Minutes 02-27-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Craig Benedict said staff has developed maps of transit dependent populations, and these are noted in northern Hillsborough the Efland Cheeks area. He said the senior citizen populations are being considered. He said there are more people over the age of 60 outside of Chapel Hill and Carrboro than there are in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Commissioner Price said people want to age in place, and it is important to serve them. She said she has a problem with buses only going through 5:00. She said people need transportation to work, and to and from school, and the bus should provide this. Craig Benedict said one last thing that will be funded with the Bus and Rail Investment Plan monies is the continuation of the Hillsborough circulator route. He said there are currently monies earmarked with the plan for when the congestion management air quality grants dry up. He said there will be additional monies necessary to upgrade the service to include weekends. He said there is a three party agreement between MPO, TTA and Orange County that talks about funding that might not be completely explained in the plan or the implementation agreement. He said the three parties will have to sign off on the new funding arrangement in order to have sustainable funding for the circulator route. He said staff is trying to use money from the tag tax to fund it, as money from the sales tax is not supposed to be used for existing services. Jenn Weaver asked for clarification on the circulator route. She asked if there were any immediate plans to add a route going in the other direction. Craig Benedict said the plan is to keep the one route, and change locations as necessary. He said running a bus in the opposite direction doubles the cost. He said the circulator costs $90,000 - $110,000 per year, so funding another route in the other direction would mean finding another $100,000. He said OPT has not vied for urban monies from the MPO in the past, as it was a rural area, and the MPO didn't cover all the way to Efland. He said this is changing, and OPT is asking for their fair share based on population served in the urbanized area. Commissioner Pelissier said she would like to put the issue of various bus service needs in perspective. She noted that she is on the Board of Health and is the liaison for the Master Aging Plan. She said the Master Aging Plan talks a lot about the need for transportation for seniors, and then last night the Board of Health passed a resolution stating the need to make sure there is transportation for residents who need it for health reasons. She said there is a tremendous expressed need for transit. She said the sales tax is not going to solve all of the transit problems, and the reality is that projects are going have to be prioritized. Commissioner Gordon said the abstract says this will come back to the Commissioners in April or May for approval of financial assumptions. She said it sounds esoteric that that would be important. She said there is an inter-local agreement that says if the conditions materially change it has to come back to the Board. She said there are material changes. She questioned what will be done if sales tax revenue goes up, but some of the other state or local revenue sources go down. She said this will be an important conversation in May. She said the bus hours are critically important, and the Board wants to rectify this when extra money comes in. Commissioner Gordon said it is important to remember that 75 percent of the money goes to the light rail transit. She said the bus and rail plan passed by the voters is pretty specific, but there are some changes, and the question is what will be done in April. She said she is hearing the Board say that the bus service is the priority. Commissioner McKee congratulated Eric Langfried on the approval to move to development stage. He said this does not change his stand on the light rail, but it was evidently a well put together plan. He referenced a proposal put forth this summer regarding