| Members present Julie Maloukis, Chair Shelly Brisbin, Chair, Fixed Route Subcommittee Mary Ward, Secretary, Chair STS Subcommittee Juan Munoz, Member, STS Subcommittee Jose Loera, Member, STS Subcommittee Scott Meyer, Member, Fixed Route Subcommittee Will Brown, Member, STS Subcommittee | Capital Metro Staff Present Nancy Crowther Rafael Villarreal Betty Cravens Denise Guerrero Andrew Murphy Guests/Public Present Diane Bomar Proxy For Judy Watford Cathy Shumaker, Proxy For Jerry Doran Jane Lansaw Sam Agrawal Ray Hooper Mark Vowell |
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:00 by Chair Maloukis. Welcome and introductions were made.
Approval of Minutes: Shelly Brisbin moved, and Juan Muñoz seconded a motion to approve the Access Advisory Committee minutes of August 1, 2007. The motion passed.
Citizen Communication: Speakers were Sam Agrawal and Jane Lansaw
Announcements: Julie Maloukis announced that there will be a public hearing on the proposed Capital Metro fare adjustments at 4:00 on September 17 at 2910 5th street. The proposed 2008 budget is available on the Capital Metro web site at http://www.capmetro.org.
Scott Meyer announced that the American Council of the Blind would have its state convention at the Wyndam Hotel at 3401 south IH 35. It will begin at 10:00 am Friday, September 5. He also announced the annual White Cane Day celebration will be held on Monday, October 15. Participants will meet at the Capitol at 8:30 and will then go to Republic Square Park. The web site for White Cane Day is http://www.whitecaneday.org.
Chair Report The August meeting of the Capital Metro Board was held on August 24. Chair Maloukis did not attend due to illness. The Access committee extends a big thank you to Shelly Brisbin, Scott Meyer, Jerry Doren, Randall Glock and Juan Muñoz, who were on the original Committee. This is their last meeting for their terms. The Committee is grateful for their hard work. While Ms. Maloukis wasn't part of the original committee meeting, she has been with the Committee 4 years has also chosen to step down from her position and is resigning her position after this meeting.
Membership and Recruitment There are six committee membership positions to be filled. The Access by-laws require the committee to have a nominating committee consisting of the current chair, a former chair and a current member. The nominating committee was comprised of Juan Muñoz, Shelly Brisbin and Julie Maloukis. That committee convened today to discuss the applications for membership. There were 7 applications in all, and the committee felt that all were equally qualified. However, the seventh application was received very late, and the committee decided to accept the first 6 and invite the 7th applicant to be involved but not appointed to the committee. An Access By-Laws ad hoc committee has been formed to address possible changes in the area of members using proxies. This committee will begin work in October and will consist of Mary Ward, Judy Watford, and Will Brown. Mary Ward, the only remaining officer, was asked to chair the next meeting of the ACCESS Committee.
In the November meeting, the Committee will need to elect officers. The by-laws specify that there be a chair, vice chair and secretary and that these officers not be new members. This leaves Mary Ward, Jose Loera, Will Brown, and Judy Watford as potential candidates. Ms. Maloukis is asking Judy Watford to handle the elections. The recommended nominations for the elections will be discussed at the October meeting.
Shelly Brisbin suggested that if possible, the newly appointed members should be asked to come to the October meeting if possible so they can attend a meeting before the elections in November. This would give them time to decide which subcommittee they wish to join. The new members will not be able to be appointed by the Board in September, but should be admitted to the Committee officially by October.
Julie Maloukis announced that she had been interviewed by a television station concerning wheelchair ramps at the Hancock Shopping Center.
A presentation was given by Andrew Murphy, Equipment Manager, Project Manager for replacing the Paratransit vans. He says that Capital Metro is still on track with going to the board meeting in spite of the contractors’ request for a delay. There should be a pilot of the vehicles in late December or early January and the bulk of the vehicles should be delivered at some time between March and June. There will still be 47 vehicles in all, with 35 of them being smaller, with a capacity of six to eight ambulatory and two to three wheelchairs. There will be twelve of the larger vehicles like the ones we have now to accommodate some of the large groups that travel together on the vans. Mr. Farrell declined Ms. Maloukis’ invitation to come to this meeting. He had said last year that if the vehicles were not delivered by September of 2007, he would dance on the table.
Proposed FY 2008 Budget, Nancy Crowther: Ms. Crowther sent out the budget proposal today to all ACCESS Committee Members. There will be a public hearing on September 20 at 4:00 pm at the Capital Metro office on East 5th.
Fare Change Proposal, Nancy Crowther: There will be a public hearing for this on September 17 at 5:00 at the Capital Metro office.
Staff Updates, Travel Training, Nancy Crowther and Ralph Villarreal: Statistics were given on the last training program. DACT, who had the contract to conduct bus travel training, closed its doors recently. A bid was submitted by ARCIL. (Austin Resource Center for Independent Living). Last year with DACT, a total of 174 people with disabilities were trained. The training is free to people with disabilities. The purpose of the training is to decrease dependency on Paratransit. Capital Metro has been doing this training since 1990. The age range was from 18 to 82. A follow-up survey was conducted for the trainees. 75% said they were riding on fixed route more. 88% said they were more comfortable. 75% said they learned what they needed. 88% said they would recommend the training. 85% said they were Able to take more trips. It is felt that the training has been very successful. The contract with ARCIL begins on October 1. Committee members had many good questions about the training. People with disabilities were encouraged to call Nancy Crowther to request the training.
Subcommittee Reports. Fixed Route: Shelly Brisbin reported on the Fixed Route Subcommittee. There was discussion of sidewalks and of the minor changes to be made to bus routes in January. The larger changes will be made in the summer when the rail begins. The fare increases were discussed as well. Committee members felt that Capital Metro should be honest about the increases and not try to pretend that the fares increases are no significant. However, most members and guests were supportive of the increases. There was also some discussion of the enunciators. Denise Guerrero assured the group that there are penalties for drivers who turn them off. Many are broken or turned off, and riders are encouraged to report the route, time, direction and bus number if available so that Capital Metro can correct the problem.
STS Subcommittee, Mary Ward: The fare increases were also discussed at the STS subcommittee. The usual Paratransit statistics were given. There was discussion of the way that tickets and passes are handled but no recommendations were made. Some members of the committee and the public were concerned that the fare for STS rides is quadrupling in effect because of the loss of the discount. The purchase of the new vans and the staff sensitivity training program progress were also discussed.
New Business: Chair Maloukis asked the Committee Members to make a recommendation to the Board concerning the fare increases and whether or not to ask them to include the Disability Fare Card when raising other fares. The Committee voted on a motion to support the fare increase. The motion passed 8 to 1. Ms. Brisbin moved, and Will Brown seconded, that when Capital Metro is considering fare increases, it should also consider raising the price of the Disability Fare Card at a rate commensurate with other fare increases and that input be gathered from the Disability Community before these fares are increased. This motion passed unanimously.
Staff Updates: Rafael Villarreal spoke briefly about many things going on at Capital Metro. He mentioned the problems that Capital Metro is having with Trapeze 4.71. The old server they are still using is apparently not adequate for the job. They are trying to resolve this problem. In the meantime, the lines are very backed up.
Capital Metro will start working on the Mobile Data Terminals and Vehicle Locators. It is hoped that this more sophisticated system will make the STS system more efficient and cost-effective. The system will begin implementation in November, and full implementation should take place around January.
Mr. Villarreal announced that Inez Evans has accepted the position of Director for Paratransit. She comes with much experience and begins work on September 17. Chair Maloukis thanked Mr. Villarreal for two years of hard work and sincere cooperation with the Access Committee.
Scott Meyer was asked to go to the Board meeting and to give a report. The committee agreed that Mr. Meyer should do this. Judy Watford will conduct the elections and chair the ad hoc committee meeting on the by-laws. Mary Ward will work on the agenda with Nancy Crowther.
Adjournment: Cathy Shumacher moved and Will Brown seconded a motion to adjourn.
The meeting adjourned at 6:23 p.m.
The next Access Advisory Committee meeting is scheduled for October 3, 2007.
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority
2910 East 5th Street | Austin, Texas 78702 | (512) 389-7400
Specific Route Information | (512) 474-1200 | (800) 474-1201