CEO Michael Ford listens to public commentary at the Aug. 21 meeting of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board. (Photos by the writer.)

Two items on the board’s voting agenda related at least indirectly to the leadership transition that the AAATA will be making. First, the board approved a resolution authorizing board chair Charles Griffith to appoint an ad hoc subcommittee to conduct a search for Ford’s replacement. The resolution approved by the board at its Aug. 21 meeting also authorized $50,000 for consulting services to help with the search.

Griffith said he has asked board members Anya Dale, Gillian Ream Gainsley and Eric Mahler to serve with him on the search committee, citing a desire to have a mix of board experience and geographic diversity represented on that group.

Second, the board approved the AAATA’s FY 2015 work plan, which will provide the basis for the FY 2015 budget. The budget will appear on the board’s Sept. 25 agenda for approval. The AAATA’s fiscal year runs from October through September. At the Aug. 21 meeting, Sue Gott credited Ford with developing the work plan, saying it would be valuable as a blueprint for the transition in leadership.

A major decision on the choice of bus technology might be made after Ford departs the AAATA in mid-October. Although the board approved a 5-year bus procurement contract with Gillig, and authorized an order for the first 27 of up to 60 buses called for in the 5-year contract, the board left the choice of drive-train technology open – between hybrid electric technology and clean diesel. The upfront capital cost difference is $200,000 per bus more for the hybrid technology. That final choice of technology will need to be made by the November board meeting.

Also at its Aug. 21 meeting, the board amended its pension plan to recognize same-sex marriages, which stemmed from a Supreme Court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act and the IRS ruling that resulted from that decision.

The board chose to delay approval of new service standards, which are a required element of AAATA’s Title VI compliance. The board can meet the Federal Transit Administration deadlines for submission of its Title VI materials if it approves the new service standards at its September board meeting.

Board members also received an update on the progress being made in a Michigan Dept. of Transportation environmental assessment of a project that could implement active traffic management (ATM) of the US-23 corridor. The project includes the idea of allowing vehicles to use the median shoulder during peak demand periods. The MDOT presentation included a visit from former AAATA board member Paul Ajegba, who is region engineer for MDOT’s University Region – a 10-county area that includes Livingston and Washtenaw counties. If The Chronicle publishes coverage of that presentation, it will be in a separate report.

The Aug. 21 meeting was held in the boardroom at the AAATA headquarters on South Industrial, instead of the usual location, which is the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library. The downtown library on South Fifth Avenue was closed in connection with the repair of its public elevator.

Transition

Much of the meeting reflected the theme of transition, as it had been known for several weeks that Ford was likely to take the job that had been offered to him by the southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority. Ford will depart the AAATA in mid-October to take the post as the first CEO of the RTA. Ford formally tendered his resignation on Aug. 21, 2014.

Ford was picked for the job as CEO of the RTA three months ago, on May 21, 2014. The RTA board approved Ford’s contract on Aug. 20, 2014. Ford’s announcement as a finalist and his selection for the RTA job came amid the AAATA’s successful campaign for a new millage to fund additional transportation services in the geographic area of the member jurisdictions of the AAATA – the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township. That millage was approved by voters on May 6, 2014.

The AAATA board had awarded Ford a raise at its June 10, 2014 meeting, based on a performance evaluation completed at its May 15, 2014 meeting, which came 11 days after the successful May 6 transit millage vote.

The RTA was established by the state legislature in late 2012, and includes Detroit and the four-county region of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland.

Ford was hired by the AAATA in 2009.

Transition: Aug. 21 Opening Remarks

Board chair Charles Griffith led off the meeting with the “communications and announcements” agenda item asking, “Does anybody have anything to say?” Michael Ford’s response was “I do!” That drew some laughs from around the board table.

Ford stated: “It’s probably no secret by now, it’s kind of the moment everybody has been waiting for – I am going to be accepting a position with the RTA as the CEO there… I appreciated my time here. We have done a lot. And I’m really honored and privileged to be, and to have been the CEO here. It’s been a big deal to me. We have done a lot in the community. I want to thank my board – you guys have been tremendous, helping guide us and get us where we are. … I would also like to thank the staff, my senior staff and others, the operators, the facility folks, the mechanics who make everything go every single day, a very important part of this organization and the face of this organization.”

Ford singled out administrative assistant Karen Wheeler for special thanks, calling her “the glue, my rock.” Ford’s remarks elicited applause from the board and staff.

Griffith responded to Ford’s remarks by telling him, “We are going to miss you terribly. We didn’t want you to go but if you were to go anywhere, the RTA was our top pick. So you’ll still be working with us.” Ford replied to Griffith by saying that he would not forget where he came from.

Griffith told Ford that the board would have a couple of months to get some more work out of him related to the transition.

Transition: Public Commentary

During public commentary time at the start of the meeting, Thomas Partridge introduced himself as an advocate for all of those riders who need the representation of a strong CEO and strong leadership of the AAATA administration in order to ameliorate longstanding policies that are adverse to providing the best possible service to seniors and disabled persons. He was there to compliment CEO Michael Ford and the work that Ford had done to achieve greater recognition for seniors and disabled persons, but Partridge stated that there was much work left to be done. So he was calling on the board to redouble its efforts during the interim – to provide the leadership necessary to remove problems associated with the use of the system by seniors and disabled persons – whether it is using the A-Ride paratransit system, the Good as Gold system for seniors, or simply riding the buses.

Transition: LAC

Cheryl Webber gave the report from the local advisory council (LAC) for Rebecca Burke, who’d sent along her regrets that she was unable to attend the meeting. LAC is a body that advises the AAATA on issues related to the disability community as well as seniors. Webber thanked Michael Ford for his service and his ability to empower the AAATA staff to go forward with the visions that are going to build the agency’s future.

Transition: AAATA Search Committee

The board considered a resolution authorizing board chair Charles Griffith to appoint an ad hoc subcommittee to conduct a search for a replacement for outgoing CEO Michael Ford.

The resolution considered by the board at its Aug. 21 meeting also approved $50,000 for consulting services to help with the search.

When the board reached the voting item on the agenda, Charles Griffith noted that the item had been recommended by the AAATA’s governance committee. He allowed that the board had been aware for quite some time of the possibility that Ford would be taking the new position with the RTA. So the resolution would allow him to establish a search committee.

Griffith said the governance committee thinks it’s a good idea to hire a search firm to assist, saying that it worked pretty well with the selection of Ford about five years ago. [The governance committee, under the AAATA bylaws, consists of the board chair, the CEO and the chairs of the other standing committees of the board. Roger Kerson is chair of the performance monitoring and external relations committee; and Sue Gott is chair of the planning and development committee.] Griffith said the board wanted to do this expeditiously, venturing it would probably take longer than the 60 days that Ford had left working for the AAATA.

Gott thanked Griffith as chair for the amount of time that he put in to position the AAATA to make the transition. Susan Baskett asked if there was an estimated timeframe or desired timeframe for making an offer saying, “We’ve got to shoot for something.”

Griffith ventured that the search firm would help the AAATA figure that out. He said the board had taken more time with Ford’s selection than it had actually been comfortable with. That’s why they wanted to address this in as expedited a way as possible. The search firm needed to be brought on board in order to come up with a realistic timeframe. He hoped that it would not take longer than three months, but he was not yet confident that’s the answer that the board would get from the search firm.

Baskett asked if the specifications for a search firm had been prepared by the search committee. Griffith understood the question to be about the composition of the search committee – and said he was prepared to appoint members to the committee. He said he was looking for a balance of experience on the board and geographic diversity from the membership. Later in the meeting, Anya Dale, Eric Mahler and Gillian Ream Gainsley were named by Griffith as the other board members beside himself that he had asked to serve on the search committee.

When Baskett clarified her question, Griffith noted that the Federal Transit Administration had strict guidelines, and one of the first jobs that the committee would have with the search firm that’s selected would be to come up with the criteria for the new CEO. But he was not sure that there had been any specific criteria applied to the RFP (request for proposals) for the search firm – except that the firm needed to have experience with transit and experience specifically with executive management.

There had been a list with 17 different firms that the AAATA had use the last time it conducted this process, Griffith said. His recollection was that five or six bids come back from that RFP. The AAATA was pretty happy with the firm that it eventually selected.

Roger Kerson ventured that it’s important that the process be expeditious, but getting it right was also very important. It’s not something the board wanted to do every year, he quipped. He wanted the process to be speedy but also deliberate.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to authorize the board chair to form a search committee and hire a search firm.

Transition: FY 2015 Work Plan

Appearing on the board’s Aug. 21 agenda was approval of the 2015 work plan. [2015 AAATA work plan]

Highlights of new items include measurements of service performance – an initiative that comes in the context of additional transportation services to be offered starting Aug. 24. Those services will be funded with proceeds from a new millage that voters approved on May 6, 2014.

Another highlight is the construction of a walkway across the block between Fourth Avenue and Fifth Avenue – on the north side of the parcel where the new Blake Transit Center has been constructed. The reorientation of the new transit center to the south side of the parcel makes it possible to contemplate the walkway along the north side, which abuts the Federal Building. According to CEO Michael Ford’s regular written report to the board for August, he has made a funding request from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority to pay for construction of the pedestrian walkway.

When the board reached the item on its voting agenda, Ford noted that the green-highlighted text reflected changes from the previous year’s work plan. He ventured that the plan had been dealt with fairly thoroughly. He told the board he could answer any questions, noting that the FY 2015 budget would need to support the work plan. [The FY 2015 budget will appear on the board's September agenda. The AAATA's fiscal year runs from October through September.]

Sue Gott asked Ford to give a one-minute set of highlights from the work plan. Putting the new service on the street now and for the rest of the year was really important, Ford replied. In connection with the board’s discussion about the choice of drive-train technology – clean diesel or hybrid electric – Ford noted that the work plan includes an item that would have the AAATA develop an environment policy. The AAATA had just constructed a new LEED-compliant transit center and has hybrids in its fleet, but did not have an overall environmental strategy, so the work plan was meant to address that.

Ford also highlighted in the work plan a possible redesign of the Ypsilanti Transit Center to increase lobby space and improve the bathrooms. Space needs were another highlight for the AAATA’s work plan. Ford noted that the AAATA was hiring additional drivers, and would need to have space for them. Some runs might need to be started out of Ypsilanti in the near future, he ventured.

Service performance standards were another item in the work plan highlighted by Ford. Following the work plan had been a good guide for the AAATA, Ford ventured. He credited the board and board member Sue Gott for helping the AAATA achieve the work plan.

Gott said she wanted to credit Ford with the work plan, and the reason she wanted to highlight it was this: Despite the transition in leadership, Ford was leaving the board with a very solid blueprint. The work plan was tremendous work that Ford and the staff had created, Gott said. It would be key to helping the board have a smooth transition.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the FY 2015 work plan.

Transition: Board Officers

Board chair Charles Griffith also noted that under the AAATA board bylaws, board officers needed to be voted on at the September board meeting. He indicated that he would be asking some board member or possibly board members to act as the nominating committee for board officers for this year. He invited board members to contact him if they had any interest in doing that. The other two current officers are: Eli Cooper (treasurer); and Anya Dale (secretary). Roger Kerson is chair of the performance monitoring and external relations committee; and Sue Gott is chair of the planning and development committee.

The AAATA’s typical pattern is to elect the same chair for at least two years and then rotate to a different board member. Griffith is winding up his second year as chair.

Bus Procurement

On the board’s agenda were two items related to procurement of up to 60 new buses – a 5-year contract for purchase of the buses from Gillig LLC, and an order for the first 27 buses. The total cost of each bus will be between $444,000 and $662,500, depending on the length, drive system and options. That puts the total value of the contract with Gillig at a figure between $26.6 million and $39.7 million.

Of the 60 buses, 20 would be new, additional buses that are needed for the expansion of services the AAATA is offering as of Aug. 24. Those services will be funded with proceeds from a new millage authorized by voters on May 6, 2014. The other buses will replace existing buses that are nearing the end of their useful life.

The large spread between the minimum and maximum cost per bus is due to the incremental price difference between a hybrid electric drive system and a conventional clean diesel drive, which is nearly $200,000. According to the minutes of the Aug. 12, 2014 meeting of the AAATA’s planning and development committee, the extra cost of a hybrid bus over the life of the bus is $138,604. That figure includes cost comparison data relating to the upfront capital and fuel costs of both technologies.

Of the AAATA’s existing 80 buses, 52 use hybrid technology. The ongoing debate among AAATA board members on the choice of technology is based in part on the AAATA’s own experience with hybrid buses. The 5-year warranty has expired on the AAATA’s oldest hybrids, which has required a contingency budget for their future repairs. And manufacturers have now shortened their warranty periods for new hybrid buses from five to two years. That shorter warranty period will translate into greater costs to the AAATA for repairs.

According to AAATA staff cited in the PDC meeting minutes, the hybrid buses’ lower emission levels are a benefit of hybrid technology. However, the Environmental Protection Agency’s ongoing emission reduction standards now ensure that all new transit buses – whether hybrid or conventional – have very low emissions. On average, hybrid buses run at a noise level of 72 dB(A) compared to 75 dB(A) for conventional buses.

So the AAATA board has not yet made a final decision on the choice between hybrid technology and conventional clean diesel. The order for the first 27 buses from Gillig – which was also given approval at the board’s Aug. 21 meeting – leaves open the decision on the choice of technology. Of the 27 that are being ordered, 14 are replacement buses and 13 are buses needed for the service expansion.

The board would need to act by November 2014 on choosing the technology for the bus order. The choice to order hybrid technology could be based on the identification of grants that might pay for the cost differential of that technology. Delivery of the buses is planned for October 2015.

Here’s how the bus acquisition schedule breaks down:

              OCT   FEB   JAN   JAN   OCT  
Purpose      2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  TOT
============================================== 
Rplcmt buses
(now elig)     4                             4                          
Rplcmt buses 
(elig 11/15)  10           5     4          19
Rplcmt buses
(elig 11/19)                           15   15 
5YTIP Svc Exp 
(8/2015)       4                             4
5YTIP Svc Exp        
(6/2016)             9                       9
5YTIP Svc Exp  
(8/2017)                   7                 7 
==============================================
TOTAL                                       58

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Bus Procurement: Aug. 21 Meeting Discussion

During public commentary at the start of the meeting, Jim Mogensen told the board he supported the staff analysis of the technology choice for the new buses – which was clean diesel.

Gillian Ream Gainsley gave the report from the planning and development committee. She described the meeting as “inspired.” The committee had discussed the clean diesel versus hybrid technology for the drivetrains for the new buses that are being ordered. She noted that of the 27 buses, 14 were replacing conventional diesel buses and the other 13 buses would be for the service expansion.

The committee had received a presentation from staff, she said. One thing the committee had learned was that the new lower-emission diesel buses are quite different from the conventional diesel buses that are currently in the AAATA’s fleet. Emissions are a lot lower than they used to be, and the noise levels are lower than they used to be, but they’re a bit higher than hybrid technology. The up-front purchase cost is roughly $200,000 greater, she noted, and that cost differential is not made up over the life of the bus in fuel savings. So the committee had a lengthy discussion about the pros and cons of those different options. She said the AAATA want to be environmentally responsible but they also want to be fiscally responsible.

The committee had asked staff in that discussion to come up with some projections about combinations of buses, possibly keeping a ratio of hybrid to conventional buses that is consistent with the ratio in the current fleet, Ream Gainsley said. The committee had put off a decision on technology, but she noted that the buses needed to be ordered. So the committee had approved an order to purchase buses, but had put off a decision on exactly what combination of hybrid and clean diesels.

There had been some discussion also about the bus procurement contract, Ream Gainsley said. The AAATA was limited by the fact that there are not many vendors in Michigan, so there was only one bid. She noted that there were two companies that were interested and one ended up declining to bid on the contract. As much as the AAATA would love to have more than one bid, when there are only two companies in the state that offer the product, that makes it difficult. So on that basis, the committee had recommended the procurement contract with Gillig.

In his report from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Roger Kerson said his take-away from the discussion of the bus technology was that the gap between performance for the clean diesel and the hybrid technology had diminished over the last few years. He identified as an issue the fact that other agencies are not buying many hybrids, so hybrids are not as prevalent in the industry – and that makes it harder to keep the hybrids in good repair.

CEO Michael Ford distributed a handout to board members on the topic of clean diesel and hybrid drivetrains. In the foreground is board member Susan Baskett.

Kerson noted that AAATA manager of maintenance Terry Black was focused on those maintenance issues, saying the AAATA needs to have service available out of every bus, every hour, every day, and every month. His understanding of the resolution was that it approved the purchase of the buses – and then in December a decision on the drivetrain would be provided to Gillig. That meant that the decision would need to be made by the board in November, he thought. The board did not want to be in a situation where Gillig was waiting for the AAATA board’s December meeting to take place in order to start manufacturing the buses.

So Kerson wanted the board to focus its efforts. As board members they need to focus on the question: What do we still need to know to make this decision? And how can we get these requests in a timely manner to the staff so that the board is not sitting there in October and November and wondering what kind of factors need to be weighed.

During question time, CEO Michael Ford allowed that there had been a lot of discussion about hybrids versus conventional buses. He wanted any other questions or concerns addressed – and he hoped to have any additional feedback from the board by Aug. 31 so that the staff could work on getting those questions answered. He provided board members with a handout of the steps that the staff were working on so that board members’ memories might be jogged for other considerations that board members want staff consider.

Bus Procurement: Five-Year Contract – Board Deliberations

When the board reached the voting item on its agenda, board chair Charles Griffith reviewed how this item was a contract for a five-year plan to acquire additional buses. It was separate from the following resolution that was an actual bus order. He allowed there been some concern about the lack of other bidders, but noted that the AAATA was limited by the number of providers. Gillian Ream Gainsley said she appreciated Michelle Barney’s comment during public commentary about the need for Sunday service and feeder routes.

She said that those routes would eventually be reconfigured, and everyone was eager to see those things happen. The challenge is that the AAATA is limited by how fast buses can be manufactured. This resolution addresses that, she said. It’s a huge contract, and it’s the largest purchase that the agency makes, she noted. She appreciated the fact that staff was ready to get moving on it very quickly after the millage had passed. The board had been asking for a lot of information, because it’s a really big decision. So she appreciated the staff effort to move the process forward as fast as possible, so that the new service can get moving.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the bus procurement contract with Gillig.

Bus Procurement: 27 Buses – Board Deliberations

When the board reached the voting item on the agenda, Charles Griffith noted that the order would be for 27 buses – part of them replacement buses and part of them expansion buses. Griffith allowed that there’d been quite a bit of discussion about which kind of technology to use for the drivetrain. Staff would be doing some additional analysis to help the board with that decision. He felt that the board was committed to making that decision in a timely fashion.

CEO Michael Ford commented that the decision would need to be made by the board’s November meeting.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the bus order for 27 buses.

Same-Sex Pension Benefits

The board considered an amendment to the pension plan of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority – to recognize same-sex marriages and for the terms “spouse,” “husband and wife,” “husband” and “wife” to include a same-sex spouse.

The amendment was to bring the AAATA’s pension policy into compliance with Internal Revenue Service Ruling 2013-17 and IRS Notice 2014-19. Those IRS rulings give guidance on how to implement the U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, which declared Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 to be unconstitutional.

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Roger Kerson described the same-sex pension benefit item as stemming from the fact that the Supreme Court had overthrown the Defense of Marriage Act. Based on that, the Internal Revenue Service had issued a ruling saying that pension plans must recognize any legal same-sex marriage. That meant that the AAATA needed to “true up” its pension plan – otherwise people’s pension contributions would no longer be tax-deductible. And that would be very bad news for everybody in the plan, he said. He was very supportive of the idea that the AAATA would recognize marriage of any employee who had a legal same-sex marriage. He called it pretty much a “no-brainer.”

When the board reached the voting item on its agenda, board chair Charles Griffith echoed Kerson’s sentiment that it was a no-brainer.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to adopt the pension plan amendment.

Title VI Service Standards

The board considered adoption of new service standards as part of the AAATA’s compliance with Title VI. The civil rights legislation – in the context of public transportation – requires, among other things, proof that a service change has no adverse effect on disadvantaged populations. [.pdf of AAATA Title VI Service Standards]

The AAATA’s standards include items like a once-per-hour minimum frequency of fixed-route service and 90% of trips completed within 5 minutes of the scheduled time. Policies include items like bus shelters at bus stops with 50 or more boardings per day where there is no other shelter available and where a shelter is physically and legally feasible.

The required types of standards include:

• Headway or frequency by mode. That is, either bus every x minutes or x buses/hour. There can be a minimum standard or different standards by time of day (peak vs. off-peak) or day of week.
• On-time performance by mode. Can be either for each trip (i.e. at route endpoint), or for each timepoint along the route.
• Service availability by mode. Can be either percent of population within a certain distance of service or maximum stop spacing. Can have different standards based on differences in population density.
• Vehicle load. Expressed as ratio of riders to seats. Can vary by time of day (peak vs. offpeak) or day of week.

Required service policies include those on:

• Distribution of bus stop amenities
  • Benches
  • Shelters
  • Customer information (printed and electronic)
  • Escalators/Elevators
  • Waste receptacles
• Vehicle assignment
  • Age
  • Type (e.g. hybrid)
  • Can be by mode

Title VI Service Standards: Public Comment

During public commentary at the start of the meeting, Jim Mogensen told the board that when he was preparing his remarks that evening he was initially planning to address the bus procurement item – and he was planning to speak in favor of the staff analysis, which recommended clean diesel instead of hybrid technology. But with the addition of the Title VI issue, he felt that he needed to use his three minutes to speak on that particular issue. He did not believe that the standards were yet ready for adoption. He thought it was important for the board to keep in mind a couple of things.

First was the fact that the AAATA has been classified as a very large organization – and is therefore required to do a much more extensive analysis than a regular fixed-route provider on the Federal Transit Administration list. The AAATA was grouped with Flint, CATA and SMART, he said.

Mogensen’s second point was that when service changes are implemented, it assumes that everything is ok right now, which might not be the case. As an example, one of the standards is the headway (time between buses). The AAATA’s standard says that there will be a minimum headway of 60 minutes, he noted. But for a very long time that has been the minimum headway, he noted – for all of the bus routes. That doesn’t address the issue of differences between minority routes and non-minority routes with respect to that standard. Mogensen felt that those issues had not quite been addressed. He knew that the purchase of service agreement (POSA) had just recently been put in place for Superior Township, and he had not had a chance to examine that agreement. But from his point of view, AAATA’s service as a whole is all of the fixed-route service.

Mogensen did not believe that the board should approve the service standards that evening. He told the board they should wait until the next meeting in September – and he told them that he would try to do a more formal analysis before that meeting. He encouraged the board to ask staff about the need to have much more formal data collection.

Michelle Barney introduced herself as a member of Partners for Transit. She had done an awful lot of bus riding and talking to people about the transit millage earlier in the year – mostly in Ypsilanti. She’d also done some phone banking, she told the board. She wanted to talk to the board about how equity issues are seen by people on the street. She talked about racial justice on the north side and the south side of Ypsilanti. When she had talked to several members of the board on the phone in the last couple of weeks, they told her that the AAATA has to give more service to Ypsilanti Township – because the township is a new member of the AAATA. Further, Ypsilanti Township and the city of Ann Arbor were paying more money for the buses, she’d heard board members say, so Ypsilanti Township and the city of Ann Arbor are demanding more service – because they are paying more money for the buses.

But Barney noted that those jurisdictions are paying more money because their property values are higher. They do not pay a greater percent – pointing out that everyone pays the same percent under the AAATA’s new millage, which is 0.7 mills. The city of Ypsilanti is entitled to the same level of service, she said. The issue of Title VI and whether the AAATA will get money from the federal government is very important. She said she hated to use the word but she had decided to do it and that word was “Ferguson.” What does Ferguson have to do with it? she asked rhetorically. It is not a threat, she stated, but Ferguson has woken up the country to the fact that prejudiced behavior doesn’t just happen in New York, in Harlem – it also happens in the heartland of America. People are waking up, she said. Barney also commented on the new Route 46, indicating that the AAATA needed to have routes that fed people to the downtown where that route departed, otherwise that new route was useless.

Title VI Service Standards: Board Discussion

Roger Kerson quipped that the performance monitoring and external relations committee had also had an “inspired” meeting just like the planning and development committee – because he was the only board member in attendance. Reporting out from that committee, Kerson said that in examining the Title VI standards – perhaps because he’d met as a committee of one – he did not have the wisdom of his colleagues to which he could appeal. So he hadn’t considered some of the concerns that Jim Mogensen had raised during his public commentary.

Kerson ventured that those issues needed to be examined to determine whether the resolution was ripe for consideration or whether it perhaps needed another look. What Kerson had focused on was the question of whether it would change anything that the AAATA is doing now. And what he heard from staff was that they would be looking at things like maximum loads more closely. Based on the information the board had heard during public commentary, they might want to decide to delay, he said: “Let’s have more than just me think about it,” he said.

Board members engaged in a 20-minute back-and-forth on the topic and eventually concluded that they should postpone consideration until the next meeting in September. AAATA manager service development Chris White indicated that there was room in the timeline for the board to delay action until its next board meeting – but after that, paperwork was due to the FTA on Oct. 1, 2014.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to postpone consideration of the Title VI service standards until its September meeting.

Title VI Service Standards: More Public Commentary

During public commentary time at the end of the meeting, Jim Mogensen thanked the board for delaying their vote on the service centers. He said he would do his best to provide as much input as he could under the deadlines. He noted that the regulations say that once you adopt standards for the three-year plan, you are not allowed to change them during those three years. He also mentioned that before he became disabled, in his professional life he did regulatory analysis in Washington DC for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the EPA, and for the Small Business Administration. So he had some understanding of how some of these things operate, he said, and he would try to help.

Mogensen has had an ongoing concern about the issue of AAATA’s commuter service versus mobility service in the middle of the day. When you look at the loading factors, most of that occurs during the commuter service and you can envision a situation where there is a very high peak time service and a much lower service in the middle of the day. And that causes difficulties for those like Mogensen, who primarily use the AAATA to get around during the day. Even though it makes sense why the AAATA would be doing that, there are some important issues related to how that dynamic plays out.

Also during public commentary time at the end of the meeting, Michelle Barney told the board that she not been there in a while because she’d had some health issues, but she told the board that she would now be there more often. Title VI was very complicated, she allowed. She had tried reading it and she tried printing it off the web, but she didn’t have enough money because it costs $.10 a page to print. But she had made requests of the area’s Washington DC legislators and of the NAACP in trying to reach a local ACLU attorney – to find out if there’s anything published that is a valid summary of Title VI. She wanted something she could read, maybe 30 pages instead of 130.

Title VI Service Standards: On-Time Performance

One of the Title VI service standards is on-time performance – which the AAATA establishes at 90% of trips being completed within five minutes of the scheduled time. During his report to the board, Michael Ford noted that on-time performance was currently suffering due to the widespread construction that’s being undertaken on various roads and streets in the area. AAATA is spending about $6,000 a week primarily on trying to back-fill to keep buses on schedule, he said.

Half of the $6,000 is being spent on the Pontiac Trail route. The other half of the $6,000 has gone into supporting Packard, Carpenter, Jackson Avenue and Ann Arbor-Saline Road. The AAATA was doing its best to keep this service on time, but was encountering some problems with that, he allowed. With the University of Michigan’s student move-in week coming up, traffic would increase and that would exacerbate the problem, he ventured.

Communications, Committees, CEO, Commentary

At its Aug. 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. In addition to the communications and commentary reported earlier in this article, here are some highlights.

Comm/Comm: Access, Website

During public commentary time at the start of the meeting, after making complimentary remarks about Michael Ford’s efforts to give greater recognition to seniors and those with disabilities, Thomas Partridge said there was more work that needed to be done. He called on the board to adopt new priorities to put the most vulnerable riders first, and remove discriminatory practices of the current system, including the contract with the SelectRide company. No one should call a cab in the A-Ride system and have a vehicle appear that has 450,000 miles on it, Partridge said. It’s not good practice to provide people rides in vehicles with that kind of high mileage, he said. There are also vehicles that are not kept in good repair, he contended.

During his report from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Roger Kerson noted that more of the AAATA’s website work was being taken in-house with the hire of someone to handle that work. [At the board's August meeting, it was announced that Preston Stewart had been hired for the position.] The board needs to continue to address the concerns of accessibility of the website, he said.

Reporting out from the local advisory council, Cheryl Webber said the longest discussion at the LAC meeting was about the AAATA website. They’d discussed the accessibility and user-friendliness to people who look there for information. She had not really thought about it before then, but her experiences were that the website was not useful enough to her to consult it. “And that’s really sad,” she said, because a lot of work went into it. It looked pretty, she allowed, but she found herself going to Google maps and choosing the bus routing option for directions from point A to point B. She said she was looking forward to improvements being made to the website.

During public commentary time at the end of the meeting, Partridge said it was important that throughout all of the proceedings of the AAATA, priority should be given to concerns of the most vulnerable ridership – which includes not only low-income ridership but also ridership that is handicapped or that has senior citizen status. Related to the selection process for the CEO, Partridge said it was very important that Ford leave the AAATA with a CEO selection process underway with criteria that would give emphasis to candidates that have quality experience with senior ride and handicapped ride programs.

Comm/Comm: Police on Buses

During public commentary time at the end of the meeting, Jim Mogensen responded to a comment in Michael Ford’s written report that mentioned a meeting he’d had with state representative David Rutledge and Washtenaw County sheriff Jerry Clayton in the context of the Eastern Washtenaw Safety Alliance. One of the potential suggestions was to have police officers or members of law enforcement ride the buses. Mogensen thought the AAATA board needed to give careful consideration to how that might be implemented and how that might be seen in terms of surveillance – as another way of going undercover to find out what’s going on in neighborhoods and monitoring people’s behavior.

Comm/Comm: Financial Reports

With respect to the financial reports that the performance monitoring and external relations committee had heard, Roger Kerson said that AAATA had received the first cut of the new millage money – which was about $4.5 million.

From left: AAATA board members Eric Mahler and Larry Krieg.

Of that, $3.8 million had been programmed for activities in the next year, including some capital expenditures and things that need to be done to get up and running. There is a $600,000 surplus in the budget, he said. As he understood it, that money is going to be used for service in the “out years.”

During question time, Larry Krieg said that in reading the budget reports, he was a little bit concerned about how much money was being saved by having people out on disability. He wondered if there was any particular reason why the AAATA had more people out on disability than usual.

AAATA head of human resources Ed Robertson told Krieg that the AAATA would prefer to have no people out on disability and currently he thought there were two. He thought there had been more people out on disability during the winter.

Comm/Comm: New Service

During communications time, Michael Ford noted that the new extended services to be provided by the AAATA – funded by the millage approved by voters on May 6, 2014 – would start the following Sunday, Aug. 24. He also noted that there would be a celebration held at the Ypsilanti Transit Center on August 25. It would include a media tour of Route 46 followed by a press conference at the Ypsilanti Transit Center, to be hosted by Partners for Transit, he said.

Comm/Comm: Response to Suggestions

Ford noted that the AAATA had responded to suggestions made at the previous month’s board meeting – to make information about the Aug. 24 service changes easier to find on the AAATA’s website – by placing a prominent link on the homepage. The board had also heard a suggestion to make clear to passengers how they can make compliments. That would be included in the RideGuide as well as on the website, Ford reported.

Present: Charles Griffith, Eric Mahler, Susan Baskett, Sue Gott, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale, Gillian Ream Gainsley, Larry Krieg.

Absent: Eli Cooper, Jack Bernard.

Next regular meeting: Thursday, Sept. 25, 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]

Ford will depart the AAATA in mid-October to take the post as the first CEO of the southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority (RTA). Ford formally tendered his resignation on Aug. 21, 2014.

The resolution approved by the board at its Aug. 21 meeting also approves $50,000 for consulting services to help with the search. At the Aug. 21 meeting, Griffith said the committee will consist of himself, Anya Dale, Gillian Ream Gainsley and Eric Mahler. Griffith said he hoped that a search could be completed within three months, but allowed that might not be achievable. He said he hoped an RFP (request for proposals) for a search firm could be sent out the next day. He felt that the search firm could help the board establish realistic expectations about a timeframe for a new hire.

Ford was picked for the job as CEO of the Regional Transit Authority three months ago, on May 21, 2014. The RTA board approved Ford’s contract on Aug. 20, 2014. Ford’s announcement as a finalist and his selection for the RTA job came amid the AAATA’s successful campaign for a new millage to fund additional transportation services in the geographic area of the member jurisdictions of the AAATA – the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township. That millage was approved by voters on May 6, 2014.

The four-county area of the RTA includes the counties of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland as well as the city of Detroit. It was established by the Michigan legislature in late 2012.

The RTA’s hiring of a CEO has been frustrated by a lack of state funding. John Hertel, general manager of SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation), was appointed CEO by the RTA board last year, but he eventually left the post in early 2014 over issues of funding availability.

Ford was hired by the AAATA in 2009. He began the Aug. 21 meeting by thanking the board, his executive staff, the AAATA operators and mechanics, and the staff of the entire organization.

This brief was filed from the AAATA headquarters building at 2700 S. Industrial Highway, where the board held its Aug. 21 meeting – due to the closure of its regular meeting location at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library. The library building was closed to due to the repair of the public elevator.

The context of the salary increase includes Ford’s selection as the new CEO for the southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority, but it’s not clear at this point whether Ford will take the job. At the June 10 meeting Ford said, “Right now, I’m still the CEO here…”

The increase for the period from October 2012 through September 2013 raised Ford’s base salary from $164,800 to $169,744. The 3% increase on that amount through the current fiscal year brings his salary to $174,836. The board’s June 10 action authorized a lump sum payment to cover the retroactive raises up to the present time, as well as a $20,000 payment into Ford’s 457 deferred compensation plan account, which reflects payments of $10,000 cash for the fiscal year 2013 and 2014. The lump sum retroactive salary adjustment works out to a little less than $11,900.

Before this most recent increase, Ford’s most recent previous revision to his compensation had come at the board’s Dec. 15, 2011 meeting, when his salary was increased by $4,800 to $164,800 annually. Ford’s contract also includes a car allowance that translates to roughly $10,000 a year. [.pdf of June 10, 2014 compensation letter][.pdf of Ford's contract]

This current raise was awarded to Ford based on a performance evaluation the board had completed at its May 15, 2014 board meeting, which came 11 days after a successful transit millage proposal on May 6, 2014. That performance evaluation also came in the context of Ford’s application for the CEO position with the southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority. The day after his evaluation, Ford was named as one of three finalists for the RTA job, and was subsequently made an offer of the job, which is still pending. The RTA was established by the state legislature in late 2012, and includes Detroit and the four-county region of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland.

Commenting on his current status at the AAATA board’s June 10 meeting, Ford said: “Right now I am still the CEO here and I’m not having any other discussions at this point with the RTA and that’s my status. I’ll leave it at that.” Board chair Charles Griffith added that Ford has not ruled out the RTA job, saying that the AAATA board would obviously prefer that Ford stay at the AAATA. But if Ford chose to go elsewhere, the board would support that decision. Ford had also assured Griffith that the AAATA would be in good hands and would have a stable transition if Ford were to leave.

Ford’s evaluation was expressed in the form of a board resolution approved on May 15:

Whereas the AAATA board’s evaluation of CEO Michael Ford’s performance reflects his leadership, work ethic, and ability to motivate staff to work at a high level of public service during a challenging period of transitioning the AAATA;

Whereas Michael’s outreach to community leaders in Ann Arbor and surrounding communities has laid the foundation for the expansion of the authority to include Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township and for the newly expanded organization to do an improved job of providing high-quality transit services;

Whereas Michael has led the organization to a number of significant accomplishments during the previous and current fiscal years, including: continued growth in overall ridership; growth in the vanpool program; growth in AirRide ridership and a decrease in the cost of the service; a new collective bargaining agreement ratified by the members of the TW Local 171 and approved by our Board of Directors; launch of a new AAATA website with improved rider information, navigation and tools; construction of a new Blake Transit Center; development of a new five-year urban core transportation improvement plan and a successful millage proposal;

Therefore be it resolved that the AAATA Board of Directors recognizes Michael Ford’s performance and accomplishments and desires to continue his employment as CEO, and the board looks forward to working with Michael on a new contract to continue his employment and also working with him to improve transit services in our community. Our intent is to complete this contract the time of our next meeting.

This brief was filed from the Holiday Inn Express at 600 Briarwood Circle, where the board held its special meeting.

AAATA CEO Michael Ford spoke with Carolyn Grawi, Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living director for advocacy and education, after the May 15, 2014 meeting of the AAATA board.

The four-county area of the RTA includes the counties of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland as well as the city of Detroit. It was established by the Michigan legislature in late 2012.

The RTA’s hiring of a CEO has been frustrated by a lack of state funding. John Hertel, general manager of SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation), was appointed CEO by the RTA board last year, but he eventually left the post in early 2014 because no funding was available for his salary.

Crain’s Detroit Business reported the Friday, May 16 vote by the RTA’s executive and policy committee to recommend Ford as well as two other finalists for the job.

The two other finalists are:

• Albert Martin, former director of the Detroit Dept. of Transportation and the Southeast Michigan Transportation Authority (the forerunner to SMART) bus systems, and a former deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Dept. of Transportation.
• Brian Marshall, a transit consultant and former CEO of the Capital Area Transit System in Baton Rouge, La., who also spent 20 years with the Chicago Transit Authority.

Crain’s reports that the three candidates will be interviewed by the whole RTA board starting at noon on Wednesday, May 21. The interviews will be open to the public and held at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) office at 1001 Woodward in Detroit. Washtenaw County’s two representatives on the RTA board are Liz Gerber, a University of Michigan professor of public policy, and former state legislator Alma Wheeler Smith.

In 2016, the RTA will likely be asking voters in the four-county area for approval of a property tax or a vehicle registration fee to support regional transportation services.

Ford’s selection as a finalist comes a little over a week after voters in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township passed a new 0.7 mill tax for the AAATA with clear majority support.

His selection also comes the day after the AAATA board held a closed session to conduct his regular performance review, as part of the May 15 board meeting. The review should have been completed around the start of the fiscal year in October or November of 2013. Ford was invited into the closed session for roughly the final 20 minutes of the session. When the board emerged from its closed session, which lasted about an hour and ten minutes, AAATA board chair Charles Griffith apologized to Ford for the delay in conducting his performance evaluation.

After its closed session, the board also approved a resolution with a glowing performance evaluation of Ford, indicating that the board wanted Ford to continue as CEO and that it hoped to have a new contract in place by the board’s next regular monthly meeting.

Whereas the AAATA board’s evaluation of CEO Michael Ford’s performance reflects his leadership, work ethic, and ability to motivate staff to work at a high level of public service during a challenging period of transitioning the AAATA;

Whereas Michael’s outreach to community leaders in Ann Arbor and surrounding communities has laid the foundation for the expansion of the authority to include Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township and for the newly expanded organization to do an improved job of providing high-quality transit services;

Whereas Michael has led the organization to a number of significant accomplishments during the previous and current fiscal years, including: continued growth in overall ridership; growth in the vanpool program; growth in AirRide ridership and a decrease in the cost of the service; a new collective bargaining agreement ratified by the members of the TW Local 171 and approved by our Board of Directors; launch of a new AAATA website with improved rider information, navigation and tools; construction of a new Blake Transit Center; development of a new five-year urban core transportation improvement plan and a successful millage proposal;

Therefore be it resolved that the AAATA Board of Directors recognizes Michael Ford’s performance and accomplishments and desires to continue his employment as CEO, and the board looks forward to working with Michael on a new contract to continue his employment and also working with him to improve transit services in our community. Our intent is to complete this contract the time of our next meeting.

Reached by telephone on Friday afternoon, Ford told The Chronicle he’d just been notified of his selection as a finalist for the RTA job five minutes earlier. Responding to a question from The Chronicle, he said he’d apprised the board of his application for the RTA job and that was part of the closed session discussion. He stressed that he did not have the RTA job, that he enjoyed the work he was doing with the AAATA, and was very happy about what the AAATA had been able to accomplish. He noted that July 2014 will mark five years for him with the AAATA.

Before Ford was hired in 2009, one concern that some board members had was that his interview answers weren’t crisp. Asked by The Chronicle if he’d tried to become more “crisp” in the course of his time at the AAATA, Ford responded: “You have to be true to yourself,” adding that he felt there were times when being more direct was appropriate and that each situation needs to be navigated based on the particular setting.

Ford’s current contract with the AAATA calls for $160,000 in annual salary and a vehicle allowance that works out to just over $10,000 a year. [.pdf of Ford's employment contract] [Ford was awarded a raise subsequent to that contract at the board's Dec. 15, 2011 meeting, bringing his annual salary to $164,800.]

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Sub-regions on the national (blue), state (red) and local (green) scales were highlighted at the Ann Arbor city council’s Oct. 14, 2013 work session on regional transportation.  (Image by The Chronicle.)

The projects all fit into the general rubric of regional transportation – relative to different scales of the concept of “region.” Eli Cooper, the city of Ann Arbor transportation program manager, led off the session with some introductory remarks that framed the session in those terms – regions defined on a national, state and more local scale.

Nationally, Amtrak provides rail service between major cities like Chicago and Detroit. And it’s to support that service that the city of Ann Arbor is currently planning for a new or reconstructed Amtrak station. A contract for a required planning study, 80% of which is funded with a federal grant, appears on the council’s Oct. 21 agenda. [Legistar file 13-1128]

On a smaller regional scale, SEMCOG (Southeast Michigan Council of Governments) is the lead organization for a possible new kind of future service on the same tracks as the Amtrak inter-city service: an Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail service. That would be at least two years out, partly because no operating funds for the service have yet been identified. Those funds could eventually come from the nascent southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority (RTA), which could ask voters in a four-county region – Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne – to approve either a transit property tax or a vehicle registration fee dedicated to supporting transit.

On the smallest regional level, voters in member jurisdictions of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority could be asked as soon as May 2014 to approve additional transportation funding. The AAATA currently includes the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti, and Ypsilanti Township – provided that the Ann Arbor city council approves the township’s membership at its Oct. 21 meeting. [Legistar file 13-1267]

As AAATA staff stressed at the Oct. 14 work session, the board of that organization has not yet made a decision to place a millage request in front of voters. If approved by voters, the additional funding – likely to be 0.7 mills – would be used to increase frequency and time of service in the local region.

Details about the service improvements are the subject of a series of public meetings, which is set to start this Thursday, Oct. 17 from 4-6 p.m. That first session takes place just before the AAATA board meeting at the Ann Arbor District Library’s downtown location.

National Scale: Midwestern Region

For regions on a national scale, Amtrak is the provider of rail transportation. And for Amtrak, Ann Arbor is part of the midwestern region, which includes the connection between Chicago and Detroit. Amtrak’s Charlie Monte Verde ticked through some highlights of Amtrak’s operation nationally for the city council. That included the transport of 31.6 million passengers in fiscal year 2013, which ended Sept. 30, 2013. That figure is a record, he said, continuing a trend that has seen record ridership in 10 out of the last 11 years. That’s translated to a decrease in federal operating subsidy to 12% of operating costs.

Amtrak ridership by month since 1994. (Chart by The Chronicle based on data from MDOT.)

In Michigan, Monte Verde told the council, Amtrak ridership has increased 63% since 2000, which has translated to a 98% increase in ticket revenue over that same period. He described Ann Arbor’s Amtrak station as the busiest in Michigan. The 2013 fiscal year had shown a 10% increase in ridership compared to FY 2012, he reported, with over 158,000 riders. That made it the busiest year in the Ann Arbor Amtrak station’s history, Monte Verde said.

Charlie Monte Verde of Amtrak.

Monte Verde also described seven different station projects that are either in the works or have been completed, including Ann Arbor’s potential project. He said that now is the “golden era” of station construction and rehabilitation. He called Amtrak an “eager and appreciative stakeholder” as Ann Arbor seeks to construct a new state-of-the-art multi-modal rail station.

Later in the city council’s work session, MDOT director of rail operations Tim Hoeffner described a station as “the gateway to your community.” He added: “That should be your face – that should be what you want to put forward. That shouldn’t be what we want to have come forward from Lansing.”

Hoeffner contrasted the stations and the rail infrastructure with the “equipment” – the “most sexy” part of the rail operation. “It’s that new-car smell,” he said, and that’s important because that’s where passengers spend most of their time. Right now, Amtrak is doing the best it can, but he compared it to driving a 1950s car every day, and trying to keep it in good repair: Where would you find parts? Right now, he said, they think in the following terms: “Do the bathrooms smell? If they don’t, that’s a good day.”

By 2016-17, he felt that issue would be solved. A $268 million multi-state grant from the federal government would allow the purchase of new cars and locomotives. The vendor has been selected, he reported: Nippon Sharyo.

Besides the Ann Arbor station project, other Michigan station projects include: Battle Creek (complete station rehabilitation finished in June 2012); Troy-Birmingham (groundbreaking for new intermodal facility in November 2012, with expected completion in fall 2013); Dearborn (construction of a new multi-modal Amtrak and transit facility began in April 2012, with completion expected in 2013); East Lansing/Lansing (new facility to be constructed in 2014); Grand Rapids (construction ongoing to add Amtrak to Central Station); and Jackson (over $1.2 million invested since 2008 to rehabilitate the historic station).

The question of station construction was of interest to the Ann Arbor city council because of the contract associated with the Ann Arbor Station project appears on the Oct. 21 meeting agenda.

Ownership of track within Michigan was one theme of Monte Verde’s remarks. The Chicago-Detroit corridor could be divided into sub-regions based on track ownership. Amtrak owns the 97-mile stretch extending from Porter, Ind., to Kalamazoo, Mich.

State Level: Amtrak Corridor

The track ownership theme was picked up by Tim Hoeffner, MDOT’s director of rail operations, later in the meeting. Hoeffner described to the council some barriers that have been overcome and some that remain with respect to the physical condition of track between Chicago’s Union Station and Detroit’s New Center Station.

Amtrak routes and track Improvements. Just east of Chicago, the blue-highlighted section – owned by Amtrak – has already been improved to support up to 110 mph operations. Further east, the green-highlighted section of track was recently acquired by MDOT from Norfolk Southern. That section is expected to have improvements made that will make it also capable of carrying speeds up to 110 mph. (Map from Amtrak. Part of council information packet.)

Hoeffner told the council he’d spent most of the day out in the field overseeing construction and infrastructure improvements. When MDOT closed on the purchase of the track between Kalamazoo and Dearborn, he said, MDOT started taking responsibility for the maintenance, using Amtrak as its contractor early this year.

That initial work focused on stabilization, but the biggest part of the construction activity started a few weeks ago, when Norfolk Southern brought in some of their construction “mega gangs” – for installing about 130,000 ties as well as sections of rail. The amount of work that will be done before Thanksgiving this year, he said, would ordinarily take two construction seasons. But Norfolk Southern had time in its construction schedule that allowed MDOT to contract with the former owner of the track to get a lot of this work done early.

Hoeffner allowed that the construction work had meant some at-grade crossings throughout Washtenaw County had to be closed for what he described as a short while. The track construction that’s happening now, he said, is not just stabilization work, but will allow the trains to attain speeds of up to 110 mph.

From Chicago, heading toward Detroit, the first 40 miles is some of the busiest section of railway in North America, Hoeffner said. But major projects are in the works that could alleviate congestion on that segment of track, he said. That came about due to MDOT taking the lead, he said, partnering with Illinois and Indiana for a feasibility study on a dedicated passenger rail route between Chicago’s Union Station and Porter, Ind. The study has progressed to the final set of alternatives in the environmental review.

On that first 40 miles of the route, near Union Station, Hoeffner also described a $130 million project to create railroad-to-railroad grade separation at the Englewood location – which is supposed to start construction in early 2016. There’s also $70 million of crossover work in Indiana, which is expected to begin after the government shutdown ends.

After that first 40 miles, Amtrak owns the next 97 miles. That 97-mile stretch extends from Porter, Ind., to Kalamazoo, Mich. Hoeffner reported that a collaborative effort between Amtrak and MDOT had already resulted in track improvements along the Porter-to-Kalamazoo 97-mile stretch that now allowed operations of up to 110 m.p.h. – making it the only significant stretch of rail with 110 m.p.h. operating capability outside of the northeast corridor of Boston, New York, and Washington D.C.

Michigan Dept. of Transportation director of rail Tim Hoeffner.

Continuing eastward, the next 135-mile stretch of track – from Kalamazoo through Ann Arbor to Dearborn – was acquired last year by MDOT from Norfolk Southern. Track improvements are required under the purchase agreement. That’s now taking place ahead of schedule, Hoeffner told the council, with two typical construction seasons’ worth of work anticipated to be completed between September and Thanksgiving of this year.

In West Detroit, where Contrail transitions to Canadian National, Hoeffner said, MDOT is bidding out a new bridge, to establish a direct connection. That would take 5-10 minutes off the Amtrak running time.

What’s the motivation for MDOT to partner with Amtrak to improve ridership? Section 209 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of 2008 shifts much of the cost of supporting Amtrak services from the federal government to the state government – starting in FY 2014 (Oct. 1, 2013). The operating assistance to Amtrak from MDOT had thus increased from about $8 million annually to $25 million starting this year on Oct. 1. Partly as a result of that, Hoeffner said, MDOT was partnering with Amtrak to try to grow ridership and thus increase revenue. The key to that is improving on-time performance, he said.

Throughout his remarks, Hoeffner stressed that the goal is not increased speed per se, and he emphasized that the term MDOT uses is “accelerated rail” not “high-speed rail” – which refers to even higher speeds. The “accelerated rail,” he said, has goals of improving reliability (hitting scheduled arrival times), providing more flexibility for travelers and reducing overall trip time. Right now, he allowed, on-time performance isn’t very good, and that’s why they’re working to improve it. They’re also working on providing information about what the delay is. Hoeffner said that to be competitive with automobile travel on the interstate, travel time between Chicago and Detroit would need to be reduced to four hours.

As one measure of the initial success in improving the train service along the Chicago-Detroit corridor, Hoeffner offered a recent anecdote. Typically Amtrak offers a tour for state legislators, where they board the train in Lansing and take the train to Chicago to hear presentations and have discussions. MDOT director Kirk Steudle usually goes on those trips, Hoeffner continued, saying that due to Steudle’s busy schedule, he might not ride the whole way.

So Steudle would typically get on at Battle Creek or Kalamazoo and ride to New Buffalo and get off there. Generally, what Hoeffner would do is have one of his staff get off the train in Battle Creek or Kalamazoo and drive Steudle’s car to New Buffalo. Steudle asked Hoeffner to do that this year: “I had to tell him no. You get a real interesting look when you tell the boss ‘No,’” he said. The reason he said no was that Amtrak service is now competitive with the automobile on the highway in that corridor.

SE Michigan Level: Ann-Arbor Detroit Commuter Rail

Also positively affected specifically by the transfer in track ownership from Norfolk Southern to MDOT would be a possible new type of service in the easternmost sub-region of the Chicago-Detroit corridor – using the same tracks that Amtrak uses for the intercity Chicago-Detroit service.

That was a highlight of Carmine Palombo’s remarks to the council. Palombo is transportation programs director at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), currently the lead organization on the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail project. That service is envisioned to provide five round trips daily between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Intermediate stops would be located in Ypsilanti, Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Dearborn.

When Norfolk Southern owned the section of track on which the Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter service is planned to be offered, Palombo said, there was a considerable cost that would have been incurred for use of the track. Now that MDOT has purchased the track, he said, we have a “more benevolent owner.” “That’s going to do us well,” he added.

Palombo stressed that before passenger commuter rail could be operated, as part of the purchase agreement between Norfolk Southern and MDOT, certain track improvements have to be completed – for example, sidings that will allow for continued freight operations while adding commuter trips. Most of the money that MDOT needs to undertake those improvements has been received from the federal government, he said.

Palombo described the planned connection of the Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail to the M-1 streetcar project in Detroit. That’s a project that would stretch 3.3 miles along Detroit’s Woodward Avenue with 11 stops between Larned Street in Detroit’s Central Business District up to West Grand Boulevard at the North End. Palombo described that project as starting construction next year.

While double-decker railcars to provide an Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter service have been leased by MDOT and refurbished, it’s not yet clear how the operations for such a service might be funded, Palombo said. The cars have been safety tested by the Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, and they’ve passed every test they’ve undergone. “They’re beautiful,” he said. Palombo mentioned the two displays of the new railcars that had been held over the summer and early fall – at the Ann Arbor Green Fair and Ypsilanti’s Heritage Festival.

But Palombo indicated that for the next two years, nothing more than perhaps some special-event trains might be possible as demonstrations. “We need some money to run this thing,” he said. Palombo indicated that SEMCOG and MDOT are “committed to moving forward on this project.” The entity that might be in a position to provide some operational and coordinating support for that project is the nascent Regional Transit Authority (RTA).

Up to now, however, the RTA has spent the majority of its effort since being established – during the lame-duck legislative session of December 2012 – completing various administrative tasks. That administrative work is nearly complete, Palombo indicated, so SEMCOG would be starting to talk to the RTA about Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter rail.

SE Michigan Level: Regional Transit Authority

Washtenaw County has two representatives on the board of the four-county authority, which includes Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties as well as the city of Detroit. One of those representatives, Liz Gerber, addressed the Ann Arbor city council at its Oct. 14 work session.

Liz Gerber, a Washtenaw County representative to the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board. Gerber is also a professor at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy. The second RTA board member from Washtenaw County is Richard Murphy.

She described a range of administrative tasks the board had been working on, to get the organization to a point where it could begin to complete its legislative mandate. That mandate includes coordinating transportation in the four-county region and operating service in four different corridors, one of which is the Detroit-Ann Arbor corridor.

However, the RTA’s enabling legislation is not mode-neutral, and makes it much easier for the RTA board to establish bus rapid transit (BRT) services than it does any rail-based service. Rail projects require a unanimous vote of the RTA board.

The RTA does not yet have any dedicated operating funds. The initial legislation passed in December 2012, combined with additional funding from MDOT, has provided an initial $650,000 to cover administrative expenses of the RTA. The RTA has also been awarded a $6 million planning grant, some of which could be applied toward a limited set of administrative costs.

One source of funds the RTA could use is MDOT’s local bus operating (LBO) funds. At the work session, Gerber stressed that under the terms of the operating agreement that the RTA had worked out with the transit providers in the RTA region, those LBO funds would be used by the RTA only as a last resort. The RTA has the ability to levy property taxes or collect vehicle registration fees – but only if approved by voters.

Local Region: Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority

Voters in the smallest of the regions discussed at the council’s Oct. 14 work session could be asked as soon as May 2014 to approve additional transportation funding. That’s the region defined by the combined geographies of the member jurisdictions in the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority. That currently includes the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township – provided that the Ann Arbor city council approves the township’s membership at its Oct. 21 meeting.

Michael Ford, CEO of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority.

The AAATA is following direction from the Ann Arbor city council in taking the approach of expanding governance by only adding member jurisdictions located geographically near Ann Arbor who request membership. That contrasts with the all-in-one-go attempt to form a viable countywide authority in 2012, which did not gain traction and is now demised. Both the city and the township of Ypsilanti have historically received some transportation services from the AAATA through purchase-of-service agreements.

The idea of expanding the geographic footprint to include more jurisdictions that are full-fledged members of the AAATA is to establish a more stable source of the funding for transportation services in that geographic region. The more stable funding source would take the form of a millage levied by the AAATA. The power to place a millage on the ballot is one the AAATA has had all along, but has never exercised.

As AAATA staff stressed at the Oct. 14 work session, the board of that organization has not yet made a decision to place a millage request in front of voters. But that could come as soon as May 2014. If approved by voters, the additional funding – likely to be requested at the level of 0.7 mills – would be used to increase frequency and time of service in the local region.

Details about the 5-year service improvements are the subject of a series of public meetings, which is set to start this Thursday, Oct. 17 from 4-6 p.m. That first session takes place just before the AAATA board meeting at the Ann Arbor District Library’s downtown location, 343 S. Fifth Ave.

Details on planned service improvements are available on the AAATA’s Moving You Forward website. In his remarks to the city councilmembers at their Oct. 14 work session, AAATA CEO Michael Ford was keen to emphasize that the five-year service plan improvements do not include the operation of any rail service.

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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. Among the outstanding issues in a project to rebuild BTC is discussions with the city of Ann Arbor over a city-owned 6-foot-wide strip that runs along the southern edge of the parcel’s western half. (Image links to higher resolution view. Parcel map and aerial photo from Washtenaw County’s website: gisweb.ewashtenaw.org/website/mapwashtenaw/)

The contract with Ford renews annually on Oct. 1 unless terminated by Ford or the AATA. Ford will earn the same salary as he did previously – $160,000 – but will receive a lump sum payment equal to 4% of his salary dating from July 20, 2009, when he was first hired. Board members uniformly praised Ford’s work for the AATA since he was hired in the summer of 2009.

Approval of the construction manager contract for the downtown Blake Transit Center sets up the reconstruction project possibly to begin in earnest later this year. AATA has so far declined to release any schematics or drawings of the proposed new transit center to the public, citing as-yet-unfinalized details, including issues related to a city-owned 6-foot-wide strip on the southern edge of the parcel’s western half.

The new transit center will be built on the same AATA-owned parcel where BTC is currently located, between Fourth and Fifth avenues, north of William Street and a city-owned surface parking lot. The current building sits at the northwest corner of the parcel, long Fourth Avenue – buses enter from Fifth Avenue and exit onto Fourth Avenue. The planned design calls for a new building to be constructed kitty-corner on the parcel from the existing building, which would be demolished. The new transit center would sit at the southeast corner of the parcel – buses would enter from Fourth Avenue and exit onto Fifth Avenue.

At its meeting, the board also heard its usual range of reports and commentary. Among those reports, Ford told the board that two local governments – Ann Arbor Township and Superior Township – have voted to sign an Act 7 agreement. That’s a step that will allow their joint participation and representation in a countywide transit authority.

Construction Manager for Blake

The board was asked to consider a contract with Spence Brothers for up to a total of $384,000 to oversee two major construction projects for AATA: (1) demolition and reconstruction of the Blake Transit Center on Fourth Avenue in downtown Ann Arbor [$253,000]; and (2) expansion of the bus storage facility at the AATA headquarters located at 2700 S. Industrial [$131,000].

The need for a construction manager was identified by representatives of the Federal Transit Administration after reviewing AATA projects that are being funded with federal dollars.

At its May 12, 2010 meeting, the AATA board had approved a $343,439 contract with DLZ Michigan Inc. for architectural and engineering services to reconstruct the transit center.

At this month’s board meeting, CEO Michael Ford asked Terry Black, AATA’s manager of maintenance, to give an update on the Blake Transit Center reconstruction project. They’re still working on design and aesthetics, Black reported.

Remaining issues include working on a 10-foot-wide green strip as a border with the federal building property on the north side of the site. The AATA and the city of Ann Arbor are also still working out an agreement on a city-owned 6-foot-wide strip along the southern part of the parcel’s western half. The construction manager contract, on which the board would be voting, Black said, would provide a check and balance on the design firm. From there, the project could start rolling, he said.

In reporting out from the planning and development committee, AATA board member Rich Robben noted that in the resolution on the Blake Transit Center construction manager contract, the fees could be as high as $384,000 – but might turn out to be less because it’s negotiated under the Brooks Act.

The federal Brooks Act requires that the selection of contractors be based on qualifications, not price. The AATA received proposals from the following firms for the construction manager work:

• Braun Construction Group, Farmington Hills, MI
• The Christman Company, Livonia, MI
• DeMaria Building Company, Detroit, MI
• Irish Construction, Howell, MI
• T. H. Marsh Construction Company, Ann Arbor, MI
• O’Neal Construction, Ann Arbor, MI
• Owen-Ames-Kimball Co., Grand Rapids, MI
• Park Avenue Consultants Inc., Ann Arbor, MI
• Phoenix Contractors, Ypsilanti, MI
• White Construction Co. Inc., Detroit, MI
• Spence Brothers, Ann Arbor, MI

The breakdown for the Blake Transit Center work and the bus storage expansion to be awarded to Spence Brothers is (1) $253,000 for BTC, and (2) $131,00 for the bus storage. In a staff memo, the Spence Brothers’ proposal is evaluated as being in line with industry standards when expressed as a percentage of total construction costs: 5-6%. That translates to $4.2-5.0 million for the project. Funding sources for the transit center reconstruction, based on previous Chronicle reporting – from December 2009 and October 2010:

• $1.6 million federal grant
• $0.4 million state match (25% of $1.6 million)
• $0.735 million federal grant
• $0.183 million state match
• $1.0 million federal state-of-good-repair match

Outcome: The construction manager contract was unanimously approved by the board.

CEO’s New Contract

Before the board for approval was a new employment contract with its chief executive officer, Michael Ford, who was hired in the summer of 2009. [For a report on Ford's April 2009 final interview: "AATA, CEO Candidate Start Talks"]

The contract, which is renewable each year on Oct. 1, pays Ford $160,000 a year – the same compensation he received last year. Ford is not receiving a raise this year, but will receive a one-time additional payment equal to 4% of his annual salary – his base salary will not change.

Board members at the meeting praised Ford’s work over the last year in leading the AATA’s countywide transit master planning effort.

Roger Kerson led off board commentary by saying that Ford’s efforts on the transit master plan (TMP) have been extraordinary. Sue McCormick added that she wanted to say how pleased the board is to move forward with another contract. Board chair Jesse Bernstein said he was especially pleased that they have a clear process for evaluating the CEO, which ties performance to the budget. David Nacht said he appreciated the leadership of Bernstein and McCormick for providing to the board a timeline on the budget process and CEO evaluation process in a simple, laid out presentation.

Nacht said he’d appreciated the work of the committee – Bernstein and McCormick – who had negotiated the new contract with Ford. He noted that it’s difficult to negotiate a contract with a serious professional in the current economic climate, when there’s a need by the community to watch every nickel spent. At the same time, Nacht continued, the AATA has to respect the level of performance it’s getting. The community should feel comfortable. Bernstein said he is thrilled with the job Ford has done. The board and the AATA have accomplished a great deal over the last couple of years, and could not have done it without Ford’s leadership, Bernstein said.

Anya Dale added that through her work with Washtenaw County as a planner, she talks to representatives from other communities. And they report how wonderful it’s been talking to representatives of the AATA – she felt it was the first time the AATA has been a real leader.

Charles Griffith reported that he’s heard sentiments similar to those Dale had reported. He said he’s glad Ford has decided to stick with the AATA and to sign up for another year. Hopefully, Griffith said, he’ll sign on for many more.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the new contract.

Board: Communications, Committees, CEO, Commentary

At its May 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 the CEO, Michael Ford. The board also heard commentary from the public. Here are some highlights not included elsewhere in the report.

Comm/Comm: Board Reappointments

In his report to the board, CEO Michel Ford acknowledged the reappointment of Charles Griffith and Rich Robben to the AATA board through May 2016. Their nominations were confirmed by the city council at its May 2 meeting. He thanked Griffith and Robben and other board members for their support and help in moving the AATA forward.

Comm/Comm: Rail Transit Funding

Ford reported the recent news that some funding for rail transit had come through the Michigan Dept. of Transportation from the Federal Rail Administration – the city of Ann Arbor had been awarded $2.8 million for the Fuller Road Station project. [Recent Chronicle coverage: "PAC Gets Update on Fuller Road Station"]. Ford called it “exciting news,” and said it gets the city closer to an intermodal facility. He pointed out that the station is included as a part of the AATA’s transit master plan (TMP).

Comm/Comm: Connector Study

Ford reported that the Plymouth-State connector study project continues to move forward. URS, which is the consultant on the project, had given a presentation to the board a couple of months ago, Ford reminded board members, and will give a presentation to the city probably sometime in the fall. The next steps would include a preliminary engineering and environmental assessment, Ford said. [Coverage of the URS presentation to the AATA board: "AATA: Transit Study, Planning Updates"]

Comm/Comm: Transit Master Plan, Governance

Ford said the leadership team for the transit master plan had met, moderated by board chair Jesse Bernstein. Community outreach meetings continue to take place. [A Chronicle column that includes reporting from one of those meetings, which took place in Ypsilanti: "Column: Chevy Volt – Private Transit Choices"]

Discussions on the governance of a countywide authority continue, said Ford. He’s continuing to meet with representatives of various municipalities. He reported that Ann Arbor Township and Superior Township will sign an Act 7 agreement – that will allow their joint participation and representation in a countywide transit authority. By way of background, Act 7 is the Urban Cooperation Act of 1967. [.pdf of Act 7] It’s not specific to transit issues, but rather provides a framework for different units of local government to form agreements with each other. [Previous Chronicle coverage on countywide transit authority governance: "Concerns Aired Over Transit Governance"]

Board member Roger Kerson asked Ford for more details on governance discussions. He asked what Ford was imagining as far as sequencing and timing.

Ford said he’d met with Ann Arbor Township and Superior Township officials, and that they had actually voted on an Act 7 accord. Ford said he’d also talked to other local units, but no others had yet voted. He hoped everything would be in place by fall – that is, that each group of governmental units in the sections of the county that had been identified would get to determine their participation in a countywide transportation authority, based on Act 7 agreements. Ford said that the AATA has a lot of work ahead of it in the next several months. By fall, he said, an “unincorporated group” should be able to start forming.

Comm/Comm: Living Wage

Reporting out from the planning and development committee, Rich Robben spoke about a living wage policy that the AATA has been considering at the committee level. AATA staff had provided some information to the committee, Robben said, and had followed calculations by the city of Ann Arbor. Staff will make updates based on committee suggestions, and it will likely come back before the committee for its June meeting. The committee may recommend that it come before the full board.

By way of background, the board had passed a resolution at its Dec. 16, 2010 meeting to explore some kind of living wage standard for its contractors. The city of Ann Arbor’s ordinance for its contractors is tied to federal poverty guidelines and was earlier this month increased by a percent. [Chronicle coverage: "Ann Arbor Law Nudges Living Wage Upwards"]

Comm/Comm: Ridership, Fuel Prices

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Charles Griffith said they went over AATA’s financial and performance reports as usual, and found the agency is in pretty good shape financially – it’s doing well on its performance metrics, he said.

The ridership on the express routes – from Chelsea to Ann Arbor, and from Canton to Ann Arbor – have shown some increase in ridership, Griffith said. That’s probably due to efforts on the part of staff and the University of Michigan to send email alerts, as well as a promotional 10-ride ticket sold at a discounted rate to try to get people into the program, he said. Performance on those routes will continue to be monitored, Griffith said.

Jesse Bernstein followed up a few minutes later by asking if there was any data about the impact of fuel prices, or if that would not be apparent until next month. Phil Webb, AATA’s controller, told Bernstein that ridership has increased, but it’s difficult to say how much is attributable to fuel costs. As far as the AATA’s own fuel costs, Webb said, the organization is actually under budget, because the AATA buys fuel futures contracts.

Comm/Comm: On-Time, Website, Rotating Auditor

Continuing his update from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Griffith said the committee had received a report on on-time performance. In a report they’d heard a few months ago, they had focused on very late buses. More recently, they’d looked at each time point – a bus might arrive at its route end at the Blake Transit Center on time, but be late at time points along the way.

The committee had also received a presentation on website development and information architecture, Griffith said. “It’s not exactly fun reading,” he allowed, but it gives an idea of what the architecture of the AATA website is. The committee had provided a little bit of input for the wording on the top buttons on the site, and would receive more updates as the website redesign progresses.

The committee had started discussion about an auditor rotation policy, but had not gone into detail, because committee members wanted to have board member Sue McCormick at a meeting before they proceeded. She had been the one originally to raise the issue. [McCormick had raised the issue at the board's Sept. 16, 2010 meeting, when board members approved a contract with Rehman as its auditor, but only for one year.]

The issue needs to come before the board at its next meeting so that there will be time to issue a request for proposals in time for next year’s audit, Griffith said.

Comm/Comm: Local Advisory Council – Driver Appreciation

Jody Slowins reported out from the AATA’s local advisory council, beginning by saying that she’d been involved with the LAC for more than 12 years. In that time, she said, the whole tenor has changed a lot. People initially wanted to be on the council and just wanted to complain. It’s evolved into a more involved council, she said. The LAC has been working on a new driver appreciation program. She extended compliments to the staff liaison to the LAC, Brian Clouse – he’s been a wonderful connection between AATA and the council, she said. The driver recognition program program would recognize people for positive behavior. She hoped drivers would try to aspire to be recognized. The program would be about rewarding people, instead of cutting them down in a punitive way.

Comm/Comm: Accessible, Affordable Transportation

Thomas Partridge spoke during both opportunities for the public to address the board. He introduced himself as a Washtenaw County and city of Ann Arbor resident, and advocate of county residents who need and deserve public transportation the most in the current economic climate: middle-income families, students, seniors and disabled people. At the most recent Ann Arbor city council meeting, he reported, the increase of taxicab rates “sailed through” council’s approval. Even though the council consists all of Democrats, they didn’t even discuss the issue he’d brought forth during the public hearing, he said – namely, the general negative impact on those who need AATA’s service.

Partridge asked that the AATA board continue to make accessible, affordable transportation and para-transit its top priorities and to keep rates affordable and expand the service countywide. The board should find subsidies to reduce rates for seniors and disabled people. He noted that one reason Michael Ford was hired as AATA’s CEO was to institute an affordable, accessible countywide transportation system.

During his second turn at the podium, Partridge said the county needs transit on a more open, accessible and friendly basis than it’s currently being provided. He criticized the board for discussing issues in skeleton terms, with a predetermined agenda, and decisions already made. Agenda items are mentioned in passing and then given unanimous approval, he said. Discussions need to be more full and open.

Partridge said he’s critical of the board chair, the AATA’s CEO, the mayor and the city council for not making greater efforts to unite governmental units in county. Partridge said he attends Ann Arbor city council meetings as much as possible, and the sense he gets is that there’s not enough person-to-person contact between the AATA appearing in public in front of the city council and the Washtenaw County board of commissioners. Both of those organizations want to be in on the decision-making of this body, Partridge concluded. [The last occasion on which a representative of the AATA appeared at the city council was the Ann Arbor city council's Jan. 20, 2009 meeting. Then-board chair David Nacht appeared before the body to give councilmembers an update.]

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

Next regular meeting: Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [confirm date]