Meeting of the metro lane communicate on contracts operations maintenance and safety committee meeting
Nice to everyone here this morning. I'll go ahead and call the meeting to order. Do you have any words of business for us Michelle?
Since we do have some board members participating virtually on zoom all action items will be done via roll call vote
Thank you very much Frank. Give us our safety briefing, please
Good morning, Chair Wapner committee members.
In the event of the fire alarm activation,
we're all going to exit the building,
go downstairs and stay just outside
a Metro customer service office
in the exterior of the building.
If we have an earthquake, I'm gonna ask you to drop,
take cover, and once the shaking stops,
we'll do an assessment of whether or not
an evacuation is necessary.
The event of a first aid situation,
I'll be your first aid provider.
I'll ask Ms. Paney to contact Metro Security Front Desk
where the AAD is also located.
And as always, in the event of an active attacker situation,
and remind you to run, hide, and fight.
That concludes this morning's safety briefing.
Happy Friday.
Thank you very much.
Appreciate that.
One of the Pledge of Allegiance,
our chair, Larry McCallum.
If you can join us, we'll be at this point.
Please join me as we salute the flag
that represents our Republic.
Ready, begin.
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one nation under God,
indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you.
Okay, let's do a roll call vote please.
I'm sorry, roll call, roll call.
Director Marquez.
Present.
Vice Chair Spiegel.
Director Vargas.
Director Chaffee.
Present.
Director D'Amitro.
Director D'Amitro.
Director Engler.
Director Barger.
Director Solis.
Director Allen.
Director Preciado.
Here.
Chair Wapner.
I'm here.
We do have a quorum present, just barely.
I'm taking this very personal.
No one ever shows up to my meetings.
I don't quite understand that.
Maybe it's not worth coming in for a three-minute meeting.
I don't know.
OK, well, thank you very much.
Go to public comment.
Any members of the public here want to address the committee,
or have we received any written comments?
I have received a written public comment.
If it's OK, I'll read it out loud.
As long as it's not more than three minutes.
It should not be.
Dear Contracts Operations Maintenance and Safety Committee,
despite the staffing issues at Amtrak,
which provides the train crews
for Metrolink under contract,
I still highly recommend starting
the optimized schedule service by July 1st.
Starting the new service on October 1st
will only result in missed ridership
from the 4th of July holiday weekend and summer break.
Metrolink stands to reap many benefits
with the new service by July 1st.
With the success and possible extension
of the student adventure pass,
it is vital that service improvements begin
when the students are on their summer break
so they can take full advantage of the new service.
Plus, the 4th of July weekend in Anime Expo
represents the best marketing opportunity
for capturing potential riders
by allowing riders to avoid the hassles
of finding expensive parking
and the high risk of drunk driving on the freeways.
Even though Amtrak is currently unable to provide Metrolink
with the required staff
to run the current commuter focused 9-5 schedule,
the optimized schedule will only require
a few additional train crews to operate
according to the optimized service workshop.
It should not be difficult to find the additional crew
to fulfill not only current requirements
but also the requirements for the optimized schedule.
Delaying what could be MetroLink's
biggest service expansion in years
will only demonstrate to transit opponents
that public transportation is not worth funding
and that we should continue to fund
the unsustainable expansion and maintenance
of car-oriented infrastructure instead.
Our neighbors like Caltrain and Coaster
have been able to sustain regular all-day service
throughout the pandemic at levels similar to those
proposed in the January presentation.
Metrolink is long overdue for such an expansion.
This would also make transferring
at Oceanside less painful for those unable
to take the Pacific Surinff Liner
between LA and San Diego.
Please prioritize finding the staff needed
to start the optimized schedule by July 1st
to capture key ridership potential
from the 4th of July weekend
and deliver on our promises
to create a world-class transit system.
Sincerely, Lucas Chang.
You did that well, Michelle.
You should do those commercials.
We have a little disclaimer at the end, you know.
Good job.
Anything else, any other written comments?
Thank you, that brings us to our regular calendar.
I see a hand raised, does that mean someone wants to talk?
Director Dimitrou?
Hi there, good morning.
Hi there, yes, I'm at a location that was non-agendized,
but I did wanna say that I look forward
to eventually getting in there.
My getting a position here as an alternate
for Mr. Chafee is quite the honor.
However, my calendar is a bit like an aircraft carrier.
It moves slowly to adjust,
but eventually it will be on the right track.
I look forward to meeting you all in person soon.
Thank you.
Thanks for joining us virtually.
Okay.
First item on the calendar is approval of the minutes.
There's no questions or discussion.
We have a motion on that.
Some moved.
A few seconds.
Got a motion to second.
Do roll call vote, please.
Director Vargas.
Yes.
Director Chaffee.
Aye.
Director Prosciato.
Yes.
Chair Wapner.
Yes.
That motion carries.
Thank you very much.
Next item, external audit services, Tammy.
Good morning, Chair and members of the committee.
I'm Tammy Phillips, Contract and Compliance Administrator,
and I'm presenting item 6B for external audit services.
Next slide, please.
The authority requires external audit services of its financial statements based on the uniform
guidance requirement stating non-federal entries that expense $705,000 or more in a year in
federal assistance shall have a single audit conducted for that year.
The audit shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted government audit
standards.
The audit shall cover the entire operations of the authority.
Contract QM 166-24 will replace the recently expired external audit contract.
26 firms downloaded the solicitation.
Eight proposals were received from Crow Davis, Davis Farr, I'd Bailey, Plant Moran, Soto
Mayor and Associates, the Poon Group, Vasquez and Company, and Weaver Tiedwell.
Next slide.
Staff recommends the committee recommend the board authorize the chief executive officer
to award contract number QM 166-24 to Ide Bailey for a not to exceed amount of $21,143.20.
twenty cents. This award is subject to resolution of any timely file protest.
Next slide please. That concludes my presentations and I'm happy to ask her
questions. Thank you very much. Any questions of staff for any discussion?
Seeing none we have a motion. I'll second it. Okay, let's go to roll call vote please.
director Vargas yes director Chafee aye director presciado yes chair Waffner
yes a motion carried great thank you next item is our cue for construction
of score projects and that is Sharon morning chair and committee this item is
for the pre-qualification of prime general contractors for the score major
major construction projects. The background, the purpose of the SCORE is to support future
expanded service and to meet the expectations of the service plans for the 2028 Los Angeles
Olympic Games. Successful construction of the SCORE phase one projects requires demonstrated
experience in successful construction in a railroad operational environment and knowledge
of railroad operational safety rules and practices.
Next slide please.
The authority has developed a pre-qualification procedure for public works projects for SCORE
major construction projects to be adopted.
The next steps upon approval, prior to releasing construction bid documents, authority staff
will release the request for qualification package CM 104-25 to solicit licensed prime
general contractor responses. We will receive responses and calculate scores to determine
eligibility for pre-qualifications and create a short list of contractors eligible to bid
major construction score projects. Over the next three years, the contracts department
will release invitations for bids to be competed amongst the pool of qualified contractors
to be warded to the lowest bidder.
It is recommended that contracts, CPMM,
request for qualifications process be approved
to pre-qualified prospective contractors
to bid score projects.
Next slide.
And this is the end of my presentation.
Are there any questions?
Thank you, Sharon.
Any questions or discussion?
Seeing none, go to a real couple, please.
I'm sorry, let's have a motion.
No one ever gives me a motion.
Okay, so a motion
If he moves
Thank you very much now. We'll go to rule couple
director Vargas yes
director chiefy I
Director press the auto. Yes chair. Wapner. Yes emotion carried
Brings us to our discussion about railroad frogs. I'd look this up said no idea what you guys were talking about
But now I have an understanding on that's Dorothea
Chair members of the committee. My name is Dorothea can't arrow senior contract compliance administrator and I'm presenting item 6d
This item is recommended to award for a purchase order
MTL 20 for zero fifty four fifty four to vest a pin nor track for a total of 14
Railroad frogs of eight different types next slide, please
See pictures and explanation
A railroad frog is a special part of the train track that allows wheels on one rail to cross
over to another rail.
It provides support for the wheels and has passageways for the wheel flanges.
This helps the trains move smoothly at intersections and is a very important component of the switch.
This purchase order will ensure that the materials management department maintains appropriate
inventory on hand to support scheduled and unscheduled maintenance of Metrolink's track
system.
Next slide, please.
All right, IFB, MTL, 2405454 was issued on January 3rd.
Bidders could bid for any or all of the product categories requested.
There were 26 prospective bidders.
Two bids were received for all product categories, and one bid was found responsive.
The remaining bid, based on price analysis against the independent cost estimate, was
considered and I'm sorry and considering market trends was deemed fair and
reasonable next slide please therefore is recommended that the committee
recommend the board authorize this CEO to award purchase order MTL 240 5 4 5 4
to vestipine nor track in the amount of five hundred ninety five thousand nine
hundred and eighty dollars and three cents for a total of 14 railroad frogs
This is a one-time purchase with delivery of the 14 frogs to the
authorities laying track maintenance facility. Next slide please. Thank you
that concludes my presentation. I'll be happy to answer any questions. Thank you
very much. Any questions or discussion by the committee? Seeing none, we're going to
roll call vote. Do we have a motion? I'll move it. Go to Vargas. Wait a second. Thank you.
Director Vargas? Yes. Director Chafee? Aye. Director Prociado? Yes. Chair Wapner? Yes.
The motion carried. Thank you. Next a cooperative agreement with SBCTA and
that is Kevin. Good morning chair and members of the committee my name is Kevin
Blake, management analyst one and I'll be presenting item 6E cooperative
agreement number 22-100-2687 with the San Bernardino County
Transportation Authority. Next slide. As the SBCTA project team advances the zero
emissions multiple unit project, a cooperative agreement is needed with the
authority to define the roles and responsibilities of each agency and to
provide funding to the authority for staff and consultant support on the
project. Next slide please. It is recommended that the committee recommend the board
authorize the chief executive officer to negotiate and execute cooperative
agreement number 22-100-2687 between SBCTA and the authority. This agreement
was approved by the SBCTA board on March 6th, 2024.
The agreement defines the roles and responsibilities
of each agency as well as provides funding to the authority
in the amount of $1,349,640 fully funded by SBCTA
for vehicle design, development, and testing support
in coordination for the implementation
of the Arrow Maintenance Facility
Hydrogen Upgrade Project.
Next slide, please.
That concludes my presentation.
I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you.
Any questions to staff or any discussion by the committee?
Obviously SPCT is very excited to bring this, the first hydrogen powered on train anywhere
that I know of.
Okay, do we have a motion on this item?
Yes, we do.
Motion is second.
Roll call vote please.
Director Vargas.
Yes.
Director Chafee.
Aye.
Director Presiato.
Yes.
Chair Wabner.
Yes.
That motion carried.
Larry, do you have as much trouble with your group making motions and things?
and I don't think so.
His group was present.
I'll call everybody else out later.
Your next item is in MOU with Ventura County,
and that is Chris.
Good morning, committee chair, committee members.
I'll be presenting on the MOU amendment
for the transfer of the right-of-way
tourist funds to VCTC.
Excellent.
In November, 2023, VCTC in close cooperation
with the authority,
commence the condemnation proceedings against five,
for five properties that are owned by one property owner.
In December, 2023, the resolution necessity
was filed with the Ventura County Courthouse.
The next step in the condemnation process
is that we would file a motion for prejudgment possession.
And at that time, the amount that was appraised
for the properties, which is 579,000,
would have to be deposited with the state treasurer's
compensation deposits fund.
So at the moment, we have prepared the condemnation,
sorry, the motion for pre-judgment possession,
and we are looking to then file that at the end of April.
So what we need to do is we need to transfer
the 579,000 from the authority as we are in possession
of the funds they've been allocated to us already,
and then VCTC wants in possession of those funds
would then deposit those with the state treasurer's
compensation deposits fund. Next slide. So we're asking the committee to to
negotiate and approve the CEO to negotiate a MOU amendment in order to
execute the $579,000 transfer from the authority to VCTC. Thank you. Thank you.
Questions? I have a question for you. So they're challenging necessity, not value
Correct and so we can move forward about the necessary there's no trial on the
necessity we can go ahead and move forward with the money in there. That's
correct so the motion for prejudgment possession would if approved by the
court would give us the properties in advance of the completion of the
condemnation proceedings which could take up to two years so the so by filing
the motion for prejudgment possession there's a good chance we'd be able to
obtain the properties by the end of this year instead of having to wait for the
condemnation proceedings to conclude which could take two years. I don't think we've
ever used that before. Okay got it any other questions? Do we have a motion on it?
Should I approve? Second Vargas. Motion is second. Thank you. Roll call vote please.
Director Vargas. Yes. Director Chaffee. Aye. Director Presiado. Yes. Chair Wabner.
Yes, a motion carried. Thank you. Next item Michelle. You have your own item here
Talk to us about granite kiss. I am next slide, please
So
I'm here to request an adjustment to our annual authorization for the service agreement with granite kiss which supports the agency's agenda management
system and meeting software
During the June June 2023 board meeting the board approved the FY 23 24 annual
Authorization for software license maintenance and support agreements and granite kiss was included in that list of agreements in the amount of
38,500 so we typically renewed the agreement with granite kiss at the end of May of each year which isn't super
In conjunction with the budget approval. So we were told that there was a price increase of about six thousand dollars
next slide
So, we're going to request an additional authorization of $6,000 for the price increase.
And while we're doing that, we'd also like to implement a single sign-on option
to increase IT security and create a uniform username consistency agency wide,
which is a one-time cost of $1,500.
So, we're going to, we're asking you today to recommend that the board authorize the CEO
to amend the annual authorization for service
agreement number LI119 with Granicus from $38,500 to $46,000,
which is an adjustment of $7,500.
And that concludes my report.
Happy to answer any questions.
More, Michelle.
You got to do your own item.
We've just done like a billion dollars in contracts,
and you want, how much is it?
$700.
All right, that's good.
Well, hopefully there's no discussion.
Any questions or discussion?
Seeing none, can we have a roll call vote, please?
Motion.
I'm sorry, a motion.
Thank you, Darren.
Vargas, motion.
Thank you, sir.
That was so quick.
I think we're gonna motion a second.
Let's do a roll call vote, please.
Director Vargas.
Yes.
Director Chaffee.
Aye.
Director Presiado.
Yes.
Chair Wopner.
Yes.
That motion carried.
Thank you very much.
Next item, system safety, security compliance,
and that's Cody.
Good morning, Chair, good morning, committee members.
Cody Nelson, Assistant Director, System Safety.
Next slide, please.
So looking at our FY24, Q1, Q2 strikes,
conductor assaults and vandalism on this slide.
So in Q1 and Q2 of 24, we had a total of 53 strikes
versus 38 strikes in Q1 and Q2 of FY23,
which was a 39% increase.
Some of the things we're doing to mitigate the strikes
on our system is we've deployed closed circuit TV cameras
on the Ventura Sub, as well as the San Gabriel Subdivision.
We've requested additional law enforcement presence
from the local police departments
in the areas where we're having the high strikes.
We've identified the areas of focus
to further place more resources in those areas.
Moving on to conductor assaults.
So in FY24, we had Q1, Q2.
There was five assaults on conductors.
The authority averaged 0.67 assaults per month,
system-wide and FY 23 compared to the 1.33 assaults
a month in July through December of 23.
For system-wide, we encountered nine reports
of vandalism related to wire thefts.
And so that's been an issue that we've been going after
pretty hard from the law enforcement standpoint.
We've started a new group called the Tiger Team
to partner with local police in the areas
where we're seeing these vandalisms.
We have our LASD Major Crimes Unit onboard as well
to further investigate.
We've been looking at recycling centers in the areas
where we've been seeing these wire thefts
to see if any of our wire has come through,
throws locations as well.
So that's what we've been working towards,
mitigating the wire thefts on the system.
Next slide.
So our law enforcement presence
has platforms on our trains and grade crossings.
So we meet biweekly with our law enforcement,
Amtrak partners to discuss our security concerns
and review statistical data.
And in those meetings we look at our passenger incident
reports as well as look at the data out of our safety
database so we can further pinpoint what trains
and what areas of the system we like our deputies
and our private security to be riding
to ensure passenger safety as well as our safety
for our crews.
And so you can see we increased our train rides quite a bit
from 2023 to Q1 to Q2 of 24,
we increased our platforms, observations,
or enforcements as well.
Pretty similar for the grade crossing,
then increased the right-of-way details as well.
Next slide.
For Q1, Q2, FRA reportable injuries for FY23 versus FY24.
As you can see in 23 there,
we were at 15 FRA reportable injuries on our system
in FY24, we went down to nine.
And so fortunately, all those these were FRA reportable.
None of these injuries were catastrophic.
They were slip, trip and fall,
bruise, contusion type injuries.
And so we're continuing to work with our contractors,
work with the operations group to do the root cause analysis
to see what was the root cause of this injury
and how we can further prevent that,
put corrective actions in place in the future.
Rule violations, FY24 to Q1, Q2.
So we had a total of 14 there.
You can see the different categories
that we broke them down to.
The movement violations occurred
in our maintenance facilities.
Those are related to speeding, things of that nature.
We had three rule violations
that were third-party contractors
are on the capital rehab projects.
And one of the things we're doing
to mitigate some of these rule violations
is we've implemented video review
with our operations and mechanical contractors
for their train movements
inside of the maintenance facilities,
as well as look at the data that we're receiving
from our inspections and that way we can better deploy
our compliance staff that go out and provide oversight
in the field to our contractors.
So training, our 239 emergency simulation drill
at the Aero Maintenance Facility,
we did our annual required drill in November.
We had really good turnout from local law enforcement,
our fire, we had our San Bernardino sheriffs
that are our contract law enforcement
they're on the Aero Service.
We did an active shooter drill.
This is what these pictures are from there,
was a successful event.
We had multiple agencies from San Bernardino County
come through and run the drill
and we successfully completed our annual requirement
under 239.
Next slide.
And I'll take any questions if there are any.
Thanks very much.
Questions or discussions?
One question, does it possibly get a system map
showing where the strikes are occurring
so we can kind of see geographically
whether they're happening?
Yes, absolutely, we can get that to you.
Appreciate that.
No other questions, discussion?
Okay, it's received and file.
We'll go to our last item.
Orderly Capital Program, Leopoldo.
Leopoldo.
Good morning, Chair and committee members.
I'm Leopoldo Zavala, senior management analyst,
providing a progress update
on the authority's capital program,
including state of good repair and score.
For the period ending December 2023, the authority expended $16.4 million in state of good repair
projects.
The state of good repair program has 155 active projects with a total budget of $413 million.
One update on here, all of our FY23 grants have been secured.
The authority also expended $9.9 million in new capital projects.
This program has 77 active projects, including SCORE, with a total budget of $1.1 billion.
Next slide.
I would like to highlight a few of the accomplishments in the capital program, starting with SCORE.
On the Antelope Valley line, 60% design was completed on Balboa Double Track Extension,
Canyon Citing, and Lancaster Terminal Projects.
On the Orange Counting Line, 100% design was completed on the signal re-spacing La Palma
to Avery project.
Displayed here is the score construction schedule for Phase 1.
Seven projects have completed construction.
These projects include signals from Burbank to LA, signals from Adwood to Orange, LAUS
or YRM, OC Set Out Track, Burbank Junction, Chatsworth Signals Rehab Package, and signals
from Avery to songs.
The signals from La Palma to Avery project
is anticipated to begin construction this year.
And five projects are anticipated to begin construction
in calendar year 2025.
Now for some highlights on the state of good repair program.
The Bombardier car rebuild program conditionally accepted
and has put into service 20 cars.
Later this month, four additional cars should be delivered.
On the Antelope Valley line,
The Authority installed over 11,000 feet of rail
during the December outage.
That work is pictured on this slide.
Furthermore, the Authority replaced 15,000 ties
on the orange line between Fullerton
and San Juan Capistrano.
On the San Bernardino line,
the Authority completed drainage improvements
on the Twin Pipe culverts at Mallpost 28.86
and abandoned an adjacent box culvert.
That work is pictured on this slide.
This concludes my presentation.
I'm happy to answer any questions.
Thank you, any questions or discussion?
Seeing none, thank you very much.
And that brings us to the, I'm sorry,
that's receiving file, we'll do that, CEO report, Darren.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As reported in our earlier two committees today,
good news on the earmark front.
I don't think we have yet heard
that the final vote was taken in the Senate,
but we understand that's happening eminently.
We received a couple of earmarks,
Senators Padilla and late Senator Feinstein included 1.6 million dollars
in funding for our smart crossing technology. This will allow us to
implement four additional crossings for this new technology that was pioneered
in San Bernardino County as part of the Arrow Service. Congressman Brad Sherman
included a million dollars for a prototype track intrusion system. Cody
Nelson just spoke about safety and issues related to trespasser impacts.
This is a prototype that we're going to test on the Ventura County line between Van Nuys
and Northridge where we have had a history of trespasser strikes.
And then from a, the Riverside County Transportation Commission had submitted a request
for Metrolink double track funding and Congressman Mark Takano did include a half million
dollar earmark for that.
So with any luck before we get through the end of this week,
we will have that appropriations package completed
and we'll have those additional dollars for our projects.
A reminder that our March board meeting is March 29th.
That is a fifth Friday, not a fourth Friday.
So we need to keep that in mind for your calendars.
And at the chair's request,
the meeting will commence at 9.30 a.m.
We'll be right back here.
but at 9.30 a.m. where the board will go immediately into closed session.
A quick update on San Clemente, a good progress has been made in the last few weeks
by our design build contractor, Conden Johnson,
our own resources, our own staff, as well as Herzog,
our maintenance of way contractor all working together
to move that project along the right now the the the piles are all completed now
it's just a matter of putting in the the wood slats to start completing that
barrier. There is some passenger train travel that is happening now through the
corridor. Freight trains are going through at the dark of night, our Amtrak
Surfliner trains are going through the corridor at the earliest hours of the
morning and then right before it gets dark at night, giving us as much time for
the contractor to complete the work. We're not yet predicting exactly the
time frame as to when the project will be complete, hopefully by the end of the
month or early April and we are not running trains, you know, primarily because
we want to give the contractor as much of a window as possible to complete the
project. And then just lastly as I've mentioned in their earlier meetings
today, I want to recognize International Women's Day and all the amazing women at
the Metrolink on the Metrolink staff and and because I did the last shout out in
and the executive committee, my own mom, my wonderful wife,
and my two daughters, Maddie and Vandy.
So just a recognition of International Women's Day,
and all women, thank you for all you do.
Mr. Heck, that concludes my report.
Thank you very much.
I want to congratulate your Government of Fair staff.
That's a lot of earmarks to get, and that's a credit.
Earmarks are pretty much almost 100% relationship-based.
And kudos to you, Darren, as well as your staff
for being able to do that.
Any other questions of our CEO?
All right, goes to committee member comments.
Any comments by committee members?
And I have-
Chair, Commissioner Parker.
Go ahead.
I just want to clarify.
March 29th there, and you said 930 start time?
Yes, sir, that's correct.
930 a.m. March 29th here at the LA Metro Building.
Yep.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Any other comments?
Larry?
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The reason we're starting early on March 29th
is we are going to be evaluating our CEO at that time.
All of you should have received an email from our attorney,
which included a self-assessment by our CEO,
plus an evaluation form to fill out
and return to the legal office by the 18th.
All primary members and alternates
should fill that out and get it in.
The reason we're starting early is because L.A. has an off-site thing going at 11 or 12 some time and we wanted to get all of them involved in the evaluation.
So we will start the 29th meeting early and go immediately into closed session to perform that evaluation.
I've asked the attorney to send out that email again, so it's on top of your inbox.
And so far we've only received four evaluations.
I would ask that you really take a good look at that and please get in the evaluation.
It would be wonderful if we had 100% participation.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Any other discussion and comments?
I have none.
Meetings adjourned.
Thank you.