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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 11 13 08 Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority MINUTES OF THE CAPE FEAR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY November 13, 2008 Mr. William Bryden, Chair, Presiding MEMBERS PRESENT Mr. William Bryden, Chair Mr. Don Betz, Vice Chair Mr. George Dolan, Secretary Ms. Fannie Freeman Mr. Andrew Koeppel Ms. Aileen Mair Ms. Christine McNamee Ms. Nancy Pritchett STAFF PRESENT Mr. Albert Eby, Director Mr. Arlanda Rouse, Assistant Director Ms. Kathy Williams, Administrative Assistant Mr. Matthew Kunic, Planner Ms. Catherine Beasley, CPA, Finance Director CONTRACT MANAGEMENT STAFF PRESENT Mr. Terrance Thompson, General Manager, PTM Mr. Thomas Molina, Para Transit Manager, PTM Mr. Andrew Olsen, Legal Counsel GUESTS PRESENT Thirty (30) Residents from Lincoln Forest (list attached) Mr. Ricky Meeks CALL TO ORDER  Chairman Bryden called the meeting to order at 12:10 pm  Mr. Bryden opened the meeting with a moment of silence CONSENT AGENDA  Mr. Bryden presented the November 13, 2008 consent agenda  Mr. Betz made a motion to approve approve the November 13, 2008 consent agenda  Mr. Dolan seconded the motion and it carried unanimously RECOGNITION OF OUTGOING BOARD MEMBER  Mr. Bryden presented Commissioner Nancy Pritchett with a plaque for her service and dedication to the authority and its mission  Ms. Pritchett thanked the board and wished them luck in the future PUBLIC HEARING  Mr. Bryden opened the public hearing to hear comments concerning the restructured route utilizing Fordham Road  Mr. Rafferty stated that he wanted bus traffic through Fordham Rd. to stop and for the authority to seek other routes  Ms. Harman is opposed to the buses traveling through Fordham Road and also stated that the mall median was made to keep traffic out of the neighborhood  Mr. Bell stated that there is a City Ordinance stating that no trucks are allowed in that residential neighborhood and also stated that sending buses through that area will devalue their property  Mr. Jones stated that Wave is using their neighborhood as a cut through, reroute to Oleander Dr he also stated that the bus noise is loud, they begin early in the morning and end late in the evening  Ms. Henry questioned why there was no representation from the mall at the meeting  Ms. Capps stated that she started counting buses and when she opens her windows she can see, smell and hear the buses  Ms. Rafferty stated that residents chose what traffic will come through their neighborhood  Ms. McLean did not think the new route was a good choice, if the mall does not want the buses to travel in the mall then Wave should not serve the area  Ms. Carter spoke with someone from the City and stated that buses will tear up the neighborhood streets  Ms. Capps stated that the buses are too frequent and also stated that Mr. Mello said that there is a letter from the city to the authority opposing the use of Fordham Rd. on any bus route  Mr. Bryden said that all bus stops must meet ADA regulations and must be able to get the passengers where they want to go, for example, Independence Mall  Mr. Rafferty wants the buses off their streets  Mr. Bryden briefly explained the process for the decision made for the Fordham Road change  Ms. Alley stated that the bus noise is loud and their too big for their streets  Mr. Koeppel suggested the residents appeal their concerns to the mall management  An unidentified citizen stated that the bus passengers should be present to fight for transportation to the mall  Mr. Bryden thanked all the residents for voicing their concerns and all comments will be considered PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD  Mr. Bryden opened the public comment period  Mr. Meeks requested weekend service on the Castle Hayne and Brunswick Connector routes  Hearing no further comment, Mr. Bryden closed the public comment period EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE  Mr. Bryden stated the committee had met to work on the reroute around Independence Mall ROUTE COMMITTEE  Mr. Bryden recognized Mr. Koeppel to give the report for the route committee  Mr. Koeppel stated the committee was seeking solutions for the Fordham Rd/Independence Mall situation MARKETING COMMITTEE  Mr. Bryden recognized Mr. Betz to give the Marketing Committee report  Mr. Betz presented a contract for bus stop advertising  Mr. Eby stated that this contract was a template for future contracts  Mr. Koeppel inquired about the payment time of the advertising  Mr. Olsen stated that the contract is for payment with 30 days of the invoice  Ms. Pritchett inquired about the length of the sponsorship of the shelter/bench if it is no longer a stop  Mr. Kunic stated that if a advertised bus stop is removed then the advertising will remain with the shelter/bench for that length of time  Ms. Pritchett suggested that section 8 reads that basically the authority is responsible for removing any graffiti from the entity within 24 hours  The board agreed that the lifespan of the shelter/bench should be a minimum of 3 years with renewal  The recommendation did not require a 2nd carried unanimously  Mr. Betz presented a contract for the transit vehicle advertising agreement  Mr. Betz stated this contract was for advertising on the tops of the paratransit vehicles  Mr. Koeppel inquired about what would be advertised  Mr. Kunic stated that all advertising will be approved by staff  Mr. Eby stated that the authority has an adopted advertising policy detailing what type of ads were acceptable to the authority  Mr. Eby recommended striking option F from the contract not giving the contractor first option  Mr. Betz made a motion to accept the amendment to strike option F  Mr. Betz recommended staff to approve the final contract for transit vehicle advertising and include the county policy  The recommendation does not require a 2nd and carries unanimously  Mr. Kunic presented a easement from CVS to allow Wave to place a bench/shelter in order to be ADA compliant at the new location on Market and Covil Ave  Mr. Betz made a motion to approve the easement to allow wave to place a bench/shelter at Market and Covil Ave  Ms. Pritchett 2nd the motion and carried unanimously FINANCE COMMITTEE  Mr. Bryden recognized Mr. Dolan to give the Finance Committee  Mr. Dolan stated that the Authority had a deficit of around $60,000 at the end of Sept.  Mr. Dolan stated that there was a increase in ridership in September and fare box decrease  Mr. Dolan stated we should see a change in the fares within the coming months from the fare increase  Mr. Dolan stated that some of the loss could be from the misuse of transfers  Mr. Dolan presented a projection from Ms. Beasley about the future budget  Ms. Beasley’s projection for the future budget will have the authority ending with a $230K deficit  The committee recommended removing one of the buses from the 103 route changing it to a 60 minute headway saving around 40K a quarter with minimal revenue impact  Mr. Koeppel inquired if the authority needed emergency funds where would they turn  Ms. Beasley stated that in 2004 the authority received a fiscal year loan from the City of Wilmington  Ms. Beasley stated that without the SMAP funding more services may need to be cut  Ms. Beasley suggested staff inquire with the city and county to see if funds could be available to borrow on a fiscal year basis  Mr. Koeppel made a motion to support the reduction of one of the buses from the 103 route from 30 minute headways to 60 minutes, effective upon the new run sign up  Mr. Dolan 2nd and the motion carried unanimously FACILITIES COMMITTEE  Chairman Bryden recognized Ms. McNamee to give the committee report  Ms. McNamee stated that Corning has an agreement with the authority for selling the 2nd parcel of land for less than the appraised money and there will no exchange of money because it will be equal to the amount of money they were going to pay for the road construction STAFF REPORT  Chairman Bryden recognized Mr. Eby to present the staff report  Mr. Eby presented the 1st quarter analysis of PTM  Mr. Eby stated that PTM/Veolia was meeting their contractual obligations and staff was pleased with the changes implemented by the company  Mr. Eby also voiced strong support for GM Terry Thompson and his staff in dealing with difficult situations like employee reductions, service changes and many other issues left unattended by the previous contractor  Mr. Eby stated that the annual audit is complete and will be presented to the authority at the January 08, 2009 meeting PTM  Mr. Eby recognized Mr. Thompson to give the PTM report  Mr. Thompson stated that there were no employee lay offs as initially feared and he and his staff were able to reassign full time operators to part time in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement OLD BUSINESS  Ms. Mair stated that some police officers and sheriff deputies are being trained to assist passengers in a mental crisis which could be requested by operators assisting passengers using the safe haven initiative  Ms. Mair stated that if a driver has a passenger in mental crisis all they would need to do is to request for a CTI (Crisis Intervention Training) officer  Mr. Koeppel stated that the authority should not rule out having the December board meeting depending on the Fordham Road issues  Ms. Pritchett stated that the VA is building a new site at the Wilmington International Airport and they are interested in working with Wave Transit during design SCHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING  Mr. Bryden thanked the board for all of their hard work during 2008  He stated that if there were no business for the authority in December, the meeting would be cancelled  He directed staff to inform the board of the status of the December meeting the week prior  Hearing no further business, Mr. Betz made a motion to adjourn the meeting  The Wave Transit Authority’s next board meeting is tenatively scheduled for December 11, 2008 at 12:00 pm in the Castle Street Board Room Respectfully Submitted, Albert Eby Director /kw