Minutes 10 11 07
Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority MINUTES OF THE CAPE FEAR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY October 11, 2007 Mr. Jeff Bellows, Chair, Presiding MEMBERS PRESENT Mr. Jeff Bellows,
Chair Mr. William Bryden, Vice-Chair Mr. Don Betz Mr. Andrew Koeppel Ms. Christine McNamee Ms. Laura Padgett Ms. Nancy Pritchett STAFF PRESENT Mr. Albert Eby, Director Mr. Arlanda Rouse,
Assistant Director Ms. Catherine Cole, Finance Director Mrs. Kathy Williams, Administrative Assistant Mr. Matthew Kunic, Planner CONTRACT MANAGEMENT STAFF PRESENT Mr. Lamont Jackson,
General Manager, First Transit Mr. Geoff Delphonse, Para-Transit Supervisor, First Transit Mr. Bill Champ, Temp Maintenance Supervisor, First Transit Mr. William Williamson, First Transit
Mr. Andrew Olson, Attorney GUESTS PRESENT Mr. Mike Kozlosky, Transportation Planner, Wilmington Urban Area MPO Mr. Pat Gannon, Wilmington Star News Mr. Richard Foster, Citizen Mr. Ricky
Meeks, Citizen Mr. Bonnie Reed, Citizen Mr. Demetrius Simpkins, Citizen Ms. Brenda Williams, 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 July 12, 2007 regular meeting of the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority
was made by Mr. Bryden The motion was seconded by Ms. McNamee and carried unanimously PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Bellows opened the Public Comment Period Ms. Pritchett stated that the trolley medallions located along the trolley route looked really nice, and she was glad to see them installed
After hearing no further comments the Chairman closed the public comment period EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Mr. Bellows introduced new member former Wilmington Mayor Mr. Don Betz and welcomed
him to the Authority Mr. Betz briefly introduced himself Mr. Bellows stated that the First Transit management contract expires on June 30, 2008 Mr. Bellows requested an ad-hoc
committee to oversee the contractor selection process Ms McNamee then volunteered to serve as Chair of the committee Mr. Betz and Mr. Bryden agreed to serve as committee members
Mr. Bellow then recognized Mr. Olsen to present an employment contract for the Director Mr. Olsen stated that the contract is in draft and format and open to suggestions Ms. Padgett
suggested that the contract state that notifications be sent by certified mail rather than regular mail Mr. Betz made a suggestion that the twelve months of severance pay for the Director
be change to six months He stated that six months was the normal amount of time given to government employees such as the City and County managers Ms. Pritchett make a motion to
table the employment contract until counsel could determine who was responsible for the contract should the Authority be dissolved Ms. McNamee seconded the motion which carried unanimously
Mr. Bellows then stated that he would like to undertake a salary survey for Authority employees Ms. Padgett suggested that the Authority review the Director salary and the Director
undertake the survey for staff The Chairman stated that he accompanied staff to the APTA annual conference in Charlotte He requested that those in attendance prepare an overview
of the highlights of the conference for the November meeting FACILITIES COMMITTEE Chairman Bellows recognized Ms. McNamee to present the facilities report Ms. McNamee stated the
Division Drive property had been transferred and the deed is being prepared by the Attorney General’s Office She stated that the committee met with Kent Harrell, PE who was responsible
for assisting staff with the subdivision process for the Cando Drive extension Ms. McNamee presented a recommendation for approval of a contract extension for additional engineering
work to be done on the Cantu Drive extension for $7,950.00 to Norris, Kuske & Tunstall Engineering of Wilmington The additional funding was necessary because the city technical review
committee had required the Authority to completely redesign the road The motion for the approval of the additional funds for the Cando Drive extension in the amount not to exceed $7,950.00
was presented by the committee and carried unanimously Mr. Eby stated that seventy-five percent of the funds would be reimbursed by Corning per the property purchase agreement The
remaining funds would be shared by Wave Transit and NCDOT under the Moving Ahead initiative Ms. McNamee inquired about the estimated start date for the temporary transfer site
Mr. Eby stated that a work is underway and encroachment and right of way agreements for the temporary restrooms are being addressed Mr. Koeppel inquired about an estimated date for
groundbreaking Ms. McNamee stated that there are funds for the preliminary construction work, but not the actual building project Mr. Eby stated that he is continuing to research
and apply for construction funds PUBLIC COMMENT (2) Due to arrival of several citizens after the original public comment period was closed, Mr. Bellows reopened the Public Comment
period Mr. Meeks stated that the #6 bus is repeatedly late and transfers are problematic from this bus Mr. Simpkins commended several Wave Transit drivers for excellent service,
he then mentioned that others drivers need to work on their customer service skills Mr. Simpkins stated that at several areas around the city the bus stops, but there is no bus stop
sign He mentioned this because it has become inconvenient for several passengers, due to the contractor enforcement drivers stopping at only designated bus stops Mr. Eby stated that
during the route restructuring new signs will be installed and the problem should be corrected Ms. Williams stated that she would like to catch the bus on Wellington and the closest
bus stop to Wellington is on Silver Stream Drive which is sometimes difficult for her to walk Mr. Foster requested that more benches be placed near Food Lion located on Oleander Dr,
8th Street and Greenfield Avenue and in front of Kmart located on College Road due to senior citizen usage Ms. Reed requested a bench be placed on 11th and Market Street Mr. Eby
stated in order for a location to be considered for a bus bench or shelter, that it must meet the minimum required threshold of 25 passengers boarding per day for a bench and 50 passengers
boarding per day for a shelter He further stated that passenger amenities would be added each year following route restructuring Hearing no further business Mr. Bellows closed the
Public Comment portion Mr. Williamson responded to the citizen concerns ROUTE COMMITTEE Mr. Bellows recognized Mr. Koeppel to give the report for the Route committee Mr. Koeppel
stated that the staff was still working on an agreement to supply service to Wrightsville Beach Mr. Koeppel then stated that during the route restructure, the staff would ensure that
the maps and signs are accessible to both the mentally and physically challenged Ms. McNamee inquired about the start date for route restructuring Mr. Eby stated that everything
was still on schedule Mr. Bellows suggested that the Authority also begin to look into reducing headways down from thirty minutes down to fifteen minutes Ms. McNamee stated that
understanding the complexities of the Authority was a challenge since the Authority met only once monthly A suggestion to plan a retreat for the Authority was presented Chairman
Bellows asked staff to include discussion of the request on the November agenda MARKETING COMMITTEE
Mr. Bellows recognized Mr. Kunic to the Marketing Committee report in the absence of Mr. Ronne Mr. Kunic stated that the staff was continuing to work with Colonial Marketing on maps
and schedules Mr. Kunic then stated that the staff has ordered promotional magnets and pens FINANCE COMMITTEE Mr. Bellows recognized Mr. Bryden to give the finance report Mr. Bryden
stated that the committee had received a draft of the annual audit/budget report Mr. Bryden stated that the audit/budget report should be complete and ready to report at the November
meeting Mr. Bryden presented the July and August 12007 financial reports Ms. Cole responded to the questions concerning the reports The board commended Ms. Cole on the layout of
the new report STAFF REPORT Mr. Bellows recognized Mr. Eby to present the staff report Mr. Eby presented a purchase order to Port City Signs in the amount of $12,360 Mr. Eby stated
this purchase order would allow the Authority to purchase signs that will be used for the restructured routes Mr. Eby stated that the signs would indicate what times and which bus
would arrive at a particular bus stop Ms. Padgett made a motion to approve the purchase order to Port City Signs in the amount of $12,360 Mr. Bryden seconded the motion and carried
unanimously Mr. Eby then presented an purchase order in the amount of $24,200.00 to GFI Genfare for two each Odyssey fare boxes that will be installed onto the new transit vehicles
Mr. Eby stated that New Hanover County had funded the local match for vehicles to the unincorporated areas which would benefit from electronic fareboxes capable of accepting passes
and issuing electronic transfers Mr. Koeppel made a motion to accept the purchase order in the amount of $24,200 to GFI Genfare Mr. Bryden seconded the motion and carried unanimously
Mr. Eby recognized Mr. Williamson to introduce interim Paratransit manager Mr. Geoff Delphonse Mr. Eby recognized interim maintenance director Mr. Bill Champ and commended him for
maintaining maintaining the vehicles under a great amount of turnover in the maintenance department OTHER REPORTS Mr. Bellows recognized other agencies to give reports Ms. Bean stated
she was working on some projects with major employers in the area and would keep the Authority informed SCHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING Hearing no further business, Mr. Betz made a motion
to adjourned the meeting The motion was seconded by Mr. Koeppel and carried unanimously The Authority’s next board meeting is scheduled for November 8, 2007 at 12:00 pm in the Wave
Transit Conference Room Respectfully Submitted,
Albert Eby Director /kw