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Minutes_Transit Advisory Board 7 8 10Minutes The Dubuque Transit Trustee Board Meeting Thursday, July 8, 2010 4:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Transit Trustee Board Members: ® Joel Lightcap Chair ❑ Vacant ❑ Vacant Others Present Fl Barbara Morck Keyline Transit Director ® Gail Kuhle ECIA Public Present None Federal Building Second Floor, Room 223 RI Matt Esser RI George Enderson ® Dave Heiar ® Kelley Deutmeyer City of Dubuque ECIA Executive Director Call to Order The Dubuque Transit Trustee Board meeting was call to order at 4:20 p.m. by the Chair, Joe Lightcap. Introductions were made at this time. Review /Approve the agenda for the Thursday, July 8, 2010 Dubuque Transit Trustee Board meeting Motion by Enderson, second by Esser to approve the agenda for the Thursday, July 8, 2010 Dubuque Transit Trustee Board meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Review /Approve the minutes of the Thursday, May 13, 2010 Dubuque Transit Trustee Board meeting Motion by Enderson, second by Esser to approve the minutes of the Thursday, May 13, 2010 Dubuque Transit Trustee Board meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Manager's Report Deutmeyer introduced herself, Kuhle and the new Keyline Transit Director, Barbara Morck. She said Morck previously worked for Iowa City Transit and comes with numerous years of experience in the rural and urban transit field. Deutmeyer continued with updating the Board on the hiring of an operations supervisor and the part -time dispatcher. She indicated that interviews were being held and was hoping to have the open positions filled quickly. Heiar indicated that the first round of interviews for the operations manager position was unsuccessful thus a second round of interviews was being held. Deutmeyer explained that due to the management transition the information for the statistical reports that normally are presented at the Transit Trustee Board meeting were not available at this time; therefore at the next meeting staff will present the year -end stats as well as the July stats. Deutmeyer then presented to the Board an award to Keyline Transit from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Region 7. The award was given to Keyline Transit honoring them in the Large Urban provider category for the largest percentage decrease in cost per ride by 15% with the largest passenger ridership increase per ride of 11% for FY 2008 -2009. Deutmeyer indicated that the award will be presented to the City Council at the July 19 City Council meeting. Heiar thanked Deutmeyer and her staff for their time, effort and commitment to Keyline before and throughout the transition. Discussion followed. Review/Recommendation of the Westend Tripper Route Deutmeyer stated that the City of Dubuque received a Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) grant which was to begin on January 1, 2010 and is schedule to end on December 21, 2010. The grant will be use to provide service through the westend industrial area. Deutmeyer then explained that Keyline would deliver clients to the westend businesses then partner with the RTA to continue transporting students onto NICC. The Tripper route would make five trips daily between the westend businesses and NICC. Esser suggested that a park and ride be established at the old Econo Foods parking lot for people who would like to park their cars and then commute to the westend business area or NICC. Deutmeyer and Heiar stated that they would meet with the new owners, ARC to discuss this option. Deutmeyer noted that using the RTA would be a cost savings to Keyline. She indicated that the cost for the RTA service would be $43.00 per hour, whereas Keyline's fixed route charges are $61.00 per hour. Motion by Enderson, second by Esser to recommend approval of the Westend Tripper Route to the City Council and for staff to move forward. The motion passed unanimously. Review/Recommendation of the partnership with RTA to purchase two Sprinters (2) Deutmeyer stated that the RTA received a grant to purchase two new buses. She indicated that the grant would expire on June 30, 2010 and at that time the RTA did not have the capital funds available to use as the 17% match to purchase the two buses. Deutmeyer stated that due to the impending expiration date of the grant, staff contacted the DOT and asked for an extension. Deutmeyer indicated that staff received a short extension from the DOT. Therefore, rather than lose the funding it has been recommended that the RTA purchase the two new buses with the 17% match ($26,180) provided by the City of Dubuque. In return, the RTA will lease the new buses to the City of Dubuque. Deutmeyer noted the two new buses will be cost approximately $75,000 per vehicle and will used to provide transit service for the new Medical Loop route. She indicated that the RTA is looking to purchase two new Dodge Sprinters and it will take approximately 4 to 6 months to receive the new vehicles. She then went on to explain that the new Medical Loop route has been funded through an ICAAP grant and will be implemented on October 1, 2010. Discussion followed regarding the attributes of the Dodge Sprinters. Motion by Enderson, second by Esser to recommended approval of the partnership between the RTA and City of Dubuque to purchase two new Dodge Sprinters for the ICAAP Medical Loop. The motion passed unanimously. Review/Recommendation regarding the use of the 5309 grant funds for one Sprinter vehicle Deutmeyer stated that currently there was a 5309 grant open for the purchase of one Paratransit vehicle. Deutmeyer recommended that the City of the Dubuque use the grant to purchase one Dodge Sprinter. The cost of the Sprinter would be approximately $75,000; the City of Dubuque would pay the 17% match ($13,000) with the remaining balance being funded through the grant. Deutmeyer noted with using the 5309 grant funds and the partnering with the RTA, Keyline would be able to add three new buses to their fleet. Enderson and Lightcap questioned whether the Dodge Sprinters were front or rear wheel drive and if they provided adequate ground clearance in the winter. Deutmeyer indicated that she did not have that information on hand but would speak to Mark Munson and email everyone the answers. Discussion followed. Motion by Enderson, second by Esser to recommended approval of using the 5309 grant to purchase one Dodge Sprinter vehicle. The motion passed unanimously. Review/Recommendation regarding the bus wrap proposal Deutmeyer reviewed the bus wrap proposals submitted by two consultants, Houck Advertising and MC Squared, in response to the City of Dubuque's RFP. She explained that a team of ECIA staff meet with Houck Advertising to review and discuss their proposal for their selling and advertising process. Deutmeyer stated that Houck Adverting indicated the cost to the advertiser to wrap a large bus would be approximately $7,000 to $8,000; this would include the design, printing, installation and removal of the bus wrap. There would also be an additional monthly cost of approximately $1,250 to the advertiser. She then noted the cost to advertise on a mini bus would be approximately $4,000 to wrap the bus, with an average monthly fee of approximately $500 to $600. Deutmeyer noted that with the Houck proposal the City of Dubuque would receive only 50% of the generated advertising revenue. After reviewing both proposals and having a discussion with Houck, ECIA staff recommended that neither proposal reflected the advertising market of Dubuque. As a result, it was recommended that the design of the bus wrap and decal advertising be done in house, with ECIA staff and a local company working together to create partial vinyl bus wraps as seen on the RTA buses. She indicated that staff would develop a fee scale more reflective to the local market and work with the existing advertising contracts. Deutmeyer noted that the City would receive 100% of the generated revenue by the in -house advertising proposal. Deutmeyer then reviewed the budget impact for FY 2011 and FY 2012. She stated that for FY 2011, $75,000 was budgeted for bus wrap advertising, which she felt was unrealistic for the Dubuque market. Therefore a more realistic goal for FY 2011 would be to wrap four fixed routes buses @ $549 per month and 4 mini buses @ $449 per month for a yearly total of $23,952. For FY2012 and thereafter the goal would be to wrap 5 fixed route buses @ $549 per month and 5 mini buses @ $449 per month for a yearly total of $59,880. Deutmeyer then presented pictures of the current bus wraps that are on the RTA buses. Discussion followed. Motion by Enderson, second by Esser to recommended to City Council to approve the proposal for creating bus wraps and decal advertising by using in house staff and a local company. The motion passed unanimously. Other Business Rebranding Committee Deutmeyer explained that ECIA staff will be hosting a public forum to discuss Keyline rebranding. Deutmeyer went on to say that at the public forum staff will be asking for volunteers to be members of the Rebranding committee and she then asked if any of the Transit Board members would like to be on the committee. Lightcap and Esser expressed that they would both like to be part of the rebranding committee. Deutmeyer indicated that notification of the first meeting will be sent to Lightcap and Esser when the date and location have been confirmed. Grants Heiar asked Deutmeyer to explain the numerous applications for grants that staff has submitted. Deutmeyer continued with explaining the following grants: Clean Fuel Grant -The Clean Fuel grant is a federal grant that was written to replace the entire Keyline fleet as well as to purchase "Green Ride" software. Deutmeyer explained that Green Ride is software that connects transit to the community by providing direct information to your cell or computer on the accessibility to the transit schedule as well as other modes of transportation such as Duride, bike and pedestrian routes etc. She noted that the Clean Fuel application was submitted mid June with an approximate notification date of mid fall. State of Good Repair Grant -The State of Good Repair grant is a federal grant which allows a partnership. Deutmeyer indicated that the partnership was between the RTA, Dubuque Community School District (DCSD) and Keyline. The grant was written to replace the entire Keyline and RTA fleet and ten (10) DCSD buses. It also included improvements to the Keyline bus facility and the Green Ride software. Deutmeyer indicated the application was submitted at the end of June with an approximate notification date of mid fall. Livability Grant -The Livability grant was written last fall to replace the entire Keyline fleet and at this time Deutmeyer indicated that she has not heard any news on the award of the grant. Heiar stated the Dubuque City Council has approved a commitment for the local match if any of the grants were awarded to Keyline. Lightcap questioned what the status was on the previous discussion regarding electric buses. Deutmeyer stated that a comparison was done on the cost and if none of the applications submitted for bus replacement are awarded that for FY12 it might be proposed to do a full fleet replacement with a leasing contract. She explained that staff has received one proposal for a 7 to 10 year closed lease option for a full fleet replacement. She stated the cost comparison for a lease when you figured in fuel, maintenance and other expenses would leave Keyline short about $150,000 per year. Morck also noted that the cost for one hybrid fixed route bus would be approximately $150,000 per bus and it would take approximately 15 -20 years to make up the difference. Deutmeyer then went on to say that staff is working on many different scenarios to replace the current fleet and will continue to apply for any grants that come available. Driver Training meetings Heiar stated that ECIA has held numerous driver meetings to update Keyline staff on the management transition, to boost employee morale, provide training and supplies and to give the Keyline staff a feel of who ECIA is and what their philosophy and mission are all about. Deutmeyer stated that Keyline employee meetings will be held approximately every other month and some will be joint meetings with the RTA. Next Meeting The next Dubuque Transit Trustee Board meeting will be held on Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 4:15 pm. The meeting will be held at the Federal Building in Room #223. It was noted that the Commissioner's picnic would be held on Monday, July 26, 2010 at Eagle Point Park. Board Comments There were no Board comments. Public Comments There were no Public comments. Adjournment Motion by Esser, second by Enderson to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. The Dubuque Transit Trustee Board meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Theses minutes passed, approved and adopted on this day of August, 2010. Joel Lightcap, Chairperson Dubuque Transit Trustee Board