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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority - 07/06/2005 qF+ REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, �7 ���' BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETING WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2005 ":6'2005. ) t � CITY E RETAR L <4 SUMMARY OF ACTIONS OFFICE ��/ 1. Provided Opportunity for Public Comment K2/ 2. Held Personnel Recognition and Adopted Resolution Recognizing'Stuart Sher by the Roadeo Committee 3. Approved the Board of Directors' Minutes of June 1, 2005 4. Heard Update on RTAC Committee Activities 5. Reappointed Three RTAC Committee Members (Larry Imhoff, Eloy Soza and Deborah Hovda) - 6. Approved Consent Agenda Items:.. a) Accepted .Committee Reports b) Awarded a Contract for Robstown Bus Stop Improvements c) Awarded a Contract for Bear Lane Concrete Improvements Phase I d) Exercised a One-Year Option with Various Suppliers for Bus and Engine Parts e) Approved the May 2005 Financial Report 7. Held Public Hearing Regarding Proposed Budget Amendment to 2005 Capital Budget 8. Approved Proposed Budget Amendment to 2005 Capital Budget 9. Tabled Possible Action on Presentation Concerning RTA Fares 10.Heard B=Line Report 11.Heard General Manager's Report 12.Held Closed Session to Discuss with the RTA's General Counsel Contemplated Litigation and Pending Personnel.Matters The Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors met at 8:3Q;4;m. in the Regional Transportation Authority Facility located at 5658 Bear Lane;`.•Corpus Christi, Texas. Board Members Present: Mike Rendon (Board Chair), Anna M. Flores (Board Vice- Chair), Carmen Arias (Board Secretary), Rolando Barrera, John Buckley, Joe Benavides, John Longoria, Crystal Lyons, David Martinez Board Members Absent: Davie Cissna, Wayland Simmons Staff Present: Ricardo Sanchez (General Manager), David Seiler, Beth Vidaurri, John Bell, Ed Carrion, Fred Haley, Sylvia Castillo, Sharon Montez, Stuart Sher, Elias Sissamis, Lamont Taylor, Carol Flowers, Cristina Fonseca, Pablo Lara, Chuck Trexler, Linda Stover • �A NNED • Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes July 6, 2005 Page 2 of 7 Public Present: Deborah Hovda, RTAC; David Garcia, Teamsters; David Castillo, Brenda Fernandez, Gayle Knight, Dana Smith, Edna Arredondo, MV Transportation; Guadalupe Salazar, RTAEA; Abel Alonzo Call to Order The Board of Directors' meeting was called to order by Mr. Rendon at 8:33 a.m. Opportunity for Public Comment Mr. Rendon called for public comment. There was none. Personnel Recognition and Adoption of Resolution Mr. Sanchez recognized Mr. Stuart Sher for his dedication and personal commitment to coordinating and promoting participation in the RTA's annual bus Roadeo competition since 1985. He noted that Mr. Sher was also active at the national level. Ms. Carol Flowers, on behalf of the Roadeo Committee, presented Mr. Sher with two gifts in appreciation for his contributions to the local Roadeo. She pointed out that since the Roadeo's inception 21 years ago, Mr. Sher had not missed a practice, meeting or competition. She then read the resolution. • Mr. Sher accepted the items presented and expressed his appreciation for the recognition. He stated that support from the Roadeo Committee volunteers as well as from the General Manager and Board Members helped make the Roadeo competition possible. MS. FLORES MADE A MOTION TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION COMMENDING STUART SHER FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE CORPUS CHRISTI • REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY IN HELPING DEVELOP AND ORGANIZE THE ANNUAL EMPLOYEE BUS ROADEO. MS. LYONS SECONDED THE MOTION. Discussion and Possible Action to Approve the Board of Directors' Minutes of June 1 200 MS. FLORES MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MINUTES OF JUNE 1, 2005. MR. BENAVIDES SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED. Update on RTAC Committee Activities • Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes July 6, 2005 Page 3 of 7 Ms. Hovda, reporting on the June 16th RTAC meeting, stated that Mr. Michael.St. Julien had reported that on two occasions bus operators had failed to identify a bus stop or provide requested information to a rider with a visual impairment. She provided brief updates on each subcommittee's activities for the month. Discussion and Possible Action to Reappoint Three RTAC Committee Members (Larry Imhoff, Elov Soza and Deborah Hovda) Mr. Rendon concurred with the recommendation from the RTA Advisory Committee to reappoint Mr. Larry Imhoff, Mr. Eloy Soza and Ms. Deborah Hovda to additional two- year terms that would start in July 2005. • MS. FLORES MADE A MOTION TO CONFIRM THE REAPPOINTMENT OF THE THREE RTAC COMMITTEE MEMBERS, LARRY'IMHOFF, ELOY SOZA, AND DEBORAH HOVDA. MR. BENAVIDES SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED. Responding to Ms. Lyons, Ms. Hovda stated that meeting attendance was tracked for all RTAC members. There was a policy which stated that if a member missed three meetings, then they were no longer a committee member. Consent Agenda 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. There being none, Mr. Rendon called for a motion on the following consent items: a) Action to Accept Committee Reports b) Action to Award a Contract for Robstown Bus Stop Improvements c) Action to Award a Contract for Bear Lane Concrete Improvements Phase I d) Action to Exercise a One-Year Option with Various Suppliers for Bus and Engine Parts e) Action to Approve the May 2005 Financial Report MS. LYONS MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE AGENDA ITEMS 6a THROUGH 6e. MR. LONGORIA SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED. Public Hearing Regarding Proposed Budget Amendment to 2005 Capital Budget Mr. Rendon opened the public hearing at 8:47 a.m. Mr. Sissamis explained that the recommendation was to, approve the capital budget amendments to provide for using the grant funds to finance three new capital projects. He stated that the three grants would be used for downtown "streetseape", sidewalk and • Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes • July 6, 2005 Page4of7 ADA improvements, and security equipment. He briefly outlined the projects' scopes for each grant. He noted that Iocal funds would not be required on these grants. Mr. Sanchez clarified that one grant, street scope project, was currently under review by HUD. Responding to Mr. Alonzo, Mr. Sanchez stated that his goal was to have cameras installed at Staples Street Station by the end of 2005. Mr. Rendon closed the public meeting at 8:52 a.m. Discussion and Possible Action to Approve Proposed Budget Amendment to 2005 Capital Budget MR. BARRERA MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED BUDGET AMENDMENT TO THE 2005 CAPITAL BUDGET. MR. BENAVIDES SECONDED THE MOTION. THE'MOTION CARRIED. In response to Mr. Barrera, Mr. Sanchez stated that RTA was coordinating projects with the City of Corpus Christi as well as the Downtown Management District. Mr. Rendon stated that his visit to Washington D.C. was to assist with follow-up on the grants. Discussion and Possible Action on Presentation Concerning RTA Fares Using a PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Seiler reviewed the topics that would be discussed and potential questions that could be encountered during the,fare'review process. He noted that Board Members would be provided with referrgce materials to assist them in answering questions regarding this initiative. Continuing with the presentation, Mr. Sissamis pointed out that expenses have been rising while revenue has remained flat; fuel costs have skyrocketed; the rider's share of expenses or"fare recovery ratio" has continued to decline; and fixed route fare has not increased since RTA was created. He noted that RTA hasmaintained the budget within the % cent sales tax rate and has not requested an increase in sales tax percentage. He elaborated on cost saving measures that have been practiced. Mr. Haley identified the key fare issues as whether to charge for"transfers", deciding on a simplified fare structure, and setting B-Line fares as well as the ADA zone surcharge. He reviewed fares charged by peertransit agencies including Laredo and Brownsville. The proposed fixed route fares as recommended by the,Administration Committee was cited as $.75 for base (adult) fare, seven days a week, $.35 for students, seniors, and Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes July 6, 2005 Page 5-of 7 persons with disabilities, $.10 for transfers. Fares for the trolleys were.proposed at $.25 for the#79, Downtown trolley and #94, Port A Trolley; and charging the fixed route fare of$.75 for the#75, Bayfront and the#78, CC Beach. ' Fares for the express routes were proposed at $1.25 for all four routes.'Faresfor the B-Line service were proposed at $1.25 within the 3/4 mile.and a $5 surcharge'for service outside the 3/ service zone. Finalizing his presentation, Mr. Haley reviewed the anticipated decrease in ridership and revenue based on the fares recommended by the Administration Committee for each category. He also reviewed the public outreach activities and timeline. He stated that the goal was to implement the fare structure on January 16, 2006 to coincide with the regularly scheduled "bump" or route schedule changes. Mr. Longoria asked for a schedule of the planned public hearings. Mr. Sanchez stated that the schedule would be provided to the Board members. Summarizing the presentation, Mr. Seiler spoke on marketing the proposed fare increase by emphasizing that the additional revenue would be used to offset the need for service reduction, to add customer amenities and reduce the reliance on formula funds. Offering a day pass was proposed as an additional fare category by Mr. Seiler. Mr. Rendon, Mr. Barrera and Mr. Buckley voiced support for providing a day pass. Ms. Lyons clarified that an often used phrase was "an ADA limit of 3% mile" when it actually was an ADA minimum. She suggested extending the ADA service zone to 1 mile. She expressed her disappointment for the lack of options for the paratransit service and opposition to implementing a $5 surcharge when supporting.documentation had not been provided. She asked how many riders were outside the 3/4 mile, what was their travel pattern, and what peer agencies had as a surcharge. She commented that staff had not ensured that all fixed routes were accessible. She stated her concern that the paratransit surcharge and fare not be punitive in its effort to contr,`gridership. -- -- Referencing public outreach, Mr. Longoria recommended using e-mail to educate the public on the proposed fare study recommendations and providing-them with the ability to provide input via the RTA web site. Mr. Buckley recommended posting information at transfer stations and on board the bus. Mr. Barrera asked the bus operators be provided with an information sheet on any fare study to assist them in responding to questions from their riders. There was discussion on the effect delaying the public outreach would have on implementing any fare changes. Mr. Sanchez stated that a one-month delay would not be detrimental to the schedule. MR. LONGORIA MADE A MOTION TO TABLE'A DECISION ON RTA FARES PENDING A REVIEW OF THE PARATRANSIT SURCHARGE, DAY.PASS, Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors Meeting Minutes July 6, 2005 Page 6 of 7 OUTREACH SCHEDULE, AND WEB SITE RESPONSE CAPABILITY. MS. LYONS SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED. B-Line Report Ms. Fernandez, reporting on operational performance for the month of May 2005 compared to May 2004, stated that ridership was 15,132 -- an increase of 16.7%; wheelchair boardings were 2,979; "no-shows" were 453 -- a 13.2% decrease; cancellations were 3,343 -- a 9.5% decrease; denials were zero; passengers per hour was 2.6 -- above the contact standard of 2.5; on-time performance was 96.2% -- above the contract standard of 95%. She provided information on employee relations events. General Manager's Report Mr. Sanchezannounced that the August Board meeting had been changed to August 10, 2005; the Board would have a planning session on July 14, 2005; a meeting would be held on July 8, 2005 with the seniors in Bishop, Texas; and an ADA briefing conducted by Aaron McCullough would be held on July 28, 2005 at 12 noon in the RTA Board room and the interview process had started for the Director of Maintenance position. Reporting on the Harbor Ferry service, Mr. Sanchez said that ridership was 9,800 for June, which was an increase of 33% compared to June 2004; overall ridership had increased by 17%; and daily average ridership was 325 riders. Two groups had • sponsored free fare days. Continuing with community and employee events, Mr. Sanchez reported that RTA had partnered with Justice of the Peace Joe A. Gonzalez and used his community service participants to clean up the Southside Transit Station and would partnering on other events. He reviewed the RTA calendar of events and encouraged Bbard participation in RTA related events. He announced that the Employee.Committee for Excellence (ECE) ----had hosted an employee pool tournament with Julia Wilmot placing first. Mr. Barrera stated that an article on Mr. Sanchez could be viewed on the Corpus Beat web site. He also reported that over the July 4th weekend, the Harbor Ferry was at capacity and had persons waiting in line to ride the service. Closed Session to Discuss with the RTA's General Counsel Contemplated Litigation and Pending Personnel Matters Mr. Rendon announced that it was 11:24 a.m. and the Board would go into closed session in order to discuss Agenda Item 12, concerning contemplated litigation under Section 551.071 of the Texas Open Meetings act and personnel matters under Section 551.074 of the TX Open Meetings Act. • Regional Transportation Authority • Board of Directors Meeting Minutes July 6, 2005 Page 7 of 7 At 10:58 a.m. Mr. Rendon reconvened the Board of Directors' meeting. Adjournment Ms. Lyons made a.motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Arias seconded the motion. The motion carried. 'men Arias Board Secretary p -40- oma Date • • • ,1: •