Morning like to call to order the
Executive Committee and
Ask for a safety briefing from Tim Morehead our interim chief safety security and compliance officer. Go ahead Tim. Good morning chair
Members of the committee today safety briefing is a reminder that in the event of a fire alarm activation
We're gonna collectively gather go downstairs
We're gonna exit the boardroom go downstairs and sage just outside of the front of Metro's customer service and wait for further instruction
In the event of an earthquake, I'm going to ask that we drop, take cover, let's wait
for the shake and the stop, and then we can make an assessment if an evacuation is warranted.
In the event of a first aid medical situation, we have a first responder in the room as well
as an AED device that is located right out across from the security desk.
In the event the first aid responder is not present, I will provide the first aid response
and ask the board secretary to alert security desk
and call 911 if needed.
And in the event of an active attacker,
let's remember the three key words, run, hide, and fight.
That concludes the safety briefing, thank you.
Thank you very much, Tim.
I've asked our vice, vice chair.
Chafee, to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Could we have a roll call, please?
Vice chair Chafee.
second Vice Chair Bergson, Director Tremblay, here, Director Najarian, here,
Chair McCallin, here, we do have a quorum present. Thank you very much. I have no
speaker slips for public comment is there anyone in the audience who wishes
to provide public comment? Seeing none we'll close that period and go on to our
regular calendar. Item 6a is our minutes from June 14th. We have a motion to
approve. We have a motion in the second roll call please. Vice Chair Chafee, second Vice
Chair Bergson. Yes. Director Tremblay. Yes. Director Najarian. Yes. Chair McCallin. Yes.
That motion carried unanimously. Thank you very much. On to item 6b presented
by Roxanne Randolph, our Human Resources Director.
Roxanne, good to see you.
Good morning, Chair and members of the committee.
I'm presenting item 6B, renewal of agreement
with Delta Dental for Dental Insurance
for Authority Employees.
Next slide, please.
The current agreement with Delta Dental
will expire December 31st, 2024.
Staff requested that Mercer Health and Benefits,
who's the agency's broker, obtain a renewal proposal
from Delta Dental for our current plans
with no plan design changes.
Delta Dental proposed no rate increase
and a two year rate guarantee through December 31st,
2026 for the HMO and PPO plans.
Next slide please.
Therefore, it's recommended that the committee recommend
that the board authorize the CEO to renew the agreement
with Delta Dental for dental insurance
for an estimated total annual cost
of approximately $385,000 based on current enrollments.
Next slide, please.
That concludes my item
and I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
Thank you, Roxanne.
Are there any questions or comments?
Second.
of a motion and a second would you call for the role please certainly I sure
chief II second vice chair Burkson yes director trembling yes director
Nigerian yes chair McCallin yes that motion carried unanimously very good
thank you Roxanne next we have a receiving file item 6C presented by
Rory long our senior manager planning and development morning and thank you
for the opportunity to speak today on the Service Growth Development Plan, the project
we've been working on for last year.
As a quick refresher, the Service Growth Development Plan seeks to build on SCORE and
the Strategic Business Plan to help build consensus around our service growth and service
transformation over the next decade.
It's the actionable specificity that we can use, and ultimately, hopefully, seeking border
adoption of a living document in the future.
We've been coming to the committee and board with updates periodically over the last year
market findings last summer, with some proposed strategies last fall, which
we've been coming to the committee with board, the committee and board updates
over the last year, market research last summer, some strategies, proposed
strategies last fall, namely to serve more markets through broader service
across the day and timed connections by design throughout the day, an
an idea that we sometimes called the pulse,
to make it easier to ride with consistent,
easy to remember clock-based type schedules,
and to power all of that with a more efficient
and cost effective service design.
And as a little aside, I believe there was a conversation
in the last committee meeting about
the relative performance of different
kind of commuter and regional railroads around the country,
and one of the star railroads in that space
in the United States in the last few years has been MBTA.
It was basically fully recovered before the pandemic.
They have gone all in.
MBTA is the Massachusetts Pay Transportation Authority.
So the Boston area.
Sorry, thank you.
Just in case.
Thank you.
I get a little jargony sometimes, I apologize.
But Boston, MBTA went all in on these kind of strategies.
Flatter service, serving more types of travel
across the day, that is paid dividends for them.
I don't have the specifics on that to report now.
We've been doing some research on that.
Hopefully, we'll come back with some of that information.
But it's a very good sign that the strategies we're planning
in the near term and long term will hopefully work for us.
Then lastly, in January at the board workshop,
staff came with proposed optimizations in growth
that are now planned for this fiscal year
that applied those strategies.
It cleared my colleagues in operation,
deserve all the credit for taking that,
making it their own and running with it,
running with it hard.
I think we are all excited for what they have underway
this year.
That being underway, though, the Service Script Development
Plan team now turns our attention to future schedules,
including weekends.
Not necessarily for immediate implementation,
but as we look towards what the future steps might be,
so that we can take the steps necessary to pursue them,
hopefully bolstered by the success that we're hoping for
with these schedules this coming year.
the next slide please so we've been taking we've undertaken some additional
market research that I did want to spend a little bit of time sharing with the
committee today I'd like to share some of those highlights now first is we did
go and update our data set looking at 2023 travel patterns just to see as
things have changed we also made some refinements based on feedback we
received in past meetings like bigger catchment areas etc and the good news is
that the weekend trends that we saw previously are continuing to hold and
And that's a good sign that the strategies we're pursuing are well-suited for the moment.
We also looked at forecasts from our, or from SCAG, or growth in the region over the next
decade, and we are forecasting that the most growth will occur in the outer parts of the
system, especially in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, which again supports our leveling
of service, implementing more bi-directional service, and then hopefully in the future
even kind of true reverse peak service, they also show though that the central
parts of the system will continue to be by sheer volume the anchors of our of
our network and so this kind of more bi-directional pattern seems well
suited. And lastly we took a first look at weak in demand in a real serious
way and we had some very interesting findings that I want to share now. One is
that weekend demand is in many ways surprisingly in a sense similar to
weekday demand across many parts of the day with two key differences and these
two key differences account for basically the entire difference in higher
demand on weekdays versus weekends. Those two differences are one, not surprisingly,
there's not a commuter peak on weekends. You don't have a lot of people going in
for white-collar nine-to-five jobs on weekends. The other key difference is
that there's a later start to the day on top of that lack of a commuter peak.
So most of the demand is occurring from the late morning to mid-evening, in some places
even into the late evening.
And just to quickly illustrate that with the next couple slides, for those among us who
are more visual, this is just looking at demand by hour across the day, weekend being that
kind of brownish-orange color, and then weekday being blue.
And you can see that, say, in the midday and evening, the weekday and weekend demand is
very similar. And the difference is basically the lack of the commuter peak and the later
start. This is looking at Union Station on this page. The next slide just has four examples
from other places around the system. We looked at lots of places around the system and aggregated
in different ways, and this same pattern holds kind of consistently throughout. The exact
details vary depending on where you are, but these trends are all consistent.
So that's the findings I wanted to share. We will be coming back in the fall with what
our recommendations would be on how to kind of move forward taking into account
this information and look forward to kind of bring those recommendations back
to you. Are there any questions I could answer while I'm here? Thank you Rory. We
do have one submitted public comment by email which we will distribute to the
board members. Every board member will receive that. Any comments, questions?
Seeing none. Thank you very much. It's a receiving file and without objection that's what the
committee will do. Next we have 6D presented by our very own Michelle Piña.
Hi good morning. Next slide please. So this is just a report on Chair McCallan's
attendance at the after rail conference in Cleveland, Ohio from June 2nd to June 4th
of this year. The cost to the agency was $1,101.24, broken down as follows.
Airfare in the amount of $635.15, lodging at $237.35, ground
transportation at $76.55, parking at $64.80, meals at $48.09,
and mileage at $39.30 for again a total cost of $1,101.24 to the agency.
That concludes my report. Happy to answer any questions.
Thank you very much, Michelle.
Question.
Go ahead.
So the tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were not reimbursable, I think.
No, only reimbursable items were presented there.
How about the Indians game?
No. Didn't have time to do...
I should have been with you on that trip, Larry.
I would have shown you a few areas, but...
Yeah, that would have been good.
Thanks for representing the agency.
Well, I want to thank, as I presented previously,
our staff that were there that made presentations,
that did a fantastic job.
We also got three awards for safety of the agency,
and our student pass program was highlighted
in the opening session of the event.
So it was a very good event.
I also found out there that since I'm on the AQ and D board
that Metra is operating tier zero engines with no problem.
And of course, we couldn't possibly do that here
or shouldn't do that here and it pointed out that we're really one
of the leaders in terms of sustainable fuels and our air quality improvements that we're
doing.
So it was an eye opener for me and the fact that they could get along in that area with
tier zero engines was just a wide open idea to me and I guess we're going to be borrowing
cars from Metro for our 28 Olympics.
That is the plan.
They have made the offer.
We're trying to figure out how to put the pieces together, but yes, sir.
Okay, very good.
But we'll try to do what we can to not take any tier zero locomotives.
Please don't.
Very good.
This is a receive and file, and without objection, that's what the committee will order.
Next is our 6E presented by Jeffrey Dunn, our director of government and community relations.
Jeffrey.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Jeff Dunn.
Good to see you, everyone.
Good morning.
please. In local matters, Metrolinx government community relations staff are
focusing on strengthening our relationship with community-based
organizations, also known as CBOs. We will hold a virtual meeting with CBOs invited
from communities around our from across our network later this month on July 25th.
The invitation list includes over 500 organizations. Our goal is to better
understand what these groups would like from our service, in addition to informing
them about all of Metrolink's enhanced fare products and enhanced service, which makes
Metrolink more accessible to their constituencies.
We hope this virtual meeting and listening session will springboard further collaboration
with and among these groups to heighten awareness of our service throughout their communities
and to encourage ridership of Metrolink system-wide.
Next slide, please.
In state matters, following the passage of the state budget, in June, that left open
how the state was going to cure the projected budget deficit for the 24-25 fiscal year,
Last week, the legislature passed AB 173,
which was the transportation trailer bill,
and it is good news for public transit
and transportation in California.
While there are some cuts to the state's
active transportation program funding
and to grade separation projects,
these are not as deep as originally recommended
by the administration.
And for transit operator funding, there were no cuts.
And believe me, there could have been.
The multi-year $5.1 billion of TIRCP funding
provided in the SB 125 budget legislation from last year
is retained with no cuts.
Significantly, 148 million of TIRCP cycle six funding
that was not allocated and was proposed to be swept
by the administration this year
was instead retained in the bill
and will be available for future allocation.
This includes $100 million of funding for projects
in Southern California and $48 million of funding
for low sand projects from cycle six.
This is great news as MetroLink will certainly apply
for TIRCP in future funding rounds.
The next TIRCP round, cycle seven, has $900 million
of funding potentially to be awarded statewide.
Also of significance, and I think you will also hear this
from our CEO, but it bears repeating,
the $2.4 billion of TIRCP funding that was frozen
by the administration this year has been lifted,
has been unfrozen, and our member agencies
will receive that funding in full.
There will be no cuts to it.
just get it a little bit later. Next slide, please. Finally, in federal matters, as noted
on the slide, the NTSB issued its report on the East Palestine derailment from last year
and with related recommendations. Since release of this report, Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee Chair Sam Graves of Missouri has not been supportive of introducing new rail
safety legislation based on the report's findings. However, a bipartisan rail safety bill has
been introduced just this week by committee members Troy Nels of Texas and Seth Bolton
of Massachusetts. The path forward for this bill is uncertain, however, but we will continue
to monitor and advise you of its provisions and impertinent developments in the future.
Also this week in D.C., there were two important, relevant hearings in the House Transportation
and Infrastructure and Appropriations Committees. On Tuesday, July 9, the Rails Subcommittee
of the House T&I Committee.
Recall, this is the same subcommittee our CEO testified before in spring of this year,
held hearings specifically on and examination of the California Air Resources Board's in
use locomotive regulation.
In short, several members expressed concern with the rule and its proposed negative impact
on supply chains and possibly bankrupting short-line freight railroads.
NELs urged the EPA to utilize federal preemption statutes to nullify the rule.
Other members, however, expressed support for the regulation and highlighted the expected
health benefits for rail-adjacent communities.
The existence of a congressional hearing on a single state regulation underscores the
impact and attention the CARB in-use locomotive rule has garnered nationally and the impact
it is expected to have on freight and passenger rail.
We will keep you apprised of any further developments at the federal level, which may bear relevance
on this regulation, which directly impacts Metrolinx operations in the future as it transitions
its fleet to the cleanest feasible technology available, currently tier 4 locomotives running
on renewable non-fossil fuels as quickly as possible.
On Wednesday, in the House Appropriations Committee, full committee markup on the FY25
HUD bill was passed by the committee largely along party lines by a vote of
31 to 26. The legislation now goes to the House floor for vote, though timing is
uncertain. Bill adheres to the spending cap set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act
of 2023, which reduces USDOT funding from current levels by about 1.3%,
which is achieved largely by proposing cuts to Amtrak and more than 1.6
billion dollars from the capital investment grants, also known as New
starts transit money which Metrolink is not eligible for but its member agencies
generally are. Relevant to Metrolink the bill proposes a 100 million dollar cut
from the CRISI program which we are eligible to apply for certain kinds of
projects. The good news though is that the earmarks for Metrolink submitted by
our delegation members and reported to the board last month by our CEO remain
in the House bill. There is no definitive word on a Senate bill though overall is
expected that the Senate FY 25 T HUD draft will be released and marked up
later this month and we will keep you apprised. This concludes my report. I'm
happy to take your questions if there are any. Thank you Jeff as usual a very
comprehensive report. Appreciate it. You mentioned the in-use locomotive rule. My
view is that due to the political opposition to approving a waiver for
California in this area that they will not do that I don't expect them to EPA
to approve a waiver for California on this in use locomotive rule that's my
personal opinion but I've seen a couple of letters sent by with many signatures
from House and Senate members to to SCPA not to improve the waiver so I don't
how that affects what we're doing in that area, but obviously it will impact
our ability to to clean some of the air, but it also gives the railroads the
opportunity to voluntarily comply with some of the issues we've been trying to
get them to apply to. Anyway, further comments? Questions? Seeing none, this is a
receiving file and without objection that's what the board will do thank you
next we have our chief executive officers report yes thanks mr. chair as
mr. Dunn indicated the good news on the state front I won't repeat that but it
is good news that that funding is flowing in a challenging budget year
certainly so the the priority that is public transit is is once again proven
out to be something that we're we're recognized for what we can do for
California and the issues that California is addressing or facing. Just a real
quick other little shout out between meetings we had our interns from the
Construction Management Association of America join us again today. I think
they're at our board meeting last month but for committee members awareness we
have an arrangement with the Southern California chapter of CMAA. They provide
interns to our engineering team based in Pomona. They're all university students
or community college students in the engineering
and construction management field.
So they get to come here and see how the sausage gets made.
So welcome again, our future engineers
in construction management professionals.
Why don't you guys go ahead and stand up.
Here we go.
Thank you.
Thanks again for joining us.
It's great having you around this summer.
It's great.
And then just one other really quick introduction.
I think only Vice Chair Chafee wasn't here for the last one,
but our new Chief People Officer Alberto Lara has joined us.
This is Alberto.
We will make sure that for those of you that are out virtually attending this meeting
that you will meet Alberto in person at our board meeting
so you can welcome him to the Metrolink team.
But that's Alberto.
So thank you.
Mr. Scherer, that concludes my remarks.
Very good. Thank you.
Well, I'm glad to see all our interns here.
I appreciate you working with us,
And hopefully, you'll gain something from the experience.
And Alberto, welcome.
We're glad to have you all the way from Yolo.
I'm sure you will enjoy your time here,
and we look forward to long tenure, please.
Any comments or questions of our CEO?
Seeing none, committee members, any comments?
Seeing none, I have none other than try to stay cool during all of this hot weather.
It's certainly cool in here. You could hang meat, but
take some of it home with you. All right, we are stand adjourned and please stay safe
over this weekend. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Have a good weekend.