Home    OTA Forum    Transit Jobs    FAQ    Site Map    Font Size:
THE OTA

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Select a date from the list below to review minutes.


February 13, 2007 | Download PDF Version >

Present

Members: Mark Pangborn (President), Heather Ornelas (Vice President), Steve Dickey (Treasurer), Ed Bergeron, Peter Jacobsen, Matt Mumford, Ernie Palmer, Julie Stephens, Michael Ward, Elaine Wells, John Whittington.
Guests: Lorna Adkins, Kelly Brooks, Edna Campau, Aaron Deas, Debi Letney, Gary Ouderkirk, Rodney Rosenkranz, and Dinah Vanderhyde.
Staff: Roger Martin and Kelsey Wilson
Meeting was called to order at 10:04 AM.

Announcements from the Chair

The chair briefly went over his expectations and introductions were made.

Approval of Agenda

Approved.

Approval of Minutes

There were no December minutes for approval. Staff stated that the minutes were on a computer that crashed and if they are recovered, they will be sent immediately.

Treasurer’s Report

Steve Dickey briefly summarized the financial summary distributed. He noted that the income is at 93% for the year, while expenses are only at 64%. Steve also noted that interest income seemed low for the month and the question was being asked of the accountant, but that he thought it was because most of the money had been taken from a savings account and put in a 5 mo. CD and that interest would not show on a monthly basis.

Commercial Driver’s License/ODOT-DMV

DMV provided a handout of their statutory interpretation of when a CDL license is required for drivers of mass transit and transportation districts. They also provided a decision chart to help determine when a CDL is required for operators of passenger vehicles. Elaine Wells said Jane Cease provided a letter to their transit district in 1992 stating they were exempt from CDL requirements and that DMV had refused to issue a similar letter today. Her question was whether the fact that their agency had a contract with a mass transit district and received funds from ODOT Public Transit required that all their drivers have a CDL. DMV said that statute states that the "vehicle" they use must be owned by, leased by or under contract to a transportation district before the CDL requirement applies. Elaine explained that their service providers’ contracts are between Ride Connection and the service provider, not the transit agency. Since Elaine said her vehicles were not owned by, leased by or under contact to a transportation district, DMV felt that a CDL was not required.

Heather Ornelas, City of Bend, said that all their drivers operate vehicles that are 16 passengers or less, but DMV requires they test in a vehicle greater than 16 passengers and their district doesn't have any larger vehicles. DMV stated that it was a federal requirement that Class C CDL drivers must test in a vehicle designed to transport 16 or more passengers. DMV suggested the district "borrow" a larger vehicle from another district for the drive test.

Executive Director’s Report/Roger Martin

ODOT-PTD’s Report/Michael Ward

Michael provided a handout with current and long term activites of the Public Transit Division

Meeting Location Discussion

There was discussion about where to hold the monthly OTA Board meeting. Staff reported that it had been working with Salem-Keizer Transit to determine if conference calling is an option. Salem-Keizer is looking into it, and staff will alert members when they receive an answer. It was suggested that the meeting location be moved to LTD. There wasn’t much pushback to moving the meeting location, but it was requested that during session, the meetings be held in Salem. So until July, meetings will remain in Salem and the issue will surface again in June for a final decision. The day and time was also discussed. Staff will send out a survey and wait for replies to reevaluate if the second Tuesday of the month is the best day for the group.

Other Business

Board Vacancies
Staff alerted the board that there are two vacancies on the board. Both fall under the City/County category, but there is nothing in the bylaws that would stop the board from moving around categories to make room for potential candidates that don’t fit in the vacant seats. Roger Martin pitched that John Helm would be a valuable member of the board. John serves at Chair of the Governor’s Commission on Senior Services, he’s a member of PTAC, and he’s Chair of Columbia County STF/Transportation Advisory Committee, a member of CTAA, and a board member and on the executive committee of Community Action Team, Inc. A motion to move the City of Bend to the City/County category and nominate John Helm to an At Large position on the OTA Board was moved, seconded and approved unanimously. Staff and the president will put together a letter to Mr. Helm requesting his acceptance to serve on the board. It was decided that the other position would remain vacant for the time being.

Legislative Briefing
Roger discussed most of the issues in his executive director report. Staff alerted the board to legislation about the use of mobile devices while driving. Staff told the board that OTA would be testifying and asking for an exemption and if anyone had examples of the necessity of mobile communication devices on buses, please tell Roger before he testifies tomorrow.

Yield to Bus Law
Ernie distributed copies of the current law and the OAR that details what type of equipment meets the Oregon Yield To Bus law. Ernie pointed out that the law and requirements are over 10 years old and simply represent the technology of the time. Since that date new technology has been developed that is superior. Ernie then demonstrated the example of this new technology from Transpec Worldwide. Ernie asked that ODOT review the product and if possible begin the process to change the OAR to allow this new and superior product. Michael Ward promised to look into the process.

Oregon MPO Consortium/Lloyd Chapman – SKT Board Chair

Conclusion

OTA Meeting adjourned at 12:?? PM.