Advisory Board Meeting - June 26, 2023

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Advisory Board Meeting Minutes of June 26, 2023

The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) Advisory Board met on Monday, June 26, 2023, at 10:00 am at the call of Joseph Nolan, Advisory Board Chair/Wayland.

A roll call of members present was conducted; in attendance were: Ed Burman/Ashland-Vice Chair (virtual), Michael Tusino/Framingham (virtual), Linda Marshall/Holliston (virtual), Carole Mullen/Hopedale (virtual), Kristina Johnson/Hudson (virtual), Trish Pope/ Marlborough (virtual), Michael Walsh/Milford (virtual), Josh Ostroff/Natick (virtual), Robert Wolff/Sherborn (10:09 am virtual), Joseph Nolan/Wayland - Chair, and Colette Aufranc/Wellesley.

Also participating: Jim Nee/Administrator, Eva Willens/Deputy Administrator, John Glynn/CFO, Patrick Moynihan/General Counsel, Daniel Fitch/IT Consultant, Linda Murtagh/Executive Assistant, HR Manager, Joy Glynn/Grants Manager, Tyler Terrasi/Grants Support Coordinator, Paula Doucette/ Financial Assistant, Emily Van DeWoestine/Director of Fixed Route, Intermodal and Marketing, Jon Featherston/Manager of Travel Training & Community Relations, and David Corriera, MetroWest Center for Independent Living.

Public Attendance:  Benjamin Elwy an MWRTA Rider from Wellesley and Michael McCall, Wayland Town Manager.

Not participating: Kevin McCabe/Dover, Mary Jo Lafreniere/Hopkinton,  Martin Healey/Southborough, Debra Galloway/Sudbury-Clerk, and Jean MacQuiddy/Weston.

With a quorum declared present, the meeting was called to order at 10:07 AM with Mr. Nolan, presiding.

Public Questions/Comments:   Mr. Elwy of Wellesley stated that he is interested in being a resource for young disabled adults, and would like to advocate and partner with MWRTA for Outreach, Mr. Nolan assured him that someone from MWRTA staff would follow-up with him.

Review and Approval of Meeting Minutes: April 24, 2023

Ms. Aufranc requested a minor grammatical revision.

A motion was made by Ms. Aufranc of Wellesley: Approval of minutes, as amended, from the Advisory Board Meeting of April 24, 2023.  Second by Mr. Ostroff of Natick.  The vote was unanimous.  Linda Marshall and Carol Mullen abstained.

A & E Contract

The Administrator discussed the On-Call Engineering Design Services RFQ, as outlined in a memo provided to the board in advance of the meeting.  He reported that there had been robust competition for the services sought, with five qualified engineering firms responding. Respondents included Weston & Sampson, Tetra Tech, Langan, Gannett Fleming, and STV.

A review of each proposal was conducted by an in-house evaluation committee appointed by Mr. Nee in accordance with the selection procedures set forth in the RFQ.  The review included interviews of all respondent teams. Upon completion of the review process, the committee ranked each technical proposal based on the respondent’s experience/merit, and submitted a written evaluation to the Administrator which identified Gannett Fleming as the respondent deemed technically most advantageous to the Authority.  Upon receipt of the rankings, the Administrator opened Gannett Fleming’s price proposal and, in accordance with the process, initiated negotiations with the firm on final terms and conditions.  Mr. Nee stated that the parties agreed upon hourly rates for professional services by personnel category thoughout a five year contract term ranging from $28.88 to $142.00, consistent with industry standards, and to a fixed fee (profit) of 9%. The audited overhead rates are set for the first year of the contract, subject to further negotiation and agreement between MWRTA and Gannett Fleming in subsequent years of the term.   Payment for services will be funded through the $985,000 SMART discretionary grant funds recently awarded to the Authority.   Design work is the priority scope for phase 1 of the project to include, among other design initiatives, the feasibility of installing battery energy backup storage systems at the MWRTA.

A motion was made by Ms. Aufranc of Wellesley: Ratify the  Administrator’s selection, and award Gannet Fleming of Boston the contract for On-Call Engineering Design Services for a term of five (5) years.  Second, by Mike Walsh of Milford.  The vote was unanimous. 

FY24 Final Budget: 

Mr. Nee presented the FY24 Final Operating Budget, which included a slight increase over the preliminary budget for the cost of health insurance.  Mr. Nee also presented an update on legislative action regarding state contract assistance, which, if passed in the form offered by the Senate, will provide significantly more funding for the RTA in FY 2024 and beyond. Mr. Ostroff noted that Natick sent a letter to the state to advocate for this RTA budget language.  It was noted that the support from Senate President Spilka has been outstanding.

A motion was made by Ms. Aufranc of Wellesley: Approval of the FY24 Final Operating Budget.  Second, by Mr. Ostroff of Natick.  The vote was unanimous. 

Board Reorganization FY24:  In accordance with the MWRTA By-laws, the board discussed officers for the coming fiscal year.  Joe Nolan (Chair) and Ed Burman (Vice Chair) expressed their desire to remain in their current board positions. 

A motion was made by Ms. Aufranc of Wellesley: Approval of the continuation of the existing Board for FY24, to include Mr. Nolan as Chair, Mr. Burman as Vice Chair, and Debra Galloway as Clerk.  Second, by Mr. Ostroff of Natick.  The vote was unanimous. 

Board Member Comments:  Ms. Aufranc noted that an Audit and Finance Committee meeting will be scheduled in July to discuss the audit and financial statements.

Scheduling Next Meeting:   TBA in September.

Adjourn:

A motion was made by Ms. Aufranc of Wellesley:  To adjourn the meeting.  Second by Robert Wolff of Sherborn: The vote was unanimous.  

The meeting adjourned at 10:31 AM.

Certificate

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 June 26, 2023.

____________________________
Ed Burman, Vice Chair

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