to CFCC students. She stated that the Authority had distributed
maps to the college with information about the semester pass program, and printed the semester passes. Chairman McNamee asked if there was any other business. SCHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING
Hearing no further business, a motion was made by Ms. Padgett to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Ms. McCarthy and carried unanimously. The next meeting of the Authority was
scheduled for Thursday September 8, 2005 at 12:00 pm in the Wave Transit Conference Room. Respectfully Submitted, Albert Eby Director /rw