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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority - 03/03/2004 s'N®rtAl2z37, �s SPR 204 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITYREC'EEYC S BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETING \ CITYSECRETARYS �/ OFFICE 4, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2004 o� G / SUMMARY OF ACTIONS 1. Approved the Board of Directors' Minutes of February 11, 2004 2. Heard.Update on RTAC Committee Activities 3. Accepted Committee Reports 4. a) Action to Authorize Awarding the First Option Year Service Contract to Pro-Am Texas, Inc. for the Purchase of Propane Fuel b) Action to Authorize Entering into a Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Corpus Christi for Harbor Ferry Related Improvements at the Texas State Aquarium c) Action to Authorize Executing Change Order Number 2 to Goldston Engineering's Professional Services Contract for Northwest Bus Stop Improvements d) Action to Approve the Defined Contribution Fourth Quarter Report e) Action to Approve the Financial Report for December 2003 5. Action to Authorize Submission of the 2004 Grant Application 6. Action to Review the RTA's Board-Staff Communications Policy 7. Discussion and Possible Action Related to Reallocation of Corpus Christi Metropolitan Planning Organization Section 7 Funds for the Downtown Streetcar System Preliminary Engineering / Design and/or Construction Costs Provided Opportunity for Public Comment 9. General Manager's Report: (Items Include Update on Projects and Events) 8. B-Line Update 10. Withdrew Discussion (in Closed Session) Regarding Potential Litigation 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), Vicki Garza (Board Vice- Chair), Anna M. Flores (Board Secretary), Abel Alonzo, Carmen Arias, Rolando Barrera, Abel Herrero, David Martinez, Stan Terry Board Members Absent: John Buckley, John Corder Staff Present: Linda Watson (General Manager), David Seiler, Beth Vidaurri, Eduardo Carrion;Ricardo Sanchez; Elias Sanchez; Vangie Chapa; Kevin Bunce; SCANNED •`, • Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes March 3,2004 Page 2 Sharon Montez;Fred Haley; Sylvia Mendez; Sylvia Castillo; Stuart Sher; Gayle Knight; Linda Fallwell-Stover; Chuck Trexler Public Present: David Garcia, Greg Salazar, Teamsters 1110; Dana Smith, Peter Melve, Carol Flowers, Manuel Garcia, Christina Fonceca, Willie Guzman, Diane Garcia, Samantha Serino, Lillian Jarrin, O. Martinez, Ruben Hill, Gonzalo Jimenez, RTA staff; Abel Garza; Patrick Morgan; Rosie Aguiar; Ramona Sawyers, Roland Garza, RTAEA; Priscilla G. Leal; Joey Rodriguez; Mike Paradero; Vicente Carranza; Eloy Soza, RTAC; Tom Niskala, MPO Call to Order The Board of Directors' meeting was called to order by Mr. Rendon at 8:41 a.m. Mr. Rendon announced the resignation of Board Member Stan Terry effective March 3, 2004. Ms. Garza read a resolution commending Mr. Terry for his years of service on the RTA Board. Mr. Rendon presented him with a token of appreciation for his service on the Board and thanked him for his years of service. Mr. Terry stated that he was resigning due to health concerns. He said that he had enjoyed his association with the RTA and its dedicated staff and good leadership.. Discussion and Possible Action to Approve the Board of Directors' Minutes of February 11, 2004 MR. TERRY MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE BOARD MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 11, 2004: MR. HERRERO SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Update on RTAC Committee Activities Ms. Staley expressed her appreciation to Mr. Terry for his contributions to the RTAC committee.- Reporting ommittee.Reporting on the February 19, 2004 meeting, Ms. Staley stated that two individuals had addressed the Committee with concerns on the B-Line service; the No Show Appeal Committee heard and dismissed five appeals; the Eligibility Appeal Committee heard and reversed five eligibility appeals based on new information; Mr. Soza was elected Vice Chair for 2004; they had heard updates on B-Line service, ADART, policy subcommittee discussion, paratransit RFP, and the long range financial plan. Mr. Alonzo initiated a brief discussion on the purpose of the No Show Committee and the need for the Committee to consider individual circumstances. Ms. Fallwell- Stover explained that the No Show review was done on a monthly basis and 1 / -Regional` 'Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes March 3,2004 Page 3 consisted of at least three written notifications prior to service suspension. She noted that the riders' service could be suspended but they did not lose their eligibility for paratransit service. Action to Accept Committee Reports Mr. Rendon called for additions or corrections to the Operations Committee meeting of November 18, 2003; Administration Committee meeting of December 17, 2003; - and the RTAC meeting of January 15, 2004. There being none the following motion was made: MR. TERRY MADE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE COMMITTEE REPORTS. MS. GARZA SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Consent Agenda Items Mr. Rendon called for consideration of the Consent Agenda items which are of a routine or administrative nature. He asked if there were any items that should be pulled from the Consent Agenda. Mr. Barrera asked that Agenda Item 4e be pulled for discussion. Mr. Rendon called for vote on the following consent items: a) Action to Authorize Awarding the First Option Year Service Contract to Pro-Am Texas, Inc. for the Purchase of Propane Fuel b) Action to.Authorize Entering into a Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Corpus Christi for Harbor Ferry Related Improvements at the Texas State Aquarium c) Action to Authorize Executing Change Order Number 2 to Goldston Engineering's Professional Services Contract for Northwest Bus Stop Improvements d) Action to Approve the Defined Contribution Fourth Quarter Report MS. GARZA MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS 4a THROUGH 4d. MS. FLORES SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. e) Action to Approve the Financial Report for December 2003 Mr. Barrera questioned the end of year spending. Mr. Sissamis explained that in order to post all 2003 transactions, the posting was extended until March 2, 2004. Ms. Watson stated that managers were encouraged to be conservative with their spending to ensure that departments ended the year within budget. • Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes March 3,2004 Page 4 There was a brief discussion, initiated by Mr. Barrera on specific budget line items. Mr. Sissamis stated that the marketing plan development, the paratransit eligibility assessment and procedures study, and the rider information tools projects were not completed in 2003. Ms. Watson noted that the last two projects were being done in- house. Mr. Barrera asked what was the total health care cost for 2003. Mr. Sissamis replied that the cost was approximately $1,027,000, which was about $121,000 over budget. MR. BARRERA MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR DECEMBER 2003. MS. FLORES SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Action to Authorize Submission of the 2004 Grant Application Ms..Watson explained that approval of this item wouldauthorize staff to apply for federal funding from the Federal Transit Administration's Urbanized Area Formula Program. In March 2003, staff would submit an application for the remaining 2003 formula funds for projects approved in the 2004 capital budget. The.2004 federal appropriations were still pending approval by Congress and when approved staff would submit the 2004 application. . There was a general discussion on the need for RTAC to be included in the grant application process. Mr. Barrera asked for a copy of the grant narrative on the preventative maintenance application. MS. GARZA MADE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE SUBMISSION OF THE 2004 GRANT APPLICATION. MS: FLORES SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Action to Review the RTA's Board-Staff Communications Policy Under agenda item public comment, Ms. Rosie Aguiar commented that in December 2003 she had challenged the Board to look at this policy that was adopted in a Board workshop: She stated that Ms. Watson was the co-sponsor of the 1998 resolution. Her concern was based on a comment made at a court of law that in her opinion violated the right of freedom of speech. She asked that the Board have another workshop to abolish the 1998 resolution. She challenged the Board to find out who made the statement in the Court of Law. A, •� R egional Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes March 3,2004 Page 5 Mr. Bell responded that the 1998 Board Policy was neither the result of a Board workshop nor the result of the General Manager's decision. The Board had initiated the policy as a.means of clarifying state law and providing communication guidelines. At that time, he had advised the Board that employees had the right of freedom of speech and could address the Board on.issues of public concern. He defined public concern issues as those related to the buses, personnel policies or other items of general concern. He stated that personal issues such as a concern of one or a small group of employees that should be the subject of a grievance should be addressed using the organization's established grievance policy. Mr. Roland Garza questioned why employees were not included in the communication policy. He asked that the policy be inclusive. He also asked why employees were intimidated with action against them when they spoke up: He said that RTA included a confidentiality rider to everything. There was extensive discussion concerning the policy applications and clarification of the meaning of public and personal concern. After a brief discussion on contract procedures, Mr. Bell,stated that RFP's currently issued.by RTA included a statement stating that if the company submits information outside of the bidding process, they would be.subject to disqualification by the • Board. MR. ALONZO MADE A MOTION TO TABLE REVIEWING THE RTA'S'BOARD-STAFF COMMUNICATIONS POLICY. MR. HERRERO SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED. There was an exchange of views with Mr. Herrero, Ms. Flores and Mr. Rendon voicing the need for employee input on this policy prior to further Board review. Discussion and Possible Action Related to Reallocation of Corpus Christi Metropolitan Planning Organization Section 7 Funds for the Downtown Streetcar System Preliminary Engineering / Design and/or Construction Costs Mr. Seiler explained that the Metropolitan Planning Organization had allocated $1,665,000 to RTA for design and construction of bus turn-ins for 2004 through 2006. He explained that the request was for the Board to approve reallocation of funding from bus turn-in projects to the Downtown Streetcar Project and that all or part of the funds could be reallocated. ' There was a varied discussion on the community value of bus turn-in projects and the feasibility of distributing the funding between the two projects: Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes March 3,2004 Page 6 Ms. Watson stated that the Board could make a decision on the 2004 fund designation and defer making a recommendation on the 2005 and 2006 fund designation. MS. GARZA MADE A MOTION THAT THE $500,000 ALLOCATED FOR FY 2004 BE REALLOCATED TO THE DOWNTOWN STREETCAR PROJECT AND DEFER A DECISION ON FUTURE ALLOCATIONS. MR. MARTINEZ SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION FAILED. There was a general discussion on the Board's project prioritization. MR. BARRERA MADE A MOTION TO KEEP THE FUNDS AS ALLOCATED FOR FY 2004. MR. TERRY SECONDED THE MOTION. MS. GARZA VOTED AGAINST. THE MOTION CARRIED. Public Comment Ms. Carol Flowers, Dispatcher for RTA, presented a petition to the Board signed by about 60 employees of the RTA expressing their support for General Manager Linda Watson and staff in the direction and methods of operations. She stated that the RTAEA did not speak for them. She expressed concern about the Board's lack of action in stopping the RTAEA's verbal attacks, which brought shame and embarrassment to all RTA employees. She stated that they were asking the Board to take a leadership role and not tolerate any willful and malicious action of the RTAEA towards any RTA employee. She commented that the long-time RTA employees have worked hard to establish a positive community image and the RTAEA attacks have had a negative impact on the company's image. Ms. Ramona Sawyers stated that employees have had to endure management's double standard. She cited two personnel incidents and stated that an employee was terminated but the management person was not. She stated that the RTA supervisors had distributed the petition on company time and action was not taken against them but a front line employee was cautioned about approaching employees at RTA facilities. She commented that during quarterly meetings, employees were told that the bus incident was sabotage and done by a maintenance employee before the investigation was completed. Ms. Watson clarified that there would not be any retaliation against any employee whether they signed or did not sign this or any other petition. Ms. Rosie Aguiar commented on the receipt submitted by Ms. Watson for the Tampa/New Orleans trip and asked why taxpayer money was being spent during working hours on alcohol. She stated that she calculated the receipt and could not see that the money spent could cover only food. Regional:TransportationAuthority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes March 3,2004 Page 7 Mr. Bell stated that at a prior RTA Board meeting Mr. Wulkan, consultant with PB Consult, had addressed the Board and provided a letter which stated that he paid for the alcohol and the $70 collected from each person offset the cost of meals on the trip. Mr. Roland Garza stated that the petition presented to the Board was distributed on company time and no action was taken against those responsible but that disciplinary action was taken against the RTAEA president for recruiting members on his off time. He said that RTA property and taxpayers dollars were being used as instruments of propaganda. He stated that he welcomed a lawsuit and that alcohol should not be allowed on trips. He said that he had broken the story about the bus issue several months ago on his television program and now the RTA was saying that it occurred three weeks ago and that it was sabotage. He reported that they had met with the Federal Government to launch a federal investigation on the bus issue. He asked that they stop labeling them rabble-rousers because they expressed their opinion. General Manager's Report Responding to a previous comment, Ms. Watson clarified that during her employee meetings she did not mention litigation or that the buses were sabotaged three weeks ago. She had stated that about three weeks ago it had been confirmed, through two separate laboratory tests, that a foreign substance was put in the buses and thatit was not accidental but sabotage. She reported that as of today three engines had been replaced at an approximate cost of$58,000. Mr. Terry inquired about future building security enhancements. Ms. Watson stated that staff was looking into security options available. Continuing with her report, Ms. Watson stated that the demolition of the old RTA Administration building should be completed by the first of April; the APTA Legislative Conference would be starting on March 6 and Board Members Flores, Martinez and Chairman Rendon along with herself would be attending; and that she had held employee meetings to provide information concerning buses and other issues. B-Line Update Ms. Fernandez reported that the overall January operational numbers were very good. The denials were at zero; passengers per hour were at 2.54; on time performance was 95.6%; and there were 16 Customer Assistance Forms. Also reported was that more ADART routes had been incorporated in their recent bid; two employee events were held; and she would be attending rider orientation meetings. She thanked Mr. Terry for his dedication and service to the RTA. She announced Kegional Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes March 3,2004 Page 8 that she would be out of the office until the following week participating in a conference. Discussion (in Closed Session) Regarding Potential Litigation Mr. Rendon announced that the closed session would not be held. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:06 a.m. /1, )" '`.' 6Z Anna M. Flores Board Secretary Date