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SamTrans > General Information > Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee Meetings > Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - July 9, 2003

Committees and Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - July 9, 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 (arrived 2:12 p.m.), Jim Hartnett, Mary Janney, Arthur Lloyd, Michael Nevin

Staff Present: Michael Scanlon, Dave Miller, Joan Cassman, George Cameron, Cheryl Cavitt, Roger Contreras, Jim Gallagher, Rita Haskin, Aurora Jose, Martha Martinez, Ian McAvoy, Larry Stueck, Bill Welch

Pledge of Allegiance
In the absence of Board Chair Guingona, Vice Chair Janney led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

Director Hill called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m

Approval of Minutes of Community Relations Committee Meeting of June 11, 2003.
The Committee (Teglia/Harris) recommended Board approval of the minutes.

PCC, Advocacy and ATAC Reports
Bill Welch, Manager, Accessible Transit Services, reported that the discussions regarding the eligibility certification project is continuing. Staff is working on the selection process. He hoped that next meeting, staff would be able to recommend a contractor. He also reported on the success of the taxi program. There are now three good contractors. Taxis are handling about 10 percent of the total Redi-Wheels ridership. Mr. Welch further informed that the Strategic Plan for Accessible Transit Services (SPATS) would be taken to the Board next month.

Dale Edwards, Chair, Paratransit Coordinating Council (PCC), thanked General Manager/CEO Michael J. Scanlon and the Board for maintaining the paratransit budget for fiscal year 2004. The PCC understands that with the present financial situation of SamTrans, there are difficult decisions to be made to balance the budget. He commended SamTrans for its commitment to paratransit and Redi-Wheels. He further reported that proposals for the certification contract are due this week. He advised that the PCC would continue participating in all phases of the process. They are committed to work with staff to insure that the service will be consumer friendly and responsive to the needs of both SamTrans and the consumers.

Upon request of Mr. Edwards, Deputy General Manager Jim Gallagher read a condensed version of a historical note pertaining to the Declaration of Independence.

Director Hill requested copies of the write-up for the Board members.

Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Liaison Report
Ken Feldstein, CAC member, advised that the CAC did not have a meeting in July. Instead, a joint meeting of the SamTrans, JPB and TA CACs was held where the reauthorization of Measure A was the focus of discussion. He thanked staff for the very good presentations. It enabled the CACs to understand more what Measure A is all about. He is expecting that the SamTrans CAC would pass a resolution expressing their support of the measure.

Presentation on BART Opening
Larry Stueck, Manager, Service Planning, noted the excellent media and newspaper coverage of the BART opening including the California Transit Association's publication and APTA's Passenger Transport front page headline. He recalled that the original BART Extension plan dates back to 1955. It was embraced by the SamTrans organization with its Strategic Plan called the Century Plan in the mid-80s. The extension took about 5 ½ years to build.

Mr. Stueck showed snap shots of activities at the Millbrae station and the BART air train on the opening day. He discussed the excellent coordination between BART and SamTrans staff, and made special mention of the role played by Bob Doty, Manager of Rail Operations. He recognized the 120 staff volunteers (ambassadors) who assisted in the preparations of major events that helped make the opening so smooth and helped the public adapt so quickly to the system. He also recognized Carter Mau, Senior Planner, for his efforts in working with BART staff for the last 14 months.

Mr. Stueck identified Secretary Norman Mineta, State Senator Diane Feinstein, Director Michael D. Nevin who gave speeches and noted that the Mayor of Millbrae cut the ribbon on that day. He stated depending on how one measures it, the opening day could be June 21, when the open house was held or June 22, when the revenue service actually started.

Mr. Stueck noted the availability of ticket vending machines at the Millbrae BART Station and the validating machines for parking. With the help of the ambassadors, the public was able to get acquainted with the system very easily. He emphasized that the public discovered the advantage of this extension relative to getting in to the airport. There were a number of activities at the airport stations and the ridership numbers are starting to build. On the average, on any given day, there are about 5,800 trips per day. The day before the holidays, there were up to 8,400 trips per day.

Caltrain is starting to make 1,000 transfer trips per day between the two systems. Mr. Stueck showed a photograph of the Baby Bullet train coming in to the Millbrae Station. He mentioned that 21 bus connections in the north county were modified to better meet the needs of the new station. Ridership is starting to grow on these lines.

SamTrans launched an extensive, successful, promotional mailing campaign in South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae and Burlingame. BART and SamTrans will continue their joint promotional activities.

Staff will continue to analyze and evaluate changes in terms of buses, shuttles, and the connection of BART and Caltrain. Modifications will be made in the forthcoming months to improve the quality of the service and at the same time, explore opportunities with the new stations.

Mr. Stueck advised that next month, Chuck Harvey, Chief Operating Officer, would provide a comprehensive fiscal year report on all of the transit modes.

Director Nevin commented that with the prevailing state of the economy and the forthcoming summer months, ridership numbers might not be close to reality.

General Manager/CEO responded the report would cover the fiscal year end. He cautioned everyone in drawing any conclusions about BART and Caltrain ridership at this point. He felt that better judgment in ridership might be more realistic in February or March of next year because it takes time for people to settle into trip patterns.

Director Hill agreed that it is quite difficult for people to make transitions to a new program or change their habits.

Multimodal Ridership Report, May 2003
Mr. Stueck clarified that the report does not reflect the BART Extensions. He reported that on all modes, ridership was down 5.2 percent. There was a slight improvement from the beginning of the year where ridership was down about 6.5 percent. SamTrans was down about 5.9 percent. Paratransit is up by 40 percent with an average of 1,133 weekday riders. Caltrain was down by 8.8 percent above the average for all the modes and partially due to the number of Giants games. During baseball season, baseball brings a lot of riders. The number of people using Caltrain per game was down as well. Shuttles within San Mateo County that serve Caltrain were down 7.9 percent. This is very much affected by the economy. BART was only down by 1.9 percent from May 2002 to May 2003. BART shuttles were down over 21 percent largely due to the discontinuance of a shuttle that went from Hayward across the San Mateo Bridge to San Mateo and Foster City. It was discontinued because AC Transit launched their extensive express service across the bridge, which duplicated that shuttle service.

Staff is engaged in major marketing efforts to stabilize ridership and bring it up. He referred to the written report for the details of the activities. Summer Youth Pass Program started in June. This brings in a ridership increase in the youth category. Mr. Stueck discussed the success of the mass mailing on each side of El Camino Real to promote the 390 and 391 service.

Adjourned: 2:34 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 at 2:34 p.m.

Approval of Minutes of Finance Committee Meeting of June 11, 2003
The Committee (Lloyd/Nevin) recommended Board approval of the minutes.

Acceptance of Statement of Revenues and Expenses for May 2003
Roger Contreras, Chief Financial Officer, reported that operating revenues were on target with the revisions made several months ago. On the expenditure side, there is a year-to-date total savings of $2.3 million, a big portion of which came from the salaries and wages category. Paratransit had a record month of ridership. A transfer of almost $200,000 was made, increasing the total ADA budget by almost $1.1 million from $8.1 million to $9.2 million.

The Committee (Hartnett/Lloyd) recommended Board acceptance of the statement.

Authorizing the General Manager/CEO and the Chief Financial Officer to Execute Proper Documentation for the District to:

Join the Investment Trust of California, a Public Joint Powers Authority;

Invest Funds with Other Public Agencies in the Trust Up to a Limit of $50 Million;

Adopt the Declaration of Trust; and

File the Information Statement

Mr. Contreras advised that the approval of the resolution would provide the District with a viable alternative in addition to the local agency investment fund, which is operated by the State. Further, CalTRUST would yield approximately one percent higher interest income. Currently, the members of CalTRUST are the counties of Solano, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and the Westlands Water District.

Director Nevin inquired if this one percent is new, if it just happened and that is why this is being done now and not before. Mr. Contreras responded it is fairly new. It came about last January.

The Committee (Nevin/Lloyd) recommended Board approval of the actions.

Approval of an Amendment to Increase the FY 2004 SamTrans Operating Budget by $1,948,500 to Pay for the Operating Deficit of the BART/SFO Extension
Mr. Contreras noted that this amendment would allow payment of the BART SFO Extension operating deficit for the first quarter of this fiscal year. It will be funded from the reserves and that the discussions regarding some elements of the agreement are continuing at this time. Staff will report to the Board accordingly.

The Committee (Hill/Nevin) recommended Board approval of the budget amendment.

Award of Contract to Barri Electric Company of San Francisco for Emergency Generator Upgrade at a Bid Price of $152,980
Cheryl Cavitt, Director of Contracts and Procurement, reported that the replacement would be from natural gas to a diesel-powered generator. Two bids were received and Barri Electric offered the lower responsible responsive bid.

The Committee (Guingona/Janney) recommended Board approval of the award.

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: Shirley Harris, Michael Guingona, Jerry Hill, Mary Janney, Arthur Lloyd, Al Teglia

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

Approval of Legislative Committee Meeting of June 11, 2003
The Committee (Nevin/Janney) recommended Board approval of the minutes.

Support of AB 1358 (Simitian): Use of Redevelopment Funds for Affordable Housing
Ian McAvoy, Deputy Chief of Development, reported that AB 1358 is currently in the Senate Housing Committee. There is a possibility that this bill may not be considered because of objections from statewide housing advocates. If this happens, there is a good chance that it would come back next year and it is better to support it for now. The bill would allow a Redevelopment Agency to spend housing funds outside its jurisdiction, but no more than five miles away. Right now, the bill applies to the counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz, but it may expand. It is supported primarily by the cities seeking to pool their funds to overcome constraints of high cost of land in the Bay Area. The bill would also help in dealing with regional targets for housing growth. As stated earlier, the main opposition comes from State level housing advocates.

Director Lloyd inquired why the legislators required a population of 100,000 because that makes every city except Daly City eligible. Mr. McAvoy responded it might simply be the threshold that they came up with.

The Committee (Nevin/Hill) recommended Board support of the bill.

Verbal Update on State Legislative Program
Mr. McAvoy reported on the resistance from the State level on budget issues. There is a $2 billion difference between the Democrats and Republicans. The District is particularly interested on the outcome of State Transit Assistance funding, which may possibly be reduced. Staff will keep an eye on this.

Director Lloyd remarked and Mr. McAvoy agreed that as of now, transit funds are not threatened. But nobody knows what the final outcome might be. Things could change quickly as the budget enters its final compromise process.

Verbal Update on Federal Legislative Program
Mr. McAvoy reported that the Senate Committee approved a $2 billion annual appropriation for Amtrak until 2009 as part of a precursor to the reauthorization process. The House Transportation Infrastructure Committee also approved $2 billion for the next three years. The House approved a $60 billion program for the development of High-Speed Rail nationally. This indicates an inclination of Congress toward High-Speed Rail as a future option for transportation. The appropriations meeting scheduled for today was cancelled. That meeting would have dealt with the mark-up for the FY 2004 budget, which includes earmarks for the zero emission bus program, the Caltrain train-tracking system, and Amtrak. On the zero emission project, staff met with the clerk of the Committee with jurisdiction over the earmarks. Staff emphasized the importance of the project. The clerk remembered the project because of their interest in the zero emission program.

Mr. McAvoy noted that the 23rd of the month is a Lobby Day. Staff will be present. Director Lloyd offered his assistance for the lobbying effort.

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, Al Teglia

Chair Guingona called the meeting to order at 2:50 p.m.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Margaret Allen, Belmont, requested the Board to reduce the number of buses running on Chula Vista Street. She understands that school children need them in going to school in the morning and in coming home in the afternoon. However, during the rest of the day, buses go by with only one or two passengers and they are deteriorating the streets. Neighbors also are discomforted with air pollution and noise.

Herbert Neiman, Belmont, supported the request of Ms. Allen and suggested putting shuttle buses instead of the big buses.

Chair Guingona directed staff to take a look at the situation of Chula Vista Street.

CONSENT CALENDAR
The Board (Teglia/Hartnett) unanimously approved the following items:

Adoption of Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting of June 11, 2003
Acceptance of Statement of Revenue and Expenses, May 2003

REPORT OF THE CHAIR
Chair Guingona expressed pleasure that the BART/SFO Extensions have started operations and SamTrans, as well, has started its collaborative efforts in this endeavor.

REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER/CEO
Michael J. Scanlon announced the retirement of John Harvey Gerbo, Superintendent of Transportation, and commended him for his distinguished years of service devoted to the District.

Resolution No. 2003-35: Resolution of Appreciation for John Harvey Gerbo

The Board (Hartnett/Janney) unanimously approved the resolution. The resolution and a portrait of Mr. Gerbo were presented to him by Chair Guingona.

Mr. Scanlon acknowledged Ken Feldstein of the Citizens Advisory Committee for recognizing the hard work of Rita Haskin, Chief of Communications, for the Measure A presentations at the joint CAC meeting. He also credited Martha Martinez, Manager, Executive/Governing Boards Support in organizing the said meeting.

PUBLIC HEARING (Called at 3 p.m.)

Larry Stueck, Manager, Service Planning, stated that the purpose of the public hearing was to receive testimony on the proposed changes to the codified tariff to take effect August 31, 2003. He outlined the following as the changes to be made:

To reflect the increase in the price of the Muni sticker starting September 1. The Codified Tariff shows the exact amount. Reference will be made to it so that in the future, staff would not need to come back to the Board to change the code each time Muni makes a change, of which the District does not have control. The amount will increase from $28 to $35 on September 1.
The District has three types of adult monthly passes. The discount on those passes with the Muni sticker had been adjusted over time. It will now be set at 15 percent, which will automatically kick-in when the District fares are changed.
The District's Vehicle Parking Regulation is referenced in the Code. Further, the General Manager/CEO is authorized to establish free BART parking on weekends if in the best interest of the District to induce ridership.

Mr. Stueck advised that the changes would not have an impact on the budget.

Board Secretary Aurora Jose, reported on the steps taken to inform the public of the issues involved. No communication of any kind was received from the public regarding the changes.

Chair Guingona called for anyone from the public to testify on the proposed changes. There being none, (Teglia/Harris) the public hearing was closed.

The Board (Hill/Janney) unanimously approved Resolution No. 2003-24: Approving the Proposed Fare and Tariff Changes.

REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER/CEO (Continued)
Mr. Scanlon noted:

The Repower Program is really a complete remanufacture of 137 Gillig buses. It is the program that attracted about $11 million from the MTC. It required a massive collaboration of many SamTrans departments, principally maintenance and procurement. The repower will extend the useful life of the buses through 2010. He recognized staff for the team effort and the great accomplishment. Mr. Scanlon showed some slides featuring the team that celebrated the completion of the project. Part of the team displayed the banner that was signed by everyone involved in the project.
Either June 21, the ribbon cutting or June 22, the commencement of the BART revenue service marks the opening of the BART Extensions. Mr. Scanlon thanked staff, particularly the ambassadors, who were at the stations in the early mornings and late nights to meet and greet passengers during the first few days of the operation. He also thanked the public for their patience during the years of construction.
There was a little bit of confusion about the Coastside Service, which has been resolved at this time. He thanked Director Barbour, Deputy General Manager Jim Gallagher, and the public relations people for the announcements made to enlighten the public of the actual situation. He advised that the service on the coast was neither being eliminated nor changed. Staff was simply securing competitive bids for a service provider, to insure that SamTrans gets the best provider at the least possible price. A sign would be put out on the buses to make sure that coastal riders understand that the procurement process is not a threat to the service that SamTrans has been providing for the last 13 years.
The Accident Reduction Campaign has been very successful. Accidents have been reduced from nine to three in June, the best in the past 18-month period. He credited the multi-faceted approach and concentrated efforts of bus operators, supervisors and training instructors for this accomplishment.
Director Lloyd is running for the Secretary position of the APTA Transit Board.
At the APTA meeting, Director Harris and Martha Martinez will facilitate a session entitled synergy between the board and support staff.
The 13th of July is the Annual Roadeo competition at North Base. The event will be dedicated in memory of Jim Castagno. He invited everyone to join the occasion.

Regarding some articles that were published on the newspaper stating that BART did not get the ridership that was expected, Director Hartnett inquired what staff is doing to put out any additional information that would give a positive note on what really is happening. Mr. Scanlon answered it is too early to draw any conclusion at this point. Numbers will be reported as they are received. The information campaign is going very strong. The numbers are starting to grow.

Director Nevin commented people are noticing and they are testing the system on the weekend when they are not working. There is no Caltrain service on the weekend and there are so many things that still have to come to make expectations happen. It will take some time but it will come.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Motion
The Board (Hill/Teglia) unanimously approved the minutes of Community Relations Committee meeting of June 11, 2003.

Subjects Discussed
Director Hill reported that the Committee heard the following reports:

PCC, Advocacy and ATAC Reports
Citizens Advisory Committee Liaison Report
Presentation on BART Opening
Multimodal Ridership Report, May 2003

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

Resolution No. 2003-36: Authorizing an Amendment to Increase the FY 2004 Operating Budget in the Amount of $1,948,500 for a Total Budget of $102,698,430
Resolution No. 2003-37: Authorization to Join with Other Public Agencies as a Participant of the Investment Trust of California to Invest in Shares of the Trust and Other Certain Matters
Resolution No. 2003-38: Authorizing Award of Contract to Barri Electric Company for Emergency Generator Upgrade at the District's Administrative Offices for a Total Price of $152,980

Motion
The Board (Harris/Lloyd) unanimously approved the minutes of Finance Committee meeting of May 14, 2003.

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
Motion
The Board (Lloyd/Teglia) unanimously approved the minutes of Legislative Committee meeting of June 11, 2003.

The Board (Lloyd/Harris) unanimously supported AB 1358 - Use of Redevelopment Funds for Affordable Housing.

Subjects Discussed
Director Lloyd reported that Ian McAvoy gave thorough reports on the State and Federal legislative programs.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE - No meeting.

GENERAL COUNSEL PROPOSAL
Closed Session: Anticipated Litigation - Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54946.9(b) and (c) [One potential Case]

Attorney David Miller reported that last month, a closed session was conducted on this matter listed as one that could result in litigation. A subcommittee of the board gave a report on certain related negotiations. However, for variety of reasons, there have not been any follow-up meetings after that. He recommended that this item be continued next month.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
None at this time.

BOARD MEMBER REQUESTS:
None at this time.

Adjourned: 3:30 p.m.