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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 04 23 09 Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority MINUTES OF THE CAPE FEAR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY April 23, 2009 Mr. William Bryden, Chair, Presiding MEMBERS PRESENT Mr. William Bryden, Chairman Mr. Don Betz, Vice Chair Mr. George Dolan, Secretary Mr. Henry Adams Mr. Johnathan Barfield Mr. Euran Daniels Mr. Andrew Koeppel Ms. Christine McNamee MEMBERS ABSENT Ms. Lena Mair Ms. Laura Padgett Cpt. David Scheu STAFF PRESENT Mr. Albert Eby, Director Mr. Arlanda Rouse, Assistant Director Ms. Kathy Williams, Administrative Assistant Mr. Matthew Kunic, Planner Ms. Catherine Beasley, Finance Director CONTRACT MANAGEMENT STAFF PRESENT Mr. Andrew Olsen, Attorney Mr. Terrance Thompson, General Manager, PTM Mr. Thomas Molina, Para Transit Supervisor, PTM Mr. Jeffrey Dixon, Maintenance Supervisor, PTM Mr. Bobby Hunter, Operations Supervisor, PTM GUESTS PRESENT Mr. Joshuah Mello, Associate Transportation Planner, Wilmington Urban Area MPO Mr. Ricky Meeks, Citizen Mr. Chad Wilkins, Citizen CALL TO ORDER  Chairman Bryden called the meeting to order at 12:00 pm  Mr. Bryden opened the meeting with a moment of silence CONSENT AGENDA  Mr. Bryden presented the April 23, 2009 consent agenda  Mr. Betz made a motion to accept the consent agenda  Mr. Dolan seconded the motion and carried unanimously PUBLIC COMMENT  Mr. Bryden opened the public comment period  Mr. Meeks thanked the board for transportation to the Azalea Festival  Mr. Meeks stated that a passenger should be able to use bus passes on the Azalea Festival Shuttles  Mr. Eby stated that it was an operations issue and it will be clarified next year  Mr. Wilkins stated that the wheelchair hook ups needed cleaning and the bus stops are not disabled friendly EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE  Mr. Bryden presented the Executive Committee report  Mr. Bryden stated that he and Ms. McNamee and himself would comprise the Nominating Committee to recommend officers for FY 09-10  Mr. Bryden stated that the committee will begin accepting nominees for the terms to begin July 1, 2009 ROUTE COMMITTEE  Mr. Bryden recognized Mr. Koeppel to give the report for the route committee  Mr. Koeppel presented the Safe Ride Program that will begin at UNCW  Mr. Koeppel stated that the program will run between the hours of 6:30 pm-12:00 am Mon-Thurs only when school is in session  Mr. Koeppel briefly described information that the driver will need from the boarding passenger  Mr. Rouse stated that UNCW will be billed for the actual cost for the service provided  Mr. Eby stated that a draft UNCW contract had been sent to the university and terms for late night service would need to be worked out between the authority and UNCW MARKETING COMMITTEE  Mr. Bryden recognized Mr. Betz to present the marketing report  Mr. Betz stated that the committee had not meet  Mr. Bryden inquired about progress of the van advertising  Mr. Kunic stated that funds are slowly coming in  Mr. Bryden inquired about the amenities program  Mr. Kunic stated that several businesses have been contacted and have given approval to install amenities on their property  Mr. Kunic stated that due to budget constraints, the City of Wilmington would be unable to install the concrete pads as planned so a contractor will have to be used  Mr. Kunic stated that the funding for the amenities project will come from the stimulus package FINANCE COMMITTEE  Mr. Bryden recognized Mr. Dolan to give the Finance Committee  Mr. Dolan stated that there was a difference between the authority and the Town of Leland concerning the understanding of the local contribution to the Brunswick Connector for the current fiscal year  Mr. Dolan stated that in the future an Interlocal agreement will be required to prevent any future differences of opinion from other funding parties  Mr. Dolan stated that the authority had received contracted fuel prices for FY 09-10 and staff was waiting from advice from the selected contractor before locking in on a price  Mr. Dolan inquired about route 205’s grant  Mr. Koeppel stated that a decision should be reached about funding by next month  Mr. Dolan said that next year’s revenues are still unknown and the city and county have been requested to provide local funds equal to FY 08-09  Mr. Bryden asked the committee to explore the possibilities of reducing services that are provided by that segment of funding if the amount given to the authority is reduced  Presentation of the FY 09-10 budget is expected at the May 28th meeting FACILITIES COMMITTEE  Chairman Bryden recognized Ms. McNamee to give the committee report  Ms. McNamee stated that the committee is currently working with Corning to revise the contract that will meet the easement requirements of Progress Energy  Mr. Eby stated that all the authority and Corning are in agreement in principal concerning a revised contract  Once Progress Energy agrees to easement and right-of-way encroachments the agreement with Corning can proceed STAFF REPORT  Chairman Bryden recognize d Mr. Eby to present the staff report  Mr. Eby stated that Azalea Festival went well  Mr. Eby stated that 1430 passengers were transported and $1,200 in fares were collected  Mr. Eby stated that House bill 148 is the congestion relief/multimodal fund  Mr. Mr. Eby said that this fund will set up an account for major capital projects and will allow transportation authorities/counties to levy a $7.00 vehicle registration and/or call a referendum for a ¼ cents sales tax with the proceeds going to public transportation  Mr. Eby said that the $7.00 vehicle registration fee could be implemented by a majority vote of the County Commissioners  Mr. Eby said that the ¼ cents sales tax would require a referendum by voters  Mr. Eby stated that community support will be necessary to get either initiative passed by the county commissioners  HB 148 has passed and S151 will be considered in the near future  Mr. Eby stated that an RFP for fuel was submitted and James River Petroleum was currently the lowest bidder  Mr. Eby stated that no agreement has been made because staff is waiting for the lowest price possible  Mr. Eby stated there will be a fuel contract by next month  Mr. Eby said that on May 18-20 the annual NCPTA Conference will be held at the Hilton Downtown Downtown  Mr. Eby stated that Ms. Padgett will speak at the Monday luncheon and Mr. Barfield will be welcoming conference attendees to New Hanover County  Mr. Eby stated that if board members are interested in attending please let him know  Mr. Koeppel asked staff to e-mail the agenda for the conference to the board members when finalized  Mr. Eby presented the blind taxi voucher program changes  Mr. Eby gave a brief overview of the blind taxi voucher change  Mr. Eby recognized Mr. Rouse to give an update about the blind taxi vouchers  Mr. Rouse stated that he attended a meeting on April 2, 2009 with Services for the Blind and about 40 individuals  Mr. Rouse explained that the changes in service is necessary because there is a stipulation within 49 part 37 of the federal ADA regulations, that there must be equivalent of service to all disabled individuals  Mr. Rouse stated that the passengers using the taxi vouchers were able to use the transportation at anytime and the clients using the van/bus service could only use it during business hours  Mr. Rouse stated that according to the 49 CFR 57 that there cannot be any restrictions on the usage of service provided  Mr. Rouse stated that the passengers were only allowed to purchase 10 taxi vouchers per month  Mr. Rouse stated that best solution is to transition blind taxicab passengers to the paratransit van service (DART)  Mr. Rouse stated that will be additional sensitivity training for all drivers and changes the phone system to accommodate these new passengers  Mr. Rouse stated that letters will be sent to the clients notifying them of the transition  Mr. Koeppel stated that issuing a press release before the change would help with public notification  Mr. Bryden made a motion to submit a resolution supporting the transition of blind clients from the taxi to van service  Mr. Betz seconded the motion to submit a resolution supporting the transition of blind clients from the taxi to van service and carried unanimously  Mr. Eby’s final item is a temporary transition of bus drivers from full time to part time  Mr. Eby stated that now that summer is approaching there will be transitions of bus operators from full time to part time  Mr. Eby explained that this transition is caused because during the summer UNCW reduces service  Mr. Eby recognized Mr. Thompson to explain the transition process  Mr. Thompson explained that the extra board drivers are guaranteed 70 hours per pay period  Mr. Thompson stated that those extra board drivers will be dropped to part time so that there is no obligation to pay the 70 hour guarantee and the company would pay 20% of the employees benefits and the employee would pay the remaining 80%  Mr. Thompson stated that this transition should save the money NEW/OLD BUSINESS  No new/old business SCHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING  Hearing no further business, Mr. Dolan made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Mr. Adams seconded  The Authority’s next board meeting is scheduled for May 28, 2009, at 12:00 pm in the Castle Street Board Room  On Monday, May 25, 2009, Wave Transit offices will be closed and there will be no service due to the Memorial Day Holiday Respectfully Submitted, Albert Eby Director /kw