From AATA documentation, before (left) and after (right) bus stop improvements at the Mallets Creek branch of the Ann Arbor District Library. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Board member Rich Robben had raised concerns regarding whether appropriate wages were being paid, but was convinced to support approval of the contract in part because of another resolution on the agenda. That resolution, which the board also passed unanimously, directed AATA staff to explore the possibility of a living wage provision for its contractors that would be similar to the ordinance used by the city of Ann Arbor.

The board also approved adding an additional return trip for the AATA’s commuter express service between Chelsea and Ann Arbor. The trip will leave Ann Arbor for Chelsea at 7:10 p.m. It was added in part due to feedback from current riders, who would have greater flexibility to work later on days when they take the bus to work. Many of the riders are University of Michigan employees. Robben, who is executive director for plant operations at the university, reported that the value placed on the express service by riders had been “bludgeoned” into him by some of his coworkers. He voted for the additional trip, along with the rest of the board.

The board was also given a presentation on the AATA’s bus stop improvement program, which featured several before-and-after slides. And among the topics reported out by the board’s committees and CEO Michael Ford was the on-time performance of AATA buses.

At the start of the meeting, during the time for communications and announcements, board member David Nacht noted the passing of Rev. S. L. Roberson, whose memorial service was taking place that evening. Nacht described Roberson as a force for equality in Washtenaw County and an important person in the community. Board chair Jesse Bernstein recalled having worked with Roberson in the ’70s at Ford Motor Co., and described him as an excellent person.

Bernstein concluded the meeting by thanking the AATA staff and the board for all their hard work this year, and suggested that next year they’d be asked to work even harder.

Blake Transit Center Janitorial Service

Before the board was a request to approve a three-year contract at $72,000 per year with JNS Commercial Cleaning to provide janitorial services for the Blake Transit Center. The contract with the current vendor expired on Oct. 31 and was extended through Nov. 30, 2010. On a split vote, the board had postponed consideration of the contract at its November board meeting, amid concerns that the bid from JNS – a new vendor – had come in at a cost a bit more than half of what had been budgeted for the year: $72,000 compared to the budgeted $126,069. Board members had concerns about how the cost savings were being achieved.

During board deliberations, Rich Robben noted that he’d raised concerns about living wage issues and that some additional information had been provided to compare worker compensation levels between the previous vendor and the new vendor for non-supervisory positions. He said the comparison was difficult because of the different job classifications used by the two vendors. In any case, said Robben, he was withdrawing his objections because of the decision to begin exploration of some kind of living wage requirement for AATA vendors.

Outcome: The janitorial contract with JNS Commercial Cleaning was unanimously approved.

Living Wage Requirement

The resolution before the board did not establish a living wage requirement for its vendors, but rather expressed an interest in AATA staff exploring the possibility of establishing such a requirement. The city of Ann Arbor has an ordinance requiring that the city’s vendors adhere to living wage standards as set forth in the ordinance, but it does not apply to the AATA.

By way of background, the ordinance is contained in Chapter 23 of the city code and is available online in its entirety via the Ann Arbor city clerk’s city code gateway. The rationale for higher wages is included in the ordinance language:

According to economic research summarized in the Economic Policy Institute’s August 2000 issue guide, “Higher Wages Lead to More Efficient Service Provision,” payment of higher wages is associated with greater business investment in employee training, higher productivity, and lower employee turnover, [...]

In the near decade since it was first passed, the wages have been adjusted upward to $11.71 per hour for employers offering health insurance and $13.06 per hour for those who don’t offer health insurance. That upward adjustment is based on federal poverty guidelines and was stipulated as part of the original ordinance.

During the brief board deliberations, Roger Kerson noted that the idea behind the AATA’s exploration of the issue was to make sure that its vendors did not achieve their economies based on paying unreasonably low wages.

Board members agreed that was not possible to implement any such requirement in the middle of the current janitorial contract, and decided to explore such a policy for the future. From the resolution:

Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority Board of Directors hereby empowers staff to investigate the institution of a living wage policy, and report findings to the Board along with any cost implications.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the resolution to explore the institution of a living wage policy.

A2-Chelsea Express

Before the board was a proposal to add an additional return trip to its A2 Chelsea Express service. The additional trip would leave Ann Arbor for Chelsea at 7:10 p.m. The idea is to attract more riders by providing service to people who work longer shifts at the University of Michigan, as well as others who work late. The farebox recovery rate for the route is 25% – 7 points higher than the fixed‐route rate of 18%. Farebox recovery rate is the percent of the cost for operating the service that is covered by passenger fares. Estimated cost for the additional trip through the rest of the fiscal year is $24,300, with about half of that coming from the transit millage. The other half would come from fare revenues and state money.

By way of background, the AATA launched the A2 Chelsea Express using an outside vendor, Indian Trails, but switched the service in-house earlier this year. Some key dates for express commuter service – for Chelsea and Canton – over the last two years:

• May 15, 2008: AATA launches A2 Chelsea Express commuter service using Indian Trails as an outside contractor. For workers who commute to work in Ann Arbor from Chelsea, there are two morning trips, leaving at 6:10 a.m. and 7:16 a.m. There are two evening return trips to Chelsea leaving from Ann Arbor at 3:44 p.m. and 5:12 p.m.
• May 20, 2009: Review of the first year of A2 Chelsea Express service prompts board scrutiny. [.pdf of one-year milestone report] Ridership was not meeting expectations. At that month’s board meeting, David Nacht wonders if AATA has the expertise to experiment with this service. ["On the Bus to Chelsea, Ypsi, Arborland"]
• Aug. 24, 2009: AATA launches A2 Canton Express commuter service, also using Indian Trails.
• March 24, 2010: AATA board votes to move A2 Chelsea Express service in-house and to cut fares from $125 to $99. ["AATA on Chelsea Bus: Cut Fares, Add Wifi"]
• Aug. 10, 2010: AATA board votes to move A2 Canton Express service in-house and to make fare structure the same as for the A2 Chelsea Service. ["AATA Targets Specific Short-Term Strategies"]

In providing some rationale for adding the additional, later trip, Roger Kerson explained that the idea was to attract riders to the service who might feel more comfortable knowing that there is a later bus available, in the event they cannot take one of the earlier two buses on an given day.

Rich Robben said he’d be remiss in not voting for the additional trip, because a number of his colleagues at the University of Michigan, where he is executive director of plant operations, had “bludgeoned” him with the fact that they love the service.

In May of 2009, before the AATA had hired Michael Ford as CEO and was operating without a permanent director, David Nacht had expressed reservations about the experimentation the AATA was doing with express commuter bus service, especially in view of the poor ridership that the express service was showing. [See Chronicle coverage: "On the Bus to Chelsea, Ypsi, Arborland"]

Anya Dale expressed support for the expansion of the A2 Chelsea Express service to include an additional return trip to Chelsea in the evening.

On Thursday, however, Nacht noted that the AATA was still learning how to provide express commuter service and characterized the effort as a “healthy experimentation process.” He told the AATA staff that they should not worry about coming back to the board multiple times with different changes to the service.

Jesse Bernstein echoed Nacht’s sentiments that the AATA shouldn’t just quit on the service. Bernstein noted that when the AATA introduces a new service, people don’t adapt the way they live overnight.

For Anya Dale, it was important that the implementation of the additional trip had come from suggestions made by current and potential riders. Dale wanted to know how long the additional trip would continue to be offered. Ford indicated that they would monitor the ridership and continue the marketing and promotion of the service. From the staff analysis of the additional service, those marketing efforts include the following:

Accompanying the improvement in service would be a continuation of focused marketing efforts, working very closely with UM and the getDowntown program. A full description of the marketing program was provided in the November Status Report on this project. Highlights include:

• Attending UM new employee orientations every week and providing A2X information to those living in the service areas.
• Promotional inserts in City of Chelsea water bills.
• Inclusion of promotional materials in UM’s annual parking application process.
• Testimonial ads (newspaper, electronic, billboards) featuring A2X riders.

Establish a new goal for this service: maintain or exceed current fare box recovery ratio of 25%.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the addition of a later return trip for the A2 Chelsea Express.

Bus Stop Improvements

The presentation on bus stop improvements was given by Jeff Murphy, AATA’s bus stops and zone foreman.

Bus Stop Improvements: Public Commentary

During her public commentary time, which came after the presentation and board discussion of the bus stop improvements, Carolyn Grawi of the Center for Independent Living thanked the AATA for the stop that had been installed near their facility on Research Park Drive. In response to a board member’s suggestion that heat could be provided as an amenity at some bus stops, Grawi volunteered the CIL stop to serve as a pilot location.

Bus Stop Improvements: Presentation

Murphy began giving an overview of the process used by the AATA to make improvements at bus stops:

1. Identify Opportunities to Make Improvement
   120 bus stops have been identified for concrete improvements over the next three years.
2. Selection Criteria
   Passenger Activity Data (20+ daily riders).
   Demand (requests by agencies/customers).
   Bus Stop Placement Guidelines
3. Implement
   Surveys with city inspector and schedule work.
   Meet project managers on site as needed.
   Input data in Trapeze [an AATA database].

Murphy showed the board several before-and-after photos of stops that had undergone improvements, some of which highlighted collaboration and coordination with various other agencies, like the Ann Arbor District Library, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, Pittsfield Township, the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan Dept. of Transportation, and Eastern Michigan University.

Murphy told the board that the AATA was close to meeting or had well exceeded many of its 2010 goals for improvements of its bus stops. Those included:

• Goal: Install new shelters at 6 bus stops – 10 were installed.
• Goal: Add lead walks at 15 bus stops – 38 bus stops completed.
• Goal: Install benches at 10 bus stops – 20 were installed.
• Goal: Increase Adopt-A-Stop participation from 83 to 100 – 95 signed agreements.
• Goal: Solar lighting for 5 installations – 2 locations are being tested.

Murphy explained how the criteria for undertaking improvements were not necessarily rigid – a willingness on the part of someone to adopt the stop could result in an improvement at a stop that doesn’t meet all the criteria. [Volunteers in the AATA's Adopt-a-Stop program help to pick up litter and to clear snow around the stop.]

Bus Stop Improvements: Board Discussion (On-time Performance)

After the presentation, in response to board questions, Chris White – the AATA manager of service development – also explained that the ability to coordinate with existing projects already planned by other agencies can also factor into which bus stop improvements are actually made. This helps save on cost, he said, because the cost of the concrete is much less than the cost of the set-up for pouring it.

Jesse Bernstein waned to know if site plans for new developments that are submitted to municipalities where the AATA operates are automatically sent along to the AATA. White confirmed that for some municipalities this is the case, but not for all. For example, the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, as well as Ypsilanti Township, automatically send proposed site plans to the AATA, but Pittsfield Township does not.

Jeff Murphy, the AATA's bus stops and zone foreman, prepared his slide presentation on bus stop improvements before the meeting.

Roger Kerson wanted to know why some of the stops, which were deemed to be poorly located and moved as a part of the program, were located there in the first place. The explanation was that many of the stops have been in their current location for many years.

David Nacht identified two issues connected to bus stops that he wanted to see explored. The first is the idea of providing some kind of heat at certain locations. He noted that there are some people who may not be willing to stand outside waiting for a bus in 10-degree cold, and it’s important for the AATA to explore heating, if it wants to try to get people to choose to ride the bus.

The second idea Nacht floated was some way of getting on-time information to people at the bus stops so that when a bus is late they are aware of it. He alluded to the the issues that have recently been raised about AATA on-time performance. [See previous Chronicle coverage: "Community Forum Attendance, On-Time Performance 'Abysmal'"]

Bernstein advised that the on-time performance was actually such that 97.6% show up within 10 minutes of when they are supposed to be there. Bernstein allowed that the AATA shouldn’t necessarily accept that as good enough.

Nacht countered that in October 2010, on Route #4, there had been 108 cases when a bus had been more than 21 minutes late, and when added to the number of times when a bus had been more than 15 minutes late, it totaled 236 cases. In the same October period, Nacht continued, the Route #5  bus had 150 cases when it was late by 15 minutes or more. [.pdf of memorandum on late buses, including October data for time-point crossings]

Bernstein told Nacht he agreed with Nacht’s concern, but that they needed also to look at the other end of the spectrum. During the same October period, the AATA had 142,000 cases of buses arriving at their destinations within 10 minutes of the scheduled time.

The exchange between Bernstein and Nacht about on-time performance concluded with Nacht indicating agreement with Bernstein, saying that it is Bernstein’s job as chair of the board, speaking for the organization, to talk about how the AATA was functioning very well. Nacht said that his job as a board member was to say, “We can do better.”

During his communications to the board, Michael Ford – CEO of the AATA – reported that some of the worst on-time problems would be addressed through January service changes to Route #18. The cause of very late buses was generally due to construction or congestion, he noted. Ford reported that conversations had taken place with the city of Ann Arbor about traffic signal prioritization, and about having the police officer who’s contracted to police the Blake Transit Center help in directing bus traffic out of the BTC. Ford noted that the upcoming year would include more construction – work on the East Stadium bridges will start next season – which would bring new challenges.

In his report from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, board member Charles Griffith said the focus was on identifying the reasons why buses were very late. He said their committee discussion had included ways to provide real-time information about the on-time status of buses. The AATA’s current system allows riders to check on-time status, he observed, but a messaging system that pushed information to riders, with an explanation for the delay, would be even better.

Communications from Committees, CEO

The board entertained its usual reports from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, the planning and development committee, as well as from the CEO, Michael Ford. Here are some highlights.

Communications: Blake Transit Center

Ford reported that a formal request had been made to the city of Ann Arbor for a six-foot parcel at the southwest corner of the BTC site, to facilitate the design of the new transit center. In his communications from the planning and development committee, Rich Robben reported that the design for the new center was coming along for a nice-looking functional building that would be LEED-platinum certified. During question time for the board, Roger Kerson inquired whether there is a plan in the current new BTC design for a place where bus riders could buy coffee and a newspaper. On hearing that this is not currently a part of the design, Kerson allowed that there would be janitorial issues associated with a coffee/newstand, but still wanted to encourage the AATA to look at that option.

Communications: Airport Bus Service

Ford reported that he’d met with officials from the Detroit Metro Airport, SMART – the metro Detroit public transit agency – and the visitors and convention bureau about providing service between Ann Arbor and the airport.

Communications: Meeting with Legislators – East-West Commuter Rail

On the topic of east-west commuter rail, Ford reported that in the course of the last month he’d met with Mark Ouimet, Jeff Irwin and David Rutledge. The three men were elected this past November to the state House in districts 52, 53 and 54, respectively. Ford also said that staff from U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin’s offices, as well as staff for U.S. Congressman John Dingell, had been in attendance.

Communications: Van Pool Service

Reporting out from the planning and development committee, Rich Robben described their meeting as filled with presentations. Among them was a report from URS, a consultant tapped to provide an analysis of how the AATA might provide a van pool service. The idea of AATA getting into the van pool business was discussed at the AATA’s retreat held in August 2010. Robben reported that URS had provided three options: (1) contract out for a turn-key contractor, (2) use a service component contracting model, or (3) operate the service in-house. The URS recommendation, he said, was for (2).

During her public commentary, Carolyn Grawi of the Center for Independent Living noted that it is important that the van pool service be accessible to everyone.

Communications: Ypsi-Ann Arbor Enhancements

During question time, Charles Griffith noted that service enhancements to routes between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti had not been mentioned in any of the reports. He noted that the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority had recently made a challenge grant to help fund such service enhancements.

Chris White, the AATA manager for service development, described how the AATA was planning to extend the geographic reach of the Night Ride service to Golfside Road, with the goal of eventual expansion to Ypsilanti.

During her public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Carolyn Grawi cautioned against expanding the service given that the current contractor [Blue Cab] is not providing adequate service for the current area. She said there are not enough vehicles on the road, and that wait times in her experience could be over an hour.

Present: Charles Griffith, David Nacht, Jesse Bernstein, Rich Robben, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale

Absent: Sue McCormick

Next regular meeting: Wednesday, Jan 20, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [confirm date]

Board members Jesse Bernstein and Sue McCormick confer before the start of the Nov. 18 meeting. (Photos by the writer.)

The steps outlined for developing the TMP include a chronology for identifying the following: a shared community vision; a transit needs assessment; transit options; a set of scenarios. The consulting team is in the midst of a phase that identifies a range of various options. The creation of various scenarios – combinations of different transit options – will constitute the final phase of work before production of the TMP in mid-April 2011.

That projected completion date reflects an extension of the original timeframe, which was originally set to conclude in late February. The extra time will allow for an additional step in the process – a step that will allow the consultant to present a set of scenarios without specifying any one of them as the recommended scenario.

To allow for the extra time, later in the evening the board approved a resolution increasing the $399,805 contract with Steer Davies Gleeve – the consultant AATA hired to help with the work – by an amount not to exceed $32,500.

In other business, the board discussed, but did not approve, a new janitorial contract for Blake Transit Center, which specified a different vendor from the current one. The new vendor’s bid came in at a cost a bit more than half of what had been budgeted for the year: $72,000 compared to the budgeted $126,069. Concerns by board members about how the cost savings were being achieved were serious enough that they chose, on a split vote, to table the issue.

In a move that did not authorize any current expenditure, the board adopted a compensation philosophy over which there was some brief but firm debate. Board member David Nacht weighed in against the idea of a public entity creating such a document – they’re only used to justify increases in payment but never decreases, he said. Expressing the view of the majority, however, was board member Sue McCormick, who stressed the importance of a public entity making a clear and transparent statement of how salaries are set.

The board entertained its usual range of committee reports and remarks from the public.

Extension of Time and Money for TMP

Before the board was a resolution to extend the timeframe for engaging the consulting services of Steer Davies Gleeve, which had been hired back in April 2010 to assist the AATA in developing a transportation master plan (TMP) for the countywide area. It included an increase in the $399,805 contract with Steer Davies Gleeve by an amount not to exceed $32,500.

TMP Consulting Extension: Update on the Plan – “This is where it’s going to get exciting.”

The board received an extensive briefing at the start of the summer on the process that would be used to develop the TMP. [Chronicle coverage: "AATA Moves Engagement Process into Gear"] Since then they’ve received periodic updates – including the one on Thursday evening, which was given by Juliet Edmonson of Steer Davies Gleeve and the AATA’s Michael Benham.

The extended timeline presented by the pair now foresees the production of the TMP document by April 8, 2011. In a process that includes development of a shared community vision, followed by a transit needs assessment, exploration of transit options, and the building of scenarios, the AATA is currently in the midst of completing its analysis of various transit options for the countywide area. Scenarios will be built out of different transit options. One focus of the presentation was to try to help establish a common vocabulary. The notions of “transit options” and “scenarios” are a part of that vocabulary.

Transit game mid-play with a scenario that includes options like urban bus service improvements (improved frequency, extended hours, better amenities at stops), high-traffic corridor improvements (better service between Ypsi and Ann Arbor, downtown improvements (a circulator) and better local connectivity (improvement in on-demand service). The image links to a higher resolution file.

As a part of its separate Moving You Forward website dedicated to the public engagement effort for the TMP, an online transit “game” is offered that allows residents to select various transit options and see the relative cost of those options, as well as the projected impact.

What are “options”? Options include improvements in: local and countywide connectivity, regional connectivity, downtown environments, urban bus service and high-demand transit corridors. An example of a specific option in the category of local connectivity is an improvement in on-demand para-transit services. Or, an example of a specific option in the category of an urban bus service improvement would be an improvement in the frequency of existing bus service.

The online game allows the player to put different options together and view them overlaid on a map as a “scenario.” The impact of a scenario – on the region’s economy, livability, accessibility, environment, safety and security and community health – is reflected in a bar chart that is updated as each option is added or subtracted from the scenario. Game players can submit their scenario to the AATA by saving it.

The construction of the scenarios, said Benham, is where “it’s going to get exciting.” The increased timeline is due in part to the desire to have an opportunity to review various scenarios, without the overlay of one scenario being already recommended as the preferred one. From the performance and evaluation committee minutes of Nov. 9, 2010, included in the board’s meeting packet:

Michael Ford reported on a proposal to extend the Transit Master Plan contract with Steer Davies Gleave to mid‐April and include a review of the scenarios before recommending one scenario for consideration. Mr. Ford indicated that there was a need for additional work with the Technical and Leadership Committees and for the expansion of the comment period for the TMP deliverables.

TMP Consulting Extension: Board Comment on Update

Board members could generally be characterized as enthusiastic about what they heard in the update.

Rich Robben focused in on a slide that displayed the relationship between transit and density: “Transit needs density; transit creates density.” He wanted to know if they started, for example, with an option that promotes density – like bus rapid transit, for example – could the achievement of greater density generate the need for an even more enhanced transportation mode? Edmonson told Robben that events could unfold in that way, or that they might also choose to “pitch high” in a way that would stimulate greater density and also already have the additional capacity built into the option.

In  response to a question from Roger Kerson about where Ann Arbor fits into the picture for adequate density to support various transit options, from light rail (30 housing units per acre or 50 employees per acre) down to frequent regular bus service (5 housing units per acre or 15 employees per acre), Edmonson said that it’s overall somewhat less than what’s considered necessary to support frequent bus service.

But following up on Edmonson’s remark was Jesse Bernstein, who pointed out that one result of the connector study – a still-in-progress collaboration of the University of Michigan, the city of Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and the AATA to look at the Plymouth-State corridor – showed that there’s sufficient frequency of trips between UM’s north campus and central campus to support light rail.

Bernstein said that from what he was hearing, the community appeared to have some control over how the county is going to look over the next 30 years.

Sue McCormick said she’d like to see called out in more detail the “nice set of dominoes that fall” when congestion is relieved along high-capacity corridors leading to local areas, causing local congestion to be relieved, thus allowing for rejuvenation of the local area.

Anya Dale, who by profession is a Washtenaw County planner, stressed that it’s important not to just “pay tribute in language” to the principles of transit-oriented development (TOD), but rather to include in the scenarios the idea of TOD as it relates to key, high-capacity corridors. She observed that if current trends do continue, that would mean the population would tend to increase in areas outside urban centers. On the question of whether that means AATA should increase service outside urban areas, she suggested that it’s important not to be reactive.

Nacht suggested it would be good to have, with the various scenarios, an indication of what the impact would be on population distribution.

Charles Griffith remarked on the value of multimodal facilities. He’d just been in the Twin Cities, he reported, and had taken note of the bicyclists taking their bikes aboard the transit system.

Kerson suggested that the impact on travel times be presented in actual units of time rather than in percentages. For example, one forecast presented is that travel time on M-14 from the eastern county border to US-23 will increase by 115%. He wanted to know how many minutes that would be.

Nacht expressed the desire to see examples from other communities. He said he’d like to be able to say: Look at that community with that vision, and here’s why it worked there and could work here. Alternatively, he said, they might look at options that didn’t work in other communities and try those here – assuming they had a clear understanding of why the options didn’t work elsewhere, and had some reason to think that this community is different in a way that would allow the option to work here.

Nacht described Ann Arbor as “a college town with some other stuff going on.” He observed that some of the fastest-growing areas of the country had poor transit. In terms of possible population growth, he said he thought that transit could factor into some – but “not astronomical” – growth. He said if he were to be sold on some scenario, he’d need to believe that it was viable from example – not “wishful thinking or, if we build it they will come.” Noting that he’d previously lived in Washington D.C., he said that they’re obviously not going to build a subway, but he wanted an example he could relate to.

Robben identified affordability as a key issue. He pointed out that transit options that might seem desirable could also have costs that are prohibitive. He also noted the importance of gas prices on the issue. Higher gas prices meant that mass transit could become a more competitive option for potential riders.

TMP Consulting Extension: Board Deliberations

On the issue of extending the contract, there was little in the way of deliberations.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the increase in the dollar amount and the timeframe for the work that Steer Davies Gleeve is going to do.

Janitorial Services Contract

Before the board was consideration of a three-year contract at $72,000 per year with JNS Commercial Cleaning to provide janitorial services for the Blake Transit Center. The contract with the current vendor expired on Oct. 31 and was extended through Nov. 30, 2010. The AATA received 14 proposals in response to their RFP (request for proposals).

The proposals were reviewed by operations staff with respect to their technical merit and scored separately from the financial merit, which was assessed by the controller. Based on that analysis, the field of vendors was winnowed down to three. After an interview with the top choice, a reference check caused that vendor to be disqualified. The second of the three finalists, JNS Commercial Cleaning, was then interviewed. References checked out, and JNS was recommended for selection.

Janitorial: Board Deliberations

Board member Rich Robben wondered what allowed for the dramatic drop in cost – was the vendor paying a living wage? Controller Phil Webb indicated that he was not sure about compensation details. Michael Ford, AATA’s CEO, indicated that he could get back to the board about that issue. Roger Kerson indicated that he’d raised the question of compensation at the performance monitoring and external relations committee meeting, and had been told there was a $2 difference in the hourly rate – $19 versus $17.

Board member David Nacht asked Robben if he had concerns that would cause him to want to delay a decision. Robben indicated that he’d like more information on employee compensation, before voting. The board then voted to table the motion.

Outcome: The board voted to table the decision to award a three-year contract to JNS for janitorial services at the Blake Transit Center. Dissenting were Sue McCormick and Charles Griffith.

Compensation Philosophy

Before the board was a resolution to adopt a compensation philsophy. The compensation philosophy considered by the board reads in part:

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority believes in a Merit System that rewards higher than expected performance. To determine merit increases, AATA takes into account, rather than specific changes in the cost of living:

1. Individual performance
2. Financial condition of the authority
3. Competitive job market
4. General economic conditions

AATA is committed to pay competitive market rates with organizations that are within the following parameters:

1. Transit providers with similar numbers of employees
2. Organizations with 100 to 249 employees and similar revenue streams to those of AATA
3. Government units located in the South Eastern Michigan area

Compensation Philosophy: Board Deliberations

David Nacht led off discussion by noting that the compensation philosophy was a re-draft of something that had been found lying around on the books somewhere. He indicated that at the planning and development committee meeting on the subject, he’d voted no on it.

Nacht said it’s not clear to him if the document refers to the compensation of the CEO, the senior staff, or all staff. As long as the AATA has a CEO, he said, that person is hired to pay everybody else. If the CEO is a good steward of taxpayer money, then that person is rewarded. “I don’t like pieces of paper like this,” said Nacht. He said he anticipated that someone might advance a case for a raise based on the piece of paper. But he said that nobody would come forward to say: This paper says I deserve less. He said he did not want the board to be bound by the piece of paper, and that he just didn’t feel the AATA needs it. He said he didn’t want another piece of paper that could wind up costing money.

Sue McCormick, who also serves as the city of Ann Arbor’s public services area administrator, responded with a different view. She stated that the document reflected a reasonable and transparent way for a public body to express to the public how it compensates people. It’s reasonable to have such a philosophy, he said.

Rich Robben said he sees his role, as a steward of the AATA, to make sure it has as much or more value after his stewardship than before. The compensation philosophy, he said, reflects good sustainable criteria to maintain the equity value of the organization.

Nacht picked up on the theme of public organizations that McCormick had introduced. In the private sector, he stated, many people have concerns about the public sector. The public sector, he continued, is in the opinion of many Americans “a mess.” Many of the recent elections were won by candidates saying that and nothing more, he said. He suggested that the AATA does not need pieces of paper to do what is common sense.

Boards need to create pieces of paper, Nacht concluded, but people with common sense can get things done.

Outcome: The board voted to adopt the compensation philosophy, with dissent from Nacht.

Communications from Committees, CEO

The board entertained its usual reports from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, the planning and development committee, as well as from the CEO, Michael Ford. Here are some highlights.

Comm/Comm: Blake Transit Center

As a part of the CEO’s report came the item that the AATA is in discussions with the city of Ann Arbor to acquire a six-foot parcel at the southwest corner of the lot where the BTC is located. The AATA is planning a reconstruction of the downtown transit center, located north of William, between Fourth and Fifth avenues in downtown Ann Arbor.

From the planning and development committee meeting minutes:

DLZ [the firm that's designing the new center] is working with Devon Title Company to secure the required parcel information for the City of Ann Arbor and should have this for the City by mid-November. This information will give AATA the ability to work with the City to move forward with the acquisition of the additional six feet of land to the southwest corner of the property. The additional land would allow AATA to construct the new building in a way that addresses some of the concerns AATA has heard (expanding the customer lobby area, improved security, and more public restroom space) during the public meetings held. Once this is completed, AATA will move forward swiftly with the final design so that it can be brought in front of City Planning for review and approval. We anticipate having a design of the new floor plan of the facility to present at the December committee meeting.

Comm/Comm: Performance Metric Charts

Image links to higher resolution file.

Charles Griffith, in reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, noted the new visual format for some of the reporting metrics. During board discussion, it was the operating expense per service hour that drew the most discussion.

That expense was budgeted for the year at $107.50/hour, but for the first part of the year, the organization has been coming in below budget. Nacht pointed out that in his tenure on the AATA board, Ted Annis had focused on the dollars/hour figure as a key metric and that it appeared that the year was off to a promising beginning.

Rich Robben wanted some clarification on the lack of a more apparent relationship between the number of passengers per service hour compared to the cost per passenger and CEO Michael Ford said he’d look into that.

Comm/Comm: On-Time Performance

Responding to the report of ongoing efforts to improve on-time performance, David Nacht suggested that in discussion with riders, a key problem is when a bus is extremely late – 10 minutes versus 20 minutes. Nacht suggested that it was important to eliminate the absolute worst offenses for lateness – the kind of lateness that cause people to lose jobs and miss doctor’s appointments.

Comm/Comm: Rider Forums – “We will not, however, be deterred.”

The first rider forum hosted by the AATA resulted in no one attending. It’s noted in the CEO report as follows:

As you know, there were no attendees at the October 21 Public Forum. We will not, however, be deterred. Plans are underway for the next session that will be held prior to the January 20, 2011 Board meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Conference Room of the Ann Arbor District Library on Fifth Avenue. This event is a priority for us.

Public Commentary

Two people addressed the board during public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting.

Tim Hull introduced himself by saying that he’d attended previous meetings. He thanked the board for being proactive about seeking input on proposed service changes. The board is already seeking input on changes scheduled for January 2011, he said. He described it as unfortunate that no one showed up to the first rider forum – he’d been sick, he said.

Thomas Partridge said he was gratified that Washtenaw County has a public transit system. He’s a long-time user of the system, he said. He recommended that board members ride the system, including the A-Ride para-transit system, to set an example to others. He said he appreciated the board’s efforts to reach out to the public in connection with the countywide planning effort, but said that it duplicates prior efforts.

Closed Session: Not Held

With all agenda items completed except for adjournment, Nacht inquired about a possible closed session to discuss an employee contract. Board chair Jesse Bernstein told Nacht that they could enter into closed session only if the employee requests it. When the conditions are met, Bernstein said, he would be happy to move the board into a closed session. The meeting concluded without the closed session.

Michigan’s Open Meetings Act reads in relevant part [emphasis added]:

15.268 Closed sessions; permissible purposes.

Sec. 8. A public body may meet in a closed session only for the following purposes:

(a) To consider the dismissal, suspension, or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, or to consider a periodic personnel evaluation of, a public officer, employee, staff member, or individual agent, if the named person requests a closed hearing. A person requesting a closed hearing may rescind the request at any time, in which case the matter at issue shall be considered after the rescission only in open sessions. …

Present: Charles Griffith, David Nacht, Jesse Bernstein, Sue McCormick, Rich Robben, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale

Next regular meeting: Thursday, Dec. 16, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [confirm date]