Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Coordination Committee - Minutes - 8/16/2023 K:\Agendas and Minutes\Transportation Coord Committee\TCC Minutes\TCC minutes 2023\TCC meeting minutes-2023-08-16-draft.docx 1 BAYFIELD COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TRANSPORTATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE MICROSOFT TEAMS MEETING 8/16/2023 3:00 – 4:00 PM Committee Members Present: Carla Becker, Mary Dougherty, Pat Daoust, Jeremy Oswald, Jeff Benton Committee Members Excused: Carrie Linder, Perri Campell Staff Present: Jenise Swartley, Elizabeth Skulan Other Present: Donna Richards, Roby Fuller Call to Order and Introductions Mary Dougherty called the meeting to order at 3:02 PM and introductions were made. 2. Discussion and Possible Action – Review and approval of the June 20, 2023, meeting minutes Motion by Jeremy, second by Jeff, motion carried. 3. Find Your Own Driver Program-Presentation by Roby Fuller, Director, ADRC of Eagle Country-Prairie du Chien Office and Donna Richards, ADRC/Aging Manager, Division of Adams County Health & Human Services Department. Donna Richards from Adams County: The county lacks public transportation, and a high percentage of their population is seniors. Started the Find Your Own Driver (FYOD) program two years ago. They didn’t have enough volunteers in the volunteer driver program, and insurance was complicated. Many of the volunteer drivers did not return after COVID. The county reimburses the passenger, and the passenger pays the driver. The passenger identifies and recruits their own driver. The passenger feels more comfortable being transported by someone they know. This program is mostly for medical rides. The county will likely expand it further to shopping trips. This program is working out well for them. They have about 26 people using it. They have three part-time drivers, one on-call paid driver, three volunteer drivers, two buses, and three vans. They started reimbursing at 40 cents per mile, but then increased it to 50 cents per mile when gas prices went up. People are satisfied with that. They have a 500 miles/month cap per passenger. They only had one person max out. They can ask for verification for a medical appointment, but they haven’t felt the need to do that yet. Roby Fuller from Crawford County: Their program began in January 2022 and is for seniors (60+) and disabled adults. The county reimburses the passenger, and the passenger pays the driver. Passengers locate their own drivers. This program is for medical trips only. The program has served three people in 2022, five people in the first half of 2023, and they currently have 15 applications for funding. The county implemented the program with very little advertising. They included an article about it in their newsletter and provided outreach to healthcare providers, but the program has grown primary by word of mouth. The county also has a taxicab voucher program and a door-to-door van program. They reimburse 40 cents per mile. DRAFT: Subject to change at the NEXT TCC meeting K:\Agendas and Minutes\Transportation Coord Committee\TCC Minutes\TCC minutes 2023\TCC meeting minutes-2023-08-16-draft.docx 2 The number of trips and cost of the program were listed in Roby’s presentation. Crawford County modified the documents that they received from Adams County. They hope to expand the program to include shopping trips and expect to put more money into it. This program has been particularly helpful for those experiencing memory loss/dementia who have a difficult time using public transportation. They have eight part-time paid drivers, three volunteer drivers, and six vehicles. The county is in the process of purchasing additional vehicles due to increase in demand. They pay 40 cents per mile because that’s what the other counties were paying, and they can manage that rate in their budget. There have a 500 miles/month cap per passenger. There is currently one person who is close to maxing out, but no one who has reached the monthly maximum yet. 4. Discussion and Possible Action-Review and possible recommendation of 2024 s85.21 Transportation Projects. Reviewed year-to-date budget of transportation projects, including the cost per ride. The volunteer driver program (TAP) is the highest cost per ride due to the cost of staff time included in the project. No recommendations were made. 5. Discussion and Possible Action-Review and possible recommendation for 2023 and 2024 expenditures from DOT s85.21 Trust Fund.-BART request for $21,976.40 required match for a new D2D replacement vehicle for 2023 and $30,915 required match for the electric bus, not expected to be delivered until 2024. Daoust explained that Bay Area Rural Transit (BART) is currently using a four-person van with high mileage for the Door2Door Route. Daoust reported it is difficult to get in and out of and is not a comfortable ride for passengers. The van can only accommodate one wheelchair at a time, and it has to be under a certain size. The proposed van is a transit van that can accommodate two wheelchairs of a larger size and can fit up to ten seats. Daoust indicated ridership is increasing and he hopes to group more rides together with a new van. The electric van will provide fuel savings of approximately $6,000 to $8,000 annually. No other savings were identified. Skulan asked how often in the past 18 months a vehicle the size of the proposed van was needed. Daoust indicated on one occasion. There were several other questions regarding: the annual cost of the project currently; how much growth is anticipated; and the estimated life of the larger, more expensive van. Daoust was not prepared to respond to the questions but will gather additional information to present at the next meeting. Due to a lack of quorum, there was no action on this agenda item. It will be added to the next meeting agenda. 6. County Comprehensive Plan-Transportation Section Dougherty reported there were two projects based on increasing accessibility to transportation for seniors incorporated into the comprehensive plan. Future Meeting Date : Next meeting: Wednesday, September 20th at 3 PM. Adjournment-Motion by Mary, second by Pat to adjourn at 4:13 PM, motion carried. Minutes respectfully submitted by Jenise Swartley on 8/16/2023.