HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-02-28-AHTC-min Town of Lexington AdHoc Transportation Committee Meeting
Tuesday, February 28, 2023 1 11:OOam to 12:40pm
Zoom Video Conference
Meeting Minutes
Present: Bridger McGaw, Carolyn Kosnoff, Deepika Sawhney, Howard Cloth, Sally Castleman,
Varda Haimo, Sharon Gunda and Joe Pato.
Staff: Susan Barrett, Melissa Interess
Northeastern Students: Jared Doucette
Sharon called the meeting to order via Zoom at 11:00am.
Introduction of committee members and their interest in the committee.
Introduction of Northeastern University student, Jared Doucette and description of his
group's interest in the committee.
Introduction of assigned staff, Susan, Transportation Manager.
Reading of the AdHoc Transportation Committee Charge by Sharon.
PowerPoint presentation of the history of Lexpress by Susan Barrett.
Question for Susan: The difference between the Transportation Advisory Committee
and this committee?Answer: TAC has a broader view whereas this committee is more
focused on Lexpress. We started with 8 routes and every square mile of Lexington was
within a quarter of mile within public transportation. The Lexpress is now down to three
buses and six routes and people are much further away from routes.
We have to figure out how to share information between TAC and this committee.
Both groups, all information should be shared. Susan created a ShareFile which she
already shared with the committee and she saved some documents in it. She will
continue to save more documents.
Question: Has the Select Board ever been informed about the idea of integrating the
school buses and Lexpress because the issue has been discussed by other groups for
years? Joe Pato answered no, the topic has not been brought up to the Select Board.
Question: When does the Lexpress contract end? Carolyn answered at the end of
the fiscal year which is June 30, 2023.
Election of committee officers
Deepika nominated herself as Committee Chair and members unanimously voted to
elect her. Bridger nominated himself to take notes during meetings. Deepika stated that
it would be better if members took turns so that Bridger can fully participate. Members
agreed that they would take turns note taking. Bridger was elected as Co-Chair.
Scheduling of Upcoming Meetings
Next meeting dates should be held twice in March and twice in April. We can hold
completely virtual meetings until March 31, 2023 according to OML. Sharon will send a
Doodle Poll to the group and share the results with Deepika and then the rest of the
committee.
Next Steps
Joe Pato: We should work on a work plan. Deepika, Susan and Bridger will work on
a project plan. Jared and the other Northeastern students will provide feedback.
Question: When do the Northeastern students finish their semester and need to
complete their assignments? Jared answered: We need to be done by late April.
At 12:30pm Deepika expressed that she had to sign off for another meeting. A
suggestion was made for the rest of the committee to stay on for public comments and
all agreed. Deepika logged off.
Public Comments
Lispeth Tibbits-Nutts stated that suggested that the committee attend the 128 Bus
Council meetings because they can get feedback on vehicles.
Meeting adjourned by Bridger McGaw at 12:40pm.
Submitted by Deepika Sawheny, Sharon Gunda and Bridger McGaw