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Minutes | Regular Meeting
SOCIAL SERVICES TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COUNCIL
MINUTES March 4, 2020
Present Voting Attendees:
Michael Hack – Vice-Chair Consumer
Ted Ceasar Consumer
Raul Cordova Work Training Center (WTC)
Sonia Silva Access to Independence
Dr. Kathleen Lang California Health & Wellness (CH&W)
Mitzi Perez ARC-IV
David Aguirre CTSA–ICTC
Maricela Galarza CTSA–ICTC
Gustavo Gomez CTSA–ICTC
Non-Voting Attendees:
Cesar Sanchez IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans
Helio Sanchez IVT
Jose Guillen IVT MedTrans
Karla Pacheco IVT Access
Mark McCumsey Caltrans
1. Mr. Hack called the meeting to order at 10:06 a.m. A quorum was present. Introductions were made.
2. Minutes adopted for February 5, 2020 (Ceasar, Silva), Motion Carried.
3. CTSA Reports:
Mr. Gomez had the following updates:
- There were about 13 ADA certifications for February.
- IVT Ride service had 20 sign-ups for February.
- Staff attended the IVC 411 event and the “welcome back” students event, where information was provided on the transportation services and questions were addressed.
- On Valentine's day, the staff visited various bus transfer centers, in the cities of Brawley, El Centro, Heber, and El Centro, to provide some candy treats to passengers. The purpose was to show appreciation to passengers who are riding the fixed route system.
- The Unmet Transit Needs workshop was conducted in Brawley, on February 24th, there was not a lot of people from the public that attended.
- Staff attended the Bombay Beach-Northend Advisory Council meeting on February 24th to inform the public about the upcoming Unmet Transit Needs hearing scheduled for March 4th and other methods to provide comments (email, letter, in person). Staff returned a couple of days later to the Bombay Beach area and drop off rider’s guides, per request of the residents who attended the Northend Advisory Council meeting.
- Staff visited the West shore area to distribute updated brochures including; Senior Center, Clinicas de Salud, and the Chamber of Commerce.
- Staff plans to attend the 18th Annual Children & Families Health Fair in Niland on March 18th.
Ms. Galarza had the following updates:
- Attended the Calexico Pioneers Medical Center ribbon-cutting event on March 19th. There was the opportunity to receive a tour of the facility from the inside, it also included various health informational booths that were located on the outside.
Mr. Aguirre had the following announcements:
- The Unmet Transit Needs hearing is scheduled for this afternoon, located at the County of Chambers, in El Centro, at 3:00 pm.
- This year the Unmet Transit Needs outreach efforts were extended out to the northern area by attending various city Advisory Council meetings (Calipatria, Bombay Beach, West Shores) and hosting an Unmet Transit Needs workshop in the Brawley area. This allowed the public with an opportunity to provide their comments or informing them of other possible methods to provide their feedback (email, letter, in person). ICTC will be looking to move forward with a similar approach of outreach efforts for future Unmet Transit Needs hearings.
- ICTC is working on various projects that are currently in progress.
Transit Operator Reports:
- Imperial Valley Transit: Mr. H. Sanchez reported the following:
o The month of February was short, there were about 52,000 passengers in total.
o Ridership takes a negative impact when IVC is not in session, there was 1 week during February when IVC was not in session.
o Mr. H. Sanchez left it open to any questions/concerns that SSTAC members may have on the IVT service.
Ø No comments from SSTAC members.
- IVT Access: Ms. Pacheco did not have anything to report:
o Ms. Pacheco left it open to any questions/concerns that SSTAC members may have on the IVT Access service.
Ø No comments from SSTAC members.
- IVT Ride: Mr. C. Sanchez did not have anything to report:
o Mr. C. Sanchez left it open to any questions/concerns that SSTAC members may have on the IVT Ride service.
Ø No comments from SSTAC members.
- IVT MedTrans: Mr. Guillen reported the following:
o Mr. Guillen was accompanied by Mr. Gomez when distributing IVT MedTrans brochures throughout the city of Brawley and El Centro, to various medical facilities.
o Mr. Guillen left it open to any questions/concerns that SSTAC members may have on the IVT MedTrans service.
Ø No comments from SSTAC members.
5. General Discussion
- Mr. Ceasar asked on the status of the Fare Study project.
Ø Mr. Aguirre informed Mr. Ceasar that the Fare Study will proceed with another set of outreach events to provide the final recommended options of payment and possible fare increase. The project is currently on schedule. The purpose of the study is to receive a recommendation for possible items to implement within the transit system. Therefore, it does not necessarily mean that the recommended items will be implemented. The results of the study will later be shared with the pertaining cities, specifically related to the IVT Ride service. Any possible changes to the fare structure will be taken to the transportation commission for review.
- Mr. Hack announced that the next People’s Choice meeting will be held at Strikezone, on March 18th, at noon. The flyer containing information will be sent to Ms. Galarza to distribute to SSTAC members via email.
6. Adjournment
- The meeting adjourned at 10:21 a.m. (Hack), Motion Carried.
- The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, at the Imperial County Transportation Commission Office, 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104, El Centro, CA 92243.