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Minutes_Transit Board of Trustees 5 14 09MINUTES Dubuque Transit Trustee Board Date: May 14, 2009 Time: 4:15 p.m. Place: Carnegie Stout Public Library Boardroom Eleventh & Bluff Streets, Dubuque, Iowa Members Present: Joel Lightcap; George Enderson, Jr; John Curtis; Ruth Scharnau Members Absent: Don Stedman Others Present: Jon Rodocker-Joanne Kiefer /Keyline; Dave Heiar /City of Dubuque May Lightcap called the meeting to order at 4:14 p.m. Agenda Approval Lightcap asked the Board to review the agenda for any changes or additions. Rodocker would like to add a notice that there would be a Public Hearing for the Consolidated Grant Application on June 12, 2009. This public meeting would be held at the Library at 3:00 pm with the Transit Board and any one from the community is welcome to attend. Scharnau commented she would not be able to attend and wondered if the meeting required a quorum. Rodocker responded that the Consolidated Grant Hearing does require a quorum since it will require voting on issues by the Board members. Rodocker mentioned the next Board meeting after the public hearing would be held on August 13, 2009. Scharnau asked why the Board meetings were not being held on a monthly basis. Rodocker reminded the Board that he had asked when he arrived at Keyline to change the meetings from bi-monthly to monthly in an efFort to be more responsive to the needs of the community. Rodocker felt the Board members would be better informed of any recommendations and be more active in the process with monthly meetings. In the recent past, several meetings were cancelled due to the lack of a quorum. Consequently, bi-monthly meetings seem to be a better option, especially for the summer months. Once the LSC Operational Analysis is complete, the Transit Board will be meeting more frequently to discuss the results and the proposals for the future. Curtis moved to approve the agenda with the addition of the notice of the Public Hearing, Enderson seconded. All ayes Motion carried. Minutes - 2 March 12, 2009 The Board reviewed the minutes from the previous meeting. Curtis Minutes commented the minutes were very comprehensive. He moved to approve the minutes as presented. Enderson seconded. All ayes Motion carried. Managers Rodocker reviewed the March and April 2009 Operational Reports for Report the Board. Overall the months of March and April are looking good. The number of riders on the Fixed Route and Mini-bus are remaining steady and consistent from month to month. The budget continues to be on target, helped by the drop in the price of fuel. Rodocker mentioned that the budget for KeyLine is $50,000 in the black. Heiar explained this does not mean that KeyLine is generating excess revenue. The significance of the budget in the b/ack is that the planned expenditures are being covered accurately by the predicted budget. The LSC Consultants spoke with the City Council on April 6, 2009 in a work session, and discussed the direction of the KeyLine Transit Comprehensive Operational Analysis. LSC is in the process of completing Technical Memorandum #3, and is coordinating with KeyLine management to schedule the next round of meetings with the KeyLine Operators and the general public. Curtis asked how the meetings will be publicized. Rodocker noted that while KeyLine utilizes several forms of the media to announce the meetings; it still seems to be a problem to discern how to get the word out to the people who might be most interested to attend the meetings. The Board discussed several marketing ideas including posting announcements on the bus shelters, continuing to use the newspaper and the local radio stations to announce meetings, handing out fliers on the buses, and using the City of Dubuque web site. Scharnau felt the biggest problem is many people do not read the newspaper. or have access to a computer, and wondered how to reach that segment of the public. Curtis mentioned sending an announcement to several human service agencies who could inform the participants in their programs. Rodocker agreed that was a good idea. Heiar reminded the Board that it is important to schedule meetings when the buses are running so individuals who use the service are able to attend. Rodocker explained to the Board that April is the last month that KeyLine will report a separate line item noting the contract dollar amount received for the service to East Dubuque, Illinois. The City Council approved the Agreement for bus service between the City of Dubuque and KeyLine Transit with East Dubuque, Illinois on April 20tH The significance of the Agreement is that KeyLine will be drawing down the money from the FTA to operate the service to East Dubuque. The money can be applied toward operating expenses and capital improvements. Rodocker is looking forward to making such improvements as purchasing a new bus, improving bus shelters, and developing a marketing plan. Rodocker has asked for the money that is being paid back to the FTA by East Dubuque, approximately $87,000 to be part of the capital grant. A brief discussion of the significance of this decision followed. Minutes - 3 Rodocker updated the Board on the situation with Burlington Trailways. The City Council approved the move to the location at 400 Rhomberg Avenue, fondly known in the community as Five Points. The City of Dubuque has signed off on the Agreement and is waiting for representatives of Burlington Trailways to do the same. Burlington Trailways appears to be hedging due to the agreement drafted by the City of Dubuque is for one year, with yearly renewals, and the lease at the new location is for more than one year. The Planning Services Department has given Burlington Trailways a deadline for moving from their current location on First Street. It is up to Burlington Trailways at this point to respond. KeyLine management continues to work with the LSC Consultants, staff from ECIA and RTA to expand options for future transit service in the community. Of course, KeyLine management is always interested in ideas from the members of the Transit Board. Rodocker reviewed several options that are currently being presented by LSC Consultants, including utilizing smaller vehicles, either medium or light duty buses, Sprinter vans, taxi vouchers, specifically outlined Demand Response areas that could be served by the Mini-bus or RTA, and routes that would incorporate relocated transfer hubs with shopper or medical shuttles and more areas of the community covered by shorter routes. Heiar stated that the City Council wants more than minor changes and encourages the Transit Board members to read the next technical memorandum thoroughly since many of the recommendations will be described. Heiar encourages the Board members to provide feedback and suggestions at the next meeting with the consultants. Scharnau asked if there was a web site where she could review more information and the previous memorandums. Rodocker offered to deliver copies to her and any other Board member who has yet to receive the memorandums. A discussion of the previous technical memorandums followed. Heiar mentioned he has been concerned about the antiquated record keeping methods used by KeyLine in the past. This was also noted as a concern by the consultants. Rodocker suggested that perhaps staff did not realize the importance of the data at that time. But he believes over recent years record keeping has been improving. Lightcap said that recommendations from past studies had been proposed by the Board, but there had been no follow through and that was disappointing. He hopes that the results of this study might be acted upon differently due to the motivation by the City Council. In addition, Rodocker explained that the City of Dubuque, KeyLine and ECIA are working on a TIGGER application for funding and replacement of vehicles and equipment as part of the federal stimulus package. While there are certain stipulations for the grant, such as not purchasing new vehicles to expand your fleet, the emphasis on transit improvements and the amount of money available nationwide, one hundred million dollars, creates a very exciting environment for transit. The grant imposes certain regulations regarding vehicles. The priority will be to find buses or vans that will fit the criteria of more sustainable, greener running vehicles with lower emissions. This is already a Minutes - 4 primary consideration for the City of Dubuque and KeyLine. It would be an opportunity for KeyLine to replace their bigger older vehicles with alternative buses. Heiar reminded the Board there are limited funds available, when you consider that transit agencies across the entire United States will be competing for those dollars. Enderson suggested considering combining public transit vehicles with school buses to expand service options, save money, improve energy usage, and be more sustainable. Rodocker will inform the Board members as dates for the next round of meetings with the Consultants are scheduled. Curtis would like the Board to consider KeyLine providing service for Disability Mentoring Day, scheduled for October 21, 2009. Michael Murray is planning to bring employers together with disabled individuals and will need bus service for the individuals and their mentors. Rodocker said he would be happy to support such an activity, but would need more details and would need to examine the itinerary to insure that KeyLine could provide the service as opposed to a charter bus company. At this point in the meeting, around 5:00 pm, Heiar had to leave the meeting. Mini-bus There is nothing new to report about Mini-bus service at this time. Operations Rodocker mentioned that Heartland, a medical transportation service for seniors, has gone out of business. It is too soon to determine the impact this might have on the number of rides for the Mini-bus. Board Comments Rodocker wanted to notify the Board members that Don Stedman has sent correspondence that indicates he will be resigning from the Transit Board effective this July. He will serve at will until a replacement can be found. Due to health concerns, Stedman will not be able to continue his active involvement with the Transit Board. Rodocker stated that to date, there have been two applications submitted to City Hall for the opening. Lightcap said he had asked someone to attend the Transit Board meeting today who he thought might be interested to join the Board. This person is someone who rides the KeyLine Fixed Route and who Lightcap thought could be a valuable addition to the Board. He is surprised the individual did not attend today's meeting. A discussion of ways to obtain more involvement by the public in Transit Board meetings followed. Lightcap asked if there was a way to compare previous revenue gained by KeyLine before the free ride program for students was implemented. He wondered if there was a way to demonstrate the value of the increased ride numbers that will be generating more funding from FTA. Lightcap felt this might help the public understand the importance of the free ride program for students. Kiefer commented that initially the program was started to not only obtain more funding from FTA based on the increased rider numbers; but also to assist students who may have trouble getting to school and to help train Minutes - 5 young people how to use mass transit so they are better able to travel independently in any community. The Board also discussed the importance of marketing the services KeyLine offers to individuals with disabilities, to the organizations and agencies who work with the disabled, and to the general public. Rodocker reflected on the difficulty of marketing with limited resources. Public Comments None Adjournment Lightcap asked for a motion to adjourn. Curtis so moved. Enderson seconded. All ayes Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m. The next meeting will be the Public Hearing for the Consolidated Grant Application on Friday, June 12, 2009 at 3:00 pm. The meeting will take place at the Carnegie Stout Public Library Boardroom. Due to the renovations at the Library, the Auditorium will not be available. Respectfully submitted, Joanne Kiefer Secretary These minutes passed, approved and adopted on this day of May, 2008. Joel Lightcap, Chairperson Dubuque Transit Trustee Board