MINUTES
MassDOT BOARD MEETING OF JUNE 9, 2015
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, MassDOT Boardroom, Suite 3830, Boston, MA.
Those present were: MissesBonsignore, Secretary Pollack, Taylor, andMessrs. Blue, Lang, Moylan andPoftakbeing the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Also present were Frank DePaola, Interim General Manager, Tom Tinlin, Acting Highway Administrator, Christopher Willenborg, Aeronautics Administrator, Erin Devaney, Registrar of Motor Vehicles, Astrid Glynn, Rail and Transit Administrator, Dana Levenson, Chief Financial Officer-MassDOT; Jonathan Davis, Chief Financial Officer-MBTA;Owen Kane, Senior Counsel to the Board, Joe Pesaturo, Michael Verseckes and Paula Fallon.
The Chair, Ms. Bonsignore, presided.
Chair Bonsignore called the Open Meeting to Orderand presented the order of business.
ChairBonsignore opened up public comment period.
The first speaker was Louis Baxter from TRU. Ms. Baxter is happy about the investment the Governor wants to put into the MBTA. She would like to make sure it will not be paid for on the backs of the riders.
The next speaker was Rich Salvatore. Mr. Salvatore rides the MBTA everyday and he would like to encourage the Board to do the same so they can experience the MBTA.He also made a comment regarding the Public Private Partnership Commission (PPP) and how he would like to see more transparency.
The next speaker was Tara Doucette, Lead Counsel for Greater Boston Legal Services. Ms. Doucette works with the MBTA and System Wide Accessibility. She noted they have a great relationship and they would like to continue the progress of updating accessibility on the MBTA to one day have a 20 year CIP that includes 100% accessibility for the MBTA.
The next speaker was Tom Gilbert, Plaintiff for the BCIL lawsuit. Mr. Gilbert wants to share how important it is to havesystem wide accessibility on all modes and he looks forward to working with the new Board.
The next speaker was Andrew Forman, Senior Disability Advocate from BCIL. Mr. Forman currently has a great working relationship with the MBTA and is looking forward to working with the new Board noting there still is a lot of work to do.
The next two speakers were Kyle Dexter and Bruce Bolduc. Mr. Dexter from Local 25 and Mr. Bolduc from Local 42 in Lynn would like the Board to take a look at the interpretation of the MassDOT rule for physicals that are required for drivers. The new rule has resulted in 13 long time drivers losing their jobs when the people that have lost their jobs don’t need to pass the physical tests for the current certain types of vehicles they are driving.
ChairBonsignore closed public comment period.
Next was approval of the minutes for May 13, 2015. The Chair asked the minutes include the discussion of the OPED liability.
On motion duly made and second, it was;
VOTED: to approve the minutes of May 13, 2015 as amended.
Next the Chair took up the governance structure of the Board. The Chair handed a draft list for the Board to read on the nominations on positions.
On motion duly made and seconded, it was voted;
VOTED: To appoint Steven Poftak as Vice Chair of the MassDOT Board of Directors for a term of one year.
On motion duly made and seconded, it was voted;
VOTED: to appoint Betsy Taylor as Treasurer to the MassDOT Board of Directors for a term of two years.
On motion duly made and seconded, it was voted;
VOTED: to appoint Robert Moylan as Secretary to the MassDOT Board for a term of two years.
Next the Board discussed the three Committees, the Finance and Audit Committee, Compensation and Labor and Capital Program Committee. The Finance and Audit Committee members will be Betsy Taylor as Chair, Dominic Blue and Steven Poftak. The next committee is the Compensation and Labor Committee the members are Dominic Blue as Chair, Brian Lang and Robert Moylan. The Capital Program Committee, created to look at projects long range, will be Robert Moylan as Chair, Steven Poftak and Ruth Bonsignore. It was discussed if there was a vote needed to create the new Committee. Owen Kane answered that it was not needed because it is included in the bylaws that committees can be made by Chair and or the Secretary.
Next the Board discussed the By-Laws. Owen Kane noted that the draft bylaws deal with MassDOT only and with the uncertainty of the legislation passing soon, he recommended that they defer the adoption of bylaws for a couple of months until the legislation passes. The Board agreed to defer the item.
Next Secretary Pollack gave opening remarks to the new board. She began her report discussing the Capital Investment Plan discussion that will be taking place at the meeting. The plans are available on the MassDOT and MBTA websites for public review, and MassDOT will be in Amherst on Mondayevening to kick off a series of 10 public meetings. Both capital plans, which they will discuss later in greater detail, includelists of statewide investments for each operating division. In both cases,the plans help to move MassDOT toward the goal of a statewide, sustainable, andstrategic transportation system.
At a total of more than $3 billion, the investments made by MassDOT andthe MBTA over the upcoming fiscal year will continue to improve statehighway infrastructure; provide local aid for municipal roadways; supportthe Commonwealth’s general use airports; continue the modernization ofthe RMV’s out-of-date licensing and registration database; and makecritical upgrades to track, switch, and signal systems on the MBTA systemthat were so desperately needed this past winter (along with many otherthings). The capital plans are one-year update plans. They expect to release full five-year capital plans by the end of thiscalendar year, and will base those plans on a new system of evaluatingand prioritizing capital projects. The fact is, past capital plans havesometimes been ‘wish lists’ of projects that exceed available funds and, inmany cases, lack a cohesive vision for our statewide transportationnetwork.This new system, which is in the final stages of development by the ProjectSelection Advisory Council, will use objective criteria for scoring projectsbased on established criteria and then rank them in order of priority forfunding.The results will be a roadmap for future capital expenditures – driven bydata, regionally equitable, and using scoring criteria that allow projectssuch as multi-use paths to compete on a level playing-field with other moremajor infrastructure improvements.This means they are moving forward with the extension of the Green Line to Somerville andMedford; they are committed to installing Positive Train Control technology;still moving forward with new Red and Orange line vehicles; but also pivoting toward a new way of thinking about capital investments, byusing new methodology that wisely spends precious capital dollars on thecore needs of our system, across all modes and regions.On the same subject of capital spending, Baker and General Manager DePaola announced the details of the T’sWinter Resiliency Plan. The $82 million plan will make investments in keyareas of infrastructure, vehicles and equipment, and operations. Work isset to get under way by the end of June to start replacement of third-railheaters on the most vulnerable segments of the Red and Orange lines.The plan will also restore and repair existing snow-fighting tools, as well asstart the procurement for additional equipment, and will also support the T’soperations by setting aside approximately $11 million for contractorassistance to support the T’s resources to clear snow and ice from busstops, train stations, and along the rail right-of-way. This plan will befunded through a combination of capital and operating dollars. The Secretary ended with personnel announcements. She announced Jeffrey D. Gonneville as Acting Chief Operating Officer for the MBTA, Astrid C. Glynn as Rail and Transit Administrator, and Gerard J. Polcari as Chief Procurement Officer.
Next Administrator Tinlin gave a presentation on structurally deficient bridges and the Tobin Bridge fine line structure. He began with the Accelerated Bridge Overview (ACB). The 8-year, $3 billion program Legislation was signed in August 2008 and all projects must be advertised by September 2016.There are currently 98% contracts advertised (197/201), 84% contracts complete/beneficial use and 270 bridges repaired or replaced. Mr. Tinlin discussed the areas where there are structurally deficient bridges, projects that don’t qualify and the jobs that were created by this ABP program. The next steps are to review the successes of the program, lessons learned from Design Build and incorporating these practices into day-to-day operations. Next Mr. Tinlin presented the Tobin Bridge Toll Fine update. Before drivers were billed through pay-by-plate system and a bill was mailed to address of the registration holder. After 60 days of non-payment a $50 fee was attachedand after 120 days, the fine increased by $40 to $90. The Amnesty Program is a 30 day window (6/1 – 6/30) where all fines are waived, drivers must pay tolls in full and it waives any fines accrued including the $20 fee on license/registration holds at RMV. The new fee structure is the first 1-30 days you pay the Toll only, 31-60 days you pay the Toll plus $1, 61-90 days the price is the Toll plus $2 and 91days plus you pay Toll plus $3 + $20 RMV fee. The maximum is $500 in fines annually (plus tolls) and $20 RMV fee. MassDOT is working with local media to get the information out and to increase awareness. The Secretary discussed how the ABP program helped reduce a number of structurally deficient bridges. The Board asked what staff was doing in regard to implementing innovative processes besides design build. Mr. Tinlin responded that they are using what they have learned, noting you can’t be too aggressive. They are utilizing programs like incentive/disincentive clauses and closing down roads for a short period of time to get more done instead of trying to do it all while it is open.
Next Registrar Erin Deveney gave her report. She update the Board on the RMV’s efforts to improve its delivery of customer service by focusing on the following key areas the customers want improved: Wait times, alternative service options, and technical improvements aimed at increased service and efficiencies. In May 2015, 276,164customers appeared at RMV branches, which was a 10% decrease from the 305,864 customers that appeared at branches in May 2014.269,079 customers were served (had a transaction completed) last month, which was a 7% decrease from the 289,599 customers served in May 2014.The statewide average wait time for May 2015 was 28 minutes, 34 seconds. The statewide average wait time for May 2014 was 32 minutes, 4 seconds. Tier 1 branches (12K+ customers served; average wait time goal of 25 minutes).For the month of May 2015, Tier 1 branches served 118,012 customers with an average wait of 30:55. The Wilmington branch met the goal for the month with an average wait time of 24:13.Tier 2 branches (7K-12K customers; average wait time goal of 20 minutes). For the month of May 2015, Tier 2 branches served 105,842 customers with an average wait of 35:53. Our Fall River branch met the target goal for the month with an average wait of 19:27. Fall River also was the only Tier 2 branch to meet its goal for April 2015.Tier 3 branches (7K customers or less; average wait time of 10 minutes or less).For the month of May 2015, Tier 3 branches served 45,225 customers with an average wait of 20:56. Attleboro, Martha’s Vineyard, and North Adams all met their goal for the month.Next the Registrar updated the Board on the call center. The RMV phone center customers, in May 2015 the RMV received 67,957 calls and 44,068 were answered. Call abandonment rate was 35%. Average call handling time was 4:39. In May 2014, the RMV received 84,829 calls and 33,383 calls were answered. Call abandonment rate was 61% with an average call handling time of 4:44. There was a 29% increase in the number of calls handled per phone center agent year-to-year with an average of 1,422 calls handled per agent in May 2015 compared to 1,103 per agent in May 2014. In May 2015 marked the first month in which the RMV had its 10 kiosk pilot program fully operational in our 8 branch locations. The kiosks processed 3735 successful transactions.The kiosk at the Springfield RMV processed the fewest number of successful transactions at 243 transactions for the month.As part of this pilot, the RMV business team continues to work with our licensing system vendor, Morpho Trust, to find ways in which we can increase the usability of these devices to increase customer ease of using these as an alternative service delivery method.On May 28, 2015, the RMV joined with its partners from Pioneer Valley AAA at the official grand opening for RMV services at the Hadley AAA office location. This is the final of 12 offices under the existing pilot initiative.Our AAA partners performed 13, 488 RMV transactions for its members in May 2015. The Worcester AAA office, which is one of the longest standing locations, conducted the most transactions at 1953 for the month. With Technical Improvements-RMVM, work continues on Task Order 2 with the scheduled release date remaining 12/13/15 for features including the 360 customer’s view of their business, increased case management functionality; electronic submission of vision test results for license renewals. Performance for May 2015 did not identify any issues or delays that would negatively impact the critical path for the December release.
Next Chris Willenborg, Administrator of Aeronautics gave his report. Mr. Willenborg updated the Board on the camera systems that will be going in at different airports. He also updated the Board on the runway safety program. He also recognized LawrenceHigh school for winning the Real World Design Challenge. There will be airport open houses on June 13 at the Chatham Airport and on June 20 at the Turner Falls Airport.
Next Astrid Glynn, Rail and Transit Administrator gave a brief report. She wanted to give the Board a preview of her plans as Administrator. She will be working with freight rail, commuter rail and Amtrak as well as the geographic diversity of the 15 Regional Transit Authorities. She looks forward to working closely with the Board.
Next Frank DePaola, Acting General Manager gave his report. The General Manager began his report with ridership numbers. Ridership was down 3.9% in comparison to April 2014. The MBTA is starting to recover to normal ridership levels since the winter. Operating Revenue is up 2.7 million due to favorable variances on the fare restructure. The average cost per passenger is $3.11 so the MBTA is only recovering 40% of their costs. Next he went through the heavy rail performance and key bus routes. Director Moylan asked if there is a way to improve traffic movement to improve the metrics. Mr. DePaola answered that there is planning group that checks the numbers and figure out different scenarios. Director Poftak asked if it was calculated on a per passenger or per run basis. Mr. DePaola wasn’t sure but he said he would get back to the Board. Next he discussed accessibility on the system. A key thing they keep an eye on at stations is elevators and escalators. The MBTA is very aggressive at keeping these working. Their target for elevators is 99%. The Board asked what percent of stations are accessible. Mr. DePaola went through the list of key stations like Government Center which was the last of the core stations. He also noted that any station that is due to get an upgrade they will automatically included being accessible. Overall he noted only a small number of stations are fully accessible. Next Mr. DePaola discussed the Youth Pass Program. The MOU’s with Boston, Malden, Somerville and the Chelsea Collaborative are close to signature. There were over 2700 applications received for the 1500 spots. There was a random drawing completed for the spots. The city partners are ready to enroll selected participants. The pass sales will begin July 1, 2015 and participants must consent to have their card usage monitored and answer surveys to gather data to analyze the costs and benefits of the pass. Next he briefly went over the Capital Investment Program for the MBTA. To date, the MBTA has expended $655 million with the projected year end at $695 million in expenditures. The RIDE Means Testing Pilot program will begin on July 1st; $1 off each one-way trip at point of sale, with participants coded into scheduling software. The initial mailing to 10,250 frequent riders returned ~3,000 responses. The second mailing to 900 (even distribution geographically) has returned 170 responses. To ensure July 1st start date, they are enrolling all who return signed consent forms; accepting means-testing documents as participant is able to retrieve them. Mr. DePaola ended withCommuter Rail’s Positive Train (PTC) Control Update. They have two procurement proposals evaluated and scored, they are entering BAFO stage. The goal is to have the contract presented for September 2015 Board approval. They are working with Amtrak, Pan Am, CSX and Providence & Worcester RR to coordinate PTC activities. They are scheduling a briefing with FRA for June 10, 2015.