Looking north on Fifth Avenue at the AirRide stop, just south of the newly opened Blake Transit Center. (Photos by the writer.)

The only voting item handled by the board at its March 20 meeting was the extension of a contract with Michigan Flyer to provide service between downtown Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro Airport. The board authorized the first of three one-year extensions on the initial two-year contract for the service, called AirRide.

For the third year of the agreement, the not-to-exceed amount is $170,000. That compares with the first year of the contract that was not to exceed $700,000. The drop in the cost to the AAATA stems from a revenue-sharing agreement based on fare revenues – and ridership has exceeded projections.

The board also received an update on statewide transit issues from Clark Harder, executive director of the Michigan Public Transit Association, and Dusty Fancher, a lobbyist with Midwest Strategy Group. A main theme from their presentation was the need to focus on overall funding increases, as opposed to trying to fine-tune the part of the funding formula that divides public transportation funding among the 78 transit agencies in Michigan.

Harder also described an initiative to provide a non-emergency medical transportation brokerage that would tap public transportation resources. A demonstration program, to be provided through the newly formed Michigan Transportation Connection (MTC), could be up and running by Oct. 1, 2015, Harder reported.

Another highlight of that presentation included the idea that the abysmal road conditions – which have resulted from the long and harsh winter – could be a rallying point for more transportation funding. To the extent that additional money for transportation is funneled through the general transportation funding formula, that would lead to an increase in public transportation funding, along with funding for road infrastructure.

The harsh winter and the challenge of clearing snow at the 1,200 bus stops was also a part of another basic theme of the board’s discussion – accessibility of the bus service to those in the disability community. Carolyn Grawi of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living addressed the board to stress the importance of making sure all the bus stops are accessible. She also reiterated the CIL’s support for the upcoming May 6 millage vote.

Other highlights from the meeting included a round of applause for AAATA maintenance manager Terry Black, who managed the Blake Transit Center construction project. The driveways still need concrete to be poured before the project is completed, but the building itself is now open to the public.

AirRide Contract

The board considered a contract with Michigan Flyer to provide transportation between downtown Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro Airport for a third year, in a service called AirRide.

The average number of passengers for the last four weeks is 1,406, according to the AAATA.

Two years ago, the board had authorized Michigan Flyer’s two-year contract, with the possibility of three one-year extensions, at its Feb. 16, 2012 board meeting.

The first year of the contract specified an amount not to exceed $700,000 per year. The first year’s cost proved to be less than half that ($326,600) due to higher-than-projected ridership. The anticipated cost for the second year of the agreement was expected to be $216,522.

Based on additional negotiations, the cost of service for the third year is not expected to be more than $170,000. That cost will include AAATA’s share of an AirRide/Michigan Flyer staff position – who will help passengers board and load luggage. The drop in cost to the AAATA is in part attributable to Michigan Flyer’s receipt of a federal Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) grant. The third year of service includes adjustments that eliminate the stop on the University of Michigan central campus transit center, but add a 13th trip between Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro Airport.

AirRide Contract: Board Discussion

During her report out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Anya Dale reported that ridership on the AirRide service is up 22% for the year. The average number of weekday riders for AirRide has hit 200, she said. Dale also described the historical background for the contract.

When the board reached the resolution on its agenda, board chair Charles Griffith called it an incredibly nice trend to see the cost of the service coming down each year as the ridership on the service continues to increase. He called it a great story. It reminded him of the transit improvement millage that’s on the May 6 ballot – because you take a leap of faith when you keep hearing from people about the service they want, and you think it’s the right thing to do, and then you actually provide the service.

AirRide is an example of where people really did line up and take advantage of the service, Griffith said. He ventured that it might be possible eventually to bring the price of the service down. Michael Ford noted that the AAATA is adding even more customer service components to the AirRide – as assistance loading luggage and boarding is now being provided.

Eli Cooper called the service “really outstanding.” When it was first started, the AAATA was thinking about spending around $750,000 on it, but now the cost is down to $170,000 year. It’s just remarkable, he said, what this public-private partnership has achieved. The efficiency and effectiveness of public transportation is clear in select markets, Cooper said, and it was being demonstrated here in Ann Arbor. It’s not so much a cost reduction in the contract, Cooper said, but rather a reflection of the efficiency and effectiveness of working with Michigan Flyer.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the AirRide contract with Michigan Flyer.

During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Carolyn Grawi of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living called the AirRide service fantastic, saying that she and her family had used it several times going to and from the airport as well as going to and from East Lansing.

Statewide Perspective

The board received an update from Clark Harder, executive director of the Michigan Public Transit Association, and Dusty Fancher, a lobbyist with Midwest Strategy Group. Their presentation had been originally scheduled for the board’s Jan. 16 meeting, but was cancelled due to bad weather.

Statewide Perspective: MPTA History, Purpose

Clark Harder, executive director of the Michigan Public Transit Association, opened his remarks by thanking the AAATA board for the invitation to come down from Lansing and speak. He noted that some of the faces on the board were recognizable from his last visit two years ago, but others were new to him. He allowed that sometimes local transit authority boards don’t really understand what the MPTA does or why they do it. So he wanted to share some information about the MPTA.

The Michigan Public Transit Association was created in 1977, he said, as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit. The MPTA exists to be an educational and advocacy arm for members of the association. Out of the 78 transit authorities in the state of Michigan, 50 are members of the MPTA, he said. He characterized 50 members as a high-water mark for the MPTA, and it’s been at that level for a number of years. Some of the smaller systems, which the MPTA would love to have as members, have not joined. Harder ventured that sometimes the reason was budgetary, or for very small systems they did not see any reason to be involved. But for a very small system, he continued, that’s all the more reason to be involved. “We are all working collectively for the same goal, which is stronger support, stronger funding for public transportation,” he said. That’s why the MPTA was created, he added.

The MPTA was created with a lot of direction and support from the Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT), Harder explained. In the early days of public transit in the state of Michigan, MDOT noticed that all the other entities it dealt with – like road commissions – had some kind of association to represent them. But public transit authorities had nothing at that point. So at that time a number of different people came together – including the forerunner of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), which was called the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA), and the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) in Lansing. Those two entities were instrumental in creating the MPTA.

It wasn’t very long after the initial creation of the MPTA that the long-standing association between the MPTA and AAATA came into being, Harder said. “You are one of early members and one of our very active members.” He pointed out that Dawn Gabay, deputy CEO of the AAATA, is the AAATA’s representative on the MPTA’s board of directors. AAATA manager of service development Chris White had been extremely active in the MPTA across the years, and AAATA maintenance manager Terry Black chairs the maintenance committee at the state level, Harder pointed out. So the AAATA has a high level of involvement and a large stake in what the MPTA does.

The MPTA was created for advocacy, but over the years that role has evolved, Harder said. About 10 years ago, MDOT – which had previously done a lot of training and educational programs – stepped back and said it could no longer afford to do it. As a result of that, MPTA had moved into a variety of educational and training programs, he explained. So now the MPTA has a dual role: advocacy and education/training. As a result of taking on the additional role of education and training, Harder explained, the committee structure that already existed was made more robust and more active. The MPTA now has a very strong committee structure, he said.

There are four annual conferences a year and an annual meeting, which is always in August. There’s a legislative conference in February. There’s a rural transit managers workshop typically at the end of March. And every June, the MPTA holds a transit vehicle maintenance seminar. That was something that historically MDOT had done. They stopped doing it for four or five years and a lot of transit systems approached the MPTA and asked for that program to be restored.

During question and answer time with Harder and Fancher, board chair Charles Griffith asked if the MPTA offered anything for board members by way of training on how to be a good board member, or on governance issues. The AAATA is not the only transit agency that is looking to expand, he said, and the AAATA has learned a lot about several related issues – so maybe some of that information could be shared with other transit authorities.

Michigan Public Transit Association executive director Clark Harder told the board that state public transportation funding had remained basically level over the last 10 years, which was a success in the context of other departments that had seen drastic reductions.

Harder told Griffith that it had been one of the long-term goals of the MPTA to have a transit boardsmanship training program – similar to what the Michigan Municipal League does for city council members. Some steps have been made in that direction, he said. He provides one-on-one training sessions with transit authority boards. He does not charge anything to members for that service, because he thinks that’s part of what MPTA members already pay for. He does not push it or advertise it a lot. He hoped that one day there would be a transit board certification program that would be offered on an ongoing basis.

Another program the MPTA has launched this year is called the “Route to Excellence” customer service training program, Harder reported. It’s the first one of its kind in the nation, he said, and the first one of its kind that he was aware of that any state transit association has put together. It’s a transit-based customer service program. The MPTA has been in the process of rolling out that program.

Statewide Perspective: Funding Levels

The MPTA’s main focus over the years has been to advocate for transportation funding – for operating funds and for bus capital, Harder stressed.

The MPTA had been successful in that advocacy over the last several years, he said. Throughout all the state cuts that every other department has faced, transportation has been able to hold its funding. He allowed that due to the cost of doing business rising, the dollars don’t go as far.

But in the face of severe budget cuts, public transportation is one of the very few things that has remained consistent across the board over the last decade, he said: “We are rather proud of that fact.” The MPTA’s current focus is on the transportation funding package in front of the legislature.

Fancher explained that the state is in the middle of the budget cycle for fiscal year 2013-14. A supplemental budget bill has just been passed in Lansing, she said.

Statewide Perspective: Funding Levels – Potholes

The big issue surrounding the supplemental bill was the condition of the transportation infrastructure, Fancher said: “You may have noticed there are a few potholes. I saw some coming down Main Street tonight!” There’s been discussion in Lansing for a long time about how to come up with a solution, she said, to solve transportation funding. There was a budget surplus this year, and the legislature decided to spend $250 million of that surplus to go toward the road budget. Some of that will take care of winter maintenance – salt and overtime to cover plowing activity. There’s also some additional money to go out and “cover up some of those potholes.”

AAATA board members Eli Cooper and Gillian Ream Gainsley.

Fancher ventured that the long winter had awakened a new sense of urgency for the public to do something about road funding. And that urgency has been lacking up to now. Everybody recognizes the need to fix the roads, but nobody wants to pay for it, she said. Right now there are a lot more holes in the road and it’s definitely going to get worse as the spring freeze-thaw cycle continues. So talks on the issue are starting back up, she reported.

Democrats are talking to the Republicans and they are sitting at the table and they are having conversations, she said. She wished that they were talking about a larger dollar amount, but at least they were talking. She was happy that they’re talking about a dollar amount that will flow all the way through the transportation funding formula – that is, to public transportation systems as well. When you hear people talk about “road funding” in the newspaper, it always makes her nervous, she said. While road funding is a part of transportation funding, it’s also important to make sure that it flows through to all the other parts of the transportation system. So she’s encouraged that the talks continue to focus on the entire CTF [comprehensive transportation fund] formula.

When the board was given a chance to ask questions, Eli Cooper noted that because the potholes are real and people see them, it might give cause for action. But the needs for the transit industry go far beyond just those visible infrastructure deficiencies, Cooper stressed. Funding is woefully lacking with appropriate regional and local transportation in the Ann Arbor community, in southeast Michigan and statewide, Cooper continued. He told Harder that the AAATA looked to the MPTA to advocate so that the legislature and state administration understands the need.

Cooper thought there’s a real responsibility to review both the levels and the mechanisms for funding local and regional authorities. So he asked Harder and Fancher to please keep that in mind as they head back up to Lansing and talk with other authorities. There’s an opportunity right now because the potholes are creating focus. “We should never let a crisis go unused,” he quipped. Harder agreed with Cooper, but said that some of the MPTA members get a little antsy and concerned when everything they read in the newspaper is about potholes. But that is what drives the message statewide. And if that is what they have to use to get more funding for public transportation, then Harder was OK with that –as long as they don’t lose sight of the big picture.

AAATA board member Larry Krieg. He represents Ypsilanti Township on the board.

Larry Krieg offered a suggestion as a slogan that could be used, which he’d heard from AAATA staff: “You are one pothole away from public transit.” Krieg noted that public transit had taken a hit as a result of the snow, and the impact was felt not only on the roads. Krieg cited a figure from AAATA maintenance manager Terry Black – that nearly $144,000 extra was needed for snow removal contracts alone, not to mention the overtime of the AAATA’s own staff.

So when we think about regional transportation, we also need to keep ourselves running, Krieg stressed.

During his report to the board, Michael Ford – chief executive officer of the AAATA – noted that he’d had an incident with a pothole this week and found himself taking the bus. “It’s nice to have that option,” he said.

Statewide Perspective: Funding Levels – By Formula

The transportation budget for the fiscal year 2014-15 – which will start on Oct. 1, 2014 – is currently being debated, Fancher told the AAATA board. She expected the state House of Representatives to vote their budget out of committee later this month. She thought that funding for transit would remain about the same. In the last two years, there has been a $5 million operating line item that MDOT could use for discretionary funding. The MPTA had argued to get that in because of the southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA), which creates a disruption in the funding of the system. She did not think that the $5 million would be part of next year’s budget.

She was hearing that there might be some money in the budget – whether it’s in MDOT’s budget or in some other budget – for the RTA. The MPTA had advocated for $2 million in the supplemental budget bill, but there was “not enough education on the House side” to get that done, she said. So what the governor’s office has done is to say “we will find the money for fiscal year 13-14 … we’ll figure it out.” And then the governor’s office would advocate for the remaining money in the next year’s budget. That would allow RTA members to go out and educate members of the House of Representatives. She pointed out that the RTA is a member of the MPTA.

Board chair Charles Griffith recalled the situation last year when there had been an interpretation of the CTF formula that had been unexpected – and it took almost a year for the AAATA to get the money back that it had expected. “Has that been fixed in a permanent way, or is that still something we still need to get done right for the long-term?” Griffith asked. Fancher indicated that it was in fact something that could happen again. She reviewed how the Detroit Dept. of Transportation’s reduction in funding had impacted other transit agencies when the regular funding formula was applied. There has not been a permanent fix for that, she said. She would be happy to find a permanent solution moving forward. She felt there was interest among legislators in finding a permanent solution. But she said the focus right now is on finding an overall transportation funding increase “before we bust into fixing things inside Act 51.”

Harder added that the MPTA has tried to spur that conversation with MDOT, but said that the MDOT was not just rather resistant, but “adamantly resistant” to carrying on that conversation – until there is new, additional funding for the formula. They’ve made that pretty clear, he said. That’s clearly coming from the governor’s level – that they don’t get into these conversations until they get appreciable new funding.

Eli Cooper added that a couple of days ago there was an article in the local media that talked about 15,000 new jobs coming into the Ann Arbor community. That’s 15,000 people looking for ways to get to work. In our economy and our community and in this state, we need to have travel choices – proper local travel choices, regional and statewide travel choices, Cooper said.

Cooper appreciated the MPTA’s work and encouraged the MPTA not to argue over the smaller pieces, but to look more broadly and into a brighter future where transit authorities and transit services in our community and statewide are adequately funded – so that local transit agencies have the ability to provide the service without worrying about whether a millage is passed or not.

In response to Cooper’s remarks Fancher said her focus was on making sure that everything goes through the formula.

Statewide Perspective: Detroit

Eric Mahler noted that in Detroit’s state of the city address, mayor Mike Duggan had made it clear that public transportation is a focus. Duggan had also said he was looking to the federal government for buses and other things. Mahler asked if Harder and Fancher had heard anything from the state level about partnering between the federal government and the city of Detroit and some kind of collaboration for other transit authorities around the state.

AAATA board member Eric Mahler.

Harder told Mahler that he had heard there was interest on the part of the administration in Washington to try to identify some additional funding. Of course the issue for the state is the match for any federal dollars on the bus capital side. Harder said that Gov. Rick Snyder’s recommendation is still very strong on the bus capital match side – and that is one of the things that Snyder’s administration had prioritized right from the start.

Harder indicated that right now, on the federal side, the reauthorization for transportation funding is being discussed. He allowed that the state of Michigan is not doing as well now, as when earmarking was the normal process. “We had a senior delegation and we did very well with earmarking,” Harder said. But “earmarking” is a dirty word in Washington now, so they don’t do that, Harder said.

On a more positive note, Harder pointed out that right now the city of Detroit and the new mayor have the ear of the U.S. president. And sometimes miraculous things can happen because of that kind of relationship, Harder said. Mahler was right about Duggan being a very strong supporter of public transportation – as a former manager at SMART. “[Duggan] gets it in terms of fixing what’s wrong,” Harder said. Fancher added that she has heard that MDOT is trying to turn over every stone to make sure that they are making the best use of grants that are available and are really trying to help out as much as possible to pull in federal funding.

Statewide Perspective: Regional Thinking

Eli Cooper recalled about a year ago a conversation about the RTA and the state budget. It focused on whether money was going to be available and that local CTF funds would be supporting the RTA. It sounded like things might be a little bit different this year, he ventured. The AAATA had wanted to support the RTA – but not at the expense of the rides that are provided within local communities, he said. Cooper was looking to the MPTA to continue to advocate on the AAATA’s behalf.

Statewide Perspective: Non-Emergency Medical Transportation

MPTA executive director Clark Harder reported that last year, the MPTA has put a lot of time into researching non-emergency medical transportation with the goal of creating a statewide public-transit-based brokerage for those non-emergency rides. There’s been great input from the AAATA on that topic. Vanessa Hansle, the AAATA’s mobility manager, has been leading the mobility management aspect of that study, Harder reported.

In just the last month, the MPTA has authorized moving that forward, creating the Michigan Transportation Connection (MTC), which will be the coordinating body. They will soon be bidding out some of the managed care contracts across the state. It’s possible that by Oct. 1, 2015 there will be at least one demo project up and running to handle Medicaid non-emergency medical transportation, coordinated through the MTC, Harder said.

Later in the meeting, Midwest Strategy Group lobbyist Dusty Fancher mentioned that she had been advocating legislatively on the issue of non-emergency medical transportation – within the state’s Dept. of Human Services budget. She had arranged for the committee to hear from Harder, and he had testified in front of that committee. It had put on the committee’s radar screen that they could be thinking about public transportation as a tool to save on Medicaid dollars. There’s no reason to contract out transportation service at a higher rate than what could be provided by the local public transportation service. People are already paying tax dollars for that, she pointed out, so full advantage should be taken of it.

Dusty Fancher is with Midwest Strategy Group, a lobbyist firm in Lansing.

Responding to AAATA board questions about overall transportation funding in Michigan, Harder said one reason he was excited about the non-emergency medical project is that he sees a lot of potential to alleviate some of the pressure on the existing funding formula. That’s because it’s a new source of funding that does not come with the same strings attached as the current formula. But Harder could also see the benefit that it would bring to moving the conversation forward on a regional basis. In the time he has worked for the MPTA, he’s concluded that is really what is needed – something that can drive the arguments regionally. Those who work in public transit understand the importance of moving toward regionalization, he said. But there has not been an overriding issue that they could fall back on and point to and say: This is why we need regional transportation and here’s an example of how it pays off and works.

A non-emergency medical transportation brokerage is regional transportation, Harder said. If success is achieved with that, they would be brokering rides for people – whether it is rides on public transportation or private transportation. That will help to build the case that people don’t just live within the confines of their city or their county. Services are not just confined to the city or the county where people live, Harder said. People need to get across those artificial boundary lines that have been put up. He said public transportation was initially set up in ways that actually helped to encourage those artificial boundary lines – so that now they have to be broken down. The MPTA felt that the RTA is a wonderful thing that needs to happen – but not if it’s funded on the backs of all the existing transit agencies in the state. That would tear down the infrastructure that has taken 35 years to build.

Accessibility

Accessibility of the AAATA’s service – particularly to those in the disability community – was a significant theme of the March 20 board meeting. Clark Harder, with the Michigan Public Transit Association, gave a presentation to the board about the MPTA’s efforts on behalf of its member transit authorities, of which AAATA is one. He fielded questions from AAATA board members after that presentation, including one from Jack Bernard.

Bernard wanted to know what the MPTA is doing for riders who have disabilities. He asked what was happening in Lansing specifically with respect to disability issues. Harder replied that MPTA has a strong partnership with the state-level disability organizations. In the past, the MPTA had led coalition efforts involving disability groups, but had backed off in recent years, he said. A new coalition called Transform had emerged. MPTA had encouraged the groups that they had previously worked with to get involved with Transform.

Transform had some funding available and was able to do some things that MPTA was not able to do, Harder said. The MPTA would continue to work closely with the disability network – saying that they had always worked very closely with United Cerebral Palsy and groups like The Arc. He could not tell Bernard that there are any new sources of funding being identified for persons with disabilities in terms of public transportation usage. But he felt there was a keen awareness that for many people who have disabilities, public transportation is their only way to be mobile in our society. He felt that there is certainly room to add funding to assist persons with disabilities.

Accessibility also came up in connection with the issue of snow clearing at bus stops. During his report to the board, CEO Michael Ford noted that it had been the worst winter in many years, and with that came many challenges. Shelters and walkways get cleared and then the street plows come along to do their job, which means that the AAATA needs to redo its job. That’s particularly difficult with 1,200 bus stops, Ford said. The effort is actually coordinated, Ford added, between various agencies and contractors. AAATA works with the city of Ann Arbor and the community standards department to address sidewalk complaints. And as the season draws to an end, the AAATA staff will be meeting with representatives of the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County to review how things went this year, and to start thinking about how things can be improved and coordinated next year.

AAATA board member Jack Bernard.

During the “question time” agenda slot, Jack Bernard told Ford that he appreciated the emphasis that Ford had placed on making services accessible. It’s of critical importance that the AAATA do that, Bernard said. The AAATA is uniquely situated to be able to serve populations who cannot drive or who don’t drive, so it’s critical that the AAATA make its services accessible.

On the topic of snow removal, Bernard allowed that it’s very difficult to make sure the 1,200 bus stops are accessible for all of the AAATA’s patrons so that they can get on and off buses safely and conveniently. He allowed that not every bus stop could be cleared the way the AAATA would ideally like it to be cleared. But when the AAATA knows that there are particular patrons who had disability issues or have difficulty boarding, he wondered if snow clearance could be prioritized in those spots. He allowed that it’s important to get every spot, but AAATA drivers know their passengers – so he thought it might be possible to target those spots.

Ford responded to Bernard by saying an internal meeting had been held recently on that topic. Ford said the AAATA wants to make sure it does the best job possible. Accessibility is definitely a high priority for the AAATA, Ford said.

During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Carolyn Grawi of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living commented on the snow removal issue. She reported that she gets calls from people who are able to get out on the bus, but when they come back – because of the way things get plowed, or shoveled after they’ve left their home – they are stuck. Bus drivers try to be helpful in helping people off the bus, but the drivers can’t leave the bus.

Grawi noted that the University of Michigan has a strategy where patrons can provide information about where they live and where they need to go – and as a result, certain locations receive an asterisk so that they receive extra attention for snow removal. But it’s not just a question of where the person lives or where they board on a regular basis, she cautioned. Because the bus will take us wherever life takes us, and people are getting on and off the bus everywhere in the community. So it’s every curb ramp in every subdivision that needs to remain cleared, she said. There’s still ice on some ramps, even though a lot of it has melted. She suggested that in the spring, the AAATA and others should start to think about a plan so that for next winter a plan is in place.

Ford also acknowledged the issue during his March 20 report to the board. He noted that during its Feb. 20 board meeting, the board had also heard about the critical need to make the system accessible. He noted that Carolyn Grawi of the Center for Independent Living had met with staff during the past week to discuss specific concerns. Making services and systems accessible is a priority for the AAATA, Ford said, and will continue to be.

The board also received a report from the local advisory council, a group that provides input and feedback to AAATA on disability and senior issues. Rebecca Burke reported from the most recent LAC meeting, that the group had received a presentation on the Jewish Family Services (JFS) vehicle accessibility plan. The group had also reviewed a users guide, which is due to be out in May. They had also reviewed data from a survey from a small population of users. The survey had covered items like destinations that users would like to reach that are currently not served by AAATA.

Communications, Committees, CEO, Commentary

At its March 20 meeting, the board entertained various communications, including its usual reports from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, the planning and development committee, as well as from CEO Michael Ford. The board also heard commentary from the public. Here are some highlights.

Comm/Comm: Financial Report

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Anya Dale gave an update on the financial report the committee had received. Revenue is under budget by 0.1% but expenses are under budget by more than that, she said. Some of the extra costs the AAATA has incurred involved additional expenses due to weather-related items, she noted. Because of the very cold weather in January, ridership had dropped off. But the other indicators – operating expense per passenger, operating expense per service hour, operating expense per service mile – were all slightly better than budget for the fiscal year, she said. In that context, everything is still doing well, she said.

Ridership on ExpressRide is doing well – as it is up 10% for the year, Dale said. There is an increase in ridership on the Canton route, so that Canton and Chelsea are now about equal in ridership, Dale said.

Dale reported that the committee had received a presentation from the getDowntown program director Nancy Shore. Shore had presented the committee with results from a survey of downtown business owners and commuters in 2013. Dale pointed her board colleagues to the full report, which is available on the getDowntown website. Something that stood out for Dale was that employers considered the go!pass program a significant benefit used to attract and retain employees – with 76% of businesses using it as a way to recruit people. Among bus riders, 34% of respondents said they would be driving downtown if they did not have a go!pass. That’s 1,000 people who are choosing to ride the bus rather than driving, she said. Results from the AAATA’s ridership survey are in draft form and that would be available later, Dale reported.

AAATA controller Phil Webb.

During question time, Gillian Ream Gainsley asked about the “interest, advertising, and other” line item. She recalled that last year, advertising revenue had exceeded expectations. She asked if there were any insights that could be provided into why it’s down this year, or if there is anything that can be done about it. AAATA controller Phil Webb explained that the budget line item is a combination of a few different items.

It includes advertising revenue and some other revenue from the getDowntown program. He allowed that advertising revenue is a little bit down compared to budget. Just this week, however, he’d received a report for February, and revenue had shot back up again. The monthly amount received by AAATA was $26,000 – which was ahead of the monthly average, whereas in January it was below average for that month. “It’s starting to come around,” he said.

On the topic of low ridership in January, Charles Griffith said that a lot of people just did not get out on the very cold days. As a regular bus rider, he said, there were a lot of days he would’ve been very unhappy, if he’d had to take his car out. But the buses were still running. And “miraculously,” he said, buses were running for the most part on time. He was able to commute to work very consistently, saying it was almost kind of surprising. Off mic, Ford lightly ribbed Griffith about the idea that it was surprising to him. Griffith responded by noting that everyone else was struggling out on the roads, but the buses have good traction and they get around quite well.

Comm/Comm: Blake Transit Center Opening

In his report to the board, Michael Ford noted that the new Blake Transit Center had opened. It’s located on South Fifth Avenue across from the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library, north of William. It had been opened as part of a soft launch on Monday, March 17. Staff had been on hand throughout that day to share information, he said. The new center will better serve passengers and employees, Ford said. The facility also provides a chance to make the urban core communities a more attractive place to live and work. Ford thanked everyone who had helped with the Blake Transit Center. Ford noted that additional work still needs be done – including concrete that needs to be poured.

Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority maintenance manager Terry Black got a round of applause at the March 20, 2014 board meeting. He was project manager on the construction of the new Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor, which had a soft opening on March 17.

Ford thanked staff for all the hard work that it’s taken to get things to this point: “I think it’s a magnificent facility. I also just want to acknowledge Terry Black for all of his hard work and effort. This guy has been relentless day in and day out, just being there making sure everything is going to work, and I just want to thank you personally for all your hard work.” Ford’s remarks prompted applause for Black.

Board chair Charles Griffith noted that some board members had an opportunity to get a tour just before the board meeting and he’d visited the facility on Monday during the soft launch. He asked Black for a report on how things had gone with the BTC construction. “You don’t have to tell any horror stories – we don’t need to hear those,” Griffith quipped.

Black reported that most of the feedback he received so far has been very positive. A lot of staff had worked really hard on Saturday and Sunday to get the facility to the point where it could be opened on Monday, Black said. He felt that the reaction had been positive – as far as the bus drivers and passengers were concerned. Like any new building, there are some things that need to be tweaked, he said. He was looking forward to a little warmer weather so that the concrete could be poured.

Eric Mahler asked Black to summarize some “lessons learned.” Black replied that there were a lot of lessons learned and he wanted to leave it at that. Those lessons would be incorporated into the AAATA’s future work on the Ypsilanti Transit Center.

Comm/Comm: May 6, 2014 Millage Vote

The upcoming millage, which the board approved for the May 6, 2014 ballot at its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting, came up at several different points during the March 20 board meeting.

During communications time at the start of the meeting, Gillian Ream Gainsley reported some “really great endorsements” had come out of Ypsilanti. She thanked the AAATA staff for coming to give a presentation to the Ypsilanti city council. That same morning, AAATA staff had presented to the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority. The Ypsilanti DDA had passed a resolution of support for the millage with wording similar to that of a resolution passed by the Ann Arbor DDA – saying that if the millage passes, the Ypsilanti DDA will increase its support for transit and transit-related activities.

During his report to the board, Michael Ford noted that the ballot language for the 0.7 millage request had been delivered to the Washtenaw County clerk the day after last month’s board meeting. During the last four weeks, staff had been hitting the road and hitting the pavement with the message about the urgent need for improved transportation services within the community and within the greater Ann Arbor area. As campaigns often go, he said, the AAATA had received some negative press recently. Ford said he recognized that’s part of the process and said the AAATA would do its level best to balance that part of the equation by continuing to provide good factual data. Internally, the AAATA is engaged in a readiness process to ensure that it’s in a position to deploy new services shortly after funding is approved, if it is approved, Ford said.

During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Carolyn Grawi of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living reiterated her support for the May 6 millage vote. Grawi said she was pleased to see the number of endorsements that were starting to be announced. The whole community benefits from transit expansion, she said. We need the service now – we need the service today, she concluded.

Comm/Comm: Connector Study

An alternatives analysis is currently being conducted by the AAATA for the corridor running from US-23 and Plymouth southward along Plymouth to State Street, then further south to I-94. The alternatives analysis phase will result in a preferred choice of transit mode (e.g., bus rapid transit, light rail, etc.) and identification of stations and stops. The study has winnowed down options to six different route alignments.

During his report to the board, Michael Ford gave an update on the connector study. The project team recently reviewed updates on the timeline, modeling, and finances. Ridership estimates are scheduled to be completed at the end of March, he said. He was recently in Washington D.C. and met with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) officials, who support the connector study concept and had agreed to meet with project partners to discuss possible opportunities for federal funding.

Comm/Comm: Ann Arbor Station Environmental Review

During communications time at the start of the meeting, Eli Cooper reminded the board that the Ann Arbor Station environmental review project was getting underway. The first of a series of three public meetings would be taking place on April 2, he said. Meetings will take place at the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library at 343 S. Fifth, he noted, starting at 4:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. For people who want to come earlier in the day or those who preferred to attend later in the afternoon, there would be opportunities to attend. At those meetings the project would be introduced, he said, and the dialogue would begin – which he hoped would culminate in the identification of an appropriate intercity passenger rail station for the city of Ann Arbor and its environs.

Comm/Comm: Annual Board Retreat

Eric Mahler reported out from the planning and development committee meeting. The committee has spent a great deal of time planning for the board retreat, he reported. The committee had discussed what it wanted to get out of the retreat. They were at this point looking at June as the likely time for the retreat, he said.

Present: Charles Griffith, Eric Mahler, Susan Baskett, Eli Cooper, Anya Dale, Gillian Ream Gainsley, Jack Bernard, Larry Krieg.

Absent: Sue Gott, Roger Kerson.

Next regular meeting: April 17, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [Check Chronicle event listings to confirm date]

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The average number of passengers for the last four weeks is 1,406, according to the AAATA.

Two years ago, the board had authorized Michigan Flyer’s two-year contract, with the possibility of three one-year extensions, at its Feb. 16, 2012 board meeting.

The first year of the contract specified an amount not to exceed $700,000 per year. The first year’s cost proved to be less than half that ($326,600) due to higher-than-projected ridership. The anticipated cost for the second year of the agreement was expected to be $216,522.

Based on additional negotiations, the cost of service for the third year is not expected to be more than $170,000. That cost will include AAATA’s share of an AirRide/Michigan Flyer staff position – who will help passengers board and load luggage. The drop in cost to the AAATA is in part attributable to Michigan Flyer’s receipt of a federal Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) grant award. The third year of service includes adjustments that eliminate the stop on the University of Michigan central campus transit center, but add a 13th trip between Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro Airport.

This brief was filed from the boardroom at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library at 343 S. Fifth Ave., where the AAATA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report of the meeting will follow: [link]

AATA board member David Nacht. (Photos by the writer.)

To provide the AirRide service, which was launched a year ago, the AATA is currently in negotiations with Michigan Flyer to revise terms of the second year of the contract. While the first year called for the AATA to pay Michigan Flyer an amount not to exceed $700,000 for the hourly service, the ridership – given the structure of the revenue-sharing deal – has resulted in a far lower cost.

So the board passed a resolution at its April 18 meeting reflecting the current status of negotiations, which are pointing toward a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000 for the contract’s second year. The board’s action rescinded a resolution it had passed at the previous month’s meeting, in favor of one that reflected the current status of negotiations between AATA and Michigan Flyer.

Besides the resolution on AirRide, the only other item requiring a vote was one honoring David Nacht’s decade of service on the board – which covered two full five-year terms. During his brief remarks, Nacht thanked the riders of the AATA’s service, the bus drivers and the mechanics. He also thanked his family – his two sons attended the meeting. In addition, Nacht thanked the Ann Arbor mayor and city council, which make the appointments to the AATA board. At the council’s April 15 meeting, mayor John Hieftje had announced the nomination of Eric Mahler, currently a city planning commissioner, to replace Nacht.

Discussion on non-voting items included the future of public transportation in the broader region – in two significant ways.

First, board members lamented the fact that no U.S. company, and more specifically no Michigan company, had bid on the AATA’s request for proposals to replace battery kits for its hybrid electric buses. But board sentiment was that a larger purchasing consortium for such kits might eventually be achieved through the newly-created southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA) – which includes the transit agencies in Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland Counties. And that larger consortium might make it worth the while of a Michigan company that’s a part of the state’s nascent battery industry to invest in the capability to produce bus battery kits.

Second, the board was paid a visit by Ypsilanti city councilmember Pete Murdock, who alerted the board to the likelihood that the city of Ypsilanti would make a formal request to join the AATA. The request would need approval from the AATA board and almost certainly the Ann Arbor city council, and could have implications for board membership. The goal of such a move would be to provide a more stable financial foundation for Ypsilanti bus service.

The city of Ypsilanti itself already levies its constitutional cap of 20 mills of property tax. If the AATA were to ask voters of member jurisdictions to approve a millage – an authority the AATA does not currently exercise – that additional amount would not count against Ypsilanti’s constitutional cap.

AirRide Negotiations

Before the board for consideration was a resolution that authorized the negotiation of a second year of a contract between the AATA and Michigan Flyer, to provide AirRide bus service between downtown Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro Airport.

Ridership on AATA AirRide service through April 2013.

The AATA currently provides the hourly service by contracting with Michigan Flyer. The current agreement between Michigan Flyer and AATA has a yearly not-to-exceed cost of $700,000 per year, running for two years starting April 1, 2012. As the contract was set to enter its second year, the AATA board had voted at its March 21, 2013 meeting to support a four-month extension of the contract under its current terms. That was supposed to provide a window to re-negotiate the contract for the second year.

It appears that window will not be required, as the resolution the board was asked to consider on April 18 rescinded the prior resolution on the four-month extension. As part of the April 18 resolution, the board authorized negotiation of the contract’s second year for a not-to-exceed cost of $300,000, which is less than half the cost of the original contract. The reduction is due to the relatively frequent ridership on the service, compared with initial projections.

The weekly ridership for the hourly service between Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro Airport now averages more than 1,000 passengers a week, with some weeks reaching 1,400 riders.

AirRide: CEO Report, PMER Report

During his report to the board, CEO Michael Ford said that AirRide had reached a new milestone: In March 2013, 5,840 riders had used the service, which was the highest monthly ridership to date. Since the launch of the new service on April 4, 2012, Ford said that over 53,000 people had been carried to and from the airport.

During his report out from the performance monitoring and external relations (PMER) committee, Jesse Bernstein noted that the budgeted cost for AirRide for the year since it was launched was $700,000 – but due to the relatively high level of ridership, the actual amount spent had been only $326,000. And a “good chunk” of that had been offset by other donations and income, Bernstein said.

AirRide: Board Discussions

David Nacht wanted everyone to understand that the contract amount did not mean that the AATA simply pays that money in order to make AirRide run. “We also get money because we run AirRide. We get fare revenue, we get money from the state of Michigan that is different and extra than we would otherwise get. … We also have money from other partners in the community such as the Convention and Visitors Bureau.” Nacht said the AATA is not discussing those revenues right now, because the AATA is in contract negotiations, so Nacht didn’t think it was in the public’s best interest for the AATA to share the details.

The bottom line is that last month the board had been comfortable continuing the old contract for four months, Nacht said. Now the AATA has a number on the basis of which Nacht thought the AATA could sign a new contract for the second year. He characterized the change in the not-to-exceed amount from the first year to the second year – $700,000 to $300,000 – as a dramatic decrease. That reflects ridership beyond expectations, he said.

The contract language allows the AATA to share profits from passenger fares. And how that surplus would be allocated, Nacht said, would ultimately be a policy decision for the board in the future. Some people might want to take some of that money and roll it into increased service, he said. Or some people might want to subsidize other service within the city of Ann Arbor. He concluded by saying the community would eventually find that AirRide is not just a useful service, but also one that is financially beneficial to the community apart from just the people who ride it.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the resolution authorizing negotiations of the AirRide contract’s second year.

Nacht’s Last Meeting

The board was asked to consider a resolution of appreciation for the 10 years of service of David Nacht, whose second five-year term will end on May 5, 2013. The resolution highlighted several specific contributions made by Nacht during his decade of service.

Among the contributions cited in the resolution are: pursuing public transportation service between Ann Arbor and the Detroit Metropolitan Airport (AirRide); serving as chair of the board; serving as treasurer of the board; and helping negotiate the contract with the University of Michigan to provide service to university affiliates.

Nacht was not seeking reappointment to the board.

He had been a finalist to be appointed as one of two Washtenaw County representatives to the southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA), established by the state legislature in late 2012 during its lame duck session.

After a series of interviews of five candidates, he was a consensus choice to be one of the two representatives, but then-chair of the Washtenaw County board of commissioners, Conan Smith – who’s privilege it was to make the appointments – opted not to select Nacht. Smith announced on Dec. 31, 2012 that he’d appointed Richard “Murph” Murphy, a staffer with Michigan Suburbs Alliance – an organization that Smith leads – and Liz Gerber, a University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy professor.

CEO Michael Ford, right, presents outgoing board member David Nacht with the traditional mailbox as a parting gift from the AATA.

During Nacht’s interview for the RTA position, which he conducted via Skype, Nacht recalled some lessons learned during his time on the AATA board. He described how then-head of the AATA Greg Cook had proposed the idea of transferring the AATA’s paratransit contract to another vendor. The idea seemed to make sense from a financial point of view, but ultimately it proved to be a “complete unmitigated disaster,” Nacht said – because the new vendor “didn’t take care of our people.” Nacht described how the board then killed the contract. “We screwed up,” he said.

What Nacht had learned from that, he said during the RTA interview, was that when the AATA selects vendors, it affects people’s lives. To the extent that the AATA uses vendors, it’s important to remember that those vendors are in it “to make a buck, not to serve people,” he said. But the AATA’s business is to serve people, Nacht noted. He concluded his remarks on the topic during the interview by saying it’s paramount to keep in mind: “Who are the human beings who are actually going to use the service?”

As a replacement for Nacht on the AATA board, Eric Mahler has been nominated by Ann Arbor mayor John Hieftje. That announcement came at the city council’s meeting that started on April 15 and concluded at nearly 3 a.m. the following day.

If confirmed at the city council’s May 6 meeting, Mahler would be appointed for a term on the AATA board starting May 6, 2013 lasting through May 5, 2018.

Mahler is currently an Ann Arbor city planning commissioner, near the end of his second three-year term, having first been appointed in 2007. At the council’s April 15 meeting, Hieftje said that Mahler would serve through the end of his current planning commission term, which ends June 30, 2013.

Nacht’s Departure: Board Discussion

When the item was reached on the agenda, board chair Charles Griffith said he was tempted to ignore it because he was still “in denial.”

Griffith asked Nacht if it was his last board meeting. “This is true,” Nacht replied. If there was nothing that could be done about that, Griffith said he’d then read forth the resolution, which he did. [.pdf of David Nacht resolution of appreciation]

The board and staff gave Nacht a round of applause. Board discussion was limited. Sue Gott remarked on the resolution, “It sounds good to me!” The vote on the resolution was unanimous, with Nacht abstaining.

In his remarks, CEO Michael Ford recalled how Nacht had spent three hours with Ford in a Portland, Oregon, bookstore discussing taking the job as head of the AATA. It was a long conversation about the future, Ford said. He told Nacht he appreciated his time, leadership and commitment.

Ford presented Nacht with the traditional mailbox that is presented to outgoing board members. It’s marked up to resemble an AATA bus. Nacht’s mailbox also included a decal for the AirRide service. The decal was a nod to the fact that Nacht had long advocated for establishing the service. From The Chronicle report of the AATA’s Aug. 10, 2010 meeting:

Nacht declared that he was a little frustrated. He said he was willing to spend a little money on things that Ann Arborites might actually use. Airport service, he said, is one thing that people might actually use, but what he gets, he said, is constantly such “pushback” with proposals that are slow and unimaginative. “I can’t begin to express my frustration!”

Nacht’s interest in seeing airport service established is a part of earlier archives as well. From the board’s Feb. 18, 2009 meeting report:

Nacht then declared that he would like to have active consideration of providing the Ann Arbor community with bus service to the airport. He said that he didn’t want to hear back simply, “It’s too expensive,” …

As a farewell gift on April 18, Ford also presented Nacht with an engraved clock.

In his remarks, Nacht thanked the Ann Arbor mayor and city council for giving him the opportunity to have served. He thanked the AATA senior staff and his fellow board members. Most of all, he said, he wanted to thank the riders of the AATA bus service as well as the drivers and the mechanics. It’s the riders and the drivers and the mechanics who provide the “heart of this entity,” he said. If you don’t have riders, you don’t have a bus service. And if you don’t have drivers and mechanics, you don’t have a bus service. You can have a lot of staff and a board, but that doesn’t translate to a service. He called the AATA a “well-run house” with people who’ve been here a long time.

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board chair Charles Griffith raises his hand to vote yes on the resolution of appreciation for David Nacht’s board service.

“I encourage all my fellow citizens to serve on a board,” Nacht said. You learn a lot, he said. He was not a transportation expert when he joined the AATA board, he noted. He just cared about trying to help the community with its environmental challenges, getting people to work on time, and helping the seniors and disabled people who did not have a choice. He was also concerned about future traffic congestion. “I just wanted better transit; I just thought it would improve our community.” He spent a while listening and learning before he began to advocate, he said. He hoped that he’d left “a little good stuff behind, but I got a lot – I learned a ton.”

He wanted taxpayers to know that the Portland, Oregon trip to which Ford had referred was part of a family vacation, so “You did not pay!” He then added that there were two boys in the room age 15 and 11 – his sons. When he’d started his board service, they were 5 and 1. There have been a lot of family dinners missed, and other time away from the family due to his board service. So he thanked his children and his wife for their understanding “for the time I have spent learning about buses.”

Griffith told Nacht that it had been great to serve with Nacht. He’d learned a lot from Nacht.

Outcome: The resolution of appreciation for Nacht passed unanimously, with Nacht abstaining.

Regional Issues

Although they were not voting items, several points of discussion at the April 18 meeting highlighted the importance of the geographic area beyond the city of Ann Arbor borders. Three highlights included the possibility that the city of Ypsilanti could join the AATA, and the possible role of the southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA) in generating economic incentives for Michigan companies to develop battery technology for buses.

Regional Issues: Ypsilanti – Background

On the Ypsilanti city council’s agenda for April 23 is a resolution making a request to join the AATA. [.pdf of Ypsilanti council resolution]

The resolution enjoys the support of Ypsilanti councilmember Pete Murdock as well as Ypsilanti mayor Paul Schreiber, who indicated his support in a phone interview with The Chronicle.

Ypsilanti’s possible request comes in the context of an attempt in 2012 to improve public transit by forming a countywide authority. That authority, incorporated under Act 196 of 1986 in mid-2012 and spearheaded by the AATA, was for all practical purposes ended late last year when the Ann Arbor city council voted to opt out of the new transit authority at its Nov. 8, 2012 meeting.

Of the 28 municipalities in Washtenaw County, the city of Ypsilanti is the only one that didn’t opt out. That transit authority, called the Washtenaw Ride, was formally dissolved this month by the Washtenaw County board of commissioners at its April 17, 2013 meeting.

But under the direction of the Ann Arbor city council, the AATA has been meeting with representatives of the county’s “urban core” communities to discuss possible expanded public transit within a limited area around Ann Arbor. It would be a smaller effort than the previous attempt at countywide service. The AATA hosted a meeting on March 28 at Pittsfield Township Hall to go over details about where improvements or expansion might occur, and how much it might cost. [See Chronicle coverage: "Costs, Services Floated for Urban Core Transit."]

Ypsilanti’s request to join the AATA would be made under a provision of Act 55 of 1963, under which the AATA was originally incorporated. [.pdf of AATA articles of incorporation] [.pdf of Act 55 of 1963] Admission of Ypsilanti as a member would require a majority vote by the AATA board. It would also require that the articles of incorporation for the AATA be amended – which might require action by the Ann Arbor city council.

Act 55 states: “If a political subdivision joins the authority, the board shall amend the articles of incorporation accordingly.” In the past, however, it’s been through a resolution of the Ann Arbor city council that the articles of incorporation have been amended. In that case, the number of board members was increased to seven.

Membership in the AATA has possible implications for governance, including the possibility that through the articles of incorporation or bylaws, the city of Ypsilanti would be represented in some fashion on the AATA board. But the goal of adding Ypsilanti would include providing a more solid funding foundation for the service that AATA already operates between the two cities. Currently, that’s funded in part through a purchase-of-service agreement (POSA) between the AATA and Ypsilanti.

The two cities each already have millages that are designated to support public transportation. Ann Arbor’s millage is perpetual, passed in 1973 at a rate of 2.5 mills. The Headlee rollback has reduced that rate to just over 2 mills currently. Ypsilanti voters in November 2010 authorized a Headlee override of the city’s charter millage, restoring it to the originally authorized level of 20 mills, designating the additional 0.9789 mills for public transit purposes.

The AATA does not currently exercise its Act 55 statutory ability to levy taxes itself – which it could do on approval of a majority of voters who live in a member jurisdiction.

To sustain and improve transportation in the area, the AATA has indicated that additional funding would be required. At the March 28 meeting at Pittsfield Township Hall, four basic scenarios for transportation service in the urban core were presented for consideration: sustain, improve, expand, or expand and improve. [.pdf of March 28, 2013 meeting packet] For the “improve” scenario, the combined total of additional funding that would be required from the city of Ypsilanti and the city of Ann Arbor was between $1.7 million and $2.65 million – depending on the cost allocation methodology.

Based on the Washtenaw County 2013 equalization report, the taxable value of all property in the city of Ypsilanti is $289.6 million. And in the city of Ann Arbor, the taxable value of all property is $4.840 billion. A tax rate of 1 mill is $1 for each $1,000 of taxable value. So Ypsilanti’s transit millage will generate roughly $283,000 this year, while Ann Arbor’s transit millage will generate roughly $9.6 million.

Given the combined taxable value in the two cities, a new AATA millage rate of a bit more than half a mill would be needed to cover the additional $2.65 million required under the “improve” scenario [.52*(4,840,000,000+289,000,000)/1000= 2,667,080].

Regional Issues: Ypsilanti – CEO Report

During his report to the board, AATA CEO Michael Ford described as “very successful” the meeting on March 28, which was attended by representatives of various municipalities associated with the urban core transit effort. The goal had been to come to a consensus on service improvements or expansion that everyone could support. A preliminary consensus among elected officials at the meeting was that improving and expanding transit services in the greater Ann Arbor area was necessary to meet growing transit demands for their citizens, Ford reported. The issues faced by each community are really the same, he continued. Those issues include the need for better transportation for seniors and those with disabilities, retaining youth, giving residents access to jobs and spurring economic growth.

The next meeting would take place at April 25 at 4 p.m. with a focus on organizational funding and governance. The location of the meeting will be at Saline city hall at 100 N. Harris St. in Saline. Ford said he recognized that it’s a location not currently served by transit, but he hoped that in the near future it would be.

Ford reported the new development of Ypsilanti’s interest in joining the AATA. He ventured that the April 25 meeting would include some discussion on that. Ford indicated that the AATA understood the urgency of Ypsilanti’s situation.

Regional Issues: Ypsilanti – City Council

City councilmember Pete Murdock led off his brief remarks to the board by offering an explanation for the fact that he was a few minutes late in arriving – because all the traffic lights were out on Washtenaw Avenue. [The area had experienced some inclement weather in the course of the day.]

Ypsilanti city councilmember Pete Murdock at AATA’s April 18 meeting.

Since the demise of the countywide plan, Murdock said, he and Ypsilanti mayor Paul Schreiber had met individually with others – like representatives from AATA, Ann Arbor, and Pittsfield Township – to discuss what to do in the “urban core.” He reminded AATA board members that Ypsilanti has a long history of providing public transit going back at least to the 1970s, and the city of Ypsilanti has had a relationship with AATA to provide that service.

The last discussions that had taken place seemed to focus on the governance issues, Murdock reported, more than the service issues. To him, Murdock said, the AATA is “the transit authority for our region.” So if something regional were to be created, then AATA should be the basis for it.

To start that discussion, Murdock said, the Ypsilanti city council, at its April 23 meeting, would be considering the possibility of making a formal request to join the AATA.

AATA board chair Charles Griffith thanked Murdock for taking the time to drive down Washtenaw Avenue to alert the board to the Ypsilanti city council’s possible intent. [The AATA board meets at the downtown Ann Arbor library.] Griffith indicated that the AATA board would need to create a process to review Ypsilanti’s request for membership and decide if the AATA wanted to move ahead. Griffith said he thought that some requests would need to be made of the city of Ann Arbor as well.

Griffith indicated that the AATA would be “happy to entertain that proposal.” He ventured that the topic of Ypsilanti’s membership in the AATA would be discussed at the next “urban core” meeting on April 25.

Regional Issues: RTA – General

On the topic of the regional transit authority (RTA), Michael Ford – during his CEO’s report to the board – indicated that the AATA’s recent focus has been on creating a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the RTA and the AATA. The goal of such an MOU would be to protect AATA’s funding, as well as its local process and policies, Ford said.

The first official meeting of the RTA board had taken place on April 10, Ford reported, and AATA staff continue to meet with the two Washtenaw County representatives, Richard Murphy and Liz Gerber, who serves as the RTA board’s vice chair. So far the RTA board had discussed establishing a process for appointments to the RTA’s citizens advisory council, and a concept of rotating meeting locations to the different regions of the RTA.

Ford had discussed with the chair of the RTA, Paul Hillegonds, a request for the AATA to appoint two members to the transit providers committee of the RTA. Ford indicated that the RTA would like to have those appointments from the AATA by early May, so Ford would not be waiting until the AATA board retreat – tentatively set for May 22 – to discuss the topic. Instead, he’d take up the issue with the board’s planning and development committee.

Regional Issues: Local Advisory Council

Rebecca Burke reported from the AATA’s local advisory council (LAC), a group that provides input and feedback to AATA on disability and senior issues. At the council’s recent meeting, Richard “Murph” Murphy – one of the Washtenaw County representatives to the regional transit authority (RTA) board – had presented the council with an overview of his role. Murphy had explained the purpose of the RTA and how it’s intended to strengthen and improve coordination between the transit agencies in the four-county region of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland.

Regional Issues: Urban Core – Public Comment

Jim Mogensen addressed the board during the time allowed for public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting. In thinking about the broader issues of the region, he said it was useful to ask the question: Where’s the power and where’s the money? The countywide effort under Act 196 had been a way to try to answer and resolve that question, he said. That hadn’t worked out. But those issues are still simmering in the community. Those are the kind of dynamics that continue to take place, he said.

Regional Issues: RTA – Batteries?

Though it was not initially presented as a regional issue, an upcoming request to purchase 20 battery kits for the AATA’s hybrid electric bus fleet – for $675,000 – touched on the topic of regional transit.

In his report from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Jesse Bernstein said the committee had an extensive discussion of the hybrid bus battery refresher kits. It takes three months to receive the battery kits, once they’re ordered. AATA staff had wanted to double- and triple-check that there was not a Buy America requirement imposed by the Federal Transit Administration on the purchase. The one responsive bid received by the AATA was from W.W. Williams of Dearborn, Mich., which distributes a product sold by Allison Transmission. The kits are fully assembled in Japan by Panasonic, but are programmed by Allison for use in the energy storage system used in AATA buses. So Allison is pursuing a Buy America waiver from the FTA – as its existing waiver has expired.

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board members Sue Gott and Jesse Bernstein chat before the start of the April 18 meeting.

Bernstein reported that there were no U.S. manufacturers capable of making the batteries. He said the purchase will be made before the batteries fail.

During subsequent board discussion, David Nacht reported that when the AATA had learned that the sole source for the battery kits was not in the U.S., the performance monitoring and external relations committee had pointed out that there is an extensive, nascent battery industry in the state of Michigan. So RFPs (requests for proposals) had been sent to battery companies in Michigan, but “no one can make these batteries here,” Nacht reported. The AATA was providing an opportunity for the battery industry, Nacht said, but they’re not coming up with proposals. “So, that’s upsetting,” Nacht concluded.

Board chair Charles Griffith echoed Nacht’s comments about the batteries. In his day job, Griffith said, he’s a part of some discussions about efforts to promote the state’s battery industry. [Griffith is climate and energy programs director at the Ecology Center]. It was troubling to hear the news about the lack of any responses to the AATA’s RFP, he said. Griffith felt it would be worth some exploration before the next purchase of battery kits. He thought that perhaps with more advance warning, it might be possible to interest a Michigan manufacturer in producing the batteries.

Nacht added that he thought it would make sense for the regional transit authority (RTA) and the AATA’s staff people to connect with other staff of the transit authorities that are in the RTA and request that the RTA set up a meeting – where large purchasing decisions could be combined. It would be possible to think rationally across a larger number of transit agencies and perhaps create good economic incentives for a company to gear up its production, Nacht felt. It’s “absolutely crazy” that the state is working so hard to develop this industry right here in Michigan, Nacht continued, “with companies right in this town,” and people aren’t applying for contracts funded with public money. About those public funds, Nacht said “We’d rather spend them on local employers.”

Griffith imagined that the application of technology for the AATA’s buses would be unique – different from the technology required for cars or the power grid. So he ventured that it might take some time to plan and work with a manufacturer and come up with a contract sizable enough to make it worth the company’s investment.

Terry Black, AATA’s manager of maintenance, reported that the request for bids was put out on the Michigan Inter-Governmental Trade Network, which reaches about 100 agencies. Of those, 12 had downloaded the bid, but weren’t able to meet the specifications of the battery pack. Black ventured that over the longer term, there would be U.S. manufacturers. It’s important to keep in mind, he said, that the AATA is somewhat on the “cutting edge” of hybrid battery use, having started in 2007.

Griffith followed up with Black on the AATA’s plan for battery replacement. If the AATA has spare batteries onsite, Griffith wanted to know if it was important to have the battery packs replaced before there is a failure. Griffith seemed to be exploring the possibility that battery packs could be purchased, but not installed until there was an occasion of an actual failure. Black essentially said that would not be a viable strategy, for two reasons. First, the battery packs have limited shelf life, so after about three months, they aren’t any good, he said. Second, the original battery packs were marketed as having a useful life of five years. The AATA is now approaching the sixth year with these batteries, Black noted.

Black allowed that there’d been no battery pack failures to date in AATA buses. But working with Allison, the AATA has been collecting data on amp usage hours off the batteries, and Allison is comparing that data to the batteries in other fleets that have experienced failures. The AATA battery packs are starting to get into that range, Black said. So the AATA is trying to be proactive. As the buses themselves reach their mid-life – which is around 12 years – battery pack replacement now might carry the buses through their entire useful life, and minimize downtime. Black said he has 15 buses that are in roughly the same window for needing battery pack replacement. Given the three-month lead time to order replacements, that could lead to significant downtime, if those batteries start to fail, he said.

After the meeting, Black clarified for The Chronicle that in the fleet of 80 AATA buses, 52 of them use hybrid battery technology.

Communications, Committees, CEO, Commentary

At its April 18 meeting, the board entertained various communications, including its usual reports from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, the planning and development committee, as well as from CEO Michael Ford. Here are some highlights.

Comm/Comm: Blake Transit Center

Ford reported that the seasonal weight restrictions for roads had now been lifted, so progress on the construction of the new Blake Transit Center on South Fifth Avenue could accelerate somewhat. The project is currently 2.5 weeks behind schedule, but an attempt would be made to try to make up that time over the course of the next few months of construction time.

Comm/Comm: Washtenaw Community College

Ford told the board that AATA’s contract with Washtenaw Community College (WCC) has been renewed. The AATA and the WCC are still talking about installation of a bus stop on the south side of the campus.

Comm/Comm: Connector Study

During his report to the board on the connector study, Ford said a recent meeting with the consultant – URS Corp. – had focused on reviewing the matrix of comparison between Ann Arbor and other communities. The finalization of that matrix was expected before the next public meetings, which are expected to take place in late May or early June.

The connector study is focusing the possibility of developing a transportation connector – for the corridor running from US-23 and Plymouth southward along Plymouth to State Street and south along State Street to I-94.

Comm/Comm: North-South Commuter Rail (WALLY)

Ford reported that the station location steering committee had met for the north-south commuter rail project, known as WALLY (the Washtenaw and Livingston Line). Ford also reported that a meeting had been held with representatives of the University of Michigan to gauge the university’s attitude. Ford characterized it as “strong and supportive.”

Comm/Comm: New Website

AATA director of communications Mary Stasiak gave the board a presentation on the new website, which is now expected to go live on May 15.

Comm/Comm: Park-and-Ride Lots

In her report out from the planning and development committee, Sue Gott highlighted the committee’s discussion of park-and-ride lots. The committee had received a presentation on the topic from Chris White, AATA manager of service development.

The presentation had included dedicated park-and-ride lots as well as multipurpose spaces. The AATA has used grants to construct or improve dedicated park-and-ride lots. There are about 1,564 spaces currently, and about 965 spaces of those are being used. The last study looking at the inventory of park-and-ride spaces had been done in 1997, so it might be time to look ahead and update that study, Gott said. The committee had discussed the need to reduce parking in the core of the city, so there will be a greater need to depend on the parking capacity in outer areas.

Comm/Comm: Audit, Finances

In his report out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Jesse Bernstein noted that a paragraph had been added to the formal report. It involves a recitation of reason and purpose of the audit. Bernstein characterized it as a change to the “whereas” clauses.

With respect to budget variances, Bernstein said, performance was moving along within budget and there were no red flags. Ridership tends to be leveling off, he said, but that comes after a period of large increases.

Present: Charles Griffith, David Nacht, Jesse Bernstein, Eli Cooper, Sue Gott.

Absent: Roger Kerson, Anya Dale.

Next regular meeting: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [Check Chronicle event listings to confirm date]

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Ridership on AATA AirRide service through April 2013.

The AATA provides the hourly service by contracting with Michigan Flyer. The current agreement between Michigan Flyer and AATA has a yearly not-to-exceed cost of $700,000 per year, running for two years starting April 1, 2012. As the contract was set to enter its second year, the AATA board had voted at its March 21, 2013 meeting to support a four-month extension of the contract under its current terms. That was supposed to provide a window to re-negotiate the contract for the second year.

It appears that window will not be required, as the board voted April 18 to rescind the prior resolution on the four-month extension. As part of the resolution approved on April 18, the board authorized negotiation of the second year of the contract for a not-to-exceed cost of $300,000, which is less than half the cost of the original contract. The reduction is due to the relatively heavy ridership on the service, compared with initial projections.

The weekly ridership for the hourly service between Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro airport now averages more than 1,000 passengers a week, with some weeks reaching 1,400 riders.

This brief was filed from the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library, where the AATA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

David Helisek, at the podium, presented highlights of the audit report to the AATA board on March 21, 2013. (Photo by the writer.)

About the audit report, Plante Moran’s David Helisek told the board: “Hopefully, you found it somewhat boring.” By that he meant there were no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies to report. And his firm had struggled even to find suggestions for improvement in controls and processes. In the category of a suggestion was a recommendation to formalize a policy on user access to IT systems. And one question was left over from the previous year’s audit – on the legal basis of the AATA’s investment in heating oil futures as a hedge against possible price increases in diesel fuel. The AATA has inquired with the state of Michigan on that issue, but has not received an answer.

At the meeting, the board also rescinded a $119,980 contract it had authorized with PM Environmental – because of a failure on the AATA’s side to go through the standard procedure for bidding out the contract. The contract is for remediation of contaminated soil at the AATA’s headwaters on 2700 S. Industrial Highway. That contract will now be re-bid, and PM Environmental will have an opportunity to participate in that process.

In a final voting item on its agenda, the board authorized a four-month extension to the current pricing agreement the AATA has with Michigan Flyer – to provide AirRide service between downtown Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro airport. The extension will allow negotiations to take place on a new arrangement, which is being considered in the context of at least two factors. Ridership on the service, launched last year in April, has exceeded projections. And Michigan Flyer may be eligible for a federal grant that could increase the number of trips per day. The current service is hourly.

The board also heard a range of updates from its committees and CEO Michael Ford. Among the most significant was about a meeting scheduled for March 28 among representatives of Washtenaw County’s “urban core” communities that have, for the last few months, been engaged in discussions with AATA about expanded transit in a much smaller geographic footprint than the entire county.

FY 2012 Audit

The board was asked to accept the result of AATA’s fiscal year 2012 audit report. [.pdf of FY 2012 audit]

There were no significant deficiencies found in the audit, which resulted in an “unqualified opinion” from the audit firm of Plante Moran. A question remained from last year’s audit – about the legal basis for the AATA’s investments in heating oil futures. The AATA has inquired with the state of Michigan seeking a legal opinion on the issue, but has not yet heard back.

The auditor also had some suggestions for implementing a formal policy on user accounts for information technology (IT) systems.

The AATA’s basic financial picture at the end of FY 2012 was as follows:

2012
ASSETS
$17,109,000 Current assets
 37,094,000 Capital assets, net
 54,203,000 Total assets
LIABILITIES
  1,619,000 Current liabilities
  1,233,000 Noncurrent liabilities
  2,852,000 Total liabilities
NET ASSETS
 37,094,000 Invested in capital assets
 14,257,000 Unrestricted
 51,351,000 Total net assets
===========
$54,000,000 Total liabilities and net assets

-

The AATA operates on a fiscal year that runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. The audit is due to be submitted to the state of Michigan within 180 days of the end of the fiscal year. That deadline translates to the end of March.

FY 2012 Audit: Auditor Presentation

AATA controller Phil Webb introduced auditors David Helisek and Alicia Davis of Plante Moran.

Helisek said it was great to be before the board again. He reminded the board that last year had been the first time he’d appeared before them. [Plante Moran was awarded the auditing contract at the board's Sept. 15, 2011 meeting.] On that occasion, he’d presented the audited financial statements for FY 2011. This year he was there to present the statements for FY 2012.

Helisek distinguished between the financial statements themselves, which are a comparative statement between this year and last year, and the communication to the board, which is charged with governance of the organization. The letter to the board, he noted, is a required communication under the auditing standards. He told the full board that he and Davis had met with the performance monitoring and external relations committee of the AATA board the previous day. The committee and the auditors had gone over the statements in detail for about 45 minutes to an hour, he said, covering highlights and answering questions from committee members.

The number one highlight, Helisek said, is the opinion. Plante Moran was once again able to give the AATA an “unqualified opinion,” he reported. That’s the highest level of assurance that an auditing firm can give to a set of financial statements, he explained. It means that the statements, as presented fairly, represent the financial position of the AATA as of Sept. 30, 2012. That’s the opinion that the AATA should strive for on an annual basis, he continued, and as a result of the audit procedures, it’s the opinion that Plante Moran had given.

Helisek also noted that the report included a supplemental schedule of federal awards. Any entity that receives and spends in excess of $0.5 million in federal awards during the year is required to have a federal compliance audit – to ensure that the federal awards comply with laws and regulations related to those specific federal grants. For the federal awards audit, he reported, Plante Moran also had given the AATA the equivalent of an unqualified opinion.

Helisek then turned over presentation to Davis, who went over the highlights of the financial statement. She began on page 6 of the report by looking at a comparative financial statement based on the prior year, but focused her comments on fiscal year 2012. For the fiscal year 2012, the AATA ended with just over $54 million in total assets. The majority of the assets held by the AATA, she said, are related to amounts invested in capital purchases – a little over 70% of the asset value, or $37 million. The total “current” assets are about $17.1 million, most of which is composed of cash investments and receivables. She pointed out that on a comparative basis, as of the end of 2012, grants receivable were a little bit higher than last year. She attributed that to a difference in timing compared to last year, and the way the grant money was collected. As a result, there was less money in the bank. She described it as a “collection pending” issue.

Moving from assets to liabilities, she said, the key highlight is that there is no long-term debt. She described that as “fantastic.” The AATA has about $14.2 million viewed as unrestricted – to be used at the AATA’s discretion. It’s important to be mindful of the fact that this includes property tax revenue, Davis cautioned, which is levied on July 1 every year. So while the AATA has some money in the bank, a large amount of that is already earmarked to get the AATA through the current budget year. She told the board that they were in solid financial position with some cash reserves, but reminded the board that some of that has “already been spoken for.”

On the income statement, Davis highlighted the fact that operating revenues were up about 13%, or $670,000 compared to the previous year. Total operating expenses were a little over $32 million. That reflected a roughly $3 million increase in operating expenses, she said. That had an impact on the operating loss compared year-over-year, she noted. The largest source of revenue consists of local and state revenue, she pointed out – totaling close to $22 million for fiscal year 2012. That total did not include capital amounts that are received from the federal and state government.

The change in net assets, before considering any capital contributions, was roughly negative $5 million. There was a significant capital contribution received during the year – about $10.5 million, most of which was investments in the AATA’s fleet. She estimated that about 98% of that was funded by federal and state sources. When the capital contribution is added to the equation, the result is a net change in the net asset figure of about positive $5.6 million for the year. Summarizing the year-to-year comparison, Davis said AATA started out at $45.7 million and wound up with $51 million in net assets at the end of the year.

Moving to page 8, Davis reviewed the statement of cash flow. She highlighted the third line from the bottom, which indicates a net decrease in cash of about $2.2 million. She assured the board that this simply relates to the fact that some of the cash had not “come in the door” before the end of the fiscal year. Because the receivable balance was higher, the cash inflow was lower. She described the rest of the statements as mostly boilerplate language, which does not change from year to year. There are some informational schedules that the state requires to be included – but Plante Moran does not audit that portion of the report.

Davis then moved to the federal awards audit. She noted that pages 40 and 41 were essentially another version of the opinion on the basic financial statements. On page 42 there is an opinion on the federal awards audit, which is also clean, she told the board. Everything had been done properly and in accordance with all the rules and regulations. On page 44 she highlighted the total federal awards of about $11.6 million, which was a significant increase compared to the $5 million spent last year. Much of that she attributed to investments in the fleet.

Davis pointed out that on page 46 is a summary of all the results – on the financial statements and on the federal awards audit. “This is the best that it could look,” she told the board. There was an unqualified opinion on both audits, with no material weaknesses or deficiencies on either audit.

Audit: Preliminary Board Discussion

Board chair Charles Griffith invited questions from the board.

Board treasurer David Nacht reported that he’d had some conversation with the auditors before the meeting. He told the auditors that Plante Moran is a well-respected audit firm – which audits other transit agencies, as well as other governmental entities, nonprofits, and businesses. Obviously, Nacht continued, the opinion on the audit was unqualified, which means that the AATA is doing what it is legally supposed to do, and is in accordance with the accounting standards that apply to a transit authority.

But Nacht wondered about best practices. Based on the audit firm’s experience with other entities, he wanted to know what their overall sense was. “Could we use some work? How do you feel about our entity?” Davis told him that they always had an eye out for suggestions they could make to their clients. As they do the audit, reviewing internal controls and really digging into things, they always look for recommendations they could make to the board. “I tell you, we had a really tough time coming up with anything, because you guys have some really sound internal controls, checks and balances in place,” Davis said.

She noted that there were some minor suggestions that Helisek would cover – but it had been tough to come up with those suggestions. In about 95% of the audits done by the firm, there is a third letter that’s issued, which is a report on internal controls, including a report on significant deficiencies. It’s rare that they would not find something, she told the board – because there are just so many transactions that go through an organization. But there was no deficiency letter for the AATA, she noted.

Audit: Additional Presentation

Helisek returned to the financial statements and the net asset number. Of the multiple components in the net asset figure, the most significant is the number of capital assets, he said. A lot of that is the fleet. So around 75% of it is capital, not liquid, and not something that the AATA can spend money on for operations. He also reiterated the point Davis had made about property taxes, which are reported as revenue as of Sept. 30. That means the collection cycle does not come around for another nine months. So you have to keep that in mind, he said – not only looking at the audit, but also as the AATA assembles its budget on an ongoing basis.

Related to the federal awards audit, the two major programs the auditors tested covered about 97% of all the AATA’s federal expenditures. Helisek allowed that they don’t have a choice on what they audit, but he did observe that 97% is an extraordinarily high coverage level for this year’s audit.

Helisek reminded the board that the previous year the accounting firm had recommended an adjustment to the way property taxes are reported. There’d also been some other suggestions last year that Plante Moran thought the AATA should implement. This year’s letter is pretty boilerplate, he said. There’s nothing really remarkable to point out in this year’s letter. “Hopefully you found it somewhat boring. Boring letters are good letters,” he said. During the course of the audit, nothing rose to the level of a significant deficiency in terms of the internal control structure. The AATA is living by the control system and is able to produce a financial statement that merits an unqualified opinion, Helisek concluded.

Helisek told the board that he and Davis were excited by the fact that the one main suggestion they had made last year had been implemented by the AATA. That suggestion related to Public Act 217 of 2007, which requires quarterly reporting of investment activities to the board. It’s his understanding that as a result of that suggestion, an investment report is now presented quarterly to the board.

This year the one suggestion that Helisek had to report to the board related to general controls for information technology (IT) user accounts. In terms of best practices, he suggested a formalization of a policy related to adding, modifying, and terminating user rights in the system. The existing policy is adequate that an unqualified opinion could be issued for the audit, he said. But he suggested a formal policy that included the handling of user rights.

Audit: Additional Board Discussion

During question time Eli Cooper noted that a question had been raised in the report about the AATA’s policy on investing in heating oil futures. He wanted to know if the AATA had yet heard anything from the state of Michigan that would help settle the issue. Controller Phil Webb told Cooper that no reply had yet been received.

Board treasurer David Nacht took the opportunity to explain that the practice of investing in heating oil futures have been used for quite some time by the AATA. The futures are purchased as a hedge – just as farmers would use the options market, he explained. Nacht described the strategy as having been quite successful. The board is keenly aware of the question about whether this is allowed under the state of Michigan’s regulations. The AATA has made the case that it is not gambling, but has asked for a legal opinion, Nacht said. He was comfortable as treasurer that it’s definitely a prudent financial practice. And he hopes that the state will confirm that the practice conforms with regulatory practices as well.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to accept the audit.

Audit: Current Operations Report

Reporting out from the board’s performance monitoring and external relations committee, Roger Kerson presented highlights from the monthly operations statement. He noted that the new advertising contractor is performing better than the previous one. From the notes to the monthly statement:

Advertising [revenue] is over budget for the year by $111,000. CBS Outdoor, our new bus advertising contractor, has been paying us our annual minimum on a monthly basis. In February, we recorded the amount $74,800 earned during the 5.5 months of the contract, but not yet paid. We will receive this amount (and more) in September 2013 at the end of the 1st contract year.

Revenue from University of Michigan passengers through the MRide program is not as great as expected, Kerson reported. UM ridership is not dropping, Kerson explained, but it’s not growing as much as projected. According to the notes in the monthly report, the original ridership projection was revised only after the budget was adopted, and the unfavorable difference for the year is projected to be $160,000.

Kerson also noted there’s a gap in the reserves of about $300,000. At the Feb. 21, 2013 board meeting, it was reported that AATA is operating with a level of unrestricted fund balance that equates to about 2.88 months of operating expenses. Board policy is to keep a minimum of a 3-month reserve on hand.

By way of background, the AATA’s portion of the $166 million in state operating assistance took a roughly $800,000 dip last year – compared to what AATA expected at the time the AATA set its budget. The reduction in funding relates to the way the state’s formula applies when spending is reduced by other transit agencies in the AATA’s category.

The AATA is hopeful that the “placeholder” bill SB 126 would eventually restore the $800,000.

Kerson noted that AATA staff have been directed to come up with a contingency plan in the event that the legislature does not act as expected.

AirRide Airport Service

The board was asked to extend for another four months the current pricing agreement it has with Michigan Flyer to provide bus service between downtown Ann Arbor and the Detroit Metro airport, known as AirRide.

AirRide Weekly Boardings: April 2012 through March 2013.

The current agreement has a yearly not-to-exceed cost of $700,000 per year, running for two years starting April 1, 2012. As the second year of the agreement is approaching, Michigan Flyer has indicated a willingness to renegotiate the arrangement in the context of a Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) grant that Michigan Flyer might be awarded. The grant could support four additional trips from East Lansing to the airport, which would also stop in Ann Arbor.

The agreement the board was asked to approve at its March 21, 2013 meeting will extend the current pricing arrangement until the negotiations on the options offered can be completed. The cost during the four-month extension is not to exceed $230,000, based on current annual costs.

The weekly ridership for the hourly service between Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro airport now averages more than 1,000 passengers a week, with some weeks reaching 1,400 riders.

AirRide Airport Service: Board Discussion

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Roger Kerson noted that the AATA is involved in renegotiating the contract for the AirRide service with Michigan Flyer. There’s an open question about whether Michigan Flyer will receive a federal grant, so there’s not enough information right now to renegotiate the contract for a full year, Kerson said. That’s why the proposal before the board was to extend it just for four months. He said it seemed like a good idea all the way around.

He noted that after almost a full year of operating the AirRide service, it is now possible to assess more completely how it’s working out. About 23,000 people had ridden the service at a net cost of Ann Arbor property tax dollars of around $80,000, he said. Kerson concluded that the expansion of service between Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro airport was being done in a very cost-effective way.

And during his oral report to the board, CEO Michael Ford provided recent ridership numbers for the AirRide service. In connection with the spring break for University of Michigan, 1,476 rode the service during the week of Feb. 24. And 1,438 people rode the service the following week of March 3. Ford indicated that the AATA was pleased with the progress and wanted to continue the working relationship with Michigan Flyer for that airport service.

When the board reached the AirRide item on the agenda, Ford described the AATA as in the middle of negotiations with Michigan Flyer. He noted that there is a grant that Michigan Flyer might receive, but it’s not yet clear whether the grant will be awarded. The AATA is also working on different service-delivery scenarios with Michigan Flyer to see if anything can be changed to make it most effective in the future. Ford felt that a four-month period for a contract extension would be helpful to achieve that.

Board treasurer David Nacht observed that the AirRide contract is a transaction where money is not only spent, but revenue is also received. He noted the board policy is that a vote must be taken on any contract that is more than $100,000 – and the policy applies even if there is offsetting revenue.

Nacht picked up on the optimistic figure that Roger Kerson had given earlier in the meeting about 23,000 passengers in the first year of service at a net cost of $80,000. Nacht said that in general terms, AirRide is not only carrying a lot of people; it was also a useful and invaluable component of the financial health of the AATA going forward, he said.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the four-month extension.

Soils Contract

The board was asked to rescind the award of a $119,980 contract with PM Environmental – because of a failure on the AATA’s side to go through the standard procedure for bidding out the contract. The contract is for remediation of contaminated soil at the AATA’s headwaters on 2700 S. Industrial Highway.

The board had originally approved the soil remediation contract at its Feb. 21, 2013 meeting. That action essentially extended the scope of work of the contract that PM Environmental already had for the site assessment work. However, the evacuation and remediation work was supposed to be bid out separately. From an AATA staff memo:

AATA processes require that a second RFP be issued for the soil remediation, to ensure full and open competition. AATA, therefore requests the Board to rescind this unexecuted contract with PM. AATA has notified PM with our intent to issue a new RFP so that they will not begin any work or incur any costs. AATA will publish a new RFP, to which PM is free to respond.

The remediation activity dates back to 2010, and will address an in-ground gas leak that was discovered when the AATA upgraded a fuel tank monitoring system. A final assessment report (FAR), based on monitoring wells and ground water sampling, was filed with the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality on Dec. 15, 2011.

The costs for the work will be reimbursed by the AATA’s insurance carrier, Chartis, which is a subsidiary of American International Group Inc. (AIG). The AATA’s deductible for its policy was $25,000, which the AATA has already expended.

Soils Contract: Board Discussion

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Roger Kerson said, “I guess we goofed on the soil remediation contract.” There was testing and analysis, and a rebid should have been completed before the remediation was actually done, but the AATA had not done that, he said.

When the board reached the soil remediation contract item on the agenda, CEO Michael Ford reported that there was a two-step process that was not followed – but the AATA had caught it in time, before any contracts were executed. The AATA needed to go back out and open the contract for a competitive bidding process. Ford noted that some checks and balances didn’t happen internally that should have happened. For that reason, the contract needed to be rescinded. The bottom line was there was a misstep, he said, it had been caught, and steps have been taken to ensure that the appropriate checks and balances would apply in the future to avoid the need to rescind contracts.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to rescind the contract.

Future Transit Planning

Two future initiatives factored into comments and reports during the March 21 meeting: (1) a reduced-scope effort to expand AATA services in the communities adjoining Ann Arbor; and (2) the formation of a four-county regional transit authority (RTA) during the state legislature’s lame duck session of December 2012.

Future Transit Planning: Urban Core Communities

By way of background, the AATA had led an effort to expand the governance and funding base for the AATA to a newly incorporated transit authority that would cover all of Washtenaw County. But the Ann Arbor city council voted to opt out of the newly incorporated Act 196 authority late last year – effectively bringing to a close that particular approach to expanded transit services in Washtenaw County.

However, the council gave direction to continue discussion with several communities immediately adjacent to Ann Arbor. The AATA has engaged in talks with communities about a new transit authority with possible members to include the cities of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Saline, as well as the townships of Pittsfield and Ypsilanti. Involvement with the townships of Superior and Ann Arbor is also a possibility.

Since mid-November 2012, the AATA has been working under the direction of the Ann Arbor city council’s resolution [passed on Nov. 8, 2012] and has been focused on planning expanded services in the “urban core communities.” That has included meetings with elected representatives of those communities. One recent meeting held on March 16 included Ann Arbor city council representatives as well as representatives from Ypsilanti Township.

Future Transit Planning: Urban Core – March 28

CEO Michael Ford reported at the AATA’s March 21 board meeting that staff are working to finalize the agenda for a meeting of urban core community representatives on March 28 starting at 5 p.m. at the Pittsfield Township Hall, 6201 W. Michigan Ave. The agenda will include a financial analysis, a benefit analysis, and responses to sidebar issues raised by elected officials over the past few months. Three service themes will be presented to facilitate discussion and decision-making among urban core elected officials, Ford said. Daniel Cherrin, from North Coast Strategies, will provide pro bono facilitation on March 28, Ford said.

During question time, board chair Charles Griffith asked if the meeting scheduled for March 28 has been publicly noticed. Ford indicated that the urban core partners are helping with that effort. Mary Stasiak, AATA manager of community relations, reported that the communication had been done through individual websites and newsletters. Ford indicated it would be an open meeting.

Roger Kerson raised the question: What would happen if more than four AATA board members (a quorum) attended? Some back-and-forth – including some additional discussion at the end of the meeting – established that if more than a quorum of any AATA board members attended, the standard Michigan Open Meetings Act requirements would be followed, including a formal agenda that included public commentary. Added on March 23, 2013, after initial publication: [.pdf of March 28 meeting materials]

Future Transit Planning: Telling D.C. About It

During his oral report to the board, Ford reported that in late February he had traveled to Washington D.C. He met with Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Congressman John Dingell, and staff members of Sen. Carl Levin. He’d also met with Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s representatives in Washington, and with Peter Rogoff of the Federal Transit Administration.

Ford told the board that in meeting with those people, he’d highlighted the record ridership AATA had shown for the 2012 calendar year, and explained how AATA is transitioning from countywide transit master planning to a more narrowly focused effort on the “urban core.” Ford noted that he had also continued to meet with local area and community leaders to discuss the urban core to support expanded fixed route and commuter service.

Future Transit Planning: Urban Core – Title VI

During public commentary, Jim Mogensen offered a perspective on the “urban core” process. The desire to preserve, improve, and expand transportation service, he noted, is about preserving, improving, and expanding AATA’s service, not the service of the partners. And that’s why he felt the process needed a Title VI analysis. He told the board that he was glad that the March 28 meeting would be open to the public – but he hoped that any documents related to the meeting could be made available in advance, noting that the meeting location is not served by public transit.

Related to Title VI, during his oral report to the board, CEO Michael Ford followed up with some issues raised at the previous board meeting. Regarding the Title VI requirements from the Federal Transit Administration, he summarized by saying that the AATA had been given a due date of Nov. 1, 2014 to submit documentation to the FTA to demonstrate compliance with Title VI – that there is no discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, low-income persons, or persons with limited English proficiency.

Future Transit Planning: RTA

Legislation authorizing a southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA) was passed late last year. The geographic area includes the city of Detroit, and the counties of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland. On the RTA front, Ford reported at the AATA board’s March 21 meeting that staff had met with the two Washtenaw County appointees to the board – Liz Gerber and Richard Murphy – to discuss the mechanics of state funding and the need to establish an understanding of how the funding process would work between the AATA and the RTA.

AATA staff had also met with Shanelle Jackson, the Michigan Dept. of Transportation director of outreach and strategic relations for the RTA, as well as with representatives from the Detroit Dept. of Transportation and SMART – as part of the AATA’s effort to further AATA’s outreach with RTA partners. Ford had met with Paul Hillegonds, the governor-appointed, non-voting chair of the RTA board. Ford had shared information with Hillegonds about the range of service the AATA offers, how the AATA is funded, the transit master plan and the urban core planning process.

According to Ford, Hillegonds expressed that it would be important for the RTA board to show that the RTA has value for the AATA, Ann Arbor, and Washtenaw County. Hillegonds gave some assurance that AATA federal funds are protected through separate urbanized areas – but understood that the AATA would like RTA board resolutions on several processes, including state funding, and the budget.

The RTA board will be holding a planning workshop on March 28, Ford reported. The first RTA board meeting will be held on April 10. Both are open to the public, Ford said. The RTA workshop will be held just before the AATA’s “urban core” meeting, so Sarah Pressprich Gryniewicz will be attending the workshop on behalf of the AATA and will bring back a full report, according to Ford.

Communications, Committees, CEO, Commentary

At its March 21 meeting, the board entertained various communications, including its usual reports from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, the planning and development committee, as well as from CEO Michael Ford. The board also heard commentary from the public. Here are some highlights.

Comm/Comm: Website

Ford reported that external testing on the website is now complete. Three focus group sessions had been held at the Ann Arbor District Library, and there are some other people that staff still wants to meet with. But feedback from the 20 participants will be used to address specific areas of focus. The launch is expected in May, although Ford indicated a bit of hesitation about specifying that May would be the month for the scheduled launch. [The project has taken longer than expected. The board had authorized the implementation of the new website at its Aug. 24, 2011 meeting.] Ford concluded with a seemingly less-than-certain: “You heard it here!”

Comm/Comm: Blake Transit Center

Due to the poor spring weather, Ford said, construction work on the new Blake Transit Center is about two weeks behind schedule. Additional bids include some for artwork, furniture, walkways, and redesign of bus shelters on Fourth Avenue.

Comm/Comm: AAPS

Ford reported that the AATA is continuing to work with Ann Arbor Public Schools on transportation solutions. This year, students in some areas are using AATA buses, with the school district paying the fare. Next year, students in additional selected areas could use existing AATA services. That would allow the elimination of some school bus routes, he said.

Comm/Comm: WCC, EMU

Ford indicated that an agreement is being worked on with Washtenaw Community College. The college has asked for a stop to be installed on the south side of its campus, and the AATA is working with the college to resolve that agreement by the end of the month.

Included in Ford’s written report to the board, but not highlighted at the board meeting, are discussions that are taking place between Eastern Michigan University and the AATA to implement a program similar to the University of Michigan’s MRide program, which allows university affiliates to board buses by swiping their ID cards, without paying a fare. The cost of the rides would be paid by EMU, just as UM pays for rides taken by its students, faculty and staff.

Comm/Comm: DDA Support

Ford reported that the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority had appropriated funds to support the getDowntown program and the go!pass program. [The vote to authorize $610,662 came at the DDA board's March 6, 2013 meeting.] Ford noted that DDA board members had deferred a decision on supporting the Canton and Chelsea express services right now – until they had a bit more information about how that service fit with the DDA’s mission.

Comm/Comm: WALLY

A possible north-south commuter rail service known as WALLY (Washtenaw and Livingston Railway) is currently in a phase of station design. [The AATA received a federal grant last year, at its Aug. 16, 2012 meeting, to proceed with station location design.] Ford described how the work on station location design is proceeding.

The project is currently undertaking station location studies for five communities: Ann Arbor, Whitmore Lake, Hamburg Township, Genoa Township and Howell.

Ford reported that he’d met with Ward 5 Ann Arbor city councilmembers Chuck Warpehoski and Mike Anglin to give them some advance information on WALLY station design. A robust public involvement process is being planned, he said, with a list of stakeholders being developed to include in the preliminary outreach.

Eli Cooper also reported from the planning and development committee that the station design planning work in connection with the WALLY project is now underway.

Comm/Comm: Washtenaw Avenue

Eli Cooper reported that the planning and development committee had received a presentation on Reimagine Washtenaw. He described it as a study to change the character and utility of the corridor that runs from the Stadium/Washtenaw split in Ann Arbor, five miles east to the city of Ypsilanti. It includes organizing land development into activity centers, he said. The project also looks at aligning transit services with the activity centers and ramping up the level of transit service.

The AATA is critical to the success of the Reimagine Washtenaw program, Cooper said. There was some discussion of a grant award to the program for a travel demand management study. Smart Growth America has come in and is providing particular expertise and guidance to several large business operations along the corridor, on how to apply transportation management strategies, Cooper said.

Comm/Comm: Bike Share

Reporting out from the planning and development committee, Eli Cooper said the committee had received a brief presentation from the Clean Energy Coalition on an anticipated bike share program. Cooper characterized the interaction at the committee meeting as “good dialogue,” saying that AATA staff had been asked to make a recommendation to the committee for its April meeting.

The CEC is seeking support for the bike share program from the University of Michigan, the city of Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and the AATA.

Comm/Comm: Route 12A, 12B Service Changes?

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Roger Kerson said that of the current service changes being considered, the one involving the most passengers relates to Routes #12A and #12B. The idea would be to arrange the scheduling so that the routes are not running at the same time – with the idea that better coverage could be achieved.

Comm/Comm: LAC Report

Rebecca Burke reported from the AATA’s local advisory council (LAC), a group that provides input and feedback to AATA on disability and senior issues. At the council’s most recent meeting, Clark Charnetski had given a background presentation on the regional transit authority (RTA), she said. And Richard Murphy, one of two Washtenaw County appointees to the RTA board, has been invited to the next meeting of the LAC. They’re waiting to see if he’ll be able to attend. The group had also received a presentation from Nick Sapkiewicz of the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS).

Comm/Comm: Misc. Public Commentary

Thomas Partridge addressed the board during public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, calling on them to expand transit. He ventured that millions of dollars have been spent on studies and surveys – surveys that have indicated a positive reaction on the part of the public to expanded transit. He accused the board of undertaking a strategy to expand transit countywide that it knew was doomed to failure. He complained about setting up the March 28 meeting of the urban core communities out of sight of the Community Television Network.

Partridge’s turn came at the end of the meeting after board chair Charles Griffith had checked for additional speakers after Jim Mogensen had addressed the board. Griffith asked: “Anybody else?” Partridge responded with: “I am anybody else,” and then took the podium.

Present: Charles Griffith, David Nacht, Eli Cooper, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale.

Absent: Jesse Bernstein, Sue Gott.

Next regular meeting: Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [Check Chronicle event listings to confirm date]

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AirRide Weekly Boardings: April 2012 through March 2013.

The current agreement has a yearly not-to-exceed cost of $700,000 per year, running for two years starting April 1, 2012. As the second year of the agreement is approaching, Michigan Flyer has indicated a willingness to renegotiate the arrangement in the context of a Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) grant that Michigan Flyer might be awarded. The grant could support four additional trips from East Lansing to the airport, which would also stop in Ann Arbor.

The agreement authorized by the board at its March 21, 2013 meeting will extend the current pricing arrangement until the negotiations on the options offered can be completed. The cost during the four-month extension is not to exceed $230,000, based on current annual costs.

The weekly ridership for the hourly service between Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro airport now averages more than 1,000 passengers a week, with some weeks reaching 1,400 riders.

This brief was filed from the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library at 343 S. Fifth, where the AATA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Michael Ford, CEO of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, handed the microphone around to board members at a May 16 meeting so their commentary could be more easily heard. Board member Anya Dale had just finished speaking. (Photos by the writer.)

The two key documents approved or endorsed by the board were the articles of incorporation for a possible new transit authority, and a four-party agreement establishing a framework for possibly transitioning AATA to that new authority – now with the working name of “The Washtenaw Ride.” The four parties to the agreement are the AATA, Washtenaw County, the city of Ann Arbor and the city of Ypsilanti. [.pdf of articles of incorporation]

Board action came in the context of various unknown factors, including continued federal funding, pending state legislation on a regional transit authority for southeast Michigan, and the number of Washtenaw County municipalities that will participate in a possible countywide authority. Another uncertainty relates to the status of the four-party agreement, which the Ann Arbor city council approved on March 5, 2012, after amending (several times over multiple meetings) the version that the AATA had first presented.

A wrinkle emerged on May 15, 21012, when the Ypsilanti city council approved the four-party agreement, but amended it in a way that requires reconsideration by the Ann Arbor city council. In response to an emailed query from The Chronicle, mayor John Hieftje indicated that the four-party agreement would be back on the Ann Arbor council’s agenda for its June 4 meeting. [.pdf of red-lined four-party agreement as amended by Ypsilanti city council]

The Ypsilanti amendment relates to a 1% municipal service charge that the agreement originally allowed the two cities to impose on their millages, before forwarding the millage money to the new transit authority. The Ypsilanti council struck the municipal service charge from the agreement. At its Feb. 6, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council had already contemplated – and rejected, on an 8-3 vote against it – an amendment of the language related to the municipal service charge.

Balanced against that set of uncertainties was a generally very optimistic tone during the meeting, with board chair Jesse Bernstein indicating that he felt that no matter what happened on a variety of fronts, the AATA was well-positioned for the future.

Bernstein and the board’s optimism was based in part on positive reports on several fronts. The doubling of frequency on the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Route #4 has resulted in 20-25% ridership gains on that route. The new Ann Arbor-Detroit Metro airport service had double the number of passengers in the last week of April compared to the first week of April, when it was first launched. AATA’s vanpool service is poised for implementation. And results of a survey conducted on board AATA buses late last year indicate a high level of customer satisfaction among AATA riders.

On the budget front, AATA controller Phil Webb also delivered positive news, in the context of an approved budget this year that was expected to absorb additional expenses in order to pay for some of the new service initiatives. Through the first six months of the fiscal year 2012 (which began Oct. 1, 2011) the AATA is under budget by around $500,000. The board had approved a budget on Sept. 15, 2011 that called for tapping fund reserves for $1 million. Now, Webb said, the AATA could finish the year breaking even, depending on how things play out in the second half of the fiscal year.

The board voted to support three other resolutions at the meeting: (1) approval of a contract for vanpool and rideshare matching software; (2) approval of a contract for construction of additional bus shelters; and (3) approval of revisions to the AATA’s procurement manual. The board also got updates on a number of other projects, including the construction of the new Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor.

Future Governance

The board considered two key documents related to a possible transition to a new governance structure for countywide transit authority: a four-party agreement, and the articles of incorporation of the new authority. The current working name of the new authority, “The Washtenaw Ride,” replaces a previous working name of “Washtenaw Area Transportation Authority.” [It was discovered that WATA is an acronym already in use by another transit authority.]

The four parties to the agreement are the AATA, the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County. One key element of the four-party agreement is that the two cities would pledge their existing transit millages to the new countywide authority, instead of to the AATA. The Ann Arbor city council approved a version of the four-party agreement on March 5, 2012, after amending the version that the AATA had first presented. Amendments were made in several ways, and stretched over multiple meetings.

On May 15, 21012, the Ypsilanti council approved the four-party agreement, but amended it in a way that requires reconsideration by the Ann Arbor city council. [.pdf of red-lined four-party agreement as amended by Ypsilanti city council] The Ypsilanti amendment relates to a 1% municipal service charge that the agreement originally allowed the two cities to impose on their millages, before forwarding the millage money to the new transit authority. The Ypsilanti council struck the municipal service charge from the agreement.

But at its Feb. 6, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council had already contemplated – and rejected, on an 8-3 vote against it – an amendment of the language related to the municipal service charge. At that meeting, Ann Arbor councilmembers appeared keen to retain the maximum allowable amount of the municipal service charge.

Possible composition of board membership for a Washtenaw countywide transit authority. (Links to larger image.)

The AATA board’s resolution on May 16 did not try to resolve differences between the versions of the four-party agreement that have now been approved by the city councils of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

Also considered by the AATA board at their May 16 meeting were the articles of incorporation of the new transit authority. The evening before, the Ypsilanti council unanimously approved, without amendment, the proposed articles of incorporation. The Ann Arbor city council has not yet voted on the articles of incorporation. [.pdf of articles of incorporation]

The Washtenaw County board of commissioners will consider the four-party agreement and the articles of incorporation in the near future. County commissioners have already been briefed more than once on AATA’s countywide initiative, but have not yet formally considered the proposal.

An unincorporated Act 196 board (U196) has been seated and has met since the fall of 2011. Its membership includes the following: Membership in the 11-member U196 board is: Pittsfield District – Mandy Grewal (supervisor, Pittsfield Township); Northeast District – David Phillips (clerk, Superior Township); North Middle District – David Read (trustee, Scio Township) with alternate Jim Carson (councilmember, Village of Dexter); Southeast District – (1) Karen Lovejoy Roe (clerk, Ypsilanti Township) and (2) John McGehee (director of human resources, Lincoln Consolidated Schools); West District – Bob Mester (trustee, Lyndon Township) with alternate Ann Feeney (councilmember, city of Chelsea); Ypsilanti District – Paul Schreiber (mayor of Ypsilanti) with alternate Peter Murdock (councilmember, city of Ypsilanti); South Middle District – Bill Lavery (resident, York Township); Ann Arbor District: (1) Jesse Bernstein (AATA board), (2) Charles Griffith (AATA board) and (3) David Nacht (AATA board).

Governance: Four-Party Agreement

Introducing the voting item on the agenda, board chair Jesse Bernstein told the board that if there are changes to the agreement made by the other partners that affect the AATA, the document would come before the board again. Depending on the change, however, Bernstein indicated that the board might be simply apprised of that as a point of information.

Noting that the city of Ypsilanti had voted on the four-party agreement the previous night, Eli Cooper wondered if the AATA board was already in a situation where it would need to vote again on the issue – after Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor had resolved the changes that had emerged in the document. CEO Michael Ford told Cooper that the focus had been on the allowable municipal service charge that the two cities could deduct from their millages, before transferring the tax levy the new transit authority. So that issue will need to be presented to the Ann Arbor city council. The Ypsilanti council had made another change, Ford said, that was a clarification specific to Ypsilanti.

Cooper asked what would happen if the AATA board voted on the four-party agreement that day, and then subsequently the two cities resolve the difference: Would the AATA board need to ratify that? Bernstein felt that unless a change impacts the AATA, the board would not need to address the issue again. He felt the current situation does not impact the AATA.

[The current transit levy of roughly 2 mills on Ann Arbor taxpayers (decreased from the charter millage of 2.5 mills through the Headlee Amendment) generates roughly $9 million annually. So depending on the imposition of a 1% service charge, the city of Ann Arbor will either retain roughly $90,000 that would not be transferred to the new transit authority, or will transfer that $90,000 to the new authority.]

Bernstein continued by saying the board could bring it back for a vote anyway. David Nacht ventured that if the city council says the board should vote on it, the board would vote on it. Also, if a lawyer says vote on it, the board votes on it. If anyone says the board needs to vote, then the board votes on it, Nacht concluded.

At Roger Kerson’s request, Ford reviewed the basic timetable of approvals. The articles of incorporation still need to be approved by Ann Arbor. The issue in the four-party agreement on the municipal service charge still needs to be resolved by the two cities. Ford said the AATA had asked if the item could be placed on the Ann Arbor city council’s May 21 agenda. [In response to an emailed query from The Chronicle, mayor John Hieftje indicated that the four-party agreement would be on the Ann Arbor council's agenda for its June 4 meeting.] Then the Washtenaw County board of commissioners needs to consider and approve its part of the four-party agreement. Bernstein indicated that by early June, he hoped all the documents could be approved.

Outcome: The AATA unanimously approved the four-party agreement, contingent on Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti coming to an accord on the language that now differs in the two versions that the respective councils have approved.

Governance: Articles of Incorporation

When the AATA board came to the specific agenda item that required a vote on the articles of incorporation, no one appeared initially inclined to speak to the issue before voting. But board member Charles Griffith said he felt like he should say something, given that he’d been part of the group that had gone through the document word-by-word.

AATA board members Charles Griffith and Sue Gott.

Included in the board’s information packet for the meeting was a listing out of the team that had reviewed the articles: Jesse Bernstein (AATA board chair); Michael Ford (CEO of AATA); Charles Griffith (AATA board member); Jerry Lax (AATA legal counsel); Jeff Ammon (AATA legal counsel); Sarah Gryniewicz (AATA community outreach coordinator); Terri Blackmore (executive director, Washtenaw Area Transportation Study); Christopher Taylor (Ann Arbor city council, Ward 3); Sabra Briere (Ann Arbor city council, Ward 1); Conan Smith (chair, Washtenaw County board of commissioners); Alicia Ping (vice chair, Washtenaw County board of commissioners); Paul Schreiber (mayor, city of Ypsilanti); Peter Murdock (Ypsilanti city council); David Phillips (clerk, Superior Township, U196 board); and David Read (trustee, Scio Township, U196 board).

Griffith described going over Act 196 of 1986 in great detail, describing it as a tortured piece of legislation. That was to make sure the articles of incorporation are consistent with the state legislation, he said. The original document was 2-3 pages, but it increased to around 14 pages and then the group had chopped it back down. The idea was to get solid buy-in from all the players, he said. [.pdf of one red-lined version of Act 196 transit authority articles of incorporation]

Outcome: The AATA unanimously endorsed the articles of incorporation for a new Act 196 transit authority.

Five-Year Program

Also key to any transition of governance from AATA to a new transit authority incorporated under Act 196  is a funding and service plan. The publication of details of the service and funding plan in a newspaper of general circulation is one of two requirements that must be met, before the AATA can submit a request to Washtenaw County to approve, sign and file the articles of incorporation of a new authority with the state of Michigan. The other requirement is that the city councils of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti must approve the articles of incorporation.

At the May 16 board meeting, Michael Benham, strategic planner for the AATA, reviewed highlights of the draft five-year plan. [.pdf of draft five-year plan]

The draft five-year service plan includes: (1) countywide demand-responsive services and feeder services; (2) express bus services and local transit hub services; (3) local community connectors and local community circulators; (4) park-and-ride intercept lots; and (5) urban bus network enhancements. For Ann Arbor, the program includes increased bus frequencies on key corridors, increased operating hours, and more services on weekends. The total hours of operation in the Ann Arbor district are expected to increase by 33% on weekdays and over 100% on Saturdays and Sundays.

Benham described to the board how a second round of district advisory committee (DAC) meetings was underway in each of the eight districts making up the representation on the U196 board. The goal is to provide an opportunity for continued feedback on revisions to the service plan. He indicated there was also interest expressed in a third round of meetings. Even after the five-year program document is finished, Benham said, there will be continued feedback into the future provided through the DACs.

The Ann Arbor DAC meeting had been held two days earlier on May 14 at the Malletts Creek branch of the Ann Arbor District Library. During public commentary at the board’s May 16 meeting, Vivienne Armentrout – a member of Ann Arbor’s DAC – criticized the level of detail provided in the five-year plan, as well as the way the DAC meetings are being run. She said she’d read through the plan twice, and felt that more detail on Ann Arbor route schedules was called for – given the relative dollar amounts that Ann Arbor residents would be providing, which she’s calculated at 75%.

Armentrout called the DAC “not particularly functional.” Of the two meetings, she said, the first was simply an introduction, and the second was a well-meaning attempt to combine a committee meeting and a general public forum. She told the board she had walked out in the middle of the second DAC meeting, because she was unhappy with the way it was being run.

Policy Discussion

The most substantive policy discussion undertaken by the board began with a question about placement of new bus stops. The five-year program of the transit master plan calls for nearly 50 new bus stops and improvements to 100 more. It then evolved into a discussion of land use, planning versus implementation, and express commuter services.

Policy Discussion: Washtenaw Corridor – Bus Stops

Board member Anya Dale asked about placement of new bus stops along Washtenaw Avenue. Chris White, AATA manager of service development, told Dale that one proposed new stop that’s in the works is at Washtenaw and Platt, partly in connection with the Arbor Hills Crossing development that is going forward.

White also described how Washtenaw County is working on developing a new parking lot on the north side of Washtenaw Avenue just east of US-23. He’s looking at the plans for that and trying to see if there might be ways to integrate a bus stop. The AATA is waiting for the result a right-of-way study that’s being done with the federal HUD grant that was awarded to the Washtenaw County Sustainable Community last year. [The county was awarded a $3 million grant in late 2011 for a project focusing on the Washtenaw Avenue corridor, spanning Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Pittsfield Township and Ypsilanti Township.] Part of that study is meant to identify locations for bus stops, as well as for pedestrian and bicyclist improvements in the corridor, White said.

Policy Discussion: Land Use (Park-and-Ride)

Dale wondered about possible park-and-ride lot locations along Washtenaw Avenue. [Included in the five-year program are five additional general sites identified for new park-and-ride lots and two lots identified for improvements. The park-and-ride projects would potentially add 800 parking spaces designed for commuters to park, then take public transportation the rest of the way to their destination.]

Dale noted that the five-year program did not include any park-and-ride lots for Washtenaw Avenue. White responded to Dale by saying that AATA did not have plans for a major park-and-ride lot at Washtenaw Avenue. AATA’s review concluded that people would be accessing Washtenaw Avenue all along the corridor, not necessarily at a single point. Currently there’s a small lot next to the downtown Ypsilanti Transit Center with 11 spaces that AATA hopes to be able to expand, White said. The AATA is also looking for agreements with property owners along the corridor, to expand park-and-ride opportunities. That allows the AATA to avoid putting all its eggs in one basket and gives people options, he said.

[By way of background, the "eggs in one basket" reference was an allusion to the loss of park-and-ride opportunities in the Arborland shopping center. Around three years ago, the owner of the shopping center chose not to renew the agreement with AATA to accommodate a bus stop and park-and-ride spots in the parking lot there.]

Dale suggested that this basic strategy of smaller incremental expansion of park-and-ride opportunities could be included in the five-year program to help generate public support in the Ypsilanti area. She also felt that consideration should be given to locating a stop for AirRide (the AnnArbor-Detroit Metro service) in Ypsilanti. Michael Ford, CEO of the AATA, told Dale that to address that issue, he was scheduling a meeting with Tony VanDerworp, a business development specialist for the county. And AATA is meeting with the Eastern Leaders Group, Ford said.

Eli Cooper indicated that he agreed with the incremental steps that AATA is pursuing now. But taking a longer view of that corridor, he encouraged consideration of the implications of the high level of transit service that’s currently in place and that’s expected to become more robust. How that service coordinates with the regional highway system should also be considered. The Washtenaw Avenue and US-23 interchange was an area of emphasis for Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) access management studies, and part of the city of Ann Arbor’s long-range transportation plan.

Cooper – who serves as the city of Ann Arbor’s transportation program manager – noted that a very functional, large park-and-ride lot had been displaced [Arborland]. He encouraged AATA staff to use the current interest and current ridership, as well as benefit, to create an “intermodal opportunity” [i.e., park-and-ride lot] along that corridor. To him, he said, it seems there are a number of considerations that point to the Washtenaw corridor as an opportunity the AATA should capitalize on.

AATA board member Sue Gott, who works for the University of Michigan as its university planner.

Building on remarks by Cooper and Dale, Sue Gott suggested that looking into the future five years and beyond, she would love to see the county transition away from building larger and larger surface commuter parking lots to keep accommodating commuters. At some point, she said, the paradigm should be shifted to use land more efficiently by building parking structures. She said she understood the economic challenges of doing that. But as good stewards of the environment, she wanted to put that idea forward as something that the AATA should strive to achieve. When you look at Washtenaw Avenue, there’s not the land available for the demand that might exist. If the AATA could be innovative, Gott said, “we could set the bar in Michigan.”

Board chair Jesse Bernstein related Gott’s remarks to a concept that he said the AATA talked relatively little about, because the organization could not affect it directly – transit-oriented development. Bernstein described how many of the younger as well as the older generation are looking for more of a dense town center as a place to live. And as corridors are provided for development, that’s where development will occur, he said. Empty spaces or underutilized spaces on Washtenaw Avenue could be more densely populated living-working arrangements, Bernstein added, and the AATA can provide the back-and-forth connectivity. The AATA can aid density in a kind of chicken-and-egg way, he ventured.

Cooper said he appreciated Bernstein’s remarks on transit-oriented development. In the transit industry, he said, there’s also a notion called “development-oriented transit.” Bernstein is right, Cooper said, that as a transit authority, the AATA doesn’t control land-use decisions. However, the AATA does control its investment in transit. With respect to Gott’s point about the efficiency of land use – parking structures versus surface lots – he referred again to the MDOT access management study of the area around US-23 and Washtenaw. He noted that the study depicted a vision of a multi-level parking structure, wrapped with mixed land use, right where the Arborland parking lot is today. There are bigger “wins” out there, he said.

In terms of development-oriented transit, Cooper felt like the AATA should drive toward looking at funding the organization can obtain to guide those investments. In Minneapolis, Cooper said there was a Smart Growth Twin Cities program, which consisted of public investments – federal and regional money – to create parking structures in places like St. Louis Park. Those became the nodes for new growth opportunities in the region. And that is not going to happen unless someone takes the lead, Cooper cautioned. The AATA is well-positioned to begin to move that way, he suggested, using development-oriented transit strategies to encourage the local land-use decision makers to implement transit-oriented design.

Dale felt that in general the AATA has done an excellent job of providing service to everybody, which is the AATA’s primary mission. But there’s also an opportunity to be a leader in land-use development, even though the AATA can’t directly control it. It’s pretty well known that park-and-ride lots tend to incentivize sprawl, she said. So Dale stressed that it’s important to look at the placement of such lots. She weighed in against new flat lots just outside urban areas. She advocated instead for use of underutilized lots within the urban area.

Policy Discussion: Where’s Rail Transit in 5-Year Program?

Roger Kerson ventured that all the references to rail planning had been removed from the five-year program based on the advice of the financial task force – advice that activity should match where funding is available. But knowing the team of AATA staff and the board, he said, this would not be an arena where the AATA would be idle for the next five years. Those projects need outside funding and private partners; but because the AATA staff is as good as they are at “walking and chewing gun” and running the existing system while planning for expansion, Kerson expected some planning work would continue.

Kerson suggested that the AATA needs to think about how that can be communicated to people – that rail transit is not something AATA is going to do right now and it’s not something that a millage or vehicle registration fee would be tied to; however, there’d be activity in that area. That activity is part of the vision, Kerson said. And that’s a vision that attracts a lot of people – it’s one that attracts him, he said, when you say: If there could be a train here, wouldn’t that be great. Even though that’s not something that the AATA can deliver in the near term, he said, the AATA needs to make clear to people that there’s a 30-year vision as well as a five-year program. It would be helpful, he said, if it can be made clear that during the first five years, the AATA will still be looking at things that it will do over the longer term.

Michael Benham, AATA strategic planner, responded to Kerson’s remark about eliminating rail from the five-year program. Benham noted that reference to rail in the program has not been completely removed. Rather, rail has not been prioritized. In the five-year program document, he said, it’s noted there needs to be development work to keep those projects going. From the draft five-year program document:

Because of long lead times and requirements for involving many stakeholders, projects such as commuter rail and high-capacity transit require a level of planning investment and project development that may take place years in advance of the projects’ implementation. Accordingly, it is recommended that the AATA continue to include in its plans funding for such project development work, paid for to the extent feasible by State and Federal grants.

Eli Cooper allowed that perhaps he was the only one in the room who did not believe they’d have to wait five years to see the first next type of rail service arrive in Ann Arbor. He felt that the retreat that day would be a good opportunity to explore the AATA’s interests in defining how it sees its process as engaging in rail development – currently, not five, six or thirty years from now. The financial task force had some recommendations about two projects that have five to ten years of planning work behind them already, he noted: commuter rail and local higher-capacity transit. Cooper’s interest was in exploring as a board what the AATA’s role is with rail – recognizing that the federal and state government is in the process of investing $0.5 billion in improvements in the railroad corridor.

The most recent reports from SEMCOG, which has been the lead agency for commuter rail, is that they’re working with the Federal Transit Authority on an environmental assessment. An environmental assessment is the study that’s needed in order to access federal funds for the commuter rail service. Their timetables are within a matter of a couple of years, Cooper reported – saying that it seems like “it’s always a couple of years out.” He wondered what the AATA can do to keep it moving forward – as an entity that’s connected to and serving a community that will benefit from rail service.

Cooper was not content to say that rail is something out in the future: “The future is now.” He suggested having AATA staff coordinate with SEMCOG and MDOT, and bring forward whatever the community needs to do – AATA and Washtenaw County – to help facilitate implementation of the rail service. As the AATA is implementing express bus services, he felt that rail should remain in the plan “in a timeframe that’s deemed appropriate through a coordinated effort with the professionals.” That timeframe on the rail project can be provided back to the financial task force and the rest of the community, Cooper said.

Charles Griffith supported Cooper’s suggestion. He’s heard a lot of comments from community members expressing disappointment that the commuter rail project is not being emphasized as an option. The financial task force was making a recommendation based on the availability of funding, he said. It doesn’t mean that commuter rail is not a priority any longer. It just means that it’s on a slightly different track. It’s important to clarify within the first five years what the track looks like, he said, and what it would take to keep the studies moving forward.

Griffith also brought up the Ann Arbor Connector (from US-23 and Plymouth through the campus, downtown and south to I-94), which he described as a project that excites him and the community – the idea that Ann Arbor could have something that’s world class. It’s important, he said, to move beyond just buses – not that there’s anything bad about buses.

Griffith said he uses his bus each week to get to work, but buses don’t offer a lot of excitement, he said. New forms of transportation are something that many people in the community think Ann Arbor is ready for and should have. And the AATA is the entity that can make that happen, Griffith said. He wanted to make sure people didn’t think the AATA was de-emphasizing those projects, just because they are on a longer-term track. Michael Ford, the AATA’s CEO, indicated that he was actively pursuing funding for the next stage of the connector study (the alternatives analysis), working with the University of Michigan and the city of Ann Arbor.

[What's already complete is a feasibility study. What's needed now are local matching funds for a $1.2 million federal grant that the AATA obtained last year for the alternatives analysis phase. In November 2011, Ford updated the board on the possible timeline for the alternatives analysis, saying that this phase – in which a preferred technology and route with stop locations would be identified – would take around 16 months if it begins in April 2012. A final report would be expected in August 2013, he said at the time.]

Ford felt he’d have a clearer idea about the status of local match money he’s pursuing from the city of Ann Arbor and UM later in May.

Later in the meeting, board members returned to the idea that the AATA needs to focus on clearly communicating about the difference between implementation and continued planning, guided by a 30-year vision, which includes commuter rail.

Jesse Bernstein said he wanted to speak to where the AATA stands as a board. Zingerman’s [a local deli that has spawned a community of related businesses] talks about the north star – the place we want to go, knowing we might never get there, he said. That’s the 30-year vision of the transit master plan (TMP). The five-year program reflects what the financial task force told the AATA could be achieved with local funding over the next five years. But Bernstein said the AATA should continue to work on everything in the 30-year vision. “We’re looking at what we can do when,” Bernstein said. Planning for rail would continue at the staff level, he ventured.

Kerson agreed with Bernstein, saying it’s a matter of communicating. The potentials for rail should be included in the AATA’s planning scenarios, he said. When the Ann Arbor city council was considering the four-party transit agreement, state Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-53) addressed the council, Kerson said, and told councilmembers said Ann Arbor can’t control what Lansing does, but Ann Arbor can control what Ann Arbor does.

Sue Gott added to Kerson’s remarks on communication. The theme she felt could be highlighted is that there are items that are “in front of us” in terms of implementation. But there are other projects that are “equally in front of us” in terms of planning, but are not yet in an implementation mode. It’s a matter of making sure the AATA is using the right language so that community expectations are managed effectively, she concluded.

Policy Discussion: Express Commuter Service

Sue Gott asked Michael Benham what the methodology was for deciding express bus services. Benham explained that staff had started with a list of options that had been considered some time ago – they’d studied origin-destination pairs. Consultants had analyzed demand for those services and selected those that appeared to have the best cost-benefit ratio.

Charles Griffith allowed that there’s some concern about the extent to which the AATA emphasizes service for those who live outside of Ann Arbor and even outside of Washtenaw County. The board’s performance monitoring and external relations committee, he reported, had a goal of minimizing the cost to citizens. For the commuter services, he continued, the AATA has achieved reductions in the amount of the local millage that’s used for the service – but there’s still a share paid out of the local millage.

Griffith pointed out there are also costs of not using the millage to help fund the commuter service: more cars on roads, more cars in parking structures and the like. Griffith said the board felt comfortable there’s some role for the AATA to play. It’s worth being thoughtful about how to characterize express bus services as the AATA continues to plan additional commuter services, he said. The cost of the express services would potentially be covered, he ventured, and part of the countywide initiative is an attempt to share costs more widely than just Ann Arbor. Griffith said he felt the role the AATA should play is to try to allocate fairly the cost of service to those who get the benefit.

By way of background, revenues for commuter express for the first half of FY 2012 (through March) showed $54,138 in passenger fares (some portion of which University of Michigan paid, for any of its employees who used the service) and $42,313 in state operating assistance – for a total of $96,451. Expenses for commuter express over that period were $138,053, leaving a total of $41,602 that was covered by Ann Arbor taxpayers.

Benham noted that the five-year program’s differential fares, based on geographic zone, are a part of the attempt to allocate costs fairly.

Eli Cooper recalled that when the board initially considered implementing the Chelsea commuter express service, one of the board members at that time had suggested that it needed to be self-funded. Cooper had argued that the fares needed at least to be competitive with the cost of driving and parking. The good news, he said, is that there’s more room in the cost equation for commuter service as potential riders compare costs – because “the cost of dinosaurs” (i.e., gasoline) is 2-3 times higher now than it was then. But Cooper noted a limit as to how high the fares can go on commuter service.

Cooper then highlighted why the conversation in Ann Arbor includes commuter service. The fact is, he said, that 70,000 workers commute to jobs into Ann Arbor every day. He repeated that fact for effect. Of those 70,000 people, 95% arrive in a car, he said. That causes huge expenses – parking spaces at $50-60,000 per parking space. That cost is not borne by commuters, but by the community. On top of that, there’s the congestion and the time lost because of competition for that “fleeting space.”

Locally, it’s not feasible to knock down buildings where employees work, in order to widen roads, Cooper said. And there aren’t significant state and federal funds to widen roads like M-14 or I-94, he said. So, Cooper concluded, it might be for the greater good of the community that ways are found for people to travel in groups of 50-70 people (i.e., on buses), instead of filling up lanes on the freeway and streets and creating a need to construct expensive parking structures. It’s 70,000 commuters today, but the city of Ann Arbor is planning based on tens of thousands of new employees in the next 30 years. Commuter express, he said, is an economic tool.

Gott wanted to know if “cost avoidance” is being factored in by calculating actual dollars. That’s an area the AATA could look at added data, she suggested. Benham indicated that cost-benefit analysis had been done in connection with the transit master plan, but it had been done on a fairly high level. He felt more detail could be achieved.

Outlook: Uncertainty, Optimism

Board chair Jesse Bernstein summarized his view of where things stood – in the context of the wide-ranging policy discussion, as well as a previous presentation from AATA community outreach coordinator Sarah Gryniewicz.

Outlook: Uncertainty

Gryniewicz had noted that the AATA has been working across jurisdictional boundaries. If and when the countywide process moves forward and local funding is approved, the board would need to work on a transition process, she said. That involves transitioning the board, its assets and its various committees, including the local advisory council.

As the district advisory committees give their recommendations and refinements are made and different communities decide whether to participate, adjustments will need to be made.

By way of background, if a municipality that has thus far participated in the process were to withdraw, that would reduce costs, because service would not be extended to that area. But it would also reduce revenues, because the additional funding such an area would otherwise contribute (property millage or vehicle registration fee) would not be collected. For example, on May 8 Northfield Township voted 5-1 to rescind the inter-local agreement under which it had been participating in the northeast district and the U196 board.

Ultimately, Gryniewicz said, the funding question will come to the AATA board and the U196 board. As the two entities get closer to the final five-year program and the AATA gets updates from the legislature, the financial advisory task force can be reconvened as appropriate, she said.

Right now there are two main funding options that might be available. The one that is currently available is a property millage. The five-year program currently would require the equivalent of an 0.05 mill tax countywide, she said. She compared that to the rough equivalent of the recently successful technology bond approved in the May 8, 2012 election by voters in the Ann Arbor Public Schools district.

The second option – a motor vehicle registration fee – would still need state enabling legislation, Gryniewicz said. She said the AATA is working with the governor’s office and the state legislature to make sure that option also works for the AATA. At the Ann Arbor district advisory committee meeting held on May 14 at the Malletts Creek library, Bernstein had identified Republican state Sen. Tom Casperson – who represents Michigan’s 38th district and chairs the senate transportation committee – as a legislator with whom he and AATA CEO Michael Ford were working directly. Bernstein also indicated at the May 14 DAC meeting that they were working closely with Gov. Rick Snyder, who lives in Washtenaw County.

Gryniewicz sketched a legislative update on the federal level, saying that the U.S. Congress is still working on a transportation bill. The main debate, she said, does not seem to be about transit, but rather about the Keystone Pipeline and job creation. But on the transit end, it’s encouraging, she said, and Michigan’s legislators are working hard to ensure that transit funding is maintained and that there’s room for growth.

At the state level, several transit-related policy items are being discussed, she said. One of the main sets of bills involves changes to Act 51, she said. Right now it looks like all local transit authorities – like the AATA – would be able to maintain their current state operating monies. A separate fund would be established for higher-capacity transit, like rolling rapid transit (aka bus rapid transit) or connectors. The AATA will continue to work with the state, she said, on developments that related to the regional transit authority (RTA) bill. The governor’s office and other legislators, she said, have been very supportive of the AATA’s efforts to develop the transit master plan (TMP) and are fully aware of the AATA’s planning efforts.

The RTA legislation would establish the possibility of a four-county area as a regional transit authority: Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties. For more detail on the possible RTA legislation, see Chronicle coverage: “Michigan Regional Transit Bills Unveiled.” At the May 14 DAC meeting, Bernstein had talked about the possibility that Washtenaw County could be separated out from the other three counties – a possibility that has not yet been formally introduced in the state legislation. Bernstein felt that if the legislature did not act before the summer recess at the end of June, the issue would not be taken up until the “lame duck” session after the November election.

Outlook: Optimism

At the board’s May 16 retreat, Bernstein said the most important thing is funding. If through “some horrendous outcome” the federal programs supporting transportation don’t continue, then the AATA would be in a very different position than it is now. The AATA board has a policy that the AATA won’t do anything that is not funded, he said.

AATA board chair Jesse Bernstein.

Bernstein felt that the AATA is well-positioned, no matter what. The AATA could remain an Act 55 transit authority and continue to deliver services. But there’s a well-thought-out plan to change to an Act 196 authority, he said, adding that he saw the AATA moving ahead without any reservations.

If there is another option of having a regional transit authority, and another funding option based on vehicle registration fees, the AATA is in position to take advantage of that, he said. Whichever way the wind blows, the AATA is positioned to go any direction that situation leads them, he said. The reality, Bernstein allowed, is that without more revenue, AATA will remain an Act 55. But the AATA won’t give up on its 30-year vision – the AATA would accomplish the vision the best it can. Bernstein concluded his remarks with a lot of praise for the AATA staff.

New Service Initiatives: Vanpools

The board was briefed on the status of a number of initiatives the AATA has been working on. One of them is the entrance of AATA into the vanpool market. Vanpools are essentially a group of people who are provided a vehicle, and charged a price for the use of that vehicle so they can drive to work together.

AATA’s planned entrance into the vanpool services market comes in the context of the discontinuation of the Michigan Dept. of Transportation’s MichiVan program. AATA’s strategy is essentially to step in and provide an alternative to MichiVan – as the vehicles currently being used reach the end of their useful life. So AATA intends to add those already existing vanpools to its operations. The University of Michigan has around 90 such vanpools. On Sept. 15, 2011, the AATA board authorized a contract with VPSI to provide vanpool services, and on Jan. 19, 2012, the board authorized the purchase of up to 25 vans to provide the vanpool service.

During an update on board initiatives that started last year, community relations manager Mary Stasiak laid out the sharing of responsibility between VPSI and AATA for the vanpool service. VPSI handles maintenance, insurance, vehicle prep, driver training, background checks, billing, and reporting. The AATA handles contract oversight, vehicle purchase and ownership, promotion, customer service, and vanpool group formation.

The fleet is currently seven and they’re currently having decals put on. Right now, the purchased vehicles are being stored at the dealership at no cost. Stasiak expected those vehicles to be put into service quickly. The rates charged to riders, she said, are expected to cover costs. The rates are different depending on whether the trip origin and end are both in Washtenaw County. For start and end in Washtenaw County, the minimum number of riders in a pool of four plus the driver is charged at $99 per rider. For 5-6 riders plus a driver, that per-rider cost drops to $79 per rider. Outside of Washtenaw County, the respective rates for different numbers in the vanpool are $139 and $119. In all cases, the vanpool driver’s cost is zero.

Vanpools: Software

The board considered a five-year contract totaling not more than $125,000 with Ecology & Environment Inc. for rideshare and vanpool matching software. The software will be paid for using existing and anticipated federal funds, provided to the AATA through the Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) program.

According to a staff memo accompanying the resolution, a requirement of the software is that it must be accessible through standard Internet appliances, and provide instant, accurate online ride‐matches through detailed map information presented to the end‐user. It must also integrate with social networking services such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Vanpools: Software – Public Comment

During his first turn at public comment, Thomas Partridge mentioned the vanpool software contract. He told the board he was there as an advocate for residents of Washtenaw County who need and deserve public transportation. He said he was a long-time and constant advocate for conversion of AATA to a countywide system. He was there to advance that cause on behalf of those people whose interests don’t appear on the agenda. There are multi-year contracts that favor people with jobs, he said, alluding to the vanpool software item. The beneficiaries of that are well-paid UM health system employees, he contended, and there were no corresponding improvements in senior and handicapped services.

Vanpools: Software – Board Deliberations

Anya Dale sought clarification about ownership of the software. Staff indicated that it was a licensing arrangement, not a purchase. Board chair Jesse Bernstein said he wanted to hear somebody say that the cost includes all updates and upgrades. Community relations manager Mary Stasiak told Bernstein that was the case – unless the AATA makes requests for custom functionality.

Eli Cooper indicated he’d vote in support of it. He noted that 20 years ago, when he’d worked in the field, vanpools and transit were seen as competitors. With that background, he said, he supported the AATA’s entry into the vanpool market as movement in a positive and progressive direction.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the vanpool and ride-matching software.

New Service Initiatives: Airport Service

AATA deputy director Dawn Gabay gave the board an update on the recently launched AirRide service, which provides service between Ann Arbor and the Detroit Metro Airport. Gabay described how the AATA had negotiated with Michigan Flyer on the public-private contract,  which provides 12 daily roundtrips between Ann Arbor and the airport. [Key to the economics of the service is the fact that the Detroit Metro Airport is not assessing an entrance fee to the AirRide service – because the Michigan Flyer buses are operating under the auspices of the AATA. Public transit is not charged an entrance fee, but private operators must pay an entrance fee.]

The promotional fares will end on July 30, Gabay said. She  described various discounts for seniors and children. She also described the other partners with whom the AATA is working on the service, including the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. The DDA has arranged for passengers on AirRide to park at the  Fourth and William parking structure for $2 for up to 2 weeks. The Kensington Court hotel, a stop on the AirRide service, is providing parking at a rate of $2/day for up to three weeks. Detroit Metro Airport has allowed wayfinding signs (that indicate public transit) and has assigned AirRide a designated bus stop. The  Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau, Michigan Flyer and the University of Michigan have also helped promote the service, Gabay said. She provided the first four weeks of ridership statistics.

AATA ridership on the Detroit Metro Airport to Ann Arbor service: Weeks 1-4 (Image links to higher resolution file.)

During subsequent board discussion, Roger Kerson related an anecdote about his own experience with the service. He said it was terrific – the pickup from the Kensington stop was on time. On his return trip, he changed his plans and did not get on the bus he’d reserved – and he received a call saying, “You didn’t meet the bus at your spot, so when can we pick you up instead?” Kerson concluded that the level of service that’s being provided is really excellent.

The fact that the ridership has doubled over four weeks shows that this is a service that can work, he ventured. What causes him concern, he said, is that he doesn’t see “AATA” or “The Ride” anywhere in the signs at the airport. It says “public transit.” So as the AATA looks to expand the service generally, he wanted to have the AATA brand on it somewhere. Given that the name of the AATA might be different very soon, that might not be easy to change, but he felt that on the AirRide website at least, it should be clear that it’s the AATA that’s getting you to the airport.

New Service Initiatives: Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Work

A desire for an increase in frequency of service was a highlight of a recent on-board survey that included 2,824 riders. [.pdf of survey report] Increased frequency is being implemented as part of a workforce transportation initiative on Route #4 between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.

Route #4 performance since implementation of increased frequency of service.

Chris White, AATA manager of service development, gave the board an update on the impact on ridership of the Route #4 service, since the frequency was doubled in February, to run every 5-10 minutes during peak times and every 10-20 minutes midday. Part of the implementation was to develop two variations on the route. Unchanged on Route #4 is the section  between the downtown Ypsilanti Transit Center westward to Geddes and Washtenaw. But now, half the buses go to the University of Michigan and the others go to the central campus. White explained that this route variation cuts eight minutes off the round trip of every bus, without reducing service levels at the UM hospital.

So the strategy has spread the ridership load. The impact has been beyond what the AATA expected, White said, even though the location of the route hasn’t changed. Ridership systemwide was already up about 5-7%, but since implementation of the increased frequency on Route #4, he said, the increase in ridership on that route has been 20-25%. White said he’s anxious to see how ridership continues to change on the route.

On-time performance on Route #4 since implementation of increased frequency of service.

On-time performance has also improved significantly on that route, partly due to the fact that the buses are not as crowded. White explained some amount of increased ridership was expected – because that’s typically what happens. But typically, the impact is not seen the next day, because it takes a certain period for riders to adjust and become aware of the availability of increased frequency. The increased ridership the AATA has seen on the route, he said, reflects that there’s a lot of latent demand in that corridor.

Another initiative related to workforce transportation is the expansion of the geographic area served by the AATA’s NightRide service. NightRide is a demand-response service that’s offered when the regular fixed-route bus service stops running, and on holidays. Passengers have a similar experience to ordering a taxi; the standard fare is $5. The cost is high enough so that it does not really attract a lot of casual riders, White explained. Work transportation is the predominant use.

Increased ridership on the NightRide service since geographic expansion of its service area.

White explained that the service was limited to the city of Ann Arbor when it was first offered in 1983. In April of 2011, the geographic are was expanded as far east as Golfside Road.

That had not resulted in a significant ridership increase, White reported. But in January 2012, the service area was expanded to Ypsilanti, and that had a significant effect.

The expanded NightRide service is being funded by a federal Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) grant. Board member David Nacht asked when the JARC grant ran out. White explained that it’s a continuing funding source. However, White said, it would be his preference to find a different way to fund the roughly $23,000 cost long-term, and to use JARC to fund new initiatives.

New Service Initiatives: E. Medical Center

A status update on another new initiative was the extension of the AATA’s A-Ride service to a location outside Ann Arbor – to the University of Michigan’s East Ann Arbor Health Center (EAAHC), starting last year on July 1, 2011.  The university and the AATA share the cost of trips from Ann Arbor, White said. UM pays the entire cost of trips from outside Ann Arbor.

Usage of the A-Ride service is about what the AATA predicted, White said. About 17% of the rides are for passengers who use wheelchairs.

Other Initiatives: Bus Shelters

The board was briefed in moderate detail on a number of other initiatives that are not covered in this report. They include the reconstruction of the downtown Ann Arbor Blake Transit Center, the bus garage expansion on South Industrial Highway at the AATA headquarters, development of the new AATA website, and bus stop improvements.

One news item from the presentation on bus stop improvements related to the technical problem of transmitting real-time arrival information to the lighted signs at the University of Michigan central campus transit center. That looks to have been solved, and might be implemented sometime over the summer.

One voting item that related to the general program of bus stop improvements was a contract with Duo-Gard Industries to provide shelters at stops. The $390,000 contract is to manufacture and install around 60 bus shelters and 126 benches over a three-year period. There’s an option to extend the contract twice, for a year at a time. The AATA expects to use existing and future federal and state grant funds to pay for the shelters.

During the brief board deliberations on the item, Eli Cooper said he recalled when the AATA approved its first contract with Duo-Gard, it was a local vendor that made exciting new shelters. “We’ve seen them, we love them, we’re going to get more of them,” he said. Cooper also noted that Duo-Gard was the low bidder.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the contract with Duo-Gard.

Budget Update

The budget approved on Sept. 15, 2011 by the AATA board expected to tap the fund reserve for around $1 million in a $30.4 million expense budget. The board characterized it as a calculated risk to fund some of the service initiatives on which the board was briefed at the May 16, 2012 retreat.

At the retreat, AATA controller Phil Webb briefed the board on the status of the budget. Through March (midway through the AATA fiscal year) the AATA is about $573,000 under budget. Factors contributing to that, Webb said, included the fact that the budget provided for an earlier launch of the AirRide service. The educational expenses associated with the transit master plan (TMP) have been less than anticipated. And finally, some staff positions have been vacant for part of the year.

Webb said he felt that depending on revenues, it might be possible to break even for the year, or have a small surplus. The variable, Webb said, is the cost of the education effort associated with the TMP.

Public Commentary

AATA board meetings provide two chances for public participation – one near the beginning and another at the end, each time limited to two minutes. The first session is meant to be restricted to agenda items. Commentary not otherwise included above is reported here.

Thomas Partridge said he was there as a declared candidate for the state of Michigan’s house of representatives 53rd District (a spot currently held by Democrat Jeff Irwin). His platform includes countywide, regionwide and statewide interconnected public transportation. He advocated that the board adopt the concept of integrated services – in terms of those people needing services the most, in terms of access to affordable housing,

Partridge told the board he was there to speak frankly. Many candidates for public office like to go before the public with smiling faces and gloss over serious problems. The AATA board needs to address the issue of connecting with the public, he said. He complained about the length of that day’s session, which prevented people from staying through the whole session. Partridge also objected to the fact that the meeting was being held in a venue where it was not videotaped for broadcast on Community Television Network (CTN).

Present: AATA board members Charles Griffith, David Nacht, Jesse Bernstein, Eli Cooper, Sue Gott, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale.

Next regular meeting: Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [confirm date]

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Sue Gott takes her seat for the first time at the board table of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. (Photos by the writer.)

First was the election of a new board treasurer, David Nacht, in the wake of two relatively recent resignations from the board – former board treasurer Sue McCormick and Rich Robben. Nacht was elected treasurer though he was absent from the meeting; however, based on remarks from board chair Jesse Bernstein, Nacht had agreed in advance to serve in that capacity.

The board also formally received the report from a financial task force on funding for an expanded, countywide governance and service area. The task force is currently “on hold” following its Feb. 29, 2012 meeting, when it made its recommendations to the AATA. A few days after that task force meeting, the Ann Arbor city council ratified its part of a four-party agreement – between the AATA, the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County – that provides a framework for possible transition to a new governance structure for the AATA.

Both the resolution to receive the report, as well as  remarks at the board table during the meeting, made clear that the AATA board isn’t committing to an unconditional acceptance of every recommendation made by the task force. Rather, the task force’s recommendations will inform the board’s decision-making.

Also related to possible countywide expansion, at the April 16 meeting, the announcement was made of a special board meeting set for Thursday, April 26 at AATA headquarters, 2700 South Industrial Highway. The purpose of the meeting will be for the board to vote on adoption of a five-year service plan. The plan would be part of a proposal that is eventually put before the general electorate, who must ratify whatever funding plan is used for an expanded transportation authority.

AATA CEO Michael Ford indicated that the working name for the new transportation authority, if one is formed through the four-party agreement, is “Washtenaw Area Transportation Authority.”

The board also made a decision on an unarmed security guard contract that was impacted by the AATA’s adoption of a living wage standard. The hourly wages in the contract now meet the city of Ann Arbor living wage standard, adopted by the AATA board at its June 16, 2011 meeting. The need to bring the wages up to the living wage standard resulted in an increase that met the threshold requiring the board to approve it.

The board also received its usual range of updates and reports from its CEO and committees. Those included recent ridership numbers, an update on the lawsuit that was filed last year against the AATA over advertising issues, the proposed north-south commuter rail known as WALLY, and the AATA’s response to the auditor’s report.

During the meeting, Ford reported on discussions between AATA and the Ann Arbor Public Schools that have led to a preliminary agreement to replace three high school bus routes with existing AATA service – one route each for Huron, Pioneer and Skyline high schools. According to Ford, the change would allow AAPS and the Washtenaw Intermediate School District – which currently handles bus services for AAPS – to eliminate three buses and reduce costs.

Board Treasurer Election

As one of the first items handled by the board at its April 16 meeting, chair Jesse Bernstein asked for a motion to elect David Nacht as treasurer. The position had remained unfilled since the resignation of Sue McCormick from the board. She served through the Dec. 15, 2011 meeting. Shortly after that, Rich Robben also resigned from the board.

McCormick was replaced by Eli Cooper, city of Ann Arbor transportation program manager. And Robben was replaced by Sue Gott, university planner at the University of Michigan. Gott was unable to be present at the board’s March meeting, so the April 19 meeting marked the first meeting she attended. At the meeting, she received welcoming remarks from Bernstein and others.

Offering his support for Nacht’s nomination as treasurer, Charles Griffith took an initial humorous tack, based on the fact that Nacht was not present at the meeting. However, saying that he didn’t think his remarks were getting any funnier, Griffith quickly wrapped them up. Bernstein expressed his appreciation to Nacht for being willing to serve in the capacity of treasurer.

Outcome: The board unanimously elected David Nacht as treasurer.

With the election of Nacht as treasurer, the board is again settled into a complete committee and officer structure. Officers are now: Jesse Bernstein (chair); Charles Griffith (secretary); and David Nacht (treasurer). The planning and development committee consists of: Anya Dale (committee chair); Sue Gott; and Eli Cooper. The performance monitoring and external relations committee consists of: Charles Griffith (committee chair); David Nacht and Roger Kerson. The governance committee consists of the board chair and the two committee chairs. [See also previous Chronicle coverage: "AATA Resets Committee Membership."]

Financial Task Force Report

The board was asked to vote on a resolution that accepted for further consideration the recommendations of a financial task force on funding for an expanded, countywide governance and service area.

The task force is currently “on hold” following its Feb. 29, 2012 meeting, when it made its recommendations to the AATA. A few days after that task force meeting, the Ann Arbor city council ratified its part of a four-party agreement – between the AATA, the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County – that provides a framework for possible transition to a new governance structure for the AATA.

The April 19 board resolution addresses part of the reason that the task force was reluctant to make a specific funding recommendation: Pending currently is state legislation on (1) transportation funding through vehicle registration fees, and (2) the establishment of a regional transit authority for a four-county area in southeast Michigan (including Washtenaw County). From the board’s April 19 resolution: “… the AATA will monitor proposed legislation and other conditions affecting transit funding, and reconvene the FTF as needed to consider amendments to their recommendations…”

The financial task force had calculated that there’s a roughly $32.9 million gap between existing funding and what would be needed to fund the first five years of expanded services. To cover that gap, the task force calculated that a countywide millage of 0.5 mill would be needed – if the mechanism of funding were to be a countywide transit tax. But the task force declined to identify a millage as the solution to that funding gap, in light of pending legislation at the state level that might make other mechanisms available. [.pdf of Feb. 29 report draft approved by the financial task force]

The categories of service recommended as part of the first five years of the program include ongoing bus replacements, urban bus network enhancements (including enhancements to the WAVE, a western Washtenaw express), countywide door-to-door and flex services, express bus services, local community circulators, park-and-ride lots, vanpool services, and “superstops” in the Washtenaw Avenue corridor.

The subcommittee also recommended an average increase for fixed-route fares of 50 cents, with the possibility of fare increases for paratransit services as well. Higher fares should be charged for express bus services, with the possibility of distance-based zone fares.

Also significant in the financial task force report was a recommendation that certain projects – like the north-south high-capacity connector, high-capacity service along Washtenaw Avenue, as well as the east-west and north-south commuter rail service – be considered separately. Those projects are not recommended for inclusion for local expenditures in the first five years. It’s also recommended that the Ann Arbor downtown circulator service (previously called The LINK) should be discretionary and should rely on private investment.

The language of the resolution passed by the AATA board on April 19 does not accept the task force recommendations unconditionally. The resolved clause reads [emphasis added] “… accepts the recommendations of the Financial Task Force for consideration by the AATA and the community.”

And the minutes from the April 10 meeting of the planning and development committee indicate that there may not be universal agreement on the AATA board with at least one of the task force recommendations – to exclude rail projects from expenditures of local funds in the first five years of the plan, and to spend local money only on local projects.

From the minutes: “Eli Cooper was assured by Michael Benham [AATA strategic planner] that the FTF is an advisory task force, with the board having ultimate authority to accept, decline, or modify their recommendations. Eli expressed concern with only using local money for local projects for the first 5 years. If this was to occur, then the Board may not be in alignment with their overall priorities (for expansion of services). Other than that, Eli was interested to hear more about the FTF and staff opinions as to how they see the first 5 years playing out.”

In reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee at the April 19 board meeting, Charles Griffith noted that the committee had received the report on the financial task force recommendation.

Eli Cooper summarized the work of the task force and the subcommittee that had formed within the task force, by saying the group went above and beyond expectations, by providing models that AATA staff could continue to use to evaluate the implications of different strategies. He said it was with great pleasure that he was putting forward the motion to accept the report and allowing it to inform the board’s deliberations. He appreciated the work that the task force had done.

Board chair Jesse Bernstein added his thanks to the task force, saying that they were very busy people who volunteered – two of whom lead billion-dollar companies. [He was referring to Albert Berriz, CEO of McKinley Inc. and J. Patrick Doyle, CEO of Domino's Pizza.] It was a joy to see those people get together and roll up their sleeves and get the work done, he said.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the resolution accepting the task force recommendations for further consideration.

Unarmed Security Contract

The board considered a one-year, $205,000 contract with Advance Security to provide unarmed security guard services. It will be for the fourth year of a contract first authorized by the board on March 19, 2009 for one year.

From left: AATA board members Charles Griffith and Roger Kerson. They paused for The Chronicle in their conversation after the meeting.

The contract came before the board because it increased the amount of the contract from the previous year by more than 10% – from $150,000 to $205,000, or 36.7%. The AATA procurement policy requires board approval for increases of contracts over 10%. The new contract is based on hourly wages between $14.33 and $19.67 per hour for a regular shift, and between $21.50 and $29.51 for extra hours and holidays.

The hourly wages in the contract now meet the city of Ann Arbor living wage standard, recently adopted by the AATA board at its June 16, 2011 meeting. The need to bring the wages up to the living wage standard was the reason for the revision to the contract. The living wage standard for the city of Ann Arbor is set to increase slightly starting May 1, 2012 – to  $12.17/hour for those employers paying health insurance and $13.57/hour for those employers not paying health insurance.

The original contract, authorized by the board in 2009, was met with one vote of dissent at the time – from David Nacht, who wanted his no vote to express his desire in the future that clearer information be provided about low bids. The staff memo accompanying the April 19 resolution indicated that the original contract was sent to 29 firms for bid and that 11 responses were received.

In reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, which had reviewed the contract, Charles Griffith described the revisions as based on getting the contract in compliance with the new living wage policy.

When the board came to the item on its agenda for a vote, board chair Jesse Bernstein asked for a verbal overview, which AATA controller Phil Webb gave. From a back-and-forth between Griffith and Webb, it emerged that the board would almost certainly not need to approve the contract again next year, because the need to increase it was already being addressed this year.

AATA CEO Michael Ford alerted the board to the fact that other contracts impacted by the living wage policy would likely be coming to the board for approval, when they were renewed.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the new contract with Advance Security for unarmed security guard services.

Communications, Committees, CEO, Commentary

At its April 16 meeting, the board entertained various communications, including its usual reports from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, the planning and development committee, as well as from CEO Michael Ford. The board also heard commentary from the public. Here are some highlights.

Comm/Comm: WALLY Update

As part of its meeting information packet, the board was provided with an eight-page update on the status of WALLY (Washtenaw and Livingston Railway), which is envisioned to provide north-south commuter rail service between Howell and Ann Arbor.

The conclusion of the report is a staff recommendation to expend funds ($50,000) already included in the FY 2012 budget that are designated for the WALLY project. The report includes a draft resolution that the board could use to authorize the funds.

Ordinarily, the expenditure of funds from the budget would not necessarily need an explicit board authorization. However, in the case of the WALLY project, the board stipulated in a Sept. 15, 2011 resolution that the $50,000 designated for WALLY in the FY 2012 budget would not be expended without the explicit consent of the board. [See Chronicle coverage: "AATA on WALLY Rail: Forward with Caution."]

One of the challenges for WALLY is the cooperation of the Ann Arbor Railroad in the use of the tracks south of roughly Barton and Plymouth roads on the north side of Ann Arbor. Ideally, the commuter service would extend farther south into Ann Arbor. The report contains a description of an Oct. 12, 2011 meeting between Ann Arbor Railroad president Jim Erickson and AATA CEO Michael Ford, when Ann Arbor Railroad representatives expressed continued general opposition to passenger service on its property. However, the meeting offered some possibility that Ann Arbor Railroad would at least work with AATA on the issue of railcar storage immediately south of a WALLY station. And the report describes Ann Arbor Railroad as willing to entertain a “business proposition.” [.pdf of April 2012 WALLY update]

Ford indicated at the April 19 meeting that more work would be needed before the issue of WALLY could be brought before the whole board.

Comm/Comm: Loose Ends from Audit

Reporting from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Charles Griffith said the committee had reviewed the audit from last month. [The audit findings were discussed at the board’s March 15, 2012 meeting and included in The Chronicle’s report of that meeting.]

The auditor had made some recommendations, he said, and the AATA had responded to them. The committee was pretty happy with where things stand, Griffith reported. One outstanding issue the committee is still reviewing is the AATA’s practice of buying fuel futures. Griffith said the committee does not think the practice is actually allowed, based on some further legal review, because it stands out as an unconventional practice. But the committee has encouraged staff to explore other options. The practice has saved the AATA money, he said, but it’s just not very standard.

Among the other items in the auditor’s report is an item of information: If Michigan’s personal property tax were to be eliminated, as proposed in Senate Bill 34, the amount of the annual transit tax that’s used to help fund the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority would decrease by $420,000 annually.

AATA controller Phil Webb included the item in his reaction to other findings in the audit – which he conveyed in a memo to AATA CEO Michael Ford. The memo was part of the AATA board’s information packet for its April 19 meeting.

Currently, the AATA receives around $9 million a year from a roughly 2 mill tax. The $9 million is about 31% of the AATA’s $29.4 million FY 2012 budgeted revenues. The elimination of the personal property tax would decrease the AATA’s total budget revenues by around 1.4%.

Comm/Comm: Ridership Stats

As a part of its regular information packet, the board received the performance data on ridership, costs per mile and the like. For regular fixed-route service on weekdays, ridership in March 2012 showed a gain of 8% compared to March 2011 – an average of 24,501 passengers for each weekday, compared to 22,639 per weekday in March of 2012.

AATA ridership, year-over-year. Red bars are this year's figures. The blue line reflects last year's figures. (Image links to .pdf of detail performance data.)

That continues a trend since October 2011, the start of the current fiscal year for the AATA. Each month the average number of weekday passengers per month has been greater than the corresponding month in the previous year.

For the AATA’s paratransit service (A-Ride), the data from March show a slight decrease in the average number of passengers for each weekday – 505 compared to 518 a year ago. But in four of the last six months, ridership on A-Ride has been slightly greater than in the corresponding month a year earlier.

Increased ridership had led to decreased costs per rider, per service hour and per service mile, and a corresponding increase in the percentage of the cost that is paid by rider fares. [.pdf of AATA ridership and performance data]

Also at the meeting, CEO Michael Ford provided the most recent numbers for the new Detroit Metro Airport service  (AirRide) for the period from April 8-14. For that period, the service had 678 total passengers – 336 eastbound to the airport and 342 westbound from the airport to Ann Arbor.

The AirRide service began on April 2. It offers 12 buses each way daily. The AATA authorized the contract with Indian Trails’ Michigan Flyer to provide the airport service at its Feb. 16, 2012 meeting.

Comm/Comm: AAPS Collaboration

In his oral report to the board, CEO Michael Ford highlighted an item from his written report, which relates to the current fiscal challenges of the Ann Arbor Public Schools system. AATA and AAPS have been discussing ways the two entities could collaborate. From the written report:

Chris White [AATA manager of service development] and Ron Copeland [AATA operations manager] have been meeting with staff from the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) and Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD). WISD operates school bus service for AAPS. Discussions have yielded a preliminary agreement to replace three high school bus routes with the use of existing AATA service, with minor modifications; one route each for Huron, Pioneer and Skyline High Schools. This would permit AAPS/WISD to completely eliminate three buses and reduce costs.  AATA would provide passes which AAPS would distribute to eligible students. Each time a student boards a bus AATA would charge AAPS. It is hoped that agreement can be reached in April for implementation in the fall of 2012.

Comm/Comm: AATA Lawsuit Update

On April 19, U.S District judge Mark Goldsmith heard motions at the federal building and courthouse in Flint on a lawsuit filed last year against the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. At the AATA board meeting later that day, board chair Jesse Bernstein reported that after hearing oral arguments, Goldsmith did not rule on anything from the bench. His written ruling is expected at some unspecified future time.

The initial lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on Nov. 28, 2011 on behalf of activist Blaine Coleman, who had sought to purchase an advertisement for the sides of AATA buses. The AATA refused to run the ad. The proposed ad includes the text, “Boycott ‘Israel’ Boycott Apartheid,” and an image depicting a scorpion-like creature with a skull for a head. [.pdf of image and text of proposed ad]

The two motions heard by Goldsmith on April 19 included one by the plaintiff – for a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order, to compel the AATA to accept the advertisement for its buses that it had previously rejected. [.pdf of Nov. 29, 2011 ACLU motion for preliminary injunction]

The other motion heard on April 19 was AATA’s motion to dismiss the case. [.pdf of AATA motion to dismiss] [.pdf of AATA brief on preliminary injunction/restraining order] [.pdf of ACLU reply to AATA's response]

At its April 19 meeting, AATA board members had scheduled a closed session on the litigation, as permitted by the Michigan Open Meetings Act, but did not hold the session because Goldsmith did not rule on the two motions.

Comm/Comm: Special Meeting – April 26

During his oral report to the board, AATA CEO Michael Ford said he was asking that a special meeting of the board be convened for Thursday, April 26 at 4:30 p.m. The special meeting will be held at AATA headquarters, 2700 South Industrial Highway.

The purpose of the meeting is to receive formally a detailed five-year service plan that has been developed by the AATA as part of its plan to expand its governance and transportation service to a countywide area. The service plan is part of a key step specified in a four-party agreement – between the AATA, the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti, and Washtenaw County – that would establish a framework for a possible transition to a new governance structure. From the agreement: “… AATA will publish details of the service and funding plan in newspaper(s) of general circulation in the Washtenaw County.”

Of the four parties to the agreement, the city of Ann Arbor is the only entity so far to ratify it. The Ann Arbor city council voted to approve the four-party agreement at its March 5, 2012 meeting.

It’s hoped that the board will have a copy of the service plan by April 23, before voting on it on April 26.

Also at April’s monthly board meeting, Ford indicated that the working name for the new transportation authority, if one is formed through the four-party agreement, is “Washtenaw Area Transportation Authority.”

Related to the countywide plan, during public commentary at end of the meeting, Vivienne Armentrout told the board she appreciated being invited to participate in an organizational district advisory committee meeting for the Ann Arbor district.

Vivienne Armentrout before the AATA board's April 19 meeting. Out of the frame to the right is Sue Gott, with whom Armentrout was talking.

She had some concerns and questions, though. She said that most invitees were members of stakeholder groups, and attendance had been sparse – she attributed that to the somewhat last-minute scheduling of the meeting. She said her understanding of Ann Arbor’s district advisory committee is that it’s supposed to be citizens of Ann Arbor interacting with those people who are representing Ann Arbor on the countywide board. She said she’d like to see broader participation from regular folks.

Board chair Jesse Bernstein thanked Armentrout for attending the meeting and told her she was right – it was an organizational meeting. All such meetings are open to the public and it’s an ongoing process the AATA is beginning. The district advisory committees will meet at least four times a year, he said, not just in Ann Arbor, but in the other districts throughout the county.

Also during public commentary at the end of the meeting, Thomas Partridge called for the as-yet-unincorporated Act 196 countywide board and the financial task force, as well as all similar organizations, to meet in a venue that can be videotaped by Community Television Network.

Comm/Comm: Retreat – May 16

As part of his oral report to the board, CEO Michael Ford announced details of the board’s retreat. It will be held on May 16 starting at noon at the Holiday Inn Express on Briarwood Circle. The hotel is near one of the stops on AATA’s AirRide service between downtown Ann Arbor and the Detroit Metro airport. The retreat will include the board’s regular May meeting.

Comm/Comm: IT Plan

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Charles Griffith said the committee had had a fairly lengthy discussion on the IT plan – a benchmarking effort as well as short-, medium- long-term recommendations. There are implications for possible additional staffing, he said, to prepare for expansion of service. He alerted the board that there could be something that comes before the board at a later time.

Comm/Comm: Local Advisory Council

The local advisory council is a group that provides input and feedback to AATA on disability and senior issues. Reporting to the board on the LAC’s activities, Clark Charnetski welcomed Sue Gott to the board. He told the board the LAC had received a presentation from Jewish Family Services on their accessibility plan. The LAC had also continued its discussion on its driver appreciation program, to recognize great drivers in the paratransit program. The idea is for AATA call-takers to work with the LAC to evaluate the drivers for special recognition.

Charnetski also reported that the LAC had sent Doug Strong a letter. Strong is CEO of University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers. The LAC had inquired about UM’s plans to provide sheltered walkways for riders of public transportation so they can get from bus stops into the medical center. The LAC had not yet received a reply to the letter, so they’d be sending out a follow-up letter.

The LAC had also discussed the A-Ride vehicle replacement program – because the vehicles are reaching the end of their useful life.

Comm/Comm: More Service

During public commentary, Thomas Partridge introduced himself as an advocate for those needing affordable transportation services and called for additional services, beyond what’s currently offered by AATA. He called on the board to place an update on expanded, countywide transportation on every monthly agenda. He also called for a monthly review of the SelectRide contract through which the AATA provides A-Ride service. He contended that within the last three weeks, he’d asked for rides through A-Ride and had been picked up by two vehicles reeking of gasoline and apparent exhaust system leaks.

Comm/Comm: Disability Community

During public commentary, Carolyn Grawi, with the Center for Independent Living, said she was very pleased that members of the disability community are being involved in the countywide planning effort. She offered some feedback on AirRide service between Ann Arbor and the Detroit Metro airport, saying that some people were not sure where the service would drop them off. She also noted that construction on South State Street was affecting Route #6 on-time performance. It affects the ability of riders to make their connections to other routes, she said, and it’s a general concern, not just one that affects the disability community.

Present: Charles Griffith, Jesse Bernstein, Eli Cooper, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale, Sue Gott.

Absent: David Nacht.

Next regular meeting and board retreat: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at noon, Holiday Inn Express, 600 Briarwood Circle [confirm date]

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