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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-01-15 Government Operations Committee Minutes � � GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE � MINUTES � 7anuary 15, 2003 � Councilors Present: Gerry Palmer, Anne Allen, Richard Greene, David Nealley, Michael Crowley NStaff Present: Bob Farrar, Chief Winslow, Joe McNeil, Sgt. Roach Other Present: Don Cooper, Mr. Tenney, Alan Kochis, John Vogel, Bill Zoidis � � The meeting convened at 5:00 p.m.. 1. Discussion/request for additional school crossing guards. � Chief Winslow stated that he had recently received a citizen request for additional school crossing guards. After explaining the current staffing and location policy to � the citizen, Mr. Carl Tenney, requested an opportunity to present his views to the Committee. Winslow explained that we contract with a local company, Seaboard Security, to provide crossing guard services for grades K-5. Seaboard Security � provides a total of 32.75 hours per day of coverage at 23 locations throughout the city at a contract price of $14.50 per hour. Winslow said that Mr. Tenney's concern is that there is a need to provide crossing guard services for the middle school , (grades 6-8) children as well. To do this would require additional hours and possibly a few new locations. Since this would have an impact on the budget, Winslow is bringing this before the Committee. � Mr. Tenne said that he would like to have crossin uards for middle school Y 99 � students, and was enlightened by Chief Winslow concerning the budget issues with this request. He said that there are several crossing guard locations that would not need to have additional hours, because there are some locations specific to the 1 middle schools. Tenney's main issue is with Hammond Street and 13�" Street, due to the amount of trafFc and businesses in this area. The lights on Hammond Street are set up more for 14�' Street than 13�' Street. He would like to see this crossing � guard location extended a bit in the afternoon. By the time a child would get to Union Street, the crossing guard would already be on duty. One of the reasons for this concern, besides the traffic, is the issue of cars not stopping for pedestrians in � the crosswalk. For the safety of the children, it would be beneficial to have a crossing guard present at Hammond Street, especially since there is not a walk light � � � � at this location. He expressed concern that motorists have yelled at his daughter to get out of the road, and with a crossing guard present, this may be somewhat � controlled. Greene asked Chief Winslow what the calculation for the added expense would be, if � guards were present for middle school crossing locations. Winslow said the impact of making a policy change is $35,000 per year. He asked if we could install an automated crossing light system. Winslow said that it is possible, however, he did � not know the cost associated with the system. He noted that there were significant costs to install these on Broadway. Crowley asked if fluorescent colored barrels in walkways helps the safety aspect of �. cross walks. Winslow said that our experience with the barrels has been helpful. � The biggest hurdle in winter is that they get removed during snow plowing and do not get put back. Nealley asked about which intersections were controlled by traffic signals. Winslow � said that none of them have traffic signals. The intersections are chosen based on the number of kids crossing and traffic patterns. Nealley said that we should start � with the busiest intersections on the east and west side and add on additional crossing guard service as a minimum solution. Winslow said any increase would be over and above the budget. Winslow said the costs would increase $36 per week, � per intersection. Palmer said that the intersection of 14t" Street and Hammond Street is very busy � and that he doesn't envy the work of the crossing guards. - Allen asked about the distances for walking children. Alan Kochis from the School � Department said that the middle school children living within i�h miles of the school are required to walk. Allen asked if older children could volunteer to assist in � crossing children. Winslow said that probably not due to the liability. Crowley said that we need to revisit the entire system, and $35,000 may be beyond � our financial ability at the moment. In the short term, there are a couple of areas where we may need to increase services. If this can be accomplished within $5,000, it may be something the council would find easier to approve. � Palmer asked if Chief Winslow would be comfortable with this, to which he replied yes. � The Committee voted to recommend expanded services at the two busiest locations, � in an amount not to exceed $5,000. � � , � � 2. Update/review of various public transit issues. ♦ BAT/Community Connector Ridership statistics � ♦ Role of Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System (BACTS) in local transit issues/projects ♦ Update —Transit Study being conducted by BACTS � ♦ Draft Policy — Public comment process for fare and service changes � Farrar introduced Don Cooper the BACTS Transit Planner. McNeil distributed � BAT/Community Connector Ridership statistics. Cooper said that there have been consistent rises in levels of ridership. The Bangor system is 12.5% higher than last � year, approximately 18,000 riders. These increases began before the new buses arrived. Ever since the monthly pass was introduced in 1997, it has more than � compensated for the reduction in other fare categories. Crowley noted that the only route that did not show an increase in ridership was the � University of Maine/Orono route, and how this affects our previous discussions about increasing hub locations. Cooper said that the Old Town system has remained the same since the early 90's. When the student pass system was �� introduced, there was an increase in ridership. The system was not improved to cater to these riders. When the University ridership study is completed, there should be some areas for improvement. The arrival times sometimes do not � coincide with the beginnings of classes. Crowley acknowledged that it was not a dramatic shift, however he noted numbers that were soaring in the areas of Hammond St. and Mount Hope. Crowley said that it is understandable that the � numbers have not increased if we had not yet made any changes to the route. � Allen asked if the fare rate change had something to do with the decrease in ridership. The Maine Card is and has only been usable for the Old Town route. Allen wanted to know why the Hammond Street route has increased so dramatically. ,� Cooper was not sure why. McNeil said that the City's welfare office is located on this route and perhaps this is why. � Nealley asked if the transit study would talk about rider demographics. Cooper said somewhat, but that more detailed information was available in the 1996 study. Nealley asked why the Hampden route has increased so much. McNeil noted that � the opening of a new grocery store on Route 9 may be part of the answer. Palmer said that he would be interested in usage statistics such as what percent � capacity as we get for the airport. Nealley asked if the study already had utilization in it. Cooper said that the routes are analyzed in terms of their generation of trips, � � ' � and do not cover how full the buses are. The capacity varies tremendously throughout the day. If we have low ridership, we consider cutting the run, however � it is not an indication of the utilization of the whole bus system. Nealley said that some type of matrix regarding routes and utilization should be included to determine future routes. Cooper noted that this study was essentially to determine what if � anything should be done for routes such as Mount Hope and Center Street where the routes are not completed in time. We are not in a situation where we do not have enough riders, rather that we have too many at certain times where we may � need to add services. In response to Allen's comments about route options, Cooper said that route options � are to be reviewed by the advisory committee and then the elected officials in - participating communities. Allen said that with an upcoming budget session � regarding the bus, she wanted the study results available in order to meet the needs of riders before budget discussions. Farrar said the timetable at this point is for the consultant to finish up the study, within the next several weeks. He will present the � study to the advisory committee, and then Crikelar will meet with the Bangor Council. These discussions should serve as the basis for budget discussions. Allen said that at October's meetings, we did discuss alternative routes and they are not a � part of the study's results. Cooper noted that this was not an advisory committee meeting. Farrar said the intent was to bring the committee up to date on few items, prior to the next advisory committee meeting. Palmer said that there has not been ! a route change in awhile, and it does take time to determine the best way. There is a process in place, and he is optimistic that these changes will take place with � budget considerations. Crowley presented a copy of a letter to Mayor Farnham from Odlin Road/Hammond � Street businesses. He requested that the letter be included in the final report that comes to the Bangor City Council. The letter requests extending the route out to their areas, and the possibility of including Hermon in the route system. Crowley � said that we should address students from Beal College, Husson College, University College, Bangor Theological Seminary and any other educational centers that might be appropriate in addition to the University of Maine in Orono. We need to address � hourly changes that could assist visitors to the City. Visitors do not stop their visits at 8 p.m. The mall closes at 9/9:30 p.m., and the logistics of Bangor today are vastly different from when the bus system was first instituted. He also questioned � the need to revisit the cancellation policy. Cancelling the bus because school has been cancelled is a missed opportunity when people need the service the most. We need more not less service, and we need to invest more into the system. � Palmer added working with EMMC and other facilities who have private bus service � to coordinate with the City. Palmer said that although we do not have a metro bus system, we do have a new slogan, "Surprisingly Metro." Palmer said, "When I think � � I i of inetro, I think of public transportation that is available for the evening, not just � when the sun is up." ��Refreshingly Real"— he would like to see more people use the system. � Nealley said that"Surprisingly Metro," means that not only should the bus run to residential areas, but to commercial/businesses areas. '�Refreshingly Real," means that we cancel the bus service when there are inclement weather situations, not � when the forecast is for such. He asked what percentage for the funding for the overall service is Bangor responsible for and how can we arrive at getting more services for people to get to work. Cooper responded that the bus accounting � system works so that each community pays for their. own share of the services, that no one subsidizes anyone else. The issue of people coming in from outside the business area may be considered having a subsidized ride, because they may be � getting federal transit money or state money. Approximately 30% of the cost of the trip is covered by the fare, and the balance is made up of federal, state and local � subsidy. Nealley said with the 63% piece of the pie for Bangor, that Bangor should be able to meet the demands of its slogan and offer as much service as possible. Allen mentioned this already that the bus isn't just for a few people and it needs to � be expanded into new areas. Greene said that he would like to see numbers more clearly defined as to who is � using the bus. He noted that Bangor has quite a few more commercial areas than it did 6-8 months ago, and the Bangor Mall is not the only destination. � Palmer said that in terms of economic development, if there is a bus system available, getting people to their workplace is part of the pie. With the possibility of Jackson Lab coming to Bangor, this could be a selling point, as well as any other � business considering a move to Bangor. � Allen said that there were discussions in the past regarding communities applying for funding. Cooper replied that the DOT has put into place a process by which a community is reimbursed for additional funds that it pays for public transportation in � the year following the expenditure. That money is used to maintain local routes per community. Cooper said that this does not apply to a community that is just starting up, but it is a reward for communities that already have public � transportation. There is a provision that a number of years go by with public transportation in place before you actually get the reimbursement, which Bangor already has, therefore we are able to get the reimbursement in the year following � the increased expenditure. But it is always compared back to the base year 2001. Bill Zoidis from the Hammond Street/Odlin Road business area addressed the � committee. He said that the publicity piece in the newspaper and the comments from his customers prompted the petition to get bus service in his area. He noted � � - --- - . ' , that there are two motels in the area that have long term guests, and they are stuck without transportation. The regular hotel guests, especially in the summertime would use the bus service. The bowling alley, gaming room, the movie theater, the � Leadbetter Superstop, pizza place and other area businesses would welcome bus service for customers and employees. He noted that he had a potential tenant that ' would have Medicaid patients that would require bus services. Palmer said that he was not surprised that Mr. Zoidis would supply transportation for � his employees, and did he know of any other businesses that did the same thing. He mentioned that several motel/hotels shuttled their employees. Zoidis said that � another reason for the petition was the safety factor of people walking along Route 2. Nealley commented that the potential for)ackson Lab entering into the old Pilot's � Grill building continges upon public transportation, and as a matter of business and economic development we should be addressing this issue to attract businesses. � Allen asked Zoidis how susceptible to public transportation is the possibility of a proposed tenant for his building. John Vogell said that the tenant will not go there if , there is no public transportation. Vogell said that Beal College was interested in the same location, however, transportation was one of the reasons they did not go there. He mentioned the Engineering Facility that recently hired 75 employees and � is located directly behind Pilot's. Allen asked if the bus service had to be in place or could it be proposed. Vogell said that if it is proposed that could help the negotiations, as the company has proposed to fund their own bus service. Vogell � said that 30% of the leases coming due are reconsidering based upon whether or not bus service is available. If the bus service does go to Pilot's, the value of the , building will increase by $500,000. Zoidis said that there will be ridership all day, not just the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. when employees arrive and leave work. Palmer thanked Mr. Zoidis and Mr. Vogell for coming and sharing their comments. � Allen asked to set a deadline of March 1� to decide whether to implement the � service. She said that 2-3 months ago, we had discussed alternatives to the service, and suggested that Tom Crikelar be invited to discuss these proposed changes and asked where the advisory committee stands today. Palmer said that perhaps we � need to hear from Cooper before deciding what our goals are. Cooper presented a timeline of the BACTS Transit Study. He noted that public input '� is ongoing. He noted that the expected completion of the study the service options for Hammond Street and Hermon by the end of]anuary. He said that we do have a � request from Ron Harriman of the town of Hermon for service. He continued to discuss the remaining topics of the timeline, most of which were for the end of � � , � January. Paimer asked for the date of the draft and final report, to which Cooper � replied March. McNeil said that we met with the consultant this week and urged him to finish up the process in time for the budget. Farrar said that we discussed with the consultant that he should meet with Council by mid-February at the Strategic � Issues Committee. Palmer noted that this group is interested in moving this item along quickly. � Palmer thanked Mr. Cooper for his presentation. McNeil presented a Draft Policy regarding Public Comment Process for Fare and � Service Changes for committee approval. He explained that this was a suggestion as result of a recent audit. Farrar said that this lays out the public notice process. Palmer noted that this should be posted on buses or at the hub. Palmer confirmed , that the City website links to the bus website. � Allen asked if posting the draft policy would cause the public to be concerned that we would be making changes to the bus service. Farrar said that this is merely to update the policy manual and would not be shared with the public until such time as � there are recommendations coming forward. He said that this is to satisfy a requirement of the federal government that we have such a policy in place that demonstrates how we would engage the public at such time that it is necessary. � Nealley thanked Farrar and Cooper for their participation. Greene thanked them as well and noted that they did not follow the formal process and hoped that they � found this"refreshingly real." Greene said that he would like to see how many people are on the bus at certain times of the day added to the statistics. McNeil said that data gathered in 1996 listed demographics that probably has not changed ' much that he could distribute. Allen thanked Farrar and Cooper as well. Palmer thanked them and challenged others to ride the BAT to learn what the bus system is � like. He noted that this is a tremendous and essential resource for the City. Farrar asked for a motion on the Draft Policy. The Committee approved the � proposed Policy as presented. The meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m. 1 i � , � 1