SamTrans.com - Committees and Board of Directors Meeting Agenda

Home

Contact

Sitemap

SamTrans > General Information > Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee Meetings > Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - October 8, 2003

Committees and Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - October 8, 2003

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

Board of Directors
Community Relations
Finance
Legislative
Planning and Development

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

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

Other Board Members Present, Constituting Committee of the Whole: Michael Guingona, Jim Hartnett (arrived 2:08 p.m.), Mary Janney, Arthur Lloyd, Michael Nevin

Board Member Absent: John Barbour

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

Pledge of Allegiance
Chair Guingona called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

Director Hill presided over the Community Relations Committee meeting.

Approval of Minutes of Community Relations Committee Meeting of September 10, 2003
The Committee (Lloyd/Harris) recommended board approval of the minutes.

PCC, Advocacy and ATAC Reports
Bill Welch, manager of Accessible Services reported on the progress of the transition to the "Trapeze" software program for Redi-Wheels in scheduling trips. The Paratransit Coordinating Council (PCC) is helping out in addressing issues with customers.

In response to the question of Director Hill, Mr. Welch stated that the new system is expected to operate smoothly in four weeks.

Dale Edwards, chair of the PCC, invited the board members to the PCC 25th anniversary party to be held on October 14 at 2 p.m. in this auditorium. He stated that the PCC is very proud of its accomplishments and the improvements in the Redi-Wheels system by working collaboratively with SamTrans staff. One accomplishment is the quarterly publication of the PCC newsletter. PCC members themselves write articles. The newsletter is distributed to PCC members, social service agencies and posted on their web site. It is an excellent forum to communicate with Redi-Wheels riders. Mr. Edwards announced the Coastside Transportation Committee meeting to be held at the Ted Adcock Senior Center in Half Moon Bay. Representatives from the PCC, SamTrans and MV Transportation will be present to meet with the Coastside consumers and social service agencies.

Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Liaison Report
Mary Lou Ciranni, CAC chair, reported that the CAC toured the North Base bus facilities the previous week. They saw the new low-floor bus and express buses and they were impressed with the design. They were led around the facility by Chester Patton, Ed Fregoso, and Jerie Moeller. The simulator was shown to them by Jeff Johnson and William Snell. She thanked everyone who assisted them in this tour.

Multimodal Ridership Report, August 2003
Mr. Harvey, chief operating officer, reported that the average weekday ridership for all modes for August was actually up by 4.6 percent. It averaged about 100,000 riders per day, about 5,000 below that of FY 2002. Breaking it down, he stated:

Bus ridership was down 11 percent. Approximately eight percent was due to the elimination of routes 193, the BX, and realignment of other services replaced by the BART extension to SFO.
Paratransit ridership started to flatten out.
Caltrain ridership remained down at about eight percent.
Caltrain shuttle ridership went up because of some adjustments made to the schedules.
BART shuttles were down 28 percent as a result of the relocation of shuttles from Glen Park BART station to the South San Francisco and San Bruno stations. An evaluation of the changes and a survey of the customers and major employers will be conducted to see to it that they are comfortable with the changes. Adjustments to the schedules will be done as necessary.

At this time, 2:20 p.m., due to power failure and anticipating that it would be restored shortly, Mr. Chuck Harvey requested that the presentation on Redi-Wheels Performance be held back for a few minutes. Director Harris called the Finance Committee meeting to order. At its conclusion at 2:25 p.m., the Community Relations Committee meeting resumed.

Redi-Wheels Performance Report
Mr. Harvey invited attention to the title of the report that says "Paratransit" instead of "Redi-Wheels" Performance Report. This change was done because of the change of service provider on the coast. He reported that:

Redi-Wheels average weekday ridership is not growing anymore. Demand and supply are in equilibrium. This is good because staff can focus more on service quality improvement.
Trip Denial continues to be at zero. Coastside denials would be tracked when the new service starts.
On-Time Performance is at 88 percent, which is two percent below the 90 percent goal. Efforts will be directed to meet the goal.
Customer No-Show remained flat. There was no negative trend to worry about.
Ride time negotiations continued. The new Trapeze software will help greatly in improving reservations and scheduling.
On the Pilot Taxi Program, there are three providers operating and there are about 3,000 monthly trips on taxis. Mr. Harvey outlined the many advantages of this program. The total monthly paratransit rides are nearly 23,000. This system has been very effective and reliable.
The board had approved contracting with the Orthopaedic Hospital relative to the implementation of the recertification program. Staff will be coordinating very closely with the PCC on this project. Activities are scheduled in January.
The Coastside paratransit service is in transition. Public meeting is scheduled for October 23. Both the District and the new service provider understand the need to talk with customers. The session will be sponsored by the Coastside Transportation Committee. MV representatives and District staff will be in attendance. The service is renamed RediCoast. Vehicles will carry this logo. Target date of initial operation is November 8.

Director Hill asked what is the rationale in changing the name to RediCoast. He questioned why Redi-Wheels could not be the standard brand for this county. Mr. Harvey responded that this service was previously contracted with Coastside Opportunity Center and they were using their name. Now that a new contract has been purchased, staff felt that it is important to establish a connection with SamTrans by carrying the SamTrans colors and name it RediCoast. He added that given the concerns of the public on the Coast, a slightly different identity could be provided and continue to treat the Coastside patrons with sensitivity to the uniqueness of the geographic length and distances that they have to travel and some other things that they have talked about when they addressed this board. However, if necessary, a transition to Redi-Wheels could be done if it is the right thing to do.

Director Nevin inquired what is the pattern in getting data on growth of the paratransit service. Mr. Harvey responded that growth occurs as services are added and service quality improves. If service is available, the word gets out, then it reaches an equilibrium. It flattens out for a while and people will be concerned about service quality and then a spurt occurs.

Adjourned: 3:32 p.m.

FINANCE COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

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

Committee Member Absent: John Barbour

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

Director Harris called the meeting to order at 2:20 p.m.

Approval of Finance Committee Minutes of September 10, 2003
The committee (Hartnett/Janney) recommended board approval of the minutes.

Acceptance of Statement of Revenue and Expense for August 2003 and Supplemental Information
Roger Contreras, chief financial officer, reported that year-to-date, revenue was $400,000 lower than anticipated. This year's revenue compared with last year's, is lower by $1 million due to the decrease in sales tax receipts. Full recovery is not anticipated until late next year. On the expenditure side, there was a $700,000 savings, $200,000 of which represents savings from salaries and wages. The remaining $.5 million represents savings from professional services and other categories.

The committee (Hill/Lloyd) recommended board acceptance of the report.

Execution of Funding Agreement with Metropolitan Transportation Commission for Low- Income Flexible Transportation (LIFT) Funds to Operate the East Palo Alto Express Bus Program
April Chan, manager of Capital Programs & Grants, reported that staff is proposing that the committee recommend to the board the passing of a resolution to allow the execution by SamTrans of a funding agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to receive $580,000 LIFT funding to operate the East Palo Alto express bus service. This project has been included in the FY 2004 operating budget. Funding would provide about 27 percent of the operating costs. The rest of the money will come from the fares and other subsidies that MTC would be providing for this regional project.

The committee (Nevin/Lloyd) recommended board approval of the proposed action.

Award of Contract to BC Stocking Distributing for Furnishing Petroleum Products for a Total Estimated Cost of $291,425 for a Five-Year Term
Cheryl Cavitt, director of Contracts and Procurement, stated staff is proposing that the committee recommend to the board approval of award of contract to the lowest responsible bidder, BC Stocking, in the amount of $291,425 for a five-year term as well as authorize the General Manager/CEO to execute the contract.

The committee (Lloyd/Hartnett) recommended board approval of the resolution.

Rejection of All Bids for Providing Miscellaneous Painting and Waterproofing Work
Ms. Cavitt indicated that staff is proposing the committee recommend board rejection, by motion, of all bids in response to the Request for Proposal (RFP) for painting and waterproofing work due to budgetary constraints that would require a significant reduction in the level of work that was contemplated under the contract. Bids would be resolicited in accordance with the reduced scope of work. She advised that the rejection of bids would render unnecessary any board action on two protests that were received against the award of contract to the lowest bidder. Ms. Cavitt gave a brief summary of the protests and staff's responses. She noted that copies of the protests and staff's responses are available to the board in their reading file.

The committee (Nevin/Lloyd) recommended board rejection of all bids.

Adjourned: 2:25 p.m.

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

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

Committee Member Absent: John Barbour

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

Director Lloyd called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m.

Approval of Legislative Committee Meeting of September 10, 2003
The Committee (Hartnett/Janney) recommended Board approval of the minutes.

Verbal Update on State Legislative Program
Ed Stewart, Legislative Analyst, reported that:

AB 839 (Salinas) was signed into law. AB 839 creates an exemption for public transit operators from State requirements to store video tape recordings for one full year, if the technology is not available or not economically feasible.
SB 760 (Scott) was also signed. SB 760 allows lease/leaseback transactions to proceed by granting a State sales tax exemption for these transactions over the next five years. The sales tax exemption makes these transactions financially feasible for transit operators and the equity investors that the District participates with. This bill was signed into law despite oppositions from the State Department of Finance due to concerns about lost general fund revenues. Transit operators argued that without the tax exemptions, these transactions would not take place anyway, so there would be no revenue for the State.
SB 916 (Perata) proposing a $1 increase of bridge tolls for transit projects has not yet been acted upon. This bill will automatically become law if the governor does not act by October 12.

Director Lloyd requested that the Board be kept posted on SB 916.

Verbal Update on Federal Legislative Program
Ian McAvoy, Deputy Chief of Developments, reported that TEA 21 expired on September 30. In response, Congress has approved a five-month extension that continues TEA 21's provisions through February 2004. The House leadership strongly urged all of the transportation committee members involved in the process to approve the reauthorization bill by February. The main reason for this is to make sure that the reauthorization debate does not conflict with the timeline for next year's appropriations process and the upcoming presidential election.

The House passed an Appropriations Bill that provides $7.2 million for Federal transit programs. The Senate is expected to approve its version in the next few weeks. Mr. McAvoy noted that the House bill has less than the full $1 million for Zero Emissions Bus Program that is provided in the Senate version. He expected that there would be a compromise between the House and the Senate figures. However, the District should expect to get some funding from the final bill.

The Senate bill includes an exemption from the Federal prohibition on the use of regional bridge tolls for transit operations. If SB 916 were approved by voters next March, under current Federal law, the money could not be used for operating assistance. However, if the exemption language is included in the final appropriations bill, it will give transit operators the ability to use bridge toll revenues for operations costs associated with the projects specified in SB 916.

He stated Senator Feinstein should be thanked for supporting and pushing this bill. She has been working very closely with the MTC on this.

Adjourned: 3:37 p.m.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

Committee Members Present: Jim Hartnett (Committee Chair), Mary Janney, Jerry Hill

Committee Member Absent: John Barbour

Other Board Members Present, Constituting Committee of the Whole: Michael Guingona, Shirley Harris, Arthur Lloyd, Michael Nevin, Al Teglia

Staff Present: Michael Scanlon, David Miller, George Cameron, Roger Contreras, Tina Dubost, Jim Gallagher, Corinne Goodrich, Howard Goode, Chuck Harvey, Rita Haskin, Aurora Jose, Martha Martinez, Ian McAvoy, Ed Stewart

All members were present. Director Hartnett called the meeting to order at 3:37 p.m.

Approval of Minutes of Planning and Development Committee Meeting of August 13, 2003
The Committee (Lloyd/Janney) recommended board approval of the minutes.

Approval of Holding a Board Workshop for SamTrans Strategic Plan for the 21st Century
Ian McAvoy, Deputy Chief of Development, reported that market research information will soon be available to serve as guidance in the development of the SamTrans Strategic Plan for the 21st Century. He proposed that the committee recommend board approval of scheduling a special workshop to enable the board to provide input and guidance to staff in formulating the district's vision and mission. This would help staff develop guiding principles and to identify key initiatives and programs that the district would pursue over the next 20 years. He noted that back in February, Corinne Goodrich, Manager for Long-Range Planning, gave a presentation to the board regarding the market research conducted by staff. Staff feels that it is time to bring the information to the board for discussion.

He cited that the Century Plan put together in 1985 was the foundation of major improvements that SamTrans has embarked for the last 20 years, such as the BART extension to the Airport and some major improvements to Caltrain. The Strategic Plan for the 21st Century will be the district's vision for the next 20 years.

General Manager/CEO Michael J. Scanlon informed that the American Public Transportation Association has embarked on an effort where they are encouraging all boards of transit agencies to do a self-evaluation. In this workshop, the SamTrans board would self-evaluate and at the same time discuss the Strategic Plan for the 21st Century.

The workshop could be scheduled in the late morning and they could work through lunch for a total of about four hours. Martha Martinez, Manager for the Executive Department and governing board support, will coordinate with those concerned the fixing of the place, date, and time of the workshop.

The committee (Harris/Janney) recommended board approval of the proposed action.

Adjourned: 3:43 p.m.

SAN MATEO COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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

Board Member Absent: John Barbour

Chair Guingona called the meeting to order at 3:43 p.m.

CONSENT CALENDAR
Motion

The board (Teglia/Lloyd) unanimously approved the minutes of Board of Directors meeting of September 10, 2003.
The board (Harris/Teglia) unanimously accepted the Statement of Revenues & Expenses for August 2003 and Supplemental Information.

PUBLIC COMMENT
Robin Carlier, Redwood Shores, requested installation of bus shelters on Marine World Parkway. She has children in the middle school. She noted that all bus shelters are on the Redwood Shores Parkway and there is none on Marine World. Children will be soaked during the rainy season. Also, there is a concern about safety, inasmuch as most of the kids are about 10 years old and there is no way to prevent someone coming from behind from grabbing them.

Chair Guingona advised Ms. Carlier to contact Mr. Chuck Harvey and directed Mr. Harvey to look into the issue.

REPORT OF THE CHAIR
Motion
The board (Lloyd/Hartnett) unanimously approved the Proclamation of October as Disabilities Awareness Month. The certificate was received by Ina Potorff, president of the Commission on Disabilities.

REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER/CEO
Michael J. Scanlon turned over to Mr. Chuck Harvey the highlights of the International Roadeo Competition. Mr. Harvey reminded that SamTrans held its own Roadeo Competition on July 13. The winners in that event represented SamTrans in the International Roadeo Competition. He reviewed how tough the driving and maintenance tests were and how extremely tight the scoring was. With pride, he presented the following SamTrans winners:

Edwin Freeman won 5th place under the Bus Operator Competition out of 71 competitors.
Gary Cox, Greg Reschke and Ashok Singh finished 7th place in the Maintenance Competition out of 44 competitors.
SamTrans was fourth place in the country in the Grand Champion Team Competition.

Mr. Scanlon provided the following reports:

The "SamTrans On the Move" youth video won first place in the Adwheel category. He credited Rita Haskin, chief communications officer, her staff members, particularly James Namba and Maureen O'Sullivan and Safety Officer Sharon Kohlmannslehner for this achievement.
He recognized Michelle Bouchard on her graduation from the APTA Leadership training program and Dina Stewart, who was accepted into the new batch of participants. He noted that APTA Leadership is a very important program in the development of the next generation of transportation leaders. SamTrans director Shirley Harris is the chair of APTA Leadership Committee. She received rave reviews about how well she represented SamTrans and the way she conducted the activity.
The first of 60 new low-floor buses was received and is on display outside the office building. The outstanding features are the single step-in and the mechanical ramp, as opposed to the elevator lift on the existing ones, a convenient way to get on and off the bus, not only for wheelchair users but for everybody. They have super clean diesel and the particulate matter is almost zero. All 60 low-floor buses should be in by the end of the year.
The first of 11 of the 40-foot regional express buses is also on display. The buses have high-back seats and single door in the front, with comfortable reclining seats with foot rests. They will pick up passengers at BART/Millbrae and take them on an express route via the Oracle Corporation, through the Redwood Shores and on to East Palo Alto.
The new Coastside buses have large destination windows in front and on the side, the first time for this kind of feature.
Mr. Harvey will be conducting the semi-annual base inspections on Sunday, November 2 and Monday, November 3. He invited the board members to join Mr. Harvey in the inspection tour.
49er Football service was slightly ahead of last year's. He hoped that the 49ers would keep on winning so that ridership would continue to keep the same track.
South Base Maintenance employees are very proud for having logged 30,555 hours since March 2003 without a lost work-day injury. He encouraged the employees to continue the good work.
He urged everybody to attend the PCC 25th Anniversary party.
Caltrain launched its "Proof of Payment" system on September 22. This will help improve efficiency and customer service.
On October 16, APTA will celebrate its "Community in Motion" day. This used to be the "Try Transit" day. Staff will be out at several key station locations passing out tokens and give-aways.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Motion
The board (Hill/Teglia) unanimously approved the minutes of Community Relations Committee meeting of September 10, 2003.

Subjects Discussed
Director Hill reported that the Committee discussed the following:

PCC, Advocacy and ATAC Reports
Citizens Advisory Committee Liaison Report
Redi-Wheels Performance Report
Multimodal Ridership Report, August 2003

FINANCE COMMITTEE
Resolutions
The board (Harris/Hartnett) unanimously approved the following resolutions:

Resolution No. 2003-50: Authorizing the Execution of an Agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to Receive Low Income Flexible Transportation (LIFT) Funds in the Amount of $580,808 to Support the East Palo Alto Express Bus Program
Resolution No. 2003-51: Authorizing an Award of Contract to BC Stocking Distributing for Furnishing Petroleum Products for a Five-Year Term at a Total Estimated Cost of $291,414

Motions
The board (Harris/Hartnett) unanimously approved the following:

Minutes of Finance Committee meeting of August 13, 2003
Minutes of Finance Committee meeting of September 10, 2003
Rejection of All Bids for Providing Miscellaneous Painting and Waterproofing Work

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
Motion
The Board (Lloyd/Hartnett) unanimously approved the Legislative Committee meeting of September 10, 2003.

Subjects Discussed
Director Lloyd reported that Mr. Ed Stewart gave an update on State Legislative Program, indicating that SB 916 (Perata) is still pending and if it is not signed by the present governor by this weekend, it will automatically take effect. Mr. Ian McAvoy brought the board up to date on the Federal Legislative Program indicating that TEA 21 had been extended for five months, to expire on February 2004.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Motions
The Board (Hartnett/Lloyd) unanimously approved the Planning and Development Committee meeting of August 13, 2003.

The Board (Hartnett/Harris) unanimously approved the holding of a Workshop for SamTrans Strategic Plan for the 21st Century.

GENERAL COUNSEL PROPOSAL
General Counsel David Miller called for a brief closed session regarding a matter of potential litigation.

THE BOARD ADJOURNED INTO CLOSED SESSION AT 4:15 P.M. AND RECONVENED INTO OPEN SESSION AT 4:20 P.M.

Closed Session: Anticipated Litigation - Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b) and (c) [One potential case.]

Attorney Miller reported that the Board briefly discussed in closed session the matter of potential litigation. This item will be included on the agenda for next month's meeting.

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

BOARD MEMBER REQUESTS: None at this time.

DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, November 5, 2003 at 2 p.m., SamTrans Administrative Office, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, California.

Adjourned: 4:25 p.m.