[00:00:01]
[ATD 1. Call to Order]
NOW 5 0 3.GOOD AFTERNOON AND WELCOME EVERYONE.
UH, IT IS 5 0 4 ON MARCH 25TH, AND I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND CALL THE A TD BOARD MEETING.
I'M GONNA BEGIN WITH ROLL CALL, PLEASE.
SECRETARY MALONE, PRESENT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY COOPER PRESENT, TRUSTEE BUA.
TRUSTEE PERES, TRUSTEE REINA, PRESENT TRUSTEE TO WILL PRESENT AND OUR NEWEST TRUSTEE.
WELCOME, UH, TO THE VIA BOARD, FAMILY AND THE A TD BOARD, FAMILY, UH, TRUSTEE, SUZANNE DELEON, PRESENT.
[ATD 2. Moment of Reflection, Pledge of Allegiance, Announcements]
STAND FOR ALLEGIANCE.UH, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND THE TEXAS FLAG.
ALL RIGHT, JOHN, GARY, ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR A TD? NO ANNOUNCEMENTS.
UH, JENNA, ITEM THREE, CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.
DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS? THERE ARE NO CITIZENS TO BE HEARD FOR THE A TD.
[ATD 4. Consent Agenda]
AGENDA IS NUMBER ITEM NUMBER FOUR.TRUSTEES, THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? IF NOT, MAY I HAVE A MOTION? AND SECOND, TO PROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED.
UH, ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE, PLEASE.
UH, ANY LEGAL BRIEFING? NO, MA'AM.
AND TRUSTEES, WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF OUR MEETING.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION? AND SECOND TO ADJOURN THE MEETING, PLEASE? SO MOVED.
THE A TD MEETING IS ADJOURNED.
WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED
[1. Call to Order]
WITH OUR NEXT MEETING.IT IS NOW 5 0 6, AND I'D LIKE TO CALL THE ORDER OF THE ME, UH, MARCH 25TH VIA BOARD MEETING TOGETHER.
ITEM NUMBER TWO WAS ADDRESSED AT THE A TD BOARD MEETING.
SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM, THE MOMENTARY REFLECTION, UH,
[3. Citizens to be Heard ]
CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.WE HAVE ONE CITIZENS TO BE HEARD FOR THE VIA MEETING, AND THAT IS WILLIE MAY CLAY.
OUR CITIZENS TO BE HEARD STATEMENT.
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 BEXAR COUNTY AREA.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS CONCERNING PUBLIC BUSINESS OR POLICY OVER WHICH THE BOARD HAS SUPERVISION AND CONTROL MAY BE ADDRESSED AT A LATER DATE BY THE PRESIDENT AND CEO AND OR HIS STAFF.
THIS PROCESS ASSURES THAT YOU 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 DON'T THINK I'M A STRANGER TO THIS BODY.
THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I'VE BEEN HERE, UH, WITHIN THREE MONTHS.
UH, MY PURPOSE TODAY IS TO FOLLOW UP ON THE ISSUE THAT WE RECENTLY HAD AND, UH, HAVING DIFFICULTY, UH, THE VIA TRANS FANS HAVING GIFT DIFFICULTY ACCESSING MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.
MY PURPOSE TODAY IS TO GIVE YOU ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
WHEN I LEFT HERE IN FEBRUARY AT THE FEBRUARY BOARD MEETING ON THE 25TH, I WORKED BEHIND THE SCENES AND ADVOCATED FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO NEEDED TO ACCESS THOSE, THOSE SERVICES OR MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.
SO ONE OF THE ADDITIONAL NUMBERS THAT I HAVE IS ONE THAT I'VE ACQUIRED FROM FORT SAM.
FORT SAM AND BAMSEY, ALTHOUGH THEY ARE LOCATED IN THE AREA OF WELL, FORT SAM, SAN ANTONIO, THEY, THEY OPERATE DIFFERENTLY AND UNDER, UNDER SEPARATE AUTHORITY.
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THE INFORMATION I GAVE YOU LAST MONTH PERTAINED TO BAMSEY.THE INFORMATION I'M GONNA GIVE YOU TODAY PERTAINS TO FORT SAM.
SO THAT'S ADDITIONAL, THAT'S ADDITIONAL TOOL THAT YOU CAN USE.
I MUST SAY THAT SINCE I WAS HERE FEBRUARY 25TH, THINGS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING.
AND I WANT TO STATE THAT PERSONS WHO NEED TO ACCESS THOSE MILITARY INSTALLATIONS ARE GRATEFUL.
THAT SITUATION HAS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER.
AS OF THE 18TH, AS OF THE 18TH OF, OF MARCH, WE'RE NOW ABLE TO ENTER THE MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, AND WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
BUT I WANT YOU TO MONITOR IT NOW BECAUSE I, I ENCOUNTERED A SECURITY GUARD ON THE 20TH, 20TH OF THIS MONTH WHO STILL SAYS SHE'S GOING TO TURN THOSE VANS AROUND.
IF PERSON'S IN THAT VAN DOESN'T HAVE MILITARY ID, I TOLD HER, NO, THIS IS SHE RIGHTS SYSTEM AND THINGS ARE DIFFERENT.
SHE SAID, I HAVEN'T RECEIVED A MEMO YET.
WELL, SHE, I REPORTED THAT INFORMATION TO VIAS COMMENT, UH, COMPLAINT, COMMENT LINE.
I'M ALSO GONNA FOLLOW THROUGH WITH, UH, THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE CENTER.
IF SHE DIDN'T GET THE MEMO, SHE WILL GET ONE.
SO I'M ASKING YOU TO FOLLOW THE SITUATION SO WE WON'T GO BACK.
[4. President/CEO Report]
PRESIDENT, CEO REPORT.WE DO HAVE A, UH, PRESIDENT CEO REPORT THAT WE'RE GONNA BRING UP HERE SHORTLY, RIGHT,
WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED TO SHARE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR VIA RECENT ACTIVITIES, UH, FOR THE MONTH OF PROGRESS THROUGHOUT MARCH.
IT'S BEEN A MONTH OF STRONG MOMENTUM, INCLUDING REGIONAL ACTIVITIES, NATIONAL VISIBILITY, AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE.
WHAT WE SHARE TODAY SHOWS HOW VIA REMAINS FOCUSED ON EXECUTION AND RESULTS THAT MATTER TO THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE.
FIRST, SPEAKING OF WHICH, UM, WE HAVE A RECOGNITION, UH, UP TO BAT TODAY, WHERE WE ARE RECOGNIZING OUR FORMER TRUSTEE, KEVIN WOLF, WHO IS IN THE AUDIENCE.
AND WE'D LIKE TO BEGIN BY RECOGNIZING TRUSTEE KEVIN WOLF FOR HIS YEARS, A DEDICATED SERVICE TO, VIA HIS REGIONAL INSIGHT AND STEADY LEADERSHIP, HAVE HELPED GUIDE US THROUGH CRITICAL DECISIONS AND SUPPORT OF THE AGENCY'S MOMENTUM.
TRUSTEE WOLF, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS.
AND AS A SMALL TOKEN OF OUR APPRECIATION, OUR CHAIR IS GOING TO GO AROUND TO DICE HERE AND GIVE YOU A PLAQUE, UH, FOR YOUR YEARS OF SERVICE.
AND WE'D INVITE YOU TO SAY A FEW WORDS, UH, TO YOUR, UH, FORMER COLLEAGUES AND NEW COLLEAGUES.
UM, AS, UH, AS WE DO THIS, I WILL MAKE THIS, UH, QUICK.
YOU KNOW, JOHN, GARY WAS SAYING THAT WHEN I WALKED UP EARLIER AND, AND I REALIZED, GUY, HE'S RIGHT.
YEAH, I, I HAD A LITTLE, A LITTLE TASTE OF THIS, UH, ROOM AGAIN YESTERDAY, UH, WHICH WAS MY LAST MEETING AS Y'ALL'S REPRESENTATIVE ON MPO.
UH, HOWEVER, I WILL BE CONTINUING ON MPO BECAUSE I ALSO AM THE PAST CHAIR.
SO IF Y'ALL NEED TO REACH OUT TO ME FOR THAT, LET ME KNOW.
YOU'LL HAVE ENOUGH REPRESENTATION ON THAT.
UH, REAL QUICKLY, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE.
UM, IT'S KIND OF WHAT I THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD TRY TO DO IN THEIR COMMUNITY, AND THAT'S GIVE BACK.
AND IF YOU CAN GIVE BACK BY SERVING ON BOARDS LIKE THIS, THEN
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YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD.AND WHEN I WAS LEAVING, I LEFT EARLIER THAN I ANTICIPATED.
I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT SOMEONE WOULD, THE SAME SORT OF DESIRE AND ATTITUDE IN REGARDS TO SERVICE, UH, WOULD TAKE MY PLACE.
UH, AND TRUSTEE COOPER WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING ME AND CALLING FOLKS, UH, AND MAKING SURE THAT, UH, FORMER MAYOR SUZANNE DE LEON, UH, WAS PICKED.
SHORT AND SWEET THERE, RIGHT? UH, TRUSTEES, UH, I KNOW MANY OF US HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH, UH, TRUSTEE WOLF HERE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH HIM DURING HIS TIME AS CITY COUNCIL.
UH, NOT ONLY IS HE A VETERAN, UM, BUT HE ALSO HAS PUT TIME AND TIME AGAIN, UH, AND ANSWERED THE CALL FOR SERVICE, UM, IN ONE, JUST RIGHT NOW, UH, VIA LEADERSHIP CITY COUNCIL.
COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S COURT, MPO, UM, AND WILL CONTINUE TO UTILIZE YOU IN YOUR REMAINING THREE MONTHS.
BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE.
UM, WE, UH, WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK, UH, KNOW THAT, UH, WE ARE ALWAYS HERE, AND VICE VERSA.
WE'LL ALWAYS REACH OUT TO YOU, UM, AND EXTENSION AND, UH, TO YOU, SANDY AND, AND SYDNEY, UM, THAT, UH, Y'ALL HAVE RAISED A BEAUTIFUL, UH, DAUGHTER.
UM, I KNOW THEY'RE GONNA BE WELCOMING YOUR TIME THERE AS WELL, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE HOUSE PROJECTS, UH, I'M ASSUMING.
UH, AND WITH THAT, I, I JUST WANTED TO SAY AGAIN, THANK YOU, UH, UH, FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE DONE, UH, FOR, FOR ME AND THE LEADERSHIP TEAM, UH, AS WELL.
AND THEN, UH, AS PART OF VIA, UH, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS, UH, FROM OUR TRUSTEES, TRUSTEE COOPER.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR BEING A LEADER, KEVIN, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HELP YOU'VE GIVEN ME.
AND, YOU KNOW, A REALLY, A DIFFERENT WAY TO LOOK AT THINGS.
I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE GIVEN TO THE COMMUNITY.
YOU'VE BEEN SELFLESS IN, IN YOUR TIME, UH, WITH US ALL AS YOUR FAMILY TOO.
AND, UM, THIS REALLY WANTED TO THANK YOU.
AND, BUT YOU DIDN'T, I DON'T, WHEN I CALLED YOU LAST TIME, IT SAID B-L-O-C-K, AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANT ON MY PHONE.
BUT, BUT, BUT ANYWAY, UM, NO, SERIOUSLY, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE FOR US AND CONTINUE DOING.
KEVIN, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, GIVING ME THIS OPPORTUNITY AS WELL AS THIS BOARD.
I PROMISE I WILL DO MY VERY BEST.
AND MY DOOR IS OPEN FOR ANYONE HERE.
IF YOU NEED TO TALK TO ME, UH, LET ME KNOW.
AND I PROBABLY WILL BE PUTTING ALL OF YOU ON SPEED DIAL, ESPECIALLY KEVIN.
HE'S PROMISED AT THE BEGINNING THAT HE WOULD HELP.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE SERVICE THAT YOU'VE GIVEN, NOT JUST TO THE VIA BOARD, BUT EVERY OTHER BOARD THAT YOU'VE BEEN ON, AND YOUR LOVELY WIFE, SANDY, WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US ALL.
I CAN NEVER GET RID OF YOU, MAN,
I, UH, I THINK I, I'M, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, I WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE FRIEND AND A MENTOR.
UM, I HAVEN'T CALLED YOU ENOUGH, BUT NOW THAT YOU ARE GONNA BE A FEW FEET AWAY FROM ME, I CAN CALL YOU MORE.
UM, I DO WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS THOUGH, TOO.
YOU SERVICE HERE, UM, WAS TREMENDOUS.
I THINK ABOUT THE CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU'VE BROUGHT TO THE TABLE, UM, THE WAY YOU'VE PUSHED US, UH, TO THINK DIFFERENTLY.
IT MEANS A LOT, UH, TO THIS ORGANIZATION.
I, I DON'T KNOW IF FOLKS WILL REALIZE THAT IN THIS MOMENT IN TIME, BUT THE WAY YOU'VE PUSHED US FORWARD IN OUR THINKING, KEVIN, UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S REMARKABLE.
I APPRECIATE YOU, AND I'LL CALL YOU SOON.
THANK YOU, TRUSTEE BROWN, UH, SECRETARY MALONE, UH, MR. WOLF, TO THE LUNCHES AND TO THE BREAKFAST THAT WE HAVE SHARED, AND ALL THE DISCUSSIONS YOU HAVE THROUGH TRULY SHOWN ME ANOTHER REASON FOR PUBLIC COMMITMENT.
AND I THANK YOU FOR THAT, AND I WISH YOU WELL IN ALL THAT YOU DO.
AND SANDY, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIP VIA YOUR HUSBAND
THANK YOU, SECRETARY MALILLO, JOHN, GARY.
WELL, YOU KNOW, UH, I'M, I'M GONNA ECHO
[00:15:01]
A LOT OF WHAT'S UP HERE.YOU KNOW, KEVIN, YOU AND I GO DECADES BACK.
UM, AND IT'S INCREDIBLE TO SEE YOUR, THE THEME THAT YOU HAVE CONTINUES TO BE YOUR PUBLIC SERVICE.
UM, REGARDLESS OF HOW BUSY YOU GET INDIVIDUALLY, UH, WHICH IS INCREDIBLE, YOU STILL HAVE AN EYE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE, AND THAT'S HIGHLY COMMENDABLE AND DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE APPRECIATE, AND WE'RE GLAD SOME OF THAT, UH, RUBBED OFF ON VIA.
SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
JUST TWILL, SORRY, IF YOU KNOW ME, I HAVE TO COLLECT MY THOUGHTS FOR A MOMENT,
SO KEVIN AND I, I CANNOT IMAGINE WHAT, UH, STAFF WOULD THINK ON OUR ZOOM CALLS AT THE VERY BEGINNING, BECAUSE YOU AND I ARE SO DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE.
BUT I THINK THAT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT VIA MOVES FORWARD WHEN WE HAVE DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE INDIVIDUALS.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE THERE'S A COMMONALITY OF RESPECT.
AND I THINK THAT UNFORTUNATELY, IT LACKS IN EVERYWHERE ELSE OUTSIDE OF THIS BUBBLE.
UM, BUT BECAUSE OF LEADERS LIKE YOU, WE CAN CONTINUE TO RECOGNIZE AND BE SELF-AWARE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ALL HAVE SUCH A BIG CONTRIBUTION AND A VOICE, AND THEY'RE ALL VALID, AND THEY'RE ALL WORTHY.
SO, I KNOW YOU GAVE SO MUCH TIME AND DEDICATION, AND YOU AND I, YOU HELPED ME.
YOU REALLY DID HELP ME SHARPEN SOME SKILLS THAT I'VE BEEN USING AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL USE IN THE FUTURE.
BUT I THINK MY FONDEST MEMORY WILL ALWAYS BE RUNNING INTO YOU AROUND SAN ANTONIO, JUST ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, NOT HERE.
AND YOU AND I CAN JUST HANG OUT WITHOUT VIA PAT'S.
BUT YOU TRULY ARE A REMARKABLE PERSON, AND I KNOW THAT HERITAGE MEANS A LOT TO YOU.
SO I'M EXCITED FOR THIS NEXT VENTURE.
THANK YOU, TRUSTEE TULL, TRUSTEE RENO, AND, UH, TRUSTEE WOLF.
UM, IT'S ALREADY BEEN SAID, UH, BUT THE GREATEST GIFT WE KNOW WE CAN GIVE, UH, OURSELVES IS TO GIVE TO OTHERS.
AND I KNOW THAT THE GREATEST GIFT THAT WE CAN GIVE OUR COMMUNITY IS, IS OUR TIME.
AND WHILE WE DIDN'T GET AS MUCH AS I WOULD'VE HOPED TOGETHER ON THIS BOARD TOGETHER, UM, I APPRECIATE ALL THE TIME YOU GAVE OUR COMMUNITY.
I THINK WE WOULD'VE HAD SOME OF THOSE DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED CONVERSATIONS OURSELVES.
UH, SO SAD WE WON'T GET THOSE, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY REACH OUT STILL.
BUT, UH, JUST THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU'VE GIVEN US, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND MENTORSHIP.
AND, UH, YOU'RE WELCOME TO STAY FOR THE ENTIRE BOARD MEETING HERE, UH, SINCE YOU'RE HERE ALREADY,
SO NEXT, AS WE SAY AIOS, UH, TO ONE, WE WELCOME ANOTHER.
SO WE, AGAIN, YOU'VE, YOU'VE HEARD THIS, UH, A BIT TONIGHT, BUT WE WANNA OFFICIALLY WELCOME TRUSTEE SUZANNE DEON TO THE BOARD.
LET'S GIVE HER A ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
SUZANNE BRINGS A DEPTH OF EXPERIENCE FROM HER SERVICE AS MAYOR BAI HEIGHTS FROM 2008 THROUGH 2024, AND HER LEADERSHIP IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR.
HER FAMILIARITY WITH PUBLIC SERVICE AND REGIONAL PRIORITIES WILL BE AN IMMENSE VALUE FOR THE WORK AHEAD THAT WE HAVE HERE AT VIA THANK YOU TRUSTEE DELEON.
LOVE THAT WE CAN CALL YOU THAT, UH, FOR YOUR CONTINUED LEADERSHIP AND GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND I WILL SAY NOW WE HAVE TWO FORMER MAYORS THAT'S RIGHT ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THAT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND KNOWLEDGE HERE.
ONE, A LOT MORE, MORE FORMER
ALRIGHT, NEXT WE HAVE, UH, I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE BONNIE PROSSER ELDER, WHO WAS HONORED RECENTLY AT OUR ESSENCE PREPARATORY PUBLIC SCHOOL GALA.
LET'S HAVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR BONNIE.
BONNIE RECEIVED THE COMMUNITY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING WORK AND SUPPORT OF CHILDREN IN EDUCATION HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
HER ADVOCACY REFLECTS VIAS BROADER COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICE AND COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS.
CONGRATULATIONS, BONNIE, AND THANK YOU FOR REPRESENTING US EXTREMELY WELL.
NEXT, WE'D LIKE TO HONOR AND TALK ABOUT AND CONGRATULATE ELOY LEUE ELOY LEUE ON HIS SELECTIONS TO LATINOS IN TRANSIT 2025 LEADERSHIP ACADEMY.
THIS NATIONAL PROGRAM RECOGNIZES EMERGING LEADERS IN OUR INDUSTRY AND ELO'S PASSION, DEDICATION, AND TALENT, MAKE HIM A STAND, A STANDOUT
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CHOICE.WE'RE PROUD TO HAVE TO HAVE HIM REPRESENT OUR AGENCY AND, AND KNOW HE'LL MAKE THE MOST OUT OF HIS INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY.
WE SAY, CONGRATULATIONS, ELOY.
IF HE WERE HERE IN PERSON, WE'D GIVE HIM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, BUT TRUE TO ELOY ISS, A COMMITMENT TO VIA.
HE IS COVERING A PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING TONIGHT.
UH, BUT WE WILL MAKE SURE HE SEES THIS VIDEO OF US, UH, RECOGNIZING HIM.
OUR NEXT YES, LET'S GIVE HIM AROUND.
NEXT, WE'RE GONNA CELEBRATE OUR STAR AWARD RECIPIENTS.
THIS IS OUR STAR CELEBRATING OUR DEDICATION AND SERVICE, UH, WHERE THIS MONTH WE'RE RECOGNIZING FOUR EMPLOYEES WHO CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTIONS, REFLECT VIAS COMMITMENT TO HIGH PERFORMANCE AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
REDUCING OUR MONTHLY FINANCIAL CLOSE PROCESS FROM 15 DAYS TO JUST THREE WAS NO SMALL FEAT.
AND IT INVOLVED MULTIPLE EMPLOYEES ACROSS SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS.
WHILE I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE A FULL CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAM, AND ESPECIALLY OUR FISCAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION FOR THIS COLLECTIVE EFFORT, WE ALSO WANT TO GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO AUDREY RIVERA, ENRIQUE, RICK CASTRO, AND JOHN SPANO, WHO WERE NOMINATED BY THEIR PEERS IN THEIR MANAGEMENT, AND ARE RECEIVING THE STAR AWARDS TODAY FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP IN HELPING MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
THEIR COMMITMENT AND WORK HELP DRIVE THIS OPERATIONAL SHIFT FORWARD IN OPERATIONS.
DO WE HAVE, UH, STEVE RODRIGUEZ HERE.
STEVE, MAINTENANCE TECHNICAL TRAINER, DEVELOPED AND LED A TARGETED TRAINING PROGRAM FOR THE PAINT AND BODY SHOPS.
HE CREATED THE CURRICULUM GUIDED INSTRUCTION AND ENSURED SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES, PRODUCING A SCALABLE MODEL THAT IS ALREADY BEING REQUESTED FOR EXPANSION.
SO NOW I'M GONNA INVITE THESE FOUR HONOREES THAT HAVE SHOWN THEIR LEADERSHIP AND EXCELLENCE TO COME FORWARD AND TAKE A PICTURE WITH OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES AS YOU RECEIVE YOUR RECOGNITION FOR BEING OUR STAR, UH, EMPLOYEES OF THE QUARTER OF THE MONTH.
DO YOU WANNA BRING THE PICTURE OVER HERE? YEAH.
CAN WE BRING THE PICTURE OVER THIS SIDE? YEAH.
LOOK, I'LL SIT NEXT TO YOU THAT WAY.
Y'ALL STAND IN THE FRONT? YEAH.
JUST SO WE CAN INCLUDE SECRETARY MALONE.
I THINK IT'S, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA, MELANIE.
SO, YEAH, JUST STAND, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO COVER ME, SO YOU CAN GO RIGHT THERE.
YOU WANT, LET'S, LET'S HAVE THEM TELL US WHERE THIS OPERATION IS.
PHOTOGRAPHERS, WHAT'D YOU GET? I'M GOOD HERE, LADIES.
YOU GETTING THEIR AWARDS AND, UH, CERTIFICATE.
YOU WANNA COME OVER? ARE WE GOOD? ARE WE CENTERED? RIGHT HERE.
EARLIER THIS MONTH VIA JOIN THE GREATER SAN ANTONIO CHAMBERS, A TO DC TRIP.
IN ADVANCE OF OUR FEDERAL ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY, WE MET WITH FEDERAL TRADE, UH, FEDERAL TRADE, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES AND COMMITTEE STAFF TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF VIA RAPID PROJECTS OF FACILITY EXPANSION.
OUR EMPHASIS ON FREQUENCY, RELIABILITY, AND CONNECTIVITY WAS, OF COURSE WELL RECEIVED.
OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS OFFERED POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON V'S.
APPROACH, ACKNOWLEDGING THE VALUE OF OUR PLANNING AND OUR REGIONAL IMPACT.
THE TRIP STRENGTHENED OUR RELATIONSHIPS AND REAFFIRM THAT VIA IS WELL POSITIONED TO COMPETE FOR FUTURE FEDERAL INVESTMENTS.
VERY PRODUCTIVE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP SAN ANTONIO TRANSIT PRIORITIES FRONT AND CENTER AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL.
A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT FOR THOSE, UH, TRUSTEES THAT ALSO MADE THE TRIP WITH US.
UM, IT, IT IS, UH, IT IS INDEED A, UH, A COLLECTIVE EFFORT THAT WE, UH, WE GO AND VISIT FOLKS ACROSS, UH, THE FEDERAL SPECTRUM AND HAVING OUR TRUSTEES LEADING OUR EFFORTS THERE, UH, WE MUCH
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APPRECIATE.NEXT WE HAVE A STATEWIDE RECOGNITION AT THE TEXAS, AT THE RECENT TEXAS TRANSIT ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE IN MCALLEN, TEXAS.
VIA EARNED SEVERAL STATEWIDE RECOGNITIONS THAT SPEAK TO THE STRENGTH OF OUR PEOPLE IN THE PROGRAMS ACROSS THE AGENCY.
WE RECEIVED THE TRANSIT INNOVATION AWARD FOR A NAVI LENS PROGRAM, A SIGNIFICANT ADVANCEMENT IN ACCESSIBILITY THAT IMPROVES WAY FINDING FOR VISION IMPAIRED CUSTOMERS.
IN ADDITION TO THAT RECOGNITION, ONE OF OUR PARATRANSIT OPERATORS AND ONE OF OUR MAINTENANCE TEAM, UH, MEMBERS EARNED TOP HONORS IN STATEWIDE COMPETITIONS IN OUR FIRST, FIRST PLACE, OUR PARA TRANSIT OPERATOR, MOSES GARCIA, FIRST PLACE IN FIXED ROUTE MAINTENANCE, PHIL DAVIS.
THEN WE HAVE ALSO MARCO LOPEZ AND DAVID PERALES.
AND SECOND PLACE IN THE PARA TRANSIT VAN MAINTENANCE WAS DAVID REYES AND AFO GUERRERO.
THESE TEAMS WILL BE COMPETING IN AUSTIN IN TWO WEEKS AT THE APTA INTERNATIONAL BUS RODEO.
LASTLY, FORMER BOARD CHAIR, HOPE PENTI WAS HONORED WITH THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR HER LONGTIME COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC TRANSIT AND IN FOR THE SAN ANTONIO REGION.
SHE WAS JOINED AT THE CEREMONY BY DEPUTY CEO TREMMEL BROWN, VICE PRESIDENT CURTIS KLER AND RACHEL BENAVIDES, AND FORMER CEO JEFF ARND, EACH OF WHOM HELPED CELEBRATE THIS WELL DESERVED RECOGNITION.
THESE HONORS HIGHLIGHT THE QUALITY OF OUR PEOPLE AND THE PROGRAMS ACROSS OPERATIONS.
NEXT, WE'LL DISCUSS, UM, COME BACK HOME NOW AND, UH, OH, CESAR CHAVEZ MARCH SUPPORT OVER THE WEEKEND, OVER THIS PAST WEEKEND VIA PROVIDED PARK AND RIGHTS SERVICE FOR THE CES RE CHAVEZ MARCH FOR JUSTICE.
THIS ANNUAL COMMUNITY EVENT PROMOTES EDUCATION, ECONOMIC MOBILITY, AND OPPORTUNITY AND, AND CIVIL RIGHTS WHILE RAISING SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS.
OUR PARTICIPATION HELPS EXPAND ACCESS TO SUPPORT VIAS ROLES AS A C AS A CIVIC PARTNER.
ALSO, THIS WEEKEND, WE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF HOSTING APTAS LARGEST EVER TRANSIT CEO SEMINAR RIGHT HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
CABIA HELP WELCOME THE TRANSIT LEADERS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS WE WEL AS WE CAME TOGETHER TO DISCUSS BOTH THE SUCCESSES AND THE SHARED CHALLENGES FACING OUR INDUSTRY NATIONWIDE.
BEYOND THE SESSIONS THEMSELVES, THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH PEERS AND EXCHANGE BEST PRACTICES WAS AN INCREDIBLE VALUE.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING THESE IN INSIGHTS BACK TO VIA AS WE CONTINUE TO REFINE OUR STRATEGIES AND STRENGTHEN OUR SERVICE.
NEXT, WE'D ALSO HONOR OUR TRANSIT TEAM WITH A VIDEO, WITH A VIDEO PLAY.
EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION DAY WAS HELD ON MARCH 18TH, STARTING AT 3:00 AM VIA EXECUTIVE AND LEADERSHIP TEAMS VISITED FACILITIES ACROSS THE SYSTEM TO THANK EMPLOYEES FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO VIA AND THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE.
I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY WHO PARTICIPATED.
OUR TEAM'S PROFESSIONALISM CONTINUES TO MOVE THIS AGENCY FORWARD IN HONOR OF OUR EMPLOYEES.
I'D LIKE TO SHARE A BRIEF RECAP VIDEO WITH YOU.
TODAY IS TRANSIT EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION DAY.
THIS IS WHERE WE AS A COMMUNITY, WE THANK OUR EMPLOYEES FOR WHAT THEY DO EVERY DAY.
TODAY'S A GREAT DAY, NOT JUST FOR VIA, BUT FOR TRANSIT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
OUR OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE EMPLOYEES AND SHOW OUR APPRECIATION IS KIND OF ENCAPSULATING THE PHRASE.
WE'RE LUCKY TO HAVE YOU ON THE TEAM.
WE DO GREAT WORK FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND TODAY, RIGHT NOW, WE'RE LOCATED IN THE STATION FOREMAN WHERE ALL OF THE BUS OPERATORS AND FIX ROUTE OPERATORS START THEIR DAY BEFORE THEY GO OUT AND SERVE THE COMMUNITY.
I'M A BIG BELIEVER IN IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE HAPPY, GREAT CUSTOMERS, YOU GOTTA HAVE HAPPY, GREAT EMPLOYEES.
AND THIS IS, UH, OUR WAY OF APPRECIATING THOSE EMPLOYEES.
SO THERE'S EVENTS GOING ON ALL THROUGHOUT THE DAY IN DIFFERENT AREAS, HAVE A LOT OF REFRESHMENTS, A LOT OF GOOD MUSIC.
UH, JUST ANOTHER GOOD OPPORTUNITY.
JUST SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THE EMPLOYEES THAT HELP KEEP, UH, SAN ANTONIO MOVING.
THIS EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION'S A REINFORCEMENT THAT WE'RE A VIA FAMILY.
THIS VIA FAMILY IS, IS A FAMILY THAT'S WORKING TOGETHER TO DELIVER SOMETHING THAT'S MEANINGFUL FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT WE ALL LIVE IN.
THAT'S A BIGGER MESSAGE THAT I REALLY FEEL THAT'S RESONATING TODAY.
'CAUSE WE HAVE A SYSTEM OF EMPLOYEES THAT OPERATE 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
THOSE ARE EMPLOYEES THAT WORK WITH A SMILE ON THEIR FACE, AND THAT TRANSLATES INTO THE WORK THAT THEY DO FOR US, BECAUSE
[00:30:01]
THEY'RE VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT THEY DO.AND WE CAN'T ASK FOR ANYTHING BETTER THAN THAT, YOU KNOW, IN A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR EMPLOYEES THAT DO THIS EVERY DAY.
AND MADAM CHAIR, THIS CONCLUDES THIS MONTH'S REPORT.
THE ITEMS WE COVERED REFLECT OUR MOMENTUM AND OPERATIONS RECOGNITION FOR EXCELLENCE IN A STRONG ENGAGEMENT AT EVERY LEVEL.
AND, UH, I ECHO TO, UH, MY APPRECIATION FOR EVERYONE'S DEDICATION AND WORK TO THIS AGENCY AND TO THIS COMMUNITY.
IT'S, IT DOESN'T, UH, THERE DOESN'T, THERE ISN'T ONE DAY THAT GOES BY WITH US BEING YOUR ADVOCATES AND YOUR AMBASSADORS, UH, OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY AND SHARING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, TOP, UH, COMMUNITY SUPPORT, UH, A TOP MPS SCORE.
UM, AND WE'RE RECOGNIZED FROM AN INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE AS ONE OF THE TOP AGENCIES.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF EV EVERYONE HERE TODAY AND EVERYONE OUT THERE, UH, SUPPORTING OUR, UM, OUR TRANSIT AGENCY.
UM, UH, ALSO, WELCOME, UH, AGAIN, TRUSTEE DEION.
WE WE'RE GONNA BE PUTTING YOU TO WORK HERE SOON.
SO WE WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING YOU AND YOUR THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UH, TO OUR STARS OF THE MONTH.
UM, THAT THE FINANCE REPORT AND THE BUDGET REPORT ARE, ARE KEY AREAS THAT WE'VE SEEN IMPROVEMENTS.
SO THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HARD WORK, UH, AND MOVING THIS FORWARD.
UM, AND THEN, UM, AS PART OF JUST OUR BRAND RECOGNITION, RIGHT, BEING RECOGNIZED NOT ONLY, UM, UH, DOWN IN THE VALLEY THROUGH, UH, FORMER SECRETARY HOPE, UH, AND THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, UH, TO THIS WEEKEND'S, PAST WEEKEND'S, UH, CEO TRANSIT SEMINAR WHERE WE RECOGNIZED AND, AND HOSTED ALL THE DIFFERENT CEOS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND HEARD FROM THEM, UH, THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT, UM, ARE, ARE GOOD, UH, THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE CAN IMPROVE ON.
UM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, SAN ANTONIO'S GRACIOUS OPENING OF THE DOOR HERE.
UM, AND SO THANK YOU TO JOHN GARY AND THE LEADERSHIP TEAM FOR, UH, A LOT OF WORK THIS WEEKEND.
UH, THERE WAS A LOT OF, UH, MOVEMENT THERE, SO APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP AND, AND MOVING IT FORWARD.
I KNOW IT WASN'T JUST YOU, BUT, UH, A LARGE TEAM BEHIND YOU.
SO, WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO, UH,
[5. Consent Agenda ]
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE.IT IS A CONSENT AGENDA, WHICH IS AN ACTION ITEM.
TRUSTEES, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? NO, MADAM CHAIR.
ANY OPPOSED? CONSENT AGENDA IS CARRIED.
[6. FY2024 VIA Annual Independent Audit Report]
NUMBER SIX, IT IS OUR FY 2024 VIA ANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDIT.MS. BLALOCK, GOOD AFTERNOON OR GOOD EVENING, MADAM CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I'M THE CHIEF AUDIT OFFICER HERE AT VIA.
AND I'M HERE TODAY TO INTRODUCE OUR EXTERNAL AUDITORS, BAKER TILLY, SPECIFICALLY SARAH SLAUGHTER, WHO'S THE DIRECTOR FOR BAKER TILLY.
UM, AND SHE WILL BE PRESENTING OUR VIA OUR VIAS FY 2024, UM, INDEPENDENT AUDIT REPORT.
I'M A DIRECTOR, UH, WITH BAKER TILLY AND OVERSEE THE FINANCIAL AUDIT AND OVERSAW THE FISCAL YEAR 24 AUDIT FOR VIA.
WE COMPLETED THE AUDIT A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AND ISSUED OUR OPINION.
UM, I DID PRESENT THIS EXACT PRESENTATION TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
SO I'M HERE TODAY TO PRESENT A HIGH LEVEL OF WHAT I PRESENTED TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
UM, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS IN REGARDS TO MY PRESENTATION.
UM, ALSO EVERYTHING WITHIN THE PRESENTATION, UM, SHOULD ALSO BE MORE DETAILED WITH THE AUDIT RESULTS LETTER THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED AS PART OF THE AUDIT PACKAGE.
UM, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN A LOOK AT THAT, I PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO, UM, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE PRESENTATION.
UM, PART OF THE PRESENTATION IS REALLY JUST TO REMIND YOU, UM, OF OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS PART OF AUDITORS.
I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH DETAIL, YOU KNOW, OF THIS, BUT JUST IN GENERAL, OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO PLAN AND PERFORM THE AUDIT TO OBTAIN REASONABLE ASSURANCE, WHETHER THE STATEMENTS OF VIA ARE FREE FROM MATERIAL MISSTATEMENT, UM, AND REASONABLE MEANING
[00:35:01]
IS A HIGH LEVEL OF ASSURANCE, AND IT'S THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ASSURANCE THAT WE CAN GIVE AS THE AUDIT FIRM.UM, OUR RESPONSIBILITY DOES NOT RELIEVE, UM, MANAGEMENT, UM, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OR THE BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITY TO GOVERN VIA.
UM, THESE ARE THE, THE, UH, GENERAL LIST OF THE REQUIRED COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE HAVE TO PROVIDE TO YOU AS YOUR INDEPENDENT AUDITOR, WHICH WE'LL BE KIND OF COVERING A LITTLE BIT FURTHER AND FURTHER SLIDES.
UM, I DID PRESENT A PLAN IN OCTOBER TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF, OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE ARE PLANNING TO DO AS PART OF THE AUDIT.
UM, WE DID BECAUSE OF THE ERP IMPLEMENTATION THAT WAS DONE DURING, UH, FISCAL 24 AND SOME STAFF TURNOVER, UM, HAVE TO ADJUST SOME OF THE PLAN THAT WE DID AS PART OF THE AUDIT.
AND WE, UM, INCREASED SOME OF OUR SUBSTANTIVE WORK DUE TO THESE ITEMS. UM, WHENEVER WE DO OUR PLANNING, WE LOOK AT, UM, KEY, UH, BUSINESS PROCESSES WITH VIA.
SO WE LOOK AT, UM, YOUR DISBURSEMENT PROCESS, YOUR PAYROLL PROCESS, UM, YOUR, UH, REVENUE AND RECEDING PROCESS, FINANCIAL REPORTING PROCESS, AND IDENTIFY THE KEY CONTROLS IN THERE.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DO IS WE ALSO, UH, TEST SOME OF THESE CONTROLS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE WORKING PROPERLY.
WE ALSO, UM, LOOK AT SIGNIFICANT ESTIMATES THAT VIA HAS, THAT ARE CONTAINED WITHIN THE STATEMENTS.
IF THERE WERE ANY NEW IMPLEMENTATIONS OF ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, WE WOULD ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
AND ALL OF THESE ITEMS KIND OF GO INTO OUR PLANNING AND RISK ASSESSMENT, UM, FOR US TO, TO DESIGN PROCEDURES THAT WE DO AS PART OF OUR FINANCIAL AUDIT.
WHENEVER WE ARE DOING PLANNING AND LOOKING AT THE CONTROLS, LOOKING AT THE ESTIMATES, UM, WE IDENTIFY SIGNIFICANT RISKS, UM, THAT COULD OCCUR WITHIN, UH, THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
SO THE KEY RISKS THAT WE ADDRESS AS PART OF OUR AUDIT WOULD BE, UM, MANAGEMENT OVERRIDE CONTROLS.
SO TO ADDRESS THIS RISK, WE INCORPORATE UNPREDICTABILITY INTO OUR AUDIT.
UM, WE LOOK AT THE ENTITY LEVEL CONTROL.
WE, UM, EMPHASIZE PROFESSIONAL SKEPTICISM WITH THE AUDIT TEAM.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WE'VE DESIGNED OUR AUDIT TEAM TO HAVE INDUSTRY EXPERTISE, UM, SPECIFICALLY AROUND, UM, A TRANSIT ORGANIZATION.
THE OTHER RISKS THAT, UM, WE ALSO HAVE TO INCORPORATE AS PART OF OUR AUDIT, UM, WOULD BE, UM, REVENUE RECOGNITION.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING SPECIFICALLY AT, UM, THE RECOGNITION OF REVENUE WITHIN THE STATEMENTS, UM, ESPECIALLY AROUND FRAUD.
UM, JUST TO FURTHER NOTE ON THAT, UM, NOTHING THAT WE DID AS PART OF OUR AUDIT, UM, CAME TO OUR ATTENTION THAT THESE RISKS EXIST.
SO WE, UM, APPROPRIATELY ADDRESS THESE RISKS.
OTHER AREAS THAT WE LOOK AT AS PART OF OUR AUDIT WHEN WE'RE DOING OUR, UM, FINAL FIELD WORK IS WE LOOK AT THE CASH AND INVESTMENTS, UM, FOR VIA, BUT WE ALSO AUDIT THE PENSION PLAN AND THE OPED PLAN.
AND SO WE LOOK AT THOSE INVESTMENTS AND CONFIRM THOSE.
UH, WE LOOK AT THE PAYROLL TRANSACTIONS BECAUSE THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT, UM, EXPENSE WITHIN VIA, UM, WE LOOK AT YOUR CAPITAL ASSETS AND YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
AGAIN, A LOT OF SPENDING GOING ON THERE, YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
SO WE, WE SPEND A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME LOOKING AT THAT AND MAKING SURE THAT IS ACCURATE.
UM, WE LOOK AT YOUR REVENUES IN RECEIVABLES AND ANY ALLOWANCE FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS THAT YOU'LL HAVE.
WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME, UM, LOOKING AT, UM, YOUR LIABILITY.
IT'S A, FOR PENSION AND OPED, THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT ESTIMATE THAT WE DO LOOK AT.
UM, WE LOOK AT YOUR GENERAL DISBURSEMENTS, YOUR EXPENDITURES, YOUR LONG-TERM DEBT, AND THEN WE LOOK AT YOUR FINANCIAL REPORTING.
UM, WE MAKE SURE THAT, UM, NOT ONLY ARE THE STATEMENTS ACCURATE, BUT ARE THE, THE NOTE DISCLOSURES ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT, UM, WITH GAP AND OR NEUTRAL, UM, CLEAR AND CONSISTENT FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT AS PART OF OUR PLANNING PROCESS, WE DO LOOK AT, UM, THE INTERNAL CONTROLS.
UM, BUT I JUST WANNA REMIND YOU THAT, UM, WE DO NOT TEST CONTROLS FOR OPERATING EFFECTIVENESS.
AND WE REVIEW THAT YOU HAVE KEY CONTROLS ARE IN PLACE, AND IF THERE WERE A DEFICIENCY THAT WE WOULD IDENTIFY AS PART OF OUR AUDIT, WE WOULD HAVE TO BRING THAT TO YOUR ATTENTION.
SO I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT WE DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY, UM, MATERIAL WEAKNESS OR ANY OTHER DEFICIENCY THAT WE THOUGHT WARRANTED, UM, YOUR ATTENTION AS PART OF THIS YEAR'S AUDIT.
OKAY, SO I'M GONNA GO OVER SOME REQUIRED COMMUNICATIONS.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO ALSO WITH OUR AUDIT IS WE LOOK AT VIAS ACCOUNTING POLICIES.
[00:40:01]
SO IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IN NOTE ONE, UM, THOSE LIST ALL OF VIAS FINANCIAL POLICIES.SO WE LOOK AT THOSE TO MAKE SURE THOSE ARE IN LINE WITH THE GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES.
AND THEN WE ALSO MAKE SURE THAT VIA IS FOLLOWING THESE POLICIES, IF THERE WAS ANY NEW POLICY IMPLEMENTED OR ANY SIGNIFICANT OR UNUSUAL TRANSACTION, WE WOULD HAVE TO LET YOU KNOW.
AND THERE WERE NO CHANGES TO ACCOUNTING POLICIES IN FISCAL YEAR 24, AND THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT TRANSACTIONS THAT WE WOULD NEED TO, UM, BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION AS WELL.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT WE REALLY DO AS PART OF OUR AUDIT IS WE LOOK AT, UM, SIGNIFICANT ESTIMATES.
SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF ESTIMATES WITHIN YOUR STATEMENTS, UM, THAT WE LOOK AT.
AND THE REASON WHY WE REALLY WANNA FOCUS OUR ATTENTION ON THESE IS BECAUSE IF THERE WAS ANYTHING THAT WAS GONNA GO WRONG WITH THE STATEMENTS, IT'S USUALLY GONNA BE AROUND THESE ESTIMATES BECAUSE THESE ARE REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, MANAGEMENT, UH, BEST ASSUMPTIONS OR GUESS AS OF THE DATE OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
SO WE, AS AUDITORS, WE TAKE A LOOK AT THESE ESTIMATES TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT GO INTO THEM, UM, ARE, ARE REASONABLE.
THEY MAKE SENSE, MAKING SURE THAT THE ESTIMATE IS CONSISTENT FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
AND IF THERE WERE ANY CHANGES, UM, OR ANY CONCERNS THAT WE WOULD HAVE AROUND THESE ESTIMATES, WE WOULD HAVE TO, UH, BRING THAT TO YOUR ATTENTION.
SO HERE IS A LIST, UM, OF THE ESTIMATES THAT WE DO LOOK AS PART OF YOUR AUDIT.
AND I MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT YOUR, YOUR NET OPEP AND YOUR NET PENSION LIABILITY 'CAUSE THOSE ARE PROBABLY THE BIGGEST ESTIMATES.
UM, BUT THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, MANAGEMENT'S PROCESS TO DETERMINE THESE ESTIMATES.
AND THEN WE MAKE A DETERMINATION AND WE SAY THAT THEY ARE ALL REASONABLE IN RELATION TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS A WHOLE.
IF THERE WERE ANY SIGNIFICANT UNUSUAL TRANSACTIONS OR IF WE, UH, ENCOUNTERED SIGNIFICANT DIFFICULTIES WITHIN THE AUDITS OR DISAGREE WITH MANAGEMENT, WE WOULD HAVE TO BRING THAT TO YOUR ATTENTION.
AND I'M PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THERE WERE NONE OF THESE AS PART OF THIS YEAR'S AUDIT.
UM, WE DID END UP, AS I MENTIONED, FINALIZING THE AUDIT AND WE ISSUED, UM, AN UNMODIFIED OPINION, WHICH IS A STANDARD, UH, REPORT THAT WE CAN PROVIDE AND IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ASSURANCE, UM, THAT WE AS AUDITORS CAN PROVIDE TO VIA, IF WE'RE, IF WE CONSULTED OUTSIDE OF OUR ENGAGEMENT TEAM, WE WOULD HAVE TO LET YOU KNOW.
BUT AS I KIND OF MENTIONED EARLIER, OUR AUDIT TEAM IS ALREADY KIND OF MADE UP OF, UM, EXPERTS, UM, AROUND, UM, TRANSIT ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, SIMILAR TO VIA.
SO WE DID NOT HAVE TO GO OUTSIDE OF OUR ENGAGEMENT TEAM TO CONSULT WITH ANY OTHERS WITHIN OUR FIRM.
UM, THERE WERE NO OTHER AUDIT FINDINGS OR ISSUES AS PART OF OUR AUDIT THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO REPORT TO YOU EITHER.
UM, VIA DOES ISSUE AN ACT FOR AN ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT.
AND THIS IS JUST KIND OF A REMINDER THAT OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS REALLY TO AUDIT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THAT ARE WITHIN THE FER.
SO THAT WOULD BE YOUR MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION ANALYSIS, UM, YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IN YOUR NOTES.
THERE ARE OTHER INFORMATION THAT IS ALSO PROVIDED WITHIN YOUR FER STATISTICAL INFORMATION AND INTRODUCTORY.
WE DO READ THAT, MAKING SURE THERE'S NOTHING CONTRADICTORY.
UM, BUT WE DO NOT AUDIT THAT INFORMATION, UM, FOR UNCORRECTED MISSTATEMENTS.
SO WHAT WE DO AS PART OF OUR AUDIT IS WE, UM, TAKE A LOOK AND AS THROUGHOUT THE AUDIT IS WE, UM, LOOK TO SEE IF WE CAN IDENTIFY ANY MISSTATEMENTS WITH THE AUDIT.
AND AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS MATERIAL MISSTATEMENTS.
SO IF WE HAD ANY AUDIT ADJUSTMENTS AS PART OF OUR AUDIT, UM, WE WOULD HAVE TO REPORT THAT TO YOU.
UM, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY AUDIT ADJUSTMENTS.
UM, WE DID HAVE A COUPLE OF PAST ADJUSTMENTS THIS YEAR.
NOW THESE WERE CLEARLY, UM, IMMATERIAL BUT ABOVE OUR THRESHOLD.
AND A LOT OF TIMES THESE PAST ADJUSTMENTS ARE JUST DUE TO, UM, I GUESS EXPEDITING DOING THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT AND COMPLETING THE AUDIT BECAUSE IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK TO KIND OF PUT THOSE BACK IN AND THEY'RE CLEARLY IMMATERIAL.
SO ATTACHED TO THAT AUDIT RESULTS LETTER IS A SCHEDULE THAT KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS, UM, THESE, UM, IMMATERIAL PAST ADJUSTMENTS MADE AS PART OF THIS YEAR'S AUDIT.
UM, WE ARE NOT AWARE OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING WITH ANY OTHER ACCOUNTANTS.
IF THERE WERE, WE WOULD HAVE TO REPORT THAT TO YOU.
ATTACHED TO THE AUDIT RESULTS LETTER IS THE REQUIRED MANAGEMENT REPRESENTATIONS THAT WE GET EVERY YEAR AS PART OF THE AUDIT.
SO I DO ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND SEE ALL THE REPRESENTATIONS THAT MANAGEMENT HAS TO DO AS PART OF THE AUDIT.
UM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING US, UM, INFORMATION, MAKING SURE THAT IT'S ALL BEEN
[00:45:01]
COMPLETE DISCLOSING TO US, UM, MAKING SURE THERE IS NO FRAUD, UM, IN REGARDS TO ALSO THE SINGLE AUDIT AS WELL.SO, UM, TAKE A LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF REPRESENTATIONS THAT MANAGEMENT DOES HAVE TO DO AS PART OF THE AUDIT EVERY YEAR.
UM, WE DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY NON-COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND REGS, AND WE ARE NOT AWARE OR SUSPECT ANY FRAUD WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION.
UM, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR EVALUATE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE AS YOUR AUDITOR, EXTERNAL AUDITOR ARE INDEPENDENT WITH VIA.
AND I'M PLEASED TO REPORT, UM, THAT WE ARE INDEPENDENT OF VIA, UM, AND THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS, UH, AROUND RELATED PARTIES.
UH, I'VE ALREADY KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THIS REAL.
SO WE DO PROVIDE SOME NON-ATTEST SERVICES, UM, TO VIA, SO WE COMPILE THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS TOGETHER IN ONE DOCUMENT FOR THEM AT A CONVENIENCE MANAGEMENT DOES PREPARE 'EM, BUT WE JUST COMPILE THEM.
AND THEN WE ALSO PREPARE PART TWO OF THE DATA COLLECTION FORM.
AND NONE OF THESE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE IMPAIR OUR INDEPENDENCE.
AND I GUESS WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, THANK, UM, VIA AND THE FINANCIAL TEAM THAT WE WORKED WITH THIS YEAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR AUDIT, UM, IS PROBABLY ABOUT THIS YEAR.
WE SPENT ABOUT 1200 HOURS CONDUCTING THE AUDIT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WE DO TO COMPLETE THE AUDIT.
UM, BUT THAT KIND OF ALSO GIVES YOU A LITTLE INDICATION OF WHAT THE FINANCIAL TEAM HAS TO DO IN PREPARING, UM, FOR THE AUDIT, WHICH IS PREPARING, UM, THE PBCS THAT WE REQUEST, PREPARING THE STATEMENTS, AND THEN BEING READILY AVAILABLE TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS.
SO, UM, I WANNA THANK, UH, ALL OF THEM FOR THEIR HELP AND SUPPORT FOR THIS YEAR'S AUDIT.
UM, AND I GUESS WITH THAT, I WOULD OPEN IT UP TO HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
TRUSTEES, ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS.
SO WE WILL NEED TO TAKE ACTION TO ACCEPT THIS AUDIT BY THE BOARD.
ALL RIGHT, THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION? AND SECOND, TO APPROVE THE FFY 2024 INDEPENDENT AUDIT REPORTS.
MOVE TO SECOND A MOTION AND SECOND.
THANK YOU LESLIE, FOR YOUR HARD WORK ON THIS.
[7. Customer Survey Results]
AND MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.THE BOARD WILL NOW RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE 2024 CUSTOMER SURVEY RESULTS, MS. GONZALEZ AND MR. DEVA.
SO, GOOD AFTERNOON, MADAM CHAIR AND THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
MY NAME IS JESSICA GONZALEZ, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND CONSUMER ANALYTICS.
AND THIS IS JODY DEVA, MANAGER OF CONSUMER ANALYTICS.
AND WE'RE HERE TO PRESENT THE CUSTOMER SURVEY SATISFACTION, WAIT, THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE SURVEY REVIEW.
OKAY, GOOD AFTERNOON, MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
UM, TODAY WE'RE GONNA BE GOING OVER OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE OR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY FOR OUR FIX DROP BUS AND OUR VIA TRANS PARA TRANSIT SURVEYS.
UM, FROM A BACKGROUND STANDPOINT, OUR FIXED ROUTE IS DONE TWICE YEARLY, AND OUR PARATRANSIT IS DONE ONCE YEARLY.
THE FIXED ROUTE IS DONE IN THE SUMMER AND THE FALL, AND THEN THE PARATRANSIT IS ALSO DONE IN THE FALL.
SO THESE WILL BE RESULTS FROM, UM, NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALLY APPRECIATE ABOUT DOING THIS SURVEY AND OUR, AND OUR PARTNER TRANS PRO PROVIDES US IS WHAT'S CALLED AN INDUSTRY SAMPLED AVERAGE OR AN ISA.
THEY WORK WITH, UH, 14 OTHER FIXED ROUTE SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, UH, THAT DO THE, THE SAME, UH, THE SAME SURVEY, DENVER CHARIOT, CDTA, AND SOME OTHERS.
THAT PROVIDES US WITH SOME BENCHMARKING.
SO WE KNOW, UM, COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING, HOW WE'RE DOING, UM, AS AN IN, AS A, AS A SERVICE, UM, COMPARED TO OTHER, OTHER, UH, AGENCIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
UM, AGAIN, THAT'S 14 FIXED ROUTE SERVICES IN, IN DIFFERENT, UH, LOCATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
SO FROM A FIXED ROUTE, UH, STANDPOINT, OUR METHODOLOGY LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
THESE ARE CALLED INTERCEPT SURVEYS.
SO OUR PROFESSIONAL SURVEYS, UH, SURVEY TAKERS, UM, THEY, THEY MEET CUSTOMERS ON THE BUS OR WAITING AT A STOP, ASK THEM TO TAKE A SURVEY, TAKES ABOUT 20 MINUTES TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY.
THEY HAVE TABLETS, THEIR ENGLISH SPEAKING, AND, AND SPANISH SPEAKING.
UM, IN THIS PARTICULAR WAVE, WHAT WE CALL A WAVE, WE
[00:50:01]
DID 573, UH, CUSTOMER SURVEYS.UM, THERE'S ABOUT A 95% ERROR RATE OR CONFIDENCE RATIO IN, IN THAT, IN THOSE SURVEYS.
THIS WAS FIELDED IN NOVEMBER, LIKE I SAID, BETWEEN THE 19TH AND THE 2020 FOURTH.
UM, AS AN INCENTIVE OR AS A REWARD FOR PARTICIPATING IN OUR SURVEY, OUR CUSTOMERS ARE GIVEN A ONE DAY PASS.
UM, SO FIRST OFF, THE CUSTOMER IMPRESSIONS AND THE SATISFACTION.
UH, THE FIRST THING THAT WE LIKE TO POINT OUT IS OUR NET PROMOTER SCORE.
SO A NET PROMOTER SCORE IS, UH, OR, OR, UH, COMMONLY CALLED AN NPS IS AN INDICATION OF, OF CUSTOMER LOYALTY AS WELL AS SATISFACTION.
UM, SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE ON THE, ON THE WHEEL ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE IS OUR, UM, OUR NPS OF 64.
UH, THAT'S A, OBVIOUSLY A VERY, VERY GOOD N-P-N-P-S, UM, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WHAT THAT NPS HAS LOOKED LIKE OVER TIME.
AND I THINK THE THING THAT YOU'LL NOTICE ABOUT THAT, UH, THE MOVEMENT, UH, GENERALLY SPEAKING, IS IN THOSE PASSIVE.
SO THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE KIND OF AMBIVALENT, THEY, THEY'RE NOT GONNA SAY YES OR NO, YAY OR NAY, GOOD OR BAD.
THEY'RE JUST KIND OF AMBIVALENT ABOUT THE SERVICE.
SO AS WE MOVE THOSE FOLKS, UH, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT MOVES OUR MPS, UM, LARGELY.
SO WHEN, WHEN WE SEE THAT NUMBER JUMP UP, IT'S GENERALLY DUE TO A, A BAD EXPERIENCE THEY MAY HAVE HAD, BUT DON'T WANT TO GO ALL THE WAY TO BAD, EXCUSE ME, AND SAY SOMETHING BAD ABOUT THE, THE, THE SERVICE THAT THEY RECEIVES.
SO THEY'RE STILL KIND OF ON THE FENCE THERE.
UM, SO AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE THAT, THAT THAT GENERALLY, UM, MOVES A LOT BETWEEN 26, 19 16%, UM, WHICH THEN MOVES THE NPS IN, IN TOTAL.
SO ALSO, SORRY, WE ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT WHAT WE, WHAT WE USE, UH, THIS KEY DRIVER ANALYSIS.
UH, IT'S BROKEN DOWN INTO FOUR QUADRANTS BASED UPON THE, THE IMPORTANCE THAT IT'S ASSIGNED.
THE, THE ASPECT OF SERVICE, UM, FROM AN IMPORTANCE ASPECT AND FROM A SATISFACTION ACCESS OR ASPECT.
UM, ALONG THE HORIZONTAL ACCESS IS THE IMPORTANCE AS WE MOVE DOWN THAT LINE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, UM, THE, THE MORE IMPORTANT THE ASPECT GETS.
AND THEN ON THE, ON THE LEFT HAND ACCESS IS THE SATISFACTION LEVEL.
AND SO WE GO FROM, UM, UP TO, TO THE TOP OF THAT.
IT GOES FROM 55 UP TO 95, THAT SATISFACTION LEVEL RISES.
WE WANNA FOCUS ON THOSE AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY IN THE, THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER IN THAT, THAT BLUE SHADED, UM, RECTANGLE.
THOSE ARE WHAT WE CALL THE AREAS OF OPPORTUNITIES.
THEY HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS HIGHLY IMPORTANT ASPECTS WHERE SATISFACTION ISN'T REALLY MEETING, UH, EXPECTATIONS.
SO THINGS LIKE WEATHER PROTECTION AT THE STOPS BUS, ARRIVING AT SCHEDULED TIME.
UM, BUS DRIVER COURTESY AND HELPFULNESS ARE THINGS THAT WE, WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON.
IDENTIFY, UH, MAYBE AREAS OF ACTION THAT WE CAN, THAT WE CAN TAKE IN REGARDS TO THOSE, UH, PARTICULAR ASPECTS.
WE DON'T NECESSARILY WANNA FORGET ABOUT ANY OF THESE OTHER QUADRANTS.
THE STRENGTHS TO MAINTAIN SPECIFICALLY, 'CAUSE THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE REALLY, REALLY DOING WELL.
THEY'RE VERY IMPORTANT TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND, UM, THE SATISFACTION LEVELS VERY HIGH ON THOSE PARTICULAR ASPECTS.
THINGS LIKE BUS ROUTES, UH, GETTING, GETTING FOLKS TO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO, UM, THE AMOUNT, THE AMOUNT THEY PAY FOR THE RIDES.
UM, WITH THE, THE FAIR SYSTEM THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, OUR OVERALL FIXED, UH, FIXED ROUTE RESULTS, 82% OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE SATISFIED WITH VIA BUS SERVICE.
UM, AGAIN, OUR FIXED ROUTE CUSTOMER SNPS IS 64.
THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT THEY, THEY'RE MOST SATISFIED WITH.
AGAIN, THAT, THAT FAIR SYSTEM, THE FAIR PAYMENT, HOW EASY IT IS TO PLAN THEIR TRIPS, AND HOW EASY IT IS TO GET TO THEIR BUS STOPS, THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE LEAST SATISFIED WITH.
UH, WEATHER PROTECTION AT THE BUS STOPS, HOW OFTEN THE BUS ARRIVES ON WEEKENDS, AND THE BUS STOP CLEANLINESS.
A NOTE THAT YOU SEE THERE AT THE BOTTOM.
THESE THREE THINGS THAT ARE LEAST SATISFIED, THE LEAST SATISFIED ASPECTS ARE THE SAME FROM THE PREVIOUS WAVE.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THIS IS A POINT IN TIME SURVEY.
WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO SEE, OR WHAT WE, WE TRY TO IDENTIFY ARE THOSE ASPECTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE CONTINUOUS OVER, OVER SURVEY TO SURVEY.
SO, UH, WHEN WE SEE THAT THESE ARE THE SAME ASPECTS THAT THEY WERE LEAST SATISFIED WITH LAST TIME, WE WANNA PUT SOME FOCUS ON THOSE.
AND THEN IN THE RED BOX, THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS TO BUS CUSTOMERS, BUS ARRIVING AT THE SCHEDULED TIME, WEATHER PROTECTION AT THE STOP, AND THEN THE BUS DRIVER COURTESY AND HELPFULNESS FROM A CHARACTERISTIC STANDPOINT.
UH, DEMOGRAPHICS AND, AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR, OF OUR RIDERS.
UH, 93% OF THEM SAY THEY'RE RELIANT ON, ON VIA TO GET TO AND FROM THEIR DESTINATION.
UH, 70% SAY THEY RIDE THE BUS AT LEAST FIVE DAYS A WEEK.
SO WE HAVE A LARGE POPULATION OF, OF, UH, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION RELIANT FOLKS WHO USE THE SERVICE 7, 5, 5 OR MORE DAYS A WEEK, PRESUMABLY GET TO AND FROM WORK, AS WELL AS, UH, SHOPPING ERRANDS AND EDUCATIONAL, UM, ENDEAVORS.
AND THEN IN THE MIDDLE WE SEE THE TENURE THAT FOLKS HAVE BEEN RIDING THE BUS.
SO WE SEE A, A, A 45% OF THEM SITTING IN THAT MORE THAN FIVE YEARS.
AGAIN, THAT SPEAKS TO THE LOYALTY, THE MPS ASPECT THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
SO WE HAVE A GOOD CHUNK OF OUR RIDERSHIP THAT'S VERY, VERY LOYAL, BEEN WITH US A LONG TIME.
AND THEN WE HAVE, WHAT WE LIKE TO SEE IS THAT CLIMBING LESS THAN ONE YEAR, THAT INDICATES NEW RIDERSHIP COMING TO US.
SO WE ALWAYS WANNA SEE THAT NUMBER CLIMBING, NEVER DROPPING.
AND THEN DEMOGRAPHICALLY, UM, AGAIN,
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58 41 SPLIT MALE, MALE TO FEMALE AGE RANGE FROM 20 TO TO TO 65.AND THEN THE ANNUAL INCOME, WHILE IT'S LARGELY IN THAT LESS THAN $25,000 SPACE, UM, THERE IS INCOME ACROSS THE SPECTRUM, UH, THAT WE ASK THEM ABOUT THEIR INFORMATION AND PLANNING ACTIVITIES, UM, AND HOW THEY STAY INFORMED REGARDING, UH, VIA, VIA UPDATES, CHANGES, AND NEW INFORMATION.
UM, BUT THEY ALSO USE SIGNS POSTED AT THE BUS STOP AND, UM, AT THE TRANSIT CENTERS.
UM, THEY, THEY ASK THE BUS OPERATOR.
AND THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT THESE BUS, BUS OPERATORS ARE INFORMED AND HELPFUL.
AND THEN SOCIAL MEDIA IS ANOTHER GREAT PLACE FOR, FOR THEM TO GET INFORMATION.
AND THEN, UH, FROM A TRIP PLANNING ASPECT, UH, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE LIKE TO LOOK AT, HOW ARE THEY PLANNING THEIR TRIPS? IF THEY ARE PLANNING THEIR TRIPS, THEY'RE USING THE MOBILE APP, UH, GOOGLE MAPS, AND THEN ANOTHER PARTNER APP THAT WE HAVE CALLED TRANSIT APP TO PLAN THEIR, THEIR TRIPS.
ALL THREE OF THESE, BY THE WAY, ARE, ARE AVENUES THROUGH WHICH WE CAN, UH, WE CAN MARKET OUR SERVICES TO THESE FOLKS.
AND THEN PAYMENT OPTIONS, UM, CASH ON THE BUS IS, UH, REMAINS THE NUMBER ONE PAYMENT OPTION.
UM, BUT, UH, THAT WE SHOULD SEE THAT CHANGE WITH THE, THE, UH, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A NEW, UH, FAIR BOX ON OUR BUSES IN THE PAST, UH, FEW MONTHS.
SO WE SHOULD SEE SOME SHIFTING HERE OF, OF PAYMENT, UH, FAIR PAYMENTS.
UM, AND THEN ASKING THOSE FOLKS, HOW LIKELY ARE THEY TO USE A, A METHODOLOGY INSTEAD OF CASH? UM, 38, UH, 48% OF THEM SAY THEY'RE EITHER LIKELY OR VERY LIKELY TO USE SOMETHING INSTEAD OF CASH.
AND THEN WHY ARE THEY UNLIKELY TO USE CASH? THAT CASH IS CONVENIENT AND CASH IS SAFE.
AND THEN FROM A A PRESS PREFERENCE STANDPOINT, THIS SPEAKS TO FREQUENCY AND HOW IMPORTANT FREQUENCY IS IN OUR RIDER'S LIVES.
SO WE ASK THEM, IS IT, IS IT MORE, WOULD YOU PREFER A, UH, FIVE MINUTE WALK WHERE, WHERE THE BUS COMES LESS FREQUENTLY OR A 10 MINUTE WALK WHERE IT BECOME, IT COMES MORE OFTEN AND 57% OF THEM SAID THEY WOULD RATHER WALK FURTHER, UM, FOR A MORE FREQUENT SERVICE.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE, THE FIXED ROUTE? OKAY, TRUSTEE COOPER, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
THAT'S A GREAT REPORT AND REALLY GIVES US A GOOD FEEL ON OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, GOING BACK TO THE, UM, THE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT THAT YOU SAID ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE PREVIOUS YEARS.
I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHEN SOMEONE IS FILLING OUT THE SURVEY, ARE THOSE ANSWERS ALREADY THERE THAT THEY CAN CIRCLE VERSUS ARE THEY BLANKS, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY COULD SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S YOUR THREE GREATEST AREAS? 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, ARE WE, ARE WE SETTING OURSELVES UP FOR THOSE, FOR WHAT WE THINK THE PROBLEMS ARE? UM, VERSUS, I MEAN, IT'S JUST WEIRD THAT IT COMES OUT TWICE.
WHEN I WAS DOING CALL CENTER WORK AND WE DO SURVEYS, IT WAS JUST AMAZING IF WE DIDN'T CHANGE THE ORDER OF THE QUESTIONS, WE ALWAYS GOT NUMBER ONE, YOU KNOW, BEING A, WHATEVER IT WAS.
BUT WHEN WE SWITCHED THEM UP, YOU KNOW, IT, THAT'S THE ONLY TIME WE GOT SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
AND SO TO ANSWER THAT THEY DO RANDOMIZE THE ORDER THAT THOSE, SO THEY ARE PRESENTED, SO IT'S A, IT'S A DROPDOWN LIST OF THOSE OPTIONS OR THOSE ASPECTS, UM, THAT THE CUSTOMER CHOOSES FROM, FROM A SATISFACTION AND AN IMPORTANT STANDPOINT.
BUT IT IS RANDOMIZED FOR EACH, AGAIN, IT'S ON A TABLET.
THAT QUESTION IS RANDOMIZED IN, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE.
UM, IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS, WE'LL MOVE ON QUICKLY TO THE VIA TRENDS.
SO AGAIN, UH, A DIFFERENT METHODOLOGY IN TERMS OF THE, THE VIA TRANS, WE CALL THOSE CUSTOMERS BECAUSE THAT'S A SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE.
AND WE HAVE THEIR, THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION, AGAIN ADMINISTERED BY TRAINED BILINGUAL SURVEYORS.
401 CUSTOMERS WERE, WERE SURVEYED BETWEEN NOVEMBER 12TH AND NOVEMBER 22ND.
UM, AS A REWARD FOR PERFORMING OR PARTICIPATING IN THIS SURVEY VIA TRANS CUSTOMERS ARE GIVEN A, A, A, A ROUND TRIP TICKET, UH, TO BE USED AT THEIR CONVENIENCE.
UH, NET PROMOTER SCORE ON VIA TRANS IS 53, LITTLE BIT LOW BELOW THE ISA, THAT INDUSTRY SAMPLED AVERAGE OF 55.
SO, UM, BUT THE, AGAIN, THEY'RE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WE SEE WHAT THE TREND LOOKS LIKE, WAVE ONE THROUGH WAVE FOUR, UH, AGAIN, A BIG JUMP IN THIS PARTICULAR WAVE OF THOSE, THOSE PASSIVES.
SO THOSE FOLKS ARE A LITTLE BIT AMBIVALENT.
UM, SO AGAIN, MIGHT HAVE HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE, BUT DON'T WANT TO GO ALL THE WAY TO SAY THAT, THAT IT WAS A BAD EXPERIENCE.
SO THEY'RE JUST, UH, KIND OF, UH, HOLDING THEIR BREATH, WAITING TO THE NEXT ENGAGEMENT OR NEXT INTERACTION TO SEE HOW THEY FEEL.
KEY DRIVER ANALYSIS FOR VIA TRANS, AGAIN, THAT, THAT SHADED BLUE BOX HERE ON THE RIGHT OR BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER, THE AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY TRAVEL TIME ON TIME, PICK UP AND ON TIME DROP OFF ARE THE THREE BIG THINGS FOR OUR, OUR VIA TRANS RIDERS.
UM, MAKING SURE THAT THEY GET TO THEIR DESTINATIONS ON TIME, THEY'RE PICKED UP WHEN THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE PICKED UP THEIR SCHEDULED TIME AND DROPPED OFF THEIR SCHEDULED TIME.
UM, OVERVIEW OF THE RESULTS OF OUR VIA TRANS 98% CUSTOMER
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SATISFACTION, UH, MPS OF 53, AGAIN, HERE ARE THE MOST SATIS, UH, THE, THE CUSTOMER, THE ASPECTS THAT ARE MOST SATISFIED WITH SECURING OF MOBILITY DEVICES.UH, LIFT RAMPS, LIFTS AND RAMPS AND VEHICLE CLEANLINESS ON THE VIA TRANS, AND THEN LEASE SATISFIED AS A TRAVEL TIME, BEING ABLE TO GET A RIDE FOR DAY AND TIME OF REQUEST.
AND THEN HOW WELL VIA TRANS SERVES THE PARTS OF THE METRO AREA THAT THESE FOLKS NEED TO TRAVEL TO AND FROM THEIR MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS ARE TRAVEL TIME, ON TIME PICKUP, AND ON TIME DROP OFF.
SO THESE ARE OUR KIND OF OUR KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM, FROM OUR SURVEY.
WE ASK THESE CUSTOMERS FOR THEIR FEEDBACK AND THEIR HONEST OPINIONS ABOUT OUR OPERATIONS AND OUR SERVICE.
UM, AND, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RESPONDING IN SOME WAY TO SHOW THAT WE'RE CLOSING THIS LOOP AND ACTIONING THESE ITEMS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO THEM.
AND THEN HOW DO WE LEVERAGE OUR MPS AND SATISFACTION? SO WE HAVE VERY, VERY HIGH MPS HIGH LOYALTY.
UM, HOW ARE WE LEVER LEVERAGING THAT, UM, TO PROMOTE VIA SERVICES AND INCREASE RIDERSHIP CONSISTENT MESSAGING, MESSAGING ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOUND, UM, THROUGH OUR SURVEYS IS THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF PLATFORMS THAT WE MESSAGE OUR WRITERS THROUGH.
AND SO, UH, CONSISTENT MESSAGING ACROSS ALL THOSE PLATFORMS IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE SAYING THE SAME THING ON THE WEBSITE, THAT WE'RE SAYING ON THE MOBILE APP, THAT WE'RE SAYING ANYWHERE ELSE.
WE NEED TO SPREAD THIS GOOD NEWS ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION, THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE INDIFFERENT, RIGHT? UM, EVERYBODY IN THE ORGANIZATION SHOULD HEAR THIS, UM, PATTED ON THE BACK FOR THE GREAT JOB THAT THEY'RE DOING, AND CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OUR RESOURCES THAT ARE NEW AND IMPROVED INTENDED ON.
WE, WE WANNA INCREASE EFFICIENCY.
AGAIN, THE, THE FAIR BOX IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT, HOW WE'RE UTILIZING, UH, TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE THAT, THAT, THAT THAT SERVER OUR SERVICE MORE EFFICIENT AND OUR OPERATIONS MORE EFFICIENT.
SO JUST TO RECAP, UM, SO WE TAKE THIS INFORMATION AND WE REALLY, WE RA WE VALUE THIS INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK THAT WE GET FROM OUR CUSTOMERS BECAUSE IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE OUR SERVICES.
IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY ALSO TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM AS WE START TO TAKE, UH, MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE GONNA IMPACT, UM, THEIR EXPERIENCE ON, UM, WHEN THEY'RE TAKING OUR SERVICE.
AND THESE TYPE OF SURVEYS GIVES US A, UM, ACTIONABLE DATA THAT ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE, INCORPORATE INTO OUR MESSAGING AND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
SO, UM, THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION AND, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, WE WOULD TAKE 'EM NOW.
TRUSTEE, ANY QUESTIONS TRUSTEE? RIGHT NOW? JUST, JUST ONE AND AND YOU KIND OF NOTED IT THERE AT THE END, BUT I, I THINK IT'S NOT SO MUCH AS A QUESTION, AS A COMMENT, JUST LOOKING FORWARD TO THE WORKFLOW THAT TRULY, AND I APPRECIATE IT'S A TOP BULLET, CLOSING THE LOOP.
I THINK THAT IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY THAT WE CAN INCREASE OUR RIDERSHIP AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BUILDING AGAIN, THE ORGANIZATION THAT OUR COMMUNITY DESERVES, BUT LOOKING FORWARD TO THE THREADS BETWEEN SURVEY RESPONSES AND THEN THE ACTUAL WORK BEING DONE OR THE IMPLEMENTATION, AND THEN HOW THAT'S BEING MESSAGED OUT TO STAFF AND COMMUNITY.
AND THEN I JUST WANNA REITERATE THIS RANKS AS ONE OF THE TOP, UH, GRADES AND SCORES IN THE NATION, RIGHT? WE ARE THE TOP AND WE'VE BEEN THE TOP FOUR, THE FOUR YEARS THAT WE'VE BEEN TAKING THIS, UM, BEEN DOING THIS SURVEY.
AND SO HOW DO WE, JOHN, GARY, I KNOW THIS IS A, AN ONGOING STRUGGLE, RIGHT? IN MESSAGING IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATIONS BECAUSE THERE'S DIFFERENT TARGET AUDIENCES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MESSAGE DIFFERENT THINGS.
BUT HOW IS THIS TOP OF MIND WHEN WE'RE TALKING TO ELECTED OFFICIALS, KEY STAKEHOLDERS, AND THEN JUST THE GENERAL PUBLIC? AS YOU MENTIONED? WE WANNA CONTINUE TO SEE THAT INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP FOR THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN U UH, UTILIZING OUR SERVICES FOR LESS THAN A YEAR.
AND WE KNOW THAT IT'S THE APP AND WE KNOW IT'S, UH, SIGNAGE.
ARE THOSE TWO ELEMENTS BEING UTILIZED TO COMMUNICATE THESE TOP SCORES.
YO, IT, I, I'LL SAY WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO, UM, ON COMMUNICATING THIS EXTERNALLY, MADAM CHAIR.
UM, THIS IS, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE REASON WHY WE BROUGHT THIS DURING THIS PUBLIC SESSION IS, IS BECAUSE WE WANT TO GET MORE USED TO TELLING THIS STORY, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE IT HAS SUCH A HIGH VALUE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES, YOU KNOW, ARE ENVIOUS OF OUR POSITION, BUT YET ALL WE'RE DOING IS TELLING EACH OTHER THIS, WE HAVE TO DO A BETTER JOB OF TELLING OUR STORY OUTSIDE OF THIS AUDIENCE AND OUT OF, OUTSIDE OF THESE WALLS.
I'LL GIVE A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT.
WHEN YOU SEE JD POWER AND ASSOCIATES AWARDS, WHEN YOU SEE COMPANIES THAT ARE TAKING THAT JD POWER ASSOCIATES AWARDS, THEY'RE ESTABLISHING THAT THEY DO CUSTOMER SERVICE OR THAT EXPERIENCE, NUMBER ONE, AND THAT'S MEANINGFUL FOR THAT AGENCY WHEN IT'S, WHEN THEY'RE TRANSLATING THAT TO THEIR CUSTOMERS THAT ARE LOOKING TO ENGAGE WITH THEIR SYSTEM OR THEIR, THEIR, THEIR, UM, THEIR COMPANY.
THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO THAT, WHERE
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WE HAVE TO BE MORE INTENTIONAL ABOUT CONNECTING THAT TO HELP CONFIRM THE DECISION THAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE MAKING EVERY DAY, BUT THEN CONFIRM THE DECISION AND GET AHEAD OF IT FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE THINKING OF TAKING US AND THAT THEY'RE SEEING THAT WE HAVE THESE TYPE OF SCORES WHEN IT COMES TO A CUSTOMER SERVICE, UH, THAT'S HELPS REITERATE THAT AND CLOSE THE LOOP WITHIN ADDITION, THAT WE WOULD HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS AND OTHER LEADERSHIP AROUND THIS, UH, COMMUNITY WHERE, WHERE THESE TYPES OF SCORES THAT WE ARE GETTING SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED AND WE SHOULD BE DOING MORE INTENTIONAL, UM, ACTIVITIES AROUND SHARING THAT.AND, AND NOT ONLY BEING PROUD, BUT, BUT UNDERSTANDING HOW IMPORTANT IT IS, UM, FOR THIS, UH, FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
MR. TULL, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I THINK THIS IS A REALLY GREAT, UH, PRESENTATION TO ALSO HAVE PRIOR TO OUR BOARD RETREAT.
UM, IT WILL BE ABLE TO SERVE AS A REALLY GREAT COMPASS FOR US AS WE SPEND A REALLY LENGTHY AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT SUCH, SO WORTH IT TO AT LEAST BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A VISION FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT, SOMETHING THAT WE, WE ALL STRUGGLE WITH DAILY, JUST IN OUR EVEN PERSONAL LIVES, BUT MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN HAVE THESE CHECK MARKS, UM, TO HELP US KEEP US ACCOUNTABLE, BUT THEN ALSO TO HELP KEEP THE ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTABLE.
SO, UM, I JUST, I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO MEASURING A LOT OF THE STUFF, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO BE A TRANS, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN KEEP THOSE RIDER, NOT JUST KEEP WRITING, BUT ALSO SO THEY CAN, THEIR EXPERIENCE CAN BROADEN OUR HORIZONS WITH BE A TRANS AS WELL.
BECAUSE IF THEY HAVE A GOOD EXPERIENCE, THEN THEY CAN PROBABLY ENCOURAGE MORE OF THEIR COMMUNITIES TO ALSO RIDE BE A TRANS.
I, UH, I AGREE WITH THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE ALREADY IN THE QUESTIONS.
MY ONLY QUESTION, UM, WHAT DOES THE PROCESS LOOK LIKE FOR STAFF AT THIS LEVEL? NOW, WHEN WE REVIEW THIS DATA AND WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE AREAS THAT WE'RE SCORING LOW ON, LIKE, IS IT A CHANGE MANAGEMENT PERSON IN OUR ORGANIZATION THAT FOCUSES IN ON HOW WE CAN IMPROVE SCHEDULING FOR VIA TRANS, I SAW THAT SCORE LOW, RIGHT? UM, AND I'VE SEEN THAT SCORE LOW A COUPLE OF TIMES NOW, RIGHT? SO I JUST WANNA CALL THAT OUT.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO IMPROVE THAT PROCESS? OR WHAT DOES THE PROCESS LOOK LIKE TO CREATE A PLAN? UH, THAT'S MY QUESTION.
IT IT IS, IT IS A PROCESS THAT WE UNPACK THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT JODI, YOU KNOW, AND IN PARTICULAR, UH, THIS GRAPH HAD HAD PROVIDED US SOME INSIGHT FOR, WE NOW HAVE AN INTENTIONAL GROUP, UM, AND, AND A TASK FORCE THAT IS INDEED COMING UP WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
BUT PERHAPS SOME OF THAT ALSO REQUIRES SOME DEEPER DIVE.
AND I'LL GIVE YOU A GREAT EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE, WE SAW ON THIS REPORT ABOUT CLEANLINESS AT BUS STOPS.
THAT IS A, THAT IS A DEEPER DIVE THAT WE HAVE TO DO TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE DEEPER INFORMATION SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHERE EXACTLY THAT OPPORTUNITY IS.
BUT, BUT TO, TO THE CORE, I BELIEVE OF WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING TRUSTEE BROWN IS, WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE CLOSEOUT OF THAT? WHAT IS IT THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY DOING? THIS IS ALSO PART OF THIS PROCESS THAT WE WANTED TO START WITH THE BOARD TODAY, THAT WE ARE LAYING OUT WHERE THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE, AND IT'S UP TO US AS STAFF TO COME BACK AND CLOSE THESE OUT, NOT ONLY IN FRONT OF OUR, OUR POLICY MAKERS, BUT THE PUBLIC AS WELL.
SO LOOK FORWARD TO THOSE TASK FORCE REPORTS THAT'LL BE COMING UP PROBABLY ON A QUARTERLY BASIS THAT SHOULD BE CONNECTING THE DOTS TO THIS DATA, UM, AND MAKING THAT A, A INTENTIONAL CONNECTION TO THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
I THINK THERE'S DEFINITELY A GREAT STORY TO TELL HERE.
UH, AND I'M WONDERING HOW WE CAN, UH, UTILIZE THIS INFORMATION AT, UH, LUNCHEONS LIKE THE STATE OF THE TRANSIT, RIGHT? AND HIGHLIGHT THAT WHEN KEY STAKEHOLDERS ARE, ARE THERE IN ATTENDANCE.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WORK HERE.
UM, AND, UH, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
UH, DO WE HAVE A LEGAL BRIEFING? NO, MA'AM.
WE DO NOT HAVE A LEGAL BRIEFING TODAY.
WE, WE, WE DO HAVE, UH, AN ANNOUNCEMENT, NOT WITH LEGAL BRIEFING, BUT, UH, TODAY IS SOMEBODY'S BIRTHDAY.
OH, THAT'S NOT A LEGAL BRIEFING, BUT IT IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT.
SO WE'LL GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING WHERE ANNOUNCEMENTS WERE MADE FOR THE
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PRESIDENT, CEO.AND HE'S GONNA SING, UH, AND START US OFF IN THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG, DEBORAH IS, IT'S DEBORAH'S BIRTHDAY TODAY, EVERYBODY IN THIS, UH, ROOM.
AND, AND FOR THOSE, UH, THOSE, UH, UM, TRUSTEES THAT HAVE ALREADY SEEN, WE HAVE A DIFFERENT, UM, WE HAVE CUPCAKES.
WE'LL JUST SAY, THAT'S WHY WE HAVE CUPCAKES IN THE BREAK ROOM IS BECAUSE DEBORAH'S BIRTHDAY TODAY.
THANK BIRTHDAY, BIRTHDAY, DEBORAH.
ALL RIGHT, TRUSTEES, WE'VE ARRIVED AT YOUR FAVORITE AGENDA NUMBER, WHICH IS AGENDA NUMBER, NUMBER NINE.
UM, IT'S THE END OF OUR MEETING.
MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO, UH, FIRST AND SECOND, THE ADJOURNMENT OF THIS MEETING? SO MOVED.