Harbor Transit Multi-Modal Transportation System (HTMMTS) Board Meeting Minutes
May 24, 2023
City of Ferrysburg
1. Meeting Called to Order by President Craig Bessinger at 4:30 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Present: Craig Bessinger, Bill Cargo, Bill Cate, Gordon Gallagher, Deanna McIntyre, Kevin McLaughlin, Joel TePastte, & Will Whittemore.
Absent: Chris Burns, Ashley Latch, & Cathy Pavick.
Also Present: Scott Borg, HTMMTS Director; Dana Appel, Finance and Compliance Director; Tom Burghardt, Operations Supervisor; Andrea Dumbrell, Human Resources Director; Annelise Walker, Marketing Coordinator; Trina Robinson, Consultant; and John Phillips, Training & Safety Coordinator.
3. Approval of the March 22, 2023, HTMMTS Board Meeting Minutes
Motion by Cargo, second by TePastte, to accept the minutes from the meeting held March 22, 2023, including authentication of previous meeting minutes due to the lack of a quorum. Motion carries.
4. Additions/Corrections to the Agenda
None.
5. Approval of Regular Agenda
Motion by Cargo, second by TePastte, to approve the agenda. Motion carries.
6. General Business/Call to Audience
None
7. Consideration for Approval of Consent Agenda:
a. Discussion/review payable warrants.
b. File/receive financial reports.
c. File/receive National Transit Summaries & Trends 2021.
Motion by Cargo, second by McIntyre to approve the consent agenda as presented. Motion carries. (Note: Cargo suggested that minutes and consent agendas be combined for future meetings.)
8. Old Business:
Wage Study Update: Dumbrell reported that Harbor Transit is moving forward with a 7.9%
COLA increase for 2023-24.
9. New Business
a. Discussion/Update on 172nd Avenue Property: Borg reported that Shape Corporation has made an offer on the property to build a child care facility, but Harbor Transit is exploring the possibility of purchasing ten acres from Shape after they own the land. The next step is for Shape to determine their needs.
b. Discussion/Action to request Harbor Transit Millage to be placed on the August 2024 Ballot for Spring Lake Township & Spring Lake Village (.60 per $1,000 taxable value for five years:
Motion by Cargo, second by McLaughlin to approve the request for Harbor Transit Millage of .60/$1,000 of taxable value for 2024-28 on the Spring Lake Township & Spring Lake Village August 2024 ballots. Motion carries.
c. Amendments to the Harbor Transit Personnel Manual: Dumbrell provided updates to changes in the personnel manual. Details may be found in the written report, Resolution 01-0523 – Amendments to the Personnel Manual, dated May 19, 2023. Motion by Gallagher, second by McIntyre to approve the proposed amendment. Motion carries.
10. Discussion/Update of Local Advisory Council Meeting: Burghardt reported that the LAC discussed the resumption of fare collection, which is scheduled for September 2023, along
with the introduction of a touchless fare collection system.
11. Reports
a. Marketing: Walker reported on current marketing efforts, including Radio Advertising promoting CASPR, open trolley driver positions, and a survey of ridership at Momentum Center, Four Pointes, and on social media to gage the level of perceived safety from CASPR units. See the Marketing Report for April and May 2023 for details.
b. Operations: Burghardt reported on current ridership, on-time performance, no-shows and safety issues for the period ending April 30, 2023. There was only one bus accident or the month of April and two ridership complaints were reported. See the Operations Update dated May 17, 2023 for details.
c.Transportation: Borg reported on the following:
• US Representative Hillary Scholten visited on April 12, 2023. The discussion centered on Harbor Transit’s Service to the Tri-Cities area as well as our connection with Muskegon Area Transit and the need for a new facility.
• Peter Ross Dickow, the West Michigan Regional Director called on April 21, 2023. He provided an update on the Congressionally Directed Spending Earmark that Senator Peters Office asked Harbor Transit to participate in. Harbor Transit met the criteria with the new facility project and that will go to the appropriations committee in July.
• Harbor Transit and 6 other Michigan transit agencies have completed the RFP process and have chosen VIA Transportation as its next Dispatch Software program. Implementation will begin within the next two weeks with the complete roll out expected to be completed in September 2023.
• On June 3, 2023, Mr. John Phillips will be retiring from Harbor Transit after 10 years as the Safety and Training Coordinator. John Started at Harbor Transit on May 23, 2013 as a Bus Operator after retiring from his professional career as a Safety & Security Vice President and Consultant.
Board Member Comments:
• Bessinger asked about the status of our fleet. Borg reported that three busses are on order for delivery in June, but the prices keep increasing.
• TePasste expressed concerns about low-income riders when fare collection resumes. Meeting adjourned by President Craig Bessinger at 5:26 PM.
The next meeting is Scheduled for Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at the Village of Spring Lake, 102 W. Savidge, Spring Lake.