Subcommittee Chair, Rodney Rawls, called the meeting to order, asked for a roll call and declared the presence of a quorum.

Transcription

1 Summary of Discussion Meeting Friday, 3:00-5:00 PM Broward County Emergency Operations Center 201 NW 84 th Avenue, Room 332-A Plantation, FL MEMBERS PRESENT: Rodney P. Rawls, Esq., Chair Richard Blattner Shaun Davis, CPA Mayor Rhon Ernest-Jones Burnadette Norris-Weeks, Esq. MEMBERS W. Reid Morgan, P. E. ABSENT: ALSO PRESENT: Dan Glickman, Citizen, Deerfield Beach Maria Gross, Assistant Director, Management & Efficiency Study Committee (MESC) Priscilla Rogers, Administrative Assistant, Management & Efficiency Study Committee (MESC) James Saunders, Williams Wilson & Sexton, P.A. Patricia G. West. Executive Director, Management & Efficiency Study Committee (MESC) A meeting of the Broward County Management & Efficiency Study Committee (MESC) Transportation Subcommittee was held on Friday, at 3:00 PM at the Broward County Emergency Operations Center, 201 NW 84 th Avenue, Room 332-A, Plantation, FL. I CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Subcommittee Chair, Rodney Rawls, called the meeting to order, asked for a roll call and declared the presence of a quorum. II SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR S COMMENTS The Chair asked if those present had a copy of the updated report from Williams Wilson & Sexton, P.A. Those present acknowledged they each had a copy. 1

2 III APPROVAL OF THE SUMMARIES OF DISCUSSION (SOD) FROM February 17, 2006 & MARCH 3, 2006 The Chair asked if there were changes, additions or corrections to be made to the SOD s from February 17, 2006 or March 3, Ms. Norris-Weeks asked the Chair what today s meeting was for and he informed her they were present to vote on their recommendations to the full MESC. Ms. Norris-Weeks asked about the discussion at the last meeting she attended regarding transferring Mass Transit from Community Services to the new Department of Transportation and Ms. West advised her they would be discussing that later in the meeting. The Chair again asked if there were changes, additions or corrections to be made to the SOD s from February 17, 2006 or March 3, The SOD s were both approved without objection. IV SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR S COMMENTS The Chair asked if the members reviewed the recommendations and reminded them that the MESC Chair, Stacy Ritter, requested they consider what might be done from a short term standpoint in addition to the long term recommendations they were making. He further reminded them they should consider the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) staffing and whether it was efficiently run. The Chair asked the members to look at their first recommendation for voting consideration. V SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Mr. Blattner mentioned the presence of a scrivener s error. He stated there should be a comma after MPO in the last Paragraph, third line from the bottom. Recommendation #1: 1. Support of a Dedicated Local Funding Source for Public Transportation The public transportation needs for Broward County today and in the future cannot be met with the available local funding financial resources. A long term dedicated local transportation funding source is necessary to compete effectively for State and Federal public transportation grants. Local funding together with state and federal grants offers opportunities for additional transit improvements within Broward County through bond financing. Because there are various stakeholders within Broward County, including the general public, that benefit from or contribute to public transportation, any local funding source dedicated to public transportation improvements should be 2

3 monitored by an oversight committee. The oversight committee should be established and supported by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, with input from, but not limited to the following entities: the Broward County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the Florida Department of Transportation (District IV), and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). The oversight committee should also be representative of various stakeholders within Broward County including, but not limited to Broward County League of Cities, Audubon Society, League of Women Voters, MPO, Broward Workshop, Broward Alliance and organizations representing the community at large and public transportation users. Mr. Blattner moved the recommendation with the correction of the scrivener s error, the motion was seconded by Mayor Ernest-Jones and the recommendation with the correction was approved without objection. The Chair asked the members to move on to the second recommendation. Mr. Blattner requested clarification with the Chair advising him they were considering the more updated version. There is also back up language from the County Charter included for their review. Ms. West read Section 3.08 of the County Charter for clarification of the members. Recommendation #2: 2. Integration and Reorganization of Broward County Transportation Agencies With the expected growth in Broward County s population exceeding 2.5 million residents by 2030, and our current fiscally strained and operationally fragmented transit and transportation system, the future residents of Broward County will be underserved. As a result, it is imperative that County transportation services are integrated and prominently positioned within the County organization. The Management & Efficiency Study Transportation Subcommittee recommends that the County Commission integrate the planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance functions of its various transportation departments, divisions and sections and reorganize those agencies under a newly created Office or Department of Transportation. Particular attention should be given to Mass Transit Division under Community Services Department, Transportation Planning Division under the Department of Urban Planning and Redevelopment and the Divisions of Highway Construction and Engineering, Highway and Bridge Maintenance and Traffic Engineering Divisions under the Public Works and Transportation Department. See attached charts: 1) Current Major Transportation Agencies and 2) Proposed Department of Public Transportation. 3

4 The recommends the appointment of a Chief Transportation Planning Officer (CTPO), who would report to the County Administrator. This individual would implement and coordinate all strategic transportation planning by Broward County Government. Mr. Shaun Davis arrived at the meeting at this time. Mayor Ernest-Jones moved the recommendation of #2, Mr. Blattner seconded the motion. Mayor Ernest-Jones noted that the title Chief Transportation Planning Officer was missing from the version they were discussing. After discussion it was determined they revise the language to read as follows: The MESC recommends the appointment of a Chief Transportation Planning Officer (CTPO) who will report to the County Administrator. This sentence should be moved from recommendation number 2 to the end of the Recommended Version of recommendation #2, Integration and Reorganization of Broward County Transportation Agencies. The motion was adopted without objection. The Chair asked them to look at the recommendation entitled Improved Quantity and Quality of Mass Transit Services to Increase Transit Ridership.(Recommendation #3, see below) The Chair stated he was referring to the Strategic Business Plan proposed by the County Commission. 3. Improved Quantity and Quality of Mass Transit Services to Increase Transit Ridership Between 2000 and 2004, Broward County Mass Transit Division s (BCT) total ridership has grown from 26.1 million to approximately 36.3 million. Approximately 92% of total ridership travels on the fixed route bus service, 5% travel on community buses and the remaining 3% travel by paratransit services. Based upon BCT s 2003 community survey, it was determined that there was a need for more 1) frequent trips to improve the level of service to existing destinations, and 2) direct service to more destinations. The Management & Efficiency Study Committee (MESC) Transportation Subcommittee recommends that the County Commission enhance its current marketing campaign to educate the public about BCT transit services. In addition, the recommends that the County Commission diligently pursue transit solutions that produce more frequent and direct trips to a greater number of destinations. The also supports policies developed by the County Commission that make free parking available to facilitate public transportation. 4

5 Mr. Blattner expressed his concern with the free parking and personal preference reference. Mr. Blattner and the Chair discussed the inconsistency in the language which might provide a disincentive to increased ridership. Mr. Saunders explained the rationale behind the language and also explained the back up material that was provided with specific reference to the packet. Mr. Blattner stated he would like to see some justification for this and gave the example of the empty parking lots along the Tri-Rail routes. He further expressed his concern over the reference to major activity centers and transit oriented developments and the lack of flexibility. Mayor Ernest-Jones stated his recommendation would be to provide free parking at any intermodal location and suggested they add some clarifying language. Mr. Saunders explained this was all provided for in the County Commission s Strategic Business Plan for Broward County Transit (BCT) and they could recommend their support for the County implementation of the plan if that is what they desired. Mr. Davis and Mr. Blattner discussed the addition of clarification or a caveat which would make the recommendation not appear so black and white. The Chair suggested they might have to strike it all together as he did not feel comfortable modifying something he was not an expert on. Mr. Davis stated the recommendation was good and suggested they strike the free parking language and go with the first paragraph and the second sentence of the paragraph. Mayor Ernest-Jones suggested the addition of an exception after major activity center which states except those that facilitate major activity centers. Mr. Davis asked to hear the language again. The Chair asked exactly what they were referring to with the language. Mayor Ernest-Jones explained. There was discussion of the policy as it related to maintenance of facilities through charging for parking. Ms. West reminded them it had to go through the Full Committee before it became final. There was further discussion of the language with the Chair again stating his desire to strike it altogether. Mr. Blattner stated there should be free parking if the objective was to get people out of their cars to get them to a major business center. He reiterated that further away you are the more you want to attract people to get on the system. Mr. Saunders suggested they replace the language with language that states they support any policy development by the County Commission that offers or makes available free parking for users of mass transit. Ms. West suggested Mr. Saunders revise this particular section and it to the members for their approval. Mayor Ernest-Jones suggested Further, the committee recommends the County Commission diligently pursue providing improved transit services that are more frequent and more directly serve an increased number of destinations. 5

6 The Chair asked for a vote based on the modified language as discussed. Mayor Ernest-Jones moved the motion, Ms. Norris-Weeks seconded it and the motion was approved without objection. The Chair asked for discussion of the CUTR report and the MPO use of County staff. After discussion it was determined they were not in a position to make a recommendation and should leave it alone for the time being. Therefore, recommendation #4 was left unchanged. Recommendation #4: 4. Continuing review of Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) staffing. Due to the s April 12, 2006 reporting deadline, the Broward County Metropolitan Planning Organization s possible future consideration of the March, 2006 draft Report of the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), and the multi-jurisdictional considerations contemplated by the Report, no recommendation can be made at this time. The Chair thanked the members for their hard work. He reminded them there was a Full Committee meeting Wednesday, April 12, 2006 after which they could schedule further meetings if necessary. He stated Mr. Saunders would provide them with the changes they discussed before this meeting. VI ADJOURNMENT The Chair adjourned the meeting at 4:07 PM. 6