Minutes Transit Board of Trustees 3 12 09
MINUTES
Dubuque Transit Trustee Board
Date: March 12, 2009
Time: 4:15 p.m.
Place: Carnegie Stout Public Library Auditorium
Eleventh & Bluff Streets, Dubuque, Iowa
Members Present:
Joel Lightcap; George Enderson, Jr; Don Stedman; John Curtis
Members Absent:
Ruth Scharnau
Others Present:
Jon Rodocker-Joanne Kiefer / Keyline; Dave Heiar / City of Dubuque
March
Lightcap called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m.
Agenda Approval
The Board reviewed the agenda and Rodocker would like to add a
discussion of the proposed Draft of the East Dubuque contract. Curtis
moved to approve the agenda with the addition mentioned, Stedman
.
seconded. All ayes.Motion carried
Minutes
There are no Minutes to approve, since the previous meeting scheduled
on January 8, 2009 was not convened due to the lack of a quorum.
Managers
Rodocker reviewed the January 2009 Operational Report for the Board.
Report
The number of riders on the Fixed Route and Mini-bus are remaining
strong and fairly consistent from month to month. The budget is on
target. He believes the expenses have been accurately predicted, and
he is happy that fuel costs are remaining low. Overall, Rodocker is
pleased with the status of the operational budget for this fiscal year.
KeyLine and the City of Dubuque have been awarded $237,500 for an
Intermodal Feasibility Study and Design Analysis through the Omnibus
Appropriations Bill. Unless the money is frozen as the result of a
political agenda, KeyLine will work with the City of Dubuque to
implement a feasibility study.
The LSC Consultants, who are completing a Comprehensive Operational
Analysis of KeyLine, have scheduled a work session with the City
Council on Monday, April 6, 2009 at 4:30 pm. The Transit Board
members are encouraged to attend that session at the Federal
Minutes - 2
Building. Rodocker appreciates any insight the Board may have as
KeyLine strives to improve their service to the community.
Heiar asked the Board members if anyone had an opportunity to watch
the recent Budget Hearings. Stedman commented he was very
disappointed that the funding for transit had been decreased. Stedman
said he understands each city department wants money, and increased
financial support is necessary; but wonders how KeyLine can meet the
growing needs of the community for public transportation on a smaller
budget. Lightcap thought the City Council had provided more direction
for Transit than it has in some past hearings. Heiar stated his
impression is that the City Council does not think the value of transit
meets the money that is spent to provide the service. He believes the
City Council would like to know what the City of Dubuque could
implement if there was no transit, as if to say start the entire process
from scratch. The Council is not looking for minor changes or tweaks,
but for a thorough analysis that would propose several options for
transit service. Heiar thought that bus service times need to be
adjusted so individuals could travel back and forth to work, and
perhaps add Sunday service.
Lightcap noted that the transit system has not changed very much over
the years, and is comparable to when Interstate Power ran the system.
He asked if the IBM shuttle and the West End Tripper service had been
approved, and if the service would start on July 1, 2009. Rodocker
replied that the City Manager had approved the IBM shuttle and the
West End Tripper. The details for the service are still in the planning
stages, but it has been approved for next year’s budget. Several
options are on the drawing board, from trolleys to buses. There will be
on-going meetings between IBM representatives and the City of
Dubuque to help determine the best way to meet their service needs.
Rodocker is excited about developing new service options. In addition,
he announced the trolley will be operating fare-free when the season
starts. Since the trolley is often used by tourists throughout the
summer, the fare-free concept will hopefully help promote more
business for downtown merchants.
Mini-bus
There is nothing new to report about Mini-bus service at this time.
Operations
The rides remain fairly constant
.
Fixed Route
The
number of student riders remains strong during peak times, and
Operations
the numbers of other riders has increased slightly. Overall the number
of riders on the Fixed Route from January to February has increased by
1,954 rides.
General Transit
Rodocker has prepared a bi-monthly schedule for the Board members, and
he will review past minutes to determine if an action item is needed to
adjust the meeting schedule to the format that had been used prior to his
coming aboard at KeyLine. Rodocker had asked at the time he arrived at
Minutes - 3
KeyLine to change the meetings from bi-monthly to monthly in an effort to
be more responsive to the needs of the community and better inform the
Board members of any recommendations. At this point, Rodocker feels
bi-monthly meetings will be a better option, until proposals from the results
of the Study are ready for consideration. In the recent past, several
meetings were cancelled due to the lack of a quorum. Heiar understood
Rodocker’s point, but felt the City Council might be alarmed at the
schedule change to bi-monthly, especially with the Comprehensive Analysis
occurring and so many other proposals on the drawing board. Heiar
recommended continuing the monthly meetings until after the study is
completed. Heiar is aware that a few Transit Board meetings were
cancelled due to the lack of a quorum since the Board was missing two
members.
Rodocker explained that the Board will probably hold additional meetings
to address the results of the Comprehensive Analysis, or to respond to the
needs of the consultants. He feels such meetings may be more valuable
and offer better opportunities for Board members to provide their
expertise. Over a year ago the Transit Board held a meeting to discuss
improving routes and making changes that would enhance service. After
that meeting, a member of the Transit Board went to the City Council
meeting and stated that KeyLine would be deleting and changing routes.
Consequently, KeyLine management was asked to put their ideas and
recommendations on hold. The Transit Board was just initiating the
process to discuss changes and follow the appropriate procedures when all
ideas had to be put on hold.
Rodocker presented bound copies of the Technical Memorandums that had
been prepared by LSC Consultants to each of the Transit Board members.
Rodocker noted that KeyLine management has several ideas to present to
LSC, but will wait until the Consultants meet with KeyLine to request input.
There is a short, general survey on the City of Dubuque website for Transit
that Randy Gehl placed there in an effort to gain more responses from
members of the community about bus service. The results from that
survey are passed on to LSC. The survey corresponds to a similar survey
that had been distributed to Fixed Route passengers earlier this year by
LSC. Rodocker asked the Board members to pay special attention to the
customer comment sections in each of the Memorandums prepared by
LSC. The comments from the public are very interesting.
Heiar asked the Board members to prepare Executive Summaries prior to
the work session scheduled with the City Council, since time will be at a
premium for that session.
Lightcap mentioned that in the past there has been excitement about
studies that had been conducted, and then there was a lot of
disappointment experienced by Board members when recommendations
for change were not supported by the City Council. He believes this new
Council will make a difference.
Rodocker reminded the Board that they are welcome to attend the
Stakeholders Meeting to be held on April 7, 2009.
Minutes - 4
Stimulus funds – Rodocker explained that KeyLine Transit will be eligible to
receive one new bus from the stimulus money. The funding sheet of
$333,000 for the grant needs to be written, along with a request for the
bid and proposal. The money will need to be spent by March 1, 2010.
Rodocker has been researching other Iowa transit systems that have
initiated the process to purchase buses, so that KeyLine could piggy-back
on to the procurement and spec options. Rodocker is looking at a Gillig
low floor bus as one of the better buses to add to the KeyLine fleet. This
particular bus purchase will be 100% funded by the federal government, as
opposed to the usual 83% funding by the feds with the balance secured
through a local match. Rodocker reviewed various specification options
for the new bus. In addition, Rodocker is looking at hybrid options, but the
price is prohibitive. Rodocker discussed the FTA conference call he
participated in regarding utilizing stimulus funds. He said this is a very
dynamic time for transit, especially if the money is allocated as proposed
KeyLine may be able to purchase a new hybrid bus.
At this point, around 5:30 pm, Heiar had to leave to attend another
meeting.
Proposed Draft of the East Dubuque Contract – Rodocker reviewed the
history of the East Dubuque contract process with the Board. East
Dubuque had failed their Tri-Annual Review by drawing down money that
they had not spent. It was not fraudulent activity; the staff of East
Dubuque just did not understand how to draw the money according to the
federal guidelines. East Dubuque was required to pay all the money back,
which they did. Consequently, Region 5 in Illinois will not fund East
Dubuque at this time. KeyLine and the City of Dubuque have proposed
one vehicle that will serve East Dubuque during the same hours that
KeyLine operates its buses. By doing this, the hours of service to East
Dubuque will be expanded from the current schedule of 9:30 am through
1:30 pm, to approximately 6:00 am until 6:00 pm. Rodocker will
coordinate the contract with the City’s legal department, and present it to
the City Manager and the City Council for approval. Rodocker feels this
service expansion to East Dubuque might open the door for more
opportunity for service in Illinois.
The Board discussed the success story of the monthly pass offered by
KeyLine. Originally the pass was offered with little response from the
riders. Currently, we sell an average of 12 – 15 passes each month.
The free rides offered to Dubuque Community School students continue to
be a success this year as well as last year. Rodocker is looking forward to
productive changes in the coming year as the LSC Consultants complete
their analysis and the need for public transit in the community continues to
grow.
Lightcap asked for a moment to reflect on the contribution of a long time
Transit Board member, Harry Bemis. Mr. Bemis had passed away a few
weeks ago. Lightcap commented that Bemis had worked on the Transit
Board before KeyLine and the City of Dubuque had become involved with
Minutes - 5
public transit. He had a strong commitment to transit in the community,
and was responsible for getting a lot of work done on the Board over the
years. Stedman remembered Harry as always present for meetings with a
positive attitude and was always very nice to everyone. Bemis was the
Chairperson of the Transit Board during the renovation of the KeyLine
facility in the late 1980’s. Enderson remembers Bemis as always coming to
meetings prepared to discuss the issues and make a difference.
Board Comments
Lightcap asked if KeyLine operators might be interested to start coming to
Transit Board meetings again. He noted that he has not seen any
operators at meetings for several months. Rodocker said he can remind
operators of the Transit Board meetings at the Labor Management
Committee meetings held each month.
Public Comments
None
Adjournment
Lightcap asked for a motion to adjourn. Curtis so moved. Stedman
seconded. All ayes. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 4:15 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Joanne Kiefer
Secretary
These minutes passed, approved and adopted on this _____ day of May, 2008.
___________________________________
Joel Lightcap, Chairperson
Dubuque Transit Trustee Board