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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTAB Meeting Minutes 8 16 17Committee Name: Transit Advisory Board Date: 8/15/17 Location: City Hall 1 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns. Attendees: Absent: Jim Collins, Transportation Director Karl Buelow, Board Stefanie Steinfort, Board David Vickman, Coordinator Evelyn Meuret, Board Marlene Binder, Secretary Mike Norton, Board Caroline Panske, Chairman Lee Williams, Board Troy Monday, Vice-Chair Topic Facilitator Discussion Actions Meeting Started Caroline Panske Caroline Panske called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. Acceptance of June 21, 2017 TAB meeting minutes. 1st: Mike Norton 2nd: Troy Monday Welcome Karl Buelow to TAB Caroline Panske Caroline Panske introduced and welcomed Karl Buelow to the Transit Advisory Board. She invited Karl to tell a little bit about himself. Karl Buelow said he has resided in Oshkosh for 10 years and recently graduated from UW-O. He told that he was a stay at home dad for four years and his wife is a professor at the university and also does consulting. He is currently employed by the Grand Opera House Foundation and is a member of the UW- O steering committee. Committee Name: Transit Advisory Board Date: 8/15/17 Location: City Hall 2 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns. Topic Facilitator Discussion Actions Access to Affinity Clinic on Koeller Street Jim Collins Jim Collins said he spoke with Marsh Steele. He said Ms. Steele did not know how frequently patients use the bus, but said one week a few patients missed the bus and therefore missed appointments with their primary doctor, which caused these patients to be seen at the clinic’s urgent care. He told that one of these patients had difficulty with the slight incline of the sidewalk on Affinity’s property due to physical disabilities. Jim said Ms. Steele told this rider she recommended they use paratransit based on their condition and the rider agreed that made sense. Jim Collins explained that the bus travels north on Koeller Street to provide access to the many businesses on the east side of the street. He stated that Affinity is the only business on the west side of Koeller Street. Ride Program with the Oshkosh Public Library Dave Vickman Dave Vickman told the summer free bus ride program to the Oshkosh Public Library (OPL) first began in 2000 in conjunction with their summer reading program. The program is for kindergarten through grade 12 students. He said day care and summer school group trips make up the majority of these free bus rides to the library. He told that students show their library card for the free ride to the library and then get a yellow ticket at the library for the free ride home. He explained students fill out the back of their yellow ticket to be entered for a prize drawing. He said the library receives funds from donors to cover this expense which is approximately $1,000.00 annually. He told this program is promoted on Facebook, fliers on the bus and internally at the library. Committee Name: Transit Advisory Board Date: 8/15/17 Location: City Hall 3 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns. Topic Facilitator Discussion Actions EAA ridership update & discussion of charter regulations Jim Collins Dave Vickman Jim Collins said we have provided service to the EAA for over 30 years, which has been good for UW-O, EAA guests and public relations. He told EAA attendance was up this year. He stated the fares cover our costs but we do not make a profit. He explained we cannot charge a premium fare because that would then be considered charter service and we cannot provide charter service because that would put us at risk of losing our funding. Dave Vickman said regular providers that transport hotel guests charge between $10.00 and $15.00. He told that of the GO Transit passengers going to EAA, 70% use the $20.00 EAA pass and 30% pay the $3.00 round trip fare. He went on to explain that because the EAA grounds are a little further than our regular service area, we are able to charge these rate. Heavy Duty Bus Procurement Jim Collins Dave Vickman Jim Collins Jim Collins said the funding for the seven busses is in place and that the paperwork is being processed. He told that GO Transit is currently working with the vendor to negotiate price and when that is settled this will go before the council for approval. He told that it will take approximately 12 months to build the buses. Dave Vickman added that it is possible that our order could be slipped in with another larger similar build, but not likely. Jim explained we have ten 2003 buses that are well beyond the twelve year average useful life of a heavy duty bus. He told we currently have one bus used for parts. He said after the new buses arrive, the old buses will be listed for sale on appropriate websites. Committee Name: Transit Advisory Board Date: 8/15/17 Location: City Hall 4 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns. Topic Facilitator Discussion Actions Future Agenda Items Lee Williams Jim Collins Dave Vickman Jim Collins Lee Williams said there has been a lot of squawking about the Walmart bus stop. Jim Collins told that Walmart is converting the area we currently use for the bus stop to a drive through to pick up online orders and it is not known where the permanent location for the bus stop will be. He said we have no formal agreement with Walmart and are at their mercy. He is in contact with their corporate facilities manager. Jim said one option being considered is improving the area of the former bus stop location, where the temporary stop is now, with sidewalk and a carriage walk. Another option would be to eliminate some parking spaces in the parking lot to make room for a bus stop. A third option would be to have the stop in the lot by Van Vreede’s. The fourth option would be on Washburn Street if a suitable location can’t be arranged on site. Dave Vickman added that improvements made on the property would be at the owner’s expense. He suggested that riders express their concerns about this bus stop to Walmart. Jim Collins said the next Transit Development Plan (TDP) meeting is tomorrow and he will keep this Board informed. Adjournment Caroline Panske Meeting adjourned at 4:55 p.m. Next meeting: September 20, 2017 1st: Evelyn Meuret 2nd: Karl Buelow Committee Name: Transit Advisory Board Date: 8/15/17 Location: City Hall 5 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns.