CENTRE AREA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

BOARD MEETING MINUTES pdf version

JANUARY 25, 2010

4:00 PM

STATE COLLEGE BOROUGH BUILDING

Room 241, 243 S. Allen Street, State College, PA

 

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT:                         John Spychalski, Chairman

                                                                        Joseph L. Davidson, Vice Chairman

                                                                        Richard Kipp, Treasurer

                                                                        Gary Powers

                                                                        Kathryn Bittner

 

STAFF PRESENT:                                             Hugh Mose, General Manager

                                                                        Louwana Oliva, Assistant General Manager

                                                                        Judi Minor, Director of Administration

                                                                        Mark Kutzer, Director of Maintenance

                                                                        Sherry Snyder, Director of Operations

                                                                        Eric Bernier, Service Development Manager

                                                                        Jackie Sheader, Marketing Manager

                                                                        Marsha Kyper, Assistant to the General Manager

 

OTHERS PRESENT:                                          Bob Martin, Esquire, McNees Wallace & Nurrick

                                                                        John Baker, Esquire, McNees Wallace & Nurrick                         

                                                                       

I.      CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Spychalski called the meeting to order at 4:05 PM.

II.    2010 ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

 

A.    Election of Officers
In accordance with the Authority’s By-Laws, the election of Board Officers is to occur annually at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the new calendar year.  Gary Powers nominated the following individuals as Board Officers for 2010.

 

Chairman    -           John Spychalski, Ferguson Township

Vice-Chairman -       Joseph Davidson, College Township

Treasurer     -           Richard Kipp, Harris Township

Asst. Treasurer -      Judith Minor, CATA Director of Administration

Secretary    -           Hugh Mose, CATA General Manager

There being no other nominations, Chairman Spychalski entertained a motion to elect the slate of CATA Board Officers nominated for 2010.  Gary Powers moved and Kathryn Bittner seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

III.   PUBLIC COMMENTS

       There were no public comments.

 

IV.   OLD BUSINESS

A.    Approval of Minutes for November 23, 2009 Board Meeting.
Chairman Spychalski entertained a motion to approve the November Board Meeting Minutes with one minor editorial revision under Old Business, Section C, second paragraph, to change the word quality to qualify.   Richard Kipp moved the approval of the minutes and Gary Powers seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.

B.    Approval of Minutes from December 17, 2009 Work Session

Chairman Spychalski entertained a motion to approve the December Board Work Session Minutes with one minor addition, under Long Range Planning, item number 8, to follow the name Greg with the last name, Kausch .  Kathryn Bittner moved the approval of the minutes and Richard Kipp seconded.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

C.    November & December 2009 Finance Reports

The November and December Finance Reports were presented.  Gary Powers inquired about the extension of the natural gas tax credit.  Hugh Mose responded that it is expected to be enacted by Congress in 2010, and could be made retroactive.  John Spychalski inquired about the decline in CATACOMMUTE revenue.  Judi Minor responded that the decline was a result of a fare reduction, which was made in response to the decrease in gas prices. 

 

Hugh Mose commented that with one more Full Service weekday in 2009 than 2008, overall ridership trends are up, but that there were significant declines on commuter routes that may be due to the decrease in gas prices.  Hugh further commented that paratransit ridership was down.

 

Chairman Spychalski entertained a motion to approve the November and December Finance Reports as presented.  Gary Powers moved and Joe Davidson seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

D.    Policy Adoption and Review
The personnel policies which were selected for review at the November 23, 2009 meeting (Sections 9 through 18) were presented for approval.   Richard Kipp suggested and the Board concurred, that Section 9.4 Life Insurance, should be reworded to specify when an employee becomes eligible for Life Insurance.

 

John Spychalski entertained a motion to approve all of the policies as presented with the exception of Section 9.4, which if changed to reflect an eligibility date, would also necessitate a change in the adoption date of that item.   Richard Kipp moved and Joe Davidson seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.  

 

E.    Service Planning Update

Eric Bernier presented a prioritized service changes and improvements list, which along with comments from the Board and those received from the public at February’s Public Hearing, will be factored into the draft Budget and Service Plan for consideration at the Budget Work Session in March. 

 

Since this item was for information only, no formal action was taken.

 

V.    NEW BUSINESS

 

A.   Resolution of Appreciation for Bob Martin

Before his retirement on December 31, 2009, Bob Martin had served as CATA’s Solicitor for nearly 30 years, and over that period handled nearly all of CATA’s legal services – provided legal advice, mediated disputes, represented CATA in court, led the collective bargaining team, and was an outstanding advocate for CATA in every way.  As is its custom, the Board considered a Resolution of Appreciation expressing thanks to Mr. Martin for his years of service to the Authority.

 

Chairman Spychalski entertained a motion to adopt a Resolution of Appreciation for Bob Martin.  Kathryn Bittner moved and Joe Davison seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

Chairman Spychalski then read the resolution in its entirety, and presented a framed and signed original to Mr. Martin.  Mr. Martin provided remarks concerning his tenure as Solicitor for CATA.   His successor, John Baker, was then introduced.  Mr. Baker spoke about Bob’s role as his mentor and his own future as CATA’s Solicitor. 

 

 

              B.  Adoption of 2010 Meeting Dates and Location
                    The following dates, times and locations were presented to the Board for consideration as is required by law.

 

                  January 25         February 22     March 22           April 26

                  May 24             June 28          July 26                August 23

                  September 27     October 25               November 22     December 20

 

                   All meetings will begin at 4:00 PM on the 4th Monday of the month with the exception of December 

       27th (to avoid the week between Christmas and New Years).  Meetings will be held at the State     

       College Borough Building, Room 241 with the exception of February 22, which is scheduled for

       Borough Council Chambers to accommodate the annual Public Hearing.

 

                     Chairman Spychalski entertained a motion to approve the 2010 meeting dates, times and locations 

                     as proposed.  Gary Powers moved and Kathryn Bittner seconded.  The motion carried 

                     unanimously.

 

C.  2010/2011 Budget Timetable

Chairman Spychalski entertained a motion to adopt the FY 2010/2011 Budget Timetable as      presented, including the setting of a Public Hearing for 4:00 PM on Monday, February 22, 2010 in the State College Borough Council Chambers, and a Budget Work Session at 4:00PM on  Thursday, March 18th in the CATA Board Meeting Room.

 

Richard Kipp moved, and Kathryn Bittner seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

              D.  CCMPO Technical and Coordinating Committee Representatives

      In response to the Centre County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (CCMPO) request that     

      CATA re-designate their respective representatives to the Coordinating and Technical Committees,

      the following nominations were made.  

 

      Chairman Spychalski - Coordinating Committee member

      Joe Davidson – alternate to the Coordinating Committee

      Hugh Mose – Technical Committee member

      Louwana Oliva – alternate to the Technical Committee

 

                    Chairman Spychalski entertained a motion to accept the nominations to the Centre County 

                    Metropolitan Planning Organization Coordinating and Technical Committees as presented. 

                    Kathryn Bittner moved and Joe Davidson seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

      VI.  OTHER BUSINESS

              A.  General Manager’s Report
                    Hugh Mose reported that: the Billie Jo Richard’s litigation has been dismissed; Terri Quici and

                    Marsha Kyper attended a Huntingdon County Planning Commission meeting where Terri made a

                    presentation about CATACOMMUTE, which resulted in front page coverage in The Daily News; a  

                    free iPhone app is now available which to-date has received 700 downloads; and that the LCD  

                    signage at Schlow Library Downtown Office has been installed and is functioning.

 

Hugh Mose further reported that ridership on the extended White Loop was down from 1400 riders, between 2:30-4:30 AM, the first weekend, to 900 riders the second weekend, which was attributed to it being a canning weekend for THON, and that the students were well behaved from what he observed personally.    

 

              B.  Service Development Report

      Chairman Spychalski noted that a written report was enclosed for the Board’s review.

 

      VII. ADJOURNMENT

              Chairman Spychalski entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Gary Powers moved and Joe

            Davidson seconded.  The motion carried unanimously.  The meeting was adjourned at 5:35 PM.

      VIII.            EXECUTIVE SESSION

            The Board reconvened in Executive Session to discuss personnel matters.