Minutes - NOVEMBER 3, 2005

MEMBERS PRESENT: Foust, Galligan, Gordon (arrived 5:04 p.m.) Lee, Panza, Church

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Michael Guingona

STAFF PRESENT: Joan Cassman (arrived 5:16 p.m.), Robert Doty, Rita Haskin, Gigi Harrington, Chuck Harvey, Jennifer Hardie, Joe Hurley, Martha Martinez, David Miller, Michael Scanlon, Mark Simon

Chair Church called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. and Director Panza led the Pledge of Allegiance.

CONSENT CALENDAR
The Board unanimously approved the following items under the Consent Calendar:

1. Approval of Minutes of October 6, 2005
2. Acceptance of Statement of Revenues and Expenses for August 2005
3. Acceptance of Statement of Revenues and Expenses for September 2005
4. Approval of the 2006 Board of Directors’ Meeting Calendar

The Board presented Resolutions of Appreciation to Joe Galligan and Lee Panza, who are leaving the Board.

SAMTRANS LIAISON REPORT
The written report from the October 12 Board meeting was included in the agenda packet to the Board.

JOINT POWERS BOARD REPORT
Mr. Scanlon reported on the November 3 JPB meeting:

• Sue Lempert, MTC Liaison, reported that MTC received a report of an in-depth study regarding transit oriented development. The study examined residential properties within half-mile of a train or ferry station and revealed that 29.4 percent of people take transit to work and 22.7 percent walked to their destinations for non-work trips.


• Caltrain Performance Statistics for September 2005


1. Average Weekday Ridership was up 10.3 percent, from 31,220 riders to 34,430.
2. Total Ridership was up 9.5 percent from 808,049 riders to 885,216.
3. Total Revenue was up 30.2 percent from $1.97 million to $2.56 million.
4. On-Time Performance was down 3.9 percent from 97.6 percent to 93.7 percent.
5. Shuttle Ridership was up 7.4 percent from 4,157 riders to 4,465.
• Ridership was higher than anticipated the second weekend of October due to Fleet Week, a PGA event in San Francisco and San Francisco Scavenger Hunt involving Stanford students. An extra train was operated but there were still many delays and trains with standing room only. Next year, more service will be offered.
• Union Pacific is doing tie maintenance in the Santa Clara and San Jose areas directly adjacent to Caltrain track 2, which is causing some delays.
• The new ticket validators are being installed at key stations; 25 of the 35 have already been installed. The old validators will be refurbished and installed at stations.
• The Hillsdale northbound platform renovation was completed in October. Station construction continues and 150 additional parking spots will be available at the beginning of the year.
• The Caltrain Toys for Tots train, with cooperation of the Golden Gate Railroad Museum and the Marine Corps, will be stopping at select stations December 3 and 4.
• The Safety and Security report will be brought to the Board with data from the prior two months, as is customary with other Board reports. Therefore, no report was distributed this month.
• The JPB Approved the Following Actions:


1. Bruce Jenkins (Santa Clara) was appointed to the Citizens Advisory Committee.
2. Certified and Authorized the Acceptance of the FY2005 Regional Transit Security Grant Program Award.
3. Authorized an Amendment to Increase the FY2006 Capital Budget for the San Francisco Downtown Extension Preliminary Engineering, the Layover and Storage Yard at Tamien, the Closure of the Stockton Avenue Crossing and the San Francisco Bike Facility Projects.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR


• Chuck Harvey gave a first quarter update on the Reinvented Caltrain service. The presentation included ridership, revenue, on-time performance, parking and access, and infrastructure improvements.

A slightly modified timetable was implemented October 10. The slight tweaks were to accommodate longer dwell times where necessary. The overall impact of the new schedule will help to restore 95 percent on-time performance. Mr. Harvey noted that there has been a 29 percent increase in average weekday riders with the 96-train schedule compared to the Pre-Baby Bullet schedule.

Director Lee said although on-time performance has slipped slightly, it is more important to have passengers board safely and take extra time when going through construction zones.

Director Foust asked that a copy of the presentation be sent to all the San Mateo County city councils and city managers.

Director Panza asked if there was room for expansion if stations with hold-out rules were grade separated.

Mr. Harvey responded that hold-out eliminations wouldn’t necessarily allow the system to operate any faster. The Caltrain system is very tight now; however, the service currently being offered is attractive to riders and they are being drawn to stations, as the ridership increases illustrate.

Director Panza asked if more trains could be added to the system.

Director Galligan asked if the 96-train schedule was able to operate with the current equipment and crews.

Mr. Harvey confirmed that the extra service is provided with the same equipment and crew that were used for the 76-train schedule. He noted that the labor force costs are actually lower due to attrition of ticket agents and conductors.

Onnolee Trapp, Portola Valley, asked if data from riders transferring at Redwood City station was available.

Mr. Harvey said passenger counts of all stations will be done in February of next year.

Jack Ringham, Atherton, said although the peak hour ridership has increased, he would like more frequent service for midday and evening hours.

• Robert Doty, Director of Rail Transportation, gave an update on Caltrain Stations Improvement Projects. He said staff is looking at the capacity model of the system and optimizing safety, efficiencies and fundamentals. A video, from the conductor’s point of view, of the entire right-of-way was shown.

Director Galligan asked if the stations that are currently grade separated will be able to accommodate four tracks.

Mr. Doty replied that it varies by location. The intent is to always preserve the infrastructure capability to support four tracks. He said there are places where Caltrain does not own enough land to expand to four tracks and staff will have to work out those issues. Mr. Doty said electrification equipment will also necessitate extra land.

Director Panza asked what would happen if High Speed Rail comes down the Peninsula.

Mr. Scanlon responded that Caltrain owns the right-of-way and will continue to operate service that optimizes the Caltrain system. If High Speed Rail comes down the Peninsula, it will have to work around Caltrain service. Mr. Scanlon reassured the Board that High Speed Rail will need to operate without taking away from Caltrain.

Duncan Jones, Town of Atherton, said he has prepared an alternative project design for the Atherton station, which includes a reduced scope of work, reduced costs and will allow for future improvements, specifically Dumbarton rail, with little waste. Mr. Jones said the Town of Atherton would like to construct the project, with the aide of the TA, even if Caltrain will not.

Director Foust asked what the distance is between the Redwood City and Menlo Park stations.

Mr. Doty replied it is approximately 2.5 miles between Redwood City and Menlo Park.

Director Foust asked what the parking capacity is at both the Redwood City and Menlo Park stations.

Mr. Harvey responded that there are approximately 150 parking spaces at Menlo Park and more than 500 spaces available in a parking garage at Redwood City.

Director Foust asked how many parking spaces are available at the Atherton station.

Mr. Ringham responded there are approximately 80 parking spaces.

Director Foust said this is an issue of three stations in less than three miles. With the fiscal responsibility the TA faces, she encouraged everyone to look at the bigger picture and recognize what’s best for Caltrain systemwide.

Councilman James Janz, Town of Atherton, said Caltrain service is not a business. The vast majority of revenues to operate Caltrain come from taxpayers and Caltrain is a public service and should be operated to provide service to the public. Mr. Janz says the city council asked for a grade separation study to be done in Atherton and after making comments to the scope of the project, they have not heard anything back. Mr. Janz said it is unfair for staff to reduce service to Atherton station and then suspend service based upon low ridership numbers and not continue with the grade separation study because service was suspended at the station. Mr. Janz said the Transportation Authority has already approved the project, the design has been completed and the money is available from Measure A. He said there is no reason not to proceed.

Malcolm Dudley, Town of Atherton, said the issue of the train has always been a high priority for the Town of Atherton and it is important, as a public agency, to service the communities along the Peninsula. Mr. Dudley said the primary reason Atherton supported the reauthorization of Measure A was because of pothole funds and the train. Ridership used to be a lot higher because of more frequent service. To suggest that Atherton is close enough to Redwood City or Menlo Park does not recognize the reality of the stations. Mr. Dudley said Menlo Park does not have sufficient parking. Mr. Dudley noted that Atherton station allows overnight parking, which many riders would use when taking the train to the airport for traveling purposes. Elimination of the hold-out status is important for the town and is inexpensive, he said. Mr. Dudley said it is the hope of the Town of Atherton that the TA would represent the people of San Mateo County and direct the staff to construct the grade separation project, which has already been approved in the budget, by the end of the year because it is consistent with the goals of the system and service was promised to the taxpayers through Measure A.

Jack Ringham, Town of Atherton, said Atherton is the only town along the Peninsula corridor that does not have service. He said approximately 50 percent of the riders at Atherton station were Atherton residents, the rest came from the nearby county areas.

Director Lee said he is concerned because he believes that the representatives of Atherton feel that staff is not doing all that they can for the town of Atherton. Director Lee recommended that Atherton staff work with Caltrain staff and then advise the TA Board.

Director Galligan said the TA Board has fully supported the funding of the hold-out stations and now it is up to the Joint Powers Board to make the decision on when the projects will be constructed.

Director Panza said he was under the impression that when the hold-out status was eliminated at Atherton, service would be restored and he asked if that was still the case.

Mr. Scanlon responded that the Transportation Authority has made a commitment to finish the design to eliminate the hold-out stations by the end of this year. At that time, the Transportation Authority can decide whether or not to provide the local share for construction and allocate the funds the project sponsor, the Joint Powers Board. The Joint Powers Board will then evaluate the project to determine how disruptive it will be for traffic and how efficient it will be for the system. However, Mr. Scanlon said, the act of eliminating the hold-out status would not automatically restore service to the station. The service was taken out of the stations in part because of the hold-out status but also because running time needed to be eliminated from the schedule to enhance productivity of Caltrain. Mr. Scanlon said once the hold-out status was eliminated, service could potentially be restored; however, service at other stations would need to be suspended in exchange. Mr. Scanlon said there were no specific promises about specific stations, hold-outs or grade separations; only a list of candidate projects was included pending a project sponsor.

David Miller, Legal Counsel, said the original Measure A is a blueprint to fund various capital projects. There is wide latitude in the Caltrain line items for the TA Board to decide how to allocate its share of sales tax revenues to support a variety of different types of capital projects. The measure was purposely broadly worded to allow TA decisions to be made as Caltrain projects arise. The Expenditure Plan states each project must have a project sponsor, as required by state law. The dollars the TA allocates typically are used as matching funds to other agencies for construction of each project. The Transportation Authority is able to make recommendations to the Joint Powers Board; however, it is ultimately the decision of the Joint Powers Board as to which projects to construct.

Director Foust asked that the representatives of Town of Atherton bring forward the documentation that contains support of the allegations made that the Measure A campaign included a promise of Caltrain service to Atherton.

Director Galligan asked if the hold-out status at Broadway was eliminated, service may be offered at either Broadway or Burlingame throughout the day, just not both stations every hour.

Mr. Scanlon confirmed that was correct.

Mr. Scanlon also stated that due to the success of the new Caltrain system, the Joint Powers Board will also more closely look at the disruption of the service required by construction projects because it may negatively affect ridership.

Director Gordon said he has sympathy for those from Atherton who are struggling with the suspension of service. However, he said, if he were a JPB member, he would have a hard time restoring service to Atherton because of the recent success of ridership growth at adjacent stations. He said it is ultimately the JPB that will have to make the decision of whether or not to construct the projects. He encouraged the representatives from Atherton to bring their concerns to the Joint Powers Board.

FINANCE
Amendment to the Fiscal Year 2006 Operating Budget and Allocation to San Mateo County for Reimbursement of Election Cost Incurred During the 2004 Election Associated with the Measure “A” Ballot

Joe Hurley, Director of the Transportation Authority Program, said staff is recommending the Board amend the Fiscal Year 2006 Operating Budget to add a new line item entitled “2004 Election” under the Expenditures Category in the amount of $520,723.56 from bond interest and allocate $520,723.56 from the same line item to San Mateo County for services rendered by the County’s Elections Office in connection with the San Mateo County Transportation Authority Election consolidated with the November 2, 2004, election. Mr. Hurley said this allocation is consistent with the statutory obligations associated with reimbursement for services rendered by an elections office.

The motion to approve the budget amendment and allocation to San Mateo County was unanimously approved, by roll call, and Resolution 2005-20 was adopted.

REQUESTS FROM THE AUTHORITY
None.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS TO AUTHORITY
None.

REPORT OF LEGAL COUNSEL
None.

DATE/TIME OF NEXT MEETING


Mr. Scanlon said there were no actions requiring immediate action from the Board and suggested having a December recess.

The motion to have a December recess was unanimously approved.

Thursday, January 5, 2005 at 5 p.m. in the Auditorium, Second Floor, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, CA 94070

ADJOURNED
The meeting adjourned at 6:18 p.m.