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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-09-08-TAC-minTransportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Minutes — September 8, 2011 Attendees TAC Members present: Bill Levison, Peter Levy, Larry Link, Sally Castleman, Elaine Dratch TAC Members absent: Francine Stieglitz, Marty Cohen Liaison: Michelle Ciccolo Staff: Carl Valente, Linda Vine, Charlotte Rogers, Pauline Burke, Sara Arnold 1. Restructuring of Transportation Coordinator Tasks: Linda Vine reported that on Monday, Sept 12 staff is recommending to the Board of Selectmen Option 3 for the restructuring of transportation related positions. Under this scenario, Lexpress will move to the Human Services Department, parking permits will be moved to the police department, and transportation planning will be moved to the Planning Department. Linda made the following comments: ➢ Customer service is an important component of the Human Services department, making a good match with transportation services. ➢ The taxi voucher contract will be supervised by the Transportation Coordinator. ➢ The Transportation Coordinator position will be part-time-28 hours per week (25 hours Lexpress; 3 hours taxi voucher program), and the Transportation Clerk position will remain at 21 hours per week. ➢ The police department will create a "Traffic Bureau" that will address all parking permit issues. ➢ The Planning Department currently has an unfilled opening, and this will be expanded to 22 hours a week. ➢ Funding issues still need to be resolved. ➢ Some "governance" relationships (which committees work with which staff members) have been identified, but still need to be addressed in more detail. ➢ A new job description for the Transportation Coordinator position should be available by September 19. In response to questions, staff explained: ➢ The Planning Department will be physically around the corner from the Lexpress office once all renovations are complete, which should facilitate interaction between the two. ➢ The taxi voucher program will require some marketing, contract supervision (which should be minimal based on Weston's experience), and voucher sales; the voucher sales will be handled primarily at the Senior Center. ➢ Barbara Deveau is getting the taxi voucher program started and will continue to be involved; Charlotte Rogers is also very involved. ➢ Charlotte wants to hold regular staff meetings with the transportation planner to ensure coordination. ➢ The Liberty Ride was not included in the analysis this program is managed by the Tourism Committee and is funded by its receipts; the staff person is full -time during the high tourist season, then part -time. ➢ The economic development position will eventually be filled and will address business related transportation needs, as opposed to the neighborhood transportation that is provided by Lexpress. This person will report to the Town Manager but will be physically in the Planning Department suite. Peter Levy noted the incremental increase in staff time; Carl Valente commented that transportation is a high priority for the Selectmen. Peter was also interested in seeing the reallocation of the current Transportation Coordinator tasks that were identified by Carl and Linda last June. Peter had additional questions about the merging of budgets (Lexpress and taxi program) and the merging of transportation contracts (Lexpress and school bus, similar to the successful merge of town and school facilities' maintenance) and how the Lexpress office will be covered when neither the transportation coordinator nor the transportation clerk is in the office (it was his understanding that DPW was currently providing that coverage). Charlotte explained that the taxi program can't be merged with other budgets because it is a pilot and is being funded by donations. Staff reported that merging Lexpress and school bus contracts would be extremely complex and not necessarily financially advantageous. Carl noted that maintaining a facility is basically the same whether it is a school building or a town office building. By contrast school bus service and Lexpress are totally different. Linda expressed an understanding of the need for office coverage between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and said that this needs to be worked out. Elaine Dratch expressed concern that the taxi voucher program may need more supervision than is anticipated. Customer service issues are also likely to surface. She also commented that TAC is interested in more than just the operation of Lexpress, and she asked how TAC can be kept involved in the planning aspects of transportation. Linda said that this falls under governance, which is still being refined; she appreciated this input. Sara Arnold suggested that some of the functions in the Lexpress office could be handled more efficiently by using more advanced computer resources, such as Access. This might help reduce the hours required to do some tasks. TAC members identified comments that they would like Bill to make at the Selectmen's meeting Monday night, as follows: ➢ Coordination among those who are working on transportation issues will be critical, and this means inter - departmental interaction (between Human Services, Planning and DPW in particular, and eventually with the Economic Development person). ➢ Continued interaction with DPW is critical to ensure the Transportation Coordinator knows about road closures /repairs etc. ➢ TAC is interested in having interaction with the planning aspects of transportation, not just Lexpress; it would be valuable to have the transportation planner meet with TAC periodically. ➢ TAC would like to have an opportunity to review the Transportation Coordinator job description to improve TAC's understanding of the tasks that will be assigned to this position and to perhaps make comments. ➢ TAC is concerned about 28 hours a week being enough for supervising and marketing Lexpress and the taxi voucher program, and maintaining new, improved services such the senior center point -to -point service and the school - Lexpress Flexpass. ➢ TAC strongly supports revisiting the restructuring plan in the spring to review its success. ➢ TAC members appreciate staff taking the time to keep them informed during this transition and would like to have on -going input as this is implemented. 2. Sustainable Communities Grant: Michelle Ciccolo reported that the Metropolitan Area Planning Council has received a sustainability grant, and the Minute Man sub - region (MAGIC) is asking for some of the funds to support Phase II of an effort to improve transportation in the area. In Phase I, all of the currently available transportation resources in the MAGIC communities were identified. Phase II will explore ways to coordinate the currently available transportation resources. Michelle is asking Lexington to support this effort. A draft letter of support is going to the Selectmen on Monday evening. VOTE: TAC members voted unanimously in support of some suggested additional wording to the letter. Bill will submit this to those who are preparing the letter for the Selectmen's Friday packets. 3. Minutes: VOTE: The August minutes were approved. 4. Electric Vehicle Stations: Lexington must install the equipment for its three EV stations by October 31. The units will be located near electric poles and use pole mounted electricity. They must be accessible to the public. There are "Aps" that identify EV station locations for those who operate electric vehicles. The following locations have been identified by the Town as possible locations: ➢ NStar lot ➢ Hartwell Avenue ➢ Depot Square lot ➢ Edison Way The next meeting related to this project is on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. in the Selectmen's meeting room 5. Lexpress Request for Proposals (RFP): Bill and Sara have been working on the RFP, which was sent to Jim McLaughlin for review. Jim has submitted his comments. Jim anticipates having responses to the RFP submitted by November 17. Bill, Jim and Rob Adelson met to discuss the possibility of the Town providing fuel for Lexpress. The Department of Revenue is being contacted to see if this is an option if the arrangement is structured in a way that ensures the fuel is only used for Lexington services. Savings would result from the Town's bulk rate and because the Town doesn't pay state (federal ?) taxes. 6. Next Meeting: The first cut on the budget is due October 14. TAC should meet before that. Bill will distribute a "Doodle ". Documents at the meeting • Agenda • August TAC Minutes • Linda Vine's Memo regarding options for restructuring Transportation Services staffing. • A sample letter from the town to the members of the Metro Boston Sustainable Communities Consortium Steering Committee supporting the project. • A report "MAGIC Suburban Mobility Transit Study, April 2011 ". • Copies of slides for "MAGIC Suburban Mobility Transit Study, Working Group Meeting #2, April 25, 2011 ".