Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Planning Department Transportation Committee met February 01.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

Members in attendance: Mike Butler, Good Shepherd Manor, Laura Dick, Show Bus; Michelle Brutlag, River Valley METRO Mass Transit District; Michael Roof, Veteran’s Assistance Center, Kankakee County; Michelle Allen, Cornerstone Services; John Bevis, Kankakee County Health Dept.; Jeannette Tetreault, Thresholds; Jennifer Cappellano, Options CIL, Jamal Smith, McLean County RPC.

Others in attendance: Geoff Olson, Kankakee County Planning Department.

Call to Order:

Chairman Butler called the meeting to order at 10:33 am, welcomed everyone and asked that everyone introduce themselves.

Public Comment:

None

Approval of Minutes:

Mr. Roof made a motion to approve the minutes as presented from November 29, 2016. Ms. Tetreault seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Addition/Change of Committee Members:

Mr. Olson said there had been some changes in staff at member agencies and that the Committee membership should updated to reflect those changes. The change includes Mr. John Bevis representing the Kankakee County Health Department and Jennifer Cappellano from Options CIL. Ms. Brutlag motioned to approve the membership changes. Mr. Roof seconded the motion. Motion carried.

HSTP Coordinator Issues:

Mr. Smith said the HSTP contract between McLean County RPC and IDOT will begin July 1, 2017 and will last for two years. The funding amount is expected to remain the same as the current contract. He said the HSTP will likely have some revisions next year.

Agency Transportation Needs, Interagency Coordination and Accessibility Issues:

Ms. Brutlag said the grant for accessibility improvements at bus stops is still on hold.

Ms. Dick said SHOW BUS is continuing to provide longer trips for riders because of consolidating social services. She said they did not get the low-rider bus because funds are held up with the state budget, however there may be an opportunity to borrow a low-rider bus from Springfield MTD because the buses are not working out as well as expected for urban service.

There were complaints about the ramp being too steep for riders. It would allow a trial service of a low-rider in a rural atmosphere.

Disability/Aging/Transportation Issues:

Ms. Tetreault said they are thankful that METRO has been able to continue providing service so clients of Thresholds are able to have transportation. Ms. Brutlag asked if Thresholds had lost a state grant that was for helping individuals leave nursing homes that were willing and able to. Ms. Tetreault said it ended about a year ago.

Ms. Allen said she is waiting to hear about the status of their CVP vehicle application. They had to remove a vehicle from service that is past its useful life and is leasing a vehicle for the meantime. Ms. Brutlag said METRO is willing to work with Cornerstone to provide rides for their clients. Initially there were some kinks with service trips, but those have since been worked out and riders are successfully using METRO’s service.

Ms. Cappellano said they too are missing METRO’s full service, but very thankful there is still service available. Ms. Brutlag said in October they had a youth program to introduce METRO Plus service to youth clients, which has been successful. She offered to have METRO train more clients to use METRO’s service.

Mr. Butler reported that Good Shepherd Manor is continuing to provide trips with their vehicles and the help of Show Bus to their residents.

Mr. Bevis said he is not aware of any transportation issues. On very cold days, the Health Dept. has opened of the atrium early so that riders getting off METRO had somewhere warm they can wait for the Department to open.

Mr. Olson said Kankakee County has sent out letters of interest to transportation providers for rural transit service for the upcoming 2018 fiscal year.

Mr. Roof said they are waiting to hear the status of their CVP application. Their vehicle needed the heater core to be replaced. The Veteran’s Assistance Center has a new board member who has suggested contacting Ford directly and finding out what options are available to acquire a new vehicle.

Program Status of Transportation Providers:

Ms. Dick said she attended the IPTA board meeting. Some of the 5311 providers have been notified about their CVP application awards, but private providers will still be a while because of low staffing levels at IDOT. The low-rider bus vendor’s bid has expired. DOAP contracts are currently under review by the Attorney General’s Office for contract compliance with state statute. There has still not been a transfer of $160 M to the downstate operating fund to catch up with the current reimbursement requests. Some transit agencies have cut service in anticipation of funds not being dispersed in the near future. Some of the social service agencies that were forced to close have reopened.

Ms. Brutlag said she has been working on a map that illustrates DOAP recipients in Downstate Illinois. She said all but one county receive DOAP funds for transportation, but very few state representatives are aware of it. METRO had applied for 13 super medium duty buses in the CVP application. They were notified that they were awarded 9 of them, which will help out greatly, once they are received. They are expected to be delivered in the middle of 2018 and METRO was given the option of choosing diesel or gasoline engines.

Questions from the Media:

None.

New Business:

Mr. Olson informed everyone that registration is open for the Rural Transit Assistance Center (RTAC) Conference, which will be April 5 and 6 in Springfield, IL.

Next Meeting:

The next CTC meeting will be on March 28, 2017 at 10:30 am at River Valley METRO.

The next Region 6 HSTP Meeting will be on February 6, 2017 at 10:00 am at the historic courthouse in Pontiac, IL.

Adjournment:

Chairman Butler asked if there was any other business to come before the committee. There was none. Mr. Roof motioned to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Brutlag seconded the motion. Motion Carried. Chairman adjourned the meeting at 11:05 am.

http://planning.k3county.net/files/committee/2017_02_01_ctc_minutes.pdf