September 22, 2021 Board Meeting Minutes

Sep 23, 2021 | HTMMTS Boards, HTMMTS Meeting Minutes

Harbor Transit Multi-Modal Transportation System (HTMMTS)

Regular Board Meeting Minutes

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
GRAND HAVEN CITY HALL
519 WASHINGTON AVENUE

Meeting Called to Order by President Craig Bessinger at 4:50 p.m.

Roll Call
Present: Craig Bessinger, Pat McGinnis, Cathy Pavick, Gordon Gallagher, Mike DeWitt, Bill Cargo
Absent: Joel TePastte, Bob Monetza, Pete LaMourie, Don Reiss, Chris Burns
Also Present: Scott Borg, Harbor Transit Director, Andrea Dumbrell, Grand Haven Township Human Resources Manager, Dana Appel, Finance and Compliance Director, Melvin Barkley, Operations Director, Annelise Walker, Marketing Coordinator, Tom Burghardt, Driver

Approval of the July 28, 2021 HTMMTS Board Meeting Minutes
Motion by Gordon, second by Cathy, to accept the minutes from the Meeting held July 28, 2021. Motion carries.

Additions/Corrections to the Agenda
Scott asked that an item to approve an inter-local agreement with the Muskegon Area Transit Authority be added as item 7.0.
Motion by Pat, second by Mike, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carries.

General Business / Call to Audience
None

Discussion/action on Financial Reports, Receive and File.
Motion by Pat, second by Bill to accept the Financial Reports as presented. Motion carries.

Discussion/action Payables Warrant
Motion by Bill, second by Gordon to accept the Payables Warrant as submitted. Motion carries.

Discussion/action on Final Budget Amendments FYE 2020/2021.
Motion by Bill to approve the final recommended budget amendments for 2020/2021, second by Mike. Bill and Gordon offered compliments on the work and presentation of the final amendments. Motion carries.

Discussion/Final pre-implementation review of 2021/2022 budget.
 Capital Projects
 Wage Recommendations
Gordon asked about the wage recommendation and what the overall cost is of all increases, steps plus COLA. Scott will provide this detail to Board Members. Motion by Mike to approve Capital Project plan and the wage recommendations as presented, second by Gordon. Motion carries.

Discussion on Millage Reduction Fraction.
Report was received and there were no further questions.

Discussion/action on the Resolution of 2023-2026 (CMAQ) Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Capital Projects in the (STIP) State Transit Improvement plan.
Motion by Bill, second by Cathy, to approve the Resolution of 2023-2026 (CMAQ) Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Capital Projects in the (STIP) State Transit Improvement plan. Motion carries.

Discussion/action Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Bi-Monthly Regular Meeting Dates.
Motion by Gordon, second Cathy to approve the meeting dates as presented. Motion carries.

Discussion/action to elect or re-elect HTMMTS Board officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Craig Bessinger President
Bill Cargo, Vice President
Pat McGinnis, Secretary
Gordon Gallagher, Treasurer.

Motion by Mike to re-elect the current slate of officers, second by Gordon. Motion carries.

Discussion/action on Transportation Director 2021 Evaluation.
Craig reported that the officers of Harbor Transit met and reviewed the performance of the Director in the past year and set goals for the upcoming year. Motion by Pat, second by Mike, to approve the recommended step increase for the Director to Step 5 and Cola increase as recommended by the System’s officers. Motion carries.

Discussion/action on Preliminary 5 Year Strategic Plan Deadlines and Resources.
Scott reported that he had distilled the feedback received during the strategic planning session into a single page document. At the November meeting he will present a tracking tool that will be used to measure progress on the goals going forward. We are still not charging fares, but should be positioned to re-institute collection later this year. Motion by Mike to adopt the proposed strategic plan, second by Gordon. Motion carries.

Marketing Update – Annelise Walker
 Positive feedback on the re-introduction of the trolleys
 May re-direct the routes next year and collaborate with museum to introduce historic tours. Beach Express needs work.
 On line standing order forms to request school services are in the works
 A brochure highlighting our services was shared with the board
 We are running ads on WGHN and doing underwriting on WAWL to get the word out
 Good social media engagement; followers are trending up (Facebook and potentially
Google Ads)

Operations Update – Scott Borg
Scott provided a review of his written update. Ridership is still not up to pre-pandemic levels, but is steadily climbing.

Transportation Director’s Report – Scott Borg
 Customer Care Manager position will not be filled; instead there will be an Operations Supervisor position
 WMSRDC study continues. Biweekly meetings are ongoing. There will be work sessions in early October. If collaborations are recommended, they could be presented as soon as January of 2022
 Land study is ongoing
 RFQ for Architectural and Engineering services is going out
 Trolleys remain in production, hope to have them here for November meeting.
 Dana Appel is in Leadership Connect

Discussion/action on inter-local agreement to allow cross jurisdictional services
Motion by Bill, second by Mike, to approve the proposed inter-local agreement conditioned on approval of the location by the Spring Lake Township Board. Motion carries.

Board Member Comments
▪ Michael DeWitt – He read the paper and there was a report on MATS consolidating with HTMMTS and he is leery about that. This is his last meeting.
▪ Patrick McGinnis – Thanked Mike for his years of service to HTMMTS and the City of Ferrysburg.
▪ Gordon Gallagher – Applauded the progress being made by HTMMTS in recent months.
▪ Cathy Pavick – wished Mike all the best in his well deserved retirement.

Moved by DeWitt to adjourn at 5:58 p.m.

Next regularly scheduled Board Meeting will be held on November 17, 2021 at 4:30
PM at City of Grand Haven, 519 Washington Ave, Grand Haven, MI 49417.

July 28, 2021 Board Meeting Minutes

Sep 20, 2021 | HTMMTS Boards, HTMMTS Meeting Minutes

Harbor Transit Multi-Modal Transportation System (HTMMTS)

Regular Board Meeting Minutes
JULY 27, 2021
SPRING LAKE VILLAGE HALL
102 West Savidge Street

Meeting Called to Order by President Craig Bessinger at 4:30 p.m.

Roll Call

Present: Craig Bessinger, Bob Monetza, Pat McGinnis, Cathy Pavick, Gordon Gallagher, Don Reiss, Chris Burns, Pete LaMourie
Absent: Mike DeWitt, Bill Cargo, Joel TePastte
Also Present: Scott Borg, Harbor Transit Director, Andrea Dumbrell, Grand Haven Township Human Resources Manager, Dana Appel, Senior Accountant and Compliance Manager, Melvin Barkley, Operations Manager, Annelise Walker, Marketing Manager
Introduction of Melvin Barkley, Operations Manager, Annelise Walker, Marketing Manager.

Approval of the May 26, 2021 HTMMTS Board Meeting Minutes
Motion by Gordon, second by Chris, to accept the minutes from the Meeting held May 26, 2021. Motion carries.
Additions/Corrections to the Agenda
Motion by Chris, second by Bob, to approve the agenda. Motion carries.

General Business / Call to Audience
None

Discussion/action Payables Warrant
Motion by Pat, second by Cathy to accept the Payables Warrant as presented. Motion carries.

Discussion/action on Financial Reports, Receive and File.
Gordon asked about fare policy and how we are optimizing our efforts in the collection (or
not collection) of fares. Scott reported that we were ready to go with a RouteMatch solution
that is touchless and collects from riders when they ride. 5% fee to middleman; RouteMatch
collects $60,000 up front then $6,000 per year.
Motion by Chris, second by Pete to accept the reports as submitted. Motion carries.

Discussion on Estimated Revised Budget.
Current year budget; no questions.
Discussion/action on Revised Harbor Transit Personnel Manual.
Scott explained the changes include the following:
 Add time ½ to holiday pay
 Change definition of pay out time to time actually worked, not time paid
 Clarify number of hours that may be cashed out for full and part time employees
Motion by Chris, second by Bob to revise personnel manual as recommended, effective today.
Motion carries.

Discussion/action on one-time Employee PTO Payout.
Motion by Pete, second by Bob, to approve the one time PTO payment at a cost of
approximately $10,000 with no ongoing impact to our budget. Motion carries.

Discussion on Strategic Planning and Results of the Strategic plans and SWOT exercise.
Scott will verify numbers and then we will have further discussions.

Marketing Update – Annelise Walker
Increase community awareness.
Advertising for drivers at Michigan SOS office on the kiosk screens
Three billboards are up: US 31, M-104, I-96
Social media presence (especially Facebook)
Radio advertising on WAWL and WGHN
Grand Living half page
103.5 football pamphlet
Some discussion about bus wraps and varying attitudes about them. Annelise is looking into
doing a Buccaneer and Laker wrap. Gordon agreed the Buccaneer wrap would be far more
attractive.

Operations Update – Scott Borg
Numbers are slowly coming back up.
Trolleys are very successful.
Passengers on federally funded buses must wear masks.
9 crashes last year; 12 crashes so far this year (sideswipes are the most common)

Transportation Director’s Report – Scott Borg
Customer Care supervisor resigned today; dispatcher will fill the position.
West Michigan Regional Transit Study review held on July 7 between MATS and Harbor
Transit. Study completed next fiscal year.
Kickoff with ORC (firm to look for expansion real estate). They will provide weekly updates.

Board Member Comments
Bob asked about Beach Express. Scott reported that we had 11 riders in June, 219 in July. In
comparison, 2,524 rode the trolley in July.
Chris recommended that we sign up staff for Leadership Connect.
Gordon commented that it appears customer service is improving at Harbor Transit.
Craig commended staff on having very clean buses.

Moved by to adjourn at 5:35 p.m.

Next regularly scheduled Board Meeting will be held on September 22, 2021 at 4:30 PM at
City of Grand Haven City Hall, 519 Washington Ave.

April 28, 2021 Special Board Meeting Minutes

Jul 14, 2021 | HTMMTS Boards, HTMMTS Meeting Minutes

Harbor Transit Multi-Modal Transportation System (HTMMTS)

Board Meeting Minutes for April 28, 2021 (Via Zoom)

Meeting Called to Order by President Craig Bessinger at 4:30 p.m.

Roll Call
Present: Craig Bessinger (Ferrysburg, MI), Bob Monetza (Grand Haven, MI), Pat McGinnis (Grand Haven, MI), Cathy Pavick (Spring Lake Township, MI), Gordon Gallagher (Spring Lake Township, MI), Joel Tepaste (Spring Lake Village, MI), Chris Burns (Spring Lake Village, MI), Mike DeWitt (Ferrysburg, MI), Pete Lamourie (Grand Haven Township, MI), Bill Cargo (Grand Haven Township, MI)
Absent: None
Also Present: Scott Borg, Harbor Transit Director, Andrea Dumbrell, Grand Haven Township Human Resources Manager, Dana Appel, Senior Accountant and Compliance Manager

Approval of the March 24, 2021 HTMMTS Board Meeting MinutesMotion by Mike, second by Chris, to accept the minutes from the Meeting held
March 24, 2020.Yes: Pete Lamourie, Craig Bessinger, Bob Monetza, Bill Cargo, Pat McGinnis, Cathy Pavick, Gordon Gallagher, Joel Tepaste, Chris Burns, Mike DeWitt
Motion carries

Additions/Corrections to the Agenda
Scott mailed out item 7f to approve Robert Sullivan as Attorney for Harbor Transit.
Motion by Gordon, second by Cathy, to approve the agenda as amended.
Yes: Pete Lamourie, Craig Bessinger, Bob Monetza, Bill Cargo, Pat McGinnis, Cathy Pavick, Gordon Gallagher, Joel Tepaste, Chris Burns, Mike DeWitt
Motion carries

General Business / Call to Audience
None

Discussion/Action of Accounts Payable and Financial Statements
Motion by Pat to accept the Accounts Payable and Financial Statements as presented by staff. Second by Mike.
Yes: Pete Lamourie, Craig Bessinger, Bob Monetza, Bill Cargo, Pat McGinnis, Cathy Pavick, Gordon Gallagher, Joel Tepaste, Chris Burns, Mike DeWitt
Motion carries

Discussion/Action to approve Harbor Transit’s Advertising Policy and Regulations.
Added the word “exploitation” to qualify prohibited advertising content in regard to children and changed review committee.
Motion by Bill, second by Mike, to approve Advertising Policies and Regulations.
Yes: Pete Lamourie, Craig Bessinger, Bob Monetza, Bill Cargo, Pat McGinnis, Cathy Pavick, Gordon Gallagher, Joel Tepaste, Chris Burns, Mike DeWitt
Motion carries

Discussion/Action on the Operation and Maintenance Termination agreement between the City of Grand Haven, MI and Harbor Transit Multi-Modal Transportation System.
Craig suggested that this be tabled to give staff time to answer questions that we have for MDOT and MERS. Board members discussed whether we have enough information to move forward at this time or whether we should wait while we gather more information.
Motion by Mike to table the issue until the next meeting, second by Bill.
Yes: Bill Cargo, Pete LaMourie, Mike Dewitt, Craig Bessinger
No: Pat McGinnis, Bob Monetza, Chris Burns, Gordon Gallagher, Cathy Pavick, Joel Tepaste
Motion fails.
Motion by Gordon to approve the Operation and Maintenance Termination agreement between the City of Grand Haven, MI and Harbor Transit Multi-Modal Transportation System as presented.
Yes: Pat McGinnis, Bob Monetza, Chris Burns, Gordon Gallagher, Cathy Pavick, Joel Tepaste
No: Bill Cargo, Pete LaMourie, Mike Dewitt, Craig Bessinger
Motion carries.

Old Business – 18 Month Comprehensive Wage Study.
RFP is in its final stages. Will be going out to qualified consultants and should have proposals back in a couple of months.

Transportation Director’s Report – Scott Borg
Annelise Walker is our new part time marketing coordinator. Welcome Annelise! Planning to open up completely on May 1, 2021 (except for schools). Will follow all transportation requirements.

Discussion/Action to approve Attorney Robert E. Sullivan from Scholten Fant, as Harbor Transit’s Attorney.
Motion by Gordon to approve the hiring of attorney Robert Sullivan as recommended by staff, second by Cathy.
Yes: Pete Lamourie, Craig Bessinger, Bob Monetza, Bill Cargo, Pat McGinnis, Gordon Gallagher, Joel Tepaste, Chris Burns, Mike DeWitt
Motion carries

Board Member Comments:
Next Regularly scheduled Electronic Board Meeting will be held on May 26, 2021 at 4:30 PM via Electronic remote meeting unless otherwise noticed.