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CALTRAIN CENTRALIZED EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FACILITY MONITORING COMMITTEE February 28, 2007 Minutes Members Present: Michael Blackman, Kay Gutknecht, Councilman Sam Liccardo (arrived 6:45 p.m.), Art Lloyd, Michael Riepe, Michael Smith Members Absent: None Staff Present: Michelle Bouchard, Steve Coleman, Rita Haskin, Will Hastings, Rosemary Lake, David Olmeda, Joe Siino, Nancy Wood Attendees: Khan Bui (Councilman Liccardo’s assistant), Ron Miller (arrived 7:05 p.m.), Ben Tripousis (City of San Jose) Chair Michael Riepe called the meeting to order at 6:09 p.m. APPOINTMENT OF NEW ARENA MEMBER There is no Arena association in existence so the committee can appoint a member from the other areas. By motion (Blackman/Lloyd) Michael Smith was reappointed to the Arena slot. Khan Bui asked if the Arena will ever have an association representative and Chair Riepe said that it is very unlikely. ELECTION OF OFFICERS By motion (Blackman/Lloyd) Michael Smith was elected chair. By motion (Riepe/Lloyd) Riepe was elected vice chair. Chair Riepe said that Smith would start as chair at the April meeting. Rosemary Lake was introduced and appointed as secretary. Approved by motion (Lloyd/Smith). APPROVAL OF ORDER OF BUSINESS Order of business was approved by motion (Lloyd/Blackman). APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes from the October 25, 2006 meeting were approved by motion Lloyd/Blackman). Kay Gutknecht asked for clarification whether Councilman Sam Liccardo represents the city council or the Valley Transportation Authority. He serves on both but was appointed by the city. However, once the District 6 election is held in March, Councilman Liccardo may represent VTA and the new District 6 councilman would represent the city council. PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. STAFF REPORT Caltrain Rail Manager Michelle Bouchard gave an operations plan presentation. Bouchard reiterated that failure is not an option. Transition to the facility has to go smoothly without any impact to revenue service and on-time performance. This will be accomplished in phases beginning in June. The train washer will be activated in phase 1 which begins in June. Information covered included: Phase 1: shift orientation and practice train drills; Phase 2: locomotive maintenance during 1st shift; Phase 3: 1st shift begins passenger car schedule maintenance, 2nd shift is wheel truing and 3rd shift would have no scheduled shop activity; Phase 4: move all remaining functions to the facility, all trains cycled through the facility, cease fueling in San Francisco and move to Diridon. Committee had specific objectives regarding noise and wanted a curfew, but didn’t get, along the same lines as the airport. Tripousis asked how the pit-stop approach impacts trains getting in and out. Bouchard envisioned limited amount of time that the trains will be kept in. Need to keep rolling stock out where it needs to be. Coleman said during the pit stop trains may come in just for fuel and nothing else. Amtrak will be monitoring the trains as to when service needs to be done. We will know ahead of time what train needs what when it comes in. Chair Riepe said a noise consultant was brought in at the beginning of the project and the decibel was set. Miller said then basically the committee is here to placate people. Chair Riepe said that the staff has addressed issues and the operations plan is coming together. The committee was concerned about the level of noise generated by the train washer. Project Manager Joe Siino stated the noise design criteria for the dryers is 80 decibels. For comparison, pile driving is about 100 decibels. He will notify the committee when testing of the train wash facility begins. Tentatively this is scheduled for late April. Maintenance Director David Olmeda told the committee that there likely will be adjustments that need to be made when the testing begins. The committee asked why the trains couldn’t drip dry. Olmeda said that the water quality in California etches windows and the water softner alone will not solve this problem. Customer satisfaction is a concern. Bouchard said they have put a lot of effort into the objectives and how the operating plan was put together. The committee will tour the facility when phase 2 starts. Committee and neighborhoods must realize the robust revenue service begins at 4:30 a.m. during the week. Committee would like detailed maintenance schedule at the April meeting. Using a site map and model of the facility, staff will show the step-by-step train maintenance process. Olmeda said that 96 trains will be going through the facility, but not every train will be at the yard at the exact time each day. Olmeda said there is some complexity in getting the facility opened. We need to move the labor force out of San Jose into the new facility and at the same time keep the service going. Phase 1 is for the employees to learn what is going to happen and to learn to do minor repairs/inspections. The committee will hold a special meeting in June to address any issues that arise from implementation of Phase 1. CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT Chair Riepe reported that the airport has noise monitoring equipment and he contacted the airport noise abatement manager about using equipment to check the noise generated by CEMOF. Unfortunately, the equipment is calibrated only for aircraft noise. COMMITTEE REPORT There were no reports from any of the committee members. OLD BUSINESS Track screeching: Siino said that to date, UP management has not responded to any calls or e-mails. However, the local crews have indicated that they have not been directed to maintain the greaser. JPB had Amtrak check the greaser and found that it needed some servicing which was done and grease was added. The machine did have grease in it and the grease was being dispensed. Lloyd will make contact with UP. Chair Riepe wants to know how far the greaser is dragging. Gutknecht doesn’t feel the greaser is doing its job and solving the issue of the screeching. Siino will try to check how far the grease is being applied to the rails north of the greaser. Stockton/Taylor entrance: Siino said that the wall construction on Lenzen started and should be completed by the end of May. There will be landscaping in front of the wall. Siino is concerned that the landscaping may have to be eliminated at the Taylor Street entrance because the island has many above ground utilities and because the City of San Jose Water Company has mandated that there be no trees or landscaping were the water line goes into the facility. Street sweeping: Siino said he continues to have the streets cleaned and believes this item could be closed out on the open items log. Riepe indicated that the concern was on Stockton Avenue and not on Lenzen. It was agreed that this item can be closed since dirt on Stockton Avenue is not from CEMOF trucks. Shared objective A-6 – insulation of building: Siino spoke with the designer and the panels on the outside of the entire building are insulated and the roof has a thick layer of insulation board. Siino will find out the insulation rating. Although the insulation is for heat and not sound, it will dampen the sound. Siino said there is no insulation on the end doors. It was asked for Siino to report what the sound installation requirements are. Bylaw status: Megan Doyle is working with Councilman Liccardo’s staff to get the recommended bylaws changes on the council agenda. Riepe asked if the council can appoint the alternates at the same time. Chair Riepe said that a quarterly report needs to be completed and sent to Caltrain, the city and VTA. It was decided that the committee would be Chair Riepe, Smith and Blackman. Adjourned Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Remaining meeting dates for 2007 – April 25, July 25, Oct. 25.