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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 18 21 Minutes TRANSIT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES August 18, 2021 Attendees: Evelyn Meuret, Chair James Price, Board Jim Collins, Transp. Director Lynnsey Erickson, Council Agnes Payne, Board Steve Tomasik, Ops Mng. Philip Marshall, Board Jane Boucher, Secretary Absent: Troy Monday, Karl Buelow CALL TO ORDER – Meeting Chair Meuret called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. Approval of Minutes – Evelyn delayed approval of minutes until the end of the meeting due to one member running late. Old Business – N/A New Business 1. Paratransit hours & days of service for RFP – Jim Collins said the contract is up at the end of the year so he would like to get the board’s input before they prepare the RFP (Request for Proposal). It is possible the contracts will be combined to attract more vendor bids. As per the ADA requirement, a Paratransit program must be available during the same hours as the bus route (6:15 am – 6:45 pm), currently, Go Transit is the only one in the State that offers a 24/7 program. Some of the feedback Jim got back during the last open quote, is the staffing concern needed to provide the 24/7 service. Also, Winnebago County provides the majority of funding for this program and has informed him that they have been instructed to reduce the budget for next year. In a possible way to reduce costs, Go Transit has conducted an analysis of after hour ridership to see how much it is being utilized. There was evidence of enough people using the service until 10 pm and from 5 am until 6:15 am in the morning. The main timeframe up for discussion is the need for the service during 10 pm – 5 am when ridership demand has proven to be very low. Also, he would like the Board’s input on having the Holiday Hours match the Transit Schedule by not offering Paratransit service during the approved 6 company holidays when the Transit office is closed. Holly from Making-A-Ride-Happen was a guest at the meeting to give input on what her program provides and how the decision could possibly have an impact. She did want TAB AGENDA ITEMS 2 Aug. 18, 2021 to point out that her program is a volunteer base program so it is not a reliable backup to provide guaranteed rides during the 10 pm- 5 am timeframe. Catch-A-Ride is handled a bit differently, but only has so much capacity for new riders. Chairperson Meuret opened the agenda item up for public comment. Public Comment (Agenda Item 1) - Ruthann Burrow (552 Grand Street, Oshkosh 54901) Ruth is very passionate about the need to leave this program as is and not change the service hours. She said programs like this is what makes Oshkosh unique and better than other communities. Ruth said she also feels the holiday hours are important as these people need a way to get to church or to family celebrations. She said some of the same people got to know the drivers at City Cab over the years so there is a close bond with them. Another important need is when someone gets released from the hospital and needs a ride home and feels cutting the program in any way would have an impact on many. Mark Burrow (552 Grand Street, Oshkosh 54901) Mark is a driver for City Cab. He said he speaks from experience that people need this program and they especially need it during the holidays. Glen Davies (828 Louise Rd., Neenah 54956) Glen is the owner of City Cab said he also agrees the program should not be changed as there is a big need for 24/7 hours. He was curious if any other funding is available because he heard there was. Jim Collins stated Holly’s program gets some different type of funding through Wisconsin Employment dollars but it is not available for Go Transit. Cynthia (City Cab Dispatcher) – (302 E. Irving Ave., Oshkosh 54901) She would like to know where the numbers came from on the report as they seem really low. She said she worked with City Cab for 11 years in Dispatch and often schedules 50 rides in less than 8 hours. She also wanted to mention that disabled and people suffering memory loss rely on the cab service. Evelyn Meuret thanked the public for comment but needed to close public discussion due to time constraints. Board Discussion (Agenda Item 1) – Agnes Payne said she understands why people are so passionate about the program, but also understands the financial concern with Go Transit. She feels this issue needs additional time to find possible solutions. James Price agrees with Agnes about finding a TAB AGENDA ITEMS 3 Aug. 18, 2021 solution to keep the program as it has been around too long and people rely and expect the service to remain the same. Phillip Marshall said the next step is to hear from the County as to their funding limitations and find out an actual dollar amount. He feels if the County Director knew of the important need for this program for the misrepresented citizens, he would want to find a way to continue funding. Jim Collins said he will get additional information from Winnebago County and give an update at the next meeting. Phillip said perhaps a workshop is needed outside the normal monthly meeting because if the County says no; the board needs to find an alternative solution. Jim said he will start by getting input from the County because if they think the numbers are workable, there is no need for a workshop. Staff Statements 2. Ridership Updates – Steve Tomasik said year to date ridership is still down 1.67%. He said 2020 started out really strong but then Covid hit so he is actually comparing numbers to 2019. EAA ridership was also down 60-70% of 2019. He feels the Wednesday night storm had a lot to do with the low numbers as it appeared many of the international guests packed up and left after hearing of the potential tornado warning for Oshkosh. 3. Procurement Updates – Jim said the fuel tank project was delayed because of the requirement to buy American made equipment. The tanks needed were on backorder but have become available to the vendor. The project should start on-site next week which is good since the old tanks were from 1980 and the insurance rates were expected to go up if the equipment wasn’t upgraded. Also, the quantum wheelchair units for the other buses are now on order. The other program is the Downtown Transit Center upgrade. The goal is to have the Architectural/Engineering plans later in August. He will give the board an update as it gets closer. Approval of Minutes – Evelyn asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the June 16, 2021 meeting. Lynnsey Erickson made a motion to approve the minutes; seconded by Phillip Marshall. Motion Approved. Future Agenda Requests Meeting Chair Meuret asked if there are any topic requests for future Board meetings; to which there were none. TAB AGENDA ITEMS 4 Aug. 18, 2021 Adjournment Meeting Chair Meuret asked if there was any other comments or questions. Jim Collins asked if this board had a preference to go back to virtual or meet in person with masks; the majority agreed at this time in-person is preferred. Phillip Marshall made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Lynnsey Erickson. Meeting adjourned at 4:57 p.m.