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** All present are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the City’s Core Values ** OFFICIAL NOTICE AND AGENDA of a meeting of a City Board, Commission, Department, Committee, Agency, Corporation, Quasi-Municipal Corporation or sub-unit thereof. Notice is hereby given that the TRANSIT COMMISSION of the City of Wausau, Wisconsin will hold a regular meeting as shown below. Meeting of the: TRANSIT COMMISSION Date/Time: Thursday, August 17, 2017 @1:00 p.m. Location: City Hall Board Room (2nd floor), 407 Grant Street, Wausau Members: Sherry Abitz(C), Pat Peckham, Dennis Smith, Kathi Zoern, Keith Draheim AGENDA ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION (all items listed may be acted upon) 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Public Comment 3. Approval of Minutes – June 15, 2017 4. Discussion and Possible Action on Balloon Rally/Chalk Fest Shuttle 5. Discussion and Possible Action on Ridership Report 6. Discussion and Possible Action on Financial Report and 2018 Budget 7. Discussion and Possible Action on Transit Planning and Stakeholder Outreach 8. Discussion and Possible Action on Transit Marketing and Promotion 9. Discussion and Possible Action on Regional Transit Authorities 10. Transit Directors Report Tentative Labor Agreement Threat and Vulnerability Assessment 11. Future Agenda Items 12. Adjournment Next Regular Meeting Date – September 21, 2017 This notice was posted at City Hall and faxed to the Wausau Daily Herald Newsroom and City Pages on August 11, 2017 at 12:54 PM Questions regarding this agenda may be directed to: Greg Seubert, Transit Director at 715-842-9287 or [email protected]. Meeting facilities are accessible to the disabled. Please note that upon reasonable notice, efforts will be made to accommodate the needs of disabled individuals through appropriate aids and services. For information or to request this service, contact Greg Seubert, Transit Director at 715-842-9287 or Greg.Seubert @ci.wausau.wi.us Interpreter services are available free of charge upon reasonable notice. Pab txhais lus yog muaj dawb xwb raws li qhov tsim nyog daim ntawv ceeb toom. Telephone: 715-842-9287 • Facsimile: 715-842-1541 • TDD: 715-843-6827 • Email: Greg.Seubert @ci.wausau.wi.us TRANSIT COMMISSION MINUTES Date and Time: The Transit Commission met on Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 1:00 P.M. at Wausau City Hall, 407 Grant St., Wausau, WI. Members Present: Sherry Abitz, Pat Peckham, Kathi Zoern, Dennis Smith Also Present: Greg Seubert (Metro Ride), Rebecca Balz (Metro Ride), Dave Mack (Wausau MPO), Andrew Lynch (Wausau MPO), Mayor Robert Meilke (City of Wausau) Members Excused: Keith Draheim In accordance with Chapter 19 of the Wisconsin Statutes, notice of this meeting was posted and sent to the Wausau Daily Herald in the proper manner. The meeting was called to order by Pat Peckham after noting a quorum was present. Public Comment Chris Weems was interested in hearing about what the status is on the Transit Planning & Outreach and also the status of the Metro Ride Capital Plan. Approval of Minutes Kathi Zoern moved to approve the minutes of the May 18, 2017 meeting. Smith seconded the motion. Motion carried. Financial Report Seubert presented a 2017 revenue and expense summary through April 30. At 33.3% of the budget year, revenue is at 35.5% of budget. Revenues will even out as ridership declines over the summer. Expenses are under budget as well. There was a little spike in expenses for maintenance of building grounds and equipment, but nothing too remarkable other than that. Seubert noted that he still does not know what our state and federal funding amounts are for 2017. Congress has not finished its business and the state cannot determine how much federal funding should be allocated. In order to make a first quarter payments, WisDOT had to estimate funding totals. They will reconcile funding amounts later in the year. Seubert added that the Joint Finance Committee has proposed the creation of a fund for purchasing transit buses, using the $63 million VW Settlement that is coming to the state of Wisconsin. The governor proposed that a portion of that go to Milwaukee County Transit to buy buses. The money is supposed to be used on projects to improve air quality. The Committee decided to add more funds and make them available to other transit systems in the state. The total amount is 32 million dollars. Seubert mentioned that there are a few oddities about the proposal. One being that the state has never provided capital funding for transit. Secondly, there is a significant difference in how locals are to pay their share. In this case, locals will pay 20% of the total cost by way of reduced shared revenue payments over a ten year period. Thirdly, funds will be administered by the Department of Administration, which has no apparent methodology to determine how transit funds should be distributed. Peckham asked if there was a formula in place that they’d use to split the money by the same percentage as they split regular federal funds. Seubert replied that the proposal includes a progressive scale for determining local cost. The cost share goes up significantly based on the size of your community. For example, Madison and Milwaukee have to pay 75% so their benefit out of the settlement is 25% of their total procurement. Peckham asked if we received this whether or not it would be used to 1 improve our existing fleet or to buy a new bus. Seubert responded that he is hoping to have enough to buy seven buses, which is what he is proposing in the capital plan, but no one knows how the money will be distributed. He suggested that we approach it as though it is going to be available and that we propose what we want, rather than talk ourselves out of it. Seubert said that the state did put together a RFP and they are going to do a joint bus procurement. This would allow us to place an order through the state contract, without having to go out for bid. Abitz asked if they would do a mass purchase of buses, meaning that all systems in the state would have the same buses or if we would have an option to choose. Seubert responded that there are a lot of uncertainties at this point and he did not know. The proposal needs to go to both houses and it could be amended. It also has to go to the Governor and he could veto it, but for now, it’s very encouraging. Zoern added that she thinks it is great that smaller systems are being considered. No action was taken. Metro Ride Capital Plan Seubert directed attention to the Capital Plan Summary, which becomes part of the MPO Transportation Improvement Plan. These are the projects that have been submitted for consideration in the City of Wausau’s Capital Plan. For 2018 he has requested seven new buses. As discussed in the previous item, we may have a possible funding source, so the bus project previously planned for 2021 has been moved up. Seubert said that we have acquired used vehicles in that last few years and he hoped we could get by with those until 2021. However, maintenance costs have spiked over the last three years and parts costs have gone up 60%. That is partly due to the older buses we’ve acquired and the work we put into them. But the rest of the fleet is aging and maintenance costs tend to increase throughout their life cycle. When they are new and under warranty, maintenance costs and labor hours go down. Seubert stressed that he does not know when funds will be available, but if the project is not in the plan, we cannot demonstrate a commitment to the local share of the cost and it will not be eligible for funding. Seubert chose seven buses because we have seven buses that have already exceeded their federally defined useful life and they are eligible for replacement. He added that if over the next two years we finish our plan and we are successful in expanding services to other municipalities, he would recommend retaining the Duluth buses as they are in better shape. Peckham asked for clarification on the requirements in purchasing new buses with the funds. Seubert responded that it is necessary to demonstrate that the capital plan is financially constrained and you have to demonstrate that there is a need. If there is no plan that would require additional vehicles or if the existing vehicles have not exceed their useful life, they will not be funded. In this case, there are seven vehicles that have exceeded their useful life and they are all necessary for existing levels of service. They should all be eligible for replacement. Lynch asked Seubert that if everything went perfectly, how long it would take for the new buses to arrive. Seubert answered that it typically takes 12-18 months. Abitz sked where most of the buses come from. Seubert said that our buses were purchased from Gillig in Hayward, CA. There is also a manufacturer in Minnesota. There are few manufacturers of buses, due to the inconsistent availability of funding. The second project of 2018 would be roof rehabilitation. The original roof from 1979 is still intact but it leaks. Ceiling tiles have been damaged despite roof patching on a regular basis. The metal panels are in reasonable shape, so the plan would include sealing of the existing panels. It would extend the life of the roof another 10-15 years. The project has been in the plan for several years, and if at some point this is isn’t taken care of, it will turn into a much larger project.

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