SOCIAL SERVICES TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COUNCIL 

                                                                MINUTES                 February 5, 2020

Present              Voting Attendees:

                                Victor Torres                            Imperial Valley College (IVC)

                                Michael Hack – Vice-Chair       Consumer

                                Raul Cordova                            Work Training Center (WTC)

                                Sonia Silva                               Access to Independence

                                Rosalina Blankenship                Area Agency on Aging (AAA)

                                Dr. Kathleen Lang                     California Health & Wellness (CH&W)

                                David Aguirre                           CTSA–ICTC

                                Maricela Galarza                       CTSA–ICTC

                                Gustavo Gomez                         CTSA–ICTC 

                        Non-Voting Attendees:               

                                Cesar Sanchez                           IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans

                                Helio Sanchez                           IVT

                        Jose Guillen                              IVT MedTrans

                        Karla Aguilar                            IVT Ride

                        Karla Pacheco                           IVT Access

1.       Mr. Torres called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m.  A quorum was present. Introductions were made.

2.       Minutes adopted for January 9, 2020 (Hack, Silva), Motion Carried. 

3.       CTSA Reports:  

Mr. Gomez had the following updates:

-          There were about 22 ADA certifications for the month of December. 

-          IVT Ride services continue to have at least 6-7 people on average signing up per week.

-          Staff attended the Niland Community Resource Fair, where IVT and IVT Access were promoted. 

-          Mr. Gomez attended the Access to Independence open house event. 

-          Staff plans to participate in IVC’s 411 Event coming up mid-February.

-          The Unmet Transit Needs Hearing will be held on March 4, 2020. SSTAC members were invited to attend. Staff attended the Calipatria Northend Council meeting on January 27th, and

the Westshores Council meeting on February 3rd, to present brief information on the Unmet Transit Needs process. ICTC staff will be having an Unmet Transit Needs workshop in the city of Brawley, at the Brawley Council Chambers, on February 24, 2020, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. This gives another opportunity for people to provide any comments before the actual hearing. The information for dates and times can be found on the Unmet Transit Needs flyer (attached). ICTC staff also plans to attend the Bombay Beach Northend Council meeting on the 24th of February. 

• Dr. Lang asked for the number of people that usually attend the Unmet Transit Needs hearing. 

➢ Mr. Aguirre stated that attendance is usually between 10-15 people. 

• Mr. Aguirre added that in prior years the Unmet Transit Needs process only included the actual hearing that is held in the city of El Centro. ICTC is attempting to give people more opportunities to provide comments, therefore staff is attending various council meetings to share the information and will host an Unmet Transit needs workshop in the city of Brawley to further open more opportunities for people to come forward with any comments. Although, people are always free to submit any comments via mail, email, and also personally at ICTC offices, before 5:00 pm on March 3, 2020. 

Mr. Aguirre had the following updates:

-          In the past couple of years the Unmet Transit Needs hearing was normally held at the City of El Centro Chambers, but this year the location changed to the County Board of Supervisor Chambers. The attempt is to keep the Unmet Transit Needs hearing centralized to give people the opportunity to attend.

-          There are various projects ongoing for the moment. 

-          The City of El Centro is working on relocating the bus shelters on State St., between 5th and 6th st. (Old Library). There have been issues with the patients of the Imperial Valley Methadone Clinic taking over the bus stops. There is an ongoing discussion with the City of El Centro to determine if the bus shelters will be relocated to another bus stop.

-          The Clinicas de Salud bus stop is still in progress. There is still discussion between all involved parties. One of the biggest issues to arise is the bus circling out of the area. 

• Ms. Blankenship asked if all Clinicas de Salud moved to the new El Centro location.

➢ Dr. Lang explained that only the administration part moved to the El Centro location, but the Clinicas de Salud for patients continues to remain at their original locations. 

4.       FY 2020-21 Master Needs List:

                -     The FY 2020-21 Master Needs List draft was presented to SSTAC members.

• Mr. Aguirre stated that any changes and/or additions can be made to the list.

-           There were no changes and/or additions to the FY 2020-21 Master Needs List. (Lang, Silva), Motion Carried.

5.       Unmet Transit Needs Hearing Letter :

                -     Mr. Aguirre presented SSTAC members with the draft Unmet Transit Needs SSTAC letter. 

•           SSTAC members agreed to move item #2 to item #3 and move item #3 to item #2, on page 2, on the section of “In addition, the following issues and concerns are identified for consideration in order of priority for the Fiscal Year 2020-21”.

-          Final changes will be made and the final draft will be signed by Mr. Torres.  (Blankenship, Hack), Motion Carried.

-          Mr. Torres will read the letter at the Unmet Transit Needs hearing and encouraged IVT service consumers to attend. 

6.       Transit Operator Reports:

- Imperial Valley Transit: Mr. H. Sanchez reported the following: o Presented the quarterly statistics for IVT, IVT Blue Line, IVT Green Line, and IVT Gold Line. 

o Ridership for IVT services is decreasing, especially when IVC is out on a break. 

                                                                                •   Mr. Torres asked if data can be presented to the IVC body.

➢ Mr. Aguirre stated that the information can be presented and staff can arrange it where it focuses more on the IVC ridership.

•     Dr. Lang asked if an information breakdown of every community event, the stats, the fiscal impact, etc., can be shared with SSTAC members.

➢ Mr. Aguirre stated that the information can be shared and staff will develop a breakdown for SSTAC members to view. 

•     Ms. Blankenship asked if she can share the data with the AAA council members.

➢ Mr. Aguirre stated that information can be shared and staff can also provide her with the electronic version to refer to. 

                -    IVT Access: Ms. Pacheco reported the following:

o Presented the quarterly statistics for IVT Access service. o No comments from SSTAC members.

                -    IVT Ride: Ms. Aguilar reported the following:

o Presented the quarterly statistics for IVT Ride service, all cities. o No comments from SSTAC members.

                -   IVT MedTrans: Mr. Guillen reported the following:

o   Presented the quarterly statistics for IVT MedTrans service.

o   No comments from SSTAC members.

7.       General Discussion 

-          Ms. Blankenship shared her sincere appreciation to ICTC and First Transit staff in regard to the transportation of seniors to the 15th Annual Senior Appreciation Day.

-          Ms. Silva shared her gratitude for those who attended the Access to Independence open house event and extended an invitation, for those who did not get the chance to go, to visit their new office location in El Centro to see the various programs, activities, and technologies that are available to their clients.

-          Mr. Torres announced that new areas of opportunity arose for him at IVC but will continue to serve as Chairman in SSTAC. There are plans to expand non-credit courses for seniors.

8.       Adjournment

-          The meeting adjourned at 10:39 a.m. (Torres), Motion Carried. 

-          The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, at the Imperial County Transportation Commission Office, 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104, El Centro, CA 92243.