SHORE TRANSIT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING
MEETING MINUTES
January 11, 2010
I. Call to order
The meeting of STAB Committee Members held at the One Stop Job Market was called to order on Monday, January 11, 2010 at 1:30 PM.
II. Roll call
Sandy Adkins, Johnny Ayres, Leon Bivens, Gary Comegys, Joyce Cottman, Assistant Director of Administration, Eric Gray, Paul Mysak, Program Coordinator Developmental Disabilities Service, Ellen Payne, Tracy Perez, Gary Pusey, Tom Tyson, Joana Weaver, Beth Kreider, MTA Director of Local Transit Reports, Riggin Johnson, Teri Robinson, Steve Hoehn, Bruce Richardson, and Latonya Franklin
Total 18
Not in Attendance
Robert Hart, Ken Holliday and Mike Pennington
Total 3
III. Introduction
After a brief introduction of all attendees, Ellen motioned for an approval of the November 16, 2009 STAB meeting minutes.
IV. Meeting Minutes
The following recommendations were made by STAB Committee Members:
* Gary C. suggested that we note on the record that no quorum was held during the November 16, 2009 STAB Meeting
* Gary P. noted that page# 3., paragraph # 5 should read Salisbury Wicomico Metro Planning Association instead of Wicomico county Transportation Planning Committee.
Gary C. approved the minutes as amended above and Sandy 2nd the motion.
V. Committee Reports
Finance
Tom reported no updates to the Shore Transit financials. Riggin mentioned that the December results are not available but Shore Transit is still operating within its projected budget.
The questions was posed with regards to the recent spike in fuel cost; is Shore Transit in a position to absorb the cost of fueling the buses and continue to operate within its budget? (Diesel cost per/gal is $2.90)
Riggin responded by saying yes, provided all remaining areas stay within operating cost.
Program Committee
Gary announced the vacant STAB chair positions. Riggin communicated that Rob Hart is willing to serve as Chair of the Program Committee and the floor was open to the STAB Committee members.
Riggin provided the new members with an overview of the Program Committees mission and purpose; Ellen read the Role and Responsibilities of the Transit Board Committee and a hard copy of the roles and responsibilities was presented to each STAB member.
Gary made a motioned to appoint Rob Hart to the position of Program Committee Chair. Sandy 2nd the motion and no member opposed the appointment.
Members Committee
Gary noted that the Tri-County Executive Board approved the appointment of all new STAB members for two year terms. Existing members will receive a notice of their remaining service years as STAB members.
New STAB Member Appointments
Finance Committee Joyce Cottman
Program Committe Paul Mysak
Members Committee Eric Gray and Leon Bivens
VI. Old Business
MTA Update
Tracy introduced Beth Kreider, the new Director of Local Transit Reporting. Beth welcomed this opportunity to meet Shore Transit’s management staff, the STAB Committee Members and Beth is looking forward to working with Riggin and his staff in the future.
FACILITY UPDATE
In Mike’s absence Riggin provided the committee with an update on the facilities expansion progress.
Tri-County Council (TCC) has completed the purchasing phase and now owns the old Powerwave Technologies Inc., building located at 31901 Comtek Lane-Salisbury-MD. A ground breaking ceremony was held on December 21, 2010.
Plans are in the place to move all TCC satellite offices (Shore Transit, Lower Shore Workforce Alliance, Tri-County Council Administration Offices and the One Stop Job Market agencies) into the new 7200 square foot building.
Marketed lease space is close to 100% occupancy, and RFP’s are out for an architect to construct the new maintenance facility scheduled to be built on the property. A concurrence to award the architect contract should be finalized this week.
The overall projected timeline for offices to movie into the new building is nine to 12 months.
Questions posed by STAB Members:
1. Satellite Offices: Response - TCC will have no satellite offices. Shore Transit buses will continue to stop at Calvert St. but the main transfer station will be moved to the new facility. The new facility will offer lunch room accommodations with the possibility of additional revenues, and Greyhound will incorporate the new Shore Transit bus stop into its Greyhound schedule.
2. Restrooms at Calvert St: Response – Shore Transit will reduce its bus stop frequency at Calvert St. by 75%, and will discontinue it’s restroom services for this location.
3. Accessibility: Response – Accessibility was taken into consideration when the new facility was selected. Most of the transit customers use public transportation and there is very little pedestrian traffic coming into the Calvert St. transfer point.
GREYHOUND UPDATE
From buses breaking down to 2.5 hour layovers, Bruce stated that the Greyhound Ticketing Operations has been busy. Ticket sales are ranging from $500 - $1900 daily with an 8% commission to Shore Transit.
Revenue Opportunities:
* Better accommodations for the Greyhound customers. (e.g., restrooms and an onsite cafeteria )
* Commission sales on Greyhound Express GPX Packages through EBay and the general public
* The possibility of selling fuel to Greyhound. However, Greyhound has expressed no interested in maintenance service through Shore Transit; Greyhound is more regional focused
For customers utilizing Shore Transit to travel from Ocean City to the Salisbury-Greyhound Office, Shore Transit will provide a free shuttle service from Calvert St. to the E. S. Adkins Business Center. (Salisbury-Greyhound bus stop location)
FLEET REPORT
Since November 2009, Shore Transit has returned several buses back to the local counties. It was no longer cost effective for Shore Transit to operate these vehicles.
Four new buses are pending Pre Delivery Inspections (PDI) and should be in service by the end of February. Six additional buses are scheduled for delivery by spring 2010. ARRA funds were used to purchase four of the buses and all of the new Shore Transit buses will run on biodiesel fuel.
TCC ANNUAL MEETING
Partners and members are invited to attend the TCC Annual Meeting scheduled for 2:00 PM, Sunday, January 31, 2009 at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center (also known as Normandy Arena).
OCEAN CITY TRANSPORTATION/MEDICAL ROUTE
A 91 year old gentleman by the name of Bob Melvin spear headed this program and because of Mr. Melvin, Ocean City Transportation and Shore Transit has changed the way they handle transportation for the elderly and disabled.
When the Shore Transit Regional Transportation Service was founded in 2004, Ocean City Transportation and Shore Transit received separate funding from MTA. So, customers who live in Ocean City (across the Rt. 50 Bridge) and have scheduled appointments outside of Ocean City were required to transfer onto a Shore Transit bus at the Ocean City Park & Ride to finish the second half of their trip. Ocean City Transportation buses were not allowed to travel outside of Ocean City area.
Mr. Melvin disagreed with this two part transit service and lobbied to have the policy changed. Now when appointments are scheduled, the Ocean City Transportation Service will complete all of the elderly and disable transports as a pilot program scheduled to conclude in May 2010. Shore Transit funds will support its portion of the scheduled passenger trips.
Teri recommended to the STAB board that George Thorns be invited to serve on the STAB Committee as an Ex-Officio Member to further our scheduling coordination efforts with Ocean City.
Sandy moved to invite George Thorns to the next STAB meeting and Gary C. seconded the motion.
VII.New Business
WEATHER DELAYS/CLOSINGS
Bruce stated that Shore Transit buses keep operating as much as
possible. He patrols the road and stays in contact with the State Highway
Association. The Shore Transit dispatch office is open 24 hours a day and has constant radio communication with bus operators.
Recently a representative from one of the local news stations, channel WDTV 47 contacted Bruce and introduced him to a program that would announce Shore Transit closing and delays on their website and television station.
ANNUAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN (atp)
On July 1st of each year Shore Transit begins a new physical year. Riggin, Teri and Bruce are in the process of completing the Request for Annual Transportation Plan Funding application based on anticipated match funds received from DHR and the local counties.
This year Shore Transit received 1.4 million dollars in ARRA money of which 100, 000 is pending RFP’s. Riggin also mentioned that they are actively looking for funding through other grant options and working with MTA on additional funding opportunities.
Riggin also shared information on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recently sent to The Veterans of Foreign War. The MOU outlines the possibility of transporting veterans to scheduled appointments. This could potentially be a good revenue source for Shore Transit.
Beth with MTA posed the possibility of bringing on a commissioned sales person to assist with additional funding through advertising and Teri is working to educate local agencies in the community on how to write transportation funding into their individual grant proposals.
VIII. Other Business Discussions
SURVEYS
Riggin stated that Shore Transit does administer customer service surveys, and in the past surveys have been focused on demographics. Joyce asked if the Demand Response customers are included in the surveys.
Demand Response is not currently included in the collection of survey data but we can look to incorporating this customer base /in the future.
RFP’s
A concurrence is pending to award the RFP for updating Shore Transit’s website.
The tire contract was awarded to Carl King Tire Company for $30, 000. In the past Shore Transit used Operation Funds to purchase tires but recently learned that capital money could be utilized to make all tire purchases.
Riggin will provide the (STAB) Executive Committee Members with copies of the ARRA report summaries.
IX.Adjournment
Ellen posed the question of changing the STAB meeting venues. The STAB members agreed to keep the bi-monthly meetings in Salisbury.
Sandy motioned to approve the decision to keep the STAB meeting in Salisbury, and Gary P. seconded the motion. The next STAB meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 15, 2010 at 1:30 PM.
Submitted by: Latonya Franklin, Coordinator of Minutes
Approved by: Ellen Payne, Chair
Date: January 25, 2010