HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/02/2008 04B Minutes 08-20-2008 Council Transportation and Transit Committee • Minutes of
Yakima City Council Transportation and Transit Committee
City of Yakima Council Chambers
Yakima City Hall, 129 North 2 " Street, Yakima, WA 98901
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
4:00 -5:00 p.m.
City Council Members Staff Other
Neil McClure Ken Mehin; Transit Manager Paul Overby; Selah
Micah Cawley Chris Waarvick; Public Works Director City Council
Rick Ensey Helen Harvey; Senior Asst. Attorney Sally Mayo; Citizen
Karen Allen; Marketing & Program Administrator
Joan Davenport; Supervising Traffic Engineer
Laura Vallejo; Bilingual Department Assistant
Councilmember Neil McClure called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. He opened the meeting with
the first item on the Transit Agenda, which relates to the Public Hearing on the proposed Fare
Adjustments. Ken Mehin commented that the reason for Transit proposing a fare increase is
basically due to the rising cost of fuel and so they don't have to dig to deep into its reserve funds.
He added that Transit has not had a fare increase in over 15 years. Neil McClure asked how much
0 the fare box revenue would generate annually and Ken Mehin responded that it would bring from
$30,000 to $40,000 a year or an estimated 5 -6% increase. Mehin said the plan is to keep the
monthly bus passes at the same fare. Neil McClure said he recalls the mention of a fare increase
about a year ago. McClure added that we need to continue and encourage our riders to keep using
our bus system and agrees we should not raise the price on any of the monthly passes.
Paul Overby commented that with fuel costs on the rise he could foresee an increase coming and
feels the increase is a modest one. He asked Ken Mehin if he knew how much the increase would
affect Selah. Mehin responded that Selah will be paying more for the service but it would not be a
major increase. Overby said he agrees with raising the bus fares but would like to see the Dial -A-
Ride (DAR) fares stay the same. The Councilmen agreed with Overby. Mehin said they have given
that idea some thought and Neil McClure asked Mehin to gather ridership numbers and a breakdown
of the DAR costs. McClure said they will need to have a study session and requested that Mehin
also bring the current DAR Contract and project for 2008, current operating costs, last year's
operating costs and what they expect to spend next year. McClure set the study session for Tuesday
morning on September 16 at 8:00 am.
The Public Hearing dates were discussed and Treed upon for the following dates. The first Public
Hearing is set for the evening of September 16 . The second one will be daytime Public Hearing
. that will begin at 4:00 pm on September 23 The final one will be an action meeting that will be
before the full City Council on October 7th
Paul Overby suggested an idea to Ken Mehin. He asked- that the comment cards be handed out to
bus passengers to get some feed back from them. He suggested those could be brought back and
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shared with the Council. He also asked if they could publicize the Public Hearing to the residents of
both Yakima and Selah. Ken said they would put out a notice.
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Micah Cawley asked Ken Mehin if Transit has ever thought about reducing or cutting a route out
completely in means to save on the fuel costs. Mehin responded that they are running basic routes
and his answer to that was no. He added that the last time they reduced any routes was 4 years ago.
Sally Mayo, a citizen of Yakima, got up and spoke about her experience as a regular bus rider and
how many people rely on our bus system to get to and from work. She commented on how difficult
it would make things if any routes would be reduced or cut. She added that the different bus routes
are convenient and gives riders options when a certain route doesn't work for them. She suggested
that the Council Members spend a day trying to get to and from work on the bus so they can
experience what some riders goes through on a daily basis. Micah Cawley responded that his
comments, were not intended for a bus route to be cut or reduced, but it was merely a suggestion he
made to Ken.
The next item discussed on the agenda was the Union Gap Transit Issues. Neil McClure mentioned
the termination of the contract will make the last day of bus service to Union Gap, November 30
Ken Mehin said that Union Gap has made no contact with them as far as coordination goes. Mehin
said will be proposing to Union Gap that Miner's be a transfer point and that it would eliminate their
trip to Yakima and could also be a savings to them.
Karen Allen commented that both our Bus Service and DAR can only run in the city limits. She
added that an option that the Council could visit would be to change the boundaries to up to 15 miles
outside the city limits. Another option she thought of was having our DAR clients dropped off at the
closest door to the Mall and make that the transfer point for getting dropped off and picked up. Sally
Mayo brought up the current 1 mile cut off policy we now have in place and how that can be a
medical concern when trying to get to a medical doctor at the Ahtanum Ridge facilities. For
example, she brought up the Dialysis Center that is located in that vicinity. She said she has
researched other transportation services and the only other option is People for People
Transportation who strictly transport clients with Medicaid Insurance only. Neil McClure responded
by saying they will look into extending the boundaries and talking to the provider about it.
The last item on the agenda was informational. Ken Mehin mentioned that bus ridership is up 12%
year to date and expects it to rise to about 13% once school starts. Karen Allen gave a vanpool
report that Yakima Transit now has 26 vans on the road with a waiting list. She added that there are
15 vans that head out to the Hanford site and the rest of the groups range from job sites in Yakima,
Connell, Sunnyside, Ellensburg, White Swan and others. Allen explained she has recently applied
for a Vanpool Investment Grant and is hoping to get 10 more vans through this grant.
Neil McClure adjourned the meeting at 5:00 p.m. The next scheduled meeting is set for October 15
at 4:00 pm. jah;/
Approved by:
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