Minutes 12 13 01
MINUTES OF THE WILMINGTON TRANSIT AUTHORITY 13 December 2001 MEMBERS PRESENT Mr. Dick Scott, Chairman Mr. Howard Capps Ms. Laura Padgett Mr. William Boyd Mr. Mike Saylor Mr. Harry Forden
MEMBERS ABSENT Ms. Rosa Webb Mr. Steve Stein, Alternate STAFF PRESENT Mr. Gary Miller Mr. Albert Eby Mr. Corey Johnson GUESTS PRESENT Bill Austin, Senior Transportation Planner CALL
TO ORDER Chairman Scott called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Saylor made a motion to approve the minutes from the Nov 8, 2001 meeting. Mr. Capps seconded
and the motion was unanimously approved. 1. Report from the General Manager TDM Update Trolley Statistics Mr. Eby reported the following Front Street Free Trolley statistics: November
averaged 79 daily passengers and 55 Saturday October averaged 133 daily passengers September averaged 94 daily passengers The government channel staff (GTV) has been filming the Front
Street Free Trolley to help publicize and explain how to catch it.
The public service announcement is in post production and should be ready to air on channel 8 before the next meeting. Mr. Eby reported that the WTA was producing a postcard-sized
brochure to give to downtown merchants to hand out to customers to help publicize the trolley. A copy of the card is included in this packet. Mr. Forden moved that the downtown trolley
be used at the end of its shift on Friday 12/22/01, and Saturday 12/23/01 to carry the residents of Solomon towers and Cape fear apartments to the worlds largest living Christmas tree.
Ms. Padgett seconded the motion and the motion was approved unanimously. TDM Coordinator Mr. Austin reported that an offer for employment had been made and accepted by Ms. Lawless
Bean for the position of Transportation Demand Coordinator, and she would be reporting to work soon after the first of the year. Mr. Austin passed out a copy of Ms. Bean’s resume.
Merger Study Mr. Austin reported that the merger study was moving forward with the selection of members to the various committees that would be working with the consultants on the
study. He stated that the study was to begin with a kickoff on 09 January 2002. Minutes from this meeting and a list of the technical committee members are included in this package.
Shelters Mr. Eby reported that there was $124,000.00 available in three different FTA grants for shelters. Mr. Capps reported that he would like to share some information he had
put together on shelters at the next board meeting. Mr. Eby reported that he had checked with the city attorney and shelter advertising was possible, but it would take a ordinance
adopted by city council. He also reported that the WTA might make it part of any contract that the advertiser pay for the utilities to light the shelter and be responsible for the
maintenance and upkeep of the shelter. City Manager Mary Gornto had asked Assistant City Manager Ted Voorhees to serve as the city contact for future discussion concerning shelter
advertising.
Bus Purchase Mr. Eby reported that he was traveling to Utica, NY and Jamestown, NC the week of December 17th to meet with representatives from Orion Bus and Thomas Bus respectively.
He stated he was scheduled to tour the manufacturing facilities of each manufacturer in preparation for the upcoming bus purchase. Nova Bus may still be an option and the WTA will
know more on the sale of the manufacturer by the end of the year. Mr. Eby stated that he was trying to avoid long-term hidden cost and get a reliable vehicle, since it would make up
the vast majority of the WTA fleet and would have to run for a minimum of ten years. Mr. Eby reported that he was trying to get a bus that had components that the maintenance staff
was familiar with so as to not increase the cost of the buses by having to purchase new tools and training. Mr. Eby is working with NCDOT and a group of managers and engineers from
other N.C. bus systems to prepare specifications for buses to be put on a possible state contract. Gifts Mr. Eby took a moment to thank the Board for their hard work and dedication
to the WTA through the year and to give them a small token of appreciation. 2. Report from the Chairman Mr. Scott thanked Mr. Eby and his staff for their hard work and dedication to
the WTA. Mr. Scott asked the board to think about their ideas for the future of the WTA and what priorities should be set for the upcoming year. 3. Other business, scheduling of next
meeting Chairman Scott scheduled the next meeting for Feb 14th 2002. Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6.45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, . Albert Eby General Manager