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SamTrans > General Information > Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee Meetings > Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - January 14, 2004

Committees and Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - January 14, 2004

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, Al Teglia

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

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

Pledge of Allegiance
Director Guingona called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Swearing In of Board Members
The oath of office was administered to newly appointed Board member Marc Hershman (Cities, Central County) and reappointed Board members John Barbour (Public Member - Coastside); Michael P. Guingona (Cities, Northern County), and Jerry Hill (Board of Supervisors).

Director Hill presided over the Community Relations Committee meeting.

Approval of Minutes of Community Relations Committee Meeting of December 10, 2003
The Committee (Teglia/Harris) recommended Board approval of the minutes.

PCC, Advocacy and ATAC Reports
Bill Welch, Manager, Accessible Transit Services, reported that SamTrans staff and the Paratransit Coordinating Council (PCC) are working very closely on the implementation of the new ADA paratransit certification program and they are very pleased with the progress. A brochure describing this program has been prepared for customers.

He noted that RediCoast service did very well in December with a 99.8 percent on-time performance. Also, Redi-Wheels drivers, SamTrans staff, and Dale Edwards (PCC Chair), went caroling at Adult Day Centers last December, that include the Rosener House in Menlo Park, Catholic Charities in San Carlos and Senior Focus in Burlingame.

Dale Edwards, on behalf of the PCC, congratulated Director Marc Hershman on his appointment to the Board and the other Board members for their reappointment. He invited attention to the PCC winter edition of its "On the Move" newsletter. He reported:
  1. January 6, Ed Stewart, SamTrans Legislative Analyst, gave a great legislative report. The committee had a good discussion afterwards.
  2. January 13, the PCC met. He felt gratified with the PCC members' contribution of their talent, time and resources serving and representing paratransit service patrons.
  3. January 20, the PCC executive committee will meet to update their work plan.
  4. January 29, the Coastside transportation committee will be meeting in Half Moon Bay at the Ted Adcock Senior Center.
Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Liaison Report
Ken Feldstein, CAC chair, reported on items discussed at their meeting of January 7, as follows:
  1. Bunching of buses on El Camino Real.
  2. CAC goals for 2004 relative to service improvement.
  3. CAC's recommendation that they not have a term limit. They hoped that the Board would act on it.
  4. Putting signage on certain bus routes within the county to avoid confusion.
  5. New Caltrain schedules. The committee formulated a letter requesting the Joint Powers Board to continue the 30-minute headway at all schedules and hourly schedules during the weekend.
Director Hill commented on the direction the SamTrans CAC is going in regard to advising policy bodies other than the SamTrans Board. He stated that the SamTrans CAC's role is to advise the SamTrans Board on bus service, in which case, they should focus their attention to bus service issues and make recommendations that would best serve the interest of SamTrans.

Mr. Feldstein conveyed that this evolved because the CAC is looking at the SamTrans/Caltrain/BART connection.

Director Hill advised that on connectivity of the different modes of transit, the CAC may sit down with staff, look at the issues in their totality, know the reasoning behind them and work with staff on proposed solutions.

SamTrans Performance Report
Chuck Harvey, Chief Operating Officer, thanked Dale Edwards and the PCC team for what they are doing. He pointed to the feedback on the Consumer Corps, which he thinks is the best indication of whether or not SamTrans staff is doing a good job.

He reported on the recently conducted RediCoast telephone survey that measured the satisfaction of Coastside patrons on the RediCoast service.

On SamTrans service, Mr. Harvey gave the following update:
  1. Ridership continues to track the economy like other transit systems in the Bay Area.
  2. Token usage shows a decline. Staff is analyzing the situation.
  3. Missed schedules have been reduced.
  4. SamTrans On-time Performance is meeting its goal. Staff set a 90 percent goal and it is now over 90 percent. The CUB service contractor is tracking very closely and staff is working very hard to improve its on-time performance.
  5. The Advanced Communication System is a new radio system and global positioning satellite system. It is highly effective tool in dispatching and safeguarding the security of customers and employees.
  6. Staff is getting rave reviews on improved bus features particularly the no-step entry on low-floor buses.
  7. Automated announcements will start soon on Routes 390 and 391.
  8. The express bus feeder route that runs from East Palo Alto to Redwood City and Millbrae will launch in FY 2005.
  9. Staff is working within the Strategic Plan process to examine alternate ways of delivering bus services throughout the county. Included are the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), deviated fixed route, and local community shuttles.
Multimodal Ridership Report
Mr. Harvey reported that overall, ridership is approximately up by seven percent for November 2003. Bus ridership is tracking down because of the elimination of routes that used to replicate BART. Paratransit ridership has flattened out to about 1,100 average daily. BART ridership is up at the extension but the overall ridership is still far below the expectation.

Adjourned: 2:27 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, Marc Hershman, Arthur Lloyd, Michael Nevin, Al Teglia

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

Director Harris called the meeting to order at 2:27 p.m.

Approval of Finance Committee Minutes of December 10, 2003
The Committee (Hartnett/Lloyd) recommended Board approval of the minutes.

Acceptance of Statement of Revenue and Expense for November 2003 and Supplemental Information
Roger Contreras, Chief Financial Officer, stated that last month, he reported a budget reduction of $750,000 on passenger revenue. This month, there is another reduction of $750,000 which will increase the operating deficit from $7.9 million to $8.7 million. However, the actual sales tax figure has been received for the first quarter of the fiscal year, indicating that the original budgeted estimate of $56 million may be met. He projected that the District will receive around $1.2 million more than what is on the report at this point. Upon receipt of the actual sales tax for the quarter ending in December, estimates will be changed and this would be available in mid-March.

On the expenditure side, Mr. Contreras expects to keep the trend of $1 million of savings because of variances in property maintenance, fuel and insurance costs. If everything works out well, he anticipates no deficit in the operating side, excluding the BART subsidy.

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

Adjourned: 2:31 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, Marc Hershman, Jerry Hill, Al Teglia

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

Director Lloyd called the meeting to order at 2:31 p.m.

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

Verbal Update on State Legislative Program
Ian McAvoy, Deputy Chief of Development, reported that the administration is projecting a budget deficit of around $25 billion to $26 billion. However, the Governor is shopping for a bond measure that he hopes the legislature would support. The bond would cover about $15 billion of the deficit. The remaining amount not covered by the bond measure would be covered by fee increases on programs and spending cuts and transportation will be hit hard by the proposed budget cuts. Proposition 42 would be suspended. Proposition 42 helps fund the Transportation Congestion Relief Program (TCRP) which is on the table for statutory repeal. The High-Speed Rail Bond is potentially being moved out to 2006.

He noted that some projects may be continued if they create jobs and help economic growth and if the projects are in areas with housing potential. For this reason, Mr. McAvoy expects the Baby Bullet train project to not be adversely affected.

Director Lloyd inquired if TCRP repeal would require 2/3 vote by the legislature. Mr. McAvoy responded he does not know the answer at this point but will look into it.

Verbal Update on Federal Legislative Program
Mr. McAvoy advised that the following are going on now right now:
  1. Appropriations (Budget Process): The Senate is expected to act on the Appropriations Bill in a couple of weeks. Then it would go to the President's desk in February.
  2. TEA 21 (TEA-LU) reauthorization: TEA 21 is expiring next month. It is expected that this program would be extended for one more month to give Congress time to work on the whole reauthorization program; otherwise, it may be pushed back till after the election.
  3. Lease/Leaseback Financing Transactions: Staff is paying very close attention to this in Washington, DC because this helps the District with its financing programs. There is a proposal to limit the use of this transaction by transit agencies. Mr. McAvoy urged the Board members and other transit agencies to contact the Federal legislators and key officials on the committees and convey the importance of this program and the benefit it brings to the public.
Director Lloyd asked if there is actually a bill that stops Safe Harbor Leasing. Mr. McAvoy responded it is contained in a tax bill that may be acted upon in 2004. APTA is on top of this.

General Manager/CEO Michael Scanlon advised everybody to wait until March. In the meantime, they can write letters to senators and congressmen because this is a critical bill.

Mr. McAvoy informed that the bill number is 1637.

Director Hill suggested that a sample letter be drafted by staff so that Board members could write and take them to their respective agencies and send a letter of support.

Adjourned: 2:38 p.m.


SAN MATEO COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Board Members Present: Michael Nevin (Chair), Jerry Hill (Vice Chair), John Barbour, Michael Guingona (departed 2:50 p.m.), Shirley Harris, Jim Hartnett, Marc Hershman, Arthur Lloyd, Al Teglia

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

Chair Guingona called the meeting to order at 2:38 p.m.

REPORT OF THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Chair Guingona reported that the Nominating Committee recommends Director Nevin for the position of Chair, and Director Hill for Vice Chair. There were no other nominations. The Board (Guingona/Teglia) unanimously approved the recommendation.

Director Nevin assumed chairmanship and presided over the rest of the meeting.

CONSENT CALENDAR
Motion
The Board (Hartnett/Teglia) unanimously approved the following items:
  1. Adoption of Minutes of Board of Director's Meeting of December 10, 2003
  2. Acceptance of Statement of Revenues & Expenses, November 2003 and Supplemental Information
PUBLIC COMMENT
Gerald Graham, Burlingame, proposed that SamTrans and BART allow long-term airport parking (more than 24-hour parking) at $7 a day. This would generate income for SamTrans and help offset the deficit as well as boost ridership on the Millbrae SFO Extension.

General Manager/CEO Michael J. Scanlon responded that this idea has been discussed with BART and is currently in play.

REPORT OF THE CHAIR
Motion
Appointment of SamTrans Representative to the San Mateo County Transportation Authority: The Board (Hartnett/Teglia) unanimously reappointed Director Guingona to the position.

REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER/CEO
Mr. Scanlon congratulated Directors Nevin and Hill for their appointment as Chair and Vice Chair respectively, of this Board. He likewise congratulated Director Guingona and thanked the Board for reappointing him SamTrans representative to the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (TA) Board. He commented that Director Guingona did an outstanding job as TA Board member last year.

He also recognized Diane Shaw, Manager, Software Systems Development, for her efforts and the commendable way she managed the PeopleSoft conversion project. A plaque and a gift certificate were presented to her by Chair Nevin and Vice Chair Hill.

Mr. Scanlon further reported:
  1. The Summer Youth Pass had a 12 percent increase for 2003 which means 4,400 kids took advantage of the pass.
  2. Two hundred and seventy-five customers also took advantage of the "Frequent Rider Program" that grants a one-month free bus pass to a buyer of 11 consecutive monthly pass.
  3. A new Federal Transit Administration (FTA) program called "Transit Watch" will be launched at the end of this month. This program encourages everybody to be on the look out for things that are not what they should be and tells them what to do and who to call.
  4. The 49ers Football ridership this year at 42,900 is slightly off from 43,900 of last year.
  5. The Ano Nuevo State Reserve will open this weekend.
  6. Staff will conduct extensive outreach to get more public input on the reauthorization of Measure A. A workshop will be held jointly by staff and the League of Women Voters. Legal Counsel David Miller and his associates will also go out and assist in the information campaign on a pro bono basis.
  7. The Joint Powers Board (JPB) will hold a public hearing on February 5 on the modified train schedule changes in conjunction with the coming Baby Bullet service.
COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Motion
 The Board (Hill/Harris) unanimously approved the minutes of Community Relations Committee meeting of December 10, 2003.

Subjects Discussed
 Director Hill reported that the Committee discussed the following:
  1. PCC, Advocacy and ATAC Reports
  2. Citizens Advisory Committee Liaison Report
  3. SamTrans Performance Report
  4. Multimodal Ridership Report, November 2003
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion
 The Board (Harris/Hill) unanimously approved the minutes of Finance Committee meeting of December 10, 2003.

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

Subjects Discussed
 Director Lloyd reported that Ian McAvoy gave an update on the State Legislative Program, and discussed the TCRP, Proposition 42. On the Federal Legislative Program, Mr. McAvoy urged Board support of Senate Bill 1637 regarding Safe Harbor leasing. He will provide the Board with letters to be sent to elective representatives.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: No meeting.

GENERAL COUNSEL PROPOSAL
David Miller stated that the Board will discuss in closed session a matter of anticipated litigation.

THE BOARD ADJOURNED INTO CLOSED SESSION AT 3:10 P.M. AND RECONVENED IN OPEN SESSION AT 3:50 P.M.

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

Mr. Miller reported that the Board convened in closed session as permitted by the Brown Act, to discuss a matter of anticipated litigation. Instructions have been given to counsel and to the General Manager/CEO. This item will be continued and will be on the Board agenda for the next meeting.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS TO THE BOARD: None at this time.

BOARD MEMBER REQUESTS: None at this time.

DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 at 2 p.m., SamTrans Administrative Office, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, California.

Adjourned: 3:53 p.m.



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