PRESENT: Amy Aussieker, Co-Chair
Mary Barker, Town of Cornelius
Bob Bischoff, Mecklenburg County
Fred Bryant, Town of Davidson
Christopher Edwards, City of Charlotte
Gerald Fox, Co-Chair
Aaron Houck, CMS
Larry Lester, Town of Matthews
Robert Zuckerman, Mecklenburg County
STAFF: Ron Tober
ABSENT: Mike Bryant, Town of Huntersville
Larry Bumgarner, Town of Mint Hill
MEETING TIME: 7:15 - 9:00 AM
I. Call to Order
Jerry Fox called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m.
II. Approval of the November 14, 2006 Meeting Summary
The Meeting Summary was approved as written.
III. Discussion Items
A. CATS' Mission, Vision, Strategic Goals and Travel Markets *
Ron Tober gave a presentation on CATS' Mission, Vision, Strategic Goals and Travel Markets. He noted that these items are important because they provide continued direction to the organization and guidance to the management staff for use in carrying out its responsibilities. He said the documents were adopted in 2001 and have pretty much remained the same over the past seven years.
Jerry Fox asked how CATS would rate itself on achieving its goals. Mr. Tober said a B- because there are areas where CATS is on target such as travel markets, but there are also areas where improvement is needed such as how much citizens value the transit system.
Mr. Fox noted that the second goal under system development is impacted by sales tax. He asked if CATS is doing anything differently in anticipation of a sales tax petition being formed. Mr. Tober said he has incorporated information about the importance of the sales tax, as well as the benefits it provides to the community into his presentations. He said staff is also continuing to keep public officials updated on how the sales tax is helping enhance and expand the transit system.
Mary Barker asked if the state legislation allows votes to rescind the sales tax. Mr. Fox said as far as he can remember there is no initiative authority in North Carolina. He said a petition can only be a sense of the public rather than a forced issue.
Mr. Tober continued his presentation with information on travel markets.
Ms. Barker asked if item #6 under travel markets concerning commuter trips to/from surrounding counties in the original five corridors, is one of CATS' best profit areas. Mr. Tober said it is not a profit area, but it is one of the highest growth areas.
Mr. Fox asked if CATS gets subsidy for services provided in counties outside of Mecklenburg. Mr. Tober said CATS gets a 50% subsidy from the local governments which when combined with fare revenue means we are covering about 60 or 70 percent of the cost to provide services to the outside counties.
Mr. Fox asked if any thought had been given to make item #6 a priority. Mr. Tober noted that areas under item #6 are located outside of Mecklenburg County. He said CATS' first priority will always be to serve areas within Mecklenburg County.
Ms. Barker asked where the Village Rider fits under travel markets. Mr. Tober said under item 3 or 4. Larry Kopf said the Village Rider serves Davidson, Huntersville and Cornelius and is primarily a rush hour service. He said ridership on the Village Rider is generally on the low end, but this year it had a 25 percent increase in ridership.
Ms. Barker noted that the Village Rider's stop locations are inconvenient and uncomfortable. Mr. Kopf said the topography of the Village Rider route is rough, which make the stop locations inconvenient. However, he said the Village Rider has a deviation policy that allows customers to call and be picked up within a ½ mile of the route.
Ms. Barker suggested that the service stop at shopping centers or other areas that are more customer-friendly. Mr. Kopf said staff will look into doing that. He noted that staff does try to place stop locations at/near stores, but in some locations there are no stores.
Robert Zuckerman asked if item #5 (Commuter trips in congested travel corridors outside the original five corridors within the "wedges") anticipates that CATS will add other transit corridors in the future. Mr. Tober said that is possible, but right now staff is only focusing on the five corridors that are identified in the Transit Corridor System Plan.
Mr. Zuckerman asked if item #3 includes connections between CATS and other modes of transportation like the airport or inner city routes. Mr. Tober said it doesn't include it specifically, but the first four items would cover that.
Mr. Zuckerman noted that item #1 (all trips/purposes by those individuals who do not have access to or cannot utilize private transportation and require public transit for mobility) is geared toward serving people who for economic reasons need the transit system. He said he's noticed some groups are complaining that more priority should be given to the streetcar in the Beatties Ford Road area because the population there needs transit for economic reasons. Mr. Tober said the people on Beatties Ford Road and Central Avenue already have very frequent service. He said the differences with the Streetcar are primarily economic development potential and improved operating efficiency for CATS, not increased service levels.
Mr. Tober continued his presentation on secondary travel markets. Mr. Tober noted that staff received inquiries from Rock Hill asking if CATS would be interested in operating transit there. He said it would be nice to operate service in Rock Hill, but because of the policy it is not a priority. He noted that staff received similar inquires from Kannapolis/Concord and were able to assist them because the towns were operating the service themselves. He said since service is operating in Concord/Kannapolis and Gastonia, getting transit in the York County/Rock Hill area will happen at some point. He also noted that staff has gone after mitigation grants to expand service on Providence Road toward Waxhaw.
Mr. Bischoff asked if staff anticipates adding a South Carolina representative to the MTC. Mr. Tober noted that there are already two South Carolina representatives on the Commission.
Fred Bryant motioned that CATS' Mission, Vision, Goals and Travel Markets be approved as written. Mary Barker seconded the motion. The vote was recorded as unanimous.
IV. Discussion Items
A. FY08 and FY09 Transit Program Submittal *
Dee Pereira gave a presentation on the FY08/09 Operating Program, which focuses on implementation of the LYNX Blue Line and moves forward with the 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan approved by the MTC in November 2006. Under the proposed program, the Operating Income and Expense for FY08 would be $126.4 million and $103.4 million, respectively. And, for FY09 the Operating Income and Expense would be $132.9 million and $110 million, respectively.
Mr. Fox asked if the first few months of light rail income are included in the proposed budget. Ms. Pereira said yes.
Mr. Tober noted that the ratio of operating balance to debt service is the debt coverage ratio, which has to be at least 115 percent per policy. He said the debt coverage ratio is a major driver for CATS in managing the operating budget and it also affects CATS' AA rating.
Concerning staffing, Mr. Tober said one thing CATS is working on long-term is taking some of the functions held by contract workers and unionized employees and bringing them into CATS. He said those functions include things like scheduling, fare collection and procurement. He noted that by doing this, CATS is saving money and gaining better control over the functions as we transition into a multimodal operation.
Ms. Pereira continued her presentation with sales tax and inflation information.
Mr. Bischoff asked if CATS will have people in place to make sure passengers pay the fare when light rail opens. Mr. Tober said yes, five fare checkers.
Mr. Bischoff asked if those five people would be under the Safety and Security division. Mr. Tober said yes. He added that there will be 12 CMDP Officers dedicated full-time to the transit system, in addition to the fare checkers, as well as about 35 private security company police.
B. Countywide Transit Services Plan Update *
Larry Kopf gave a presentation on the Countywide Transit Service Plan. He said as part of the study, CATS' staff in cooperation with a project consultant, conducted 29 public meetings during fall 2005 and spring 2006 to get input from citizens on the development of the plan. He said through that input, as well as surveys, focus groups and participation from TSAC and CTAG, staff found that customers want a better cross-town network, improved frequency, with the Route 5 Airport specifically cited, amenity improvements and lighting at bus stops. He noted that the study also found that if connections are good and the transfer point is safe and comfortable, local riders do not object to transferring.
Mr. Kopf said with those findings, as well as other information from the study, staff developed a series of plans, which include a draft bus/rail integration plan, a five-year service improvement plan and recommendations for capital investments.
Mr. Fox asked if South Park would be connected to the light rail line. Mr. Kopf said yes.
Mr. Bischoff asked if the existing South Boulevard route would be affected under the proposed plan. Mr. Kopf said yes, under the proposed plan the route will no longer go all the way into uptown and customers who use the route to get to Carolina Place Mall would transfer to the light rail line to get there.
Mr. Bischoff asked if the new Route 5 Airport would have storage space for luggage. Mr. Kopf said staff will look into that in future bus purchases.
Mr. Zuckerman asked how many stops does staff anticipate having between uptown and the airport. Mr. Kopf said somewhere between 15 and 18. Mr. Zuckerman noted that the majority of riders on Route 5 would probably be getting on and off at the Charlotte Transportation Center (CTC) and the airport. Mr. Kopf said that is what has been found with the existing service. He said most of the riders get on at the CTC and off at the airport, with only a few boarding in between. Mr. Zuckerman said that information argues in favor of fewer stops along that route.
Mr. Bischoff asked what constitutes a community transit center. Mr. Kopf said in some cases they could be small on-street facilities with nice shelters, while in others they could be large facilities similar to Eastland Community Transit Center.
Mr. Bryant asked if the loss of parking at Sadler Square in Davidson had any impact on ridership. Mr. Kopf said no because ridership has improved, but the lost of the park and ride lot has had an impact on customers. He said they now have to park at the Northcross Park and Ride or at a park and ride lot in Cornelius.
Mr. Tober said staff is talking with the Town of Davidson about locating a park and ride lot behind its Town Hall, which could one day be used for commuter rail customers. He added that while the loss of parking at Sadler Square didn't really affect ridership levels in Davidson, that is not the case in Mooresville where the lost of a park and ride lot has hurt ridership.
Mr. Kopf said staff has found an alternative parking lot in Mooresville at a church that has 800 parking spaces. He said staff continues to look for additional park and ride space, but noted that sometimes it's difficult to find a private property owner that is willing to work with us.
Mr. Tober said that is one of the reasons we began looking at building our own facilities so we are not at the mercy of the private retail owner. He noted that churches are relatively stable, but retail establishments are very problematic. Christopher Edwards asked if parking along the rail line would be free. Mr. Kopf said it is our intent to have free parking.
Mr. Kopf said staff brought this plan to the TSAC Committee in November and they have endorsed the plan. It was an information item for the MTC in December and they will take action in January and then the bus/rail integration public meetings begin at the end of January into February. He said the first round of implementation will begin in February.
V. Chief Executive Officer's Report
A. Upcoming MTC Agenda Items. *
Mr. Tober called attention to the upcoming MTC agenda items, which included presentations on Rock Hill's Major Investment Study, financing on the North Corridor, and the FY08/09 budget.
VI. Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 a.m.
NEXT CTAG MEETING: FEBRUARY 20, 2007
