The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) Advisory Board met on Monday, April 27, 2020, at 11:00 am, at 15 Blandin Avenue, Framingham, MA, at the call of Joe Nolan, Advisory Board Chair/Wayland. The meeting was virtual and Advisory Board members and the public, were provided access via telconferencing (1-857-444-6500 access code: 666781495) and online (join.me/666-781-495).
A roll call of members present was conducted. In attendance were: Ed Burman/Ashland – Vice Chair, Debra Galloway/Sudbury, Brian Herr/ Hopkinton, John K. Higley/Sherborn, Jack Hunter/Hudson – Clerk, Larry Jacobs/Holliston, Thatcher Kezer/Framingham, Will Kingkade/Milford, Carole Mullen/Hopedale, Joseph Nolan/Wayland – Chair.
Also in attendance: Ed Carr/Administrator, Eva Willens/Deputy Administrator, John Glynn/CFO, Patrick Moynihan/General Counsel, Joy Glynn, Ieshia Price, Emily VanDewoestine.
Also on the call: Roger Kiessling/Kiessling Transit, Chuck Curran/Kiessling Transit.
Not in attendance: Karen Adelman-Foster/Natick, Kathleen Bartolini/Southborough, Craig Hughes/Dover, Jean MacQuiddy/Weston, Jack Morgan/Wellesley, Trish Pope/Marlborough, Susan Stocker of Sudbury/ Disabled Community.
Chair Joe Nolan, presiding, began the meeting with member introductions, then declared a quorum present, and the meeting was called to order at 11:10 am.
A motion was made by Brian Herr: Approval of minutes from the Advisory Board Meeting of January 27, 2020. Second by Jack Hunter. The vote was unanimous.
Mr. Nolan requested any public comments from the audience. No public comments were presented.
Mr. Carr gave a brief overview of the items on the agenda requiring the Advisory Board’s approval. First, the statutorily required preliminary approval of the annual budget to be presented by CFO John Glynn; and second approval of the agreements for transportation services for both fixed route/shuttle services and demand response services to be presented by General Counsel Patrick Moynihan.
Mr. Carr reported that ridership has decreased signifigantly due to the effects of COVID-19. Demand Response Service is down approximately 85%, and Fixed Route is down 90%. Basic fixed route services are continuing. Congress enacted the CARES Act to assist public agencies and private companies affected by the COVID-19 . MWRTA was fortunate that it applied early for this grant funding under Section 5307 of the FTA federal enabling statute and was awarded $6 million.
The Administrator thanked the Board for its support in suspending fare collections earlier in the month to aid in the safety of our drivers and customers. He stated that in addition to that measure, in the interest of further providing driver and passenger safety, fleet maintenance erected barriers around all vehicle driver compartments. As a consequence of all of these steps, to date there have been no known cases of COVID- 19 at the MWRTA or that have occurred as a result of customers riding the system.
John Glynn, MWRTA CFO, presented the Preliminary FY21 (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021) budget for Board approval. He noted that traditionally, and consistent with state law, a preliminary budget is presented to the Board in April and adjusted between April and June when the actual state and federal funding levels will likely be known. The expectation is MWRTA will operate without a deficit because of anticipated state contract assistance and local assessments. The final budget will be presented to the Board at the June meeting.
In reponse to a question from the Board as to what factors drive the ADA and Advertising/Promotion numbers, Mr. Glynn responded that the calculation is derived from the number of hours anticipated to be used by the service provider, based on a projected hourly rate. He noted that under the new contract to be presented later in the meeting, this amount will decrease due to the reduced hourly rate proposed by the successful bidder. Mr. Glynn stated that Advertising/Promotion line item activities have increased with our vendor, Impact Expressions, including additional public education costs as a result of COVID-19.
A motion was made by Carole Mullen: To accept the preliminary draft of FY21 budget as presented. Second by Jack Hunter. The vote was unanimous.
Patrick Moynihan, MWRTA General Counsel walked the Board through the Request for Proposals (RFP) process for the selection of the operator for Fixed Route/Shuttle Services (FRSS) amd Demand Response Services (DRS). The DRS contract with the current operator expires on June 30, 2020 and the FRSS contract has one more option year. As previously reported to the Board, it was determined by the Administrator to put both contracts out to bid simultaneously in an effort to attract more proposers and better pricing. Mr. Moynihan stated that the process began last fall with an extensive review of both contracts resulting in revisions geared towards meeting the Administrator’s goals and improving service to MWRTA customers. Separate RFPs for both contracts were made available on January 27, 2020, with much interest exhibited by the transit industry. In February a total of eight companies participated in the pre-proposal conferences and ultimately four proposals each for both FRSS and DRS were received for consideration from the following operators:
A separate evaluation committee for each service was appointed by the Administrator and the committees jointly conducted several meetings to review the various proposals under the evaluation criteria set foth in the RFPs. The three phase review included: (1) determination of which proposals were considered to be in the competitive range (i.e. had a reasonable chance of ultimately being selected); (2) separate interviews with each proposer deemed in the competitive range; and, (3) review of revised proposals received from requested best and final offers (BAFO). Three BAFO responses were received. Total Transportation did not respond to the request. Based on final scoring of the various revised proposals received, the committee recommended to the Administrator that both contracts be awarded to KTI/NEXT. The Administrator accepted the committees’ recommendation and, as provided under the RFP procedures, met separately with KTI/NEXT to conduct additional discussions/negotiations, which resulted in KTI/NEXT further revising its proposal to the satisfaction of the Administrator.
A motion made by Jack Hunter: To approve the award of two contracts to Kiessling Transit, Inc./National Express Transit Corporation as the apparent successful proposer for Demand Response Services and for Fixed Route/Shuttle Services, and to authorize the Administrator to enter into final negotiations for the execution of a fixed fee contract with KTI/NEXT for both services, each for a three (3) year term (with two (2) one (1) year options), commencing on July 1, 2020.
Second by Ed Burman. The vote was unanimous.
The Administrator thanked the evaluation committees for the challenging work involved in completing the procurement process.
A question was raised as to whether, with ridership down, the RTA was continuing to make stops to St. Patrick’s and Bethany, and whether people have been tested. The repsonse was in the affirmative to both questions.
The Board expressed its thanks to the staff on the front lines who are taking care of our employees and customers during this difficult time.
The Chair advised the Board that in conformance with the MWRTA By-Laws, the Board will hold its annual election of officers at the last meeting of the fiscal year, which is the next meeting. Mr. Nolan requested that any member interested in serving as an officer to send an email to the Administrator.
Next Meeting: The next Advisory Board meeting will be held on June 29, 2020.
A motion was made by Thatcher Kezer: To adjourn the meeting. Second Debra Galloway: The vote was unanimous.
Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 11:57 AM.
The undersigned being the duly qualified acting clerk of the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority Advisory Board acknowledges that the foregoing minutes accurately reflect the actions taken at a legally convened meeting of the Advisory Board held on April 27, 2020.
Jack Hunter, Clerk
Advisory Board Meeting - June 29, 2020
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