MEMBERS PRESENT : José Cisneros, Don Gage, Jim Hartnett Arthur Lloyd, John McLemore, Stuart Sunshine, Ken Yeager

MEMBERS ABSENT : Sophie Maxwell

MTC LIAISON PRESENT : Sue Lempert

STAFF PRESENT :  George Cameron, Rita Haskin, Gigi Harrington, Chuck Harvey, Jennifer Hardie, Raymond Lee, Ian McAvoy, David Miller, Michael Scanlon, Mark Simon

Vice-Chair Yeager called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR 2006
Director Lloyd reported that the Nominating Committee met and recommend that Ken Yeager serve as chair with José Cisneros as vice-chair.

The motion to accept the appointment of Yeager as chair and Cisneros as vice-chair for 2006 was unanimously approved.

PUBLIC COMMENT
Doug DeLong, Mountain View, said it would be beneficial to have a presentation from the California High Speed Authority regarding regulations specific to high speed rail since he doesn’t believe there are current regulations for trains traveling in excess of 150 miles per hour.

Linda Wally alleged she was wrongly issued a citation for riding Caltrain without a ticket and has had several discourteous encounters with the conductor who issued her the citation.

Michael Scanlon, Executive Director, said staff would be in touch with her to discuss the matter.

CONSENT CALENDAR
Director Lloyd corrected the December 8 minutes to reflect the Federal Railroad Association Administration under his statement on page 4 of 6.

Linda Wally alleged she was wrongly issued a citation for riding Caltrain without a ticket and has had several discourteous encounters with the conductor who issued her the citation.

The Board unanimously approved the following items under the Consent Calendar:

1. Approval of Revised Minutes of December 8, 2005


2. Acceptance of Statement of Revenues and Expenses for November 2005


3. Increase in Contract Authority Not to Exceed $200,000 to O.C. Jones & Sons, Inc. for Accessibility Improvements and Utility Work Arounds on the Hillsdale Outboard Platform Project (Resolution 2006-1)

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT
No report this month.

MTC LIAISON REPORT
No report this month. The MTC liaison will report at the February meeting.

REPORT OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CAC)
No report this month. A CAC representative will report at the February meeting.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Michael Scanlon, Executive Director, reported:

Caltrain Performance Statistics for November 2005:

1. Total Ridership was up 11.2 percent from 751,806 riders to 835,987.


2. Average Weekday Ridership was up 10 percent, from 29,337 riders to 32,260.


3. Total Revenue was up 32.1 percent from $1.79 million to $2.37 million.


4. On-time Performance was down 5.4 percent from 98.4 percent to 93.1 percent.


5. Shuttle Ridership was up 9.4 percent from 3,918 riders to 4,286.



• A previously approved 5.6 percent, 25-cent on the base, fare increase was implemented January 1, which will yield $1.2 million annually.
• Year to date fuel costs are approximately 40-cents over budget per gallon. Staff estimates that fuel will be approximately $1.5 million over budget at the end of the fiscal year, which will be offset by expense savings.
• There were two fatalities during December, one on December 9 and the other December 24. There were a total of ten fatalities for 2005, the majority appearing to be suicides.
• Construction at Hillsdale station caused morning delays December 19 due to a track tamper breakdown. Public Information staff left flyers on the seats of all trains apologizing for the inconvenience.
• On New Years Eve, Caltrain service was free of charge after 11 p.m. It is estimated that there were more than 4,000 total additional passengers on the extra northbound train and three southbound trains.
• In addition to operating its regular weekday service on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 16, Caltrain will run the annual Freedom Train, taking people to San Francisco.
• Caltrain will offer service to those attending the International Soccer match between Norway and the United States of America on February 10 at SBC Park in San Francisco.
• The monthly Safety and Security Report was distributed.
• Public comment: Louis Lem, representing the American Automobile Association (AAA), said AAA staff has been analyzing the petroleum issues for the past six months. It is expected that there will be an upward movement in the cost of fuel in the next few months. He said they will continue to monitor the issue.

APPROVAL OF THE INITIAL PROJECT REPORT FOR THE REAL TIME TRANSIT INFORMATION PROJECT
Ian McAvoy, Chief Development Officer, said Staff Coordinating Council (SCC) recommends that the Board approve the Initial Project Report (IPR) for the Real Time Transit Information Project for submission to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and to authorize the Executive Director to execute any necessary documents or agreements to receive the Regional Measure 2 (RM2) funds for the Real Time Transit Information project.

The MTC approved $2,694,000 in RM2 Funds for the Caltrain Real Time Train Predictive Arrival GPS System project. The MTC requires that a board-approved IPR be submitted, which will provide the basis for allocating RM2 funds to the subject project.

Francis Wong, Mountain View, did not endorse the IPR because it only outlined nine stations for the enhancement and it did not identify linkage with the current system. The proposed system appeared to be maintenance intensive and would not be website friendly.

The motion (Lloyd/Hartnett) to approve submission of the Real Time Transit Information Project IPR to MTC was unanimously approved and Resolution 2006-2 was adopted.

FY2006 DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (DBE) STATUS REPORT
Raymond Lee, DBE Officer, said this informational report was intended to inform the Board of progress towards achieving the DBE goal for federal fiscal year 2006, from October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006. Presently, the JPB is achieving its DBE goal for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) assisted contracts awarded this fiscal period. Thus far, the JPB has obtained a DBE participation rate of 19.6 percent for new contracts awarded since October 2005. This compares favorably against a goal of 9.2 percent established by the Board for FTA-assisted contracts.

Staff projects that year-end results, however, are likely to be less than the established goal, which is attributable to the request by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) that DBE participation not only be reported when contracts are awarded but also when contracts are completed. The JPB expects a number of contracts awarded in prior years to be completed in FY 2006. Specifically, contracts awarded in FY 2005, which have a low DBE participation rate, will affect this year’s figure when these contracts are completed and counted. Also, the JPB has made a conscientious decision to defer the use of race- and gender-based consideration in the award and administration of its contracts because the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled against the use of contract-specific goals by Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). Until further guidance is issued by USDOT, the JPB will rely solely on race-neutral measures to achieve its DBE goal.

QUARTERLY CAPITAL PROJECT STATUS AND ELECTRIFICATION REPORT
Ian McAvoy, Chief Development Officer, said staff is looking to complete a mass schedule of operations for many capital projects, implementing projects with a minimal amount of impact on the system and linking projects for cost and scheduling effectiveness. Mr. McAvoy highlighted the Burlingame, California Avenue, Atherton and Broadway station improvement projects and said staff is currently analyzing bids received for the technical aspects of the Caltrain Maintenance Facility (CEOMF) project, which were significantly higher than the engineers estimate. Mr. McAvoy also noted that the North Terminal Operations Improvement project is progressing with the scope finalization and a financial plan is being prepared for the San Bruno/South Linden Grade Separation project. Mr. McAvoy said staff has been working diligently with California Public Utilities Commission and other regulatory agencies to ensure that a regulatory framework is in place to move forward with electrification. However, an updated cost estimate needs to be completed for submittal to MTC, which will include project segmentation. Mr. McAvoy said the Board will continue to see enhancements to the quarterly report on the scope, schedule and budget levels and more specific issues will be detailed.

Director McLemore said the MTC board is preparing to approve the latest electrification costs. The Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority (VTA) board is debating participation in electrification due to costs of the total electrification package. He said he hoped Caltrain staff would focus on savings and minimize the cost increases for electrification. He would also like to see the impact of electrification from Tamien to Gilroy.

Director Gage said he supported project segmentation due to the varying prices of construction because smaller contractors can bid.

Director Lloyd asked if staff has looked into only purchasing electrical locomotives while initially using existing equipment for cost savings.

Mr. Scanlon said that electrification is a priority project but not an all inclusive project. The rolling stock needs to be replaced in the near future regardless of electrification, so equipment is not a true cost of the project. Mr. Scanlon said ultimately, he would like to see electric multiple units (EMU) operating on the Caltrain system. Mr. Scanlon said projects need to be phased and many projects will be moving forward simultaneously to enhance the railroad.

Director McLemore asked that staff consider alternate power suppliers other than Pacific Gas & Electric.

Mr. McAvoy said he will be bringing all electrification policy issues to the board on an as-needed basis, which may fall between the quarterly capital project reports.

CORRESPONDENCE
Previously distributed.

BOARD MEMBER REQUESTS
None.

REPORT OF LEGAL COUNSEL
None.

ADJOURNED
The meeting adjourned at 11:26 a.m.