SOCIAL SERVICES TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COUNCIL

                        MINUTES                 October 2, 2019

Present              Voting Attendees:

Victor Torres – Chair                Imperial Valley College

Michael Hack – Vice-Chair       Consumer

Ted Ceasar                               Consumer

Sarah M. Enz                            Area Agency on Aging/Public Administrator

Monica De Leon                       Area Agency on Aging

Erika Martinez                         ARC-Imperial Valley

Dr. Kathleen Lang                    California Health & Wellness

Julio De Leon                           Towards Maximum Independence

Sonia Silva                               Access to Independence

David Aguirre                         CTSA– ICTC

Maricela Galarza                      CTSA–ICTC

Gustavo Gomez                        CTSA–ICTC

                        Non-Voting Attendees:            

Karla Aguilar                           IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans

                          Karla Pacheco                          IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans

                        Jose Guillen                             IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans

                        Liz Santucci                             Caltrans

1.       Mr. Torres called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.  A quorum was present. Introductions were

made.

2.       Minutes adopted for September 4, 2019 (Ceaser/Hack), Motion Carried.

3.       CTSA Reports:            

Mr. Gomez had the following updates:

-          IVT Access service had 15 certifications for the month of September

-          There was an average of 4-5 sign ups per week for the IVT Ride service during the summer              

                    months.

-          Staff attended the West Shores Advisory Committee meeting on September 12, 2019.

-          To help promote IVT Ride West Shores service, brochures were distributed in the West Shores area including; High School, Elementary School, Community Center, etc. The staff is anticipating to do the same in the following months.

-          MMP staff will be attending the 15th Annual Senior Health Fair in Calexico and the 7th Annual Employment and Resource Fair in El Centro.

·         Mr. Aguirre added that staff anticipates reaching out to the West Shores area every couple of months to explain the service and/or reiterate information to residents. The service is unique to other cities because it is offered to the general public.

Mr. Aguirre had the following updates:

-          The AVL project is expected to be implemented by the end of this year. The status of the project currently stands where data is being reviewed in terms of where the bus stops are located. There will be a period of training for staff and passengers.

-          The Fare Study is ongoing, outreach is expected to begin in a couple of months. Outreach will include IVC, city bus transfer terminals and other locations within Imperial County.

-          Ms. Williams has retired. Staff is doing their best to continue operations as usual. Any feedback to help ICTC be more effective in this transition is welcomed.

4.       A presentation was made by Mr. Aguirre to review IVT transit services offered by ICTC: statistics, capacities, number of buses for each service, outreach material, etc.(Attached)

·         Mr. Aguirre added that ICTC staff will be looking into modifying the presentation and bus showcase in the future for similar meetings.

·         Mr. Aguirre mentioned that the reason for a long term contract with the current transit operator is because of the foreseen construction plans of an ICTC facility. The plans include one facility that will contain ICTC offices, operator staff offices, and the bus yard.

·         Mr. Aguirre stated that there are still plans to expand the IVT Blue Line to include a stop at the Clinical de Salud. It is taking longer to implement due to the developer owning the location instead of the city. It is still an ongoing process, still waiting for a response from the developer. Contact was made a week ago, and there has been no response. Once, permission is granted, the City of El Centro will be responsible to add a bus stop.

o   Dr. Lang asked where is the closest bus stop?

Ø  Mr. Aguirre stated that the closest bus stop is at the mall by Cinemark, but IVT Ride and IVT Access drop passengers off directly at the Clinica de Salud.

Ø  Dr. Lang offered her support, if needed, to add the bus stop to Clinica de Salud.

·         Mr. Aguirre stated that a potential stop to service the ECRMC-medical center facility is currently being reviewed.

5.       General Discussion

-          Mr. Aguirre strongly recommended SSTAC members to participate in presenting information on their agencies for the next meeting in November. Mr. Aguirre stated that a powerpoint is not needed, it can be just to inform other agencies of purpose, clientele served, if they have transportation services, etc.

·         Ms. Galarza added that the information given by agencies is beneficial to MMP staff, thus allowing staff to provide clientele with the proper information and possibly other transportation options.

-          Mr. Ceaser announced that Northern Arizona University students are in the process to do an internship in Social Work and are looking to expand their options. If students are required to do the hours in two semesters, this will amount to 20 hours per week. If students are required to do the hours in one semester, then it would be 40 hours per week. The Northern Arizona University is looking to develop partnerships with local agencies, and agencies interested can contact Mr. Ceasar at ted.ceaser.@nau.edu.

-          Ms. Silva announced that Access To Independence will be hosting their 7th Annual Employment and Resource Fair, on October 16, 2019, from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm. It will be located at the Social Services, CalWorks building, 2895 S. 4th St. The fee for registration will be waived, flier containing information will be sent to Ms. Galarza so it can be distributed to all SSTAC members.

6.       Adjournment

-          The meeting adjourned at 10:54 a.m. (Torres), Motion Carried.

-          The next meeting will be held on November 6, 2019, at the Imperial County Transportation Commission Office, 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104, El Centro, CA 92243.