DELAWARE RIVER PORT AUTHORITY & PORT AUTHORITY TRANSIT CORP. August 20, 2014 Board Meeting Wednesday, August 20, 2014 Pennsy
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DELAWARE RIVER PORT AUTHORITY & PORT AUTHORITY TRANSIT CORP. August 20, 2014 Board Meeting Wednesday, August 20, 2014 Pennsylvania Convention Center 1101 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 10:00 a.m. John Hanson, Chief Executive Officer DRPA BOARD DELAWARE RIVER PORT AUTHORITY BOARD MEETING Wednesday, August 20, 2014 ORDER OF BUSINESS 1. Roll Call 2. Report of the CEO 3. Report of the Interim CFO Key Performance Indicators 4. Approval of July 16, 2014 Board Meeting Minutes 5. Monthly List of Payments – Covering Month of July 2014 6. Monthly List of Purchase Orders and Contracts of July 2014 7. Approval of Audit Committee Minutes of July 30, 2014 8. Adopt Resolution Approved by Audit Committee of July 30, 2014 DRPA-14-097 Selection of Independent Firm to Conduct a Yellow Book Management Audit 9. Approval of Operations & Maintenance Committee Minutes of August 6, 2014 10. Adopt Resolutions Approved by Operations & Maintenance Committee of August 6, 2014 DRPA-14-098 Contract No. BR-15-2012, Betsy Ross Bridge Resurfacing And Approach Roadway Rehabilitation DRPA-14-099 Construction Monitoring Services for Betsy Ross Bridge Resurfacing and Approach Roadway Rehabilitation DRPA-14-100 Capital Project Contract Modifications DRPA-14-101 FY2013 TSGP Regional Public Security Awareness Public Service Announcement Project, Phase IV 11. Approval of Finance Committee Minutes of August 6, 2014 12. Adopt Resolutions Approved by Finance Committee of August 6, 2014 DRPA-14-102 Camera & Call Box Maintenance Agreement DRPA-14-103 DRPA/PATCO Medical Service Provider for Drug & Alcohol Testing/Training, Physical Exams, Medical Evaluation and Health Screening DRPA-14-104 Benefits Administration Third Party Administrator DRPA/PATCO DRPA-14-105 Extension of Blue Horizon Loan Satisfaction Agreement 13. Unfinished Business 14. New Business DRPA-14-106 Consideration of Pending DRPA Contracts (Between $25,000 and $100,000) DRPA-14-107 Interim Collective Bargaining Agreements Extension DRPA-14-108 Formation of a Legal Committee DRPA-14-109 Commissioners Choice of Counsel 15. Citizens Advisory Committee Report 16. Public Comment 17. Executive Session 18. Adjournment CEO REPORT Report of the Chief Executive Officer August 2014 Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey One Port Center 2 Riverside Drive Camden, New Jersey 08101-1949 August 20. 2014 To the Commissioners: The following is a summary of recent DRPA activities. The appropriate reports are attached: o DRPA On August 2nd, we finished the rehabilitation PATCO’s south track across the Ben Franklin Bridge. And it was finished on time. Although technically a PATCO project, it affected thousands of our bridge customers as well as our DRPA employees every day, during every shift. We finished on time because of the efforts of Ben Franklin Bridge Operations staff who provided maximum lane access and accommodations to PATCO and the contractor; and because of DRPA staff who exhibited extraordinary levels of stewardship and teamwork. We confirmed that it’s not only the workers on scaffolds that build bridges and transit lines. This first outage was a success because of both PATCO and DRPA staff. I am extremely proud of what has been accomplished so far and will continue to encourage this collaboration and teamwork on all initiatives we undertake. Every department across the Authority played a role in supporting this project. At the risk of leaving out a few, here are some examples: Ensuring we had enough train cars for service every day of the outage Making sure our trains ran safely on one track and according to schedule Staffing the stations to assist customers, answer questions, and maintain order Improving and enhancing communication and customer service, internally and with our customers and other stakeholders Crafting and maintaining a schedule that moves our customers as quickly and efficiently as possible Repairing track circuit, signal and radio issues Fixing HVAC, door and other equipment problems on our train cars Installing fans on the platforms to keep our customers cool Closely managing our contractor to ensure all work was completed on schedule Designing, printing and handing out new schedules at the stations Processing invoices and purchase orders Providing revenue, traffic and ridership statistics Coordinating lane outages on the BFB necessary to support the track work Creating press releases and posting information on our website Engaging on social media to provide timely service information and respond to customer inquiries and complaints Pursuing technological solutions with various providers to improve communications with our riders Coordinating public information outreach and town hall meetings Employees throughout the Authority should be commended for a job well done. I am confident that this spirit of cooperation will continue through the upcoming 50-day outage and the remainder of this project. Biennial bridge inspections continue. On the Walt Whitman Bridge, repairs to the gusset plates are underway. The need for these priority repairs was identified during biennial inspections. We expect that the current weight restriction limit will be lifted in mid-September. PennDOT’s I-95 Corridor Coalition Project is underway to renew the I-95 interchange and ramps adjacent to the Betsy Ross Bridge. The project will often impact travelers using the Betsy Ross Bridge and will require regular and on-going cooperation between DRPA, and state and federal agencies to minimize problems for our customers. The project is PennDOT funded. Traffic Updates: Compared to 2013 figures, traffic at our two northern bridges has decreased. At our southern bridges, traffic has increased slightly. The Ben Franklin is down 4% and the Betsy Ross is down 1.5%. The Walt Whitman is up slightly by .73% and the Commodore Barry is up by just .41%. Note that summer month figures usually reflect the fact that customers are on vacation and are using our bridges less. Additionally, the Tacony Palmyra Bridge construction has ended; it had impacted Betsy Ross traffic over the past few months. For a list of Bridge and Finance actions, see Attachment 1 For a list of Personnel Actions, see Attachment 2 For a list of Contracts and Purchases, see Attachment 3 For a list of Risk Management & Safety Actions, see Attachment 4 For the Affirmative Action Report, see Attachment 5 ____________________________________________________________ PATCO The first of two continuous track outages for the PATCO Track Rehabilitation Project over the Ben Franklin Bridge was completed on August 2nd. During this 60-day outage, we moved over 1.7 million passengers safely and efficiently. This vital project was the second largest project in PATCO’s history. This first continuous outage enabled us to replace the entire south track, along with signaling, electrification and other system components. However, there is still another rail to rehabilitate. After the upcoming and final 50-day outage, there will be more work to do as we continue to complete this project for our customers on time. For the most part, our riders have learned from us that visiting our website, using social media and referring to the schedule is the best plan of action. We have also learned from our customers. We listen and learn from their suggestions and feedback. It’s a team effort and our customers are our partners. PATCO ridership is down 5.4% from the same period as last year. It is slightly less than last month and corresponds to seasonal loss of vacationing riders. In June 2011, twenty-six (26) PATCO cars were delivered to the Alstom plant for overhaul. As of today, Alstom has delivered eight (8) of those cars back to Lindenwold for testing. Of these eight (8) cars, the first set of married pairs (MP) was made to PATCO on November, 2013. Three additional MPs were delivered since then and are now being tested at Lindenwold on PATCO tracks. A total of eight (8) cars are back at Lindenwold being tested. Based on the progress of current testing, PATCO projects “conditional acceptance” of these 8 cars (4 MPs) by the end of September, 2014. For PATCO Ridership and Financial Information, See the General Manager’s Report in the PATCO section Attached are reports from the appropriate departments. ____________________________________________________________ Stewardship /Stewardship Thanks to the efforts of Project Analyst Ann DuVall and HRS Director Kelly Forbes, the Federal Transit Administration has approved our Title VI Public Participation Plan. This plan will ensure that the public, particularly low income, minority and Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations in our service area, has meaningful access to our services, benefits and information. To make our employees and workplace heathier, we asked employees to take part in a Wellness Survey and 145 employees enthusiastically complied. The results will enable our Benefits Administration Department and Wellness Coordinator Karen Fanning to develop effective programs, activities and screenings at work and at the Employee Health Fairs scheduled for October 14th and 17th. When a cross-functional team from HR, Risk Management, Purchasing, Safety and Central Storeroom worked together, the result was a well-crafted, on-line, user-friendly catalog that will assist all employees to identify and use the safety tools and other personal protection equipment which are at their disposal. The team was led by CAO Toni Brown and Project Analyst Ann DuVall. Other team members include Risk Management & Safety Director Marianne Staszewski, HRS Director Kelly Forbes, Safety Specialists Mark Armbruster and Khalil Christian, Procurement Manager Susan Squillace, Central Storeroom Supervisor Gail Polk and temporary worker, Richard Smith. DRPA is pleased to report that Taney Youth Baseball Association has made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. At the time of this writing, we don’t yet know how the Dragons finished, but we are proud that they made it to “the show”. For many years and with board approval, DRPA has offered youth organizations and schools the opportunity to use property adjacent to our bridges as fields for sports activities.