Yellow lines indicate routes along which the AAATA is planning frequency improvements as part of its five-year transit improvement plan. (Image links to .pdf of full presentation given to the board on Jan. 16, 2014)

Generally, the improvements include increased frequency during peak hours, extended service in the evenings, and additional service on weekends. Some looped routes are being replaced with out-and-back type route configurations. The plan does not include operation of rail-based services. The AAATA has calculated that the improvements in service add up to 90,000 additional service hours per year, compared to the current service levels, which is a 44% increase.

The AAATA refers to the plan in its communications as the 5YTIP. A draft five-year plan was presented to the public in a series of 13 meetings in the fall of 2013. Changes to the five-year plan made in response to public feedback were included in the board’s information packet for the Jan. 16 meeting. [.pdf of memo and 5-year improvement plan] [.pdf of presentation made to the board on Jan. 16]

The plan indicates that $5,456,191 of additional local revenue would be required to fund the expanded services. Implementation of the program will include a request to voters sometime in 2014 for an additional transit millage, likely at the level of 0.7 mills.

The two city members of the AAATA – Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti – already levy a dedicated transit millage of their own, which would stay in place if voters in the AAATA’s three-jurisdiction area approved a 0.7 mill tax. For Ann Arbor, the rate for the existing millage is 2.056 mills, which is expected to generate a little over $10 million by 2019, the fifth year of the transportation improvement plan. For the city of Ypsilanti, the rate for the existing transit millage is 0.9789, which is expected to generate about $314,000 in 2019. For the owner of an Ann Arbor house with market value of $200,000 and taxable value of $100,000, a 0.7 mill tax translates into $70 annually, which would be paid in addition to the existing transit millage that translates to about $200 annually.

The transit improvement program also calls for an additional $1,087,344 to come from purchase of service agreements (POSAs), based on increased service hours in Pittsfield, Saline, and Superior townships.

At the Jan. 16 meeting, board chair Charles Griffith indicated that he felt the board would be taking the next step on implementing the program very soon. That indicates a probable vote on the millage question at the next board meeting, on Feb. 20. If the board voted then to put a millage question on the ballot, that would be in time to meet the Feb. 25 deadline for a millage request to be placed on the May 6, 2014 ballot.

A new millage would be decided by a majority vote of all three member jurisdictions of the AAATA. The two Ypsilanti jurisdictions were added as members of the AAATA just last year. The Ann Arbor city council voted to approve changes to the AAATA’s articles of incorporation – to admit the city and the township of Ypsilanti as members – at its June 3, 2013 and Nov. 18, 2013 meetings, respectively.

Even though the vote on the five-year transit improvement program seemed to be enthusiastically embraced by most everyone in the board room, that was not what prompted people to start clapping at the Jan. 16 meeting. The applause was reserved for the management and driver performance during the recent snowstorm. Board member Jack Bernard and likely future board appointee Larry Krieg both based their praise for drivers on their own trips using the bus. Praise for AAATA drivers during the inclement weather also came from bus rider Jim Mogensen during public commentary. And CEO Michael Ford highlighted the performance of AAATA’s manager of transportation Ron Copeland, as well as that of drivers and the rest of the AAATA staff.

The board also received routine updates on a range of issues. Those included ridership, which is now essentially flat on the fixed-route service compared to last year. The new Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor is expected to be open for use by the second week in February. Concepts for two finalists for the BTC public art project – which will be incorporated into the new building – will be on display at the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library from Jan. 20 through Feb. 3. The downtown library is located across the street from the BTC.

Winter Storm: Jan. 4, 2014

The recent winter storm that hit the region – dropping 10.4 inches of snow on Ann Arbor starting Jan. 4, 2014 and lowering temperatures to minus 14 F – was the subject of commentary from the staff, board, and the public.

Ron Copeland, AAATA’s manager of transportation.

During his report to the board, CEO Michael Ford described the weather as the biggest challenge the AAATA had faced in 39 years, according to AAATA manager of transportation Ron Copeland. Despite numerous sick calls on Monday, Jan. 6 – and getting drivers to work on time was a big struggle, Ford said – at the end of day, the AAATA had only three buses pull out late. The AAATA did not lose any service that day. “I think that’s tremendous, given everything that was going on,” Ford said.

On Tuesday, only one run was delayed, and even in icy conditions that afternoon, service was delayed only slightly. Ford commended Copeland and the entire operations team: “You guys did a fantastic job.” Ford’s remarks prompted a round of applause from the board and other staff members.

Board member Jack Bernard added that he used the buses all of the days Ford had described. “I have to agree completely – the service was fantastic.” Bernard pointed out that many drivers stayed on and worked lengthier shifts because of the difficulty some drivers encountered arriving at work. The service was amazing, he continued, saying that he’d expected to stand outside for a very long time and did not need to do that. As someone who uses the bus every day, Bernard said, the service was amazing.

AAATA board member Jack Bernard.

Larry Krieg, who is likely to be appointed to the board soon, added that he’d attended the board’s planning and development committee meeting by bus. He’d expected to need to leave at least an hour early to make the meeting on time. But he arrived at the meeting a half hour early. He commended the driver because the conditions were very icy and she was very careful. She knew exactly when she could “make time.” For example, going over the overpass over I-94 on Ellsworth road, she just went up with no problem, but crept down with great care. She handled the bus in an excellent way, he concluded.

Ford also noted that the AAATA had opened up the headquarters building at 2700 S. Industrial Highway, to allow people to keep warm during extreme weather conditions.

Jim Mogensen addressed the board at the conclusion of the meeting, saying that he’d used the bus to get to St. Joe’s hospital on the day when it was so cold. He wanted to commend the driver on that day. “It was quite a day!” Mogensen said. The buses didn’t pull away when they saw people trying to catch the bus and everybody was very friendly. At St. Joe’s, the driver had helped him get over the snow drift, Mogensen said. It was the Route #3 bus from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti, Mogensen reported – bus number 480. He hoped to make it clear that he’s not always complaining. It was quite a good thing, he said, and he wanted to make sure that drivers got lots of good feedback on how helpful they’d been.

Five-Year Transit Plan

On Jan. 16, the board was asked to approve a five-year transit improvement program. [.pdf of memo and 5-year improvement plan]

Generally, the improvements include increased frequency during peak hours, extended service in the evenings and additional service on weekends. Some looped routes are being replaced with out-and-back type route configurations. The plan does not include operation of rail-based services. The AAATA has calculated that the improvements in service add up to 90,000 additional service hours per year, compared to the current service levels, which is a 44% increase. The AAATA refers to the plan in its communications as the 5YTIP.

To provide the additional service, the plan would include the purchase of 19 more fixed-route buses by the end of the full implementation – at the five-year mark. The AAATA’s fixed-route fleet currently includes 80 buses. The plan would also include the purchase of five additional vehicles for providing demand-response service, which is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

A draft five-year plan was presented to the public in a series of 13 public meetings in the fall of 2013. Changes to the five-year plan made in response to public feedback were included in the board’s information packet for the Jan. 16 meeting. [.pdf of presentation made to the board on Jan. 16]

The plan indicates that $5,456,191 of additional local revenue would be required to fund the expanded services. For the member jurisdictions of the AAATA, that translates to a tax of 0.7 mills. A millage rate of 0.7 translates to dollar amounts as follows: Ann Arbor ($3,387,910), city of Ypsilanti ($202,730), and Ypsilanti Township ($778,207). One mill is $1 for every $1,000 of a real property’s taxable value.

The improvement plan would also rely on existing local, state and federal funding staying in place. The two city members of the AAATA – Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti – already levy a dedicated transit millage of their own, which would continue to be levied if voters in the three-jurisdiction area of the AAATA approved a 0.7 mill tax. For Ann Arbor, the rate for the existing millage is 2.056 mills, which is expected to generate a little over $10 million by 2019, the fifth year of the transportation improvement plan. For the city of Ypsilanti, the rate for the existing transit millage is 0.9789, which is expected to generate about $314,000 in 2019. The improvement plan would also rely on $4.5 million in federal formula funds, $13 million in state funds, and almost $9 million in passenger fares.

The transit improvement program also calls for an additional $1,087,344 to come from purchase of service agreements (POSAs), based on increased service hours in Pittsfield, Saline, and Superior townships.

Partners for Transit – a coalition coordinated by the Ecology Center – issued a press release on the afternoon of the AAATA’s Jan. 16 board meeting, calling for the board to put a millage request on the ballot. But the AAATA staff memo accompanying the board’s resolution made clear that any funding proposal, like a millage, would come in a separate action.

In 2010, a ballot question committee was formed with the name Partners for Transit, but Carolyn Grawi indicated in a phone interview on Jan. 16 with The Chronicle that the current Partners for Transit coalition would be forming its own ballot committee. Grawi is the director for advocacy and education at the Center for Independent Living.

The AAATA board would be unlikely to vote to place a millage on the ballot before analyzing the results of a survey conducted in the fall of 2013, which included an attempt to measure voter attitudes toward a new transportation millage. Those results are expected to be released sometime in the next few weeks. If the board voted at its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting, that would be in time to meet the Feb. 25 deadline for a millage request to be placed on the May 6, 2014 ballot.

If the millage question is put before voters in May this year, instead of the fall, it could cost the AAATA $90,000 to $100,000 to cover the cost of conducting the election. That’s the figure AAATA manager of community relations Mary Stasiak has been given as a rough estimate by the Washtenaw County clerk’s office. In an email responding to a question from The Chronicle, Stasiak noted that if other proposals resulted in an independent reason for holding an election in May, that could defray the AAATA’s costs.

A new millage would be decided by a majority vote of all three member jurisdictions of the AAATA. The two Ypsilanti jurisdictions were added as members of the AAATA just last year. The Ann Arbor city council voted to approve changes to the AAATA’s articles of incorporation – to admit the city and township of Ypsilanti as members – at its June 3, 2013 and Nov. 18, 2013 meetings, respectively.

The current, more localized expansion of the AAATA contrasts with a now demised effort in 2012 to incorporate all of Washtenaw County into a single countywide transportation authority. Components of the countywide effort’s five-year plan and 30-year vision formed the basis of the current more geographically-confined effort to expand service.

When the Ann Arbor city council withdrew Ann Arbor’s participation in that effort, at its Nov. 8, 2012 meeting, it encouraged the AAATA “to continue to discuss regional transportation options among Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, Ann Arbor Township, Pittsfield Township, and Scio Township, leading to a better understanding and process for improving local transit options…”

Over the course of 2013, the AAATA held a series of meetings with officials from those municipalities, a group that came to be called the “urban core” communities.

One outcome of those conversations was an interest in membership in the AAATA on the part of the two Ypsilanti jurisdictions. The city of Ann Arbor (pop. ~116,000), the city of Ypsilanti (pop. ~19,500) and Ypsilanti Township (pop. ~53,000) make up a bit more than half the population of Washtenaw County (pop. ~351,000).

Five-Year Transit Plan: Public Comment

Mark Coryell introduced himself as an Ann Arbor resident since 1997. He’s president of the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3907, which represents the employees of the Environmental Protection Agency. He works in Ann Arbor, he said. But he was addressing the board as a spokesperson for the Washtenaw Regional Organizing Coalition (WeROC) – a group of labor, faith and other community organizations. The group is very much interested in expansion of transit service in the community and supports the resolution on the agenda, he said. There are many reasons for doing that, he added, and he could talk for a long time about the environmental benefits of public transit. He works with a lot of metropolitan areas to help them plan to comply with Clean Air Act standards, and transit is a big part of that strategy to achieve clean air in cities, he said.

Mark Coryell addressed the AAATA board during public commentary representing the Washtenaw Regional Organizing Coalition (WeROC).

But Coryell told the board that he was there to talk mainly about fairness. He moved to Ann Arbor from the Washington D.C. area, so he was accustomed to a robust transit system, and came to depend on it. For many young people in metropolitan areas, he said, it’s their only way to get around. When he moved here, he noticed that Ann Arbor was a motor-vehicle-dependent area. A lot of free parking makes it easy to own a car and get around, he said. But he cautioned that might not always be the case. What he’s read in the scientific literature, he said, is that younger people aren’t buying cars. They’re relying on public transit, so we need to start planning for that as a city, he said. He continued by saying it’s also important to recognize that older citizens as well often don’t have cars. And they need to get to where they’re going. For all those reasons, WeROC supports expansion of transit in our community, Coryell concluded.

Jean Henry introduced herself as special agent for environmental stewardship at Zingerman’s Community of Businesses. She was there representing all 13 managing partners of the nine separate businesses and the co-founding partners Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw. She was there to express support for expanding AAATA into the Ypsilanti area, for the AAATA’s five-year plan, and for the idea of putting a millage proposal on the ballot. Zingerman’s has an environmental stewardship initiative, a component of which is encouraging alternative forms of transportation.

Jean Henry spoke to the AAATA board representing Zingerman’s Community of Businesses.

Henry described the Zingerman’s staff as “super enthusiastic” about it. Last year, the AAATA had helped Zingerman’s conduct a survey of all staff and had achieved a 58% participation rate. One thing identified in the survey was some insecurity about transportation between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and some difficulties with connectors – being able to get to work on time and get back home on time. It’s clear there are things that can be done to make that path more efficient. But more importantly, she said, more than 50% of Zingerman’s staff lives in Ypsilanti. It’s not just that Zingerman’s wants to get their employees to work. It’s that they want the flow back and forth between the two cities. “We really believe in Ypsi,” she said.

Zingerman’s is devoted to Washtenaw County, Henry said, and maybe Zingerman’s would eventually have a business in Ypsilanti. As it is, they see young entrepreneurs starting businesses in Ypsilanti, who previously would have started them in Ann Arbor. They’re doing things in Ypsilanti that are now unaffordable in Ann Arbor, she said. As an example, she cited Dear Golden vintage clothing, which will be setting up shop on Fourth Avenue in Ann Arbor, she said, after starting in Ypsilanti. She allowed that there are environmental reasons as well, but she thought that transportation makes “a commitment to a community that can feed us and that we can feed as well.”

Henry then read aloud a statement from Rick Strutz, a partner and co-owner at Zingerman’s Deli, which indicated support for the AAATA’s expansion to include Ypsilanti. Among the highlights was the fact that from 2012-2016, the deli expects to be adding 16 full-time jobs, many of which have already been filled.

Lloyd Shelton spoke on behalf of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living.

The deli depends on residents of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to give great service to millions of customers, the statement continued. Strutz’s statement also said that he wanted the diversity of the staff at Zingerman’s to mirror the diversity of the community. Reliable transportation is needed every day of the week in order to help make that happen.

Lloyd Shelton addressed the board representing the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living (CIL) and Partners for Transit – to support expansion of service to the urban core area. He told the board he’s currently a graduate student at the University of Michigan, and he’s lived in the Ann Arbor area over 20 years. But he’s not originally from this area, telling the board that he’s from Pontiac. He keeps coming back to Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor because of the greater accessibility Ann Arbor offers through transportation. In terms of transportation, Ann Arbor is one of the best places around, he said. Research is shown that there’s more poverty among the disabled, he continued. People with a disability have a higher tendency to use public transportation, he said, adding that he lives off the Route #4 provided by the AAATA.

Five-Year Transit Plan: Staff Remarks, Presentation

During his remarks to the board in his standard report, AAATA CEO Michael Ford noted that the request from the board would be to ask for approval of the five-year transit improvement program. The AAATA is widely recognized as one of the nation’s premier public transit agencies, he said. The AAATA’s goal remains delivering on the authority’s mission – to provide useful, reliable, safe, environmentally responsible, and cost-effective transportation options, for the benefit of the greater Ann Arbor community.

Ford described the last 4.5 years as including a lot of collaborating and listening, which had led the AAATA to that evening’s vote. The AAATA had started by developing a transit master plan (TMP) that engaged citizens, business leaders and elected officials. The AAATA had heard over and over about the need for more service and greater frequency.

Ford continued by saying that the AAATA had responded to the Ann Arbor city council’s direction to narrow the geographic focus of the effort to expand transit services. The AAATA had adjusted, Ford said, to focus on what’s called the urban core. He was excited to have the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township joining together to finalize the details of the service improvements for each jurisdiction. Now a point had been reached where board approval was being sought of service improvements that would allow seniors and people with disabilities to go more places throughout the urban core – faster, more frequently, and later on weekdays and weekends.

The improvements would connect people to more job opportunities and contribute to economic vitality, Ford said. Better public transit also means better public safety, he noted. And each community will pay its own way. “We can’t afford not to improve transit,” Ford said. The transportation needs of seniors and people with disabilities continue to grow, he said.

Ford concluded by observing that one of the other outcomes of the urban core effort is the addition of the two Ypsilanti jurisdictions as members of the AAATA. He was pleased and proud to have them at the table. The AAATA was ready to move forward with next steps to make improved service a reality in each community, Ford said. He hoped the board would support moving the process forward that evening.

Ford also noted that the next meeting of the urban core work group is on Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. at the Pittsfield Township Hall.

In reporting out from the planning and development committee, board member Sue Gott described the committee’s interest in making the document that the board was being asked to approve a precise and tight document – which was what the board had in front of it that night, she said. There’s a lot of explanatory material in the packet, she said, but the actual program to be approved was a bit tighter. [It's condensed onto three pages and consists of lists of routes with the specific changes to each one, as well as a financial breakdown.]

AAATA strategic planner Michael Benham delivered a presentation to the board summarizing the improvement plan. [.pdf of presentation made to the board on Jan. 16]

Five-Year Transit Plan: Board Deliberations

Responding to the presentation, board member Jack Bernard noted that Route #11 is to be replaced by routes with letter designations of “L” “M” and “N”. He asked if it were possible to change those designations – because letters with big vertical elements are very hard to distinguish for those who don’t see so well, Bernard said. Michael Benham told Bernard that those are just temporary designations. Bernard stressed that the final route designations should use letters that are very visually distinct.

Gott responded to the presentation by Benham saying that she liked the series of destinations that he’d listed out – doctors, shopping, school, libraries. She ventured that this could be taken to imply that the five-year improvement plan would make those venues newly accessible when they were not accessible before. She wondered if, for some of the locations, the improvement plan would simply mean additional service to destinations that are already served. Benham allowed that for some of the destinations, the improvement plan meant additional service. He ventured that it might be possible to develop a before-and-after map to show that contrast.

AAATA board members Eli Cooper and Sue Gott talked before the Jan. 16 meeting started.

On the millage question, Gott suggested that the information include how much would come out of someone’s wallet. She wanted Benham to translate the millage into what it means to a person. Benham replied that staff had talked about describing the additional millage cost as something like the cost of a tank of gas or the cost of a cup of coffee per week for a year. [For the owner of an Ann Arbor house with market value of $200,000 and taxable value of $100,000, a 0.7 mill tax translates into $70 annually, which would be paid in addition to the existing transit millage. In total that translates to about $200 annually.]

Gott also asked if all the service could be initiated this year all at once. She didn’t think that was the case, so she felt that the AAATA needed to manage expectations about what can be implemented and when. She also stressed the importance of noting that it’s never possible to get everything exactly right the first time. Part of what the AAATA does is monitor all its routes and the demand on those routes. Transportation is an ongoing fluid planning process, she said.

Board chair Charles Griffith commended the staff, the board, and the community on all the work that had been done, saying: “We’ve been at it for years.” All through this last chunk of work and all the public meetings, everyone had invested their time, so he wanted to honor everybody who’d been involved in coming up with the best plan possible. He was glad to see that staff could accommodate some fine tuning of the plan. Some of the changes might seem minor, he allowed, but each change was significant to the person it might help – so they were meaningful adjustments, he said.

Griffith was struck by the great opportunity before the board. He’d spent a few years of his life on the board, he said, and every year, the board considered changes to the service. But up to now, it’s been a zero-sum game. Now was an opportunity to say: Here’s what we say are the most important services we could be providing, Griffith noted. He looked forward to voting on it that night.

When the board reached the voting item on the agenda, much of what board members had wanted to say had already been said. It was left to representatives of the two Ypsilanti jurisdictions to make remarks.

By way of background, Larry Krieg is expected to be the Ypsilanti Township appointment to the board, but has not yet been voted on by the township board. That process had actually been expected to be completed by the AAATA’s December 2013 board meeting. The next scheduled meeting of the township board is on Jan. 21.

Krieg led off deliberations by noting that he didn’t yet have the right to vote. He hoped that would be taken care of the following week. Even though he couldn’t vote, he could still use his voice, he said – to express his gratitude for all the work on the staff’s part. He’d attended a couple of the public meetings last fall. This is a very significant time for Ypsilanti Township, he said.

As a member of the Ypsilanti Township planning commission, Krieg wanted to stress the need to work transportation together with planning. It’s transportation that makes a community what it is, he said – the ability to get from one place to another. He called the transit improvement plan a great step forward. He would vote for the resolution if he could, he said.

Gillian Ream Gainsley, who is the city of Ypsilanti representative to the AAATA board.

Gillian Ream Gainsley appreciated Krieg’s comments and thanked the members of the public who spoke in support of the resolution. She said that taking such a big step forward for the region made her a little “verklempt.” She’d been attending meetings about the issue for a long time and was glad to see the resolution on the table.

She related a recent anecdote about how her car battery died during the cold weather, and she resorted to taking a cab, which had cost her $35. If the bus provided service, that trip alone would be worth the cost of a millage, she said. It’s a very big deal for Ypsilanti, she added.

She pointed out that three of Ypsilanti’s four largest employers are in Ann Arbor – the University of Michigan Health System, the Ann Arbor Public Schools and the University of Michigan. She invited Ann Arbor residents to think of all the parking spaces that those Ypsilanti residents won’t be taking up, if they can ride the bus. She was thrilled to be able to support the resolution.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the five-year transit improvement plan.

During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Lloyd Shelton said that often people want to give other people a hard time about something that’s been going wrong, so he wanted to thank the board for voting unanimously to support the resolution.

Communications, Committees, CEO, Commentary

At its Jan. 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: Ridership

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Anya Dale noted that through the first quarter, for some services ridership was a little lower – but urban fixed-route service ridership was close to last year’s level, which was a record high, she said.

During his report to the board, CEO Michael Ford said that for the week of Dec. 15, the AirRide service – which runs between downtown Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro Airport – had set a ridership record of 2,735 passengers in one week. That exceeded the previous record by 23%, Ford said. The AAATA continues to be pleased about the performance of the service. Ford said the AAATA is now gearing up for negotiations with Michigan Flyer to continue the service.

Comm/Comm: Follow-up on Public Commentary

During his report to the board, CEO Michael Ford said that staff had followed up on some comments made during public commentary at the board’s Dec. 19, 2013 meeting. The criteria for A-Ride qualification were clarified to the speaker’s satisfaction, Ford reported. And in the case of Thomas Partridge’s complaint, Ford said that the AAATA had communicated to SelectRide that the specific requirements in passenger profiles be adhered to.

Comm/Comm: Equity Policy

Reporting out from the planning and development committee, Sue Gott said that the committee conversation about the transit service and fare equity policy had been discussed. She described how staff had presented a terrific draft, saying it was a good “first cut.” It’s part of the AAATA’s effort to comply with federal regulations. Instead of trying to edit the draft as a group, committee members directed staff to take a little more time. The committee would see an updated policy at a future meeting. The policy would be helpful in looking at the five-year transit improvement plan and the equity issues associated with that, she said.

During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Jim Mogensen mentioned that he’d said he was going to provide comments on the draft equity policy, which he’d done. He’d sent his comments by email, but was also giving staff printed copies at the meeting, he said. Mogensen suggested setting up an email address just for providing feedback on that equity policy.

Comm/Comm: Finances

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Anya Dale noted that ExpressRide had seen a reduction of expenses due to the elimination of one route to Chelsea.

AAATA controller Phil Webb.

During question time, board treasurer Eli Cooper asked AAATA controller Phil Webb about the fact that the amount in operating reserves is a “scooch below” the board policy’s of three months. [Financial records included in the board packet show that the current level of the reserves equates to 2.9 months – or $276,102 less than the amount corresponding to a 3-month reserve.] Cooper asked Webb to help the board understand where the 3-month policy came from and what some of the AAATA’s peer agencies might have in the way of operating reserve policies.

Webb said that historically it had been board policy to keep at least 2 months but not more than 5 months worth of operating reserve. The upper limit was then eliminated and the lower limit was moved to 3 months, he said. That was back in 2007 before the economy took a hit.

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) sets policy for a lot of different areas, and one of those is a reserve policy, Webb explained. GFOA recommends anywhere from 15% to 20% of annual expenses as an operating reserve. The 20% level would be 2.4 months, Webb said. So the AAATA’s board policy of 3 months is a little more conservative than that. As the AAATA expands and offers more services, Webb continued, it means “chasing” that reserve requirement because it increases as total operational costs increase.

The reserves are there, Webb said, in part because state and federal funding haven’t always been timely. The state had cut back a little bit just a year ago, he noted, so the AAATA didn’t have to panic – because they had reserves to deal with the funding reduction. And when the federal government shut down for two weeks last year, the AAATA didn’t have to panic, he said.

Cooper thanked Webb for the background, saying it was an issue that the PMER committee should look at. Clearly the nation and this community have been through some difficult times, Cooper said, and the reserve policy has served the AAATA well. Webb had set the table well, Cooper said, so that the issue could be addressed in the months ahead.

Comm/Comm: Blake Transit Center: Basic Construction

In reporting out from the planning and development committee, Sue Gott noted the committee had received an update about the Blake Transit Center construction. From minutes of the Jan. 7, 2014 PDC committee meeting:

Terry Black reported that the interior of the new BTC building is progressing nicely.

The second floor of the BTC is nearing completion and contractors will be installing doors and carpeting next week. The canopy structure is up and glass will be installed soon. The concrete work, however, is not expected to be complete until spring due to the early onset of hard winter weather conditions. The building itself is slated for completion by the second week in February and will become available for public use while the concrete work on the drive is being completed. Terry reported that the project still remains within budget.

Comm/Comm: Blake Transit Center: Public Art

Sue Gott reported that the planning and development committee had received an update on the public art project that will be a part of the new Blake Transit Center building.

From minutes of the Jan. 7, 2014 PDC committee meeting:

Dawn Gabay reported that two finalists have been selected to develop draft concepts for the BTC Art Project. The concepts are to be submitted by January 17 and will be on public display at the Ann Arbor District Library from January 20 through February 3. Public comments will be accepted during this time. The winning artist will then be awarded a contract to create the actual art work for the building.

Comm/Comm: MPTA

At the start of the Jan. 16 meeting, board chair Charles Griffith noted that one casualty of the bad weather that evening was the scheduled presentation from representatives of the Michigan Public Transit Association (MPTA) – Clark Harder, director of the MPTA, and Dusty Fancher, who’s the MPTA’s legislative consultant. [The MPTA is a nonprofit statewide association of public transit providers.]

The MPTA presentation has been rescheduled for March. Griffith quipped that maybe the MPTA representatives would have more to say by then.

Present: Charles Griffith, Eric Mahler, Eli Cooper, Sue Gott, Anya Dale, Gillian Ream Gainsley, Jack Bernard. Also: Larry Krieg.

Absent: Roger Kerson, Susan Baskett.

Next regular meeting: Thursday, Feb. 20, 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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AATA strategic planner Michael Benham sets a stack of draft reports on the table at the AATA’s April 26 special board meeting, held at its headquarters on South Industrial Highway. (Photos by the writer.)

The draft plan is to be reviewed by the public for a 30-day period. Eventually, a final plan will be adopted by the AATA after incorporating public feedback and consultation with an as-yet unincorporated board of a countywide authority.

Like the task force recommendations, the AATA’s April 26 draft service and funding plan stops short of recommending a new tax to fund additional services. However, the draft plan does identify 0.5 mills as the countywide tax rate that would be needed to cover the $32 million gap between revenues and costs for expanded service. One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. The draft plan also provides a program of overall fare increases as well as differentiated ticketing for specific services – like service on express routes, or discounted fares for families.

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.

Publication of a final funding and service plan is a required step in a framework that could lead to the formation of a new transit authority, tentatively being called the Washtenaw Area Transportation Authority. The new authority would have broader representation, funding and coverage area than the AATA. The “four-party agreement” framework under which the transition could take place has been ratified by only one of the four parties – Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor city council voted 7-4 at its March 5, 2012 meeting to ratify the agreement.

As a party to the agreement and the initiator of the process, the AATA board is expected to ratify it in the near future. The Ypsilanti city council is expected to take up the issue after the May 8 election, when Ypsilanti voters will make a decision on a city income tax and a bond issuance to cover debts associated with the Water Street property. Washtenaw County is the fourth party to the agreement.

In another action item on the short April 26 agenda, the board authorized the purchase of a six-foot strip of land from the city of Ann Arbor, adjacent to the Blake Transit Center. The acquisition of the land will allow the AATA to reconfigure the new Blake Transit Center (now expected to start construction in the fall of 2012) with a transit center on the southeastern corner of the parcel, on Fifth Avenue. The Ann Arbor city council had authorized the $90,000 sale last year at its Sept. 19, 2011 meeting.

In an item added late to the agenda, the board also authorized a change order to a painting contract for the expanded part of the AATA bus storage area that’s being constructed. To the original $66,187 contract, the board added another $68,000 to include the cost of painting the pre-existing portion of the structure, as well as the cleaning and surface preparation of the pre-existing area.

5-Year Service/Funding Plan Draft

AATA strategic planner Michael Benham summarized for the board the table of contents of the draft report. He noted that the report had been distributed to board members.

The five sets of services – which Benham characterized as the “heart of the plan” – are as follows: (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.

Subsequent chapters, Benham said, describe fares and ticketing, and an analysis by district of the different types of services each area would get. Also addressed in a subsequent chapter are other ongoing planning issues that continue to merit the AATA’s attention – even in the first five years of the plan. Implementation issues are also addressed in a subsequent chapter, Benham said.

The appendices, Benham explained, include “a ton of details” from schedules for various services, in many cases the routes, and detailed district-by-district descriptions of the program. He called the board’s attention to the fact that the maps included in the initial draft would be improved on – in terms of their image resolution.

The draft plan will now go out to the district advisory committees, which have scheduled meetings so far as follows:

• Tuesday, May 1, 7–9 p.m. South Central District (Saline Senior Center, 7190 N. Maple Road, Saline)
• Wednesday, May 9, 6–8 p.m. West District (Washington Street Education Center, 500 Washington St., Chelsea)
• Thursday, May 10, 6:30–8:30 p.m. Southeast District (Lincoln High School, 7525 Willis Road, Ypsilanti)
• Monday, May 14, 7–9 p.m., Ann Arbor District (Mallets Creek branch library, 3090 E. Eisenhower Parkway, Ann Arbor)
• Tuesday, May 15, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Northeast District (Superior Township Hall, 3040 N. Prospect, Ypsilanti)
• Wednesday, May 16, 7–9 p.m. North Central District (Scio Township Hall, 827 N. Zeeb Road, Scio Township)
• Thursday, May 17, 7–9 p.m. Pittsfield District (Pittsfield Senior Center, 701 W. Ellsworth Road, Pittsfield Township)
• TBD Ypsilanti District

5-Year Plan Draft: Public Comment

5-Year Plan Draft: Board Deliberations

Other than the board’s congratulatory remarks and expressions of appreciation, deliberations focused on: (1) clarification of the significance of the draft report release; (2) funding for continued planning of high-capacity transit projects that cannot be constructed without additional state or federal funds; and (3) questions about implications for fares.

5-Year Plan Draft: Board Deliberations – What Does it Mean?

Board member David Nacht led off the board discussion by asking about the legal significance of the board passing this resolution: What does that actually mean? Michael Ford, AATA’s CEO, explained that the board was simply releasing the document to the public for a 30-day review period. Nacht confirmed that the board was saying this is the draft version of the plan for how the AATA wants to expand the system in the first five years. He wanted to know if that plan was based on an additional 0.5 mill tax countywide.

Michael Benham responded to Nacht’s question by explaining that the plan’s budget is consistent with the revenue levels that would be generated from a 0.5 mill countywide tax level. However, Benham continued, like the financial task force’s recommendation, the draft plan that the board was voting to release stops short of recommending a millage as a funding source.

Nacht noted that when the board was considering the 30-year plan initially (as opposed to just the first five years of the plan), the board had contemplated 1 mill. Given that this report has services that would be funded through just 0.5 mill, he ventured that it “cuts out” some projects.

5-Year Plan Draft: Board Deliberations – Other Non-Local Projects?

At that point, board chair Jesse Bernstein interjected that the plan does not cut out anything, but rather separates out projects that would require state and federal money that the AATA does not yet know if it’s going to get. So, continued Bernstein, what the AATA is saying to the public is: This is what we can assure you we can do, if we get this amount of money. The 30-year transit master plan has not changed, Bernstein stressed, and when the funding becomes evident, then the AATA will be able to implement the rest of the program.

AATA board chair Jesse Bernstein.

Nacht asked if the five-year plan includes the items for which funds are not yet identified as a kind of “wish list.” Yes, Bernstein said, that’s Chapter 10 in the report.

Eli Cooper said that as a professional transportation planner, he understood that the plan for services is funded. But planning also costs money, he said. Although he often says that planning is cheap, that’s only relative to delivering a capital project, Cooper said. Even though it’s cheap compared to building a capital project, it still costs real money, he cautioned.

It’s his understanding, Cooper said, that the Federal Transit Administration has provided some funding for a specific alternatives analysis project. [Subsequent remarks indicated that Cooper meant the Ann Arbor connector study – which is looking at a high-capacity connector in a boomerang-shaped corridor between Plymouth Road and US-23 southward down through the University of Michigan campuses and central Ann Arbor to State Street and I-94. The board got at update on that project at its Jan. 20, 2011 meeting.]

Cooper wanted to know where in the draft report he could find a recommended local matching share so that the AATA could continue to receive the federal funds to continue that planning study.

Benham indicated that the draft report doesn’t contain a specific discussion of local versus federal funding, but in Chapter 10 it talks about high-capacity transit lines and the need to continue to plan those. But the plan does not say that a certain amount of money is allocated to match federal funding. Bernstein indicated that this would be a topic of discussion at the board’s retreat on May 16 – which will combine a regular meeting with longer-term planning. That’s where Cooper would get a guarantee that the local match would be there, Bernstein said. Cooper indicated that he was not looking for a guarantee, rather just trying to understand what’s in the report.

Charles Griffith indicated that the issue identified by Cooper is part of the normal budget process. While the local matching share for those studies can amount to a substantial amount of money, it’s not on the scale that would be laid out in the draft plan they were voting to release. Michael Ford indicated that there would need to be a discussion about what the AATA’s portion of the local match would be. Benham indicated that in connection with the five-year plan, there’d be an annual element that will be very specific in its detail, which would then become synonymous with the budget.

The concern expressed by Cooper to continue to fund the planning for future high-capacity projects was reflected also in the April 10 minutes of the AATA board’s planning and development committee:

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).

5-Year Plan Draft: Board Deliberations – Fares

Griffith asked for a quick summary of the fares discussed in the report. Benham began by distinguishing between fares and ticketing. Fare levels were recommended by the financial task force to increase in overall level – cash fare would increase over the five-year period from $1.50 to $2.00. The AATA could accept that recommendation or not, Benham said. The report contains an analysis of the revenue impacts as well as the ridership impacts. The board would need to have a policy discussion about the level of fares and desirability of raising the level.

Also described in the report are a variety of new, different ticketing types, Benham said. For example, evening tickets would be priced in a way that’s attractive to people who don’t use the system on a regular basis. Also proposed is a family fare ticket. The rationale behind the family ticket is that when you add riders to transit, typically each additional person costs more to ride. Adding additional passengers to a car doesn’t cost more for each person. So the idea is to make the price for a group trip affordable for families on the weekends. Also proposed is a weekly fare, Benham said.

5-Year Plan Draft: Board Deliberations – Support, Thanks

Cooper indicated he’d support the resolution and took the opportunity to congratulate the staff and the project team for developing an excellent document. He encouraged the public to take time to go through the details. There’s a lot of dense information in the report and the appendices. The purpose of moving it forward is for public review and questions. There’s a connection between the services, the fare structure and other costs, which are all woven together in the fabric of the report.

Left to right: AATA board members David Nacht, Charles Griffith and Eli Cooper.

As the AATA shares the document with the public, he said, the reaction in one area or another might “pull on the tapestry” a little bit, where the AATA might have to make changes. That’s the purpose of the report – it’s not the final statement. He complimented the team that had produced the report, because the document really does weave together the elements to make the type of system people have discussed for years. Releasing the report, Cooper said, is for the purpose of continuing the dialogue under the same transparent process it had already evolved. He looked forward to the work the board would get back from the community in the coming month.

Bernstein agreed with Cooper and extended his appreciation to the staff. The fact that the board scheduled a special meeting to release the report reflects that the AATA wanted to take the time to make sure the report is as good as it can be, he said. There will be ongoing input and changes as the process goes forward, he said. Bernstein noted he’d served on the board almost four years, and he’s still learning about transit. He imagined it would be overwhelming for the public to digest a report like this. He hoped that the AATA could continue educating people and that people would also reach out to find out what’s going on.

Nacht also expressed appreciation to the staff. He noted he’d looked at an earlier draft of the report and made suggestions. His suggestions were not incorporated verbatim – but he could see the impact (on some commuter express services) so that he could tell that serious thinking was done in response to his comments. That’s all a lay board member can ask, he ventured – that board members’ ideas are taken seriously and the professionals look at those ideas. “I’m blown away by the level of detail,” he said. Rather than being overwhelmed, he said, if he were a member of the public or a local township official, he’d pull out the schedules and the maps for his district and say, “Hey! Does this make sense?” And he’d make sure that people went to the district meetings. He concluded that he was very impressed.

Griffith noted that the AATA has been out in the community for almost two years. He’s now excited to hear what people think about the draft plan. He assumed some small changes would need to be made, but hopefully not big changes. He reiterated that he’s really excited to hear how people respond. He hoped it will prove out that the AATA has done its work right and that people will be excited to see what the AATA has come up with.

Bernstein hoped the public remembers that this draft five-year plan is part of a 30-year plan. Transit can’t be implemented overnight. Successful transit systems across the county have taken decades to implement, he said. Some things will be implemented if the AATA has the money, but he said that public input would be ongoing. The district advisory groups would be in place forever. He hoped that those groups would establish a culture of filling the AATA in on what it needs to do to make the system better.

CEO Michael Ford reciprocated the thanks that the board had expressed to the staff by saying he appreciated all the board members’ help.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the release of the draft five-year service and funding plan.

Land Purchase

The board also considered a resolution authorizing the purchase of a six-foot-wide strip of land from the city of Ann Arbor, which will allow the AATA to reconfigure the new Blake Transit Center with a transit center on the southeastern corner of the parcel, on Fifth Avenue. The Ann Arbor city council had authorized the $90,000 sale last year at its Sept. 19, 2011 meeting. The $90,000 sale price of the 792-square-feet of land was determined to be the fair market value by an independent appraisal.

This AATA-owned parcel, where Blake Transit Center is located, sits in the middle of the block bounded by Fourth and Fifth avenues on the west and east, and by Liberty and William streets on the north and south. (Image links to higher resolution view.)

At the council’s meeting, one concern expressed was whether the sale of the strip might have a negative impact on the value of the larger parcel, at Fifth & William, the former location of the YMCA building. The city owns the property and would eventually like to see the parcel developed with a different use from its current one – a surface parking lot. The city council was advised that the sale of the strip was not thought to have a negative impact on the value of the larger parcel.

At a public participation meeting on the new BTC, held at the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library later in the evening on April 26, the expected construction start of the new center was described as the fall 0f 2012, with completion of the project by June of 2013. The project will next be reviewed by the city planning commission, possibly at its May 15 meeting. The plan has already undergone a review by the city’s design review board (DRB). Some DRB members wanted the AATA to consider maintaining the current placement of the building on the site, on the northwest corner. Other feedback from the DRB included a suggestion for better articulation of entrances to the building and more attention to the pedestrian experience through the site. [.pdf of DRB report]

During public commentary at the AATA’s April 26 meeting, Edward Vielmetti congratulated the AATA on coming to an agreement with the city of Ann Arbor on the transfer of real property, without causing tremendous amounts of drama. The ability to move a six-foot-wide strip of land through an appraisal process is something to take some pride in, he said.

At the AATA’s April 26 meeting, CEO Michael Ford indicated that ordinarily he could authorized the land purchase under his own authority [for contracts up to $100,000].

But because it involves the purchase of land, it needs to be approved by the board, he said. To move forward with the Blake Transit Center reconstruction, the six-foot strip of land was needed, Ford said.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the land purchase, with abstention by Eli Cooper. Cooper is employed by the city as its transportation program manager.

Land Purchase: Abstention

Eli Cooper abstained from the vote on the land purchase because he’s an employee of the city of Ann Arbor, the entity from which the land is being purchased. There was a moment of indecision about whether the motion had actually passed – with just three affirmative votes. [Three of seven board members were absent.]

According to AATA staff, the board’s bylaws indicate that a majority of members present is needed to pass a resolution, not a majority of board members who serve on the board.

The draft articles of incorporation of the possible new transit authority differ in that respect: “Decisions of the Board of Directors require a majority vote of the Directors appointed and serving at a Board meeting having a quorum present.”

It’s not clear that Cooper was legally required to abstain from the vote. A similar issue has arisen in connection with contracts between the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and the city of Ann Arbor. At the May 5, 2010 DDA board meeting, a question was raised about the participation of mayor John Hieftje and city councilmember Sandi Smith in a vote they’d be taking as DDA board members.

When the DDA board resolution took the form of a grant to the city, legal counsel for the DDA – Jerry Lax, of Pear Sperling Eggan & Daniels – analyzed the situation as requiring Smith and Hieftje to recuse themselves, which they did. But when the resolution was on a contract between the DDA and the city, he analyzed their participation as conforming with Act 317 of 1968 ”Contracts of Public Servants with Public Entities.”

The statute prohibits public servants from soliciting contracts with entities by whom they are employed:

(2) Except as provided in section 3, a public servant shall not directly or indirectly solicit any contract between the public entity of which he or she is an officer or employee and any of the following: (a) Him or herself. (b) Any firm, meaning a co-partnership or other unincorporated association, of which he or she is a partner, member, or employee. [...]

However, there is a specific exemption for contracts between two public entities [emphasis added]:

15.324 Public servants; contracts excepted; violation as felony. Sec. 4. (1) The prohibitions of section 2 shall not apply to any of the following: (a) Contracts between public entities.

Lax also serves as legal counsel for the AATA.

Bus Garage Painting

The board considered a change order to a painting contract for the expanded part of the AATA bus storage area that’s been constructed. To the original $66,187 contract, the board added another $68,000 to include the cost of painting the pre-existing portion of the structure, as well as the cleaning and surface preparation of the pre-existing area.

Terry Black, AATA manager of maintenance, said the request for the change order was in conjunction with the bus storage garage expansion. The contractor will be painting the expansion portion of the garage. That will leave half the existing area dull and dingy, he said. He can’t use capital funds to do painting of the existing section, he explained.

So what he’s requesting is to use operating funds. Year to date, he’s spent $96,000 of his facility maintenance budget. He has $323,000 for the entire year – at roughly the halfway point. [AATA's fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.] Typically, he said, he would be in the hole at this time of year, because of winter snow removal, but he’s in pretty good shape, he said. So he has $226,000 left in the approved FY 2012 budget. He wants to take a portion of that to paint the other half of the garage. It’s been 10 years since anything has been done to it, Black said. The 10 years of accumulation from buses idling has an impact.

David Nacht very much appreciated the clarification that it’s repurposing existing funds and there’s no budgetary impact. CEO Michael Ford said that if board members took the opportunity to look at the improvements that had been made to the bus storage and maintenance area, he felt they’d be impressed. Black gave board members a quick tour immediately following the meeting.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the resolution on painting the garage.

Bus Garage Painting: Quick Tour

After the April 26 special meeting, AATA manager of maintenance Terry Black took board members on a quick inspection of the work they’d recently authorized, including the new bus storage facility and new hoists.

On the left is the newly constructed portion of the bus storage area. On the right is the pre-existing portion, which will also be painted, based on the AATA board’s April 26 resolution.

AATA manager of maintenance Terry Black explains to board members how the new bus hoist is controlled.

This new hoist is long enough to accommodate articulated buses, if the AATA eventually acquires such vehicles. The external, above-ground posts allows for washing of a bus chassis, without having the contaminants from the wash run down into the inner workings of the lift. That’s a negative impact of washing buses using a bus hoist with below-ground lifting mechanisms.

Public Commentary

At its April 26 meeting, the board entertained commentary from the public as required under Michigan’s Open Meetings Act. AATA board meetings include two opportunities for public comment, one toward the beginning of meetings (restricted to commentary on agenda items) and one at the conclusion of meetings.

Comm/Comm: Scheduling Data

During public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, Edward Vielmetti told the board he rides the #5, #6, #4, #22 and other bus routes. He said he uses the Mobile RideTrak to see how early he is for the next bus. A few years ago, he said, he’d requested from the AATA under the Freedom of Information Act the set of data that the AATA regularly uploads to Google – the Google Transit Feed Specification (GTFS). After some labor he’d received the data on a CD. He pointed out that it’s possible technically to put the data online so that as long as the terms and conditions are met, anyone can download it. It wouldn’t be real-time data, but rather an enhanced digital version of what the current schedule would be.

So Vielmetti asked the board to consider publishing the data that is already provided to a wealthy company based in California [Google] on the same terms to anyone who wanted it. One additional reason to care, beyond knowing where the nearest bus stop is: Other data sources like Walk Score use the proximity of bus stops as a proxy for how walkable an area is.

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

Absent: Sue Gott, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale.

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

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