MEMBERS PRESENT: John McLemore, Jose´ Cisneros, Don Gage, Jim Hartnett, Arthur Lloyd, Sophie Maxwell (arrived at 10:14 a.m.), Michael Nevin, Ken Yeager

MEMBERS ABSENT: Michael Burns

MTC LIASON: Sue Lempert

STAFF PRESENT: George Cameron, Joan Cassman, Cheryl Cavitt, Robert Doty, Rita Haskin, Gigi Harrington, Jennifer Hardie, Ian McAvoy, David Miller, Michael Scanlon, Mark Simon

Chair Nevin called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. and Director Lloyd led the Pledge of Allegiance.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Jeff Carter, Burlingame, suggested increasing Baby Bullet capacity. He would like to see the full data from the six-month Baby Bullet survey and the passenger counts done in October.

Sean Morgan, representing the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Division 65, thanked the Citizens Advisory Committee for the resolution they passed honoring the Baby Bullet service. In light of the Glendale train accident, he reminded the Board that the BLET and the California State Legislative Board are against push-pull service.

Ed De Lanoy, San Carlos, suggested having a Caltrain scheduling policy like BART. He also said that crude oil prices will remain above $40 per barrel so he suggested running three-car trains.

CONSENT CALENDAR

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

1. Approval of Minutes of January 6, 2005
2. Request to Approve a 5-year Lease of JPB Property to Bay Meadows Racing Association and Request for JPB to Lease Property from Bay Meadows Racing Association for a 5-year Term {Resolution 2005-07}

CHAIRPERSONS REPORT

Chair Nevin said a State Senate Committee meeting would be held in Santa Clara Friday, February 4, at 9:30 a.m. Many will testify regarding the governor's proposed budget and possible cuts, including Proposition 42 transportation funds.

MTC LIAISON REPORT (SUE LEMPERT)

In Ms. Lempert's absence, Michael Scanlon, Executive Director, reported on her behalf and said the Bay Bridge costs overrun issue is still unresolved.

REPORT OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CAC)

Brian Wilfley reported on the January 19 CAC meeting:

• Stacey Ingersoll, Engineer, gave a presentation regarding the Santa Clara improvement projects.
• The CAC is eager to have new validator machines procured and installed at key stations.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Michael J. Scanlon reported:

• Key Caltrain Performance Statistics for December 2004 compared with December 2003:
1. Average Weekday Ridership was up 16.6 percent, from 22,863 riders to 26,653.
2. Total Ridership was up 19.8 percent from 592,114 riders to 709,423.
3. Total Revenue was up 19.9 percent from $1.39 million to $1.67 million.
4. On-Time Performance was at 97.4 percent versus 93.7 percent.
5. Shuttle Ridership was down 1.9 percent from 2,863 riders to 2,808.
Mr. Scanlon said December was the seventh consecutive month that ridership and revenue increased and the fifth consecutive month that the increase was in double digits.
• A board workshop will be held in March to discuss the budgetary constraints for the next fiscal year.
• The Freedom Train operated on January 17 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. There were nearly 2,000 riders, the highest ridership level ever.
• The Macworld Expo and the East/West Shrine game were in January.
• The monthly Safety and Security Report was distributed.
• Students from the graduate program at Stanford University have enrolled in the GO Pass program.

Mr. Scanlon said the data shows total ridership and average weekday ridership. Average weekday ridership eliminates the variance between the number of weekdays in a month because it is an average.

STATEMENT OF REVENUES & EXPENSES, DECEMBER 2004

Virginia Harrington, Chief Financial Officer, said staff is proposing to reduce the FY2005 budget's farebox revenue by $1.5 million based on revenue received. Staff also is proposing to decrease expenditures by reducing the budget for the Amtrak contract by $760,000, based on the first six months of the fiscal year. Staff also is proposing to increase the budget for fuel by $1.1 million based on the anticipated fuel prices this year. The net effect of the proposed revenue and expenditure budget revisions increases budgeted use of JPB reserves by $1.8 million to $9.8 million for FY 2005. JPB reserves at the end of the FY 2005 are projected to be $1.4 million. Ms. Harrington said FY 2006 is of great concern because there will not be sufficient funding sources or sufficient capital to support projected expenditures at current levels of service. Staff is proposing to hold a budget workshop in March to discuss a number of developing budget, service and fare scenarios.

Director Hartnett asked how $1.4 million in reserves compares historically to amounts left in reserves.

Mr. Scanlon said $1.4 million is very low. But, after having the railroad closed for two years to build the infrastructure for Baby Bullet, staff felt it was imperative to operate weekend service even if it meant using reserves and one-time funding sources.

Director Harnett asked if a reserve policy would be discussed at the budget workshop.

Mr. Scanlon said that issue could be addressed but the workshop will focus on the FY 2006 budget.

Director Gage said he also supports establishing a reserve policy.

Director Yeager asked what the ridership projections were compared to actual ridership. He suggested having the projections included in the monthly performance report. Director Yeager also asked if there was a policy restricting the number of trains that can be wrapped.

Mr. Scanlon said although the ridership numbers are very good, revenue is down because the majority of trips are short distance. In terms of wrapping, there is a three-train maximum at this time.

Director Lloyd urged that the windows in the vestibules be clear because the conductors can't see out at night.

Mr. Scanlon said there is a provision in the Request for Proposals to have a percentage of the windows clear, including the vestibule.

Director Gage said the timing of the Gilroy service should be examined. He suggested doing a count and perhaps adjusting train times for more convenience.

Mr. Scanlon said because there are only two short passing tracks, there is not a lot of flexibility but staff can look into it.

Director Cisneros said he is interested in seeing how the JPB intends to restore the reserves.

Mr. Scanlon said in the long term it would be ideal to get the reserve replenished but in the interim the JPB needs to focus on maintaining or possibly improving service.

Director Gage asked if it would be beneficial to create an ad-hoc reserve policy committee to represent each county and its respective needs.

Mr. Scanlon said the suggestion could be explored.

The motion to accept the Statement of Revenues & Expenses was approved unanimously.

AWARD OF HILLSDALE OUTBOARD PLATFORM IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT

Cheryl Cavitt, Director Contracts and Procurement, said Staff Coordinating Council (SCC) recommends the board award the subject contract to the lowest, responsive bidder, O.C. Jones & Sons of Berkeley, for $4,185,957 and to authorize the Executive Director or his designee to execute a contract in full conformity with the terms and conditions of the solicitation documents.

Director Nevin asked why the engineer's estimate and the award amount are so different.

Ms. Cavitt said a detailed analysis by staff identified two items that resulted in the discrepancy, including the communication system component of all the bids. The engineer's estimate did not include material costs for spot tie replacement, she said.

The motion to award the contract to O.C. Jones & Sons was approved unanimously, by roll call, and Resolution 2005-08 was adopted.

REPORT OF LEGAL COUNSEL

Closed Session: Conference with Legal Counsel - Closed Session pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9: Pacific Gas & Electric Company v. Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, Santa Clara Superior Court Case No. 104CV024517

Closed session commenced at 10:40 a.m. to discuss the above referenced closed session item. Regular session reconvened at 10:55 a.m.

Mr. Miller said the board met in closed session to discuss a proposed settlement regarding an eminent domain action filed by Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) to acquire two easements located near the intersections of West Taylor and Stockton Avenue and University Avenue and Stockton Avenue in San Jose.

The motion to accept the proposed settlement with PG&E was approved unanimously, by roll call, and Resolution 2005-09 was adopted.

CORRESPONDENCE

Previously distributed.

DATE/TIME OF NEXT MEETING

Thursday, March 3, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. at the San Mateo County Transit District Administrative Building, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, CA 94070.

ADJOURNED

Meeting adjourned at 10:58 a.m.