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
February 24, 2009
	: Members Present: Chair Fenske, Commissioners, Bline, Conner, Gannaway, Goforth, Mendenhall
	Members Absent: Commissioner Gaebel
	Staff Present:Executive Director Cindy Howe, Sarah Dailey, Brenda Higgins, Roni Shaw, Pat Ehrlich, Tammy Slaughter, Tami Carlson, Scott Smith
	Guests: None
	Meeting called to order 10:05 AM
	Pledge of Allegiance
	Roll Call
COMMENTS FROM AUDIENCE:
	(Comment time limited to 3 minutes per guest). No audience present at this time.
	a. Set Time Limit for Comments
	The board discussed setting a time limit for audience comments. It was learned at the SDAO Conference that as a board they do need to allow the public to attend, but do not have to allow them to speak. Since there is an agenda to follow, keeping audience comments within an allowed time frame would assist in keeping the meeting efficient. Different lengths of time allowances were discussed, including 5 and 3 minute comment times. It was mentioned that 3 minutes should be sufficient, because if a guest has a point to make they should be able to do so in a short amount of time. Both the city and county allow 3 minutes.
	COMMISSIONER MENDENHALL MADE A MOTION TO ADOPT A NEW RULE OF A 3 MINUTE TIME PERIOD FOR THE AUDIENCE TO SPEAK. COMMISSIONER GOFORTH SECONDED. ALL WERE IN FAVOR AND THE MOTION PASSED.
CHANGES TO THE AGENDA:
	There were no changes at this time.
APPROVAL OF JANUARY 2009 MINUTES:
	There were no changes or discussion.
	COMMISSIONER GANNAWAY MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE JANUARY 2009 MINUTES. COMMISSIONER MENDENHALL SECONDED. NONE WERE OPPOSED AND MOTION PASSED.
REPORTS FROM CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS:
	Commissioner Goforth reported on attending the SDAO Conference. She thoroughly enjoyed the conference. She thanked Brenda for getting everything set up. One of the best seminars she attended was about board members dealing with the media. She said the main thing she learned is it's best to direct all questions to the Director. They explained how easy it is for the media to put board members or staff in a bad position.
	Commissioner Mendenhall said the SDAO conference was very interesting. She learned more about Sexual Harassment training for employees and offering blind surveys to employees.
	Director Howe shared that SETD offers Sexual Harassment training for employees and also has used lateral and backward employee position evaluations. There is also an SETD Employee Representative Committee to listen and respond to employee ideas.
	Commissioner Bline shared that he has filed for re-election of his board position.
	Commissioners Conner and Mendenhall both added that they too are filing soon.
	Commissioner Conner attended the CEDR Stimulus Project Presentation meeting. Director Howe gave a wonderful presentation. She said it was interesting to see what is needed around the county.
	Director Howe agreed it was interesting to have all the project representatives together. There are a lot of needs in many areas; some projects surprised the group because they were previously unaware of them. While at the meeting Director Howe put in a second request for SETD to be formally added to the CEDR Board, because transit is an important aspect in economic development. She appreciated Commissioners Conner and Gannaway attending the meeting.
	Commissioner Gannaway said he thinks it's very important that SETD become a member of the CEDR board because members vote on each other's projects.
	Chair Fenske also attended the SDAO conference. She said the keynote speaker was interesting; he was from Disneyland. He shared some fun things they do to make otherwise boring job a little more enjoyable. His main point is to always to try to seek new ways to better serve the customer, but not to forget about employees. While at the conference she learned more about providing notice of board meetings; if SETD posts them on buses and in the Transit Center that is sufficient. Posting on the website and informing the newspaper is an extra step that is unnecessary, but nice to do. It is not our concern if the newspaper does not print the notice. At the conference it was also discussed that the public has the right to be present at board meetings, but we do not have to allow them to speak. Another topic was about board members having the right to vote however they'd like to. It was said the only time a member should abstain is when there is a conflict of interest. However, this should be outlined in the SETD Board Policy. Also, the board member must always say why they are abstaining.
	Commissioner Mendenhall said at the conference session it was said ORS Chapter 244 outlines this.
	Commissioner Goforth added that she attended a different SDAO Conference session presented by another lawyer. He said members absolutely cannot abstain from voting without providing a reason.
	Director Howe added that many years ago the SETD Board adopted the SDAO Board Policies which covers the topic. In the thirteen years since she has been with the district, SETD Board has updated their policies twice. It is time to do another review for updates, and staff has had it on their to-do list, but has been busy with other projects that have priority. She suggests the board form a committee of several commissioners to do the review, with the goal of having it updated by June so the new fiscal year can begin with updated policies.
	Commissioners Mendenhall, Bline, and Gannaway volunteered.
FINANCIALS :
	Commissioner Goforth said she has some questions about the Financials. On page 2, Fiscal YTD shows Marketing as $35,492.27. She found out the Marketing budget includes multiple things, so that is why it is a larger line item. She also learned that Planning encompasses all expenses for outside services used for planning projects. An example is use of an engineer's services, which SETD is currently using for the planning process to get a transfer facility built in Warrenton. She would like to have the engineer give a presentation at one of the future board meetings. On page 5, Administrative Support for the NWRC is for salaries, janitorial services and other things pertaining to the NWRC; it's not strictly for wages. SETD can legally charge the NWRC for Administrative Support duties that are performed by SETD staff when NWRC does not have its own staff to do them. Also, the Ft. Clatsop shuttle fares listed of $61,406.25 are old, but they still owe the district money. Director Howe just requested it again in a recent letter to the superintendent. Part of the money is from last summer and the summer before. She just finished the grant for Parks and Recreation so the current bill is $47,000. When contacted in the past, Ft. Clatsop has said the check is in the mail, but we've yet to be paid. It was also discussed that page 8 and 9 are the pages to look at to compare line items from the previous year with this year.
	Chair Fenske asked about the lodging expense listed for the NWRC.
	Director Howe said it is the expense for NWRC client lodging during Medical Transportation appointments. The NWRC receives pre-authorization from the client's case manager for the service. NWRC is reimbursed through DMAP. NWRC can also provide client reimbursement for meals during the stays.
	Commissioner Gannaway asked if NWRC has to send in receipts to get reimbursed.
	Director Howe said we do have receipts, but do not have to send them in. We just need other specific information to complete the transaction. The only time the NWRC needs to show receipts is if an auditor asks for them, which is rare.
	Commissioner Gannaway asked if SETD had heard from DMAP lately.
	Director Howe said she had to contact them again, and they responded they were too busy with the new software transition and have not re-evaluated the records. They said they will let us know when they do get to it. She said she recently heard about area health clinics having financial difficulty because of the MMIS conversion. They are not getting their full Medicaid payments and some have to close because of it.
	COMMISSIONER GANNAWAY MADE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE JANUARY 2009 FINANCIALS AS PRESENTED. COMMISSIONER CONNER SECONDED. ALL WERE IN FAVOR AND MOTION PASSED.
OLD BUSINESS
	SETD Coordinated Transportation Plan
	Director Howe asked the board to adopt the current draft of the Coordinated Transportation Plan. It has been revised since last year, to show upcoming projects. The local county data still needs to be updated and will be done soon. The plan needs adoption so it can be referred to in the grant applications which are due soon.
	Chair Fenske noticed on page 14 there is a typo. It can be found in the area describing the NWRC service area. Clatsop County is listed twice; it should instead list Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook County. She also asked if on page 39, the timeline for the action steps is correct.
	Director Howe added that area is for MIG purposes, and has not been updated so it is not accurate. All high-lighted grey areas are the updates.
	Commissioner Gannaway asked if this is the original draft from November, 2007.
	Director Howe said this draft is from February 2009
	COMMISSIONER GOFORTH MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE UPDATED SETD COORDINATED PLAN DRAFT AS AMENDED FEBRUARY 2009. COMMISSIONER MENDENHALL SECONDED. ALL WERE IN FAVOR AND THE MOTION PASSED.
	Director Howe explained how the Coordinated Plan is referenced in the grant applications. Each grant application features one or more projects that are related to the overall need of the district. Page numbers for the Coordinated Plan section for the related information are listed on the applications. She also briefly reviewed each of the grant projects, which are outlined in the Coordinated Plan. Some of the projects will be funded through stimulus funding, using the grant applications. Others things will be funded through 5310/STF which is guaranteed funding the district will receive. SETD's Senior and Disabled Transportation Committee are meeting tomorrow to review and prioritize the grant projects. She will assist in providing them more details and answering questions.
	Commissioner Goforth expressed concern that if all SETD's projects were approved, our matching dollars would be $1,000,162.
	Director Howe said that would not be an issue because not all the projects will get funded, and the stimulus projects have no match requirements. In other words, stimulus projects would be completely paid for. While discussing projects, she shared she received an email from Public Transit Division asking how many bus shelters SETD could buy and install quickly. Based on criteria of needing completed land-use studies to install a new shelter, we would replace current ones, of which we have approximately 25. Environmental studies are currently in the process of being done for 15 new shelter sites, in hopes they would be completed by the time funding is ready. All grant applications will be submitted by next week, although they are not due until March 13th.
	There was a discussion about SETD being regularly excluded from county planning. It was mentioned to the CEDR Director that SETD should be considered a county stakeholder because the district provides a vital service in the community. CEDR Director Gardner agreed and said he will see what he can do. An example of exclusion is the new Air Transportation coming to Astoria. SETD sent a letter to the Port of Astoria offering to discuss airport bus service. So far there has been no response.
	The board asked Director Howe to check back with the Port.
	Commissioner Bline said he forgot to mention earlier in his report that Gail Ackerman was at the last NWACT meeting. She was very conscious of the efforts going on in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook Counties to connect transit service across county lines. He shared news with her about Seaside's TSP moving ahead.
	Chair Fenske asked what happened with the idea of getting a push-button light for the Glenwood Village bus stop.
	Director Howe shared that SETD would be using another idea instead. In the new budget, we will be purchasing hand-held flashing LED lights for passengers to wave at the bus. This is a more cost-effective solution.
	Commissioner Bline said some of the STIP funds are to widen that section Highway 101. When the designing and planning process for that project comes up SETD could see about adding a bus pullout to make it a safer stop.
NEW BUSINESS
	SETD Board Policy Manual
	This item was already discussed earlier in the meeting. Having no further discussion, the board moved to the next item.
OTHER ITEMS
	SETD bags are still in the process of being ordered. The company being used has failed to communicate further, so Director Howe will seek out a new vendor.
	There was discussion about the new Dial-A-Ride decals on the front and sides of the DAR buses. They are nice and big, making it easy to read. There were issues of fixed route passengers getting upset because they thought the DAR buses were fixed route, and were not stopping to pick them up. 'Dial-A-Ride' was posted above the windshield, but it was not common for fixed route riders to read it. Operations staff added they had not received any complaint calls regarding this since the letters were added.
	a. Operations, Human Resources, and NWRC Reports
	Director Howe wanted to point out that John Layton and Roni Shaw have been working very hard on the Operations Report. She shared that Route 10 had a 52% increase in ridership last month. There was a 25.4% increase in overall ridership. Over 900 rides are provided by the buses daily. Over 23,000 people used the bus in the month of January. The report also shows that Thursday is the busiest day. If there is something you'd like added to the report, let us know and we will try to add it to the report data.
	Chair Fenske commented that it is a really nice report.
	There was some discussion as to why Thursday would be the busiest day. Especially since Clatsop College has Monday, Wednesday and Fridays as it's busiest class days. It was mentioned that many ads are released on Wednesdays, so people may be out shopping.
	Chair Fenske shared that Matt Mumford from Tillamook County Transit is trying to form a Transportation Caucus for Special Districts Association of Oregon. This year, at the Annual Conference there were eight transportation agencies represented. He is researching what needs to happen to establish one.
	Meeting Adjourned at 11:38 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