Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Coordination Committee - Minutes - 3/16/20211 BAYFIELD COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TRANSPORTATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE MICROSOFT TEAMS MEETING March 16th 3:30 - 4:30 PM Committee Members Present: Mary Dougherty, Sam Ray, Carla Becker, Jeff Benton Committee Members Excused: Jeremy Oswald, Beth Probst Committee Member Absent: Perri Campbell-Shuga, Carol Salminen Staff Present: Carrie Linder, Mark Abeles-Allison, Jenise Swartley Other Present: Sunshine Lemieux, Bobbi Craig, Robert Blanchard, Pat Daoust 1. Call to Order and Introductions Mary Dougherty called the meeting to order at 3:33 PM. 2. Discussion and Possible Action - Review of the February 17, 2021 Meeting Minutes Motion by Carrie, second by Carla to approve the minutes, motion carried. 3. Program Presentation: Transportation Voucher Programs a. North County Independent Living Voucher Program Presentation – NCIL, Transportation Voucher Program Coordinator – Sunshine Lemieux 117 consumers use their voucher program. 75% either drive themselves or have a friends or family member. 25% use “stranger” drivers, which are drivers NCIL recruits for them. In Superior, they provide $25/month in a cab voucher. Consumers can also have 155 - 300 miles/month reimbursed through DOT money they receive. They previously had a pot of money for people looking for one or two rides but are not registered to use their voucher program as well as a pot of money for specialized transportation services (i.e., handicap accessible vehicles). These pots of money went away with DOT budget cuts. Needs they see: ● They receive one or two calls a day looking for volunteer/stranger rides that were previously covered by the above pots of money that no longer exist. They applied for a grant to replace these funds. ● The need is currently surpassing their ability to provide rides. They have a volunteer shortage. The volunteers they do have, need the reimbursement money and aren’t interested in doing short trips around town because they don’t get a large reimbursement for 1- or 2-mile trips. ● Funding to cover non-emergency medical rides for people who do not quite qualify for Medicaid rides and medical rides that are not covered by Medicaid. Approved at 4/20/2021 TCC meeting 2 b. Center for Independent Living Western Wisconsin Voucher Program Presentation – CILWW, Director of Transportation Bobbi Craig Their New Freedom Transportation program operates across 49 counties with 165 drivers to provide 30,000 rides. Similarly, short trips around town are hard to fill because mileage checks are low. People who use this program tell them all the rides they plan on needing at the beginning of each month. They pay the mileage directly to the recipient, and the recipient pays the driver. They use a software program called PC Trans that automatically calls both the driver and the recipient. Recruiting has been hard during the pandemic, but they have retained most of their drivers throughout COVID. Drivers are considered frontline workers and are being vaccinated. Insurance is difficult, but they found a policy that works for them. There is a list of insurance companies that work with volunteer drivers to cover them sufficiently. They have a policy that covers where drivers’ personal policy leaves off. 4. Program Presentation: Bad River Van Rental Program – Lloyd Hartwell, Bad River Transit Manager They have a van that they rent out. Renters schedule a time for them to use it. They must show their insurance and driver's license unless they work for the Tribe. The tribe’s insurance covers it if they work for them. They simply keep that information on file. The Tribe fills it with gas and takes care of maintenance. They ask that they return it with gas filled up, but not everyone has the financial resources to do so. They deal with those situations on a case-by-case basis. On weekends, they have a staff member there to run the program. They track start and end mileage. If someone has trouble on the road (i.e., flat tire), they have a maintenance person ready to respond most days and times. They let people take it as far as they need, but usually people only use it to get to Ashland and back. Insurance would be a barrier to access. If they do not have a car, they might not have insurance. 5. Statewide Transportation Survey CORE will help get the link out. 6. Review and refine TCC’s goals and activities We will dive into this at the next meeting. 7. Discuss next action steps We will dive into this at the next meeting. Future Meeting Date Next meeting April 20th at 3 PM. 8. Adjournment Motion by Carrie, second by Sam to adjourn at 4:33, motion carried. Minutes respectfully submitted by Jenise Swartley.