MINUTES
MassDOT BOARD MEETING OF APRIL 9, 2014
At the call of the Chair, a Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation was held at the State Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA on Wednesday, April 9, 2014.
There were present: Chairman Jenkins, Director Bonfiglio, DirectorLoux, Director Macdonald, and Secretary Davey. Director Whittle was not in attendance, and Director Blue participated by phone.
Also present were Frank DePaola, Administrator-Highway Division; Celia Blue, Assistant Secretary and Registrar of Motor Vehicles; Jeffrey Simon, Assistant Secretary for Real Estate and Asset Management; Cyndi Roy-Gonzalez, Assistant Secretary for Communications; Jon Davis, Chief Financial Officer-MBTA; Dana Levenson, Chief Financial Officer-MassDOT; Mark Boyle-MBTA; Charles Planck, Assistant General Manager for Policy, Performance and Strategy-MBTA; Paige Scott Reed, General Counsel and Owen Kane, Senior Counsel to the Board. Also in attendance was Paul Regan of the MBTA Advisory Board.
The Chairman, Mr. Jenkins, presided, and indicated that Director Blue is permitted to fully participate and vote, but he could not be considered part of a quorum, which was not a problem at this meeting. He also mentioned that Director Macdonald had to leave early and as such, the Chairman decided to change the agenda around to accommodate that situation.
Chairman Jenkins called the Open Meeting to Orderand opened up the meeting for public comment.
The firstspeaker was Paul Regan, Executive Director of the MBTA Advisory Board. He spoke about the MBTA budget. The Board reviewed the finance committee report on the FY15 budget. The MBTA Advisory Board endorsed the budget, including the 5% fare increase. They prefer the small regular increases over sporadic larger ones. They feel the additional assistance from the Legislature will provide additional stability. The reduction in debt service was also welcome, down to 22% from a high of near 30%. Pay Go Capital is welcomed as well and they feel the funds are going to be used well, particularly the $10M for accessibility issues. He brought up three additional issues: expanded service to Worcester, Night Owl service and off-peak service. Constituents on the Needham and Old Colony Lines feel, as well, that weekend service in those communities needs to be addressed. All the communities served by commuter rail are also asking about off-peak weekend parking rates; Mr. Regan indicated that those lots are empty then and it might be a good opportunity.
The next speaker was James F. White, AACT Chairman. He was directed by his full Board to address the meeting about the RIDE procurement. AACT was on the RIDE procurement selection committee. They endorse its outcome. ACCT encourages the Board to approve the recommendation of the Selection Committee.
The next speaker was David Knowlton, President of the Massachusetts Highway Association. Mike Valenti, Past President was with him as well. Mr. Knowlton thanked the Board and others for the information released about the Pot Hole Recovery Program to go to cities and towns to repair the roads. He reminded the Board that there was $100M in Ch. 90 funding that was not released and that could be used. He also said the Ch. 90 funds should be at $300M on an annual basis to cities and towns when it comes up at the Transportation Finance Legislation discussions.
The next speaker was Cranston Rogers of Bridging Forest Hills. He said the choice not to have a bridge at Forest Hills concerns him greatly. With the number of buildings going up in the area with the resulting increase in traffic, they need as much regional access as possible. They need capacity and bridges do the most to manage that capacity, far more than signals do. He urged the Board to re-consider the choice of the at-grade design in Forest Hills.
The next speaker was Penny Shaw, an independent advocate. She mentioned problems with requiring people to go to Charlestown to be tested for the RIDE. She says that going the distance to Charlestown is overwhelming for too many people, some of whom are in end of life stages.
The next speaker was John Lovett of Bridging Forest Hills. He says the Casey Overpass was built 60 years ago and the traffic is heavier now than then. The residents were told there would be public meetings, but now they are being told the decision has been made. He objects to DOT plans for multiple lights. Mr. Lovett said that after DOT destroys the Casey Overpass, it will be impossible to get around.
The next speaker was Marta Medina of SEIU and Roxana Rivera of SEIU. Ms. Rivera was the translator for Ms. Medina. Ms. Medina is a union cleaner. She wanted to explain the negative effects of the cleaning staff cuts. She has worked as a cleaner for 10 years. She cleans the Community College stop on the Orange line. She works from 6 a.m. to 10a.m., 20 hours per week, but would like to have a full time job. Her employer has not even given its employees goggles, and sometimes she buys gloves out of her own pocket. She would like the MBTA to stop the cuts to cleaning services.
The next speaker was Roxana Rivera. She is the district leader for SEIU. She spoke regarding the impending cuts to the cleaning staff. She stated that this will impact the workers as well as passengers. These cuts are coming after a 5% cut in staff that was already implemented. The SEIU sent the Board and senior staff a report they put together studying what will be happening in September. Some people are seeing as high as 79% reduction in hours. SEIU is not pleased that MBTA vendors are getting contracts on the “backs of hard working Bostonians” and does not indicate why such drastic cuts are warranted.
The next speaker was John Ratliff of Mass. Senior Action. Mr. Ratliff expressed his support for the Youth Fare. He said forward motion on this issue needs to continue; it has been seven years since youth in the city have come to the Board asking for this reduced fare to enable young people to getting around their communities and preparing them for the future.
The next speaker was Luis Navarro of the Youth Affordability Coalition. He came in support of the Youth Pass. He says he has been trying to get this passed for 8 years and nothing has happened. He said it is time for the Youth Pass. The addition of weekends to the M5 Pass was appreciated, but not enough. They asked for a decision by April 23rd for the Youth Pass and their group is demanding that a pilot program be implemented by then.
The next speaker was David Jenkins, director of the Roxbury Environment Empowerment Project. He was there to support the idea of a Youth Pass and reiterate the need to keep public transit affordable for the youth of Boston. He said the addition of weekends to the M5 was helpful, but only helps about 20,000 young people, saying it is not the solution to the larger problem of youth affordability.
The next speaker was Louise Baxter of the MBTA Riders Union. Ms. Baxter and her group support the Youth Pass.
The next speaker was Trae Weekes. Ms. Weekes is a youth organizer at the Roxbury Environment Empowerment Project. She indicated a lot of youth must contribute to their family by working and many students cannot get to work as the MBTA is too expensive.
The next speaker was Jeffrey Ferris of Bridging Forest Hills. He says he has been coming to these meetings for two years and that everything is coming to a peak regarding the Forest Hills situation. He does not believe Forest Hills can work efficiently without a bridge. He feels the MBTA was catering to bicycle riders who want fewer cars on the road, and did not take into effect the cost to the public of making traffic much more congested. He and his group want a bridge at the Casey Overpass.
The next speaker was Alice Alexander of Bridging Forest Hills, and a resident of Jamaica Plain. She said it is inadvisable to take the Casey Overpass down. She said a fly over is being built by MassDOT in Middleborough to help a neighborhood with congestion issues, but they say a flyover/overpass in Forest Hills is not needed and she does not understand that logic. Regional traffic and local traffic will merge without the bridge and cause problems.
The next speaker was George Kordon of Bridging Forest Hills. He came to speak in favor of the bridge.
The next speaker was Marilyn McNabb. Ms. McNabb came to speak about the RIDE contracts and a few other issues. First,she noted the conduct of some drivers and retaliation by drivers against clients. She noted that a driver parked on a hollow sidewalk and she told him about it. He responded abruptly and told her keep her comments to herself and then said he was going to have his supervisor send someone to remove her. Second, she asked that RIDE drivers get a GPS system upgraded to the quality used by EMS personnel. Third, there is confusion with VTS (Veteran Transportations Taxi); she thinks this is double-dipping. She also wants the drivers not to have cell phones.
The next speaker was Shannon McCue-Charnoff, a member of the Greater Lynn Senior Services/the RIDE. She says that Greater Lynn Senior Services has helped her very much and she recommends them as a future contractor as well.
The next speaker was Hang Lee, an advocate with the Jamaica Plain Multicultural Center. He commended the Board for lowering the ADA fare to $3.00. He proposes lowering the premium service fare from $5.00 to $4.00.
The next speaker is Mela Cardoza-Bush with the Fairmount Indigo Coalition. In keeping with the MBTA Advisory Committee recommendation to restore weekend service, Ms. Cardoza-Bush asks for the restoration of weekend service on the Fairmount Line with reduced parking fees, etc. It is imperative to move people out of their cars and onto the train. It is an urgent need right now.
Chairman Jenkins closed public comment period.
Michael Lambert, Deputy Administrator of Transit and Melissa Dullea presented the RIDE contracts procurement. Mr. Lambert indicated the process has been examined for over a year. He indicated that his team had three goals: sustain high levels of customer service and satisfaction, contain costs, and create a solid foundation to develop a business model by employing a range of transportation services. They managed to incorporate all these goals. All these proposals came in under current cost, with a savings of $210M. The MBTA will also be implementing an in-house call center, which will provide better service and reduce costs. To ensure competition, each contract was calculated to provide a good opportunity for large and small firms. The MBTA also answered over 200 questions from vendors. The RFP contained a number of policy changes, such as expanding the RIDE core to eliminate transfers. The new call center is also being developed and a separate RFP is being prepared to cover that. The MBTA received 11 bids from 5 firms. In order to reach arecommendation, a best value process was used. This process meant that each proposal’s strengths and weaknesses were determined across sixteen categories. Technical and cost proposals were examined. MBTA staff and representatives from AACT were included in the evaluations. Those chosen were Greater Lynn Senior Services in the North, Veterans Transportation in the West and National Express in South. They received top ratings in almost every category. Expenses are expected to grow at 2.5% instead of 7.5% as previously experienced over past decade. Even though federal funds were not involved, the DBE goal was set at 6.0% of the total value. MassDOT’s Civil Rights Department worked with all the bidders to make good faith efforts to meet this goal. Additionally, the RIDE has purchased hybrid vehiclesthat will provide a dramatic improvement in fuel efficiency. It is anticipated the new vehicles will get 47 mpg instead of 17 mpg. Overall, The MBTA expects to save over $250M off its cost projections and pro forma.
Secretary Davey moved to approve all three. That motion was approved.
On motion duly made and seconded, it was:
VOTED:That the General Manager be, and hereby is, authorized to execute in the name and on behalf of the Authority, and in a form approved by the General Counsel, a contract with Greater Lynn Senior Services, Inc. for the operation of The RIDE Paratransit service in the North Service Area. The contract shall commence on April 10, 2014 for mobilization, and service is to be provided from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2019, for an amount not to exceed $188,031,199, with a two-year option for July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021 for $99,037,766; and be it further
VOTED: That the General Manager be, and hereby is, authorized to execute in the name and on behalf of the Authority, and in a form approved by the General Counsel, a contract with Veterans Transportation LLC, d/b/a Veterans Transportation Services (VTS), for the operation of The RIDE Paratransit service in the West Service. The contract shall commence on April 10, 2014 for mobilization, and service is to be provided from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2019, for an amount not to exceed $237,873,956, with a two-year option for July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021 for $123,631,460; and be it further
VOTED: That the General Manager be, and hereby is, authorized to execute in the name and on behalf of the Authority, and in a form approved by the General Counsel, a contract with National Express Transit Corporation (NE) for the operation of The RIDE Paratransit service in the South Service Area. The contract shall commence on April 10, 2014 for mobilization, and service is to be provided from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2019, for an amount not to exceed $176,579,677, with a two-year option for July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021 for $91,045,941; and be it further
VOTED: That if the General Manager determines to exercise one or more options to extend the term of these contracts as noted above, the General Manager shall seek further approval or approvals from the Board prior to the exercise of any option to extend; and be it further
The motion was approved unanimously.
Director Macdonald indicated the Finance Committee reviewed the proposals and recommends them. Director Bonfiglio said some of the companies bid in more than one area. He said if they could do this, couldn’t they handle more than one area more efficiently? Mr. Lambert said it would have cost the MBTA more because one firm pulled out of one of the areas and the other firm was too expensive. The main efficiency was the development of the call center. Mr. Lambert said there was initially some uncertainty about doing a call center and through the process the MBTA realized they could have their own call center on a cost efficient basis. Ms. Loux congratulated the MBTA staff and all outside advocates for their work.
Jon Davis then presented information on the MBTA Fiscal 2015 Operating Budget. The work has been completed and presented to the Finance Committee. The budget was balanced. He credited the Governor and Secretary insupport of the Transportation Finance Legislation. The budget has revenues in excess of expenses of about $10M for the first time since 2004, which will go to Pay Go Capital and accessibility improvements. This is a good start, although it will not cover everything. The Accessibility Group is doing a comprehensive inventory to see what needs to be done. Cost savings and reforms are being examined. Mike Lambert’s staff and the RIDE contractors and public citizens have devoted a lot of time to try to get a better RIDE program for our customers and at a lower cost. In addition, there will be full conversion to the GIC plan and that will reduce expenses by $2.1M. As of July 1st 100% of active employees and retirees will be on the GIC. Further, provision has been made for savings for the Employee Availability Program;the MBTA has hedged 75% of its fuel requirements with a fixed price yielding a $3M savings;and as part of Way Forward we are implementing a third rail heating project with one line in place by winter of this year, which will generate a 3M savings on our electricity bill. We are also implementing an Efficiency DiagnosticProgram to see where we can improve. Mr. Davis said that the assumptions made in the budget were:a 5% fare increase (a booklet is available on the fare increase) and 10 meetings will be held on this subject. People’s comments will be noted and a summary of comments will be supplied to the Board.
On dedicated revenue, Mr. Davis said the MBTA is getting Transportation Finance Funding of $135M in addition to the $160M we got in 2010. On the service side, late night service on a 1 year pilot program is fully funded; Cape Flyer service from Memorial to Columbus Day is fullysupported by revenues generated, as well as funding for the enhanced service to Worcester. Mr. Davis mentioned that the MBTA’s $2B unfunded liability for retirees is the Authority’s most significant unfunded liability. The MBTA is dealing with the Office of Administration and Finance and MassDOT about funding this holistically across the state. The MBTA has a new money issue to be sold next week. There is no debt restructuring as it relates to the FY15 budget. Mr. Davis said we expect to have $1.9B in revenues, with 57% coming from the Commonwealth. Fare revenues are estimated at $597M. The CTPS Report suggests less than 1% ridership impact as a result of the fare increase. Parking and real estate activities are additional revenue generators, as well as our advertising program. The MBTA hopes to see about $2M next year in advertising.