HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority - 08/01/2007 _
REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITYr91
BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETING ,c"
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2007 s11- $rj CQ. 2t107: , ;
SUMMARY OF ACTIONS C4TY SECRETARY'S ,;
1. Held Roll Call �.
2. Provided Opportunity for Public Comment
3. Heard Update on RTAC Committee Activities
4. Approved Consent Agenda
a) Discussion and Possible Action to Approve the Board of Directors'
Minutes of July 11, 2007
b) Action to Accept Committee Reports
c) Action to Approve an Action Plan for the 2008 Harbor Ferry Season
Service with Amended Timeline
d) Action to Authorize Awarding the First of Two Year Options for Annual
Auditing Services to Collier, Johnson, and Wood PC
e) Action to Approve the June 2007 Financial Report
5. Confirmed the Award of an Emergency Purchase Order to North American
Bus Industries (NABI) for Fifteen Opus Bus Replacement Engines
6. Approved the Scope of Work Related to LCI IH 37 Alameda Bridge
Remaining Funding Balance and Authorizing Issuing Invitation for Bids
(IFB) or Contracting with the City of Corpus Christi
7. Heard Presentation on the 2008 Budget Process
8. Heard Presentation on RTA's "Bike and Ride" Program
9. Heard B-Line Report
10.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: Rolando Barrera (Board Chair), John Valls (Board Vice-
Chair), Carmen Arias (Board Secretary), Mannti Cummins, Anna M. Flores, Crystal
Lyons, David Martinez, Dr. Maurice Portis, Sara Salvide
Board Members Absent: John Longoria, Glenn Martin
Staff Present: Ricardo Sanchez (General Manager), David Seiler, Ed Carrion, Sylvia
Castillo, Vangie Chapa, Linda Fallwell-Stover, Sharon Montez, Susan Vinson, Martin
Trevino, Michael Horten
Public Present: Debby Hovda, RTAC; David Garcia, Teamsters, Rosie Aguiar,
Ramona Sawyers, RTAEA; Nova Shields, Edna Arredondo, Carlos Vargas, Dana
Smith, MV Transportation; Joy Ohler; Willie Rivera, Naismith Engineering; Nick Huerta;
Elizabeth Huerta
SCANNED
_;gional Transportation Authority
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
August 1,2007
Page 2
Call to Order
The Board of Directors' meeting was called to order by Mr. Barrera at 8:31 a.m.
Opportunity for Public Comment
Ms. Joy Ohler voiced her appreciation for installation of bicycle racks on the buses. She
requested that bicycle racks be added to the buses serving the Aquarium and Padre
Island.
Update on RTAC Committee Activities
Ms. Hovda reported on the July 19, 2007 RTA Advisory Committee meeting. She
stated that reports were received from the No Show Appeals Committee, the Eligibility
Appeals Committee, the Chairperson, on the B-Line service, and on CAFs for June
2007. She announced that the Committee had approved a revision to the No-Show
Policy which would mitigate the impact of a late trip related to no-show occurrences.
Consent Agenda
Mr. Barrera called for consideration of Consent Agenda items 4a through 4e which were
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. Barrera called for a motion on
the following consent items:
a) Discussion and Possible Action to Approve the Board of Directors' Minutes
of July 11, 2007
b) Action to Accept Committee Reports
c) Action to Approve an Action Plan for the 2008 Harbor Ferry Season Service
with Amended Timeline
d) Action to Authorize Awarding the First of Two Year Options for Annual
Auditing Services to Collier, Johnson, and Wood PC
e) Action to Approve the June 2007 Financial Report
MS. LYONS MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS 4a
THROUGH 4e. DR. PORTIS SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION
CARRIED. BARRERA, CUMMINS, PORTIS, MARTINEZ, LYONS, AND ARIAS
VOTING FOR. SALVIDE, VALLS, FLORES, LONGORIA, AND MARTIN ABSENT.
Discussion and Possible Action to Confirm the Award of an Emergency Purchase
Order to North American Bus Industries (NABI) for Fifteen Opus Bus
Replacement Engines
Mr. Seiler explained that at the July 24, 2007, Operations Committee meeting approval
for recommendation to the Board had been granted to purchase Opus bus engines on
an as needed basis over a twelve-month period. On July 26, 2007, Optima advised
RTA that it would need to purchase all fifteen engines by purchase order no later than
..'egional Transportation Authority
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
August 1,2007
Page 3
July 26, 2007 due to a competitive request from another transit agency to purchase all
fifteen Opus pre-2007 bus engines. Since there are no other suppliers or known
inventory of the Opus pre-2007 bus engines, Ricardo Sanchez, RTA General Manager,
followed the guidelines for an emergency purchase as outlined in RTA's Contracting
Procedures and Regulations and approved the purchase in the amount of$192,075.
Confirmation by the Board of the General Manager's action in awarding an emergency
purchase order to North American Bus Industries (NABI) was being requested.
DR. PORTIS MADE A MOTION TO CONFIRM THE AWARD OF AN
EMERGENCY PURCHASE ORDER TO NORTH AMERICAN BUS INDUSTRIES
(NABI) FOR FIFTEEN OPUS BUS REPLACEMENT ENGINES. MR. MARTINEZ
SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION CARRIED. CUMMINS, PORTIS, VALLS,
MARTINEZ, LYONS, FLORES, AND ARIAS VOTING FOR. SALVIDE, LONGORIA,
AND MARTIN ABSENT.
Action to Approve the Scope of Work Related to LCI IH 37 Alameda Bridge
Remaining Funding Balance and Authorize Issuing Invitation for Bids (IFB) or
Contracting with the City of Corpus Christi
Ms. Montez noted that this item was discussed at length at the July 25, 2007 Operations
Committee meeting.
Mr. Sanchez stated that the funding balance remaining in the LCI IH-37 Bridge project
grant was approximately $800,000. The scope of work was restricted to a similar
project as the scope of work identified in the original grant application. The project was
being coordinated with the City of Corpus Christi, the Corpus Christi Housing Authority,
a local neighborhood organization, and he reported that the City of Corpus Christi had
agreed to pay for the engineering fees.
Ms. Lyons inquired if someone had looked into the best options for leveraging the
project funds in order to maximize the financial benefits for the RTA and the City of
Corpus Christi.
Ms. Montez stated the Mr. Kevin Stowers with the City of Corpus Christi was looking at
the feasibility of using CDBG projects as a local match on this project.
Mr. Sanchez stated that future projects would outline the plan to maximize the financial
investment in the project.
Responding to Mr. Valls, Ms. Montez stated that a recognition event would be held
when the project was completed.
MS. LYONS MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE SCOPE OF WORK
RELATED TO LCI IH 37 ALAMEDA BRIDGE REMAINING FUNDING BALANCE AND
AUTHORIZE ISSUING INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) OR CONTRACTING WITH THE
CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI. MS. FLORES SECONDED THE MOTION. THE
•
..gional Transportation Authority
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
August 1,2007
Page 4
MOTION CARRIED. CUMMINS, SALVIDE, PORTIS, VALLS, MARTINEZ, LYONS,
FLORES, AND ARIAS VOTING FOR. LONGORIA AND MARTIN ABSENT.
Presentation on the 2008 Budget Process
Ms. Vinson referred to the 2008 budget calendar included in the packet. She pointed
out that three ninety-minute budget workshops would be held. The dates were August
29, 2007, September 26, 2007, and October 24, 2007. The meetings would start at 10
a.m.
Mr. Barrera asked that discussion on Agenda Item 8 be delayed in order to recognize a
member of the audience.
Mr. Nick Huerta was recognized by Chairman Barrera. Mr. Barrera spoke briefly about
Mr. Huerta's summer internship with the RTA assisting with the Paratransit Eligibility
Program. Also introduced was his mother Ms. Elizabeth Huerta. Mr. Huerta was
presented with tokens of appreciation for his service to the RTA.
Mr. Huerta expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to work as an intern during the
summer.
Presentation on RTA's "Bike and Ride" Program
Ms. Joy Ohler stated that having the bicycle racks system wide was essential to
increasing ridership.
Mr. Seiler stated that the Harbor Bridge did not allow bicycles on the bridge. The route
serving the Corpus Christi beach route could be equipped with bicycle racks. He
explained that the nine bus routes identified to have buses equipped with bicycle racks
had been selected based on minimal interconnectivity; thereby, this ensured a smooth
transition from buses equipped with racks and those without. He noted that all future
bus procurements would provide for bicycle racks.
Ms.-Chapa stated that extensive outreach has-and will continue to be conducted. The
program was targeted to commence on September 1, 2007.
Mr. Barrera expressed appreciation to Ms. Lyons for identifying the need for bicycle
racks on the RTA bus service and to RTA staff for their implementation of the program.
B-Line Report
Ms. Fallwell-Stover presented a brief overview of the Paratransit service for June 2007.
She stated that ridership had decreased by 5.2% compared to June 2006. She
attributed the decrease to inclement weather. Reporting on service standards, Ms.
Fallwell-Stover stated that passengers per hour was 2.67%; on time performance was
96.6%; threshold for passenger in vehicle time violations exceeded the contract
standard of 95% or more of all trips delivered with no "in-vehicle time" violations; and
miles between road calls exceeded the minimum standard.
egional Transportation Authority
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
August 1,2007
Page 5
Explaining the method used to report denials, Ms. Fallwell-Stover, stated that in
accordance with FTA guidelines trips delivered in excess of one-hour are considered
late and should be recorded as "denials." Therefore, as of June's reporting period, any
late trips delivered in excess of one hour would be reported as denials. For the month
of June 2007 there were twelve denials or .0008%, which did not meet the contract
standard of 0.2% denials.
General Manager's Report
Mr. Sanchez congratulated the RTA Finance Department for receiving the GFOA Award
for Excellence for the 2007 Budget. He reported that Governor Perry had vetoed the
legislation for Construction Manager at Risk; a Federal Transit Administration Triennial
review would be held August 29-31, 2007; on August 7, 2007 the Port of Corpus Christi
and RTA would be hosting a luncheon with Senator John Cornyn at the Ortiz Center;
and RTA would be disposing of vehicles and proper notices had been sent to various
entities.
Ms. Lyons asked that the vehicle disposal list be posted on the RTA web site.
Also reported were various training opportunities provided for employees and that the
September Board meeting would be held in Robstown.
Ms. Salvide announced that she had accepted a position with the National Latino
Children's' Institute in San Antonio as President and Chief Executive Officer. She
stated that she would fulfill her term on the Board.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:15 a.m.
s°62ti Carmen Arias
S o 1
Date