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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 04/16/1997• 0 Draft Minutes to be approved by the Transportation Board at the May 21, 1997 Meeting TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES April 16,1997 FOR REFERENCE: 493-0100 Chair Paul Valentine 2549 223-0425 Vice Chair Paul Perlmutter 22- Council Liaison Will Smith 893 221-6893 Staff Liaison Tom Frazier 224-6173 Secretary Micki White BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Alan Beatty, Mark Egeland, Sara Frazier, Stephen Hanna, Tim Johnson, Kathleen Kilkelly, Ray Moe, Paul Perlmutter, and Paul Valentine BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Donn Hopkins STAFF/COUNCIL/GUESTS PRESENT: Guest: Tom Hofmann, Shamrock Taxi owner Transportation Plannine: Ron Phillips, Tom Frazier, and Micki White Transportation Services: Gary Diede Traffic: Eric Bracke, Traffic Engineer 4MARTTrio& Meg Corwin Transfort: David Lilly, Director, and Ralph Power, DAR Director AGENDA: A. CALL TO ORDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES B. INTRODUCTIONS C. ACTION ITEM 1. Dial - A - Ride - David Lilly D.. DISCUSSION ITEMS 1. Signal Upgrading - Eric Bracke 2. Street Maintenance Fee - Gary Diede 3. Retreat - Tom Frazier 4. Board Member Reports 5. Staff Reports 6. Summary/Next Agenda 7. Other Business Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 2 Paul Valentine called the meeting to order at 5:55 p.m. He began by thanking the Board for their Participation and hard work in support of getting the Building Community Choices ballot issue passed. Tim Johnson also reciprocated by thanking Mr. Valentine for his tireless efforts in getting out handouts and visiting different groups throughout the community with information concerning this package. Mr. Valentine asked the Board if they wished to approve the minutes of the last meeting. Tim Johnson made a motion to approve the minutes. Alan Beatty seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Tom Frazier then introduced Mr. Tom Hofmann, owner of Shamrock Taxi, to the Board. Mr. Hofmann elected to wait until after David Lilly made his presentation to bring up his issue. E. ACTION ITEM - Dial - A - Ride (DAR) Mr. Valentine then turned the floor over to Mr. David Lilly, Director of Transfort. Mr. Lilly began his presentation by giving a brief history of DAR, which was included in the handouts Mr. Lilly distributed prior to his talk. Mr. Lilly then went on to explain that there would be a substantial savings to the City to go from a month -to -month contract basis with Shamrock Taxi to self -operation of DAR. He estimated the annual savings to the City would be approximately $79,300. Included in those savings would be training for the DAR drivers, including first aid, defensive driving, customer service, and sensitivity training, all of which Mr. Lilly felt was very important. Driver training is included in the contract with Shamrock Taxi but has yet to be implemented. An additional issue is driver appearance. The self -operation of DAR would also include driver uniforms. Mr. Lilly felt this would project an adequate representation of the City and at the same time, make the drivers easy to identify to passengers waiting to be picked up. The passenger sometimes has to be located in the grocery store or doctor's office waiting room and with a uniform and name tag clearly identifying the driver to be with DAR, would increase the passenger's comfort level and make it easy for the passenger to also be aware of whom the driver is looking for. Mr. Lilly also felt it would be an efficient use of resources by cross -training the drivers to work for either Transfort or DAR. This would reduce the need for the number of drivers overall and improve the service of both systems. Mr. Lilly said the cross -training of drivers would also enable both sets of drivers to be knowledgeable about both systems so they would be able to answer questions and solve problems for customers. Mr. Lilly said he would really like to see more DAR customers to use Transfort, which is more cost effective to the City. Mr. Lilly said some customers really just aren't familiar with the Transfort system and having drivers with the correct information would also be more cost effective. • Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 3 An additional plus for drivers working with the City would be benefits which would encourage drivers to stay longer, gaining more experience, and therefore, better able to handle different types of customer situations and the stress of the position. Mr. Lilly then explained that the contract currently has a $17.40 rate per revenue hour. Mr. Lilly explained further, that in conversations with Mr. Hofmann, the expectation is that figure is a short term increase. If the contract were to be extended to long term, an additional .40 cents - .50 cent increases per revenue hour would be needed. Mr. Lilly also informed the Board that in order to cancel the contract, a minimum 15-day notice is required. Mr. Lilly believes that DAR would need 45 - 60 days to effectively implement a change of this magnitude and complexity. Mr. Lilly said there would be impacts on Shamrock Taxi and he felt this was the reason for Mr. Tom Hofmann's presence at the meeting this evening. Alan Beatty then asked David Lilly to define the $17.40 per revenue hour and give some further clarification. Mr. Lilly responded by telling Mr. Beatty that this figure is what the City pays Shamrock Taxi, per revenue hour. Mr. Lilly explained that dollar amount is not paid to the driver, but to the company. The driver is employed by the company and receives an hourly wage. Mr. Lilly is explained that revenue hours are what the City pays, from the time the first passenger is picked up until the last passenger is dropped off. Mr. Steve Hanna then asked Mr. Lilly what the difference would be. Mr. Lilly explained that Mr. Hofmann provides an operations manager on site and while Mr. Lilly's staff has a good relationship with the manager and drivers, they are employed by Shamrock Taxi. What Mr. Lilly and Staff is proposing as self -operation is to do away with the contract with Shamrock Taxi and those drivers, and more than likely the operations manager, would become City employees. Mr. Lilly was asked what the annual cost of DAR is. Mr. Lilly said the budget for DAR is right at $800,000 annually. He further explained that in 1996, out of that $800,000, $471,000 was paid to Shamrock Taxi. Mr. Beatty asked if the remainder of those funds went toward City employees. Mr. Lilly said yes, the vehicles are owned by the City and the maintenance is done by City employees, and fuel for the vehicles are provided. Mr. Lilly said that Mr. Hofmann provides the insurance and operates them so that the balance would include maintenance, fuel, and a staff of four dispatchers and schedulers and Mr. Power, the director. Mr. Perlmutter asked for additional information regarding the reason for considering self -operation rather than contract operation. Mr. Lilly told Mr. Perlmutter the base thing is the cost savings of • approximately $79,000. Another question from Mr. Perlmutter was, if things are operating smoothly, wouldn't it be possible to work some of the other concerns out with Shamrock? Mr. Lilly Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 4 said the only piece in the contract not being provided is the training piece. Mr. Lilly said uniforms and employee benefits would be things the City would add to the program. Mr. Lilly said that Mr. Hofmann is not required to supply those things at this time. When asked why would Mr. Lilly want to go to self -operation, he explained that he believes the City can provide better service via training, driver appearance, and additional benefits above what is being offered by Mr. Hofmann. He also said it would make the operation between Transfort and DAR more efficient, in terms of having the drivers as City employees, and the City having more control over the operation. Mr. Valentine then suggested that before discussing this further, Mr. Hofmann be allowed to speak. Mr. Tom Hofmann, owner of Shamrock Taxi, was then introduced to the Board members. Mr. Hofmann began his discussion by saying he wanted to inform the Board of the impact of self - operation would impact his company in Fort Collins. Mr. Hofmann explained that his was the only cab company in Fort Collins, Loveland, or Greeley. His company was started in Fort Collins in 1986 because of a need. He said that when he started in 1986, there was a cab service but there were a lot of problems with it. Mr. Hofmann said that with the help of the mayor and other community leaders, he convinced the PUC (Public Utility Commission) to give him an operating permit. He said from there, he opened up service in Loveland and Greeley. He said at the time, there were five cab companies in three cities, providing cab service. He went on to say that over the next five years, all of those companies either ceased to exist or he purchased them, and in 1992, Mr. Hofmann said his was the only cab company. He said that was the first time in their history that they were able to break even. He said he feels that the majority of people only call for a cab as a last resort. Mr. Hofmann said that in 1992 and 1993 their service levels increased. He said he felt his company provided a high quality service. In 1994, he told the Board that DAR program was started and at that time, his company was encouraged to bid. They did bid and received the ambulatory portion of the bid and his cabs were used to provide that service, Care -a - Van provided the accessible part with the blue vans seen today. Mr. Hofmann said that over the next two years, his company provided that service and Care -a -Van provided the accessible part. In 1996, Care -A -Van went out of business, and his company was able to contract with the City to provide both the accessible part and the taxi part. He further explained that what happened to his taxi business is what is important. He said that in 1993, before DAR, his company averaged 134 trips per day between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Mr. Hofmann said his company went from 134 trips per day to 44 trips per day in 1996. He said he has lost about 90 trips per day to DAR. Mr. Hofinann said it didn't really affect them the first few years because his company was providing the taxi service under the DAR contract. He said it wasn't until this last year, when it was decided to eliminate the cabs as a choice of transportation and DAR for the • Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 5 customers and put everyone into the blue vans. At that time, he said, it really started to impact them. He said, not only have they lost the trips, his company has lost the ability to really provide quality service because he has fewer vehicles on the streets now because of lack of business. Mr. Hofnann said this is really apparent, late at night, when there is a peak and he doesn't have enough cabs because he can't afford to put cabs on for two or three busy nights per week and not use them during the day. He said he is embarrassed that he is unable to provide the quality of transportation he would like to provide. Mr. Hofmann said his biggest "gripe" is his loss of 90 trips to the City, which is a large portion of his revenue. He said the reason he knows he has lost these people is because where they used to be in his cabs over the years, as they provided DAR service, this is where those people are now. He said he can't blame these people because DAR was free, the service was well advertised and his cabs were not. Mr. Hofmann feels his cabs are safer, that customers can't fall out of the seat of his cab but have been known to fall out of the blue vans. Mr. Hofmann said that his drivers are trained, there is a very competent manager that does the training. He said he may not provide as much training as the City would, but on a month to month basis, Mr. Hofmann didn't feel he knew which direction the City t • was headed. Mr. Hofmann said that his employees do wear name tags and a lot of his drivers came to him from Care -a -Van and have been doing this service for years. He said he has no knowledge of customer complaints due to driver appearance or lack of uniforms. Mr. Hanna asked Mr. Hofmann why he made less revenue driving the blue vans, as opposed to driving the cabs. Mr. Hofmann responded by saying he paid his drivers by the trip and his company was able to handle more trips per hour, efficiently, than they could in the blue vans. He also said he didn't have some of the other costs associated with it. Mr. Hofmann told the Board that presently, he can only bill the City from first pickup to last pickup, but he has to pay his drivers from when they leave the building until they come back to the building. Mr. Hofnann said there were additional hours being paid the drivers. He then said it was just more efficient using his own drivers rather than the blue vans. Mr. Beatty then asked about Comsis, a former program used by the City. Mr. Lilly responded by - saying that the City contracted with Comsis and Comsis provided the management. Tom Frazier then gave a brief history of the Comsis contract the City had with Comsis. Tom Hofmann said that he was hoping for some kind of solution. He referred to a proposal that had been put together several years ago by John Daggett, Transfort Manager, at that time. Mr. Hofmann said this proposal, he felt, was a good one but never materialized. He said the way it was set up was that the blue vans would schedule a skeleton schedule for the customers needing to use the blue vans, • accessible to the wheel chair equipped lift. Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 6 Mr. Frazier commented to the Board that Mr. Daggett's proposal was more expensive that what staff is doing presently. Mr. Daggett's proposal was in excess of $800,000. Mr. Frazier said the projection now is, without paying the current price of Shamrock Taxi and by hiring City employed drivers, the cost would be reduced by $40,000 to $80,000 annually. The most complaints received in the past 12 - 14 months are pickup times, driver training and fares. Mr. Frazier said as far as making pickup time more timely, he wasn't sure that would improve unless the fleet is enlarged. Mr. Frazier also said that in the driver sensitivity training piece, the drivers need to be trained in dealing with disabilities with head injuries, and in more of the cognitive problems. Mr. Frazier said dealing with wheelchairs did not seem to be an issue. Mr. Frazier said it is now to the point where the Commission on Disability, the Office on Aging, and Senior Advisory Board have basically put the City on notice by saying that these issues need to be both addressed and taken care of. Mr. Frazier continued, saying the Senior Advisory Board and Commission on Disability are both going to be making recommendations to the City Council to reduce fares and start a scholarship program to help individuals who can't afford the fares. Mr. Frazier said the Council on Aging may be doing the same thing. Mr. Frazier told the Board that the City is already dealing with the contracts, the maintenance, the dispatch. He said the only thing we don't deal with, presently, are the drivers. Staff feels that in order to provide a more economical service and improve the knowledge level of the drivers, self - operation would provide a better service. Mr. Frazier said he isn't trying to discredit Mr. Hofmann. His main concern is providing better service and at the same time, provide a cost savings to the City. Steve Hanna asked why Shamrock Taxi was not doing more of the other things such as scheduling and management. Mr. Hofinann replied that he has never had the opportunity to bid on this. Mr. Hanna asked if Mr. Hofinann would welcome an opportunity such as this and Mr. Hofmann said he would definitely like to look at the possibility. Mr. Frazier corrected Mr. Hofinann in telling him that he previously did have an opportunity to bid on dispatch in a previous year. Mr. Hofmann said at the time, his company lacked the experience, but now he feels like he could bid on dispatch. Paul Valentine asked Mr. Hofmann some questions about the ADA requirement. The ADA requirement is not for ambulatory seniors. He then asked what percentage of the 60,000 riders are merely seniors. Mr. Power responded with, about 40%. Mr. Valentine asked why they were being handled. Mr. Phillips responded by saying that the staff recommendation in the fall of 1994 and also, he believed, the Transportation Board, was to not provide DAR service for seniors but limit the service to ADA eligible participants. Mr. Phillips said that a number of senior citizens, members of the Commission on Disability, and the Senior Advisory Board and the Council decided that the service would be provided. Mr. Paul Valentine, after fiu-ther discussion from the Board and Mr. Hofmann, noted that this was an action item. He asked for someone to make a motion as to what the Board should recommend • Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 7 to the Council. Mr. Frazier reminded Mr. Valentine that there was time left before this goes to Council. At this time, Mark Egeland said he really wasn't comfortable discussing this issue at the same time that Mr. Hoffman was hearing the same information. He felt that as a Board, they needed more time to discuss this issue, look at numbers, get more information and get a better idea of the complete picture. Mr. Valentine considered this a motion from Mr. Egeland to table the discussion. Tim Johnson seconded the motion. Motion carried. There was further discussion between members of the Board including comments by Paul Perlmutter who said he felt like Mark Egeland did, that there needed to be more communication between the City and Shamrock. Mr. Perlmutter said his personal feeling was that he would like to see Shamrock Taxi's responsibilities grow. Sara Frazier said she felt it was important to have a good taxi service in town. Ms. Frazier said that one of the problems with Fox Trot was that once people arrived in Loveland, they didn't have a way to go anyplace else. Ms. Frazier felt this was from a lack of taxi service. • Mr. Beatty added that his former experiences in cabs were that there were always several others in the cab at the same time while when he used DAR, there might just be one other person, rarely more than two. Mr. Beatty felt the City could benefit from Mr. Hofnann's expertise in dispatching and scheduling. Mr. Beatty also addressed another concern toward Mr. Hofmann. Mr. Beatty told him that if he plans to stay in the cab business, he should look into a way to get a wheelchair accessible way to get to DIA. Mr. Hofmann said they were working on several options now. Ron Phillips then interjected by saying he didn't know the answer to this but the issue needs to be thought of in terms of the total issue and not just what this action may mean to Shamrock. Mr. Phillips said that one of the reasons citizens have switched from Shamrock to DAR is a cost consideration. Mr. Valentine said he was still in favor of tabling this discussion until a later date and in the meantime, Mr. Hofmann could put together a proposal toward handling seniors, for instance, to meal sites. Three or four customers could be handled per trip, therefore, keeping the cost down. Mr. Valentine felt that if Mr. Hofmann put that type of proposal together, it could go a long way toward getting the City to reconsider its policy of handling ambulatory seniors on DAR. F. Discussion Items 1. MPO Presentation • Tom Frazier asked that this presentation be delayed until the next Board meeting in order for Vicky McLane to give the information. Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 8 2. Signal Upgrading Mr. Bracke passed out a handout, outlining some 1998 Traffic Operations Issues. Briefly, the outline contained the following: Traffic Operations Facility There is a division of locations for the signs and paint crew, Traffic Engineer, and administration from the signal crew. Multiple locations promote operational inefficiencies and dead time. ► The traffic crews must leave the facility at Wood Street to make way for the Water Utility expansion. ► Other arrangements must be made for storage of signal equipment and motor vehicles at 700 Wood Street. The land is owned by Equipment Services and they have expansion plans, also. ► The pavement marking operation will soon be required to use low VOC paint. This will require inside and heated storage for the paint materials. The current Streets Facility can't accommodate an efficient inside storage area. This paint is considered hazardous material so containment walls and ventilation systems need to be constructed. Traffic Control Computer ► The current computer will need to be moved from its location at Wood Street. It will be very costly to move it. Mr. Bracke said his question is, does the City want to invest $200K in moving a system that needs to be updated and expanded to a more modern technological platform. Mr. Bracke said they are evaluating new systems but the investment would range up to several million dollars. Comprehensive Signal Timing ► Mr. Bracke explained that the last comprehensive signal timing was conducted in 1992. He informed the Board that 135 traffic signals are currently maintained and timing should be a daily affair. Mr. Bracke said that Traffic Operations has staff with the capability of developing timing plans, however, the workload is of a magnitude that prevents it from happening. Traffic Operations needs either additional staff or resources to time the signal system. He further explained that the timing of the traffic signal system is one of the most effective ways of reducing carbon monoxide emissions and reducing delay. • Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 9 Mr. Bracke continued with his presentation. He informed the Board that the departments that need to find a new home are seriously considering moving into the old Sand and Salt Facility that is located directly north, on the same property. He said it was a huge building. Mr. Bracke said that Sand and Salt has to move out. He explained that the salt is leaching through the mortar and it is deteriorating the bricks, making the building disintegrate. Mr. Bracke said he estimates the cost of moving and upgrading will cost approximately three million dollars. He said this project will involve moving the Sand and Salt facility out to the west end of that site, building some structures for that, repairing the old building and adding on a face so that it will look very similar to the existing Streets Facility, add overhead doors and remodel the interior. Mr. Bracke said they would then have inside storage for vehicles, eliminating vandalism, the paint, and crews. He said they would then actually have a Traffic Facility. Mr. Bracke went on to say that one of the issues that go along with this new facility is, what do we do with the Traffic Control Computer. The move of this computer is a major project and consideration in itself. Mr. Bracke informed the Board that the present computer was purchased in the early `70s. It has been upgraded several times. This computer system that is running the 135 traffic signals is running off of an old 286 microprocessor. The communication is about 1200 baud rate, very slow. Mr. Bracke said there is an expansion capability of up to about 160 signals. • After Mr. Bracke finished with his update presentation, the Board proceeded with various discussion and comments. Steve Hanna was interested in how the communication was handled between the computer and the signals. Mr. Eric discussed signal patterns and their individual patterns at different times of day. Mr. Valentine asked who owned the lines that go to each controller. Mr. Bracke told him that U.S. West owns the lines. Mr. Valentine asked how fiber optics would be utilized and Mr. Bracke told him that quite a few things could be accomplished with the use of fiber optics. Mr. Bracke said that some of the older signals in town still run off of two pair copper wires. Mr. Valentine then asked if the City would want to own the fiber optic lines rather than lease them from U.S. West and would that be possible. Mr. Phillips commented that some major feasibility work was needed. Mr. Ron Phillips then told the Board that in discussing issues with Rich Shannon, PRPA (Poudre River Power Authority) is looking at the possibility because they have communication issues with all of their sites in Loveland, Longmont, Estes Park, and Fort Collins in doing fiber loops in each community and then connecting those loops between communities. Mr. Phillips said that if they decide to do that, it may be cost effective to tie into that work. Mr. Bracke told the Board that, presently, he and staff are working closely with the ICS (Information and Communications System) Department within the City of Fort Collins and their phone people and communications experts. Mr. Bracke was hopeful that he would receive a report with • recommendations by June. Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 10 Paul Perlmutter said he needed to understand why there was so much data going across the lines. Mr. Bracke told him that it really wasn't a lot of data but what data there is, is being transmitted continually. Mr. Bracke said with the baud rate at 1200, the communication system that they have now loses 1.6 seconds per communication. For instance, Eric explained, when the light goes from green to red, 1.6 seconds per cycle is being lost. Over the course of a day, Mr. Bracke said that this really adds up and has to be continually accounted for. Ray Moe said his big concern was, how did they get so far behind? Eric Bracke said there is just so much involved in going to a new system. Kathleen Kilkelly asked what Mr. Bracke's deadline was, as far as being out of the Woods Street facility. Mr. Bracke told her they would like to have them out as soon as possible but they are aiming for the first of the year. If this isn't possible, Mike Smith, with Water Utilities, will work with them as much as possible. Ron Phillips then said he would like to address Mr. Moe's earlier concerns. Mr. Phillips said that there was a new team working on transportation funding. Mr. Phillips said that the City Manager, Mr. Fischbach has asked Diane Jones to be the team leader. Also, on this team is Ann Tumquist and the new Policy Analyst. They will be co -project managers. The team is made up of Susanne Edminster (Transportation Planning/Parking Services) Ron Phillips (Transportation Director), the new Policy Analyst (Transportation Services), Alan Krcmarik (Finance), Doug Smith (Budget), Diane Jones, Ann Tumquist (City Manager's Office). Mr. Phillips said this group would be looking at transportation funding as a whole, including; Transit, capital operations, transportation capital needs, the remainder of the 300 million that didn't get funded in Building Community Choices, transportation maintenance, which includes traffic operations. In conclusion, Mr. Phillips didn't want the Board to feel that they were dumping this big problem in their laps for solution. Things are being worked on. Mr. Valentine felt Mr. Phillips had given a very informative talk and while he feels that Eric Bracke's figures are large, Mr. Valentine feels that Mr. Bracke's figures are conservative, considering the size of the project. Mr. Valentine feels that there are good solutions out there that will move traffic more efficiently and something of this realm could balloon Mr. Bracke's estimates even more. Tim Johnson said that what is needs to be funded in the future is something that will get us to where we need to be but also has the flexibility to adjust to change. Mr. Perlmutter said that he agreed with the consensus that newer, modern equipment is needed but he also felt the need to be practical. Ray Moe asked if the computer being used now could be upgraded. Mr. Moe wanted to look at solutions where throw away costs were not involved. • Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 11 Mark Egeland commented that we need to see what we can do with the system we have until we have a better system. Eric Bracke agreed. He said that is what they will end up doing, at least in the interim. Ron Phillips said they anticipate bringing in some options to the Board in approximately 60-90 days. After additional discussion and questions, Paul Valentine called for a short break for refreshments Kathleen Kilkelly was presented with a cake and everyone wished her well. This meeting was the last for Ms. Kilkelly. She had sent a letter of resignation in order to join her husband overseas. She expressed appreciation for her pleasure in working with the Board and hoped to maintain contact with them. 3. Transportation Maintenance Fee The next order of business was an update on the Transportation Maintenance Fee by Gary Diede. Mr. Diede told the Board that several meetings have been scheduled for the next couple of days. He said staff would be going back through all of the information given to City Council last year. Mr. Diede told the Board that the City Manager was able to find some additional funds for them for certain things. • Mr. Diede again reviewed the traffic signaling, the move planned for Traffic, liquid de-icers and their associated costs, signal maintenance costs and funding for these projects. Mr. Diede said there was additional staffing needed to assist Eric Bracke and Fred Jones, Traffic System Manager. With an assistant, this would free up both gentlemen to go do some of the timing studies and responsibilities that are needed to be done. Another problem Mr. Diede addressed was closures of streets during the summer. He informed the Board that Syl Mireles, Traffic Operations, processes about 2500 street and lane closure permits per year. Those requests come from City crews, Public Service Companies, telephone companies, cable companies, etc. Mr. Diede's concern is the need for coordination. The job has become too big for just Syl to handle, so they have an additional staffing concern for someone, perhaps just summer help, to take part of that load from Syl. Gary Diede said there are still things from last year to be done but there are also new things to be done. He said his staff will be going back through this process with the team that Ron Phillips told the Board about. Gary said on April 29, he would be going back to that team and explain some of the Streets issues and the following week, he would be going with explanation of needs for Traffic Operations issues. Mr. Diede just wanted to update the Board on the kinds of things that are needing to be done. • Tom Frazier then, at Mr. Diede's request, added that the process of the TMF (Transportation Maintenance Fee) has taken a broad scope. Mr. Frazier wanted to highlight the transit piece, which Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 12 traditionally is not a maintenance item. It would be included as one of the items that could be considered to see how it could possibly fit into the TMF or if there is a way for the TMF to take on other expenditures to free up dollars that are currently coming out of the General Fund and going into transportation. Mr. Frazier said there were several things being looked at. Mr. Frazier said it would be an interesting challenge. Mr. Diede also mentioned that one of the things his department is starting to look at is the Parking Lot issue; snow removal, asphalt repair, re -striping. He said there was no money to do any of those things. 4. Retreat Mr. Frazier told the Board that tentative reservations had been made at the Tamasag Resort for the Board's summer retreat. The date set was for August 26`h. The majority of the Board felt this was not a good date due to scheduled summer vacations. Micki White, Board Secretary, said she would cancel that date and try to make arrangements for either September 6' or September 13'". 5. Board Member Reports Tim Johnson distributed handouts of an article of interest from the Denver Post. The title of the article was Highways and the Future. The article concluded by saying if Colorado and the Denver area plan poorly for transportation and make wrong investments, the quality of life will diminish, open space is lost and economic freedom and technological progress are stymied. Mark Egeland commented that he had noticed that the speed limit on Prospect, east of Lemay, has been increased from 30 mph to 35 mph. Mr. Egeland didn't feel the timing of the traffic signal there had not been updated for traffic coming westbound. Ron Phillips said the average speed had been checked since the new change had been incorporated and, on that stretch, it has actually gone down one mile per hour. Mr. Phillips said the signal timing has been based on the 85 percentiles of average speed in the past, not on the speed limit, so the Traffic Engineer felt no adjustment was necessary. Alan Beatty had a question on the re -paving at Whedbee and Elizabeth. He asked if it would be re - striped to a single lane each way. Mr. Frazier responded by saying the bike lanes would go from College Avenue over to Stover and from Riverside Avenue to Prospect on Whedbee. 6. Staff Reports - None Ll • Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 13 7. Summary/Next Agenda Dial - a- Ride MPO North Front Range Alternatives Feasibility Study Update on Transportation Transfer Center Commission on Disability - Kathy Lassen Growth Impact Fee Update Future Agenda Suggestion: ► Discussion of Fort Collins Modeling System ► Other Modeling Systems 8. Other Business Ron Phillips discussed with the Board a new resolution that has been proposed to replace and continue the ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) program. The new • resolution will be called NEXTEA (National Economic Crossroads Transportation Efficiency Act). Mr. Phillips distributed an information handout giving the recommendation, financial impact, executive summary, background, and the resolution. Mr. Phillips asked the Transportation Board for a letter of recommendation in support of this resolution. After some discussion and viewing the information, it was decided that the Board would send a letter of recommendation to the Council in support of NEXTEA. Tim Johnson moved the Transportation Board support this resolution. Mark Egeland seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Mr. Valentine amended this motion by saying he wanted the letter to have a strengthening statement, in strong support of the resolution. The members agreed. Steve Hanna asked about the Transportation Transfer Center and what kind of opportunities might be available. Mr. Phillips responded by saying the Center is being designed to accommodate bus stops and bus tum-arounds for future use. Mr. Phillips, in response to a question from Mr. Hanna, said that as far as transportation to Denver, said this issue would be part of the corridor analysis that Mr. Frazier had said would be starting in the next few weeks, looking at all the options for transportation to Denver. Mr. Frazier then thanked the Board for making the decision to table the DAR issue until a later date. He said that making a decision this evening would not have served in the best interest of the Board. • Mr. Frazier said that there would be a complete picture presented to them soon, which they will need before coming to a decision. Transportation Board Meeting Minutes April 16, 1997 Page 14 Paul Valentine, on behalf of the Transportation Board, thanked Kathleen Kilkelly once again for her participation on this Board. He extended an invitation for her to come back to the meeting if she was still in town. There being no further business to discuss, Paul Valentine adjourned the meeting at 8:55 p.m. � A I$ Micki E. White, Board Secretary