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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-26-19 Galavan / Streamline Advisory Board MinutesStreamline Advisory Board Minutes March 26, 2019 HRDC Board Room Attendees: Cara Priem, Sunshine Ross, David Kack, Bill Hoch, , Joseph Menicucci, Rita Ripley Weamer, Daniel Peterson, Terry Aldrich, Suzanne Winchester, Linda Sherwood, Vanessa Palmer, Cyndy Andrus, Dennis Sines Prior Meeting minutes – 1/22/18 minutes were corrected and approved Public Comment – Daniel Peterson commented that the downtown waiting area is still closed and was unavailable during one of the worst winters. He reported he had called the city to find out the completion date but never heard back from them. Sunshine Ross reported that the transfer waiting area is expected to be finished the beginning of April, and will be open Monday – Friday 8-5 pm. A covered shelter will be built on the island in front of the waiting room the beginning of May. Next Meeting – May 28, 2019 Discussion Items - a) Sunshine Ross reported that we are at the end of the 3 year contract with Karst Stage and was not recommending going out for bid. We are not required to go out for bid until year 7. Karst is asking for a 5% increase in the contract to cover raises and increased benefits for their drivers in hopes of increasing retention and longevity. Sunshine is not sure what will happen with the funding from the FAST act. The board approved a 5% increase for year 1 with the 2nd year being negotiable , and then by year 3 the status of the federal funding will be known for negotiating the future years. The motion to approve was made by David Kack and seconded by Joseph Menicucci Director's report – a) Sunshine Ross reported March 5th was a very tough day. Streamline was shut down for 3 hours due to bad weather and conditions. This shut down was not communicated well to the public and a plan has been put in place for the future. ASMSU will be contacted in the future to use their communication networks as well as the city's communication coordinator, Melody Mileur. b) Sunshine reported there will be a half day workshop on 4/4/19 at the Emerson starting at 7:30 am with Mark Fenton to discuss multimodal planning for a healthier Bozeman. c) Sunshine reported that Rita Ripley-Weamer is moving to a new job with HRDC d)Joseph Menicucci reported the MSU office of sustainability is working to figure out funding and designs for heated/lighted bus shelters. Cyndy Andrus suggested the group work with the city's office of sustainability as well. Treasurer's report - David Kack reported a) We are 2/3 of the way through the fiscal year. Galavan is currently showing a 2 year deficit but is projected to be covered by more funds from the paratransit contract. b) Some of the revenues are lagging since they are only billed 1x/year and have not been billed yet. c) Current FY forecast for Streamline is $59 k surplus but may be reduced if money needs to be moved to Galavan leaving Streamline with a smaller surplus. d) 2 new vehicles have been requested from MDT for Galavan and 3 for Streamline. e) Cara Priem inquired if a line item needs to be added to the next year's budget for hardware or software to ensure the tracking application is able to work as planned. She has encountered problems with the application not showing the buses circulating which was due to lack of hardware in place in the vehicles. f) Cyndy Andrus reported that the city budget conversations are coming up and a new process is in place to address last minute requests. 3/29/19 is the date for input for requests. Secretary's report – nothing to report ASMSU report – no representatives in attendance Subcommittee Reports – a) David Kack reported some special activities may be planned for fiscal year 2021 since it will be the 15th year of service by Streamline. b) David proposed bringing in a new person with fresh eyes to look at the Streamline system to identify what the “ideal” routes should look like. Ideally this would happen in 2020 and open for public comment. c) Cyndy Andrus said the city is looking at ways to improve multi transportation options and getting the citizens to look at changing their transportation mode behaviors. d) David said that fare free bus systems are usually seen in primarily tourist and college communities. e) Joseph Menicucci said the timing is right to talk to the Belgrade mayor about future funding for Streamline now that their population is approaching 20,000. Joseph offered to coordinate a meeting between the mayor and David Kack. For the Good of the Bus – a)Cara Priem reported that the bus stop sign at Willson and Garfield that had been knocked over by snow removal equipment had been reinstalled already. b)Joseph Menicucci requested a contingency plan for helping riders from Livingston & Belgrade if the bus system is shutdown again in the future. c) Daniel Peterson reported riders are still walking in front of the bus when they depart, maybe more education is needed for their safety.