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5. Advisory Board Meeting - March 31, 2025

Advisory Board Meeting Minutes of March 31, 2025

The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) Advisory Board met on Monday, March 31, 2025, at 11:00 AM at the call of Joseph Nolan, Advisory Board Chair/Wayland.

A roll call of members present was conducted; in attendance were: Ed Burman/Ashland-Vice Chair, Michael Tusino/Framingham, Debbie Dupuis/Holliston, Michael Walsh/Milford (left 11:50 AM), Morgan Griffiths/Natick, Sam Stivers/Southborough, Joseph Nolan/Wayland - Chair, Sheila Page/Wellesley, Mary Jo LaFreniere/ Hopkinton, Kristina Johnson/Hudson, and Kevin McCabe/Dover.

Also participating: Jim Nee/Administrator, Eva Willens/Deputy Administrator, John Glynn/CFO, Patrick Moynihan/General Counsel, Daniel Fitch/IT Consultant, Linda Murtagh/Executive Assistant, HR Manager, Joy Glynn/Grants Manager, Tyler Terrasi/Government Affairs Officer, Jeff Coletti/Accounts Payable, Ryan Adams, Robert Anderson, Alex Wu, Francis Julien, Bryan Jungwirth, Justin Thompson.

Not participating: Carole Mullen/Hopedale, Robert Wolff/Sherborn, Debra Galloway/Sudbury – Clerk, Jean MacQuiddy/Weston, and Marlborough.

With a quorum declared present, the meeting was called to order at ­­­­11:02 AM with Mr. Nolan, presiding.

Public Questions/Comments:  No public comments were presented.

Review and Approval of Meeting Minutes – December 17, 2024: 

A motion was made by Mr. Stivers of Southborough:  Approve the minutes of December 17, 2024. Second by Ms. LaFreniere of  Hopkinton. The motion carried by majority vote with Holliston and Hudson abstaining.

Administrator’s Report:  Mr. Nee reported the following items:

• Systemwide ridership has slightly surpassed pre-COVID levels. Increases are projected to continue due in part to Fare Free Initiative and expanded services.
• Recently completed state and federal audits. FY2024 annual fiscal audit remains ongoing.
• Two (2) projects submitted to the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Transit Transformation Program (TTP) received favorable scores and will be included in Amendment 10 to the FFY2025-2029 TIP. Projects support continued the Gillig fleet expansion and design/construction of an expanded Blandin Hub facility.
• Grant funds will allow MWRTA to pilot the new 495 Connector Route and introduce additional demand response services (Milford Dial-a-Ride and joint MicroTransit service in Milford and Hopedale).
• Hudson/Marlborough MicroTransit service was recently expanded to Berlin in partnership with the Worcester Regional Transit Authority.
• Bus network evaluation/fixed route redesign project is nearing completion and will be presented for Advisory Board review in June.
• Recent ribbon-cutting for first three (3) heavy duty compressed natural gas-fueled Gilligs was a success.
• Thank you to Eva Willens, Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer, and Bruce Willens, Fleet Director, for their years of service to the MWRTA. Both will retire on June 30, 2025.

Mark McClanan (formerly with service contractor for Southeastern Regional Transit Authority), has been hired as Deputy Administrator of Operations; his start date with MWRTA is May 12th.

Fixed Route & Demand Response Transit Services Contract Award – Discussion/Approval:  Mr. Nee reported that, unlike past procurements for the fixed route and demand response transit services, this Request for Proposals (RFP) was released as a single contract for both services, as opposed to a separate contract for each. Following a thorough review of the four (4) proposals received, Keolis Transit Services, LLC of Boston was selected as the respondent/contractor deemed to be most advantageous to the Authority. Mr. Nee recommends that the Board approve the award of the fixed route and demand response transit services for a period of three (3) years from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027 to Keolis Transit Services, LLC, under the terms set forth in the RFP.   

Discussion:

• Keolis operates fixed route systems and shuttles worldwide.
• Keolis is committed to keeping key MWRTA team members employed by the current contractor (pending background checks), maintaining current terms and conditions.

A motion was made by Mr. Stivers of Southborough:  To award the contract for transit services to Keolis Transit, as presented. Second by Ms. LaFreniere of Hopkinton. The motion carried by majority vote with Holliston abstaining.

FY25 YTD Report & Draft FY26 Budget – CFO – Discussion/Approval:  Mr. Glynn, MWRTA CFO, reported the following:

• Operating expenses for FY2025 are approximately 3.67% under budget as of February 2025.FY2026 budget will be affected based on state funding and new service contract.
• FY2026 budget contains line items for 495 Connector Route; its future funding will depend on success of the pilot. This new pilot service will begin May 27, and is anticipated to continue,  fare free, through 6/30/2026.
• FY2026 will be the final budget in which CARES/CRRSAA/ARPA funds may be expended. 5307 funds  may be used as replacement for these federal funds if necessary.
• Systemwide fare free initiative runs through year end FY2025.
• Budget will be finalized at the next board meeting.

A motion was made by Mr. Stivers of Southborough:  Approve the preliminary FY2026 budget as presented. Seconded by Ms. LaFreniere of Hopkinton. The motion carried by majority vote with Holliston abstaining.

Administrator Contract Matters – Discussion/Approval

A. Authorization of Use of Non-Revenue Vehicle In Lieu of Annual Auto Allowance:  Mr. Moynihan, MWRTA General Counsel, summarized the provision of the Administrator’s contract with the Authority allowing for the use of a non-revenue MWRTA vehicle by the Administrator. It was agreed that the Board will be notified when a non-revenue vehicle becomes available for this purpose.

A motion was made by Mr. Stivers of Southborough:  Approve the adoption of this provision of the Administrator’s contract, as presented. Second by Ms. LaFreniere of Hopkinton. The motion carried by majority vote with Holliston abstaining.

B. Adoption of Annual Administrator Performance Evaluation Procedure:  Mr. Moynihan outlined the proposed procedure for the annual evaluation of the Administrator as provided in his contract. Under the contract, the Board at the beginning of each fiscal year establishes goals & objectives for the Administrator to work towards, and at the end of the year the Board evaluates his performance in this regard. This is the first time that the Board will be evaluating the Administrator under the contract, and the General Counsel recommended that the procedure proposed be adopted for this purpose.   

A motion was made by Mr. Stivers of Southborough:  Adopt performance evaluation procedure as presented. Second by Ms. LaFreniere of Hopkinton. The motion carried by majority vote with Holliston abstaining.

C. Adoption of Optional Performance Bonus Not-to-Exceed Amount:  Mr. Moynihan stated that the Administrator’s contract provides for an optional annual performance bonus at an amount set by the Board at the beginning of each fiscal year. Mr. Moynihan noted that action on setting an amount at the time the Administrator’s goals & objectives were established was deferred due to a lack of subject specificity on that meeting’s agenda. The Administrator is now requesting that an FY 2025 annual performance bonus be established in an amount not to exceed 10% of his overall salary. Mr. Moynihan stated that this is only a potential bonus and that it is entirely within the Board’s discretion to determine the actual amount awarded to the Administrator, if any, during his annual performance review. Brief discussion centered around the industry standard for Administrator bonuses

A motion was made by Mr. Stivers of Southborough:  To set the not-to-exceed amount for the Administrator’s performance bonus at 10% of base salary for 2025. Second by Ms. LaFreniere of Hopkinton. The motion carried by majority vote with Holliston abstaining.

Board Member Comments:  Mr. Stivers of Southborough suggested the Board implement an omnibus roll call vote procedure at the conclusion of future meetings, combining all motions. Mr. Moynihan noted that he believes any action of the Board requiring a vote in which a member is participating remotely, then under the Open Meeting Law each such vote must be taken by roll call. He will confirm whether or not the proposed omnibus roll call provision may be adopted by the MWRTA under the Open Meeting Law.

It was noted that Ms. Galloway of Sudbury has retired. Ms. Lafreniere of Hopkinton stated this would be her final meeting and confirmed that a replacement for her position has been named.

Scheduling of Next Meeting:  Mr. Nee stated that the next meeting will take place prior to 6/30/2025.

Adjourn:  The meeting adjourned at 12:13 PM.

Certificate

The undersigned, 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 March 31, 2025.

____________________________

Ed Burman of Ashland, Vice Chair

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