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SamTrans > General Information > Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee Meetings > Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - February 12, 2003

Committees and Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - February 12, 2003

SAMTRANS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
2nd FL. AUDITORIUM
1250 SAN CARLOS AVENUE, SAN CARLOS, CALIFORNIA

Board of Directors
Community Relations
Finance
Legislative

COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
(Accessibility, Senior Services, and Community Issues)

Committee Members Present: Jerry Hill (Committee Chair), Shirley Harris, Albert Teglia

Other Board Members Present, Constituting Committee of the Whole: John Barbour, Michael Guingona, Jim Hartnett, Mary Janney, Arthur Lloyd, Michael Nevin

Staff Present: Michael Scanlon, Joan Cassman, George Cameron, Cheryl Cavitt, April Chan, Roger Contreras, Jim Gallagher, Howard Goode, Corinne Goodrich, Chuck Harvey, Rita Haskin, Aurora Jose, Paul Lee, Martha Martinez, Ian McAvoy, Ed Stewart, Bill Welch

Pledge of Allegiance
Board Chairman Guingona led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag

He announced the appointment of committee members of the Board for 2003. A list of appointees were distributed showing the following:

Community Relations Committee - Jerry Hill (Chair)
                                                       Shirley Harris and Al Teglia - members

Finance Committee                      - Shirley Harris (Chair)
                                                        John Barbour and Jim Hartnett - members

Legislative Committee                  - Arthur Lloyd (Chair)
                                                        John Barbour and Michael Nevin - members

Planning and Dev. Committee      - Jim Hartnett (Chair)
                                                       Mary Janney and Jerry Hill - members

BART Ad Hoc Committee             - Michael Nevin (Chair)
                                                        Jerry Hill, Mary Janney and Al Teglia - members

Liaison to C/CAG                          - Michael Nevin (Chair)

All Committee members were present. Director Hill called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m.

Approval of Community Relations Committee meeting of January 8, 2003
The Committee (Teglia/Janney) recommended Board approval of the minutes.

PCC, Advocacy and ATAC Reports
Bill Welch, Manager, Accessible Transit Service, reported on the good discussions taking place at the PCC regarding Redi-Wheels patrons' eligibility, to insure that only those people who truly need Redi-Wheels will be eligible. He commended the PCC, particularly the Efficiency Review Committee for the progress.

Dale Edwards, Chair of the Paratransit Coordinating Council (PCC), reported:

Many interesting ideas were brought up by Mr. Welch pertaining to the eligibility process. The PCC is continuing to work with him and his staff on the details.
Agency Driver Award was presented by PCC Vice Chair Nancy Knific to Sam Cua and Jorge Barillas. They each received $50 gift certificate from the PCC. MV Transportation is matching that gift. The Coastside Opportunity Center also gave a gift certificate of $50 last month to Zhiming Zhang.
MV, through the help of their communications provider, is now experimenting using cell phones as a new method for Redi-Wheels riders to find out and know when their next ride is coming. Mr. Edwards recognized Mr. Murphy, Manager of MV Transportation for his determined effort to respond to service improvement ideas from the PCC members.

Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Liaison Report
Mary Lou Ciranni, reported:

New CAC members were introduced and welcomed on board.
Joe Hurley, Director of Transportation Authority Project, gave a presentation on the Measure A reauthorization and the role of the Transportation Authority (TA). The CAC is deeply interested in assisting the TA in this effort.
The District's 511 system has a long menu. No one knew how to get around it. The CAC requested staff to do something along that line.

Presentation on Redi-Wheels Performance
Chuck Harvey, Chief Operating Officer, reported:

Ridership continues to trend upward. The dip reflected on the graph is related to the holidays and the rainy season. Overall, the trendline is on a growth mode. He credited John Murphy for his good management. There were no denials.
On-time performance indicates very strongly how stressed the system is in trying to meet the ridership growth and the fixed amount of available resources.
No-shows and At Fault No-shows are very well related to the stress on the system. It is possible that some of those are the result of customers leaving because of rides showing up outside the 20-minute window.
Ride time negotiations are all within the ADA window. If customers cannot take a ride within the negotiated time, it is counted as a denial. Frequent no-shows and late cancellations are sanctioned.
Because of increased scrutiny of people eligible to ride Redi-Wheels, the rate of denials for new applications last month increased to nine percent.
The Pilot Taxi Program was extended for another six months. Yellow Cab Company Peninsula Inc. is being added as a service provider. This translates to some savings for the District. He discussed how this program could be used on the weekend for short manifests to achieve savings. There is a higher degree of potential savings.

Multimodal Ridership Report
Mr. Harvey reported that on all modes, the Average Weekday Service for December was down by 6.5 percent compared to December 01. Caltrain ridership was still down 12.5 percent systemwide in the month of December. Interestingly, Caltrain ridership was down only 8.7 percent in San Mateo County, indicating that the Silicon Valley portion of ridership has been affected more. BART ridership was down only about 3 percent for the month of December. In some modes and in more localized areas in San Mateo County, the ridership is down less. In San Mateo County, shuttle ridership is actually up by 1.4 percent.

Adjourned: 2:25 p.m.

FINANCE COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

Committee Members Present: Shirley Harris (Committee Chair), John Barbour, Jim Hartnett

Other Board Members Present, Constituting Committee of the Whole: Michael Guingona, Jerry Hill, Mary Janney, Arthur Lloyd, Michael Nevin, Al Teglia

All Committee members were present. Director Harris called the meeting to order at 2:25 p.m.

Approval of Finance Committee Minutes of January 8, 2003
The Committee (Janney/Nevin) recommended Board approval of the minutes.

Acceptance of Revenues and Expenses for December 2002
Roger Contreras, Chief Financial Officer, reported revenues are slightly ahead of the year-to-date revised budget. He noted that when the sales tax numbers are released next month, this account will have to be adjusted. Expenses are lower by about $1 million. The components are the savings from salaries and wages, Technical Service and Bus Parts and Materials. ADA is running over budget at this point by $293,000.

Quarterly Investment Report and Fixed Income Market Review and Outlook
Bill Osher of Harris, Bretall, Sullivan and Smith, reported on the changes in interest rates as a result of the lagging economy and the tremendous amount of uncertainty in the system at present. He advised that until the geopolitical issues are resolved, there will be continued uncertainty, interest rates will stay low, equity markets will stay low and the economy will stay soft. He however assured that the District's portfolio is very safe, there are no credit problems and it is making money. Even if the interest rates rise, the portfolio is protected.

Authorizing the Execution of Standard Agreements with Caltrans Pertaining to FTA Section 5311 Funds
April Chan, Manager, Capital Programs and Grants, reported staff is executing this agreement on behalf of the Coastside Opportunity Center (COC), a non-profit agency, because the COC cannot directly apply for Federal funds. The District has been doing this arrangement for the last five years.

Authorizing Continuation of the Free Bus Pass Program for the Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter Concurrent with the Term of the Safe Harbor Lease
Chuck Harvey recalled that in cooperation with the county, the Safe Harbor Shelter was built at the North Base Facility. Staff usually comes to the Board to ask permission to approve the issuance of free bus passes for the residents of the shelter. Approval of this action would allow the continuance of that arrangement until 2010, the term of the lease.

Geetha Tucker, Director of the Safe Harbor Shelter, addressed the Board and thanked them for their partnership and generous donations of bus tickets for the residents of the shelter. She described how this gesture is able to support the homeless people who are able to find jobs and enable them to go back and forth to their medical appointments, counseling, legal services and other activities. Some are able to move in to their own apartments.

Malia, Shelter Manager, shared the story of a woman who fled from a violent and abusive domestic relationship. She stayed in the shelter for three months and was able to avail of the various services. She is now self-sufficient.

Award of Contract to D&D, The Elevator Co. for Providing Elevator Maintenance Services for a Total Estimated Cost of $65,700 for a Three-Year Term with Up to Two One-Year Option Terms
Cheryl Cavitt, Director of Contracts and Procurement, noted that the D&D, The Elevator Co. is the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.

Award of Contract to SimplexGrinnell, LP for Providing Alarm Monitoring Testing and Inspection Services for a Five-Year Term at an Estimated Total Cost of $80,000
Ms. Cavitt reported this was the result of the Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Two proposals were received and compared with the criteria under the RFP.

The Committee (Hartnett/Barbour) recommended Board acceptance of the Statement of Revenues and Expenses for December 2002, the Quarterly Investment Report and approval of the action items cited above.

Adjourned: 2:45 p.m.

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

Committee Members Present: Arthur Lloyd (Committee Chair), John Barbour, Michael Nevin

Other Board Members Present, Constituting Committee of the Whole: Michael Guingona, Shirley Harris, Jim Hartnett, Jerry Hill, Mary Janney, Al Teglia

All Committee members were present. Director Lloyd called the meeting to order at 2:45 p.m.

Approval of Legislative Committee Minutes of January 8, 2003
The Committee (Hartnett/Nevin) recommended Board approval of the minutes with the correction of the name "Rose Capone" to Ross Capon, appearing on page 2 of 2, last paragraph.

Adoption of 2003 Federal Legislative Program
Ed Stewart, Legislative Analyst, stated staff is proposing that the Committee recommend Board adoption of the 2003 Federal Legislative Program. He reported the core of the legislative agenda this year would be the reauthorization of TEA21, the Federal Transportation Act. The timeline is less certain because of the deteriorating budget outlook at the Federal level as well as the potential conflict with Iraq. The key objectives of the reauthorization include the enhancement of transportation programs by providing increased funding levels for transit and for transportation in general, and maintaining the funding guarantees that were established in the TEA21. Staff also will advocate for discretionary funding for San Mateo County projects through any earmarked programs that will be continued or established under the reauthorization. Staff will advocate for increased Federal commitment to the development of High-Speed Rail in selected corridors nationwide. TEA21 designated the California high-speed rail corridor from the Bay Area to Los Angeles as a candidate for Federal funding. There will be a measure on the State ballot next year that would provide $9 billion in State funds for the project and staff feels that it is appropriate to seek a matching Federal commitment.

State Budget Update
Mr. Stewart reported the Legislature had approved returning to the General Fund $100 million in Traffic Congestion Relief Program funds as part of the Governor's proposed budget reduction package. But the budget cuts in the package were linked to approval of an increase in vehicle license fees (VLF). The Governor has stated that he will veto the VLF bill and send back budget cuts that had been passed by the Legislature. The positive aspect is that there will be more time to lobby legislators and impress upon them the importance of maintaining transportation funding. Staff is interested in maintaining funding from the Traffic Congestion Relief Program for the Baby Bullet project as well as other projects that are currently under construction. Mr. Stewart further reported it is likely that revenue enhancements will be discussed, including the imposition of a gas tax increase. Senator Perata is planning to introduce legislation that will increase Bay Area bridge tolls. This would provide potential new revenue for transportation. Staff will continue to seek passage of measures that will lower the threshold for local transportation sales tax approval from 2/3 to either a simple majority or 55 percent. Mr. Stewart noted an Assembly bill sponsored by John Dutra that would set the threshold at 55 percent. Senator Tom Torlakson has introduced a bill that would set a threshold of 50 percent plus one. That bill would require that 25 percent of the revenues raised be set aside for Smart Growth. It is expected that Mr. Torlakson's bill will be amended to remove the Smart Growth portion. Smart Growth as defined in the bill includes programs that encourage open space conservation and/or location of jobs in proximity to transit and housing.

Director Lloyd inquired if the District is in a position to send a support letter. Mr. Stewart responded that the Transportation Authority had adopted a position of support in concept that gives staff the flexibility to support the notion of lowering the threshold while at the same time reserving judgment on which specific bill should be supported.

General Manager/CEO Michael Scanlon remarked the bill actually calls for funding Smart Growth planning with the 25 percent set-aside. He was informed that when the bill reaches the Senate floor, said provision might have already been dropped. He further noted that under the District's Legislative Program that was previously adopted, this Board authorized staff to go ahead and advocate for anything that will reduce that threshold.

Federal Legislative Verbal Update
Mr. Stewart reported that the Conference Committee met and approved the 2003 Appropriations Bill. The bill sets Federal transportation funding levels at $31.8 billion. This amount will provide $400 million more for transportation in California than Caltrans originally estimated and will help ease some of the pressures at the State level. SamTrans had an earmark of $2.7 million for the Zero Emission Bus Project in an earlier version of the bill and it is hoped that some portion of this money will be retained. Mr. Stewart stated staff is still trying to track down details of the budget and will come back to the Board when the final action of the Conference Committee has been determined. On the Federal budget side, he advised that while Congress was debating the 2003 Budget, the President had released his 2004 Budget Proposal. In this proposal transit funding was held constant at $7.2 billion. However, the President has proposed significant changes to the transit program structure. Generally they involve fewer earmarked programs and more formula-based distribution of funds.

Adjourned: 2:50 p.m.

SAN MATEO COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Board Members Present: Michael Guingona (Chair), Mary Janney (Vice Chair), John Barbour, Shirley Harris, Jim Hartnett, Jerry Hill, Arthur Lloyd, Michael Nevin, Albert Teglia

All Board members were present. Chair Guingona called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.

CONSENT CALENDAR
Motion
The Board (Lloyd/Harris) unanimously approved the following items under the Consent Calendar:

Adoption of Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting of January 8, 2003
Acceptance of Statement of Revenues & Expenses, December 2002
Acceptance of Quarterly Investment Report and Fixed Income Market Review and Outlook

PUBLIC COMMENT:
None at this time.

REPORT OF THE CHAIR
Referring to a list that was published recently, Chair Guingona commented he is honored to be sitting with three out of the ten most influential people in San Mateo, namely, Director Nevin, Director Hill and General Manager/CEO Michael Scanlon. He recognized and encouraged them to keep up the good work.

REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER
Mr. Scanlon gave the following report:

The Communications Division, headed by Rita Haskin, received the Communicator Crystal Award of Excellence in a competition opened for anybody in the communications business including those in the private industry.
Ridership is still off, tracking with the economy and other transit systems and businesses.
In trying to get people to ride public transit, the "Wheels to Reels" and "Rails to Reels" take ones were made available in the buses and in the trains. This effort is tied in with the opening of the new theatre in downtown San Mateo. Banners were also hung at the downtown San Mateo Caltrain Station. Caltrain ads are run on the movie screen.

Mr. Scanlon introduced Paul Lee, Associate Operations Contract Administrator, who reported on the success of the SamCoast Service in providing and meeting the needs of the South Coast residents.

Mr. Lee discussed how the service dubbed as the "Operation Starfish" (Route 17) for the Half Moon Bay Community came into being. It was initiated in response to grassroots demands for community bus service. He outlined the unique transportation needs that initially confronted staff that presented a big challenge in providing transportation. Route 17 serves the north part of Half Moon Bay and it is now quite successful.

Seeing the success of Route 17, the South Coast community asked service for the rural areas around Pescadero. Staff began meeting with community representatives. Series of meetings were hosted by Director John Barbour at his Moss Beach Distillery. Route 15 serves the area south of Half Moon Bay. It starts at the junction of Highway 1 and Highway 92 and ends up right by the Pescadero and Stage Road. While Route 17 was quite successful, Route 15 did not garner the desired ridership level. In the spring of 2001, SamTrans recommended eliminating Route 15 on the basis of cost and poor productivity. The Board advised staff to continue the service pending a satisfactory South Coast solution. A letter was received from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo supporting the continuance of Route 15. Staff reviewed the transportation needs of the community and met with the La Honda/Pescadero Unified School District. Through the collaborative efforts of Director Barbour, South Coast Collaborative, La Honda/Pescadero Unified School District, SamTrans CEO and staff, paper work started and vehicles were put in the service. The District listened and responded. They took a creative approach in solving a problem. The community's needs were addressed and the service became popular.

Rev. Wendy Taylor, a pastor at the Pescadero Community Church, shared the opportunities that the new service can provide the community. Parents are able to take their children to medical appointments, students can go to school, laborers can go to and from work without having to get out early morning or late night in the dark. People can go to supermarkets. They can now travel around, commute, and join activities utilizing the buses. She thanked the Board and said it is like a miracle for the community.

Director Barbour commented staff did an incredible job. It showed innovation in solving a problem. He thanked Deputy General Manager Jim Gallagher for working very hard on this project. He thanked the SamTrans family and the community for the success of this service.

Chair Guingona thanked Director Barbour for his hard work.

Director Hartnett inquired what lesson was learned from this program that may apply to other service areas.

Mr. Scanlon responded a conventional bus is not always the solution to every transportation problem. Staff listened, looked at the problem and planned. Buses that were to be sold by auction were reconditioned and put back in service. It is the willingness to try and not being afraid to fail. If it does not work the first time, do some changes and try again. Mr. Scanlon acknowledged Mr. Gallagher for his magnificent work on this project.

Mr. Scanlon also reported:

On Measure A, the Transportation Authority has engaged the services of a consultant to educate the community at large on how they benefited from the measure since 1988 and what will be in the reauthorized program under Measure A. There is a committee consisting of members from the San Mateo Board of Supervisors, Transportation Authority, Samceda P3 and C/CAG, that is in final negotiations with Public Affairs Associates, a separate consultant, that will be raising private money from private individuals to do the actual advocacy for the reauthorization of Measure A.
He expressed concern on the escalation of fuel prices.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Motion
The Board (Hill/Janney) unanimously approved the minutes of January 8, 2003 meeting.

Subjects Discussed
Director Hill reported the Committee discussed the following:

PCC, Advocacy and ATAC Reports
Citizens Advisory Committee Liaison Report
Redi-Wheels Performance Report
Multimodal Ridership Report, December 2002

FINANCE COMMITTEE
Resolutions
The Board (Harris/Teglia) unanimously approved the following:

Resolution No. 2003-3: Authorizing the Submission of Federal Section 5311 Applications and the Execution of Related Standard Agreements with Caltrans on Behalf of the Coastside Opportunity Center
Resolution No. 2003-4: Authorizing Extension of Free Bus Pass Program for the Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter Program
Resolution No. 2003-5: Authorizing Award of a Contract to D&D, the Elevator Company, for Providing Elevator Maintenance Service for a Three-Year Term at a Total Cost of $65,700
Resolution No. 2003-6: Authorizing Award of Contract to SimplexGrinnell LP of Livermore for Alarm Monitoring, Testing and Inspection Services for a Five-Year Term at an Estimated Total Cost Not to Exceed $80,000

Under the same vote, the Board likewise approved the minutes of January 8, 2003 Finance Committee meeting.

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
Motions
The Board (Lloyd/Janney) unanimously approved the following items:

Minutes of Legislative Committee meeting of January 8, 2003
Adoption of 2003 Federal Legislative Program

Subjects Discussed
Director Lloyd reported Mr. Ed Stewart gave full reports on the (1) State Budget and (2) Federal Legislative update.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Motion
The Board (Hartnett/Barbour) unanimously approved the minutes of November 13, 2002 Planning and Development Committee meeting.

Subject Discussed
Director Hartnett reported the Board received a great presentation on the 2020 Strategic Plan.

GENERAL COUNSEL PROPOSAL
Attorney Joan Cassman reported that the closed session item pertains to an existing litigation. It is a settlement agreement that has previously been presented to the Board. Staff is coming back to ask further clarification. There may be action following the closed session.

THE BOARD ADJOURNED INTO CLOSED SESSION AT 3: 30 P.M. AND RECONVENED IN OPEN SESSION AT 3:45 P.M.

Closed Session: Conference with Legal Counsel - Existing Litigation - pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(a): San Mateo County Transit District vs. Muzzi

Attorney Cassman stated that a status report was distributed to the Board. The issue is whether to consider whether with the changed circumstances, they would approve an adjustment or modification to one of the three elements of the settlement agreement. Rather than having BART undertake the necessary modifications to the property, to allow continued access for certain activities, the agreement now would be to make a final payment of a lump sum of $185,000 at no interest for the property owner Mr. Muzzi to undertake this improvement.

The Board (Teglia/Nevin) unanimously approved the change to the settlement agreement.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS TO THE BOARD: None at this time.

DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING: THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2003, 2 p.m. at the SamTrans Headquarters, Second Floor, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, California

Adjourned: 3:50 p.m.