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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 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