The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) Advisory Board met on Monday, January 25, 2021, at 11:00 am at the call of Joseph Nolan, Advisory Board Chair/Wayland. Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was held virtually, with Advisory Board members and the public provided access via global.gotomeeting.com.
A roll call of members present was conducted by Eva Willens, Deputy Administrator. In attendance were: Ed Burman/Ashland-Vice Chair, Thatcher Kezer/Framingham, Larry Jacobs/Holliston, Kristina Johnson/Hudson, Trish Pope/Marlborough, Will Kingkade/Milford, Karen Adelman-Foster/Natick, John K. Higley/Sherborn, Martin Healey/Southborough, Debra Galloway/Sudbury- Clerk, Joseph Nolan/Wayland, Collette Aufranc/Wellesley, Jean MacQuiddy/Weston.
Also participating: Ed Carr/Administrator, Eva Willens, Deputy Administrator, John Glynn/CFO, Patrick Moynihan/General Counsel, Daniel Fitch/IT Consultant, Joy Glynn/Grants Manager, Paula Doucette/ Financial Assistant.
Not participating: Carole Mullen/Hopedale, Mary Jo Lafreniere/Hopkinton. Dover currently has no Advisory Board designee.
With a quorum declared present, the meeting was called to order at 11:03 am with Chair Joseph Nolan presiding.
A motion was made by Mr. Burman of Ashland: Approval of minutes from the Advisory Board Meeting of September 28, 2020. Second by Mr. Kezer of Framingham. The vote passed.
Southborough, Wellesley, Hudson, and Milford abstained.
Mr. Nolan requested any public comments from the audience. No public comments were presented.
Mr. Carr presented the following items:
1) 2020 has been the most challenging year in our 14 years of existence. We continue to adhere to social distancing; MWRTA Ridership is at 50% of a pre-COVID level. 90% of the riders are from economically challenged areas.
2) The Authority recently completed its updated 5-year Comprehensive Regional Transit Plan in conjunction with MassDOT and its consultant AECOM.
3) State oversight of CDL license testing has changed from the Department of Public Utiltities to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
4) MWRTA received a grant from MAPC to provide transportation and delivery services to vulnerable populations within the MWRTA service area during the COVID-19 emergency.
SMOC clients are utilizing this taxi service provided by Tommy’s Taxi and JFK Transportation under contracts with MWRTA.
5) Call Center and scheduling staff have adjusted, with most employees working remotely at this time. ADA ridership is at 50% of pre-COVID.
6) Maintenance & Facilities are working daily on keeping everyone safe.
7) IT is focusing on a micro transit grant application It is anticipated that post-pandemic micro transit will emerge as the next generation of transit service options. Daniel Fitch stated that the MWRTA CatchConnect Micro Transit Service has begun. Initially, the curb-to-curb service hours will be 6:45 am – 6:45 pm, Monday – Friday, and will be provided in Wellesley. The app can be viewed on mwrta.com/catch.
Ms. MacQuiddy of Weston, asked if there would be a charge and was advised that there is no charge currently, but eventually there will be a $3 charge.
Mr. Nolan of Wayland, inquired as to whether this was a pilot program and was informed that this is a pilot, providing more of a curb to curb than a door to door service.
Ms. Aufranc of Wellesley, stated that this is a very exciting option for the residents of the Town of Wellesley.
Ms. Galloway of Sudbury, asked about the timeframe for expansion and was advised that the hope is to offer service beyond Wellesley within the next fiscal year.
Ms. Willens, Deputy Administrator, provided an overview of the FEB project details. A more defined entrance for customers and visitors will be created, with two solid stone columns installed to help guide customers to the front doors and customer service. Level pavement will be laid from the customer waiting area to the bus lane, allowing for expanded ADA accessibility. Additional overhead lighting, as well as heat lamps, wind barriers, and fans will be installed for increased customer comfort in the bus waiting area. New stationary benches, electronic device charging ports, large informational monitors and annunciators to help customers track and recognize buses approaching the hub, will all be added to the newly modified front entrance. We are hopeful that completion of the project will enhance the customer experience and encourage increased ridership. We are eager to finally start the project and improve the hub environment for our existing and future customers.
Mr. Moynihan, General Counsel, walked the Advisory Board through the project bidding process. The project was advertised in accordance with the requirements of state and federal law; a pre-proposal conference of potential bidders was held and sealed bids were receievd on 11/17/2020. There was good, competitive interest in the project from four (4) qualified bidders. Construction Dynamics, Inc. (CDI) of Clinton was the low bidder at $1,491,000.00. The other bids ranged from $1,672,000 to $2,114,135. State and federal funding is available for the project. It is anticipated that the project will begin March 2021 and end October 2021. DBE participation is strongly encouraged by MWRTA and it is expected that CDI’s subs on the project will bring in some DBE companies. The MWRTA has worked successfully with CDI in the past.
Ms. Aufranc of Wellesley inquired as to whether there will be an area created for bikes by the project and was informed that bike racks will be installed under the canopy.
Ms. Galloway of Sudbury asked about anticipated disruption at the site during the construction impacting the building and was informed that there will be significant noise disruption for the offices along that side of
the building. As a result MWRTA will relocate the administrative offices to the 3rd floor. Customer service will be housed in a separate, temporary building across the parking lot, and buses will re-routed to that area.
Mr. Nolan of Wayland noted that MWRTA will phase the work such that it will cause minimal disruption to customer service and facility operation.
A motion was made by Mr. Kingkade of Milford: To award the MWRTA Front Entrance Blandin Project contract as presented to Construction Dynamics, Inc. of Clinton for the total contract amount of
$1,491,000.00. Second by Mr. Kezer of Framingham: The vote was unanimous.
Discussion on Fares: The Administrator requested that the board table the discussion on fares until April when a more informed decision of the fare policy and structure can be make in connection with the FY 2022 budget, which will be presented in preliminary form at that time.
Mr. Carr noted that the MWRTA is coming around the home stretch on COVID and that the impetus for waiving fares was concern over driver safety related to the handling of cash, as well as cognizance of fare equity for people who cannot afford to pay for public transportation at this time. Mr. Carr advised the board that, currently, the Authority has sufficient funding to cover the lost fare revenue.
Mr. Carr also noted that when presenting the preliminary FY 22 budget in April, there will be a proposal for fares related to the new micro transit service. It is anticipated that the fare for that service will be in the +/-
$3.00 range, dependent upon the data that emerges from the Wellesley micro transit pilot project.
Mr. Carr presented the MWRTA Equity Evaluation of Service and Fare Change Policy to the Advisory Board for approval and submission to MassDOT. The General Counsel confirmed that the Board’s review and approval of the policy for submission meets with the requirements of MassDOT.
A motion was made by Ms. Pope of Marlborough: To approve the MWRTA Equity Evaluation of Service and Fare Change Policy, as presented. Second by Mr.Burman of Ashland: The vote was unanimous.
Mr. Moynihan, General Counsel, following up on issues discussed by the board early last year concerning the lack of disability and rider community representatives serving as voting members of the MWRTA Advisory Board, presented an update on potential solutions. Mr. Moynihan advised the board that an earlier discussed idea of changing the MWRTA by-laws to permit the board to designate, for example, a representative from the MetroWest Center for Independent Living (the “MWCIL”) to serve as the disability community representative, would not be in compliance with the state law. He explained that it has been very difficult, if not impossible, under current law for most RTA cities and towns to recruit eligible qualified candidates to serve in either the disability or rider community representative roles, primarily due to the restrictive statutory membership eligibility criteria. Specifically, with regard to the disabled commuter member, the person must be either mobility impaired, have a family member who is mobility impaired, be a caretaker of a person who is mobility impaired or work for an organization that serves the needs of the physically disabled, plus the candidate must be a resident of the city or town making the appointment. The rider community representative, although not required to reside in the appointing community, must be appointed from a list of nominees provided by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO labor councils. Further, if a community is lucky enough to find qualified disabled community or rider community candidates to appoint, the statutory term is limited to only one year and, just as that person is coming up to speed on authority operations, etc., it is time to move on to the next community to present a new appointee. In most cases, the next community is unable to find a qualified and willing candidate to serve and, as a result, there is again a vacancy. To date, the MWRTA Advisory Board has only on three occasions had a disabled commuter representative and has never had a rider commuter representative. Both positions are currently vacant and haven’t been filled for several years. This is of particular concern with respect to the disabled commuter population, given that community’s disproportionate reliance on the services provided by the MWRTA and other RTAs statewide.
When the issue was discussed last year, the Adminsitrator was anxious to move forward with an alternative to appointment by both designating a representative of the MWCIL as the disability community member and by working with with the AFL-CIO to identify and appoint a rider community member. However, before any action could be taken the pandemic hit. Mr. Moynihan said that it is now being brought back before the board to present this update, identify the impediments encountered in pursuing the solutions originally proposed and to recommend a new course of action. First, it is recommended by the Administrator and Mr. Moynihan that the Advisory Board vote to direct that a letter be drafted and sent to the MetroWest legislative delegation seeking a change in the statute (MGL c. 161B §5) to give greater flexibility to a city or town in making its disabled community appointment. Adding language to the statute expanding the pool of potential candidates to include either a resident or other qualified person, and permitting the appointing municipality to reappoint the current representative, will serve to fulfill the spirit and original intent of the law. If the change is adopted it will permit MWRTA communities to appoint its disabled community representative from an expanded pool of potential candidates, including the representative from the MWCIL. Second, it is recommended that MWRTA redouble its efforts to encourage the AFL-CIO labor council to offer its nominee for the rider community position.
Mr. Nolan of Wayland stated that these have been tough positions to fill, and we lose needed representation and continuity. New wording would allow for a solution to this situation, though legislative changes do take time. He endorsed the Advisory Board authorizing the General Counsel and Administrator to reach out to the legislative delegation.
Ms. Adelman-Foster of Natick expressed a “big thumbs up” to this proposed course of action and thanked the administration for its efforts in this regard.
Ms. Johnson of Hudson also expressed her support. She questioned whether changing this language would necessitate changes to other statutes related to ADA or disability representation.
Ms. Galloway of Sudbury inquired as to when would the designation change.
It was explained that the designations are supposed to change at the beginning of each fiscal year, July 1st. The last community to fill this position was Sudbury several years ago (2014). The next community in line, if it was able to find candidiates that meet the necessary criteria, would be Marlborough.
Mr.Kezer of Framingham suggested that keeping the legislative change as simple as possible will help ensure its passage by not raising a lot of red flags. For example, he receommended that rather than striking the word resident from the current law, simply change it to resident or designee. That way other advocacy groups, such as MMA, will not become unnecessarily alarmed over the proposal
Ms. Pope of Marlborough stated that by designating MWCIL to fill the disabled community member position, it provides consistency. It is difficult for anyone to be on on a board for only one year. The fact that meetings are now virtual could make the position more attractive.
Ms. Aufranc of Wellesley expressed the opinion that MWCIL should be a permanent board representative for the voice of the disabled community member.
A motion was made by Mr. Kingkade of Milford: To authorize General Counsel to draft a letter from the Administrator to the MetroWest legislative delegation seeking support for a change in statutory language to permit greater flexibility in the appointment of the disabled community population representative to the MWRTA and all other RTA advisory boards. Second by Mr. Kezer of Framingham: The vote was unanimous.
Mr. Kezer, of Framingham, thanked the Administrator for attending an evening meeting with the City of Framingham. The Administrator acknowledged condolences for the passing of Karen Dempsey, who served the disabled community on the MWRTA’s Consumer Advisory Committee several years ago.
The next Advisory Board meeting will be held on April 26, 2021.
A motion was made by Mr. Nolan of Wayland: To adjourn the meeting. Second Mr. Burman of Ashland:
The vote was unanimous.
Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 12:02 pm.
Theundrsigned being the duly qualified acting clerk of the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority Advisory Board acknowledges that the foregoing minutes accurately reflect the actions taken at a legally convened meeting of the Advisory Board held on January 25, 2021.
Debra Galloway of Sudbury, Clerk
Advisory Board Meeting - April 26, 2021
Advisory Board Meeting - September 28, 2020
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