[00:00:01]
[ATD 1. Call to Order]
EVERYONE.I'M GONNA NOW CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
IT IS NOW 5:04 PM ON FEBRUARY 25TH.
UH, THE A TD BOARD MEETING IS CALL THE ORDER.
LET'S BEGIN WITH ROLL CALL PLEASE.
[ATD 2. Moment of Reflection, Pledge of Allegiance, Announcements]
STAND FOR THE PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE AND THE TEXAS, UH, FLAGS.DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS TO BE HEARD? NOT FOR THE ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION.
[ATD 4. Consent Agenda]
WE'RE GONNA GO ON TO THE CONSENT AGENDA.TRUSTEES, THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? IF NOT, MAY I HAVE A MOTION? AND SECOND TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED.
THE CONSENT AGENDA AS APPROVED.
WE GOOD? UH, MS. DER A, A LEGAL BRIEFING? NO MA'AM.
WE DO NOT HAVE A LEGAL BRIEFING.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, TRUSTEES.
WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF OUR MEETING.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION? AND SECOND TO ADJOURN THE MEETING PLEASE? A MOVE SECOND.
THE A TDA MEETING IS ADJOURNED.
[1. Call to Order]
5 0 6.WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND CALL THE FEBRUARY 25TH VIA BOARD MEETING TO ORDER.
UH, MR. EDDA, DO YOU HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? WE WILL DO SO DURING THE PRESIDENT CEO REPORT ON THE AGENDA.
[3. Citizens to be Heard ]
DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS TO BE HEARD? YES.WE DO HAVE SEVERAL CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.
THE FIRST ONE IS MR. BRANDON OLENA.
AND WHILE YOU COME ON UP, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND READ A QUICK STATEMENT HERE.
WE NOW COME TO THE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD PORTION OF OUR PUBLIC MEETING.
THE BOARD IS INTERESTED IN HEARING THE COMMENTS AND CONCERNS FROM OUR PATRONS AND CITIZENS IN THE SAN ANTONIO BAYAR COUNTY AREA.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS CONCERNING THE PUBLIC BUSINESS OR POLICY OVER WHICH THE BOARD HAS SUPERVISION AND CONTROL MAY BE ADDRESSED AT A LATER DATE BY THE PRESIDENT, CEO AND OR HIS STAFF.
THIS PROCESS ASSURES THAT YOU'LL RECEIVE THE MOST ACCURATE RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION OR CONCERN.
AND VIA APPRECIATES YOU TAKING THE TIME AND EFFORT TO SHARE YOUR COMMENTS WITH US THIS EVENING.
I AM A FORMER, UM, VIA RIDER, UH, FORMER NOT BY CHOICE.
AND I'LL EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT WHY.
UM, I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE NEED FOR, UM, THE CHANGE IN POLICIES, UH, IN REGARDS TO PERSONAL ELECTRIC VEHICLES.
ON BUSES RIGHT NOW VIA ALLOWS E-BIKES ON BIKE RACKS.
UM, BUT E SCOOTERS ARE STILL PROHIBITED.
UM, THIS POLICY IS OUTDATED, IT INCONSISTENT.
UM, IF WE LOOK AT THE LARGEST TRANSIT AGENCY IN THE COUNTRY, WHICH IS NEW YORK'S MTA, UM, THEY ALLOW PERSONAL ELECTRIC VEHICLES, INCLUDING SCOTERS ON BUSES WITH REASONABLE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS LIKE UL CERTIFICATION, UH, THAT ENSURES FIRE SAFETY WITHOUT UNFAIRLY RESTRICTING.
RIDERS WHO RELY ON SCOOTERS FOR FIRST AND LAST MILE TRAVEL VIA RECENTLY LAUNCHED THE LOW RUNNER, A DOWNTOWN MICRO MOBILITY SHUTTLE.
WHILE I SEE ITS INTENT, IT'S COMPETING WITH EXISTING VIA SERVICES RATHER THAN SOLVING REAL GAPS IN MOBILITY.
THE REAL WAY TO SUPPORT MICRO MOBILITY IS TO INTEGRATE IT, NOT BAN IT.
ALLOWING SCOOTERS ON BUSES WOULD MAKE TRANSIT MORE ACCESSIBLE, FLEXIBLE, AND COMPETITIVE WITH CAR BASE ALTERNATIVES.
I URGE VIA TO UPDATE THIS POLICY ON ALLOWING PERSONAL SCOTERS ON BOARD JUST AS IT DOES WITH E-BIKES.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS KATE GUSTA FIRO.
[00:05:01]
MEMBERS.MY NAME'S KAITLYN WATA FIRO AND MY SON IS ACTUALLY A VIA TRANS RIDER.
AND, UM, IT WAS BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION ABRUPTLY YESTERDAY THAT VIA TRANS HAS SUSPENDED, UM, SERVICES TO THE MILITARY INSTALLATIONS THROUGHOUT THE SAN ANTONIO AREA.
THERE WAS NO NOTIFICATION, THERE WAS NO PHONE CALL, THERE WAS NO EMAIL, THERE WAS NO TEXT MESSAGE.
THERE'S NO, UM, WHEN HE LOGS INTO THE PORTAL, THERE'S NO MESSAGE THAT POPS UP.
THE LAST ALERT WE GOT WAS IN REFERENCE TO, YOU CAN NOW SCHEDULE YOUR RIDE BY DROP OFF, NOT JUST PICKUP.
UM, WHEN I CALLED VIA TRANS, I SPOKE WITH A DISPATCHER.
I SPOKE WITH THE COMPLAINTS AND CONCERNS DEPARTMENT.
I SPOKE WITH A SUPERVISOR AND THEN HER SUPERVISOR ON TOP OF THAT.
AND THE ONLY PIECE OF INFORMATION I WAS GIVEN WAS THAT A DECISION WAS MADE ON FRIDAY.
AN AGREEMENT WAS MADE TO BE IMPLEMENTED ON MONDAY.
NOW THIS AFFECTS NOT ONLY MY SON WHO WORKS ON ON FORT SAM, HE GETS HIS MEDICAL ON FORT SAM, BUT ALL THE EMPLOYEES I'VE SPOKEN WITH, J AND J MAINTENANCE, I'VE SPOKEN WITH AFES, NONE OF THEM ARE AWARE OF THIS.
NOW I UNDERSTAND HISTORICALLY, AS LONG AS A RIDER ON THE VAN HAS A UM, ID CARD THERE AT THE DISCRETION OF THEIR, I UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, AND IF THERE'S ANOTHER RIDER ON THE VAN THAT DOESN'T HAVE AN ID CARD, IT IS ALSO UNDERSTOOD THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE GRANTED ACCESS.
THAT'S HAPPENED ONCE IN 11 YEARS THAT MY SON'S BEEN RIDING TO WORK YESTERDAY.
HE WAS DROPPED OFF AT THE GATE WITH NO EXPLANATION.
HE DROVE UP AND THE OFFICER TURNED HIM AWAY.
AND MY SON, WHO'S NOT PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED BUT COGNITIVELY WASN'T SURE WHAT TO DO AND CALLED ME, I IMMEDIATELY WENT UP TO PICK HIM UP, TAKE HIM TO WORK, AND I WENT BACK TO TALK TO THE GUARDS.
WHEN I WENT UP TO THE GUARDS, THERE WAS A YOUNG LADY SITTING CRISSCROSS ON THE GRASS, PICKING THE GRASS THAT SHE HAD ALSO BEEN LEFT AT THE GATE AND DIDN'T KNOW HOW SHE WAS GONNA GET A RIDE.
SO I CONTACTED SECURITY FORCES AND HAD THEM COME, UM, LOOK INTO THE SITUATION.
UM, LIKE I SAID, THERE WAS NO, THERE'S NO INFORMATION, NOT EVEN ON THE VIA WEBSITE ABOUT DISCONTINUATION, DISRUPTION IN SERVICE.
THERE'S, THERE'S NOTHING THERE.
LOG INTO THE PORTAL, NOTHING THERE.
WHEN I SPOKE TO THE, UM, RESERVATION AGENT, THEY SAID THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT WERE NOTIFIED WERE THE PEOPLE THAT CALLED IN THEIR RESERVATIONS.
AND FOR SOME FOLKS, THAT'S JUST NOT AN OPTION.
UM, UH, SECURITY FORCES HAS INFORMED ME THAT THEY'VE ASKED MULTIPLE TIMES FOR THE DRIVERS TO BE VETTED THROUGH THEIR PROCESS OF DBIS, IN WHICH THEY WERE TOLD THAT VIA TRANS OR VIA WAS NOT GONNA HAVE THEIR DRIVERS GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
AND IT WAS ALSO MENTIONED THERE WERE SEVERAL, UM, DRIVERS, I DON'T KNOW THE TIMEFRAME, BUT THERE WERE APPREHENDED DUE TO OUTSTANDING WARRANTS, WHICH CONCERNS ME IF THESE PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE WITH MY DISABLED CHILD THAT CANNOT TALK, WHAT'S, WHAT'S GOING ON THERE? SO THAT'S A CONCERN I HAVE AS WELL.
AND AGAIN, NOT JUST FOR MY SON, BUT THE DISABLED COMMUNITY.
UM, I FELT YESTERDAY THAT POOR YOUNG LADY THAT WAS THERE DIDN'T HAVE ANYONE.
I FELT IT WAS LIKE AN ABANDONMENT CASE, BUT LUCKILY WE HAD THE SECURITY FORCES TO RETRIEVE THE SITUATION.
I KNOW MY TIME IS OUT, BUT I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW, MY SON DOES RIDE VIA TRANS 60 TIMES A MONTH, APPROXIMATELY.
AND 36 OF THOSE ARE TO AND FROM FORT SAM HOUSTON TO HIS EMPLOYMENT PLACE.
SO THESE FOLKS THAT RELY ON VIA TRANS ARE GONNA BE IN JEOPARDY OF LOSING THEIR JOB OR FORCED RESIGNATION.
'CAUSE THEY CAN'T GET, MY SON WORKS THREE MILES FROM THE GATE.
HE CANNOT, YOU KNOW, AMBULATE HIMSELF DOWN THERE SAFELY, ESPECIALLY IN THE NIGHT SINCE HE'S A SHIFT WORKER.
SO, THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR Y'ALL TONIGHT.
I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME CONSIDERATION AND I LOOK FORWARD TO A RESPONSE.
AND I'M ALSO WAITING FOR THE WING COMMANDER'S RESPONSE AS WELL.
I RIDE THE VIA LINK AND I'VE BEEN HAVING ISSUES AND I KNOW SOME OTHER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HAVING ISSUES.
ONE OF THE ISSUES IS THAT IN OUR PARTICULAR AREA, WE'RE LIMITED FOR A WHEELCHAIR BOUND VEHICLE, OR THEY BREAK DOWN AND THEY SEND NO ONE OUT AT ALL.
SO WE WOULD LIKE FOR THAT TO BE LOOKED INTO IF POSSIBLE, BUT WE APPRECIATE THE SERVICE, TRUST ME.
BUT IT HAS A FEW LITTLE BUGS STILL.
ALRIGHT, MY NAME IS BHI AVILA.
[00:10:01]
LIKE TO WELCOME, UH, OF COURSE THE B BOARD, UH, CHAIR, LAURA CABIA, VICE CHAIR, UH, UH, LEO GOMEZ, JOHN GARY HERRERA.UH, YOU KNOW, UH, THERE'S BEEN, BEEN TALK ABOUT THE NEW SIGNUP COMING UP.
UH, I KNOW THEY'RE GONNA BE ADDING SOME RUNS, UH, FOR THE PAST, SINCE 2022.
WE HAVE BEEN ASKING AND, AND, AND IN FRONT OF THE OLD BOARD PRIOR FOR MORE RUNS.
AND, AND, AND THE REASON WHY I KNOW THE COMMUNITY'S CONCERNED THAT THEY, THEY NEED MORE RUNS TO, TO GET THEM TO AND FRO FROM WORK, FROM THEIR APPOINTMENTS AND ALL THAT.
WE, WE SEE THAT AND, AND WE DO HAVE CONCERNS AND, AND, UH, AND WE'RE GLAD THESE RUNS ARE BEING ADDED.
BUT, BUT ALSO THE ONLY CONCERNS THAT WE DO HAVE IS ON THE WORKING CONDITIONS, WHICH SOME OF THE PREVIOUS BOARD DID SIGN SIGN OFF ON.
UM, AND OF COURSE, THE SIGN OFF THAT TOOK PLACE WAS, UH, FROM OCTOBER 4TH, 2024 TO SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2027.
NOW ADDING FIVE RUNS, IS IT GONNA BE EFFECTIVE? UH, MAYBE, HONESTLY, IT, IT, THE THE CUSTOMERS THEMSELVES ARE NOT GONNA NOTICE THESE RUNS FOR ANOTHER ONE OR TWO MONTHS.
RIGHT? AND, AND, AND HONESTLY, I THINK IT WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER IF WE ADDED ANOTHER 10 OR 20 RUNS.
I THINK THAT WOULD'VE BEEN MORE EFFECTIVE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, BUT ALSO FOR OUR OPERATORS TOO.
'CAUSE THEN THEY'RE GONNA HAVE MORE CHOICES ON WHAT RUNS THEY CAN CHOOSE FROM.
UM, YOU KNOW, BUT ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE EXCITED.
BUT I, I LIKE TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW THIS IS PART OF THE WORKING CONDITIONS.
SIGNING UP EVEN THREE WEEKS EARLY.
UH, IT'S GONNA AFFECT PEOPLE'S LIVELIHOODS.
PEOPLE, PEOPLE TAKE CARE OF THEIR CHILDREN.
THEY, THEY HAVE ELDERLY PEOPLE AT HOME.
UH, WE'RE LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK RIGHT NOW.
A LOT OF OUR OPERATORS, THE AVERAGE WAGE IS ABOUT BETWEEN 54 AND 59,000.
UH, CHILDCARE IS VERY EXPENSIVE.
UH, I MEAN, I CAN GO ON AND ON.
YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
UM, SO YEAH, THREE WEEKS WE'RE EXCITED.
UH, WE WANT TO GET THESE RUNS OUT, BUT IF WE WAIT ANOTHER THREE WEEKS, WILL IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? PROBABLY NOT.
UH, BUT, UH, LIKE I SAID, YOU GUYS ARE GONNA MAKE THAT DECISION.
UH, I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE EMPLOYEES TOO.
SO, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO GET OVER, UH, THIS PAST NEGOTIATIONS.
WE, WE EXTENDED AN OLIVE BRANCH TO, TO, TO JOHN HERE ON THE UNITED WAY.
AND, AND, AND WE'RE TRYING TO DO GOOD.
WE WANT THIS COMPANY TO BE HERE.
WHAT, THIRD OR FOURTH COMPANY HERE.
WE WANT THE COMPANY TO THRIVE, YOU KNOW, AT IS GONNA BE HERE FOREVER.
BUT, UH, LIKE I SAID, WE, WE WANT GOOD THINGS TO HAPPEN HERE.
AND, AND WE WANNA WORK WITH A COMPANY.
AND OF COURSE, AS A VIA BOARD OF TRUSTEES, UH, WE WANT YOU GUYS TO BE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT, ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE AFFECTING OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND, AND, AND THE MORALE'S REALLY LOW RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY WITH THE POLITICAL STUFF THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
OF COURSE, YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR LEADERSHIP HERE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, AND IT'S AFFECTING EVERYBODY RIGHT NOW.
JUST THINK ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M EXCITED THAT WE'RE ADDING RUNS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, I FEEL, AND, AND SO DO OUR MEMBERS FEEL THAT IT COULD PROBABLY WAIT ANOTHER THREE WEEKS? THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, MS. WILLIE MAY CLAY, I DON'T WANNA SIT BACK.
DO I NEED THAT? YOU COULD USE THIS ONE OR THAT ONE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU WERE HERE LAST, LAST MONTH, BUT I SPOKE HERE, UH, LAST MONTH ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY THAT, UM, INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE USING VIATRAN ARE HAVING GOING INTO THE MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.
THE DIFFICULTY EXIST IF OUR SHARE RIDE SYSTEM IS TRANSPORTING INDIVIDUALS IN THE SAME VEHICLE AND INDIVIDUALS DO NOT HAVE A MILITARY ID.
NOW, YOU KNOW, IF THE PERSON IS MAKING A RESERVATION TO GO ANY PARTICULAR PLACE, THAT PERSON, IF YOU'RE GOING INTO MILITARY INSTALLATION, YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR ID.
I HAVE MY, AND IT'S IRONIC THAT I HEARD THE STORY OF THE PERSON THAT PRECEDED ME, INDICATING
[00:15:01]
THAT THE SITUATION HAS GOTTEN WORSE.WELL, TODAY, I'M HOPING THAT THE INFORMATION I BRING TO YOU TODAY WILL SOMEHOW MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE SITUATION THAT WE ARE HAVING.
SINCE I'VE SPOKEN TO THE BOARD LAST MONTH ON THE 28TH OF JANUARY, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT INDIVIDUALS IN THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE OFFICE AT BAMSEY.
'CAUSE I GO TO FORT SAM FOR MANY REASONS, BUT PRIMARILY FOR MEDICAL CARE.
AND SO I'VE BEEN GIVEN SOME PHONE NUMBERS.
I WON'T MAKE THEM PUBLIC, BUT I'VE WRITTEN THEM DOWN AND I'LL LEAVE THEM WITH A STAFF PERSON, MAYBE PRISCILLA OR SOMEONE.
BUT THIS IS INFORMATION CAME STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH.
WHAT I LEARNED IS THAT THE, THE 5 0 2 5 OH SECOND DESK IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SECURITY GUARDS.
AND SO I HAVE THE NUMBER TO THAT OFFICE.
BUT IN PREPARATION OF APPROACHING THOSE FOLKS, I HAVE INFORMATION TO THE VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER.
MAYBE YOU CAN TALK WITH THOSE INDIVIDUALS FIRST BEFORE APPROACHING THE FIVE OH SECOND DESK.
SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED IN THE INTERIM BECAUSE THE VANS, THE DRIVERS HAVEN'T BEEN CHEATED LIKE THIS OVER THE MANY YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN RIDING VIA TRANS.
SO SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED AND IT MUST HAVE HAPPENED AT THE TOP.
SO I THINK IF WE WERE TO EDUCATE THE FOLK, LET THEM KNOW WHAT THE VIA TRANS SYSTEM IS ALL ABOUT AND HOW IT OPERATES, AND THAT THE RIDERS DON'T POSE A THREAT, I'M LEAVING THIS INFORMATION AND I APPRECIATE, I UNDERSTAND PERSONS WERE TRYING TO GET AHOLD OF ME.
AT ANY RATE, UM, IS IT TRUE THAT I CAN'T GO INTO THE POST NOW UNTIL THINGS ARE RECTIFIED? WE, AS PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES NEED TO GO INTO INSTALLATIONS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.
I'M HOPING THIS INFORMATION WILL BE HELPFUL.
NEXT SPEAKER, ELIZABETH CHENEY.
AM I GONNA BANG INTO THE CHAIR YET? I DON'T KNOW.
HI, MY NAME'S ELIZABETH CHENEY.
UM, I AM A VIA RIDE AND VIA LINK DRIVER.
I MEAN, SORRY, NOT DRIVER, OBVIOUSLY.
I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW AND SHOW MY APPRECIATION FOR THE DRIVERS IN BOTH VIA AND VIA LINK.
UH, BECAUSE I'M VISUALLY IMPAIRED.
UM, I CAN'T HELP THEM WHEN THEY, I ONLY CAN TELL THEM WHERE I'M GOING, UH, WHEN THEY GO INTO SHOPPING CENTERS.
AND, UM, THEY HAVE BEEN SO HELPFUL TO GET ME TO THE DOOR.
UM, UH, THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE THE RESERVATIONS HAVE BEEN VERY HELPFUL AND VERY KIND AND BEEN VERY PATIENT WITH ME.
'CAUSE, UM, I ALSO HAVE A BRAIN INJURY.
SO SOMETIMES MY WORDS, UM, THIS IS A GOOD DAY.
MY WORDS ARE FLOWING, BUT SOMETIMES I JUST CAN'T THINK OF WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY AND IT'S HARD FOR ME TO VERBALIZE IT SOMETIMES.
SO I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO THOSE RESERVATIONISTS.
UM, AND WHAT I, MY CONCERN IS, IS THAT ESPECIALLY ON THE ONE GOING TO THE WEST SIDE, THERE ARE SO MANY NEW NEIGHBORHOODS AND I HAVE A LOT OF CHURCH FRIENDS THAT LIVE IN THESE NEW NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE NOT ON THEIR GPS.
AND WHAT I'M ASKING IS TO PLEASE UPDATE THEIR GPS TO SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY FINDS THESE NEIGHBORHOODS AND STREETS, BECAUSE I CAN'T HELP THEM.
YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES IT'S MY FIRST TIME GOING TO A FRIEND'S HOUSE THAT I WAS INVITED TO A WOMEN'S LUNCH FOR BIBLE STUDY OR SOMETHING.
SO, YOU KNOW, GETTING LOST IN A NEW, IT'S NOT A FUN EXPERIENCE FOR ALL OF
[00:20:01]
US ON THE VAN OR IN THE, UH, BUS.UM, ALSO, UH, I HAVE AN, UM, A PROBLEM WITH THE VIA LINK, NOT WITH THE DRIVERS OR THE SERVICE, WHICH HAS BEEN SO FAR, UM, GREAT WITH ME.
BUT FOR THOSE, I USED TO BE IN A WHEELCHAIR, UM, BECAUSE I WAS PARTIALLY PARALYZED AFTER MY ACCIDENT.
SO, UM, THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHERE I'VE BEEN IN A VEHICLE AND IT'S FINE FOR, FOR ME AND FOR OTHER RIDERS THAT CAN WALK SOME, BUT IF YOU'RE IN A WHEELCHAIR, THE WHEELCHAIR PART OF IT THAT THE CLIPS AND STUFF THAT HOLD THE WHEELCHAIR ARE NOT WORKING.
AND IT USED TO BE THAT THEY GOT FIXED RIGHT AWAY, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON, BUT THEY'RE NOW BEEN GOING WEEKS WITHOUT BEING FIXED.
SO BECAUSE OF BEING SOMEBODY WHO WAS A WHEELCHAIR USER, I UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT IT'S TRYING TO GET A RIDES IN PLACE.
I'VE BEEN ON THE BUS WHERE, UH, I WAS TOLD I COULDN'T GET ON THE BUS BECAUSE, UH, THEY COULDN'T ASK PEOPLE TO GET OFF THE BENCH, UH, SO THAT THEY COULD ACCESS THE WHEELCHAIR PART OF IT SO THAT I COULD BE TAKE A RIDE.
AND THEN, SO I'M SITTING OUT IN THE SUN FOR ANOTHER 45 MINUTES, UM, AND ON THE WEEKENDS AN HOUR, UH, BEFORE THERE'S A BUS THAT CAN ALLOW ME ACCESS.
AND, UM, SO I FEEL FOR MY, MY, MY FRIENDS, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS THAT ARE DISABLED THAT ARE IN WHEELCHAIRS.
'CAUSE THIS IS, ESPECIALLY IN A HUNDRED DEGREE TEMPERATURES IN TEXAS IS NOT SOMEPLACE YOU WANNA BE OUTSIDE.
YOU WANNA TURN? OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS PAULA AGUIRE.
UM, I JOINED THE KEEPS SAN ANTONIO MOVING COUNCIL OVER A YEAR AGO, AND IT'S BEEN VERY EXCITING TO LEARN ABOUT ALL THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS THAT ARE BEING PLANNED FOR OUR CITY.
I'M PARTICULARLY EXCITED ABOUT EVERYTHING ABOUT THE A RT GREEN LINE PROJECT TODAY.
UM, I LIKE TO ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT, UH, FOR THE PROPOSED INCREASE IN FREQUENCY ON THE FIVE KEY ROUTES SERVING ACROSS THE SOUTH, WEST AND EAST SIDE OF THE CITY, ALONG PLEASANTON GUADALUPE MILITARY NEW BRAM FALLS AND MAR MARTIN LUTHER KING.
INVESTMENTS IN SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, ARE INVESTMENTS IN EQUITY, ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY FOR SAN ANTONIO.
I THINK BY REDUCING WAIT TIMES AND INCREASING RELIABILITY, UM, THESE CHANGES WILL MAKE TRANSIT A MORE VIABLE OPTION FOR WORKING FAMILIES, FOR STUDENTS AND SENIORS WHO DEPEND ON VIA TO GET TO JOBS, TO THEIR HEALTHCARE SERVICES AND OTHER ESSENTIAL, UM, SERVICES.
IMPROVE ACCESS ON ROUTES LIKE THE ONES THAT ARE PROPOSED DIRECTLY.
BENEFIT NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE ACCESS TO PUBLIC TRANSIT, IT'S A LIFELINE, NOT JUST A CONVENIENCE.
FREQUENT, DEPENDABLE TRANSIT ISN'T JUST ABOUT MOVING PEOPLE, IT'S ABOUT STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES.
AND THEIR CAPACITY FOR RESILIENCE BY EXPANDING SERVICE WHERE IT'S NEEDED THE MOST VIA IS ENSURING THAT EVERY RESIDENT, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ZIP CODE, HAS ACCESS TO A MORE CONNECTED AND OPPORTUNITY REACH FUTURE.
SO I ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS FREQUENCY, INCREASED IMPROVEMENTS, UM, AND I LOOK FORWARD AND, UH, TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING, UM, IN THE WAYS THAT I CAN TO MAKE THE TRANSIT MORE EQUITABLE AND ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL SAN ANTONIOS.
UH, THANK YOU, UH, BOARD MEMBERS FOR GIVING US THIS TIME TO SPEAK TO YOU THIS EVENING.
UH, MY NAME IS ROYAL ELIZONDO.
UH, I'M A RESIDENT OF AND A FORMER CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, IN FAIR OAKS RANCH, TEXAS, WHICH IS NOT EN VIA SERVICE TERRITORY AT THIS TIME.
UH, I'M ALSO A CURRENT MEMBER OF THE KEEP SAN ANTONIO MOVING COUNCIL.
UH, DURING MY TENURE AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, WE WORKED A LOT ON MOBILITY ISSUES BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE RAPID
[00:25:01]
EXPLOSIVE GROWTH IN THE AREA.SO WE WERE LOOKING AT STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING THAT FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
THE BETTER BUS SERVICE, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS THE INCREASED FREQUENCY, IS A BIG OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE AN IMPORTANT STRATEGIC STEP TOWARDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION LANDSCAPE FOR THE WHOLE REGION, NOT JUST THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
BETTER BURST BEST SERVICE CAN BE AN ALTERNATIVE THAT WILL NOT ONLY IMPROVE SERVICE FOR CURRENT USERS, BUT I BELIEVE IT WILL ALSO ATTRACT NEW USERS TO THE SYSTEM.
POSITIVE CHANGES TAKE VISION, GOOD STRATEGY, AND THE WILLINGNESS TO TAKE A STEP FORWARD.
BETTER BUS SERVICE SUPPORTS A VISION THAT'S THE RIGHT VISION FOR SAN ANTONIO.
THE STRATEGY IS ONE THAT'S BEEN TESTED AND IT WORKS.
UH, I'M ASKING THE BOARD TO SHOW THEIR WILLINGNESS TO TAKE THAT NEXT STEP FORWARD FOR SAN ANTONIO BY APPROVING THIS BETTER BUS INITIATIVE.
THERE ARE NO OTHER CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.
WE APPRECIATE EVERYONE, UH, TIME AND COMING TO SPEAK BEFORE OUR BOARD.
[4. President/CEO Report]
AGENDA, NUMBER FOUR, ANY PRESIDENTS REPORT.WE DO HAVE A PRESIDENTS REPORT, MADAM CHAIR, AND WE'LL GET RIGHT INTO THAT HERE IN A MOMENT, UH, BECAUSE IT WILL BE AIDED ALONG WITH A SLIDE PRESENTATION AS THEY'RE DOING THAT.
UM, I DO WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR BEING HERE ON, YOU KNOW, ON THIS TUESDAY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON VIAS PROGRESS.
THIS PAST SEVERAL WEEKS HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR THE WORK AHEAD.
EVERY DECISION WE MAKE SHOULD ENHANCE SERVICE, STRENGTHEN OUR WORKFORCE, AND CREATE VALUE FOR THE PEOPLE WE SERVE.
TODAY'S UPDATE REFLECTS THE STEPS THAT WE'VE TAKEN AND PROGRESS WE'VE MADE AND THE MOMENTUM THAT WE'RE BUILDING.
WE'RE GONNA GET RIGHT INTO LEADERSHIP, UPDATE, AND PROMOTIONS.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS IN OUR SUCCESS AS THE BOARD HAS RECOGNIZED OVER THE YEARS IS HAVING STRONG LEADERSHIP.
SO I'M PLEASED TO RECOGNIZE SOME OF THESE KEY PROMOTIONS AND NEW APPOINTMENTS THAT'LL HELP KEEP MOVING VIA FORWARD.
UH, LEROY IS RETURNING TO VIA FROM CAT METRO, WHERE HE SERVED AS VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS.
ALLWAY IS CHIEF OF STAFF AT VIA REPORTING DIRECTLY TO ME.
IN THIS ROLE, HE OVERSEES STRATEGIC BUSINESS INITIATIVES FROM DEVELOPMENT TO EXECUTION, ENSURING VIAS OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES ALIGN WITH LONG-TERM GOALS.
HIS LEADERSHIP SUPPORTS ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCIES, CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION AND STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING TO ADVANCE VIAS MISSION.
HE'S BEEN PROMOTED FROM CHIEF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICER TO VICE PRESIDENT AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR TOM TOM'S PROMOTION TO ADVANCE AND LEADS VIA POLICY, STRATEGY AND EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT, STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS WITH POLICY MAKERS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, AND STAKEHOLDERS.
HIS ROLE ENSURES EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY, LEGISLATIVE ALIGNMENT, AND PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS TO SUPPORT VIAS GROWTH AND REGIONAL IMPACT.
NEXT, RACHEL BEITA, RACHEL AS OUR NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGY AND SERVICE DELIVERY.
A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR RACHEL THERE.
RACHEL'S NEW FOCUS FOR STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL NOW LEAD VIA STRATEGIC SERVICE DELIVERY STRATEGY AND LONG-TERM PLANNING.
SHE FOCUSES ON SERVICE QUALITY, INNOVATIVE MOBILITY MODELS AND PERFORMANCE DRIVEN IMPROVEMENTS THAT ENHANCED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.
HE HAS BEEN PROMOTED FOR MANAGER OF STRATEGIC IN INITIATIVES TO DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY AND SPECIAL PROJECTS.
LET'S GIVE HIM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
UH, HIS FOCUS TO ENSURE ALIGNMENT BETWEEN, AGAIN, OUR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, OPERATIONAL EXECUTION.
HE LEADS CROSS DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION, POLICY DEVELOPMENT, AND STRATEGIC PLANNING TO ENHANCE EFFICIENCY AND DRIVE OUR LONG TERM GOALS.
NEXT, UH, YES, THERE'S ANGELICA, MARTIN, ANGELICA, YOU'RE HERE.
ANGELICA MARTIN HAS BEEN PROMOTED FOR MANAGER OF HUMAN RESOURCES, INFORMATION AND COMPENSATION TO DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES.
HER FOCUS IS IMPLEMENTING VIAS WORKFORCE STRATEGY, OVERSEEING RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT TO STRENGTHEN OPERATIONAL CAPACITY.
SHE ENSURES THAT VIA ATTRACTS AND RETAINS TOP TALENT WHILE FOSTERING A CULTURE OF ENGAGEMENT, EFFICIENCY, AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH.
[00:30:02]
AND THEN WE HAVE WELCOMING TO THE VIA TEAM, CELINE DOBBS.CELINE, ARE YOU HERE? PLEASE STAND.
SO WE KNOW
EACH OF THESE LEADERS BRING EXPERTISE AND COMMITMENT TO VIAS MISSION.
THEIR LEADERSHIP WILL HELP SHAPE US, UH, FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF OUR GROWTH.
NEXT, WE'RE GONNA HONOR SOMEBODY WE JUST HONORED, BUT WE'RE GONNA HONOR HER AGAIN.
UH, RACHEL HAS BEEN SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL YOUNG AMERICAN LEADERS PROGRAM.
RACHEL WILL BE PART OF AN EXCLUSIVE COHORT OF 140 PROFESSIONALS NATIONWIDE, INCLUDING A 10 MEMBER DELEGATION FROM SAN ANTONIO.
THIS PROGRAM FOCUSES ON STRATEGIES TO FOSTER ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND CIVIC INNOVATION.
EQUIPPING LEADERS WITH INSIGHTS TO DRIVE COMMUNITY PROSPERITY AND REGIONAL GROWTH.
HER SELECTION IS A TESTAMENT TO HER LEADERSHIP EXPERTISE AND DEDICATION TO ADVANCING BOTH VIAS MISSION AND THE BROADER ECONOMIC GOALS OF OUR REGION.
WE KNOW SHE WILL REPRESENT US WELL.
THE NEXT WE HAVE OUR STAR AWARD RECOGNITIONS, WHERE AT VIA OUR SUCCESS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE DEDICATED EMPLOYEES WHO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY EVERY DAY.
TODAY WE RECOGNIZE TWO OF THESE INDIVIDUALS WHOSE COMMITMENT TO SAFETY AND SERVICE WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND.
WE'RE ASKING, UH, GILBERT GARZA AND JOE SAN RAMON.
Y'ALL GET TO STAND UP AND Y'ALL GET TO WALK FORWARD BECAUSE OUR BOARD, AS OUR, AS OUR STAR AWARD RECIPIENTS, UH, NOT ONLY ARE YOU GONNA BE AWARDED, BUT THE BOARD WOULD ALSO LIKE TO CONGRATULATE YOU IN PERSON AND TAKE A PICTURE WITH BOTH OF Y'ALL.
UM, AS, AS OUR BOARD STARTS MOVING FORWARD, FORWARD THIS PICTURE, I WILL READ A BIT OF WHAT IS WE'RE RECOGNIZING THEM FOR ABOUT THIS, UH, THIS PAST MONTH.
DESPITE CHALLENGING CONDITIONS, THEY WORK TIRELESSLY TO KEEP OUR TRANSIT CENTERS AND ROADWAYS CLEAR ADVICE, ENSURING SAFE OPERATIONS FOR OUR OPERATORS AND CUSTOMERS.
THEIR QUICK THINKING AND TEAMWORK MADE A DIRECT IMPACT ON OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE UNINTERRUPTED SERVICE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
THEIR DEDICATION REPRESENTS THE VERY BEST OF VIA AND WE ARE PROUD TO HONOR THEM TODAY.
CONGRATULATIONS GILBERT AND JOE.
[00:35:27]
AND THEN OUR LAST RECOGNITION, WHILE WE DON'T HAVE HER PICTURE, UH, BUT WE, SHE IS IN PERSON.SO WE GET, WE GET THE LIVE VERSION.
BUT I WANTED A MOMENT HERE IN, IN THE VIA FAMILY.
IT IS INCREDIBLE WHEN WE REACH MILESTONES, UM, IN THIS FAMILY AND IN PARTICULAR, I WANTED TO ASK KATHY SCHNITZER, WHO IS IN THE AUDIENCE TO STAND UP, KATHY CA KATHY IS RETIRING FROM VIA THIS FRIDAY AFTER 40 YEARS OF HER LIFE AND DEDICATION, INCREDIBLE DEDICATION.
KATHY, WE OWE YOU A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR THIS AGENCY OVER YOUR 40 YEAR CAREER HERE AT VIA YOU WILL BE MISSED.
BUT WE KNOW YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER AND, UH, WE'RE STILL GONNA CALL YOU AND, AND ASK YOU QUESTIONS.
UH, BUT THANK YOU AGAIN, KATHY, AND IN A SMALL WAY, THIS IS, UH, THIS IS FROM YOUR VIA FAMILY AND WE DEFINITELY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE NEXT.
WE ARE HERE HONORING FERNANDO REYES.
TODAY WE ALSO TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE THE LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE OF SOMEONE WHO HAS PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN SHAPING VIA HIS VISION.
FORMER CHAIR FOR FERNANDO REYES HAS SERVED AS A STEADFAST LEADER, BRINGING HIS PASSION FOR PUBLIC SERVICE AND TRANSIT EQUITY TO HIS ROLE IN LEADING OUR AGENCY TO NEW HEIGHTS.
UNDER HIS GUIDANCE VIA HAS EXPANDED SERVICE ACCESS, STRENGTHENED FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT, AND DEEPENED COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.
HIS ABILITY TO ADVOCATE FOR TRANSIT AND PUSHED FOR INNOVATION HAS LEFT A LASTING IMPACT ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD VIA LEADERSHIP AND THE ENTIRE TEAM.
THANK YOU FERNANDO, FOR YOUR SERVICE AND DEDICATION.
NOW WE'D LIKE TO INVITE ALL OF US HERE AS, AS FERNANDO MAKES HIS WAY UP.
'CAUSE I KNOW HE WANTS TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
UH, A SHORT TRIBUTE VIDEO THAT, UH, VIA HAS PUT TOGETHER FOR HIM.
I JUST WANNA SAY THAT I'VE SERVED OF A LOT OF BOARDS, BUT THIS PARTICULAR BOARD, UH, HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST TREMENDOUS BOARDS THAT I'VE SEEN.
UH, THEY'RE VERY CONSCIENTIOUS ABOUT TRANSPORTATION, WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE FOR SAN ANTONIO AND THE PEOPLE OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND IT'S BEEN MY HONOR TO WORK WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.
ISN'T IT A BEAUTIFUL DAY AND A GREAT PLACE TO BE HERE AT UTSA AND GO RUNNERS
IT'S A WONDERFUL DAY TO BE OUT HERE TODAY BECAUSE WE'RE CELEBRATING OUR OPERATORS WHO ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY WORK WITH THE PUBLIC.
UH, THEY'RE THE, THEIR FACE OF VIA.
SO WE'RE JUST OUT HERE TRYING TO JUST SHOW 'EM HOW MUCH WE APPRECIATE THEM.
MY MESSAGE TO YOU ALL ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IS WE ARE READY TO DO ALL WE NEED TO DO TO BRING THOSE FUNDS HOME TO SAN ANTONIO TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY HAVE A MODERN MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM.
TODAY, I'M ESPECIALLY PROUD TO HELP MARK THIS MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENT FOR VIA FOR SAN ANTONIO AND FOR THE PEOPLE OF ALL ABILITIES WHO ARE PART OF THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE.
I'M PROUD THAT TODAY WE ARE RECOGNIZING TWO OUTSTANDING VIA BOARD MEMBERS MARILYN JONES AND HOPE ANDRA AS THE FIRST INDUCTEES TO THE VIA HALL OF HONOR.
[00:40:01]
TO OFFICIALLY INDUCT COUNTY JUDGE NELSON WOLFE TO THE VIA HALL OF HONOR.THEA GETS THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO GO, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO MORE FREQUENTLY AND RELIABLE WITH THE NEW VIA RAPID GREEN LINE THAT WILL CONNECT THE NORTH AND SOUTH.
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, I AM FROM THE SOUTH SIDE, AND I'M PARTICULARLY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT THIS PROJECT WILL DO.
WE BEGAN IN 2020 WITH A LOT OF ENERGY AND OPTIMISM AND A CLEAR VISION FOR WHAT CAME NEXT.
WE CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR WHAT WE KNEW OUR COMMUNITY NEEDED AND THE VOTERS DELIVERED A BIG VICTORY FOR MOBILITY AND FOR EACH OTHER.
THEY SAY YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST, BUT I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER MY LAST, OVER MY 12 YEARS AS CEO, I HAD FIVE CHAIRS AND MY LAST WAS FERNANDO RES.
ON BEHALF OF THE STAFF AND ME, THANKS FOR DEMONSTRATING MY FAVORITE OF THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE.
FERNANDO, YOU ALWAYS SOUGHT FIRST TO UNDERSTAND AND ONLY THEN TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE THAT BUILT A SENSE OF CONFIDENCE AMONG THE STAFF IN MOVING VIA INITIATIVES FORWARD.
YOU LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR RAPID, FREQUENT, INNOVATIVE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC SERVICES.
BUT UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP, THERE WAS ONE ACHIEVEMENT THAT WILL LIKELY BE UNMATCHED FOR MANY YEARS VIA BROUGHT $268 MILLION OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT FUNDS FOR THE VIA RAPID GREEN LINE.
THAT'S VIAS BIGGEST EVER CAPITAL GRANT AND WILL NOT LIKELY BE REPEATED SOON.
FINALLY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIP TO NORMA.
I KNOW YOU WERE OFTEN BLAMED, BUT DON'T WORRY, WE ALL KNEW THE TRUTH.
AND FERNANDO, IN YOUR HONOR, I AM DONATING TO THE NOTRE DAME FUND SINCE I KNOW YOU RESPECT PLACES WHERE HIGHER LEARNING AND QUALITY ATHLETICS REALLY HAPPEN.
CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU.
I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU CHAIR REYES.
I WANNA TAKE THIS MOMENT TO EXPRESS MY SINCERE GRATITUDE FOR YOUR DEDICATED SERVICE AS THE VIA CHAIR.
YOUR COMMITMENT, YOUR LEADERSHIP HAVE MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR MISSION AND THE SUCCESS OF OUR INITIATIVES.
ALSO, WANT TO EXTEND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO YOUR WIFE, NORMA, FOR HER SUPPORT DURING THIS TIME.
AND I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST IN ALL YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING ONE BOARD MEETING WITH YOU AS CHAIR, AND I TOOK THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, CHIME IN HERE ON THE CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU TO YOU FOR SERVING AS CHAIRMAN OF VIA FOR THE YEARS THAT YOU DID.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I GOT TO SEE EVEN BEFORE I WAS ON THE BOARD FROM THE OUTSIDE, HOW MUCH YOU BROUGHT TO VIA IN RECOGNIZING THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE RIA RUN DAY IN, DAY OUT.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE FOUNDATION YOU SET TO MAKE SURE WE ACCOMPLISH THE BIG THINGS WE'RE GONNA ACCOMPLISH IN THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS.
GRACIAS CHAIRMAN, FERNANDO REYES.
YOU HAVE DONE A SPECTACULAR JOB AS CHAIRMAN OF THE, YOUR LEADERSHIP IS BEEN INCREDIBLE.
YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT HOW IMPORTANT BUS SERVICE IS IN SAN ANTONIO AND YOU'RE TELLING US A STORY ABOUT HOW YOU AS A YOUNG MAN RODE THE BUS TO GET TO WORK AND HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO HAVE THAT IN SAN ANTONIO.
IT'S BEEN A SINCERE HONOR SERVING WITH YOU ON THIS BOARD FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR VIA, FOR THIS COMMUNITY, FOR MOVING TRANSIT FORWARD AND FOR HELPING CLOSE SOME CRITICAL DEALS, ESPECIALLY LAST YEAR.
I WISH YOU THE BEST IN RETIREMENT AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MULTIPLE UPDATES ABOUT YOUR TRAVEL PLANS.
HAVE A GOOD ONE AND THANK YOU AGAIN.
YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT PEOPLE AND YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT WHO MAKES THINGS HAPPEN.
WHETHER IT WAS YOUR PROFESSIONAL BUSINESSES THAT YOU LEAD AND CONTINUE TO LEAD TO YOUR TIME HERE.
AS OUR CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR VIA, YOU ALWAYS MADE IT AN EFFORT TO CALL OUT THE FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES IN EVERY ASPECT THAT YOU COULD, WHETHER IT WAS AT A SPEECH OR WHETHER IT WAS AT A BOARD MEETING, OR WHETHER IT WAS YOU WALKING THE HALLWAYS HERE.
YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE TYPE OF THINGS THAT I ADMIRE IN LEADERS.
AND I KNOW OUR FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES REALLY APPRECIATED THE EXTRA EFFORT THAT YOU TOOK TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEM.
SO, FERNANDO, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE FOR US, EVA, VIA I'M PROUD TO BE PART OF THAT TEAM, A WINNING TEAM BECAUSE I KNOW WHEN VIA WINS, WE ALL WIN.
[00:45:29]
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY THAT SERVING ON THIS BOARD WAS REALLY AN EYE-OPENER FOR ME BECAUSE IT SHOWED HOW MUCH THERE IS, HOW MUCH CARRY THERE IS IN SAN ANTONIO.
EACH ONE OF YOU SPENDS TIME HERE IN MEETINGS AND MORE MEETINGS WITH THE IDEA THAT WE'RE GONNA HELP THE CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND THAT TO ME MEANS A LOT BECAUSE YOU GIVE UP OF YOUR FAMILY TIME AND JUST LIKE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, MY FAMILY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME.
AND I'M SURE EVERYBODY'S FAMILY IS IMPORTANT TO THEM, BUT THAT'S WHAT MAKES US GREAT BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND WHO WE'RE WORKING FOR, WHO WE SERVE.
AND IT'S NOT ABOUT THE RECOGNITION OR ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE JOB.
IT'S ABOUT GETTING THINGS DONE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT.
AND MY EXPERIENCE GOES WAY BACK IN 19 60, 64, I GUESS 68 OR ACTUALLY 68, I HAD TO GO TO SAC, BUT MY FAMILY DIDN'T HAVE TWO CARS.
SO MY FATHER USED THE CAR TO GO TO WORK AND THEN SON, YOU'RE GONNA GO TO COLLEGE.
THAT MEANS I'M GONNA DO A LOT OF WALKING.
BUT LUCKILY FOR ME, VIA BUS LINE RAN BY OUR HOUSE.
AND SO I WAS ABLE TO TAKE VIA TO SAC AND GET MY ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE.
AND THAT STARTED BEING THE PATH OF MY EDUCATION CAREER, WHICH BELIEVE ME OR NOT, IS THE REAL TESTAMENT AS TO MY SUCCESS BECAUSE LEARNING IS IMPORTANT.
AND I WANT EVERY CHILD THAT WANTS TO GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO GET THE EDUCATION SO THEY CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT IN THEIR LIVES.
AND EACH ONE OF YOU, ALL OF YOU'RE EDUCATED AND YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT EDUCATION IS.
AND THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO ME.
UH, BUT I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS WAS A WONDERFUL BOARD TO WORK WITH BECAUSE EVERYBODY PITCHED IN TO DO THE THINGS THAT THEY NEEDED TO DO.
AND THEN IF THEY DIDN'T NEED TO DO IT, THEY WOULD STILL DO OTHER THINGS.
YOU KNOW, UH, OUR CEO, JEFF, YOU TAUGHT ME SO MUCH IN THE SHORT TIME THAT I WAS HERE IN FULL FOUR YEARS, BUT I LEARNED A LOT FROM YOU.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE A GREAT LEADER, BUT WITH A LOT OF COMPASSION.
AND I KNOW THAT WE WISH WE COULD DO EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THERE ARE CONSTRAINTS.
BUT THE WAY YOU HANDLED THOSE CONSTRAINTS WERE ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL.
AND SO THANK YOU FOR CARRYING ALSO, UH, JOHN GARY, YOU DID A FANTASTIC JOB ALSO HELPING ME WHEN I NEEDED THE HELP.
AND SO NOW I'M GLAD THAT YOU'VE BECOME THE NEW CEO AND I KNOW YOU WE'RE GONNA HEAR GREAT THINGS FROM YOU.
ALSO, LAURA WAS MY VICE CHAIR, UH, AND I SAT THERE RIGHT NEXT TO LAURA.
SHE RIGHT THERE WHERE YOU ARE, LAURA AND, AND LEO, AND HEY LAURA, WHAT DO I DO ABOUT THIS? HEY LAURA, WHAT'S, WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHY ARE WE DOING IT? LAURA? AND SHE WAS ALWAYS THERE, READY TO HELP.
EVERYBODY HERE WAS READY TO HELP EACH OTHER.
SO YOU ALL ARE LIKE MY FAMILY.
AND I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU, BONNIE, OVER HERE.
DEFINITELY IMPORTANT 'CAUSE SHE KEEPS US OUTTA TROUBLE,
SO THANK YOU BONNIE, FOR YOUR HARD WORK.
I KNOW SOMETIMES WE MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT HARDER FOR YOU, BUT IT'S, IT'S WORTH IT AND IT'S WORTH IT TO US.
UM, I, I CAN'T GO WITHOUT SAYING, THERE ARE AT LEAST ONE PERSON HERE THAT I REALLY DEPENDED ON WHEN I WAS CHAIR.
DEBORAH, YOU, YOU HIDE BACK THERE.
BUT YOU MAKE SO MANY THINGS HAPPEN TO, FOR US, DEBORAH RA IS THE SECRET SAUCE TO BE
WE GO RIGHT NOW, WHY, WHY AM I DOING THIS? LAUREN? SHE EXPLAINS IT TO YOU ALWAYS VERY PLEASANT.
AND THANK YOU LAURA FOR, I MEAN, UH, LAURA.
YEAH, NO, WHAT DO I GOT MY NAME RIGHT DEBORAH, FOR, FOR THE HELP THAT YOU GAVE YOU THE TIME THAT I WAS THE CHAIR.
AND, AND I GO, I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT.
I DON'T WANNA BELONG TO THIS ANY LONGER BECAUSE I KNOW YOU ALL ARE GONNA BE SITTING HERE.
UH, AND UH, I THINK I'VE TAKEN MORE THAN MY THREE MINUTES, BUT I HAVEN'T HEARD THE BUZZER GO OFF THOUGH,
BUT NO, JUST FINALLY, LEMME JUST SAY IT WAS AN HONOR TO SERVE WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
SOME OF YOU I GOT TO SERVE A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN OTHERS.
[00:50:02]
OUR BOARD MEMBER, ADA, WE DIDN'T GET TO SERVE VERY LONG, BUT I TOLD YOU, I, I, LOOK, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING SOME GREAT THINGS FOR YOU.YOU'RE A WONDERFUL YOUNG MAN AND WITH A VERY, VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE, VERY INTELLIGENT.
AND SO I THINK YOU, YOU'RE GONNA DO A GOOD BOARD MEMBER.
SO THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND WILLING TO SERVE.
'CAUSE THAT'S, EVERYBODY HERE TAKES TIME FROM THEIR FAMILIES, THEY'RE WILLING TO SERVE, AND THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT ALSO.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I, I GUESS I CAN SAY A AND SEE YOU LATER,
BUT YOU ALL HAVE, YOU ALL ARE FANTASTIC PEOPLE.
AND I WILL NEVER FORGET EACH AND EVERYONE.
Y'ALL ARE NOW MY FAMILY, LIKE IT OR NOT.
DID I, DID I INTRODUCE MY FAMILY? ABSOLUTELY.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE MY WIFE, NORMA REYES, WHO IS THE, WHY DON'T YOU COME ON UP, PLEASE.
NOR NORMA IS THE PERSON THAT KEEPS ME GOING AND IS ALWAYS THERE FOR ME.
SOMEONE I CAN TRUST ON HER OPINION, SOMEONE I CAN TRUST THAT SHE HAS THE BEST FOR ME.
AND IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO HAVE SOMEBODY LIKE THAT ON YOUR SIDE.
SO FOR OUR 57 YEARS AND WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER, UH, SHE'S BEEN A FANTASTIC WIFE EXCEPT SHE CAME FROM BURBANK, BUT WELL, WE'LL
AND THEN I HAVE MY SON, JASON REYES, WHO IS PRESIDENT OF REYES AUTOMOTIVE GROUP AND REYES HII AUTOMOTIVE, AND THEN MY GRANDDAUGHTER, VINNIE REYES, WHO'S OUR DANCER.
AND SO I WANNA JUST TELL YOU THAT GIVING UP TIME FOR MY FAMILY WAS IMPORTANT, BUT IT WAS WORTH OR WORTH IT FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND OUR CITIZENS.
OUR, OUR, OUR CHAIR'S GONNA PRESENT YOU WITH A, A, A SMALL APPRECIATION ON OUR BEHALF.
WHILE SHE'S DOING THAT, I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE OF BOARD MEMBERS THAT WOULD LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
OH, CAN I GO? I GOTTA TAKE A PICTURE FIRST.
FERNANDO, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU, UH, FIRST FOR WELCOMING ME.
UH, WHEN I BECAME ON THE BOARD, YOU'RE ALWAYS A SMILING, WELCOMING FACE, UH, WITH A HUG SOMETIMES.
UH, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME GET, UM, INVOLVED RIGHT AWAY ON SOME PRETTY BIG PROJECTS, A RT.
UH, I HOPE THE COMMUNITY REALLY UNDERSTANDS THAT UNDER YOUR WATCH, WE GOT A LOT DONE WITH REGARDS TO A RT AND I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE A LEGACY NOT ONLY FOR THIS BOARD, BUT A LEGACY FOR YOU PERSONALLY, FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
AND I THINK OUR COMMUNITY WILL UNDERSTAND THAT AND COMPREHEND THAT LATER.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND THANK YOU FOR BEING MY FRIEND.
UH, HEY, CHERRY IS, UM, AGAIN, YOU, YOU SHARED IT JUST RIGHT NOW, BUT YOU'VE ALSO SAID A LOT MORE TO ME PRIVATELY.
AND I KNOW WE DIDN'T GET A LOT OF TIME TO SERVE TOGETHER, BUT THE WARMTH WITH WHICH YOU WELCOME ME AND THE ENCOURAGEMENT THAT YOU'VE GIVEN ME IN OUR EXCHANGES HAS BEEN ENOUGH TO FILL MY CUP FOR A LIFETIME.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT ENCOURAGEMENT AND BUILDING UP, UH, ME AND THE NEXT GENERATION, UH, FOR THE WORK TO COME.
AND, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING OUR WORK TOGETHER, EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT IN THAT CHAIR.
HEY, FERNANDO, UH, YOU KNOW, FIRST OF, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANNA THANK YOUR, OF YOUR FRIENDSHIP.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF COMPLIMENTS THAT I COULD GIVE TO YOUR PERSON, YOUR CAREER AND YOUR TRAJECTORY FOR ANYBODY ANYBODY'S INTERESTED.
THEY CAN JUST GOOGLE YOU AND, AND SEE THE, THE LEGACY THAT YOU, YOU HAVE AS, AS A LIFE AND FAMILY.
UH, BUT I REALLY JUST WANTED TO, UH, THANK YOU FOR, FOR THE WARMTH IN, IN TERMS OF BEING A MENTOR TO ME, UH, A LEADER, SOMEBODY THAT I LOOK, LOOK UP TO, AND SOMEBODY THAT, UH, YOU OFTEN CALL JUST TO RUN THINGS BY WHEN YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO.
UH, BUT YOU ALWAYS, YOU WERE REALLY GOOD AT BRINGING PEOPLE TO THE TABLE AND KEEPING PEOPLE IN THE TABLE.
UH, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, UH, FOR YOU.
AND ALSO GIVING ME, UH, PERSONAL ADVICE ON BUSINESS AND THE BOARD AND, YOU KNOW, THANKS LIFE.
SO, UH, APPRECIATE YOU, UM, YOUR FRIENDSHIP MOST OF ALL.
AND THEN YOUR LEADERSHIP AS WELL.
SO, UH, THANK YOU AND, UH, GOOD LUCK.
[00:55:03]
HI FERNANDO.AND, UM, I HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL CONNECTION WITH YOU THAT I KNOW WILL BE GOING ON FOR HOPEFULLY AS LONG AS I LIVE.
UM, AND SO, I DON'T KNOW IF MANY PEOPLE KNOW THIS, BUT MY CONNECTION WITH YOU THOUGH, IS SO MUCH DEEPER THAN YOU PROBABLY EVEN REALIZE.
UM, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T KNOW, I, UH, PURCHASED THE HOME OF NOW OR NOW OUR FORMER CHAIR REYES A FEW YEARS AGO.
BUT THE DAY THAT WE SAW THE HOUSE WAS THE DAY OF MY GRANDFATHER'S FUNERAL.
AND IT WAS THE DAY THAT YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE AVAILABLE.
SO AFTER LEAVING THE FUNERAL, IT WAS VERY MUCH LIKE GRANDPA WAS TELLING ME THIS WAS IT.
AND THE DAY THAT WE CLOSED ON THE HOUSE WAS HIS BIRTHDAY.
AND SO FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T KNOW, MY GRANDFATHER SAT ON THIS BOARD ON THE VERY FIRST BOARD OF VIA.
AND SO I GOT TO KNOW CHAIRMAN REYES WHILE BEING HERE AT VIA.
AND I JUST WANNA THANK YOU BECAUSE YOU AND YOUR WIFE, ON A PERSONAL NOTE, WHENEVER I HAVE ISSUES WITH MY DAUGHTER, AND I ALWAYS LAUGH BECAUSE I LOOK AT HER BEAUTIFUL ROOM AND I THINK OF PROBABLY THE SAME SITUATIONS THAT YOU'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH THAT I NOW DO.
BUT THROUGHOUT IT ALL, AND Y'ALL SAW ME AT A VERY VULNERABLE MOMENT AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, AT LEAST, YOU DID NORMA, AND JUST YOUR WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT AS A MOM, I WILL NEVER FORGET THOSE MOMENTS AND THE MOMENTS THAT I HAD AFTER IN GOING THROUGH LIFE WITH PRETEENS AT THIS MOMENT.
YOU ALL WERE ALWAYS THERE AND CHECKING IN ON ME AND MAKING SURE EVERYTHING WAS OKAY AT HOME.
SO I JUST WANNA THANK YOU BOTH AND YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT EVERY MOMENT THAT WE ARE HERE, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
EVERY MOMENT THAT WE ARE HERE IS TIME THAT WE'RE AWAY FROM OUR CHILDREN, THOSE OF US THAT DO HAVE CHILDREN.
I MEAN, I'M CHECKING ON MINE RIGHT NOW AND I JUST WANNA THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH BECAUSE THIS IS A DEDICATION.
WE COULD BE ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, BUT WE'RE HERE AND YOU GAVE SO MUCH OF YOUR TIME, BOTH OF YOU DID.
AND VIVA FIESTA, NOW VIVA VIA AND VIVA FIESTA, 'CAUSE I'LL BE SEEING YOU ON THE ROUTE.
VIVA FERNANDO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
APPRECIATE YOUR TIME HERE TODAY.
AND NORMA, AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR LENDING YOUR HUSBAND TO THE VIA FAMILY.
SO MADAM CHAIR WILL, UH, WE'LL CONCLUDE THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT WITH A REPORT ABOUT THE PRESIDENT AND CEO'S ACTIVITY.
UH, LAST WEEK, UH, WAS THE 45 DAY OF, UH, OF ME BEING IN THIS POSITION, UM, HERE.
AND IT'S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY.
I SEE A LOT OF OUR EMPLOYEES AROUND THE ROOM HERE.
'CAUSE I AM SMILING 'CAUSE I, I GET THE HONOR TO CONTINUE TO LEAD Y'ALL, UH, DOWN A GREAT PATH THAT WE'RE HEADING.
WHILE IT'S BEEN 45 DAYS, IT, IT, IT SEEMS LIKE, UH, A SHORT TIME, BUT WE'VE GONE A LONG WAY.
WE'LL BE CONSIDERING THINGS TODAY AND OUR AGENDA THAT ARE INDEED THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING AND IMPROVING OUR SYSTEM AND IMPROVING OUR SERVICE FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND IMPROVING THE SYSTEM THAT WE DELIVER EVERY DAY.
UH, MY GUIDE IN FOCUSING IN THESE 45 DAYS AND BEYOND IS, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT STRATEGY, CULTURE, AND CASH.
NOW I SAY CASH, BUT IT IS OUR FINANCIAL POSITION.
AND GERMANE, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE, UH, YOU'VE BEEN A, BEEN A ROCK, UH, ABSOLUTELY IN THIS JOURNEY AND, AND LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AND YOUR TEAM, UM, AS WE, UM, UNDERSTAND OUR FINANCIAL JOURNEY TOGETHER.
UH, BUT PUTTING ALL THIS TOGETHER AND, AND BRINGING IT TO THE BOARD FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND HAVING THE GUIDANCE AND MENTORSHIP, I WILL SAY, UH, FOR MANY OF YOU ALONG THIS D HAS BEEN VERY MEANINGFUL FOR ME.
UM, AND, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF EXCITEMENT THAT'S COMING FROM OUR EMPLOYEES AND IT'S EXCITEMENT THAT I HOPE TO CHANNEL IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
WELL, I KNOW I'LL CHANNEL IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
I'LL SAY IT FOR THAT PERSPECTIVE, UH, BECAUSE IT IS INDEED SOMETHING THAT I SEE, UH, EVERY DAY ON HOW WE TAKE CARE OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND WE HAD CUSTOMERS HERE TODAY THAT HAVE SUGGESTED ON WAYS TO IMPROVE OUR SERVICE.
WE CONSIDER THOSE GIFTS AND WHAT HAPPENS DURING THOSE TIME PERIODS.
AND, AND, AND FOR THE BOARD AND, AND FOR THOSE OUT IN THE AUDIENCE.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU QUITE NOTICE THIS, BUT EVERY INDIVIDUAL THAT COMES IN OFFERS US THESE GIFTS FOR IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, THEY'RE EITHER FOLLOWED OUT OF THIS DOOR OR SOMEBODY FROM EITHER THE SENIOR TEAM OR MANAGEMENT TEAM WILL WALK WITH THAT PERSON TO GET MORE INFORMATION AND HAVE SOME FOLLOW UP FORM
[01:00:01]
FROM THEM.THESE ARE UNPROMPTED, THESE AREN'T DIRECTED BY THE BOARD.
THIS ISN'T DIRECTED BY THE CEO.
THIS IS INGRAINED SYSTEMICALLY INTO WHAT, WHO WE HAVE AS EMPLOYEES HERE.
SO YOU HEAR ME TALKING A LOT ABOUT EMPLOYEES, AND I AM INDEED, YOU KNOW, VERY PROUD OF OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND I HAVE STARTED THIS MANTRA WITH EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE A SAYING OR THERE IS A SAYING IN BUSINESS, RIGHT? THAT CUSTOMERS ARE NUMBER ONE.
WELL, YOU ACTUALLY GOTTA PUT EMPLOYEES BEFORE CUSTOMERS 'CAUSE YOU CAN'T HAVE CUSTOMERS WITHOUT EMPLOYEES AND YOU SURELY CAN'T HAVE HAPPY CUSTOMERS WITHOUT GREAT EMPLOYEES.
AND THE FACT THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE GREAT DELIVERY ON SATISFACTION SCORES WITH OUR CUSTOMERS IS AN, IS AN INDICATION OF A TESTAMENT TO EVERYBODY THAT'S IN THIS ROOM.
AND ANYBODY ELSE THAT'S ALSO LISTENING TO THIS, UH, PROGRAM HERE TODAY, THAT, THAT IS THE MANTRA THAT I AM, I AM PUSHING OUT ON THE VERY IMPORTANT PART OF CULTURE FOR THIS COMMUNITY AND THIS FAMILY WE CALL VIA.
SO VERY PROUD, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE ITEMS THAT WE'RE HAVING Y'ALL CONSIDER TO TODAY IN THIS AGENDA BECAUSE IT'S BRINGING ACTION TO OUR WORDS.
AND, UH, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY AND LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING GIVING Y'ALL UPDATES ON PROGRESS, MADAM CHAIR.
AND WE'LL TURN THIS, UH, AGENDA BACK OVER TO YOU.
AND JOHN, GARY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR STEADFAST LEADERSHIP AND YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM ON TOP OF THAT.
AND CONGRATULATIONS TO THE, UH, INDIVIDUALS THAT RECEIVE PROMOTIONS.
UM, THAT IS A, A, A GREAT REWARD, UH, FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND SERVICE.
AND THEN, UH, TO OUR STAR OF THE MONTH, GILBERT AND JOE, THANKS FOR YOUR DEDICATION, UH, TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THEN MOST IMPORTANTLY, KATHY MAN, FOR THE YEARS.
AGAIN, I I CAN'T IMAGINE, UM, HOW MUCH TIME AND, AND HISTORY AND THE STORIES YOU MAY ACTUALLY HAVE.
AND WITH THAT, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD ONTO
[5. Consent Agenda]
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE.UM, UH, AT THIS TIME WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH CONSENT AGENDA.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON NUMBER FIVE? NO QUESTIONS.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA, PLEASE AS PRESENTED? SO MOVED.
[6. Advanced Rapid Transit North/South Corridor Project Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) Contract ]
UH, ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR, PROJECT CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK CONTRACT, UH, MR. EDTA AND MR. WOOD.AS, AS ARTS, UH, TAKING THE MIC HERE, I WANTED TO OFFER A PREAMBLE OF CONNECTING THE NEXT THREE ITEMS TOGETHER.
UH, THEY'RE SO, SO INTRICATE AND WELL CONNECTED, BUT THEY'RE ALL DEPENDENT ON EACH OTHER.
UH, WE HAVE TALKED TO DEPTH SINCE NOVEMBER OF 2020 ABOUT THE ADVANCED RAPID TRANSIT NORTH SOUTH PROJECT, NOW THAT WE CALL THE GREEN LINE.
UH, THIS PROJECT IS, IS THE FIRST TRULY FIXED GUIDEWAY PROJECT IN OUR COMMUNITY AND WILL AND, AND THE COMMUNITY WILL EXPERIENCE.
AND IT REPRESENTS THE FUTURE OF OUR SYSTEM OF BUILDING A STRONG, RELIABLE, HIGH CAPACITY TRANSIT, UH, SPINE TO HELP IMPROVE THE REST OF OUR NETWORK.
BUT THE GREEN LINE CANNOT BE DONE IN A VACUUM, SO WE'RE GONNA NEED TO HAVE OPERATORS RUN THE GREEN LINE.
SO ITEMS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TALKING TO YOU TODAY ABOUT IS SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF ATTRACTING OPERATORS AND OPERATOR RANKS, INCREASING OUR OPERATOR RANKS.
SO WE HAVE THOSE OPERATORS TO RUN THIS SYSTEM.
UM, VERY IMPORTANTLY BECAUSE WE'RE OURS GONNA TALK TO US TODAY ABOUT BUILDING IT AND THEN WE GOTTA RUN IT.
AND SO THOSE ARE GONNA BE A, A COMPONENT, UH, RELATED TO THAT.
BUT AT THE THIRD COMPONENT OF THIS RELATED TO ALL THREE, IS IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF SERVICE FOR OUR RIDERS AND OUR COMMUNITY.
IT IS INDEED THE QUALITY OF THE SERVICE THAT'S GONNA ATTRACT THE RIDERSHIP, UH, TO OUR SYSTEM.
AND THAT QUALITY OF RIDERSHIP INCLUDES REDUCING THEIR TRAVEL TIME, REDUCING THE TIME THEY HAVE TO WAIT FOR A VEHICLE AND HAVING, GETTING THEM TO POINT A TO B AS EFFICIENTLY AND AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO JUST OFFER THAT THERE ART, UM, UN UN UNSCRIPTED, UH, 'CAUSE YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT.
'CAUSE YOU KEEP LOOKING AT ME LIKE WHAT THE HECK IS HE SAYING? BUT I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY ART, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION FOR EVERYONE.
HOW'S IT GOING? WHAT WE HAVE HERE TODAY, I'LL GIVE A BRIEF, UH, HISTORY, KIND OF A REFRESHER FOR EVERYBODY HERE.
UM, SOME PEOPLE WEREN'T HERE WHEN THIS WENT THROUGH.
UH, IN LATE NOVEMBER OR LATE DECEMBER, SORRY, OF 2023, WE HAD THE ORIGINAL CMAR CONTRACT WAS AWARDED TO FLATIRON.
UH, HER HERZOG, UM, IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,073,000.
AND WITH A NOTICE TO PROCEED WAS ISSUED BY VIA IN EARLY 2024.
[01:05:01]
WE HAD A MODIFICATION NUMBER ONE WAS APPROVED IN THE AMOUNT OF $240,000 EARLIER THIS MONTH THAT WAS BELOW THE BOARD THRESHOLD.AND WHAT WE HAVE FOR YOU TODAY IS A REQUEST, UH, VIA MODIFICATION NUMBER TWO TO, UM, ISSUE AN ALLOCATION OR NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT NOTICE, LIMITED NOTICE PROCEED IN THE AMOUNT OF $50,600,000 TO FLATIRON HERZOG FOR, UH, EARLY WORKS UNDERGROUND UTILITIES, UH, LONG LEAD PROCUREMENT ITEMS WHILE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CONTINUING TO NEGOTIATE THE GMP CONTRACT.
SO LAST MONTH DURING OUR QUARTERLY UPDATE, WE MADE REFERENCE TO A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT PROCUREMENT ITEMS THAT WERE GONNA COME BEFORE YOU.
UH, LAST MONTH WE TOOK ACTION ON, UM, THE MODIFICATION TO THE FINAL DESIGN TEAMS CONTRACT.
AND AS BRANDON WAS POINTING OUT, THIS IS THE MODIFICATION TO THAT CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK CONTRACT THAT I ALLUDED TO DURING THE, UH, THE QUARTERLY MEETING LA UH, YESTERDAY OR LAST MONTH.
A COUPLE OF KEY TAKEAWAYS THAT, UH, I'D LIKE YOU ALL TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE I START INTO THE SLIDE.
UH, THE FIRST ONE BEING THAT THE ACTION THAT WE'RE REQUESTING THIS EVENING IS NOT AN INCREASE TO THE PROJECT BUDGET THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN APPROVED BY THE FTA AND BY THE BOARD FOR THE A RT GREEN LINE PROGRAM.
THE SECOND ITEM IS THAT, UH, THE REQUEST IS TO ENSURE THAT WE MAINTAIN OUR, OUR, UH, TARGET DATE OF STARTING UTILITY RELOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION THIS SUMMER.
SO WHAT I WANNA START WITH IS JUST A QUICK REVIEW OF WHAT THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS, UH, FOR THIS CONTRACT.
THE, UH, AS, AS BRENDAN ALLUDED TO IS WE PROVIDED A NOTICE PROCEED, UH, IN MARCH OF 2024.
AND THE INTENT WAS TO COME BEFORE THE BOARD ASKING FOR AN ADDITIONAL GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE AUTHORIZATION IN JANUARY.
AND THEN FINAL, UH, COPY, UH, OR FOLLOW UP WITH THAT A FINAL GMP IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR WITH THE INTENT OF STARTING UTILITY RELOCATIONS IN CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES IN JUNE.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED, AND, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, UH, PREVIOUSLY, IS IT IS SO CRITICAL THAT WE UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE POTENTIAL UTILITY CONFLICTS ON THE CORRIDOR BEFORE WE START TEARING UP THE GROUND.
WE'VE ACTUALLY INVESTED MORE TIME AND MORE FUNDING IN IDENTIFYING WHERE THOSE POTENTIAL UTILITY CONFLICTS ARE GOING TO BE.
IT'S ACTUALLY, UH, AFFECTED OUR, UH, DESIGN SCHEDULE A BIT, BUT WE FEEL THAT THE BENEFIT IS THERE SO THAT WE'RE NOT TAKING TIME UP AND, AND MAY JUST SERVING AS A DISTURBANCE TO THE COMMUNITY WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, UH, ANY UTILITY RELOCATIONS DURING CONSTRUCTION, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WE START TEARING UP THE GROUND, WE IDENTIFY A UTILITY CONFLICT AND NOW WE'RE HAVING TO DESIGN WHILE THERE'S A HOLE IN THE GROUND AND IT'S AFFECTING BUSINESSES, NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, THINGS OF THAT AND THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
SO WHAT WE INSTEAD ARE, ARE DOING IS BECAUSE WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GATHER ALL OF THAT INFORMATION, WE STILL WANNA MAINTAIN OUR TARGET DATE OF STARTING THE CONSTRUCTION.
SO WHILE THAT IS CONCURRENTLY OCCURRING, WE'RE STILL GATHERING ALL THAT INFORMATION.
WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS, UH, AUTHORIZE A LIMITED NOTICE, PROCEED TO FLATIRON HERZOG SO THAT IN THOSE LOCATIONS WHERE WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THOSE POTENTIAL UTILITY CONFLICTS ALREADY, WE CAN ACTUALLY START WORK IN THOSE SEGMENTS.
UH, AND AND THAT'S WHAT THIS LIMITED NOTICE PROCEED IS GOING TO ALLOW US TO DO.
SO WHILE DESIGN IS MAINTAIN IS GOING FORWARD, UH, AND WE ARE IDENTIFYING ADDITIONAL SUBSURFACE UTILITY CONFLICTS, THOSE AREAS OF THE CORRIDOR THAT WE ARE VERY CONFIDENT WITH MOVING FORWARD WITH, WE'D LIKE TO DO SO WITH THIS NEW SCENARIO.
SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT THE REQUEST WOULD BE IS TO AUTHORIZE A LIMITED NOTICE, PROCEED, UM, IN THE AMOUNT OF, OF $50 MILLION, JUST OVER $50 MILLION.
AND AGAIN, THAT BUDGET, THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY WILL BE COMING FROM WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN AUTHORIZED AND APPROVED FROM THE CONSTRUCTION BUDGET.
THIS ISN'T IN ADDITION TO WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN AUTHORIZED.
IT WOULD ESSENTIALLY START PULLING FROM THOSE FUNDS SOONER.
WE WOULD ALSO ASK FOR A 10% CONTINGENCY.
IT'S JUST OVER $5 MILLION THAT THOSE FUNDS ARE ALSO GOING TO BE COMING FROM WHAT'S ALREADY APPROVED IN THE CONSTRUCTION BUDGET.
IT WON'T BE COMING OUT OF UNALLOCATED CONTINGENCY.
THE PURPOSES OF ASKING FOR THIS CONTINGENCY IS IF WHILE WE ARE OUT THERE, WE IDENTIFY THAT THERE IS ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE UTILITY RELOCATIONS OR ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES, AND WE HAVE FORCES OUT THERE, LET'S JUST GO AHEAD AND GET THAT WORK, UH, DONE AS WELL.
SO IN ADDITION TO UTILITIES, DRAINAGE IS ALSO, UH, BECOMING A, UH, AN ISSUE FOR US TO, TO KEEP AN EYE ON.
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IF WE'RE MOVING SOME OF THOSE UTILITIES, THEY MAY IMPACT DRAINAGE INLETS OR VICE VERSA.
IF WE NEED TO MOVE A DRAINAGE INLET, IT MAY HAVE, UH, CONSEQUENCES WITH, UH, UTILITIES.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
[01:10:01]
THROUGH OUR DESIGN PHASE IN THE SUMMER.NOW, EVEN THOUGH THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THE SUMMER, WE KNOW THAT WITH THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE LIMITED NOTICE TO PROCEED, WE CAN START THE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES.
WE CAN CONTINUE WITH DESIGN FOR THE REST OF THE CORRIDOR, AND WE CAN START THE NEGOTIATIONS OF A GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE ONCE WE HIT THE 95% DESIGN, UH, UH, MILESTONE, WHICH IS LATER THIS SUMMER.
SO, KEEPING THOSE, THOSE KEY TAKEAWAYS IN MIND, THE, THE $50.6 MILLION FOR A LIMITED NOTICE PROCEED WILL ALLOW US TO MOVE FORWARD WITH CONSTRUCTION.
IT ALSO PROVIDES SOME FLEXIBILITY AND SOME BENEFITS IN THAT AS SOON AS THE, THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK GETS OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, STARTS THE WORK, WE CAN ONE, GET A FEEL FOR HOW, UH, PERMITTING WITH THE CITY IS GOING TO GO.
WE CAN GET A FEEL FOR THE UTILITY CONFLICTS AND HOW WELL WE'RE ABLE TO MOVE THE RELOCATIONS OR, UH, THE POLES IN ANY OF THE CONFLICTS.
AND THAT WAY, BY THE TIME IT'S, IT COMES TIME FOR THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK TO DO THE MAJORITY PORTION OF THE CORRIDOR.
THEY ALSO HAVE A FEEL FOR HOW PERMITTING IS GONNA GO.
THEY ALSO HAVE A FEEL FOR HOW THE COORDINATION WITH UTILITIES DURING CONSTRUCTION ARE GONNA GO.
AND THEN THE STAFF IS ALSO, UH, ALREADY IN A COMFORTABLE POSITION OF WORKING WITH THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK, SHOULD THERE BE, UH, ANY ISSUES DURING CONSTRUCTION.
AND AGAIN, THE APPROVAL OF THE 10% CONTINGENCY, JUST REITERATING THIS IS NOT, THOSE FUNDS ARE NOT COMING OUT OF THE CONTINGENCY THAT IS SET ASIDE IN THE BUDGET.
THIS IS ALL COMING OUT OF THE CONSTRUCTION LINE ITEM IN OUR APPROVED BUDGET.
WHEN WE EVENTUALLY GET TO THE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE, ANYTHING THAT HAS BEEN SPENT UNDER THIS LIMITED NOTICE TO PROCEED WOULD BE DEDUCTED FROM THAT GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE BECAUSE WE WILL BE TRACKING WHAT HAS BEEN DONE AND WHAT CAN BE DEDUCTED FROM THE ENTIRE PLANT SET AND, AND GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE.
AND, AND WITH THAT I'D, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
UH, TRUSTEE BA SO LEMME JUST CONFIRM WHAT YOU JUST SAID.
SO WE'RE NOT ADDING 50 MILLION TO THE END OF THE GMP, UH, OR WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE TO CUT MAJOR, UH, DESIGN OUT AT THE END OF THE, UH, AT THE END OF THE PROJECT AS A RESULT OF THIS 50 MILLION.
SO, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK WE SHOULD, THIS IS GREAT THAT WE'RE DOING THIS.
I MEAN, WE'VE LEARNED FROM ALL THE PUBLIC PROJECTS GOING ON THAT, UH, IDENTIFYING THESE FUTURE CONFLICTS IS VERY IMPORTANT.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO COMMUNICATE THIS, UH, IN A BIG WAY TO THE PUBLIC THAT WE'RE, UH, TAKING ON THIS EXTRA STEP TO ENSURE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF NEGATIVE IMPACT TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE IDENTIFY THAT.
UH, SECOND THING I WAS GONNA SAY IS, ARE WE ENGAGED WITH LEADERSHIP AT DSD? UH, YOU KNOW, BEING IN THE BUSINESS, I KNOW HOW ONE SMALL COMMENT CAN COST A LOT OF MONEY.
AND SOMETIMES REALLY, UH, DIVING INTO THE BACK AND FORTH WITH THE REVIEWERS, YOU REALIZE THERE'S A WAY TO SOLVE IT WITHOUT MEETING THE COMMENTS NEED, BUT MAKE MAKING THAT REVIEWER HAPPY AND NOT SPENDING 25% MORE ON THAT ITEM.
SO HOW ARE WE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THE ATTENTION OF, OF DSD LEADERSHIP SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, COMMENT AFTER COMMENT AND DOLLAR AFTER DOLLAR BEING SPENT? SO THERE ARE TWO ANSWERS THERE.
THE, THE FIRST ONE BEING THE, THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT THAT WE SIGNED WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, UH, SPELLED OUT SPECIFICALLY THE, THE COMMENT PERIODS THAT THE CITY WILL HAVE FOR THE REVIEW OF THE PLANS.
AND IT EVEN IDENTIFIED THE CREATION OF A DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE INSIDE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO TO PROVIDE THOSE COMMENTS.
AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THOSE FOLKS ACTIVELY THROUGH DESIGN.
THE THE SECOND COMMENT, UH, THAT I'D MAKE TO, TO YOUR QUESTION IS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM DSD LEADERSHIP, UH, AT THE DIRECTOR LEVEL AS WELL AS PUBLIC WORKS.
SO IN ADDITION TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, WE ALSO HAVE TO PULL PERMITS FROM PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.
UH, AND SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S REQUIRING US TO WORK WITH TWO DEPARTMENTS TO PULL DIFFERENT PERMITS, UH, NECESSARY.
BUT THEY'VE BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE SO FAR IN THE, IN THE PROCESS.
SO YOU NEVER WANNA GO, UH, CHEAP ON DRAINAGE 'CAUSE THAT HAS A HUGE IMPACT IF YOU DO.
BUT DO Y'ALL KNOW WHAT THE GENERAL COMMENTS ARE? LIKE HOW, WHAT BIG KIND OF A IMPACT IS IT GONNA BE ON THE DRAINAGE SIDE? SO BECAUSE OF THE PLACEMENT OF OUR STATIONS, UH, WE ARE HAVING TO MOVE SOME OF THE INLETS THAT ARE, THAT ARE LOCATED THERE.
AND AS A RESULT, THOUGH, IT SOMETIMES REQUIRES TO ADD ADDITIONAL PIPING TO, SINCE WE'RE MOVING THE, THE INLET.
UH, THE OTHER THING IS BECAUSE WE WANNA LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF PONDING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE NEAR AT, UH, NEAR THESE STATIONS, IT MAY REQUIRE US TO ADD ADDITIONAL INLETS TO HELP, UH, REDUCE THAT.
AND SO IT'S JUST WORKING THROUGH THE, UH, THE CODES THAT, THAT THE, THE DRAINAGE TEAM HAS.
SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE ON TOP OF IT.
I DON'T KNOW THE TECHNICAL SIDE.
BUT WHAT I DO KNOW, UM, IS I AGREE ON HIS FIRST POINT ABOUT LETTING THE PUBLIC KNOW ABOUT HOW WE'RE DOING THIS PROCESS.
I KNOW SO MANY AGENCIES, CITY AGENCIES, THAT, UM, DO THIS WORK AND DON'T MAKE THOSE TYPE OF, UM,
[01:15:01]
APPROACHES, PROACTIVE APPROACHES.SO I JUST WANTED TO ECHO THAT.
BUT THE SECOND THING, CAN YOU JUST REMIND ME THE LINE ITEM IN THE BUDGET FOR CONSTRUCTION? WHAT IS THAT NUMBER? IT'S $243 MILLION.
SO 2 43, YOU'RE ASKING FOR 50 TO DO THIS WORK NOW WITH THE 10% CONTINGENCY OF FIVE, 5 MILLION.
AND ALL OF THAT WOULD, WOULD COME FROM THAT TWO 40, ALL FROM THAT TOO.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL KNEW THAT LINE ITEM NUMBER RIGHT? THAT IT WAS ALREADY IN THE BUDGET.
UM, 'CAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT WHEN WE, WHEN WE START TO TELL THE PUBLIC THIS STORY, WHICH I THINK AGAIN, IS IMPORTANT, WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT ASKING OR GOING TO FIND NEW MONEY.
THIS WAS MONEY THAT WAS ALREADY ALLOTTED IN THE BUDGET.
THERE, THERE WAS REFERENCE MADE TO THE CHANGE CONTROL BOARD YES.
APPROVING THE EXPENSES AND SUCH SO THAT EVERYBODY'S CLEAR ON WHAT OR WHO THAT IS.
AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO THAT THE CHANGE CONTROL BOARD IS MADE UP OF DIFFERENT REPRESENTATIVES, UH, IN VIA STAFF.
SO WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM PROCUREMENT, WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE, UH, ENGINEERING OR THE IMPLEMENTATION TEAM AS WELL AS THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM, US.
AND, UH, THE IMPORTANCE THERE, THE KEY TAKEAWAY THERE IS THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE AUTHORIZING UP TO ESSENTIALLY, UH, $50.6 MILLION IN AN ADDITIONAL $5 MILLION, EVERY EXPENDITURE THAT THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK FIRM IS GOING TO BE REQUESTING WILL GO THROUGH THE CCB.
UH, SO THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL LEVEL OF CHECK AND BALANCE THERE TO ENSURE THAT PRIOR TO THEM ACTUALLY GETTING A GO AHEAD, MOVE FORWARD, THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL CHECK.
SO WE CAN TAKE THEIR COST AGAINST OUR INDEPENDENT COST TESTIMATE, NEGOTIATE IF NECESSARY, AND THEN AUTHORIZE THE WORK.
I WAS, I WAS JUST GONNA ASK, UH, FOR, FOR FUTURE VALUE, YOU'RE DOING ALL THIS EXPLORATION, IS THERE A PLAN TO KEEP THIS AND BUILD A MODEL FOR THE FUTURE WHERE NEXT TIME YOU HAVE TO FIX SOMETHING ON INTERSECTION OR THE CITY HAS TO DIG SOMETHING OUT, YOU CAN SHARE DATA SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THESE KINDS OVER AND OVER, OR WE WE'RE DRILLING DOWN AND HITTING, YOU KNOW, EVERY SINGLE LITTLE THING ON THERE.
UM, JUST MIGHT BE THINK THINKING OF THAT FOR THE FUTURE.
AND WE'LL, WE'RE ACTUALLY ALSO IDENTIFYING SOME LINES THAT ARE ABANDONED AND MAKING NOTE OF THAT AS WELL.
UH, ALL OF THAT INFORMATION THAT WE GATHER, WE WILL BE HANDING OVER TO THE CITY SO THEY CAN ACTUALLY UPDATE THEIR, THEIR FILES AS WELL.
AND THAT GOES ALSO RELATED TO ANY, UH, ACTUAL MEETS AND BOUNDS OR SURVEY OF PROPERTY LINES, UM, ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK AND, UH, THANK YOU TO MANGER FOR HELPING US LEAD THIS THROUGH AS WELL.
ALL RIGHT, SO, UH, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER FURTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? IF NOT, ENTERTAIN A MOTION AND A SECOND PLEASE.
SECOND MOTION AND SECOND ON THE FAVOR, SAY AYE.
[7. Bus Operator Hiring Task Force Update]
BUS OPERATOR HIRING TASK FORCE UPDATE.UH, WHO'S GONNA PROVIDE THAT? GONNA BE THE HR TEAM,
AND, AND, AND EMPLOYEES, UH, WHEN Y'ALL COME UP, INTRODUCE YOURSELVES AND, AND WHERE YOU WORK SO OUR NEW TRUSTEES CAN ALSO GET TO LEARN AND, AND KNOW YOU CERTAINLY.
GOOD EVENING, BOARD CHAIR CABIA, VICE CHAIR GOMEZ AND BOARD MEMBERS.
I'M SATORI SAMMU, THE VP OF HR, AND I'M HERE WITH ANGELICA MARTIN, OUR NEW DIRECTOR OF HR AND SARAH SMITH.
SARAH SMITH, OUR DIRECTOR OF PERFORMANCE AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.
TOGETHER, WE'LL WALK THROUGH THE BUS OPERATOR STAFFING AND RECRUITMENT STRATEGY, HIGHLIGHTING OUR PROGRESS SO FAR IN OUTLINING OUR KEY GOALS FOR 2025.
OUR MISSION IS CLEAR, MORE OPERATORS, MORE FREQUENCY, AND ULTIMATELY MORE RIDERS BENEFITING FROM RELIABLE AND FREQUENT SERVICE.
SO LET'S DIVE INTO HOW WE'LL ACHIEVE THIS.
OUR APPROACH FOCUSES ON THREE CORE PILLARS, HIRING, TRAINING, AND RETENTION.
THESE AREN'T STANDALONE EFFORTS.
THEY'RE INTERCONNECTED STRATEGIES THAT WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE WE HAVE A SKILLED, RELIABLE WORKFORCE.
MORE OPERATORS MEAN WE CAN OFFER MORE FREQUENT SERVICE, REDUCE WAIT TIMES, AND IMPROVE THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE FOR OUR RIDERS.
WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS? WELL, IT'S SIMPLE.
MORE OPERATORS MEANS BETTER SERVICE, SHORTER WAIT TIMES, MAKE PUBLIC TRANSIT MORE ATTRACTIVE, MORE RELIABLE SERVICE REDUCES MISSED TRIPS.
[01:20:01]
CAPACITY, WE CAN OFFER MORE FREQUENT TRIPS, WHICH IN TURN DRIVES RIDERSHIP AND BOOSTS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.SO LOOKING BACK AT WORKFORCE TRENDS FROM 2018 TO 2024, WE CAN SEE THE IMPACT OF EXTERNAL FACTORS, MOST NOTABLY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
WE EXPERIENCED HIRING SLOWDOWNS AND RETENTION CHALLENGES DURING THIS PERIOD.
WHILE WE'VE MADE STRIDES SINCE THEN.
THESE NUMBERS HIGHLIGHT THE ONGOING CHALLENGE OF STABILIZING OUR WORKFORCE TO DELIVER CONSISTENT SERVICE.
SEVERAL FACTORS HAVE INFLUENCED OUR STAFFING LEVELS.
INITIATIVES LIKE ENHANCED HIRING INCENTIVES AND INCREASED TRAINING CLASSES HAVE HELPED STABILIZE OUR WORKFORCE.
HOWEVER, STABILITY AND RETENTION REMAIN CRITICAL AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO SUSTAIN FOCUS TO ENSURE RELIABLE SERVICE DELIVERY.
OUR GOAL FOR 2025 IS AMBITIOUS, REACHING 874 FULL-TIME BUS OPERATORS.
THIS IS MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE HIRING RATE WE ACHIEVED IN 2023 AND 24.
ACHIEVING THIS GOAL IS ESSENTIAL IF WE WANT TO PROVIDE RELIABLE FREQUENT SERVICE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
TO MEET THIS TARGET OF HIRING 75 NEW FULL-TIME BUS OPERATORS, WE NEED A BALANCED APPROACH, ONE THAT EMPHASIZES HIRING, TRAINING, AND RETENTION.
OUR STRATEGY INCLUDES RECRUITER INCENTIVES, INCREASING OUR ONLINE PRESENCE, HOSTING ONSITE JOB FAIRS, AND USING STANDARDIZED INTERVIEWS.
EACH STEP HELPS ENSURE WE NOT ONLY HIRE QUALIFIED CANDIDATES, BUT ALSO RETAIN THEM LONG-TERM.
AND I'LL DISCUSS EACH OF THESE IN THE NEXT SLIDE AS WE LOOK TOWARD THE FUTURE.
ADVANCING OUR HIRING AND RECRUITMENT STRATEGY IS ESSENTIAL TO MEET OUR OPERATIONAL GOALS AND PROVIDE CONSISTENT HIGH QUALITY SERVICE.
OUR STRATEGY FOCUSES ON SEVERAL KEY INITIATIVES DESIGNED TO ATTRACT, ONBOARD, AND RETAIN THE BEST TALENT POSSIBLE.
OUR STRATEGY INCLUDES RECRUITER INCENTIVES.
RECRUITERS CAN EARN UP TO $300 PER FULL-TIME BUS OPERATOR HIRE.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS PAYMENTS ARE SPLIT THREE WAYS.
THE FIRST IS EARNED AFTER THE STUDENT HAS COMPLETED 13 WEEKS OF THE MANDATORY TRAINING, THE SECOND AFTER THE BUS OPERATOR HAS BEEN ON THE ROAD FOR 90 DAYS AND THE LAST PAYMENT ONCE THE BUS OPERATOR HAS REACHED THEIR FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY.
NEXT, WE'RE INCREASING OUR ONLINE INVIS, UH, ONLINE VISIBILITY TO ATTRACT A BROADER POOL OF CANDIDATES.
SO WE'RE ADVERTISING OUR JOBS ON INDEED AND ZIPRECRUITER, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH TERRY TREVINO, THE NEW SENIOR VP OF CUSTOMER CARE AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT TO EXPLORE WAYS TO LEVERAGE ADDITIONAL JOB POSTING SITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE'RE ALSO FOCUSING ON HOSTING ONSITE JOB FAIRS, BUT IN THE EVENINGS AND ON SATURDAYS, OUR LAST EVENING, JOB FAIR WAS HELD ON THE 12TH AND WE HAD 68 ATTENDEES.
SO THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE AS BEFORE WHEN WE WERE HAVING THE ONSITE JOB FAIRS DURING THE DAY.
ADDITIONALLY, WE'VE STANDARDIZED OUR INTERVIEW GUIDES TO ENSURE FAIRNESS AND CONSISTENCY, MAKING IT EASIER TO IDENTIFY CANDIDATES WHO ALIGN WITH OUR VALUES AND SERVICE EXPECTATIONS.
SO THE GUIDELINES WE USE TO STANDARDIZE THE INTERVIEWS CAME STRAIGHT FROM APTA.
APTA ACTUALLY PROVIDES GUIDELINES FOR AGENCIES TO USE, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, RECRUITING BUS OPERATORS AND ALSO RETAINING THE BUS OPERATORS.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE'VE INTEGRATED THE TALENT CLICK ASSESSMENT TOOL INTO THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS.
SO ONE OF OUR KEY INNOVATIONS IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS IS THE USE OF THE TALENT CLICK ASSESSMENT TOOL.
THIS TOOL HELPS US EVALUATE WHETHER CANDIDATES ARE A GOOD FIT FOR THE BUS OPERATOR ROLE, FOCUSING ON TECHNICAL AND SOFT SKILLS AND THEIR ABILITY TO SUCCEED IN THE UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH BUS OPERATORS WORK.
IT MEASURES THREE FACTORS, WORK STYLE, WORK, VALUES, AND SAFETY.
THE ASSESSMENT ASSIGNS CANDIDATE A SCORE
[01:25:01]
THAT FALLS INTO ONE OF THREE TIERS.THOSE WHO SCORE IN THE GREEN ARE YELLOW TIERS MOVE FORWARD IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS.
SO THIS MEANS FEWER RESOURCES ARE SPENT ON INTERVIEWING ANY EVALUATING CANDIDATES WHO MAY NOT BE A GOOD MATCH.
WE CAN THEN FOCUS ON CANDIDATES WHO MEET BOTH TECHNICAL AND SOFT SKILLS.
AND BY ALIGNING CANDIDATES WITH THE AGENCY'S VALUES AND SAFETY STANDARDS EARLY ON, WE MAY REDUCE THE RISK OF TURNOVER.
SO WHAT ARE WE WORKING ON? WE FORMED A TASK FORCE AND OUR PRIMARY OBJECTIVE IS CLEAR TO REACH THE GOAL OF HIRING 75 NEW FULL-TIME BUS OPERATORS TO MEET OUR OPERATIONAL NEEDS AND IMPROVE IMPROVE SERVICE RELIABILITY.
THE TASK FORCE IS LED BY JOHN CLAMP CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, AND INCLUDES COLLABORATION ACROSS SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING HR, TRANSPORTATION, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS STSS, AND THE PRESIDENT AND CEO'S OFFICE.
TOGETHER THIS TEAM IS WORKING TO ADDRESS OUR STAFFING CHALLENGES FROM EVERY ANGLE.
THE TASK FORCE MISSION IS TO STABILIZE AND GROW OUR OPERATOR WORKFORCE BY REFINING RECRUITMENT PRACTICES, STREAMLINE HIRING PROCESSES, AND IMPROVE RETENTION EFFORTS TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN OUR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION EFFORTS, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING A SERIES OF NEW HIRE FEEDBACK SURVEYS.
THESE SURVEYS WILL PROVIDE VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO THE NEW HIRE EXPERIENCE, HELPING US IDENTIFY AREAS WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE ONBOARDING AND TRAINING.
THE SURVEYS WILL BE CONDUCTED AT FOUR CRITICAL POINTS DURING AN EMPLOYEE'S FIRST YEAR.
SO THAT'S AT 30, 60, 90, AND THE ONE YEAR MARK.
AND THIS IS TO HELP GAUGE HOW WELL NEW HIRES ARE ADAPTING TO THEIR ROLE AS A BUS OPERATOR TO HELP MEET OUR GOAL.
WE'VE ALSO ESTABLISHED PARTNERSHIPS WITH READY TO WORK GOODWILL.
AND WHY WCA? WE'VE APPLIED FOR GRANTS WITH READY TO WORK, AND I WAS NOTIFIED THAT WE SHOULD RECEIVE AN AWARD NOTIFICATION BY THE END OF NEXT MONTH WITH FINAL APPROVAL FROM THE CITY COUNCIL ON APRIL 10TH.
WE'VE ALSO MET WITH ANGELIQUE, THE CHIEF MISSION OFFICER WITH GOODWILL AND Y-W-C-A-C-E-O.
I'M EXTREMELY GRATEFUL FOR THESE PARTNERSHIPS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE YWCA.
IT WAS AN HONOR FOR ME TO TOUR THE NEW WOMEN'S LIVE AND LEARN CENTER WHERE WOMEN CAN RECEIVE NOT ONLY HOUSING, BUT HELP IN FINDING EMPLOYMENT.
THESE ARE INCREDIBLE WOMEN WHO HAVE, WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAGEDY IN SOME FORM, BUT THE CENTER AND THE SUPPORT THAT THEY RECEIVE FROM THE STAFF AT THE YWCA ARE, ARE ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC AND INSPIRING.
AS PART OF OUR ONGOING EFFORTS TO IMPROVE RE RECRUITMENT OUTCOMES AND WORKFORCE STABILITY, THE HR TEAM IS ACTIVELY DEVELOPING POWER BI REPORTS TO TRACK BETTER AND ANALYZE OUR RECRUITMENT METRICS.
THESE DASHBOARDS WILL NOT ONLY HELP US MAKE DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS, BUT ALSO ALLOW US TO REPORT RECRUITMENT PROGRESS TO LEADERSHIP WITH GREATER TRANSPARENCY.
OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO CREATE A SYSTEM THAT SUPPORTS STRATEGIC HIRING WHILE FOSTERING LONG-TERM WORKFORCE STABILITY.
ONE KEY AREA THAT PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING OUR BUS OPERATORS IS OUR TOTAL REWARDS PROGRAM.
TO PROVIDE MORE DETAIL ON OUR TOTAL REWARDS STRATEGY, I'D LIKE TO HAND THINGS OVER TO ANGELICA, WHERE SHE'LL DIVE DEEPER INTO THE SPECIFIC ENHANCEMENTS WE'RE IMPLEMENTING AND HOW THESE CHANGES WILL IMPROVE RETENTION AND OVERALL JOB SATISFACTION.
SO I'M GONNA HIGHLIGHT FOR YOU HOW VIA IS INVESTING IN OUR GREATEST ASSET, OUR PEOPLE, UM, WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF BEING AN OPERATOR.
TOTAL COMPENSATION, INCLUDING COMPANY PROVIDED BENEFITS, IS APPROXIMATELY $76,000.
BY YEAR FIVE, THAT TOTAL COMPENSATION GROWS TO $91,000.
THIS REPRESENTS A 25% GROWTH IN BASE EARNINGS AND A 20% INCREASE IN TOTAL COMPENSATION.
OUR ROBUST TOTAL COMPENSATION PACKAGE REINFORCES OUR COMMITMENT TO INVESTING IN OUR WORKFORCE VIA CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING A TOTAL REWARD SOFTWARE THAT WILL INTEGRATE WITH INFOR TO GIVE EMPLOYEES
[01:30:01]
GREATER LINE OF SIGHT INTO THEIR TOTAL COMPENSATION PACKAGE.AND AS WE CONTINUE TO ENHANCE OUR COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS, WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT IS CRITICAL TO SUCCESS.
WITH THAT IN MIND, SARAH IS GOING TO SPEAK ABOUT HER INSIGHTS INTO OUR TRAINING PROCESS.
GOOD EVENING, MY NAME'S SARAH SMITH.
I KNOW IT'S KIND OF LATE IN THE DAY, SO I JUST WANNA BREAK IT UP WITH, I APOLOGIZE IF YOU ALL HEAR MY STOMACH GROWLING.
I HOPE SOMEBODY'S JUST AS HUNGRY AS I AM.
UM, I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE PERFORMANCE AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENT HERE, AND I HAVE THE HONOR OF BEING PART OF THIS TEAM TO BE ABLE TO WORK ON A 360 REVIEW OF THE OPERATOR TRAINING.
SO ULTIMATELY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE GOAL OF THIS, UM, INITIATIVE IS ONE WHERE WE LOOK FOR THE STRENGTH, THE CHALLENGES, AS WELL AS OPPORTUNITIES AND TRAINING TODAY.
BUT WE DO IT LIKE OUR PRESIDENT AND CEO JOHN GARY SAID, WE CAN'T DO THINGS IN A SILO.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE COLLABORATE.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT COLLABORATION WITH OUR HR, BOTH IN RECRUITING, RETAINING, AS WELL AS OUR TRANSPORTATION, OUR STSS TEAMS, AND THEN ALSO OUR OPERATORS.
SO THE FIRST THING WE REALLY WANNA DO IS WE WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT IS THIS CURRENT STATE? WHAT ARE THE PROCESSES IN PLACE TODAY SO THAT WE LOOK AT THE END-TO-END PROCESS.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT OUR OPERATORS OR STUDENTS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEIR JOURNEY IS A SEAMLESS ONE FROM HIRE TO STUDENT TO OPERATOR, RIGHT? WE ALSO ARE DIGGING INTO SOME DATA.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE'RE LOOKING AT EXIT DATA FOR STUDENTS, EMPLOYEES AS WELL AS PULSE SURVEYS.
SO WE UNDERSTAND IS THERE A CORRELATION FOR ONE THING THAT ACTUALLY IMPACTS THE SUCCESS RATE FOR GRADUATION FOR LEVEL OF SATISFACTION.
IN ADDITION, WE REALLY WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT IS THE VOICE OF OUR OPERATORS, RIGHT? THEY ARE THE FOREFRONT THAT ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE THIS TRAINING.
LET'S LOOK IN THE DAY, IN THE LIFE OF THE STUDENT AND THE OPERATOR, DIG DEEPER INTO CONVERSATIONS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MATTERS TO THEM MOST.
AND THEN FROM THERE, ONCE WE HAVE THAT QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA, WE CAN THEN HAVE A BRAINSTORM SOLUTION, CROSS COLLABORATING BETWEEN HR TRANSPORTATION, STSS, AND OUR OPERATORS.
AND LIKE TRAMELL SAID BEFORE, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE ONLY, UM, NOT JUST LOOK AT A SPECIFIC TENURE OF OPERATORS.
WE WANNA GET THOSE THAT ARE TENURED BECAUSE EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY BRINGS A VERY DIVERSE PERSPECTIVE AS WELL.
SO ONCE WE DO THAT, WE'RE GONNA ASSESS WHAT DOES THAT IMPACT OR THE BENEFIT TO, UM, FROM THOSE SOLUTIONS.
PILOT SOMETHING, TEST TRIAL IT, UM, IRON OUT THE KINKS, AND THEN ROLL IT OUT TO THE BIGGER PROGRAM.
SO FROM HERE, I'M GONNA PASS IT ON TO SATORI.
SO RETENTION IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS HIRING AND TRAINING.
SO WE'RE FOCUSED ON ONBOARDING SUPPORT.
UH, WE'VE RECENTLY MOVED OUR NEW HIRE ORIENTATION FROM VIRTUAL TO IN-PERSON.
WE'RE REFINING OUR PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES, AND WE'RE PROVIDING CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
THESE EFFORTS WILL HELP STRENGTHEN RETENTION, REDUCE TURNOVER, AND ENSURE WORKFORCE STABILITY IN THE LONG TERM.
IN CLOSING, BY TAKING A METHODICAL APPROACH THAT EMPHASIZES CAREFUL PLANNING AND EXECUTION, WE ARE LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR LONG-TERM OUTCOMES THAT BENEFIT OUR ENTIRE TRANSIT SYSTEM.
MORE OPERATORS MEAN MORE FREQUENT SERVICE AND MORE RIDERS.
IT'S A SIMPLE EQUATION THAT DRIVES OUR SUCCESS.
SO OUR GOAL IS CLEAR, ENSURE THAT VIA DELIVERS THE RELIABLE FREQUENT SERVICE OUR COMMUNITY EXPECTS AND DESERVES AND TO KEEP SAN ANTONIO MOVING.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
VERY, UH, THOUGHTFUL, UH, AND A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT IS HELPFUL FOR US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, UM, HOW YOU'RE GONNA ACHIEVE THAN 75 HIRES AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
TRUSTEES, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? TRUSTEE COOPER? BOY, Y'ALL ARE A DREAM TEAM FOR SURE.
IT WAS A VERY NICE PRESENTATION.
UM, I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION FOR YOU.
UM, DO Y'ALL HAVE AN INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR AN EMPLOYEE, EITHER A DRIVER OR SOMEONE HERE VIA THAT BRINGS IN, UH, A NEW HIRE INTO THIS POSITION? BECAUSE IT, I DIDN'T THINK I HEARD YOU SAY THAT, BUT I I THOUGHT Y'ALL HAD SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
WE'VE HAD THAT IN PLACE, I BELIEVE SINCE AUGUST OF 2021, UM, WHERE EMPLOYEES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR A THOUSAND DOLLARS, UM, AS A NEW HIRE REACHES CERTAIN MILESTONES.
SO THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE PAYOUT IS JUST ABOUT AT A YEAR.
I THINK IT'S, IT'S RIGHT AT 11 MONTHS, UM, THEY'LL RECEIVE THOSE THREE PAYMENTS.
UM, DO YOU REMIND PEOPLE THAT OFTEN, AND ALSO, DO YOU THINK THAT TIME PERIOD MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT LONG THAT YOU MIGHT CHANGE THAT UP A LITTLE BIT TO SEE IF YOUR RESULTS CHANGED? I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW HOW IT MIGHT BE INTERESTING, FIRST OF ALL TO ASK HOW'S THAT WORKING? UH, ARE YOU GETTING A LOT OF THOSE? NOT SO MUCH.
[01:35:01]
YOU KNOW, IS THAT THAT, IS THAT SOMETHING Y'ALL KEEP WORKING ON? AND I'M JUST SAYING THAT, UH, IGNORANCE, UH, NO.THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE KEEP WORKING ON AND WE DO REMIND OUR EMPLOYEES THAT THE, UM, REFERRAL BONUS IS AVAILABLE.
UM, AND SO FAR WE HAVE SEEN GREAT SUCCESS WITH IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE PULL REPORTS, WE SEE THAT MOST OF THE APPLICANTS THAT WE RECEIVE ARE FROM EMPLOYER REFERRALS.
UM, THE BASE SALARY PLUS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR OVERTIME, HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO THE SAN ANTONIO MEDIAN INCOME? THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION, AND I'LL HAVE TO GET THAT INFORMATION BACK TO YOU.
WELL, UH, VICE CHAIR GOMEZ, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT MEDIUM INCOME, UH, AMOUNT.
HOWEVER, JOHN, GARY AND I WERE AT A MEETING WITH THE MAYOR PROBABLY A MONTH OR SO AGO, AND, UH, CPS WAS THERE, SAW US READY TO WORK SEVERAL LARGE COMPANIES, AND WE ARE, UH, PROBABLY A LEADER IN OUR BASE SALARY AND OVERTIME AND OUR BENEFITS PACKAGE.
THEY WERE THRILLED THAT WE HAD WHAT WE HAVE.
WHICH IS WHY I ASKED THE QUESTION AT, AT BROOKS AND GREATER SATX, WE CONSIDER A PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ATTRACT TO SAN ANTONIO THAT PAYS 52 GRAND A YEAR OR BETTER AS A SOLID TARGET TO TRY TO ATTRACT TO SAN ANTONIO.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE, AND WE'RE DOING IT ALREADY HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO KUDOS TO VIA AND TO YOU ALL FOR DOING THAT INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY.
AND WE'RE OFFERING LITERALLY, OPPORTUNITIES TO THE COMMUNITY THAT MEET THAT MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME OR BETTER.
SO I'M, I'M, I'M REALLY PROUD OF THAT FOR US.
UM, AS TO THE GOAL, 75 FOR THE YEAR, WHEN'S THE STARTING DATE, UH, GUN FOR THAT 75? WAS IT FIVE MONTHS AGO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR, OR IS IT TODAY? TODAY,
SO WHERE ARE WE SINCE JANUARY 4TH? AND HE DOUBLED THAT AMOUNT ACTUALLY.
SO SINCE JANUARY 4TH, WE HAVE BEEN MAKING GREAT PROGRESS AVERAGING, UM, ABOUT 20 FULL-TIME BUS OPERATORS PER CLASS.
SO TO, TO NET WHAT WE NETTED IN JANUARY WAS 17, WHICH ALL OF LAST YEAR WAS 21.
SO IN ONE MONTH, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THAT IS AN INCREDIBLE NUMBER.
I WANT, WANT Y'ALL TO TAKE, YOU KNOW, FULL CREDIT FOR THAT, YOU KNOW, AND JANUARY WAS AN INCREDIBLE NUMBER, GREAT JOB.
AND, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OF THOSE.
BUT TO PUT THAT IN CONTEXT, UM, IN ONE MONTH, THIS GROUP HAS TURNED ALMOST 80% OF WHAT WE PULLED IN, IN THE ENTIRE LAST YEAR.
LOOK FORWARD TO THESE NUMBERS AS WE WORK THROUGH THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.
UH, VICE CHAIR GOMEZ, UH, TRUSTEE RENA, UH, THANK, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I HAVE BEEN LIVING IN THIS WORLD FOR THE PAST COUPLE YEARS IN THE HR SIDE OF OUR HOUSE.
A LOT OF FOCUS ON HIRING, AND THIS IS THE BALANCE THAT WE ALWAYS TRY TO STRIKE ON OUR SIDE, IS THE RESOURCES THAT WE'RE SPENDING ON HIRING AND RECRUITING VERSUS THE RESOURCES WE'RE PUTTING TOWARDS RETENTION.
AND SO WHAT IS THE GOAL? I DON'T KNOW THE CURRENT RETENTION RATE ANNUALLY, BUT IS THERE A GOAL ATTACHED TO RETENTION? AND OTHER THAN WHAT WE SEE ON THIS SLIDE, I GUESS WHAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE NORMALLY DO IN ORDER TO IMPROVE RETENTION? I CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TRAINING.
I THINK THE FIRST GOAL IN HELPING, RETAINING ITSELF IS THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE STUDENTS COME THROUGH OR ACTUALLY GRADUATING AND MAKING IT THROUGH TO BECOMING BUS OPERATORS, RIGHT? WE LOOKED AT DATA ALONE AND THERE'S THREE VERY STRONG CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE SATISFACTION OF SOMEBODY FEELING LIKE THIS IS GONNA BE THE CAREER FOR THEM.
AND THOSE TOP THINGS WERE, THEY WANNA FEEL THAT THEIR PEER AND THEIR MENTORS VALUE THEM.
THEY WANNA FEEL LIKE THEIR MANAGERS ARE TREATING THEM FAIRLY, AND ALSO THEY WANNA FEEL LIKE THEIR JOB IS CONTRIBUTING TO SOMETHING BIGGER, RIGHT? SO WE ARE EVALUATING ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE TRAINING TODAY TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE COMPONENTS ARE BEING MET AND IF THEY NEED IMPROVEMENTS OR ENHANCEMENTS, WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH THE TEAM TO DO SO AS WELL.
IT SOUNDS LIKE EXACTLY WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN OUR JOBS, RIGHT? TO BE VALUED BY OUR LEADERS, TO BE TREATED FAIRLY AND THEN TO KNOW THAT WE'RE DOING SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES.
SO WHAT MESSAGE, I GUESS, WHAT CAN WE TELL A, LEMME BACK UP IN TERMS OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE ALREADY HERE WHO ARE GONNA BE FEELING THE SAME THINGS ABOUT HOW THEY'RE VALUED, HAVING SPENT IN SOME
[01:40:01]
CASES, 10, 15, 20 YEARS AS A PART OF THIS ORGANIZATION.I HOPE THEY ALL MAKE IT THAT LONG.
BUT I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MAKE SURE, AND WHAT DOES THE FEEDBACK LOOP LOOK LIKE FOR FOLKS WHO ARE CURRENTLY IN OUR RANKS TO KNOW IF THEY FEEL VALUED AND WHAT MIGHT MAKE THEM FEEL MORE VALUED? WHAT TREATS THEM LIKE HOW THEY FEEL? FAIR? AND THEN, UH, I GUESS THE NEXT THING THAT THIS ALWAYS CONNECTS TO, WHICH IS THE THING THAT WE KNOW MOVES PEOPLE THE MOST, WHICH IS COMPENSATION.
SO I GUESS AS WE LOOK AT THE COMPENSATION PACKAGE, I'D BE CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR OUR FOLKS AS WE RETAIN FOLKS.
SO TODAY WE ARE CONDUCTING POLL SURVEYS WITH EMPLOYEES AT 30, 60, 90 DAYS AND SIX MONTHS.
UM, WHAT THE DATA HAS SHOWN IS THAT RIGHT AS THEY'RE GETTING OUT OF TRAINING, I THINK THEIR CONFIDENCE IS SHAKING A LITTLE BIT AT THAT 90 DAY MARK, BUT THEN IT BOUNCES RIGHT BACK UP AT THAT SIX MONTH MARK.
UM, SO WE, WE ARE PULLING IN DATA, UH, I'VE BEEN CONDUCTING THOSE SURVEYS SINCE THE LAST FISCAL YEAR WE STARTED.
UM, AND, AND WE'RE NOW WE'RE GETTING A GOOD DATA SET TO, TO BE ABLE TO ANALYZE.
AND THEN LAST QUESTION, THE PROMISE, UM, WHAT, I GUESS A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE FEEDBACK LOOP AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR, FOR STAFF AND I, AND I GUESS THE OTHER PART OF THE QUESTION IS, I GUESS AT WHAT POINT AND WHEN DO YOU PULL IN, SO I SEE THE SOLUTIONING, RIGHT? LIKE BRAINSTORM SOLUTIONS, PILOT SOLUTIONS.
HOW INCLUSIVE OF A PROCESS IS THAT? AND I SAY THIS AS A UNION MEMBER IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT WHO IS CONSISTENTLY PUSHING FOR A SEAT AT THE TABLE TO SAY, HEY, COOL, YOU SURVEYED US.
YOU HAVE A PROCESS FOR SOME SORT OF A FEEDBACK LOOP WHERE I HOPEFULLY CAN SEE MY FEEDBACK IN ACTION OR BEING IMPLEMENTED OR, OR NOT BEING TOLD WHY IT WASN'T WORTHY OF IMPLEMENTATION.
BUT I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING IS, AT WHAT POINT DO YOU INVOLVE, IF ANY POINT A TU AND THE MEMBER ORGANIZATION OR ANY OTHER STAFF MEMBERS TO SAY, HEY, AS WE BRAINSTORM, AS WE FIGURE OUT THESE SOLUTIONS, IT'S NOT JUST US IN A ROOM WITH A BUNCH OF SURVEY DATA, BUT IT'S RATHER THE FOLKS MOST IMPACTED BY THESE DECISIONS WHO ARE AT THE TABLE WITH US.
SO I CAN SHARE FOR THE TRAINING SPECIFICS, WE DEFINITELY WILL BRING IN THE STAFF AS WELL, MEANING OUR OPERATORS, WE'RE GONNA BRING IN OPERATORS THAT ARE JUST SUPER GREEN.
THEY JUST GRADUATED OPERATORS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS.
'CAUSE AGAIN, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEIR PERSPECTIVE IS HEARD AS WELL.
'CAUSE THEY'VE EXPERIENCED IT, THEY KNOW WHAT IT TAKES AND THE TOUGH JOB THAT THEY'RE IN.
BUT WHAT IS KEEPING THEM HERE TO SEE THIS AS A CAREER TRAJECTORY.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'LL ALSO BE INCLUDING THE A TU AND THE, UH, TASK FORCE.
SO THEY WILL BE PART OF OUR MEETINGS AS WELL.
AND JUST, UH, AS A FOLLOW UP TO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED, I DO APPRECIATE, UM, SOME OF THE DATA THAT YOU DID PROVIDE.
I THINK THAT SLIDE THAT SHOWS, UH, YEAR ZERO TO YEAR FIVE IS KEY.
AND I ACTUALLY TOOK A PICTURE OF THAT BECAUSE I DO WANNA SEND THAT TO A FEW FOLKS.
UM, AND HOW WE CAN COMMUNICATE THAT OUT AS A TOTAL PACKAGE OF WHAT WE'RE PROVIDING OUR OPERATORS IS, IS REALLY KEY, RIGHT? WHEN WE THINK ABOUT AREA MEANING INCOME AT 59 AND A HALF, UH, FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND WHAT WE'RE MEETING, UH, 76, UH, THOUSAND DOLLARS.
SO, UH, IT'S A, IT'S A PRETTY, UH, GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ANYONE THAT WANTS TO, UH, FEED THEIR FAMILY, GROW WITH A CAREER AND, AND, UH, HAVE A NEW FAMILY AMONG SVIA TEAM HERE.
AND THEN THE OTHER PART IS, UM, I THINK RETENTION IS, IS A KEY COMPONENT.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE HAVE STRUGGLED WITH SINCE THE PANDEMIC.
I KNOW BEING ON THE BOARD FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS WITH MY COLLEAGUES THAT HAVE BEEN HERE, THAT HAS BEEN THE ISSUE, UM, THUS FAR, WHICH IS WHY THESE INCENTIVES HAVE BEEN, UH, PUT FORTH.
UM, AND THEN THE NEW RECRUITMENT EFFORTS THAT, UH, WE'VE CHALLENGED OUR NEW CEO, UH, TO TRY AND ACCOMPLISH AS PART OF HIS, UH, STRATEGY FOR YEAR ONE OF, OF, UH, OF HIS POSITION.
SO, UH, UH, KUDOS TO YOU GUYS, UH, STAFF.
THANK YOU JOHN, GARY, AND YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
EXCELLENT BRIEFING AND GETTING US UP TO DATE TO WHAT'S, WHAT'S CHANGING, WHAT'S NEW AND 17 HIRES IN ONE MONTH.
THAT'S SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE.
YOU KNOW, A A A COMMENT ON, ON THE RETENTION SIDE, I WOULD IMAGINE THE DASHBOARD THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING WOULD HAVE A RETENTION NUMBER THAT WE WOULD KEEP AN EYE ON.
AND, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS DONE, RIGHT? SO WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE THAT.
SO WE HAVE A COUPLE OF METRICS THAT WE'RE GONNA TRACK ON TURNOVER.
SO WE WANNA LOOK AT OVERALL TURNOVER, BUT ALSO TURNOVER IN YEAR ONE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE A HIGH RATE OF TURNOVER.
SO WE WANNA KEEP LINE OF SIGHT ON THAT AS WELL.
[8. Proposed Fixed Route Service Improvements]
EIGHT, PROPOSED FIXED ROUTE SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS.[01:45:02]
THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM, UH, MR. SIN, MS. GONZALEZ, AND MR. MARKS.DO WE, OH, UH, UH, THANK YOU BOARD.
UH, THIS IS, UH, UH, OBVIOUSLY I'M TOM MARKS, UH, BUT THIS IS SANDEEP SAN, OUR DIRECTOR OF SERVICE PLANNING AND SCHEDULING.
AND THEN MS. JESSICA GONZALEZ, THE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING.
I'M GONNA RUN THROUGH THE FIRST COUPLE OF SLIDES.
UH, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY OUR PRESIDENT AND CEO ENDED WITH HIS FIRST 45 DAYS AND, AND TALKED ABOUT HOW A LOT OF THESE ITEMS WERE SORT OF, UH, UH, THE, THE NEXT ONE IS A CONTINUATION OF THE PREVIOUS ONE, THE LAST PRESENTATION YOU JUST SAW TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MORE OPERATORS MEANS MORE FREQUENCY, MEANS MORE RIDERS.
AND, UM, WE'RE, THIS IS SORT OF A DOVETAIL DIRECTLY FROM THAT, THAT LAST, UH, PRESENTATION.
AND, YOU KNOW, PART OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, WHY THIS MATTERS.
WHAT WE'RE BRINGING TO YOU TO IS BECAUSE THIS, THIS IS THAT MORE FREQUENCY BASED ON RETAINING AND, AND FINDING MORE, MORE NEW OPERATORS.
SO WHAT THIS PRESENTATION IS GONNA MEAN TO, TO THE BOARD AND ALSO OUR RIDERS, IS LESS WAITING TIME, MORE FLEXIBILITY, MORE RELIABILITY.
WE'RE BRINGING FREQUENCY TO TO, TO THE SYSTEM, UH, WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF FINDING THOSE MORE RIDERS.
AND SO THE GREAT THING ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A, A, A STUDY THAT THE MPO DID A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
OBVIOUSLY, 70% OF OUR SERVICE IS IN THAT 30, 30 MINUTE PLUS AREA.
BUT IF WE CAN GET DOWN TO THAT, THAT 10 MINUTES OR LESS, YOU KNOW, 83% OR ALMOST, YOU KNOW, ALMOST 84, I THINK IT'S, I PRESENTED IT YESTERDAY AS 83.7.
UH, BUT IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, RIGHT THERE, THAT'S THEN A VERY ATTRACTIVE SYSTEM TO A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE.
UM, BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S NOT ONLY CUTTING DOWN ON THE FREQUENCY, BUT THE, THE UPDATES THAT WE'RE BRINGING TO THE SYSTEM ARE ALSO CUTTING DOWN ON TRANSFERS.
AND SO THAT CUTS DOWN ON YOUR OVERALL, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, TRAVEL TIME, RIGHT? NOT JUST THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT YOU'RE AT THE STATION, BUT IT MEANS LESS TIMES AT, AT THE STATION.
AND SO ALL OF THIS IS, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, IS, IS GONNA LEAD TO THAT ULTIMATELY MORE RIDERSHIP, WHICH IS OUR ULTIMATE END GOAL, GET MORE PEOPLE INTO OUR SYSTEM.
AND THE GREAT THING ABOUT THE ROUTES THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, SANDEEP IS GONNA PRESENT TO YOU TODAY ARE, WE'RE NOT ROBBING ANOTHER ROUTE TO INCREASE FREQUENCY ON THESE.
ALL, ALL OTHER ROUTES ARE STAYING THE SAME.
THESE ARE BRINGING FREQUENCY, YOU KNOW, BETTER FREQUENCY ON, ON THESE ROUTES WITHOUT HAVING TO REMOVE FREQUENCY FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SO, UH, SANDA IS GONNA GO OVER SOME INNOVATIVE SERVICE PLANNING THAT HE'S DONE IN ORDER TO, TO BRING THESE TO YOU TODAY.
UH, GOING OVER THE SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS FOR APRIL, 2025, UH, WE ARE PROPOSING IMPROVEMENTS ON ROUTE 44 PLEASANTON, WHERE WE ARE IMPROVING THE WEEKDAY FREQUENCY FROM 40 MINUTES TO 30 MINUTES FROM 6:00 AM TO 7:00 PM ON ROUTE 68 GUADALUPE, WE ARE IMPROVING THE WEEK DE FREQUENCY FROM 20 MINUTES TO 15 MINUTES FROM 6:00 AM TO 7:00 PM ON PRIMO 1 0 2 MILITARY ROUTE.
WE ARE IMPROVING THE WEEKDAY FREQUENCY FROM 15 MINUTES TO 12 MINUTES FROM 6:00 AM TO 7:00 PM ON ROUTE SIX.
WE ARE IMPROVING THE WEEKEND FREQUENCY FROM 20 MINUTES TO 15 MINUTES, FROM EIGHT M TO 6:00 PM ON ROUTE 26 MARTIN LUTHER KING.
WE ARE IMPROVING THE WEEKEND FREQUENCY FROM 40 MINUTES TO 30 MINUTES FROM EIGHT M TO 6:00 PM GOING OVER THE TIMELINE.
UH, WE PRESENTED, UH, THIS SERVICE CHANGES TO THE BOARD ON FEBRUARY 6TH AT, UH, UH, VIA SPECIAL BOARD MEETING, PUBLIC OUTREACH AND COMMENT PERIOD STARTED DURING THAT TIME.
WE DID THE PUBLIC HEARING ON FEBRUARY 19TH TO COLLECT FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC FOR THE PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGES.
WE ARE PRESENTING, AGAIN, THIS TO THE BOARD, FOR THE BOARD TO TAKE ACTION, PUBLIC INFORMATION TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC.
STARTS FROM TODAY, WE'LL DO THE SERVICE IMPLEMENTATION ON APRIL 14TH.
NOW I'LL TRANSFER THIS TO JESSICA GONZALEZ.
[01:50:01]
OKAY, SO I WILL REVIEW THE MARKETING AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OUTREACH.SO AS WE ROLL OUT THE SERVE THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS, OUR APPROACH IS REALLY GOING TO BE TO DRIVE A AWARENESS AND EXCITEMENT.
WE WANT TO CREATE A STRONG EMPHASIS ON HOW THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS WILL HAVE MEANINGFUL IMPACT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A NEW CAMPAIGN TITLED WAIT LIST.
THE CAMPAIGN WILL HIGHLIGHT VIAS IMPROVED FREQUENCY, WHICH TRANSLATES TO FASTER, EASIER, AND MORE RELIABLE TRANSIT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
OUR STRATEGY WILL HAVE A THREE, UH, KEY PILLAR CUSTOMER AWARENESS FOR CURRENT RIDER.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS UNDERSTAND THE NEW SERVICE OFFERINGS THROUGH CLEAR TARGETED COMMUNICATION ACROSS MULTIPLE CHANNELS.
MESSAGING WILL INCLUDE HOW THE CHANGES WILL IMPROVE THEIR EXPERIENCE AND MAKE THEIR JOURNEY MORE CONVENIENT.
GENERATING INTEREST FROM POTENTIAL RIDER BY HIGHLIGHTING THE UNIQUE BENEFITS OF OUR PROPOSED SERVICE.
IMPROVEMENTS WILL APPEAR, APPEAL TO THE POTENTIAL RIDERS.
TARGETED ADS, COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND REFERRAL PROGRAMS WILL AMPLIFY OUR MESSAGE AND GENERATE EXCITEMENT AROUND THE NEW OPTIONS AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
OUR EFFORTS WILL EXTEND BEYOND THE RIDER TO ENSURE THAT THE BROADER COMMUNITY KNOWS THAT THESE CHANGES AND THE VALUE THAT THESE SERVICES BRING.
LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS, SOCIAL MEDIA, ACTIVATION, AND EVENTS WILL CREATE BUZZ FOSTERING A SENSE OF PRIDE AND EXCITEMENT TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS WE SERVE.
THE CAMPAIGN IS ISN'T JUST ABOUT DELIVERING BETTER SERVICE, IT'S ABOUT BUILDING A DEEPER CONNECTION WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND REINFORCING THAT WE'RE HERE AS THEIR NEEDS.
WE'RE HERE TO SERVE AS THEIR NEEDS EVOLVE.
WE BELIEVE THIS CAMPAIGN WILL CREATE, UM, A LASTING INTEREST, SPARK CONVERSATION, AND ULTIMATELY DRIVE GROWTH.
SO OUR COMMITMENT TO ACTIVELY INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY AND OUR DECISION MAKING HAS CONTINUED TO BE A TOP PRIORITY.
WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION AND BUILDING A STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PUBLIC.
OUR OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WERE VERY ROBUST AND REACH MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS.
SO FROM A HEARING THAT WE, UM, EXECUTED ON FEBRUARY 19TH TO THE CAMPAIGN THAT WILL LAUNCH, COMMUNICATING OUR UPCOMING, UM, CHANGES STARTING NEXT WEEK AND CONTINUING AFTER OUR IMPLEMENTATION.
SO TO ENSURE THAT WE RECEIVED THE MOST ENGAGEMENT FROM THE FEBRUARY 19TH PUBLIC HEARING, WE HAD A DEDICATED WEBSITE THAT LAUNCHED ON FEBRUARY 11TH.
WE PROMOTED THE PUBLIC HEARING TWICE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND WE HELD AN IN-PERSON PUBLIC HEARING ON FEBRUARY 19TH, HERE AT THE VIA METRO CENTER.
WE MADE VIRTUAL OPTION AVAILABLE UNTIL FEBRUARY 21ST, AND WE RECEIVED EIGHT TOTAL COMMENTS.
COMMENTS VARIED IN THE NATURE AND HAVE BEEN ADDED HERE FOR YOUR REVIEW.
AS WE WRAP UP THIS PRESENTATION, WE WANTED TO TIE THIS BACK TO SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS AREN'T JUST TECHNICAL UPGRADES.
THEY HAVE A MEANINGFUL, TANGIBLE EFFECT ON PEOPLE'S EVERYDAY EXPERIENCE.
THE REAL IMPACT LIES AND HOW THESE CHANGES WILL POSITIVELY AFFECT OUR COMMUNITY AND WRITERS.
SO, IN ADDITION TO HEARING FROM OUR TEAM ON HOW THESE UPDATES ARE WARRANTED, WE WANTED TO, WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM OUR WRITERS ABOUT WHAT THIS IMPROVED FREQUENCY REALLY MEANS TO THEM.
HOW YOU DOING? MY NAME IS WARWICK.
ABRAM, MY NAME IS KRISTIN CINTRON.
I RIDE VIA FOR TRANSPORTATION EVERY DAY.
I JUST RECENTLY GOT A NEW JOB.
I DID HAVE A CAR, BUT I HAD A SLIGHT CAR ACCIDENT.
SO I'VE BEEN RIDING VIA BUS FOR ABOUT A GOOD YEAR NOW WITH MY JOB.
'CAUSE I, I WORK AT THE STATE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW.
I BASICALLY TAKE THE BUS, UH, TO GET MY KIDS TO SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, GET WHERE I NEED TO GO UNTIL I GET, UH, RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION.
I JUST GOT A NEW JOB, SO TO WORK.
UH, I JUST GOT INTO SCHOOL, SO I'LL BE TAKING IT TO SCHOOL.
UM, I USUALLY NORMALLY USE THE BUS TO GO TO WORK, TO SCHOOL, UH, HOME.
MY COMMUTE IS BASICALLY TWO AND A HALF, THREE HOURS AN HOUR, 45 ROUGHLY, DEPENDING ON THE WEATHER AND THE TIME.
THE LONGEST COMMUTE THAT I HAVE, UH, IS ABOUT TWO HOURS, AND THAT'S ALL THE WAY TO BLANCO.
MY AVERAGE COMMUTE TO SCHOOL AT LEAST IS ROUGHLY ABOUT 45 MINUTES.
ALTOGETHER, IT'D BE ABOUT FOUR HOURS, TWO AND A HALF HOURS.
IMPROVE FREQUENCY FOR ANY ROUTES WHATSOEVER.
HONESTLY, I FEEL LIKE THAT'LL JUST MEAN THAT THEY'RE LISTENING MEAN THAT I DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE MY HOUSE TOO EARLY.
MAYBE I COULD LEAVE A LITTLE LATER AND I COULD JUDGE IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER AND, YOU KNOW, GET MORE REST, REALLY.
AND IT MEANS BEING ABLE TO DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO AND EVERYTHING.
AND I JUST, I MEAN, I LOVE VIA, I MEAN, I'VE, I'VE
[01:55:01]
BEEN NEEDING TO GET A CAR, BUT THE VIAS BEEN DOING SO WELL.I KIND OF LIKE FORGET ABOUT GETTING ONE, GET ME WHERE I NEED TO BE.
I'D HAVE MORE OPTIONS TO, WELL, ON WHAT TIMES I CAN LEAVE MY HOUSE AND GET WHERE I NEED TO GO.
MORE TIME, MORE PERSONAL TIME.
I DON'T HAVE TO WAIT AN HOUR AND A HALF TO GO DO, UH, GO PAY MY WATER BILL AND IT TOOK SIX HOURS.
IT WOULD IMPROVE MY LIFE BY GETTING TO WORK ON TIME OR GETTING MORE SLEEPING, OR JUST HAVING MORE TIME TO GET READY.
FREQUENCY WOULD MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME BECAUSE THEY ALREADY DO A GOOD JOB WITH VIA.
BUT I'LL BE A LOT MORE HAPPIER JUST TO GET TO WHERE I NEED TO GO FASTER.
IT WOULD MEAN TO ME THAT YOU CARE MORE ABOUT YOUR WRITING WITH ALL THAT FREE TIME.
HONESTLY, IT WOULD JUST BOOST MY CONFIDENCE AND IT WOULD JUST BOOST MY SELF ESTEEM.
LIKE, IT JUST MAKE ME HAPPY PERSON, TAKE SOME MORE TIME AT HOME, REST AND NOT HAVE TO RUSH OUT OF THE HOUSE AND TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT I DON'T MAKE IT TO WORK LATE.
I ACTUALLY GET TO WORK IN TIME.
I ACTUALLY ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, TAKE CARE OF MY BABY, MY YOUNGEST BABY, MORE FREE TIME, AND JUST MORE TIME FOR MYSELF THAN HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT THE NEXT BUS OR THE TIME I HAVE TO BE THERE.
SO, STANDING HER STANDING THERE FOR 40 MINUTES OR 30 MINUTES, SHE'D BE DOING HER OWN THING AND NOT, YOU KNOW, MAKE, I'M SORRY TO SAY, BUT NOT MAKE THIS YOUR LIFE LIKE BEING AT A BUS STOP.
SO, AGAIN, JUST TO FOLLOW UP, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT AN IN, YOU KNOW, TO INSTITUTE THIS ON APRIL 14TH.
WE WILL CONTINUE THE OUTREACH PLAN THROUGH APRIL 24TH.
UH, BUT THE GREAT THING IS, IS THAT IT'S A EASY SELL BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO ANOTHER GROUP OF WRITERS AND SAY, YOU ARE GONNA BE NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY THIS IN ORDER TO MAKE THESE ROUTES BETTER.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UH, VICE CHAIR GOMEZ.
HOW DID WE GET THERE? WHAT, WHAT WAS IT ABOUT OUR FINANCES AND OUR BUDGET OR WHATEVER OTHER RESOURCES THAT LEAD TO BEING ABLE TO MAKE THESE IMPROVEMENTS? YOU KNOW, IT, IT WAS, IT WAS THE CAPACITY THAT WE HAD IN OUR OPERATORS.
SO WHEN OUR OPERATOR CAPACITY REACHED A CERTAIN POINT, UM, WE SAW THAT WE HAD THE ABILITY, WE HAD RESOURCES, WE HAD, WE HAD THE CAPABILITY, WE HAD, WE HAD THE NUMBERS THAT WE NEEDED TO DO SOME IMPROVEMENTS.
AND THAT, THAT LEADS US DOWN THIS PATH TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
VICE CHAIR GOMEZ, WHERE ORIGINALLY WE WEREN'T REALLY SCHEDULED TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING OF US HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING IN JANUARY, SEEING THE CAPACITY, WORKING WITH THE DEPUTY CEO, AND UNDERSTANDING THAT WE CAN USE SOME OF THAT CAPACITY THAT HAS BEEN BUILT, UM, TO START MAKING IMPROVEMENTS SOONER THAN LATER.
AND THAT'S THE SOONER OR LATER PART THAT WE'VE HEARD AS A THEME HERE.
BUT I DO WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE SOONER IS TO CATCH US UP TO THAT CAPACITY THAT HAS BEEN BUILT.
BUT FROM THIS POINT ON, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA BE, WE'RE GONNA BE UTILIZING THE OPERATORS AS SOON AS THEY GET AVAILABLE AND HAVING 'EM LINE UP WITH OUR AUGUST SIGN UP AND OUR, AND OUR JANUARY SIGN UP, WHICH ARE FUTURE SIGNUPS THAT ARE ALREADY SCHEDULED.
AND, AND THE SIGNUPS IS WHEN WE'RE GONNA BE DOING, UH, FUTURE ADDITIONS AND SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS AS WELL.
UH, BUT IT WAS A BIT OF A MOMENT WHEN WE SAW AN OPPORTUNITY AND WE TOOK THAT OPPORTUNITY RIGHT AWAY AND, AND UTILIZE IT ON THE FINANCIAL SIDE TO PUT THINGS IN A BIG PICTURE, UH, SENSE FOR THE BOARD.
WHAT WE HAVE OUT ON THE STREET TODAY IS ABOUT 70% OF OUR SYSTEM, UH, SERVICE LEVELS THAT WE HAD IN 2019.
SO FROM A FINANCIAL CAPACITY STANDPOINT, WE'VE HAD THE FINANCIAL CAPACITY THIS WHOLE TIME.
IT COMES BACK TO THE EMPLOYEE CAPACITY, IT COMES BACK TO THAT OPERATOR CAPACITY.
SO WE'RE WELL WITHIN THOSE CONFINES OF FINANCIAL, UH, BUT THAT IS AGAIN, CONNECTING IT TO THE GROUP THAT WAS JUST TALKING TO US BEFORE.
THAT'S WHY OPERATOR HIRING IS SUCH A CRITICAL COMPONENT FOR US IS BECAUSE WE GOTTA GET AHEAD AND GET OUR SYSTEM TO THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT MARK AND BEYOND.
UH, BUT AT LEAST WISE, THAT'S HOW THESE TWO THINGS WORK TOGETHER.
SIMPLY PUT, AS YOU'VE SAID, MORE OPERATORS,
I JUST WANTED TO COMMEND YOU GUYS THIS, THIS, UM, TO IF VICE CHAIR GOMEZ'S POINT.
UM, HOW DID WE GET HERE? THANK YOU FOR DESCRIBING THAT.
IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE WERE LOOKING TO GET TO AND FOR SOME OF THAT IS TO GET BACK TO, RIGHT.
SO I I, I WANNA CALL THAT OUT TOO, RIGHT? LIKE WE HAD TO MAKE SO MANY CUTS COVID, UM, THAT WE'RE JUST NOW SEEING SOME OF THAT SERVICE GET BACK ONLINE.
SO I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT TOO.
INNOVATION, GREAT JOB, RIGHT? UM, SANDEEP, BUT ALSO JUST
[02:00:01]
GETTING BACK TO WHERE WE WERE IS IMPORTANT.I WANNA ALSO TAKE THE TIME TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU CAPTURED VOICES THIS TIME AROUND.
I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD SIX NOW GOING ON SEVEN.
AND GENERALLY I DON'T, I, I GET TO SEE THE WORDED COMMENTS.
I HAVE SEEN THAT BEFORE, BUT I HAVEN'T HEARD THE VOICES.
SO I JUST WANTED TO COMPLIMENT YOU ON THIS PRESENTATION.
OR, WELL, NOW WE HAVE THE, THE MARKETING GUY HEAD IN THE ORGANIZATION, RIGHT?
UH, BUT MY LAST POINT TO THAT IS HOW DO WE GET THAT MESSAGE OUT TO CITY COUNCIL, STATE REPRESENTATIVES, RIGHT? BECAUSE THE WORK THAT WE DO, WE GENERALLY, LAURA, YOU GUYS GO UP AND YOU, YOU ADVOCATE TOM, YOU TALK ABOUT IT, BUT THESE ARE THE VOICES THAT THESE FOLKS NEED TO HEAR.
UM, AND THEN ALSO TO SAN TORI'S POINT EARLIER, RIGHT? THE VOICES OF OUR OPERATORS.
SO HOW IS THIS TRANSITION MAKING THEM FEEL, RIGHT? IF THEY'RE SIGNING UP AND WANTING TO BE A PART OF THIS, WHICH I, I HEAR ALL THE TIME, LET'S HEAR FROM THEM TOO.
SO I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT, NOT SO MUCH A QUESTION.
I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD HAVE GONE FIRST.
TRUSTEE BROWN TOOK A COUPLE OF THINGS.
I WAS GONNA SAY, UM, FIRST OFF, LIKE GREAT WORK.
I THINK THERE'S NOT A SINGLE PERSON IN THIS ROOM WHO'S GOING TO SAY THAT THEY ARE NOT FOR MORE SERVICE, MORE FREQUENCY, MORE ENSURING THAT THE PEOPLE OF OUR COMMUNITY HAVE THE THINGS THEY NEED.
THE MOST EFFECTIVE THING IN TERMS OF CONVINCING ANY OF US UP HERE WAS TO PUT THOSE PEOPLE IN VIDEO AND HAVE THEM TALK TO US.
BUT THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO THE STORY 'CAUSE AND ABSOLUTELY ANYTIME WE MAKE A DECISION, WE HAVE TO CONSIDER THE PEOPLE MOST DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THAT DECISION.
THAT'S HALF OF THE GROUP THAT'S GONNA BE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THIS DECISION.
THE OTHER HALF ARE THOSE OPERATORS.
THE OTHER HALF ARE THOSE, AT LEAST THE NUMBER I GOT, 139 PEOPLE WHO OTHERWISE ARE GOING TO HAVE THEIR WORKING CONDITIONS AGREEMENT VIOLATED JUST FLAT OUT.
SO ONE THING I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IS FOR THE RECORD, NEW CAPACITY, MONEY, NEW CAPACITY OPERATOR WISE DOES NOT EQUATE TO AN EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCE THAT I THINK WOULD WARRANT VIOLATING THE WORKING CONDITIONS AGREEMENT.
SO I WAS HOPING TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE IN TERMS OF ASSURANCES THAT THIS IS NOT HOW WE WOULD CONTINUE TO DO BUSINESS MOVING FORWARD.
I DO APPRECIATE HEARING THAT WE ARE GONNA HAVE TALKING TO OPERATORS AHEAD OF TIME.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, BEFORE THE AUGUST ONE, ANYTHING YOU'RE WORKING ON, UM, SANDEEP IS GONNA BE BROUGHT TO THEM SOONER, RIGHT? I APPRECIATED HEARING HR.
THEY'LL BE AT THE TABLE WHEN WE DO THOSE FEEDBACK LOOPS, AND THAT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT WE'VE PUSHED VERY HARD ON IN THE WORK THAT, THAT I DO OUTSIDE OF THIS BOARD.
AND IT'S BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE AT COMING UP WITH THE MOST COLLABORATIVE AND COHERENT OUTCOMES THAT EVERYBODY'S ON BOARD WITH.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S CLEAR.
FOUR MORE SERVICE, BUT WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IT IN A WAY THAT HONORS BOTH SIDES OF THOSE THAT ARE DIRECTLY IMPACTED.
UM, SO NO PRECEDENT, HOPEFULLY.
UM, AND THEN I WAS HOPING TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE SUPPORT FOR STAFF.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THOSE 139 ROUGHLY FOLKS WHO MAY HAVE THEIR WORKDAY INTERRUPTED, UM, RATHER THEIR, THEIR THEIR LIFE RIGHT? INTERRUPTED IN TERMS OF CHILDCARE, IN TERMS OF CARING FOR, FOR ELDERLY PARENTS AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
WHAT SUPPORTS WILL BE IN PLACE FOR THEM? UM, AND THEN AGAIN, SOME MORE CONCRETE ASSURANCES RE REGARDING LIKE INCLUSION OF SHARED DECISION MAKING.
AND AGAIN, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY'S AGAINST MORE SERVICE, BUT JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IT IN A, I GUESS AN EMPATHETIC WAY AS WE DELIVER MORE SERVICE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO ENSURE THAT WE'RE TAKING CARE OF AND RETAINING THE STAFF THAT ARE GONNA BE IMPACTED IN DELIVERING THAT SERVICE.
LET ME, LET ME JUMP IN RIGHT HERE.
UH, TRUSTEE REYNA BEFORE, UH, STAFF COMMENTS ON THAT.
I, I THINK IT'S BEHOLDEN ABOUT, UH, THE BOARD TAKES ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THIS DECISION AND AS MOVING FORWARD FIRST AND FOREMOST AND TRYING TO INCREASE FREQUENCY.
AND YES, I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, THERE WAS A DECISION MADE, UH, REGARDING, UH, THE CHALLENGE OF THE THREE WEEKS, UH, WITH THE WORKING CONDITIONS AT THE SAME TIME, UH, I THINK THERE WAS CONVERSATIONS WITH OPERATORS AND STAFF AS TO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
AND SO, UH, LAST MONTH WHEN WE DID TAKE THIS UP BEFORE THE BOARD, THERE WAS CONSIDERATION TO MOVE THIS FORWARD.
AND SO I DO WANNA PUT THAT BEFORE, BECAUSE I THINK PART OF IT IS STAFF, BUT PART OF IT IS ON THE BOARD SIDE TOO.
CHAIR, AND I APPRECIATE THAT, THAT COMMENT.
YES, WE DID VOTE TO MOVE FORWARD SO THAT WE COULD HAVE THIS DISCUSSION.
I WAS HOPING THAT IN THIS MEETING IS WHERE I WOULD'VE SEEN SOME MORE OF THOSE THINGS AROUND THE SUPPORT THAT THOSE, THE IMPACTED STAFF MEMBERS WOULD GET.
SOME MORE THINGS AROUND SHARED DECISION MAKING.
AND THEN I SHARED THIS AT THE LAST MEETING, BUT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE, UM, ABOUT A WEEK.
I'M WONDERING HOW DID FOLKS KNOW THAT THERE WAS A WEBSITE AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO COMMENT? AND THEN OUT OF THE EIGHT COMMENTS, ONE WAS ABOUT THE ROUTES THAT ARE GONNA BE IMPACTED.
SO JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING OUR PART FOR ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ALLOWING THE PROPER TIME AND CONNECTING TO THE PEOPLE DIRECTLY IMPACTED TO ENSURE THAT THE DECISIONS, WHICH AGAIN, THIS IS A GREAT ONE, ARE AGAIN, DONE WITH THE MOST EMPATHY.
YEAH, UH, TRUSTEE AS MATTER OF FACT, UH, TRAMELL AND I TALKED THIS AFTERNOON THAT WE, UH, WE'D LOVE TO GIVE YOU A, A DEEPER DIVE INTO WHAT THAT SIGNUP PROCESS IS GONNA LOOK LIKE AND THOSE ACCOMMODATIONS THAT WE ARE ABSOLUTELY MAKING.
BECAUSE THE OTHER PIECE OF THIS TOO, IT'S A SMALL ENOUGH BITE.
[02:05:01]
I DON'T WANNA CALL IT UNICORN, BUT IT, IT, IT WAS SMALL ENOUGH.UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, RECOGNIZING THAT BECAUSE IT'S SMALL ENOUGH, WE COULD MAKE THOSE ACCOMMODATIONS.
BUT LET'S GIVE YOU, UH, UH, A LOOK INTO HOW, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND WE'RE GONNA GET ON YOUR CALENDAR TO GIVE YOU THAT DESCRIPTION.
UH, AND I DO APPRECIATE THE, THE WORK AND, AND THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD ALSO AS A TEAM.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL OF THE ANSWERING OF QUESTIONS AND PROVIDING OF, OF EXTRA RESOURCES AS WE DECIDE.
JUST, UH, AS, AS PART OF THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS HERE TODAY, I MEAN, I'M NOT GIVING YOU LIKE AN ADOLF EICHMAN TYPE ANSWER IF I WAS JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS, BUT, UH, WE CAN ADD ANOTHER VOICE.
THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM FOR ANOTHER CHAIR UP HERE WHERE WE CAN ADD SOMEONE TO THE PRESENTATION, OF COURSE.
TO, TO, TO BRING THAT, THAT PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO THE BOARD.
UM, WE DID, UH, WE DID DO A, A HARD PUSH IN THE EXPRESS NEWS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SPECIAL MEETING.
UH, AS, AS MS. GONZALEZ SAID, IT WAS SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA, BUT THEN WE ALSO SHARED OUR, YOU KNOW, WE, WE LEVERAGED OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH, UH, LOCAL ELECTEDS WHO ALSO HELPED SPREAD THAT WORD, UH, FOR US AS WELL TOO.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL NOTICE THERE IS A DISPARITY.
ONE PERSON ATTENDED IN PERSON, EIGHT PEOPLE COMMENTED ONLINE.
SO AS WE MOVE TO, YOU KNOW, SHARING THIS INFORMATION ONLINE AND GIVING THEM AN, AN EASY PORTAL IN ORDER TO DELIVER THAT INFORMATION TO US, THEY ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT MORE AND MORE.
NOW, WE DO HAVE TO MOST LIKELY CONTINUE WITH, YOU KNOW, FTA GUIDELINES AS FAR AS PUBLIC MEETINGS, BUT AS LONG AS WE CONTINUE MAKING IT MORE ROBUST EVERY PUBLIC MEETING, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO GET MORE AND MORE FOLKS WHO, WHO, WHO TAKE THAT OPTION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NO, MADAM CHAIR.
DID WE HAVE, UM, WE DO HAVE A CLOSED
[10. *Legal Briefing]
SESSION FOR NUMBER NINE? UH, YES.ESTABLISHING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO'S PERFORMANCE EVALUATION CRITERIA.
UH, I'LL START WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT.
TODAY IS FEBRUARY 25TH, 2025, AND THE TIME IS NOW 7:12 PM AND THE VIA METROPOLITAN TRANSIT BOARD OF TRUSTEES WILL OFFICIALLY GO INTO A CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION AS PERMITTED UNDER THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT.
THE ITEMS WILL WE DISCUSSED DURING THIS EXECUTIVE SESSION ARE AS FOLLOWS, FOLLOWS ITEM NUMBER NINE ENTITLED, ESTABLISH THE PRESIDENT AND CEO'S PERFORMANCE EVALUATION CRITERIA, WHICH IS ALLOWED AS AN EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM PURSUANT TO THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 51 0.07.
ONE ENTITLED CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY AND SECTION 5 51 0.074 ENTITLED PERSONNEL AND ITEM 10 ENTITLED LEGAL BRIEFING, WHICH IS ALLOWED AS A, AS AN EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM PURSUANT TO THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.07.
ONE ENTITLED CONS, CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY.
ALL PERSONS WHO ARE AUTHORIZED TO ATTEND THE EXECUTIVE SESSION, PLEASE PROCEED TO THE SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY NOT ATTEND OR MO UH, MONITOR THIS PORTION OF THE MEETING IN ANY MANNER.
OKAY, TRUSTEES, IT IS NOW 7:30 PM AND WE ARE OFFICIALLY OUT OF A CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION REGARDING AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE AND NUMBER 10, KNOWN DELIBERATIONS OF POLICY, PUBLIC POLICY ARE A VOTE, UH, TOOK PLACE DURING EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UH, VICE CHAIR GOMEZ, MADAM CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO PASS ITEM NUMBER NINE OFFICIALLY AND ADOPT THOSE OBJECTIVES.
SECOND, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
UH, NUMBER 10, LEGAL BRIEFING.
DO WE HAVE A LEGAL BRIEFING? NO, MA'AM, WE DO NOT.
ON NUMBER 11, I KNOW TRUSTEES
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR EVERYONE'S TIME TODAY.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO ADJOURN THE MEETING PLEASE? SO MOVED.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
THAT WAS THE QUICKEST I'VE EVER RECEIVED IT.
AYE, UH, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND HAVE A GREAT NIGHT.