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SamTrans > General Information > Board of Directors and Citizens Advisory Committee Meetings > Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - June 8, 2005
Committees and Board of Directors Meeting Minutes - June 8, 2005
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:
Adrienne Tissier (Committee Chair), John Barbour, Art Lloyd
Other Board Members Present, Constituting Committee of the Whole:
Shirley Harris, Marc Hershman, Jerry Hill, Michael Guingona
Other Board Members Absent:
Jim Hartnett, Michael Nevin
Staff Present: George Cameron, Joan Cassman, Gigi Harrington, Chuck Harvey,
Rita Haskin, Jennifer Hardie, David Miller, Ian McAvoy, Martha Martinez, Michael
J. Scanlon, Mark Simon, Bill Welch
Pledge of
Allegiance
Chair Hill called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m. and led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes of Community Relations Committee Meeting of
May 11, 2005
The committee (Lloyd/Hershman) unanimously approved the minutes.
Paratransit Coordinating Council. AL-Com, and ATAC Reports
Bill Welch, Manager of Accessible Transit Services, referenced a picture of the
new Simme-Seats, which was included in the Board Reading File. Mr. Welch said the
seats are cheaper to maintain than a regular bench and hopefully will prove to be
a comfortable place to sit while waiting for the bus. The District has already
purchased 12 seats, five of which are being installed at bus stops in South San
Francisco.
Asked by Director Lloyd if there was any shelter to protect the seats from rain,
Mr. Welch replied there isn't any protection at this time.
Asked by Director Tissier if the seats could be installed on any bus sign pole,
Mr. Welch replied yes.
Dale Edwards, Paratransit Coordinating Council (PCC) Chair, said the PCC
understands that SamTrans has a projected deficit and that a fare increase is
expected to increase revenues. However, the PCC has two objections to the current
proposal. First, the proposed fare increase for Redi-Wheels service is not
commensurate with the increase on the fixed-route service. The proposed
fixed-route fare increase would be approximately 20 percent while the Redi-Wheels
fare increase would be approximately 25 percent. Mr. Edwards said the PCC would
support a more modest increase from $2 to $2.25. The current proposal eliminates
one of the three qualifying criteria, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
Mr. Edwards said SSDI was one of the original criteria and is valid and should be
maintained. Mr. Edwards said the PCC is also disappointed with how the proposed
fare increase was publicized.
Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Liaison Report
Ken Feldstein, CAC Chair, said at its last meeting the committee discussed the
proposed fare increase and a possible non-smoking policy at bus shelters and
benches. Although many proposals were made, the only motion that received majority
support was a recommendation for the implementation of a scratcher-like day pass
to be sold at existing outlets.
Director Tissier said she has asked that the SamTrans bus shelter no smoking
policy issue be brought through the Planning and Development Committee of the
Board for discussion. She said research still needs to be done and after the
information is analyzed, she would like to bring the issue back to the CAC.
ADA Paratransit Performance Report
Chuck Harvey, Chief Operating Officer, said since the last report in February
2005:
- Average weekday ridership rolling average has been steady.
- Coastside Service has been very successful with stable ridership, excellent
on-time performance and high customer satisfaction.
- ADA registrants have been down the past few months.
- There may be an opportunity for Redi-Wheels cost savings by using part-time
drivers.
- Staff is analyzing options for the 5311 Rural Transportation Service on the
Coastside.
Director Tissier asked what the ADA eligibility process involves.
Mr. Harvey responded if a person demonstrates that he or she would not be able to
ride the fixed-route service, he or she would become eligible for paratransit
service.
Multimodal Ridership Report
Mr. Harvey said for the month of April 2005:
- Ridership for all modes was at 109,231, an increase of 4.7 percent over
April 2004.
- Bus ridership was at 48,719 riders, an increase of 2.0 percent over April
2004.
- Paratransit ridership remains steady.
- Caltrain ridership for San Mateo County is at 13,630, an increase of 12.7
percent over April 2004. High gasoline prices and start of Baby Bullet service
contributed to this major shift in Caltrain overall ridership.
- BART ridership was at 42,634, an increase of 5.8 percent over April 2004.
Adjourned: 2:27 p.m.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Committee Members Present:
Marc Hershman (Committee Chair), John Barbour, Michael Guingona, Shirley Harris
Other Board Members Present, Constituting Committee of the Whole:
Jerry Hill, Arthur Lloyd, Adrienne Tissier
Other Board Members Absent:
Jim Hartnett, Michael Nevin
Staff Present: George Cameron, Joan Cassman, Cheryl Cavitt, April Chan,
Rita Haskin, Jennifer Hardie, Gigi Harrington, Chuck Harvey, Ian McAvoy, David
Miller, Michael J. Scanlon, Mark Simon
Director Hershman called the meeting to order at 2:27 p.m.
Approval of Finance Committee Minutes of May 11, 2005
The committee (Lloyd/Guingona) unanimously approved the minutes.
Acceptance of Statement of Revenues & Expenses for April 2005
and Supplemental Information
Gigi Harrington, Chief Financial Officer, said total revenue as of April was
slightly over budget while fare revenue was below budget. Total expenses were
under budget, primarily in the motorbus category. Ms. Harrington said she expects
that SamTrans will exceed the line item budget for fuel but will have sufficient
savings elsewhere in the budget to cover the increased costs.
The committee (Tissier/ Harris) unanimously accepted the report.
Adoption of Proposed SamTrans Fare Increase and Amended and
Restated Codified Tariff
Mr. Harvey said that at the Special Board meeting on June 1, the District held a
public hearing to receive comment and discuss the proposed fare increase to be
effective in FY2006. Mr. Harvey said there is a significant budget shortfall for
the upcoming fiscal year and a budget deficit for the current fiscal year.
Mr. Harvey gave a presentation that included the public comment process, fare
history, revenue by category, youth fares, adult fares, senior/disabled fares, and
paratransit fares. The proposed changes would yield approximately $1.4 million in
additional fare revenue in FY2006 and $1.6 million in FY2007. Mr. Harvey said a
day pass/transfer was discussed but staff decided not to put the fare revenue at
risk with the introduction of a new fare media. More analysis and preparation is
needed before staff can present a recommendation to the Board.
In response to comments from the public hearing, Mr. Harvey said staff reviewed
the discount for the youth tokens. The existing tariff has a 10 percent discount
for tokens and staff originally proposed a 15 percent discount. Staff is now
proposing to bring the discount to 20 percent. Staff is also suggesting that the
needy-family monthly youth pass be increased $2 rather than the original proposal
of $4. With regard to the senior/disabled fares, Mr. Harvey said monthly passes
are already deeply discounted, well over 50 percent, and the peak express fares
have been eliminated, which adds great value to the senior/disabled monthly pass.
Mr. Harvey said staff also reviewed the paratransit fares and considered holding
the lifeline paratransit fare at $1, which would be the second time that the
lifeline fare did not increase, commensurate with increases in base and
paratransit fares. After further review, staff is still recommending the increase
of 25 cents to the lifeline fare under the condition that the staff is willing to
meet with the PCC to discuss eligibility criteria. Mr. Harvey said staff proposed
removing the SSDI eligibility because it is not income based, which allows
affluent community members the opportunity to use the lifeline fare rather than
the adult fare.
A summary of all changes in fare media is attached as
Exhibit A (PDF, 22.31 KB).
Mr. Harvey said as a federal grant recipient, SamTrans is required to maintain and
provide FTA administration compliance information with Title VI/Environmental
Justice regulations. After critical analysis by staff and legal counsel, it was
decided these changes would not present special discriminatory burdens to minority
communities and therefore this proposal does not violate Title VI regulations.
At this time, staff is recommending approval of the fare increases as presented
today with an implementation date of September 1.
Chair Hill asked if the proposal for paratransit is $1.25 for lifeline with SSDI
as an eligibility component.
Mr. Harvey said that was correct.
Chair Hill asked what the process would be if the fare were to be rolled back in
the future.
Mr. Harvey said a full public hearing would not be needed to bring the fare back
to $1 and that it could be agendized for Board action at a regular Board meeting.
Mr. Harvey added that under ADA law, SamTrans is allowed to charge up to two times
the base fare of the paratransit system, which would technically allow a base fare
of $3 per trip.
Chair Hill said that the paratransit service has improved tremendously, the
availability has increased, and on-time performance is strong.
Director Tissier thanked staff for looking at the youth fares and said in order to
have transit succeed in the future, we need to have youth riders now. Director
Tissier said she hoped to have more students utilizing the SamTrans bus service
and encouraged staff to work closely with schools.
The motion (Lloyd/Tissier) to approve the fare increased as proposed was
unanimously approved by the Committee.
Approval of Proposed FY2006 Operating Budget
Gigi Harrington, Chief Financial Officer, said the FY 2006 Operating/Capital
Budget totals $139.2 million, up $4.6 million or 3.4 percent from the FY 2005
Projected Budget. She gave a presentation that included total revenues of $125.9
million (a net increase of $10.9 million), a summary of operating expenses
totaling $119.5 million (a net increase of $3.3 million of District bus expenses,
a net increase of $.9 million for contractor busses and a net increase of $.7
million for the ADA program) and a net increase of $3.8 million for the Multimodal
Transit Program.
Ms. Harrington said with today's Board approval of the fare increase, staff will
bring an adjusted budget to the Board at a future meeting.
The motion to approve the proposed FY2006 Operating Budget was unanimously
approved by the Committee.
Approval of Proposed FY2006 Capital Budget
April Chan, Director of Capital Program Support, said the FY 2006 Capital Budget
in the amount of $7,161,200 includes only the most essential projects required to
sustain and maintain the District's existing service network and to comply with
legal mandates. Based on the 10-year capital program previously adopted as part
of the Short Range Transit Plan (SRTP), the Capital Budget contains the following
major elements: Construction / Facility Rehabilitation, Development, Information
Technology (IT) Software and Hardware Upgrade & Replacement, and Revenue Vehicles
& Revenue Vehicle Support.
Of the $7,161,200 recommended for the FY 2006 Capital Budget, the total amount of
sales tax required is $5,816,173. Federal fund sources make up the remaining
amount of $1,345,027 to fully fund the FY 2006 Capital Budget.
The motion (Lloyd/Tissier) to approve the proposed FY2006 Capital Budget was
unanimously approved by the Committee.
Award of Contract for Providing Financial Audit Services
Gigi Harrington, Chief Financial Officer, said staff proposes that the Committee
recommend the Board award contract to Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Company, LLP (VTD) of
San Jose, California, for the provision of Financial Audit Services for a total
not-to-exceed cost of $203,940 for a three-year term, authorize the General
Manager/CEO to execute a contract with VTD in full conformity with the terms and
conditions set forth in the solicitation documents, and authorize the General
Manager/CEO to exercise up to two additional, one-year option terms with VTD for a
total not-to-exceed cost of $72,850 for the first option term and $75,400 for the
second option term, if deemed in the best interest of the District.
The motion (Hill/Tissier) to approve the award of contract for providing financial
audit services to VTD was unanimously approved by the Committee.
Award of Contract for Furnishing Armored Car Pickup and Deposit
of Daily Transit Revenue
Cheryl Cavitt, Director of Contracts and Procurement, said staff proposes that the
Committee recommend the Board award a contract for the above services to the
lowest responsive and responsible bidder, Armed Courier Service (Armed Courier) of
Santa Clara, for a total estimated cost of $88,800 for a five-year term and
authorize the General Manager/CEO to execute a contract with Armed Courier Service
in full conformity with the terms and conditions of the bid specification
documents. Ms. Cavitt said as there was only one bid received, staff conducted a
price analysis of the bid prices submitted by Armed Courier, which were determined
to be responsive to the District's bid request, highly competitive compared to
market prices charged by other armored car couriers, and therefore considered fair
and reasonable.
Director Hill asked is staff knew of any reason why only one bid was received.
Ms. Cavitt replied that when staff polled those who downloaded the solicitation,
the companies said they would not be able to support the daily pickup schedule.
The motion (Guingona/Lloyd) to approve the award of contract to furnish armored
car pickup and deposit of daily transit revenue to Armed Courier was unanimously
approved by the Committee.
Issuance of Purchase Orders to Vendors under Cooperative
Agreements for FY2006
Ms. Cavitt said staff proposes that the Committee recommend that the Board
authorize the General Manager/CEO, or his designee, to issue purchase orders for
the purchase, lease, or rental of computer equipment and related services, digital
reprographic equipment, hardware, software, licensing, maintenance agreements and
computer peripherals to vendors under District-approved cooperative purchasing
agreements such as the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS), the State of
California CAL-Store (CAL-Store), the Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA)
and the Pennsylvania Educational Purchasing Program for Micro Computers (PEEPM),
and other sponsoring cooperative agencies, as District needs are identified.
Expenditures with vendors under these programs will not exceed the budgeted amount
of $1,500,000 during FY 2006.
The motion (Hill/Lloyd) to approve the issuance of purchase orders to vendors
under Cooperative Agreements for FY2006 was unanimously approved by the Committee.
Award of Agreements for On-call Reprographics, Printing,
Scanning, and Archiving Services and Supplies
Ms. Cavitt said staff proposes that the Committee recommend that the Board award
on-call contracts for reprographic services and supplies for a three-year base
period for an aggregate not-to-exceed total amount of $150,000 to BPS Reprographic
Services (BPS) of San Carlos and Ford Graphics (Ford) of San Francisco, authorize
the General Manager/CEO to execute agreements with the above firms in full
conformity with the terms and conditions set forth in the solicitation documents
and authorize the General Manager/CEO to exercise up to two one-year options with
each firm at an aggregate not to exceed cost of $50,000 per year, if it is in the
best interests of the District.
Award of these contracts will provide the District with on-call reprographic
services and supplies that are continually needed. These contracts will replace a
contract awarded to BPS in June 2000. Using two suppliers will enable staff to
choose the supplier who can provide the most advantageous response time or array
of products and services.
The motion (Hill/Lloyd) to approve the award of agreements for on-call
reprographics, printing, scanning, and archiving services and supplies to BPS and
Ford was unanimously approved by the Committee.
Adjourned: 3:16 p.m.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Committee Members Present:
Art Lloyd (Committee Chair), Michael Guingona, Shirley Harris
Other Board Members Present, Constituting Committee of the Whole:
John Barbour, Marc Hershman, Jerry Hill, Adrienne Tissier
Other Board Members Absent:
Jim Hartnett, Michael Nevin
Staff Present: George Cameron, Joan Cassman, Jennifer Hardie, Gigi
Harrington, Chuck Harvey, Ian McAvoy, Martha Martinez, David Miller, Michael J.
Scanlon, Mark Simon, Ed Stewart
Director Lloyd called the meeting to order at 3:16 p.m.
Approval of Minutes of Legislative Committee Meeting of May 11,
2005
The committee (Tissier/Hershman) unanimously approved the minutes.
SB 521 (Torlakson) Re: Financing Transit-Oriented Development -
Support
Edward Stewart, Legislative Analyst, said staff requests that the Committee
recommend that the Board adopt a position of support for SB 521 (Torlakson), which
would facilitate the use of tax-increment financing to promote transit-oriented
development in the vicinity of rail transit stations.
SB 521 would define an economic condition of blight to include the lack of
high-density development within a transit village district, thus allowing
tax-increment financing to be used in these areas. The bill specifically limits
the use of tax-increment financing to transit village development districts served
by one of 11 rail transit operators, including BART and Caltrain. The bill also
limits the total number of project areas that can be approved to no more than 25
statewide.
SB 521 is consistent with the District's adopted State Legislative Program, which
supports changes in state policy to promote transit-oriented development.
In response to a question from Director Lloyd, Mr. Stewart said the bill states
that the zone for a transit village would be within a quarter of a mile from the
transportation station.
The motion (Tissier/Guingona) to support SB521 was unanimously approved by the
Committee.
Verbal Update on State Legislative Program
Mr. Stewart said the Senate and Assembly budget committees have endorsed the
recommendation by the Governor to fully fund Proposition 42 for next year. The
Joint Legislative Budget Committee is working to reconcile Senate and Assembly
budget packets. Both sides of the legislation appear willing to support
transportation funding. Mr. Stewart said there are still discussions of a special
election and most observers think that the Governor will call a special election
for November 8 of this year. Mr. Stewart said there are a number of measures that
would appear on the ballot.
Verbal Update on Federal Legislative Program
Mr. Stewart said the "nuclear option" about confirming judicial appointments
discussed at the last meeting, has been deferred. That's good news for those
concerned with transportation reauthorization because the Senate was able to pass
its version of TEA 3 authorization bill and name conferees to the House Senate
Conference Committee, which will be meeting to try and identify a compromise
between TEA 3 and TEA 21. California Senator Barbara Boxer has been named a
conferee for TEA 21 and a letter has been sent to urge her to preserve funding for
local earmarks including the Grand Boulevard initiative in San Mateo County. The
Conference Committee is scheduled to begin meeting tomorrow, June 9. Mr. Stewart
said another short-term extension has been awarded to TEA 21, which extended the
expiration date to June 30 of this year.
Adjourned: 3:26 p.m.
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Committee Members Present:
Shirley Harris (Committee Chair), Mike Guingona, Marc Hershman
Other Board Members Present, Constituting Committee of the Whole:
John Barbour, Jerry Hill, Arthur Lloyd, Adrienne Tissier
Other Board Members Absent:
Jim Hartnett, Michael Nevin
Staff Present: George Cameron, Joan Cassman, Jennifer Hardie,
Gigi Harrington, Chuck Harvey, Rita Haskin, Ian McAvoy, Martha Martinez, Michael
J. Scanlon, Mark Simon
All members were present. Director Harris called the meeting to order at 3:26
p.m.
Approval of Minutes of Planning and Development Committee
Meeting of February 9, 2005
The committee (Hershman/Lloyd) unanimously approved the minutes.
Discussion of SamTrans Bus Shelter No Smoking Policy
Director Tissier said that at a previous meeting, she initiated a proposal to ban
smoking in and around bus shelters, benches and bus stops. In discussions with
Legal Counsel, Director Tissier said this issue is not just about SamTrans but is
also a land-use issue, which requires staff to talk with the other cities on the
Peninsula to see if the ban could be enforced within 20 feet of SamTrans bus
shelters and benches. Director Tissier said even if the cities allow SamTrans to
create such a ban, there is an issue of enforcement and there would need to be
coordination with the law enforcement officers. Director Tissier said more
research needs to be done before a recommendation can be made by the Committee.
David Miller, Legal Counsel, said the powers of SamTrans as a special district
need to be further reviewed. From the initial analysis, this Board should have
legal authority to regulate and prohibit smoking within its bus shelters based
upon the enabling legislation of the Board. Mr. Miller said a collaborative
effort with the cities and police force will be necessary.
Adjourned: 3:35 p.m.
SAN
MATEO COUNTY TRANSIT DISTRICT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board Members Present:
Jerry Hill (Chair), John Barbour, Michael Guingona, Shirley Harris Marc Hershman,
Arthur Lloyd, Adrienne Tissier
Board Members Absent:
Jim Hartnett, Michael Nevin
Staff Present: Doug Barton, George Cameron, Joan Cassman, Monica Colondres,
Jennifer Hardie, Gigi Harrington, Chuck Harvey, Ian McAvoy, Martha Martinez, David
Miller, Michael J. Scanlon, Mark Simon
Chair Jerry Hill called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Motion
The Board (Lloyd/Tissier) unanimously approved the following:
- Adoption of Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting of May 11, 2005
- Acceptance of Statement of Revenues & Expenses, April 2005 and Supplemental
Information
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
REPORT OF THE CHAIR
None.
REPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER/CEO
Michael Scanlon reported:
- The grand prize winners of "Art Takes a Bus Ride", a county-wide art contest
for students co-sponsored by SamTrans and the San Mateo County Office of
Education, were Antonio Castaņo-Proa, Lourdes Gan and Marco Rodriguez from
Martin School in South San Francisco. Their portrayal of an eclectic group of
people happily waiting for the bus will be displayed on giant "queen-size"
posters on the outside of five SamTrans buses, as well as on a monthly pass.
- Recognition of Customer Service Representatives Kim Oberg, Jeanine Shilling
and Kristi Stickle for their handling of a threat from a passenger.
- On May 19 the United Way of the Bay Area honored SamTrans with its
Innovative Partnership Award for Exceptional Implementation of Best Practices
and Superior Campaign Results. SamTrans employees rose close to $50,000, a 25
percent increase over last year's campaign.
COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Subjects Discussed
Director Tissier said the committee heard the following reports:
- PCC, AL-Com and ATAC Reports
- Citizens Advisory Committee Liaison Report
- ADA Paratransit Performance Report
- Multimodal Ridership Report, April 2005
FINANCE
COMMITTEE
Resolutions
The Board (Hershman/Lloyd) unanimously approved the following:
- Adoption of Proposed SamTrans Fare Increase and Amended and Restated
Codified Tariff
- Approval of Proposed FY2006 Operating Budget
- Approval of Proposed FY2006 Capital Budget
- Award of Contract for Providing Financial Audit Services to Vavrinek, Trine,
Day & Company, LLP for a total not-to-exceed cost of $203,940 for a three-year
term with up to two additional one-year options for a total not-to-exceed cost
of $74,850.
- Award of Contract for Furnishing Armored Car Pickup and Deposit of Daily
Transit Revenue to Armored Courier Service for a total estimated cost of $88,800
for a five year term.
- Issuance of Purchase Orders to Vendors under Cooperative Agreements for
FY2006. Expenditures with these District-approved vendors will not exceed
$1,500,000 during FY2006.
- Award of Agreements for On-call Reprographics, Printing, Scanning, and
Archiving Services and Supplies to BPS Reprographic Services and Ford Graphics
for a three-year base period for an aggregate not-to-exceed amount of $150,000
with up to two one-year options with each firm at an aggregate not-to-exceed
cost of $50,000 per year.
LEGISLATIVE
COMMITTEE
Motion
Support for SB521 (Tolakson) Re: Financing Transit-Oriented Development
Subjects Discussed
Director Lloyd reported that Mr. Ed Stewart brought the board up to date on both
the state and federal legislative programs.
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Director Harris reported that there was a discussion regarding the SamTrans Bus
Shelter No Smoking Policy. More information will be brought to the Board at a
later date.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Already distributed.
BOARD MEMBER REQUESTS
None.
DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING
Special meeting on July 13, 2005 at 2 p.m., SamTrans Administrative Office, 1250
San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, California 94070.
GENERAL COUNSEL PROPOSAL
Legal Counsel David Miller said the purpose of the closed session is to hear a
brief report from Legal Counsel Doug Burton and Monica Colondres, Director of
Human Resources on the status and progress of the labor negotiations with ATU
Local 1574.
THE BOARD ADJOURNED INTO CLOSED SESSION AT 4:15 P.M. AND RECONVENED TO OPEN
SESSION AT 4:30 P.M.
Mr. Miller said the Board of Directors met in closed session as permitted by the
Brown Act to hear a report from Mr. Doug Burton on the pending labor negotiations.
Further reports will be rendered to the Board at the next meeting.
ADJOURNMENT: 4:32 p.m.
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