December 1, 2021 Board Meeting Minutes

Dec 6, 2021 | HTMMTS Boards, HTMMTS Meeting Minutes

Harbor Transit Multi-Modal Transportation System (HTMMTS) Regular Board Meeting Minutes

DECEMBER 1, 2021 GRAND HAVEN CITY HALL 519 WASHINGTON AVENUE

Meeting Called to Order by President Craig Bessinger at 4:35 p.m.

Lack of a quorum was noted; notes from tonight’s meeting can be authenticated by majority vote at next meeting with quorum.

Roll Call
Present: Craig Bessinger, Pat McGinnis, Gordon Gallagher, Bill Cargo
Absent: Joel TePastte, Jerry Sias, Cathy Pavick, Don Reiss, Chris Burns

Also Present: Scott Borg, Harbor Transit Director, Dana Appel, Finance and Compliance Director, Annelise Walker, Marketing Coordinator, Tom Burghardt, Driver, Teresa Dreese, Dispatch Lead, Carrie Uthe, Local Advisory Council Chair, John Stern, former employee interested in at-large Board seat

Approval of September 22, 2021 HTMMTS Board Meeting Minutes
Motion by Cargo, second by Gallagher to approve the minutes of September 22, 2021. Motion carries.

Additions/Corrections to the Agenda
None

Approval of Regular Agenda
Motion by McGinnis, second by Gallagher to approve the agenda as printed. Motion carries.

General Business / Call to Audience
None

Discussion on Estimated Budget FYE 2022/2023
Dana presented an update to the 2022/2023 budget and answered questions; this item will be on the January 26, 2022 agenda to formally amend the fiscal year budget.

Discussion/action on Payable Warrant.
Moved by Cargo to approve Payables Warrant, second by Gallagher. Motion carries.

File/Receive Financial Statements.
Dana commented that we are very early in the new fiscal year and there is not much variance to report.

Discussion/Action Resolution of MDOT Master Agreement 2022-0063.
Motion by Gallagher, second by Cargo, to approve MDOT Master Agreement 2022- 0063. Motion carries.

Discussion/Action Approval of Propane Contract with Wesco, Inc.
Crystal Flash advises that we might do better next year if we request proposals for two years.

Motion by Gallagher to approve propane contract with Wesco, Inc. as presented, second by Cargo. Motion carries.

Vehicle Sale to City of Grand Haven and City of Battle Creek Transit.
Staff is recommending sale of two surplus trolleys with de-minimus value to the City for $1 each and two minivans to Battle Creek Transit for $2,500 each.Motion by Cargo, second by Gallagher, to approve sale of two fully depreciated trolleys with no market value to Grand Haven for $1 each and two minivans to Battle Creek for $2,500 each. Motion carries.

Discussion/Action on Inter-Local Agreement to allow Public Transportation Across Jurisdictional Boundaries.
Motion by Cargo, second by Gallagher, to approve Inter-Local Agreement to allow Public Transportation Across Jurisdictional Boundaries. Motion carries.

Scott reported that we are looking at expanding hours so we can better serve industry. We need to evaluate this pilot effort for at least one year to better understand potential for future expansion. This effort is in concert with the ongoing study underway at WMSRDC. Gordon and Pat asked that there be some outreach to local industry to make sure we are being responsive to their needs.

Change in Harbor Transit Policy Training Pay.
Scott explained that he would like to add language to the training manual to provide training pay to Harbor Transit Employees who are deemed qualified to train employees. Motion by Gallagher, second by Cargo to approve pay differential for hazardous pay as recommended by staff. Motion carries.

John R. Stern – At Large Harbor Transit Board Member.
Postponed until January meeting.

Old Business – Discussion/Action to Approve Preliminary Harbor Transit Strategic Plan.
Planning took place in May of this year.Motion by Cargo, second by McGinnis, to approve the draft plan for the years 2022 – 2026. Motion carries.

Marketing Update – Annelise Walker
Pushing messaging out about safety of riding on Harbor Transit.
Taking advantage of giving opportunities: Salvation Army angel tree location! Customers can stop in and pick out a tag and then deliver a gift back to Harbor Transit.
Lakeshore Trolley name was adopted following community engagement.

Operation Director’s Update – Melvin Barkley
Melvin accepted a job with the Detroit Transit operation; he will be missed. Go State. Ridership remains low compared to pre-pandemic levels. On time performance has been drastically impacted in November due to lane closures over bridge.

Transportation Director’s Update – Scott Borg
Promotions of Tom and Theresa noted.
West Michigan Regional Transit study. Workshops have been held in October and November. Consulting firm will make recommendations this month. If a new structure is agreed upon we will be asked to act in early 2022.
Currently negotiating with Progressive AE to be our consultant as we continue to work on plan to purchase property and build a new facility.
Dispatch is doing productivity training.

December 17, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. desert bake off: Board Members are asked to come and taste test.

Dana reported that Harbor Has a Heart will be packing toys at the Salvation Army – Board Members are also encouraged to assist.

Next regularly scheduled Board Meeting will be held on January 26, 2022 at 4:30 PM at Grand Haven Charter Township, 13300 168th Avenue, Grand Haven, MI 49417.

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.