Sunset Empire Transportation District Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes PO Box 68, Warrenton, OR 97146 Phone (503) 861-0657 Toll Free 866-811-1001 Fax (503) 325-1606 www.ridethebus.org
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
August 18, 2009 10:00 a.m.
	Members Present: Chair Fenske, Commissioners Bline, Gannaway, Goforth
	Members Absent:Commissioner Mendenhall, Gaebel
	Staff Present:Executive Director Cindy Howe, Sarah Dailey, Roni Shaw, Lori Karl, Tammy Slaughter, Pat Ehrlich
	Guests: Paulette McCoy, Director of the Astoria Bicentennial Committee (ABC) Julia Carter, Chair, ABC Arts & Cultural Celebration Committee Chris Bautista, Engineer/Planner
	Meeting called to order 10:05 AM
	Pledge of Allegiance
	Roll Call
OATHS OF OFFICE:
	Chair Fenske gave the Oath of Office to re-elected commissioners Bline and Gannaway.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
	Chair Fenske nominated Commissioner Bline for the position of Chair. Commissioner Gannaway seconded. Commissioner Bline confirmed he is willing to accept. There was no further discussion. All were in favor and Commissioner Bline was appointed as Chair.
	Chair Bline asked for nominations for the position of Secretary/Treasurer.
	Commissioner Fenske nominated Commissioner Goforth to retain the position of Secretary Treasurer. Commissioner Gannaway seconded. All were in favor and Commissioner Goforth was reappointed to the position of Secretary/Treasurer.
	Chair Bline opened nominations for the position of Vice Chair.
	Commissioner Goforth nominated Commissioner Gannaway to retain the position of Vice Chair. Commissioner Fenske seconded. All were in favor and Commissioner Gannaway was reappointed to the position of Vice Chair.
COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE
	Judy Richmond 1 Nehalem, Astoria, OR 97103 She is concerned about the Hanover & Marine bus shelter being relocated to 4th & Olney. This means she will have to walk further and cross the highway to reach the bus shelter to take the bus. She spent a good amount of time researching what area she should live in, so using public transit would be convenient.
	Director Cindy Howe explained the City of Astoria and the neighborhood surrounding the shelter were facing a couple safety issues, which is when SETD was asked to join the discussion. One issue is where traffic makes a right-hand turn, into the back of the bus with no where else to go. The second issue is concern over children dodging in and out of cars parked along the street. Hanover is a very narrow street, and the city said it would cost around $85,000 to widen and add curb cuts. The safety of the residents in that area is a priority. Whatever solution SETD comes up with is going to make someone unhappy. The district has to look at the issue in terms of what's in the best interest of the majority of the residents and moving the shelter was the most cost effective and safe solution.
	Roni Shaw reported it has been decided to relocate the stop to 4th & Olney, across from the Short Stop Market. A crosswalk will be installed on Marine Drive and Olney to make crossing the street safer. Since SETD is increasing its city routes to 30 minute service on September 1, increased bus frequency would only contribute to the current issues if not remedied.
	Director Howe also shared the local school district has been using that same bus stop along their route, and will be using the new location as well as having a stop along Nehalem. The proposed change may not be the final solution, but an immediate change was necessary because school begins September 8th.
	Judy Richmond said she can appreciate the difficulty of the situation. For her it will mean a change to her lifestyle because she doesn't want to wait on the highway for the bus.
	Roni Shaw also added there is more space on Olney for a bus to pull over than there is on Hanover or Nehalem.
	Commissioner Fenske said she can understand Judy's concern, because although it's not a highway, traffic often drives over the 35 mph speed limit.
	Roni Shaw said the next most convenient stop would be at 7th & Nehalem, which may be a better option for her. The bus will stop anywhere along 7th.
	Judy Richmond asked who at the city she could address her concerns with.
	Director Howe said it would be Kevin Brodie, the city engineer on the 3rd floor of city hall.
	Judy also added she's concerned about the city not having any support for SETD. She has never felt support from them, or the county about anything to do with the bus.
	The board noted it can be frustrating at times, but for example the City of Seaside is beginning to see that public transportation holds a higher priority for residents than previously thought. Seaside recently reviewed results from their Transportation System Plan survey, and were surprised to see transit and mobility in the City of Seaside as one of the resident's highest priorities.
	Judy thanked the board for having a great transit system and for listening to her concerns.
CHANGES TO THE AGENDA :
	Added Tami Carlson, Dial-A-Ride to Other Items: Operations, Human Resources and NWRC Reports.
	Also moved New Business Item A. up to follow Reports From Chair and Board. Add item B. to New Business to discuss an alternate November Board Meeting date.
APROVAL OF JUNE 2009 MINUTES:
	COMMISSIONER GANNAWAY MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE JUNE 2009 MINUTES. COMMISSIONER FENSKE SECONDED. ALL WERE IN FAVOR AND MOTION PASSED.
REPORTS FROM CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS
	Chair Bline reported he will be attending the NWACT meeting in Rockaway, and a one-day Special Districts Association Conference in Pendleton next month.
	Commissioner Goforth reported on the Senior and Disabled Advisory Committee. They had a wonderful presentation by Eric Barton about his HAM radio license and how it can help with emergency preparedness. He also shared he will be attending a national conference in Philadelphia about emergency preparedness for seniors and the disabled. The committee is also losing member Chris Morse because she is moving, so they will be looking for a replacement.
	Commissioner Fenske said she participated on the SETD Relay For Life team and it was great. She thought being the first year there are a few things we can do better next time such as better communication and having a fundraising idea for our booth on event day.
	Director Howe said staff worked very hard and dedicated many hours of preparation since it was SETD's first year, and is looking forward to doing it again. SETD employees brought in over $1,000 in donations and are already thinking of ideas for next year's event.
	Sarah Dailey said staff did pretty well for planning the event on short notice. It was also decided to take a very mild approach the first year, as sometimes employees are discouraged from being involved if something is pushed too much. We will begin our planning and fundraising in January this time.
	Commissioner Goforth heard that SETD had a team member on the track at all times, which is great.
	Sarah Dailey confirmed we did, and SETD was only one of a few teams who followed that rule.
	There was a discussion that Brenda Higgins walked the most miles with 22 miles, Lori Karl second with 21 miles, Roni Shaw was third with 17 and Sarah Dailey had 16 ¾. Lots of other staff, family, friends and board members contributed. Commissioner Goforth walked 6 miles in the worst weather of the event.
	Sarah Dailey talked about the next fundraising event The Bus is involved with. It will be the Providence Seaside Hospital Festival of Trees. SETD purchases, and decorates a tree to donate to the public auction. Buyers receive their trees by delivery to their home. The auction benefits the Providence Seaside Hospital Foundation as well as a second non-profit cause selected each year. She will be attending an event orientation in September.
NEW BUSINESS :
a.	Astoria Bicentennial Committee-Paulette McCoy & Julia Carter Request for use of Transit Center Property for Festival
	Commissioner Goforth declared she is on the ABC Arts & Cultural Committee.
	Julia Carter is Chair of the ABC Arts & Cultural Celebration Committee. The committee would like to request basic use of the Transit Center Property and if approved will be using the neighboring Chinese Garden. There would be booths located on Astor and 10th streets, which would be closed to traffic. Marine Drive would be utilized for SETD's buses that day. She said the festival is about the Astoria community, and will have almost all vendors from the Astoria area.
	Director Howe recommends the board approve use because it is for a single day, Saturday, September 17th, 2011. The City of Astoria has given SETD advanced permission from the City of Astoria to use Marine Drive for access that day. Also, there is not a concern about the Transit Center parking lot being used because the area is public parking on weekends, including the leased parking area. She also said the Transit Center conference room could potentially be used for the event coordinators for a staging area or similar use. If there are any drastic changes to this proposal she will address it with the board at that time.
	COMMISSIONER GANNAWAY MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE USE OF THE ASTORIA TRANSIT CENTER AND PARKING AREA FOR THE SEPTEMBER 17, 2011 ABC ARTS & CULTURAL FAIR. COMMISSIONER FENSKE SECONDED. ALL WERE IN FAVOR AND THE MOTION PASSED.
FINANCIALS
	Commissioner Goforth reported she received a phone call from an anonymous community member who is concerned about the number of times The Bus ad is being run on the radio and how much funds being spent for that marketing. The caller said The Bus add is being played six and seven times a morning. The caller requested to know the total funds being spent for the advertising. Commissioner Goforth said according to the July '08-June '09 financials, $35,459 has been spent on New Northwest Broadcasters. She has begun to note how many times she hears the ads and one day it was once, while the next it was six and seven times. She noted we had moved $16,000 from Marketing to Printing.
	Director Howe explained we have spent about $32,000 and had budgeted $30,000. The $16,000 was for Printing and did not belong in Marketing. It is for many things, including items such as the tote bags.
	Director Howe explained that the radio advertising is something we have been utilizing for the last few years, and SETD has seen a huge increase in ridership numbers compared to using newspaper ads which cost around $600 per ad. She said the radio runs their ads on a computer program and if their is blank air time the program runs the ads, so we may be getting more advertising than was paid for.
	Commissioner Goforth said as a treasurer she feels it's important for the board to know what the larger line item expenses are going towards; she's not arguing whether SETD should or shouldn't do radio marketing. Two-thirds of the marketing budget goes towards radio marketing.
	Director Howe reported that this year SETD will pay $5,000 for this year to be mentioned on all the ads and posters for the concerts that NNB brings to the area. It is a general sponsorship for the entire year, and should not have a label that limits it to a specific concert date or anything similar. Director Howe offered to have the NNWB staff come and make a presentation to the board on what the District is getting for their advertising dollars. The board agreed that this was not necessary. It was not an issue of value, it was just important to keep track of where the larger expenditures were going. Director Howe stated that the Chair and Treasurer both receive detailed reports of every expenditure every month.
	COMMISSIONER FENSKE MADE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE JUNE 2009 FINANCIALS AS PRESENTED. COMMISISONER CONNER SECONDED. ALL WERE IN FAVOR AND MOTION PASSED.
OLD BUSINESS
a.	Update: Seaside Transit/Child Care Center- Chris Bautista, Engineer/Planner & Mary Blake, Sunset Empire Parks & Recreation
	Mary Blake spoke to how inclusive and passionate SETD Director Cindy Howe is about the community and what she does. She feels anytime organizations can work together to make things happen is terrific. She can't emphasize enough, how ready the Seaside area is for the collaborative project that Chris Bautista will be presenting.
	Chris Bautista provided a brief background; he was the resident engineer on the current Astoria Transit Center and is now a self-employed engineer. In planning for a potential Seaside Transit/Child Care Center location is a large concern. Convenient proximity to key agencies in Seaside and easy access for buses are another consideration. He needs approximately 1.2-1.5 acres for the facility. A piece of property that size will cost around $1 Million dollars, so multiple financial partners is a must. These could be the Sunset Empire Transportation District, Sunset Empire Parks and Recreation District, Head Start, Providence Seaside Hospital, TLC Federal Credit Union and additional private investors. Other strategic partners could be the Design Team Consultants and the Seaside Food Pantry. In addition to the providing child care services not currently available in Seaside, it could also provide new jobs, accommodation for events/tourist influx for childcare services, and would reduce the necessary driving miles for parents needing child care services.
	Director Howe added she is very excited about this opportunity because it would provide an excellent option for the community. There are many people who have child care and transportation as a barrier to employment. This opportunity would help with both, and as a board, you will be creating the foundation for this. In the budget this year you have set aside $10,000 for planning purposes to contribute to the project. There are still a few unknowns such as who the property and building owner will be, as well as where funding will come from.
	Mary Blake also added that Providence Seaside Hospital had originally introduced the topic of needing additional child care services in the Seaside area. They too realize the challenges faced by working families, especially in the current economy. Some of their own employees struggle with child care and transportation issues. The hospital has initiated a survey identifying potential users who are willing to pay for the new services.
	Chris Bautista reported the current survey status shows 45 of 48 respondents, who represent 64 children, who said they would use the facility. He has several vendors who may be interested in the project.
	Commissioner Conner is concerned about how the Child Care Center would be kept secure from the transient-type riders who ride public transit.
	Chris Bautista is somewhat familiar with these concerns from his employment experience with Tri-Met and also being a former New York resident. The way the facility is designed can help facilitate its function. Also keeping the facility adequately staffed, and kept clean and welcoming can play a huge role.
	Director Howe added that some of the designs that are being reviewed include defined separation or areas with locked doors.
	Chris Bautista also said that future project partners are being considered for long term needs as well. Partners that can keep the programs afloat by helping purchase new books and furniture as needed as the years go by. Property locations are not being disclosed yet, as there are several sites being considered.
b.	American Recovery & Reinvestment Act Remodel & Projects
	Director Howe reported SETD is 99.9% finished completing the ARRA funded projects. Director Howe and Sarah Dailey's offices have recently been relocated to the remodeled area upstairs and are almost settled. The new Dial-A-Ride area and interview room at Warrenton are complete, along with the security camera installations. There will be an optional tour of the remodeled facilities at both locations, as well as other ARRA funded projects after the board meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
a.	. Move November Board Meeting Date
	The board had a brief discussion about moving the November Board meeting date since it is so close to Thanksgiving. If this is desired, the financials could not be prepared in time. It was mentioned that the same challenge usually occurs with the December meeting just before Christmas. Another option would be to cancel the November meeting and hold an early December meeting at which the November Financials would be available, but not the December ones. It was agreed to continue the discussion as an item on the September agenda.
OTHER ITEMS
a.	Operations, Human Resources, and NWRC Reports
	1. Dial-A-Ride Presentation- Tami Carlson
	Provided an expansive presentation about how Dial-A-Ride operates and how a client schedules a ride.
	Director Howe said the current software is a very old, and when the new software is launched for the NWRC, the program could also help her. It would be a great investment to buy new scheduling software; she will be meeting with a representative from one type of software at an upcoming conference. The DAR program is anticipated to grow as the new Passenger Assistance Link travel training program is launched. SETD staff has done a great job of convincing riders to switch from door to door service to fixed routes, but now there is more capacity on DAR.
	2. HAM Radio/Emergency Preparedness- Eric Barton
	Employee Eric Barton is now HAM Radio licensed and would like to work as an emergency communications liaison when situations arise. Now that he is licensed he can apply for an Emergency Communications Card through the county sheriff's office, which will allow him to officially communicate with their equipment or his own to EOC's during disasters. He had to study for 392 possible test questions, of which 35 were randomly placed on the exam. Most HAM operators get their license over the period of a month and a half, but he took an accelerated course in one and a half days. He will also be attending a conference about Emergency Preparedness for Seniors and People with disabilities in September, as a SETD representative.
	In the future Director Howe would like to apply for grant funding to complete the SETD Emergency Plan.
	Chair Bline asked what the district has for backup power supply.
	Director Howe said we have nothing at the Transit Center, but the Warrenton office has a backup generator.
	Eric Barton added there is some new free software that he can get that can be connected to an internet connection that will allow him to do HAM communications.
	Director Howe wanted to mention a few small things regarding other projects. She has sent out letters to the cities to continue to move forward on getting the new bus stop signs installed. Also, the NWRC is hosting the Annual Oregon Transportation Brokerage Conference this Wednesday through Friday. Friday morning at 8:30 you are invited to attend the morning sessions that will feature a Gas Voucher presentation and discussion about the roles of Advisory Boards. The conference will be at the Holiday Inn Express and catering will be done by the hotel and the Uniontown Deli. The last item she'd like to mention is the DMAP contract disagreement being finalized. They are still saying we owe them $65,000, but at this point it's worth paying rather than $305,000. Payment of this would mean a fresh start and an end to the disagreement for the years 1999-2006.
	Meeting Adjourned at 12:10 a.m.
	Sarah Dailey Recording Secretary
Approved:
	Commissioner Goforth
	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