Public Transit Advisory Committee Minutes

December 16, 2004, 4:10 pm - 5:15 pm

Public Transit Division Office, 933 New Hampshire Street

Members present: Chairman Danny Kaiser, Alan Black, Andy Stahmer, Blake Huff, Marc Epard, Jo Ann Garrett, Melodie Christal, Rob Tabor, Marian Hukle.

Staff Members Present: Administrator Karin Rexroad, Mike Sweeten, Bj Edgemon, Rachel Cornish and Wendy Koerner.

Guest: FTA Regional Administrator Mokhtee Ahmad

Call to Order

Chairman Kaiser called the meeting to order at 4:10 pm.

Public Comment

Public comment was requested. Saunny Scott said the system seems to be getting better and better.

Agenda Review

No changes were made to the meeting agenda.

Public Transit Administrator Update

Administrator updated board on the Integrated Emergency Management Course she attended in Emmitsburg, Md. The course was set up especially for Douglas County and 73 participants from the city, county, KU, hospital, emergency services, and utility companies attended the week-long course. The course was designed to learn how to deal with emergencies and improve communications between agencies as they respond.

Administrator went over the ridership reports from September, October and November. Fixed route ridership has remained consistently over 1000 riders per week day. Congratulations to MV Transportation for maintaining high on-time performance in spite of all the road closures and reroutes they experienced. Free ridership days have proven very successful. November showed a 33% increase in ridership compared to November 2003.

Marian Hukle mentioned several bus stop locations that would be benefited by crosswalks. Administrator asked her to email her the locations and she would present it to the Amenities Committee for consideration.

Administrator shared that the December average daily ridership on the fixed route to date is 1184.

Maintenance Facility

Administrator and staff met with the FTA regional office in October to discuss how to proceed with two earmarks LTS has received to be used towards a transfer station and/or maintenance facility. The amenities sub-committee has not identified a suitable location for a transfer station and believes a maintenance facility is a more logical use for the funds. Approximately, $491,000 was earmarked for a transfer station when we were investigating the Santa Fe depot. This location was determined unfeasible. LTS can request that this earmark be switched for the purpose of building a maintenance facility. $400,000 of Section 115 funds were earmarked for use towards a maintenance facility. In addition, LTS was recently notified that another $400,000 has been earmarked giving LTS an approximate total of 1.2 million dollars to be used towards a maintenance facility. These funds would go a long way towards feasibility studies and planning of a facility. If a maintenance facility is deemed not feasible, all unused funds must be returned to FTA.

Melodie Christal moved to forward the Amenities Committee's recommendation to the City Commission to proceed with feasibility studies for a maintenance facility; Marc Epard seconded. No public comment was given, and Chairman Kaiser called for a vote. Motion carried unanimously.

Marketing Update

The Marketing Coordinator supplied board members with copies of recent news articles that featured the "T" along with the 2005 Communications Plan. LTS was featured in a Passenger Transport, a national transit publication, for our Communities in Motion activities held on October 7, 2004. Free ridership was offered on this day and it proved to be the third highest ridership day in 2004.

LTS also offered free ridership on Saturday, October 23 in a partnership with the Lawrence Artwalk. It was the highest ridership on a Saturday that LTS has experienced. Free ridership was also offered on Election Day. Polling places and their corresponding routes were posted on our website to assist new riders. This date was the second highest ridership day in 2004. No free ridership days are scheduled for December, 2004.

A recording of four KLWN/KLZR radio advertisements was played for the board.

Board members were asked to take the 2005 Communications Plan with them to read at their leisure. One item in the plan relates to a possible "car-free" day for the 2005 Earth Day Celebration.

Comments from Mokhtee Ahmad, FTA's Regional Administrator

Mokhtee Ahmad congratulated the Administrator and the board for making Lawrence Transit System a success. In fact most of the properties in the region have shown a decrease in ridership because of the economy and other factors. Lawrence Transit System has been a bright spot and was the only urban transit agency in Kansas that has shown an increase in ridership.

Additional money has been earmarked for a maintenance facility. Funding is still questionable until it is released by the administration. Three-fourths of the total share is all that will be available until re-authorization.

FTA has seen a lot of security exercises being performed where transit has been coordinated with emergency services in the event of an emergency. FTA's Region VII is even in the process of developing emergency procedures. Mokhtee commended county and city staff in taking the initiative to attend the Integrated Emergency Management Course.

FTA is encouraging all transit properties to increase ridership. Increased ridership is the true measure of success in the transit industry. FTA has seen increased ridership of public transportation in most of the university towns in the region. This is important because many have the perception that public transportation is only for the disabled, elderly or low income citizens. University towns are very creative in moving people and "training" students to use public transportation. Again Mokhtee congratulated LTS for their increasing ridership. Alan Black asked Mokhtee is there were any other new start ups in the area. Mokhtee said there were not and that Lawrence is the newest system in this region.

Many college towns are landlocked and are finding expansion very difficult. Some universities which are landlocked are beginning to utilize existing parking areas to expand. As an example, Southwest Missouri State University removed all of their parking lots and the only vehicles allowed on campus are buses and maintenance vehicles. Ames, IA is another great example of a premium system in a college town and illustrates how cooperation rather than consolidation results in a successful system.

Mokhtee concluded that FTA's doors are always open and they welcome questions.

4th Anniversary Celebration

Chairman said the celebration will take place immediately after the meeting. Thank you to Melodie Christal for her support, input, and involvement while she served on the board.

Public Comment

The board received a letter from Delores Tolar that was distributed to all board members. Saunny Scott said a copy of the letter should go to the Coalition on Homeless Concerns.

Next Meeting: February 17, 2005

Due to scheduling conflicts, the board moved the meeting date ahead one week to February 10, 2005.

Officer elections, seating of new board member and finalization of the sub-committee structure will take place at the February meeting.

Adjournment

Meeting was adjourned at 5:03 pm.

Submitted by Wendy Koerner

Approved via email