MEMBERS PRESENT: John McLemore (Chair), Michael Burns, Jose´ Cisneros, Don Gage, Jim Hartnett, Arthur Lloyd, Michael Nevin, Ken Yeager

MEMBERS ABSENT: Sophie Maxwell

MTC LIASON: Sue Lempert

STAFF PRESENT: George Cameron, Joan Cassman, Cheryl Cavitt, Rita Haskin, Jennifer Hardie, Raymond Lee, Martha Martinez, Ian McAvoy, David Miller, Michael Scanlon, Mark Simon, Larry Stueck

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

He requested that agenda item 10, Award of Contract for Providing On-Call Engineering and Construction Management Services for $80,000,000 for up to Five Years, and agenda item 11, Adoption of the Caltrain Short Range Transit Plan, be taken out of order after the Chairperson's Report on behalf of Director Gage who needed to leave the meeting early.

The motion to take the agenda items out of order was approved unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Margaret Okuzumi, representing BayRail Alliance, said that they are pleased the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to condemn the 80 Natoma parcel, helping to clear the way for the Transbay Terminal project and the Caltrain downtown extension.

Ed DeLanoy, San Carlos, reported that last February when crude oil was $35/barrel, he wrote to the board suggesting that the number of cars on less-patronized off-peak trains be cut from five to three cars to save fuel. Shortly thereafter, he was pleased to note many four-car off-peak trains, including weekends. Mr. DeLanoy said that predictions are for approximately $52/barrel in December and in the high 40's in early 2005. Therefore, this board may wish to inquire if still shorter off-peak trains might provide both operational savings and immediate environmental improvements, including less locomotive noise, without compromising passenger comfort. He noted that the significantly shorter off-peak trains are a standard practice with BART and VTA light rail, as well as Caltrain's predecessor, Southern Pacific.

Jeff Carter, Burlingame, is pleased with the recent passenger counts and surveys. He suggested that in addition to the surveys, there should be comment cards available so that riders can leave written comments regarding service.

Francis Wong, said that with increased terrorists alerts, he would like to inform Amtrak police, security planning officials and Caltrain operating personnel that Saturday, October 16 is 2004 Day in North America. This is an annual coordinated project by over 300 rail fan photographers from Alaska to Mexico, who document typical railroad activities during a selected 24-hour period.

CONSENT CALENDAR

Director Lloyd requested that the Minutes of September 2 be removed from the consent calendar for refinement. He said that on page 5 of 9, bullet 10, the sentence should read "…there were several incidents where inventions interventions…" Additionally on page 5 of 9 under the discussion of Operation Lifesaver, he said that "Captain Moreno" should read, "Captain Martino." He also inserted, "Director Lloyd, on behalf of Operation Lifesaver, thanked Chris Payne and Mark Hennessey who are participating tremendously with the program."

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

1. Adoption of Revised Minutes of September 2, 2004
2. Statement of Revenue & Expenses, June 2004 (Unaudited)
3. Statement of Revenue & Expenses, August 2004
4. Request approval of a five-year lease to Markus Merlino DBA Caffe D'Amore at the Caltrain station at 4th and King Streets in San Francisco

CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT

Chair McLemore reported:

• Caltrain received the MTC Grand Award for the Baby Bullet. The award ceremony was held on September 22. Senator Jackie Speier was awarded Legislator of the Year and Jim Bigelow received the Valuable Citizen Award. The same video clip of the Baby Bullet that was shown at the MTC award ceremony was played.
• VTA is reviewing its plans for the future. They desire to work as a partner with Muni and Caltrain in identifying the issues regarding electrification, which will also be included within the VTA Strategic Plan. A letter was hand-delivered to Mr. Scanlon (General Manager of SamTrans) and Director Burns (General Manager of SF Muni) from Pete Cipolla (General Manger of the Valley Transportation Authority).

AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR PROVIDING ON-CALL ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR $80,000,000 FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS

Cheryl Cavitt, director of Contracts and Procurement, said that the Staff Coordinating Council (SCC) recommends approval of on-call, no guarantee contracts for engineering and construction management support services for a two-year base period to HNTB Corporation, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc. (PB) and Parsons Transportation Group, Inc. (PTG). The award is contingent upon the firms meeting the state's pre-award audit requirements. The SCC also is recommending authorization for the Executive Director to execute contracts with the above firms in full conformity with the terms and conditions set forth in the solicitation contract documents and to exercise up to three subsequent one-year options if it is deemed in the best interest of the JPB. The total aggregate services by the three firms over the two-year base period are anticipated to total $55 million, with three one-year options expected to total an additional $25 million.

Approval of the above actions will allow the JPB to continue with a ready mechanism to provide multi-discipline engineering and construction management support services to assist with the execution of various projects in the JPB-approved Caltrain Capital Budget.

The award of specific tasks will be administered through the work directive process currently in place. The award of the tasks will be on a case-by-case basis, according to such factors as availability, expertise and avoidance of any potential conflict of interests.

Funding for each work directive will be identified and programmed before the work is assigned to any of the three General Engineering Consultants (GECs). A variety of funding mechanisms and sources are used for each specific project that may include Federal, State and local sources. Other tasks also may be funded in part or in full under a grant from the State of California via the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Transit Administrations (FTA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), local government agencies and/or private sector developers.

The amount proposed herein for contract authority has been taken into account as part of the JPB-approved Caltrain Capital Budget for each project contemplated, and does not represent a separate amount on top of that budget.

Seventy firms downloaded the Request for Proposals (RFP) from the JPB's website. Six proposals were received. Proposals were reviewed and evaluated in accordance with the criteria and weighting stated within the RFP. The Evaluation Committee performed the preliminary evaluation and determined the ranking of the six proposers. The four top-ranked firms were included in the short list and were invited for interviews. After completion of the interviews, the committee met to complete the final evaluation and determined a consensus ranking of the three top firms.

At the time the RFP was published, staff estimated the total aggregate amount needed for the on-call consulting services over the five-year contract period to be $60 million. Subsequently, staff undertook a restructuring of the strategy for how we provide architect and engineering contracts for the JPB. In addition to a further review of upcoming projects, a determination was made to have some of the specialty engineering work that was previously contracted for separately, performed or managed by the GECs. This resulted in an increase in the estimated aggregate value of services to be performed to $80 million.

Director Burns asked how the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) component is handled with this contract.

Raymond Lee, DBE Officer, responded that DBEs are reviewed during the work directive process. In the proposal process, because there is not specified work identified, there are proposed DBE's for various potential scopes of work. Parsons Brinckerhoff has proposed five DBEs in various disciplines, HNTB has proposed 12 DBEs in various disciplines and Parsons Transportation has proposed four DBEs in various disciplines.

Director Burns asked if it gets incorporated into the DBE Program on a per task basis.

Mr. Lee confirmed that it would be on a per task basis.

Director Burns asked if the GECs are limited to the DBEs named within the proposals.

Mr. Lee stated that in the past, the firms have gone out for other DBEs. However, it is expected that within the disciplines specified here, those firms offer the opportunity to submit a proposal if a task order is placed.

Director Burns asked if there is an individual cap amount on any particular task.

Ms. Cavitt responded that there is not. The proposed contract authority is estimated based on the review of the projects in the capital budget and they are aggregate amounts, and not-to-exceed amounts.

Director Burns stated that on-call contracts, particularly in working with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), are viewed as contracts that are for specific work scopes that are generally small so that it does not make sense to do an individual procurement for each scope. However, if this recommendation is approved, staff could theoretically award a $50 million contract to one of the companies listed, due to the structure of the authorization.

Ms. Cavitt stated that the authorization does not limit the amount that would go to any one of the firms. The RFP did include a generalized scope of work to specify that the services requested are engineering and construction management support services.

George Cameron, chief administrative officer, said the JPB has had experience with this program for approximately the past five years. Normally, if there is a very large project, staff will go out with a specified scope and have a fixed-price type of award. He said that the largest work directive awarded on this type of basis was a couple of million dollars. This type of award allows for flexibility when the scope is not completely deciphered early on. The FTA has looked at this method on a number of triennial reviews and has never questioned it.

Director Hartnett asked how this process is the same and different from past on-call contracts. He also asked what experience the JPB has had, if any, with the three recommended firms.

Ms. Cavitt replied that HNTB and Parsons Transportation Group are currently on contract. That contract will be expiring at the end of this month. Staff determined that it would be necessary to increase the number of GECs from two to three because some of the specialty engineering contracts will be eliminated and the tasks will be performed and/or managed by the GECs and not separately contracted. In response to how this contract differs from others, Ms. Cavitt stated that with construction, there are specific projects for which Invitation for Bids (IFBs) are put out. In this case, the overall task is to provide engineering services and construction management services so there is one large statement of work. The specific tasks are not necessarily known at this time. Therefore, with this type of contracting process, there is flexibility that will allow the JPB to deal with the tasks as they become known and defined.

Director Hartnett asked if the JPB has had contracts such as this before.

Ms. Cavitt responded that this would be the third such contract.

David Miller, general counsel, stated that the theory behind this is to have an array of specialty and general engineering consultants on-call to get the work done in a timely and cost-effective way.

Director Gage asked if any part of these contracts include value engineering.

Mr. Cameron responded that the JPB has had consultants who are specialists in value engineering. Currently, the GECs are relied upon to subcontract for value engineering. Staff has done many value engineering studies, some of which are required by the FTA depending on the threshold of the project value.

Director Burns stated that he supports the as-needed contract approach because it provides flexibility and said he would seek similar contracts in his capacity as general manager of San Francisco Muni. He requested, given the size of this contract, that projects dealing with this contract be included in the capital project update so that the board can be aware of any large projects.

Ian McAvoy, Chief Development Officer, responded that the information is available. He also noted that as part of the strategic planning process, staff identified years worth of anticipated architecture engineering (A&E) work on the property. There is a list of all the proposed projects and how much, within reason, could be spent on those projects for A&E and construction management services over the next two years, plus the three one-year options.

Director Burns commented that Muni just went through an FTA triennial. When the FTA reviewed Muni's as-needed contracts, they scrutinized the threshold as to where a contract really should be bid separately.

Director Hartnett asked if the two Parsons firms were related in any way.

Mr. McAvoy responded that they are not.

The motion to approve the award of contract for providing on-call engineering and construction management services was passed unanimously, by roll call, and Resolution 2004-35 was adopted.

ADOPTION OF CALTRAIN SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN (SRTP)

Larry Stueck, Manager of Planning and Research, acknowledged Camille Sao, consultant from HNTB, who assisted in developing this plan. Mr. Stueck reported that the Staff Coordinating Council (SCC) recommends board approval of the 2004 Caltrain Short Range Transit Plan. Last July, the board approved the 20-year Caltrain Strategic Plan, which became the basis for the SRTP. The SRTP is a 10-year plan and serves as an internal document and also satisfies the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) requirements. Mr. Stueck made a PowerPoint presentation that included details on the basis for the SRTP, strategy, achievements, current improvements, future development, service levels, funding, and public transportation. Mr. Stueck also requested that the Board adopt the updated information associated with two Caltrain projects, electrification and Caltrain Express Phase II, for inclusion in MTC's updated transit expansion program outlined in Resolution 3434. Mr. Stueck reiterated that this SRTP will be brought back to the board in two years for an update.

Director Gage commented that riders ride from San Francisco down to Silicon Valley and then transfer on other services for free. However, those riding in the opposite direction, from Silicon Valley to San Francisco, are asked to pay an additional $35 to ride Muni, which he said is unfair and a matter that needs to be looked at and resolved.

(Director Gage departed the meeting at 10:50 a.m.)

Director Cisneros recognized staff for how much work went into the plan. He noted that the Strategic Plan is a 20-year plan. He questioned how 10 years was selected for the Short Range Transit Plan and if it will remain a 10-year plan when it is updated in two years

Mr. Stueck replied that short-range plans are typically a 10-year scope and MTC provides guidelines. By its nature, the plan focuses on current projections.

Director Lloyd congratulated Mr. Stueck on his work with the Plan. He noted that he did not see grade crossing separations within the plan.

Mr. Stueck replied that grade crossing separations are in fact in the plan.

Chair McLemore commented that he would like to continue to move forward on electrification. He is glad to see the connection with Monterey in the plan.

Jim Bigelow stated that the Redwood City Chamber of Commerce strongly support the approval of the SRTP. He emphasized that it allows the flexibility for other funding opportunities.

Vaughn Wolffe, Pleasanton, commented that service levels, as presented in the SRTP, are tracking frequency and not travel time. He feels that travel time should be looked at before frequency improvements.

Jeff Carter, Burlingame, said he hopes that there will be flexibility within the plan to do some service improvements, including increasing weekend service, to increase revenue. He said that frequency and speed work together. He noted that many riders choose BART to go to SBC Park because they feel it is faster, since it is more frequent than Caltrain, although it is actually slower.

Director Lloyd stated that with the present regulations, speeds over 79 m.p.h. would require a tremendous capital investment in putting cab control in all of the locomotives, as well as the Union Pacific locomotives.

The motion to approve the Caltrain SRTP was passed unanimously, by roll call, and Resolution 2004-36 was adopted.

MTC LIAISON REPORT (SUE LEMPERT)

• Reiterated that the MTC award ceremony was successful. Many people were impressed with the accomplishments of Caltrain.
• MTC officially took supportive positions on the various local sales tax measures. She reported with all Federal or State funding, there will need to be a local match, which is why Measure A is very important for San Mateo County and Caltrain.
• The Bay Bridge overruns are still an issue. This project is billions of dollars over estimate. The Governor has recently taken over responsibility of the project. There is hope that another bidder can be found to reduce costs.

REPORT OF CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CAC)

Bruce Balshone reported on the September 15 CAC meeting:

• Larry Stueck gave a presentation on the Caltrain Short Range Transit Plan.
• Cathi Zammit gave an overview on select construction projects that will be going on throughout the next several years.
• The December (sic) CAC meeting will be held in San Francisco.

Mr. Balshone responded that they have not. He added that there is not a lot of support on the committee for the measure.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Michael J. Scanlon:

• Congratulated José Cisneros for his appointment as treasurer for the City/County of San Francisco.

Key Caltrain Performance Statistics for August:
1. Total ridership went from 685,813 to 808,794 riders, a 17.9 percent increase.
2. Average weekday ridership went from 26,858 to 30,000 riders, an 11.7 percent increase.
3. Total revenue went from $1.71 million to $1.99 million, a 16.1 percent increase.
4. On-time Performance went from 95 percent to 96.3 percent.
5. Shuttle ridership went from 4,026 riders to 3,976 riders, a 1.2 percent decrease.
6. Corrected that the Tamien Shuttle ridership is up to 148 riders on the weekends.
• A Commendation was presented to Amtrak Sergeant Lars Jeffry for his efforts in assisting with a suicide prevention along the right of way in June.
• On September 14, the Mountain View City Council approved a proposal to allow for an additional 120 parking spots at the Mountain View Caltrain station. There is a desire to find a more permanent solution.
• Staff is continuing its efforts to explore alternatives at the Santa Clara station crossing in response to public comment from the September board meeting. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution.
• Baseball service to SBC Park has concluded for this year due to the Giants' season being over.
• There was a public meeting held last Wednesday concerning the Stockton Avenue closing.
• Efforts are continuing with the City of Burlingame concerning upgrade and redesign of two Caltrain stations in Burlingame.
• The Monthly Safety and Security Report was distributed.
• Rita Haskin, chief communications officer, presented, via PowerPoint, the details of the Caltrain Millionaire/Savings Promotion. There are currently four ads being run and there are Take-Ones on the trains, which educate the public that riding Caltrain saves them money, approximately $3,000 per year, for the more important things in life. The ads include a worksheet so that the public can calculate their savings per year by commuting on Caltrain. Over the years, there is a potential to become a millionaire. The driving costs used in the worksheet are from the American Automobile Association and include gas, oil, maintenance, tires, insurance and registration. Those who send in the ad will receive a Caltrain piggy bank. Additionally, each ad, which ran in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury and a number of newspapers in San Mateo County, has been coded so staff will be able to track those that are submitted.

  Ms. Haskin also presented the Communities in Motion campaign. The American Public Transportation Association backs this program and usually they set aside one day to talk about keeping the community in motion. The San Mateo County Transit District decided to change the program by having Transit Thursdays throughout October. Each Thursday staff will go to a different transit center and promote both the SamTrans service and Caltrain service. The transit centers selected include the REX bus at the IKEA store in East Palo Alto on October 7, the low floor bus at the El Camino Senior Center on October 14, transit appreciation at Hillsdale Mall on October 21, and a Hispanic outreach at Bellehaven School and library on October 28. Two different ads currently are running to promote public transportation. The first ad promotes thinking of SamTrans, Caltrain and BART as engines of economic growth and the second ad thanks those who are using public transportation.

  Mr. Scanlon noted that this is the introduction of the Millionaire program and staff will continue to monitor this program over time. If $3,000 was saved a year and invested, over the long-term, one could build quite a savings.

  Jeff Carter, Burlingame, commented that there will need to be a lot of education with the Millionaire Club because many people feel that taking transportation costs more than driving.

  Mr. Scanlon responded that he understands Mr. Carter's concerns. He noted that in this area there are many multiple-car families who could reduce their number of cars by one if the commitment was made to do the work trip or school trip by transit.

CALL FOR PUBLIC HEARING: PROPOSED CHANGE IN FARE MEDIA

Rita Haskin, Chief Communications Officer, was available for questions from the board and public regarding setting the public hearing for the proposed change in fare media for November 4.

Jeff Carter, Burlingame, said he appreciates the fact that staff is considering reducing the price of Muni in conjunction with Caltrain via implementing the Muni sticker and charging $35 rather than $45. However, he agrees with the earlier comments of Director Gage that the transfer should be free. He said that it would provide more incentive for people to ride Caltrain if they didn't have to pay for Muni.

The motion to approve the public hearing for proposed change in fare media was unanimously approved.

CALL FOR PUBLIC HEARING: AMENDED CONFLICT OF INTEREST CODE

George Cameron, chief administrative officer, was available for questions from the board and public regarding setting the public hearing for the amended conflict of interest code for December 2.

Director Yeager commented that he sees that new positions are being added to the code and he asked if there was any training available for those people.

Mr. Cameron responded that a booklet is distributed, which is quite comprehensive as to what things need to be reported.

Director Yeager asked if there will is a possibility to do more than just hand out the booklet so those who need to file have an opportunity to ask questions.

Mr. Scanlon responded that at this time staff is just seeking to establish the public hearing. He noted that some of the positions are just new titles. However, staff will ensure that those needing guidance receive it.

Director Yeager stated that it doesn't take much for one individual to misunderstand the rules and get an entire company in trouble. He noted that the forms can be complicated and suggested having more education with completing the forms.

Mr. Scanlon responded that he understands Director Yeager's concerns and staff will consider offering some training with completing the forms.

The motion to approve the public hearing for the amended conflict of interest code was unanimously approved.

REPORT OF LEGAL COUNSEL

None.

CORRESPONDENCE

Previously distributed.

DATE/TIME OF NEXT MEETING

Thursday, November 4, 2004, 10 a.m. at the San Mateo County Transit District Administrative Building, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, CA 94070.

ADJOURNED

Meeting adjourned at 11:38 a.m.