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
September 21, 2009 10:00 a.m.
	Members Present: Chair Bline, Commissioners Gaebel, Gannaway, Goforth, Conner, Mendenhall
	Members Absent: Commissioner Fenske
	Staff Present: Executive Director Cindy Howe, Sarah Dailey, Roni Shaw, Lori Karl, Tami Carlson
	Guests: None
	Meeting called to order 10:03 a.m.
	Pledge of Allegiance
	Roll Call
OATHS OF OFFICE:
	Chair Bline gave the Oath of Office to re-elected commissioners Mendenhall and Conner.
COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE
	Judy Richmond 1 Nehalem, Astoria, OR 97103 Judy said she was here for last meeting and is an avid user of Route 12, which has recently had a change to its route and bus shelter on Astor. Since then she had a meeting with Astoria City Engineer Kevin Brodie, and SETD Operations manager Roni Shaw. She will not walk out to or stand on the highway to wait for the bus. She is also concerned that ridership on Route 12 has been declining. She has ridden it about twelve times since the change and there appears to be fewer riders. She owns a car and has the option to use it but would prefer to do her traveling on transit. She also walks quite a bit.
	Commissioner Gaebel asked what response Judy received from Kevin Brodie
	Judy responded that he had received complaints about the safety of the street corridor where the bus stop and shelter are. He explained that is the reason the city held a community meeting, because of traffic safety issues in that area.
	Roni Shaw also added that Kevin Brodie would like to get more transit connections to the city and getting more people to ride the bus. She felt the discussion was very positive.
	Roni Shaw explained that Route 12 ridership for last month was 2,511. This was for 6 days of service, 14 hours a day for one month.
	Director Howe reported from the monthly ridership report. The entire SETD system had over 29,000 riders in August with over 1,000 riders per day. There was a 5% increase in overall ridership. Route 10 had a 79% increase and Route 30 had a 23.3% increase. Any significant decrease, such as 10-30% decrease would have appeared in the report. In September, 2008 Route 12 had 784 passengers while August, 2009 had 3,293 which shows a significant increase in ridership on that route. SETD's total system averages 14 riders per hour, which is higher than the national average.
	Chair Bline asked if the City of Astoria has future plans for improvements to that area.t.
	Director Howe said the issue is the area is very narrow and there are many cars using the on-street parking. The school district also utilizes that bus stop and area. There were many people present at the community meeting so the solution would affect many people. It would also cost around $82,000. Meanwhile a quicker solution was needed to make the area safer before school started. The City of Astoria did say they could eventually apply for a cross walk with the State.
	Commissioner Goforth added the apartments nearby is under new management. They recently evicted more than half of the previous residents due to drug problems, so there are fewer riders from there lately. It may take awhile for ridership from the apartments to increase again.
	Chair Bline explained SETD is in a rock and a hard spot at the moment, and has to try to work with everyone involved. He thanked her for her input and commented that we are doing what we can.
	Carol Gearin 90686 Lewis Road, Warrenton, OR 97146 Carol supplied the board and SETD staff with handouts including a copy of the August 25, 2009 Public Hearing, a letter of response from Richard Schroeder to Mr. P.R. McCurdy, developer of a proposed development, along with a location map. The potential development, called West Lake Ranch, is proposed for the Sunset Beach area. The development may affect Sunset Beach Road if access is approved for the 66 home-site development, which may be a gated community. The letter to Mr. McCurdy says Clatsop County has determined the project will not have a negative impact on Sunset Beach Road. Carol does not know how that can be true, since the average number of trips used as a basis in impact studies is 10, and there are 66 proposed homes. The request for development has not yet been filed, so no traffic impact study has been done yet. Carol has requested a copy when one is available. If traffic situations are impacted significantly, it will also affect the bus and its services. She would like to see the gates to the Surf Pine development opened to thru traffic when traffic accidents block travel. Mr. Schroeder did approach her after the meeting and said he was willing to speak with Oregon State Patrol about it. Carol's asked the SETD board if they are willing to speak up to make sure SETD is part of the traffic impact planning process.
	Director Howe suggested sending a letter requesting a better map and for SETD to be added to their mailing list.
	Commissioner Gaebel said we should always be on a mailing list for any new developments.
	Director Howe said the cities and county did adopt that ruling, but tend not to follow it.
	Commissioner Gaebel said that on some projects no one was checking with the Fire Departments.
	Carol added the planning commission did say the development would be served by the Gearhart Fire Department and they would be discussing it with them. However, the area will have its water supply from Warrenton as it is in their jurisdiction.
CHANGES TO THE AGENDA :
	None at this time.
APROVAL OF AUGUST 2009 MINUTES
	A change to the minutes is necessary due to Commissioner Gaebel listed on roll call as both present and absent, when in fact she was absent.
	Also, motion to approve the June financials needs to be rescinded and remade because Commissioner Conner was not sworn in prior to voting on the financials at the August meeting. Commissioner Conner arrived late, after the Oath of Office was given, so the minutes should reflect that.
	COMMISSIONER GOFORTH MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AUGUST 2009 MINUTES WITH THE CORRECTIONS MADE. COMMISSIONER GANNAWAY SECONDED. COMMISSIONER GAEBEL ABSTAINED BECAUSE SHE WAS ABSENT.THE REMAINING MEMBERS WERE IN FAVOR AND MOTION PASSED.
REPORTS FROM CHAIR AND COMMISSIONERS:
	Commissioner Goforth felt the front page article about the Seaside Child Care and Transit Center was terrific. Also the Daily Astorian editorial was great. Senior and People with Disabilities Transportation Advisory Committee have an opening for a member. She asked audience member Judy Richmond if she'd consider serving.
	Tami Carlson volunteered to get additional information to Judy Richmond.
	Chair Bline attended the Special District Association of Oregon Board Training in Pendleton, Oregon this month. The class was long but had some useful information. He was amazed at all the different types of special districts. He visited with the Grant County transit agency manager. Their primary service goes to Bend for shopping and errands. While at the NWACT meeting, Larry McKinley from ODOT congratulated SETD on its 30 minute bus service, stating that he now commutes to work. At the meeting the group discussed potential cuts to the STIP Funds and more will be discussed at the next meeting. The public has been showing significant interest and public meetings will begin to be held; the process is in the still in the beginning stages. He also commented on the editorial in the Daily Astorian that complained ODOT was not consulting with the public about the Highway 26 tunnel project. He is considering writing a reply that explains and defends ODOT, since the project is still in the beginning stages. More information is being prepared to inform the public.
FINANCIALS
	The board rescinded the previous motion from August to approve the June financials because Commissioner Conner had not yet taken the Oath of Office.
	There was no discussion regarding the June 2009 Financials
	CHAIR BLINE MADE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE JUNE 2009 FINANCIALS AS PRESENTED. COMMISISONER CONNER SECONDED. COMMISSIONER GAEBEL OPPOSED; REMAINING MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR AND MOTION PASSED.
	Director Howe explained that management is now receiving weekly financial data to stay on top of department budgets. They are also meeting twice a month for management meetings, and she is meeting weekly with Roni Shaw and Pat Ehrlich to discuss operations specifically. Staff is working very hard on projects so it is important that everyone stay informed and be responsible for their departments.
	Brenda Higgins said there were only a couple things that had to be transferred to other line items, such as Uniform purchase, and also a charge that was moved from bank charges to dues/subscriptions.
	Director Howe added that all journal entries that need to be changed are sent to her to sign off on. This step was recommended by the auditor so a documented paper trail could be followed if needed.
	Commissioner Goforth asked why lunch was provided to the CPR/First Aid class.
	Lori Karl explained it's due to schedules of drivers who often must drive a shift after the class, so there is no additional time for long lunch breaks or to get food.
	Commissioner Mendenhall excused herself at 10:45 for a conflicting appointment.
	There was no further discussion regarding the July and August 2009 Financials.
	COMMISSIONER GANNAWAY MADE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE JULY AND AUGUST 2009 FINANCIALS AS PRESENTED. COMMISISONER CONNER SECONDED. COMMISSIONER GAEBEL OPPOSED; REMAINING MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR AND MOTION PASSED.
OLD BUSINESS :
a.	Google Transit Presentation, John Layton/SETD Information Technologies
	Commissioner Goforth declared she is on the ABC Arts & Cultural Committee.
	Director Howe prefaced the presentation by saying that SETD had been solicited by an outside contractor to get SETD on Google Transit. John volunteered to head the project, which was a terrific savings and value to SETD. He has done a terrific job and we are lucky to have him.
	John Layton directed a power point presentation about what Google Transit is and how to use it. Anyone can utilize the program which is available on the home page of ridethebus.org. The program asks for the bus rider's start and end destination, and compiles public transit directions for the user. If multiple times for travel are available, it will ask the user to select one. The end result shows the user when, where, and how to use transit for their trip.
	Director Howe explained technology like this is helpful, but not an easy process to make updates to. John needs a good amount of time to make updates to the information that coincides with schedule and map changes. Because the district has grown, all changes to schedules affect many people, businesses and agencies. Sarah Dailey compiled a bus schedule change checklist for staff and management to use so that a timeline and checklist can be followed.
b.	October, November, December Board Meeting Dates
	October- after some discussion it was decided to hold the meeting on Wednesday, October 28th at 2:00 at the Seaside Convention Center since staff and the board will be attending the Oregon Transit Association Annual Conference.
	November- the meeting will be held on the regularly scheduled day, November 22nd. Chair Bline will be absent, but Vice Chair Gannaway will be present to chair the meeting.
	December-The meeting will be held on the regularly scheduled day, December 22nd.
NEW BUSINESS
a.	Oregon Transit Association Annual Conference: October 25th-28th, Sun-Wed Brenda Higgins supplied applications to all who are interested in attending.
b.	Upcoming grant opportunity-Connect III
	Director Howe said it is her intention to use the Connect III grant opportunity to seek funding for the Seaside Child Care, Transit Center and Food Bank project. Mary Blake said they may have a way to get additional funding for the property purchase by also partnering with the City of Seaside. Engineer Chris Bautista is compiling additional information needed to further the project's planning process.
	Chair Bline also said the project will eventually be presented to NWACT for recommendation.
	Commissioner Gaebel mentioned that SETD's Connect II project would have received a better rating had more of the involved project partners been present at the presentations.
c.	Resolution authorizing purchase of bond and an intergovernmental agreement for payment of potential tax refund.
	Director Howe said Wauna Mill filed for a tax break based on the creation of future jobs provided. Since Wauna Mill didn't meet its expectations, they aren't eligible for the tax break and are expected to pay the taxes. Wauna is appealing the order. If Wauna Mill loses they must pay back the money, which would be in the form of bonds. Then the county must return the funds to the forty-two taxing districts. The county currently has the funds available, and would like to release them now. If Wauna wins their appeal (and the funds have already been distributed), the districts could potentially have to pay back the funds. If the funds are released now, the county can offer the districts a pay-back rate of 5%, or take the chance of retaining the money and the rate would increase to 12%. The rate would be 12% because that is the state rate that would be passed on to the county, and then to the districts.
	Commissioner Gaebel asked why there was not a Clatsop County representative present to answer questions.
	Director Howe replied the SETD is only one of forty-two taxing districts and she didn't see it necessary to invite them since it is a fairly simple issue.
	Commissioner Gaebel asked if SETD will end up having to sell bonds, how will that possibly affect our debt ratio?
	It was noted the IGA listed the amount of taxes SETD would receive would be around $180,000.
	Director Howe said that everyone on listed on the document are ok with it so far, with the exception of Cannon Beach who are waiting to decide until after they hold a meeting.
	Commissioner Gaebel's second question is whether the rate is guaranteed to stay at 5% two years from now. Another question she has is whether the county is getting interest on the monies they have held. If so, SETD should receive that as well.
	Director Howe said if that is the case, by law we would have to receive the interest funds.
	Commissioner Conner asked if we then have to give back money.
	Director Howe said it would simply come out of our future tax receipts.
	COMMISSIONER CONNER MADE A MOTION TO ENTER INTO THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH CLATSOP COUNTY TO PASS THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PURCHASE OF BONDS FOR PAYMENT OF POTENTIAL TAX REFUND.
	Roll call vote was taken. Two absentees were noted. Vote passed with five in favor.
OTHER ITEMS
a.	Operations, Human Resources, and NWRC Reports
	Director Howe shared that the NWRC is still dealing with the new MMIS software and the billing process. John Layton has been working with the ongoing issues and has been able to get our DMAP payment rate (for rides arranged by the NWRC) up to 86% from its previous 75%. He believes we can get to 95% after we resubmit the rest of the billing. She wanted to point out how thankful we are for John, as this is a very difficult system. Without him we would not be dealing with this and wouldn't be able to get these issues solved.
	Director Howe reported that she asked if member of the management team to provide the board with a one minute update from their departments at the monthly board meetings.
	Brenda Higgins said the Auditor had a productive visit and reports should be coming soon.
	Lori Karl said we have hired some additional staff in the last month due to several current employees retiring and adjustments of schedules with the new 30 minute routes. We hired 3 new drivers and 2 temporary drivers. We may need one more person, but they are holding back at the moment because there are some upcoming changes in current employee schedules that may affect that need.
	Roni Shaw said she is very excited to share that after three weeks of 30 minute city route service, the B buses have been showing ridership growth, 6,157 the first week, 5,438 the second week, and 6,185 the third week. Once school resumes the numbers are expected to increase significantly. Last spring during the last quarter, SETD did 64,000 student rides. The A buses have not shown any decrease in ridership. She has received lots of positive ridership feedback.
	Tami Carlson said the Dial-A-Ride department is doing great. DAR is averaging 4 rides per hour, versus the 2.5 rides it used to. Four rides per hour is the national average. This is partly due to DAR adding an additional driver, so there is an additional bus and driver to send out.
	Director Howe reported management is researching different new software that could be purchased by the district in the future. The software assists in scheduling drivers, routes and rides to appointments. The district is growing significantly and at some point it will no longer be feasible to do the scheduling efficiently if done manually. Also the ad has been posted for the new Mobility and Marketing Coordinator position; the growth of the Ride PAL program will likely increase overall ridership.
1.	NWRC Gas Voucher Program Presentation
	Director Howe shared the other transportation brokerages are considering adding gas voucher programs to their services. Since John Layton has streamlined the NWRC's gas voucher program, it is simpler for others to be trained to utilize similar programs for their areas. John designed a presentation with Eric Barton that can be shown to other brokerages as well as the state who will need to approve a state-wide launch.
	John Layton showed the SETD Board the NWRC Gas Voucher power point presentation. The presentation was also shown to the Oregon Transportation Brokerage Conference and Information Technologies Conference attendees. The presentation explains in detail what the Gas Voucher program is, how the NWRC staff navigate the software and how they assist the clients.
	Director Howe pointed out that the new Community Transportation Association of America magazine features the Destination The Pacific ad; it's a pleasant surprise they are still using it.
	Sarah Dailey mentioned the Tongue Point Open House coming up in honor of National Job Corps Day. She said she would forward the invitation. It is on Wednesday at 1:30.
	Meeting Adjourned at 12:14 p.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