Sunset Empire Transportation District Monthly Commissioners Meeting Minutes Web Page

Sunset Empire Transportation District Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes ODOT Regional Office 350 W Marine Drive, Astoria, Oregon 97103 Tuesday, September 16, 2003
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Shannon called the meeting to order at 9:30 am

ROLL CALL
Commissioners Present:
		Chair: David Shannon Vice Chair- Bob Gannaway Commissioner Vic Key Commissioner Charolotte Mendenhall Commissioner Marsia Fenske Commissioner Rae Goforth

Commissioners Excused:
		Secretary/Treasurer Jack Harris

Staff Present:
		Cindy Howe, Executive Director Patsy Chapel, Executive Secretary

Vic Kee was sworn in as Commissioner by Chair Shannon.

COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None

CHANGES TO THE AGENDA:
: Chair Shannon proposed moving adoption of the MEAD Document to the last item on the Agenda since Ms. Howe would be making a power point presentation and it would require changing seats to see the screen. The Board agreed to the change.

MINUTES:
Board Action: Motion by Commissioner Mendenhall, second by Commissioner Fenske, to approve the minutes of the August 22, 2003 meeting as presented. Chair Shannon and Vice-Chair Gannaway and Commissioners Mendenhall, Goforth, Kee and Fenske voted yes. Motion passed.

REPORT FROM CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS:
Commissioner Fenske: No Report

Commissioner Goforth: No Report:

Commissioner Mendenhall: Reported attending the ACT meeting and stated that it was fascinating. She said she is looking forward to the next meeting and that she took the Forestry Tour and found it very interesting. : None

Commissioner Kee: No Report

Vice-Chair Gannaway: Stated he has continued to attend the Construction Meetings which are very enlightening. Ms. Howe informed the Board that Mr. Anderson of Baugh Skanska would be unable to attend this meeting and during Staff Reports she would report on the construction progress at the Transit Center.

Chair Shannon: Inquired if all Commissioners had brought their MEAD Documents to the meeting. Ms. Howe stated that the document would be on the screen and anyone without a document would be able to follow along. She also informed the Board the Oregon Transportation Association would be meeting in Seaside in October and said she hoped all Board members would be able to attend at least one session. She said she would forward applications to the Board members as soon as the District receives them.

FINANCIAL REPORTS:
Chair Shannon inquired about the Construction Income item. Ms. Howe explained that this was grant money received to pay for the first invoice from Baugh Skanska: which, she went on to say, the District had received just the day before this meeting. Ms. Howe also reported that, Ms. Higgins will be setting up special accounts to track construction spending and to show where the money to pay the construction bills is drawn from. She said this would be included in the monthly financial reports that Board Members receive.

Board Action: Motion by Vice-Chair Gannaway, second by Commissioner Goforth to accept the Financial Report for August 2003 as presented. Chair Shannon and Vice-Chair Gannaway and Commissioners Mendenhall, Goforth, Kee and Fenske voted yes. Motion passed.

PUBLIC HEARINGS : None

CORRESPONDENCE: None

RESOLUTIONS : None

OLD BUSINESS
a.		Purchase of Property from George Fraser: Chair Shannon asked if an Executive Session had been announced. Ms. Howe stated she did not believe it was necessary since, at the last meeting, the Board had instructed the Chair to meet with Mr. Fraser and negotiate the sale. She went on to say that now the agreement that was reached just needed to be ratified. Chair Shannon reported that he, Ms. Howe, Commissioner Kee and Attorney Heather Reynolds had negotiated with Mr. Fraser and his attorney. He said that Ms. Collins from Number 10 6th Street had agreed to make parking spaces available to Spexarth for three years and that the Committee felt that once the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial was over, there would be less impact on the District's parking lot. Mr. Fraser stated at the meeting that he would not be looking for space from the District until after October 2006. Chair Shannon said the committee agreed to make up to fifteen spaces available to lease to Spexarth tenants after October 2006, at the then current rate. He told the Board that Attorney Heather Reynolds had put together an Earnest Money Agreement, but now Mr. Fraser wanted the right to have the spaces for his tenants to lease for fifteen years and wants the charge to be an average of the cost of two commercial parking lots in Astoria. Commissioner Kee stated that if the City of Astoria is used as one of the current prices to reach the average price it, could be skewed since the City is charging below market rate. Chair Shannon stated that this was still a matter of disagreement and he had instructed Ms. Reynolds to not put the parking into the deed. He said he had no problem recording it but not as part of the deed and not an easement or as reverter. Ms. Howe stated that Ms. Reynolds had sent the draft document to Mr. Fraser's Attorney, Mr. Canessa. She said she believes these to be minor issues and that Mr. Fraser is anxious to close on the sale.
		Board Action: Motion by Commissioner Kee, second by Commissioner Goforth to authorize the Chair to sign an earnest money agreement and authorize the Chair to sign in acceptance of the deed, subject to review by Chair and Counsel. Chair Shannon and Vice-Chair Gannaway and Commissioners Mendenhall, Goforth, Kee and Fenske voted yes. Motion passed.
		Chair Shannon stated that if things change, he would not sign the agreements.

NEW BUSINESS
a.		Board Member Orientation:: Ms. Howe told the Board that Mr. Peter Schauer had recommended both new and experienced Board Members should have the opportunity to orient themselves to what SETD does. She went on to say that there are a lot of parts and pieces that go into operating the District that the Board Members do not see. She said Ms. Chapel and Ms. Dickey have put together a plan for a whole day of activities and propose to hold it on October 16. The plan is to for each Board Member to be picked up at their residence at approximately 8:45 am by a Dial-A-Ride bus and to be taken to the Office. This will give everyone a chance to see what the Dial-A-Ride service is like. From 9 am to 9:45 am there will be coffee and a welcome and introductions to the office staff and an opportunity to see what each person does. 9:45 am to 10 am a visit to the Shop and then walk to the NW Ride Center Building. 10 am to 11 am meet the Ride Center Staff and see a demonstration of how they broker rides. 11 am to Shift Change, meet the drivers and have an opportunity to attend the District's monthly "Birthday Pot Luck" and mandatory Driver's meeting. At Shift Change, each Board Member would board a fixed route bus and have an opportunity to navigate a trip, partnered with another Board Member or staff person if desired. Return to the Office by 4:00 pm and be taken back to their residence by Dial-A-Ride. Ms. Howe stated that the primary task of Board Members is to understand what the District is about and to be able to explain to the average person-on-the-street how the bus system works and what it is that we do. Chair Shannon asked each Board Member to respond to the staff by Friday, if they can be free to attend on October 16th.

STAFF REPORTS
Ms. Howe told the Board that it had been a very busy month for everyone and spoke briefly about several things going on. She reported that Driver, John Thonnes was doing well although he had had to have more corrective surgery and would not be home till the end of the month. She also reported that the Lot Attendant, Charlie Penuel, had resigned to take a better job and that Jose Valero, who had been the hiring committee's second choice, had been hired to fill the position. She said he is doing a great job. Ms. Howe reported that the School Bus Drivers who had been the District's summer temporary help had gone back to their other jobs with the beginning of school. She stated that Ms. Karl, the Human Resource Officer was busy updating job descriptions and hoped to have copies to the Board by the end of the month. She said that Mr. Smith had been working closely with staff at Fort Clatsop on the new Lewis and Clark routes and that she had a meeting coming up with Pacific County to discuss transportation in that county during the Lewis and Clark Celebration.

Chair Shannon asked if the Streetcar was still operating in Seaside. Ms. Howe told him that it was being used there on the weekends in the summer. Chair Shannon stated he had talked to a Seaside City Counselor who hoped we would continue to run the Streetcar in Seaside as often as possible. Chair Shannon asked if the District still had an agreement with the City of Seaside and Ms. Howe explained that the agreement had expired and now the streetcar is no different than any other bus. She also explained that Route 20 makes a regular trip around Seaside and is also used as the Seaside to Seaside Dial-A-Ride Bus. Because of the DAR fares collected, this is the only fixed route that pays for itself. Vice-Chair Gannaway asked how the Seaside Downtown Development Organization felt about the streetcar not being used there anymore. Ms. Howe stated that she had met with them and they told her they knew the Streetcar wasn't making any money and the arrangement with Route 20 is what they had decided together was the best way to continue to provide service to Seaside. She said the District had used the Streetcar for the Cruise Ships and the Train.

Chair Shannon asked if the Cannon Beach Shuttle was part of the District's fixed routes yet. Ms. Howe stated that the District had passed its one-year probation, that we were good with the present arrangement till 2005, and that she expected the Shuttle to be incorporated into the Fort Clatsop Shuttle System by that time.

Ms. Howe told the Board that she had been invited to be a presenter at a Partners in Stewardship conference in Los Angeles put on by the National Park Service, Federal Highway Department, and the Forest Service. She said the conference is in November and she would be gone the 17th through the 20th. She went on to say she would be presenting with Pete Field from Fort Clatsop and that she feels honored to be asked to do so.

CONSTRUCTION REPORT :
Ms. Howe told the Board that Mr. Ken Krieger of OTAK would attend the next Board Meeting and be available to talk about how the construction project is progressing. She said she and Mr. Krieger would be meeting monthly.

Ms. Howe reported that the biggest construction issue at this time is the billboard sign. She said Mr. Clark, the new owner of the sign, does not want the sign to come down and that the City of Astoria would not support removing the sign permanently. Mr. Clark has a state permit to have the sign on top of the building and if the sign comes off during construction he will have to go through the permit process to put it back again. She said that if he gets a favorable report from his engineers and OTAK engineers agree, then the sign will be reconstructed. Commissioner Goforth said she thought there was something on the books with the City of Astoria that there would not be billboard signs in the city. Ms. Howe stated that this was correct but Mr. Clark had a variance from the City to have this sign. Ms. Howe said what it finally came down to was if the sign company does not have the sign secured to the building so that Baugh Skanska can do the work, then the sign would have to come off the building. She went on to say that Clark's' engineer from Chicago has a plan for securing the sign and she felt the District should meet them halfway. Chair Shannon asked if we could bill Clark Signs for the time our engineers have spent working on this and Ms. Howe said she would check with the attorney to see about passing these expenses on to them.

Ms. Howe said that the Corner of 9th Street and Marine had taken some time. It was believed there would be a chairwall there and when it was opened up it was discovered to be an old retaining wall with unacceptable fill behind it. Consequently the engineers have had to redesign that corner before the Styrofoam bocks go in.

Ms. Howe said they had also been dealing with the issue of the power poles, transformer and switch boxes under the sidewalk on 10th Street. She said PP&L had not been especially cooperative on this issue and it has taken a lot of OTAK's time.

Ms. Howe explained that she had met with Mr. Krieger and because of all the extra engineering services and the work OTAK did before construction began their contract would show about a $30,000 increase in charges. She said Mr. Krieger would put it all on paper with exact dollar amounts and explanations so that it can be tracked. Ms. Howe assured the Board that Mr. Krieger is concerned and trying to be proactive by letting the District know about these charges now.

Ms. Howe said there were no significant surprises inside the building at this time but said it was interesting that the City had red-lined the plans on the glass block at the front door saying we had to keep them. Commissioner Fenske asked if we couldn't just replace them and Ms. Howe said she was inquiring about that but did not have an answer yet.

OLD BUSINESS resumed :
b.		Adoption of the Management Emphasis Areas Document

		Ms. Howe presented the MEAD Document to the Board with a Power Point Presentation and answered all questions as they arose. The Board did not adopt the plan.


There were no further questions or comments



ADJOURNMENT: Chair Shannon adjourned the meeting at 12:32 am.











		Secretary/Treasurer




THIS MEETING IS ACCESSIBLE TO THE DISABLED, AN INTERPRETER FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED MAY BE REQUESTED UNDER THE TERMS OF OS 192.630 BY CONTACTING SUNSET EMPIRE TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT AT 861-7433