Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority - 01/08/2003 /1., 456789'0 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHOR! '� BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETING `' FEB 2003 w WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2003 RECEIVED r OFFICE-ECRETARKS c" SUMMARY OF ACTIONS �� 1. Provided Opportunity for Public Comment 'Sea, 2. Approved the Board of Directors' Minutes of December 4, 2002 3. Accepted Committee Reports 4. Elected Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Assistant Secretary to the Board 5. a) Awarded a Contract to Public Safety Products, Inc. for the Purchase of Operator and Supervisor Uniforms b) Approved the Title VI Report for Submittal to Federal Transit Administration c)Approved Adjustments to the RTA Personnel Policy.Manual d)Approved the Financial Report for November 2002 e)Approved an Addendum to the 2003 Capital Budget 6. Authorized the General Manager to Award Administrative Services for the RTA's Group Health Program to Entrust . 7. Heard B-Line Update 8. Heard General Manager's Report The Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors met at 8:30 a.m. in the Regional Transportation Authority Facility located at 5658 Bear Lane, Corpus Christi, Texas. Board Members Present: Mike Rendon (Board Chair), Rolando Barrera (Board Vice- Chair) Julio Garcia, Jr. (Board Secretary), Abel Alonzo, John Buckley, John Corder, Vicki Garza, Mack Rodriguez, Stan Terry, Carole Wilkinson Board Members Absent: Guadalupe Gomez Staff Present: Linda Watson (General Manager), David Seiler, Beth Vidaurri, Fred Haley, Kevin Bunce, Stuart Sher, Ricardo Sanchez, Sylvia Mendez, Sylvia Martinez, Vangie Chapa, Elias Sissamis, Ramiro Cedillo Public Present: Alan Wulkan, Eric Rouse, PB Consult; A. P. Olivas; Leonard Covington; Scott Baker; Annie Castro; Tomas Duran; Cyndy Tackett, MV Transportation • Call to Order The Board of Directors' meeting was called to order by Mr. Rendon at 8:35 a.m. Opportunity for Public Comment Mr. Rendon called for public comment from the audience. Mr. Covington asked.the Board to consider starting Sunday service earlier and ending later. SCANNED Regional Transportation Authority Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes January 8,2003 Page 2 Mr. Garza extended a challenge for the New Year to the Board and RTA managers to be inclusive of the Association instead of exclusive when policy issues are addressed. He stated that the Association wanted to be part of the process involved in workers' rights. He commented on meetings that have been held with Mr. Seiler that have been helpful in resolving issues. He mentioned that one of the issues was the denial of personal or health leave which forced employees to cancel surgeries or keep them from being with sick relatives. Discussion and Possible Action to Approve the Board of Directors' Minutes of December 4, 2002 MR. GARCIA MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE BOARD MINUTES OF DECEMBER 4, 2002. MR. TERRY SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Action to Accept Committee Reports Mr. Rendon announced that RTAC did not have a meeting in December and that the next RTAC update would be presented at the February Board meeting. Mr. Rendon called for additions or corrections to the Operations and Administration Committee Meetings minutes of November 19, 2002. There being none the following motion was made: MR. TERRY MADE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE COMMITTEE REPORTS. MR. RODRIGUEZ SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Action to Elect Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Assistant Secretary to the Board Mr. Rendon called for nominations for the office of Vice Chair. Mr. Terry. nominated Mr. Barrera and Mr. Corder nominated Ms. Garza. There being no further nominations, Mr. Rendon called for a vote. Six votes were cast for Ms. Garza and three votes for Mr. Barrera: Ms. Garza was elected Vice Chair by majority vote. Mr. Rendon called for nominations for the office of Board Secretary. Ms. Garza nominated Mr. Garcia. Mr. Garcia was the only nomination and was elected Board Secretary. Mr. Rendon called for nominations for Assistant Secretary to the Board and explained that historically a staff member has held the position. Ms. Garza made a motion that Ms. Vidaurri be elected by acclamation. Mr. Terry seconded the motion. The motion carried. Regional Transportation Authority Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes January 8,2003 Page 3 Consent Agenda Items Mr. Rendon called for consideration of Consent Agenda items 5a through 5e, which were of a routine or administrative nature. He asked if there were any items that should be pulledfrom the Consent Agenda. Mr. Alonzo asked that agenda item 5e, calling for the approval of an addendum to the 2003 Capital Budget, be pulled for consideration. He initiated a discussion by expressing his concern that RTA was not working in an effective manner. They had approved the building's design which called for 108 windows and now were asking to spend an additional $25,000 to install blinds. He stated that he considered blinds to be a luxury item that could not be justified. He commented that Customer Programs was not treated fairly and should be provided with proper funding. Ms. Watson stated that when the building was being-constructed, it Was not foreseen that blinds would be essential. She stated that after moving into the building, staff was experiencing problems with glare and heat and that they have been using the storm shutters to minimize these conditions which negatively affect working conditions. She stated that installing blinds was considered a necessity because storm shutters are not constructed to be used on a daily basis. Mr. Corder concurred with Ms. Watson about the proper use of storm shutters and pointed out that the energy cost savings that would be realized with the installation of blinds would more than pay for the cost of the blinds. He also commented that a good working environment is created when a building has windows compared to working in a building without windows. After a brief discussion, Mr. Rendon called for a vote on the following consent items: Action to Award a Contract to Public Safety Products, Inc. for the Purchase of Operator and Supervisor Uniforms Action to Approve the Title VI Report for Submittal to Federal Transit Administration Action to Approve Adjustments to the RTA Personnel Policy Manual Action to Approve the Financial Report for November 2002 Action to Approve an Addendum to the 2003 Capital Budget MR. TERRY MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS 5a THROUGH 5e. MR. GARCIA SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Action to Authorize the General Manager to Award Administrative Services Contract for the RTA's Group Health Program to Entrust Ms. Watson pointed out that the current plan would terminate at the end of January. Seven proposals were received and evaluated on quality of service, plan design, Regional Transportation Authority Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes January 8,2003 Page 4 qualifications, provider networks savings, reinsurance attachment points and recommended contribution levels. The three fully insured program proposals was deemed cost prohibitive, according to Ms. Watson, because overall cost would be much higher than the current rate with monthly premiums ranging from $800 to $1,200. Four self-funded program proposals were considered. Ms. Watson stated that after careful review, two proposals were eliminated based on not meeting the evaluation criteria. Baker Benefits Administrators had not demonstrated the ability to effectively serve a group similar to RTA's and had only been in business since January 2002; therefore, had not been in business long enough to establish a "track record." Ms. Watson noted that effective claims administration was critical to employee satisfaction and to effective cost control in areas such as large case management and-subrogation recovery (third party claims) and that there was some concern that Mr. Baker's proposal would outsource the claims administrative services to Providence Risk and Insurance in San Antonio. She noted that Entrust's fixed cost was about$50,000 lower than Baker Administrators. Ms. Watson explained that staff was recommending that the maximum plan cost be budgeted to ensure that in the event that the maximum in terms of claims was reached, RTA would not be over budget. In the event that the maximum in terms of claims was not reached, then RTA would be able to establish a reserve to offset future potential costs. Continuing with her report, Ms. Watson detailed Option A which was recommended by the Administration Committee for Board approval. She stated the following: 1) Option A would set up a reserve and provide for funding close to the maximum level; 2) the contribution level would be $1,139,673 ($925,000 in RTA monies and $220,027 in employee monies); 3) Employee only coverage would increase by $10 per month for a total of$11 per month; and 4) Family coverage would increase by $30 per month for a total of$186 per month. She noted that this would be the first increase in employee contributions in two years. A point of interest, noted by Ms. Watson, was that in a survey of benefits paid by Nueces County, CCISD, City of Robstown, City of Corpus Christi, West Oso ISD, Port of Corpus Christi and Corpus Christ RTA was conducted and Corpus Christi RTA was the second lowest in employee contributions toward insurance premiums. Another increase in rates is expected for next year according to Ms. Watson. She recognized the concern that if employee contribution levels were not increased this year, then they would experience a larger increase next year. At the Committee's recommendation, Ms. Watson stated, that staff in coordination with Mr. Duran would be looking at options to reduce costs and develop a plan to address maintaining reasonable contributions levels and providing insurance coverage to meet employees needs. • Regional Transportation Authority Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes January 8,2003 Page 5 In response to Mr. Corder, Mr. Duran stated that RTA's plan did not have lower maximum limits on major medical coverage for new hires and that he would not recommend this type of plan. Ms. Castro and Mr. Baker stated that they would continue to bid on this service. Mr. Baker complimented Ms. Mendez on her professionalism. MR. GARCIA MADE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER TO AWARD ADMINISSTRATIVE SERVICES FOR THE RTA'S GROUP HEALTH PROGRAM TO ENTRUST. MS. GARZA SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. B-Line Update -- Mr. Seiler stated that ridership in November was-below average for the year;— - passengers using wheelchairs showed a slight increase of 22.5%; there were 627 no shows; 919 cancellations out of 14,400 trips; and that sedans carried 6.29% of the total B-Line passengers in November. He noted that MV Transportation was scheduled to improve sedan usage. In the month of November, Mr. Seiler said there were 26 denials to non-wheelchair users and 22 denials to wheelchair users for an approximate 0.27% denial rate. Responding to Mr. Alonzo, Ms. Tacket stated that regarding No-Shows, they would be looking at the current policies in an effort to increase the efficiency of the service. Ms. Tackett reported that the start-up went very well and acknowledged the competency of the employees involved in the start up. She reported that on-time percentage for the first day of operation was 96.9 percent and that passenger per service hour was 2.51. There were 24 new operators, twelve had finished training and twelve were going through final training. - Responding to Mr. Alonzo, Ms. Tackett stated that not all employees had transferred to MV. Two call takers and one dispatcher had been hired. -Mr.-Barrera-as -when hen she anticipated reaching a 0 denial rate. Ms. Tackett_: stated that data was still being analyzed and she could not respond at this time. In response to Mr. Barrera, Mr. Carrion responded that "hold time" monitoring would be reported to the Board within the next month. Mr. Terry asked if the number of call stations had been increased. Ms. Tackett responded that there were four call takers. Of the two call takers hires, one was a new hire and the other one filled a vacant position. Ms. Watson explained that a news story which stated that two persons had been denied service on the B-Line because they had seeing eye dogs with them was incorrect. She. stated that on the return trip, a sedan was sent to pick them up and they could not be accommodated. There was a ten-minute service delay so that First Transit could Regional Transportation Authority Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes January 8,2003 Page 6 dispatch a van to transport them and their dogs. Ms. Tackett stated that MV Transportation would require their drivers to note any special rider requirements. General Manager's Report Ms. Watson introduced Mr. Cedillo, who was now employed by RTA as the Assistant Director of Maintenance. She summarized his work history and welcomed him to the RTA. Reporting on future partnerships, Ms. Watson announced that negotiations were under way with two rural transportation providers, SPARTS and REAL to allow them to fuel their propane vehicles at the Bear Lane facility. Mr. Garcia expressed concern about liability issues arising while they were on RTA property. Ms. Watson stated that ____ additional information would be provided as_it developed. -- __ _ ____ _. The following points of interest were mentioned by Ms. Watson: 1) RTA would be purchasing a universal time system; 2) a seminar on "Doing Business with the RTA" would be held on January 23, 2003 in cooperation with the Minority BDC; 3) she and Mr. Rendon would be traveling to Washington D C next week to work toward ensuring that RTA had the necessary assistance this year in securing government funding assistance; and 4) announced the RTA ribbon cutting ceremony that would be held at 10 a.m. after the meeting. She recited the top ten reasons to love the RTA's new administration building. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:44 a.m. Julio Garcia Jr., Secr�tary Date