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

MEMBERS ABSENT: Sophie Maxwell

MTC LIASON PRESENT: Sue Lempert

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

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

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

CONSENT CALENDAR

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

1. Approval of Minutes of February 3, 2005
2. Approval of the Financial Statements of January 2005
3. Authorized a purchase for property from City of San Mateo for Hillsdale Outside Boarding Platform Project {Resolution 2005-10}

CHAIRPERSONS REPORT

None.

MTC LIAISON REPORT (SUE LEMPERT)

Ms. Lempert reported that MTC has been analyzing the Governor's proposed budget cuts and the impact on transit agencies and critical projects in the region.

REPORT OF THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CAC)

Brian Wilfley reported on the February 16 CAC meeting:

• Received a presentation on Throughput Improvement Projects and Infrastructure Modifications.
• Received a briefing about the budget constraints and had an appointment of a subcommittee for operations.

REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Chuck Harvey, Chief Operating Officer, reported:

• Key Caltrain Performance Statistics for January 2005 compared with January 2004:
1. Average Weekday Ridership was up 14.2 percent, from 24,890 riders to 28,425.
2. Total Ridership was up 18.6 percent from 682,079 riders to 744,830.
3. Total Revenue was up 21.2 percent from $1.5 million to $1.8 million.
4. On-Time Performance was at 98.1 percent.
5. Shuttle Ridership was up 12.6 percent from 3,694 riders to 4,160.
• Caltrain baseball service to SBC Park will be provided again this year.
• The annual passenger counts are still being analyzed. The results will be available by the end of the month.
• The Transbay Terminal Project EIS/EIR was approved. The project is now ready to move forward.
• Caltrain is exploring the option to enroll in a Spare the Air Day program.
• The final Caltrain Short Range Transit Plan is now available for review.
• The monthly Safety and Security Report was distributed.
• A news story clip with the Baby Bullet racing a car from San Jose to San Francisco was shown. The Baby Bullet reached the San Francisco station over half an hour before the arrival of the driver in her car.

  Director Yeager and Ms. Lempert requested that the clip be shown to city councils and at community meetings.

• Presented a Resolution of Appreciation to John McLemore who served as chairman of the board in 2003 and 2004.{Resolution 2005-11}

SETTING A PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER A DECLARATION OF FISCAL EMERGENCY FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 ON APRIL 7, 2005

Gigi Harrington, Chief Financial Officer, said Staff Coordinating Council (SCC) recommends the Board hold a public hearing on April 7, 2005 to receive public comment concerning a proposed declaration of a fiscal emergency under California Public Resources Code and California Environmental Quality Act implementing guidelines for Fiscal Year 2006.

Ms. Harrington said a special board meeting for a budget workshop would be held March 14 at 9 a.m. in the Auditorium of Caltrain Headquarters. Action on the fiscal emergency will be at the special board meeting on April 22 at 1:30 p.m.

David Miller, Legal Counsel, said his staff has looked at the statute and the figures prepared by Ms. Harrington and determined that all statutory requirements for calling a public hearing on a fiscal emergency have been met.

Ms. Lempert said she hopes the board will bear in mind all the performance statistics that have increased in the last few months. She said significant fare increases or drastic cuts in service might be counterproductive. She suggested looking a modest increase from member agency contributions.

Richard Mlynarik, San Francisco, said a modest fare increase would be appropriate. Decisions with the service need to be based on where people are riding the trains, not where staff would like them to ride.

Jeff Carter, Burlingame, said he agrees with the comments made by Ms. Lempert, the effects of service cuts and fare increases are very important. He also said it is important to go to Sacramento to try and get the transportation funds the Governor raided from Proposition 42. Additionally, the loss of the vehicle license fee is part of the problem. He would not advocate cutting service to stations because it would discourage ridership.

The motion to hold the fiscal emergency public hearing on April 7 was unanimously approved by roll call.

SET A PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED FARE INCREASE AND SERVICE CHANGES ON APRIL 7, 2005

Robert Doty, Acting Chief Operating Officer, said Caltrain has heard it in different ways and forms that the public is satisfied with what it is doing. At the same time, Caltrain can't support that success. Mr. Doty said Caltrain is a service industry but also a business. Staff hopes to bring to the budget workshop a cross-section of the types of services provided today and the financial consequences of each type of service. Staff projections of how much each type of service produces with respect to revenue and ridership and how Caltrain can grow into the future will be addressed. The board will then be able to decide what the service should be from a system perspective. Staff is looking at improving productivity, where there can be budget cuts, how to generate more revenue and how to provide a better service.

Jack Ringhem, Atherton, encouraged the board to use fare increases rather than service cuts. He suggested charging premium fares for Baby Bullet service and shifting Baby Bullet stops to other high ridership stations. He also suggested shifting limited service stops from Baby Bullet stations.

Jeff Carter, Burlingame, would like exploration of a surcharge in Santa Clara and San Francisco Counties since they still owe reimbursement to San Mateo County for their portions of the purchase price for the Caltrain right-of-way. Mr. Carter noted the fare comparison chart included within the packet and mentioned that the east coast has severe weather and the train is the only thing that can get through and in Los Angeles, the gridlock and high parking costs are incentives to take transit. Riders taking Caltrain to San Francisco have a problem because they have to pay an additional fare to use Muni, he said. He also said Caltrain needs a permanent dedicated funding source.

The motion to hold the fare increase and service changes public hearing on April 7 was unanimously approved by roll call.

AUTHORIZED A SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE OF 35 TICKET VALIDATORS FROM BAUMANN GMBH FOR A TOTAL ESTIMATED COST OF $94,000

Cheryl Cavitt, Director of Contracts and Procurement, said Staff Coordinating Council (SCC) recommends the board award a sole source contract for 35 ticket validators to Baumann GmbH for a total estimated cost of $94,000 and authorize the Executive Director to execute the contract on behalf of the JPB.

Approval of this purchase will allow the JPB to double the number of validators at high volume stations and add validators to some stations where there is currently only one. The increase in validators will provide additional validating capacity in the event of failures.

Since May 2004 staff has contacted other rail properties and investigated ticket validator manufacturers in North America and Europe to find out if they could respond to the JPB's requirements. This investigation revealed that Baumann GmbH was the only manufacturer that produces a validator that provides the required functionality. Maintenance staff evaluated and tested the Baumann validator for 30 days and found it to be technically acceptable. Based on these exhaustive efforts, staff concluded that the Baumann validator qualifies as a sole source procurement. Staff conducted a price analysis and determined that the price offered by Baumann GmbH is fair and reasonable.

The motion to award a sole source contract for 35 ticket validators to Baumann GmbH was unanimously approved, by roll call, and Resolution 2005 - 12 was adopted.

REJECTED SINGLE BID FOR PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM FOR SIX STATIONS

Cheryl Cavitt, Director of Contracts and Procurement, said Staff Coordinating Council (SCC) recommends the Board reject the one bid received in response to the JPB's Invitation for Bids (IFB) for public address system at South San Francisco, Belmont, Palo Alto, College Park, Santa Clara, and Diridon stations.

The total bid price submitted for this IFB exceeds the JPB's independent cost estimate and project budget. In compliance with the JPB's procurement policy, which permits rejection of all bids if deemed to be in the best interest of the JPB, staff recommends all bids be rejected. At this time, staff is considering incorporating the public address system upgrades as part of upcoming station projects.

Director Burns asked if there was analysis why the bid was much higher than the engineer's estimate.

Ian McAvoy, Chief Development Officer, said possible causes include that the contract involves a relatively specialized environment and because the project is spread out from station to station. Mr. McAvoy said there have been some difficulties with electrical and communication projects lately and analysis is being done to identify why engineer's estimates have been different than bids received. There may be an opportunity to incorporate the public address system as part of larger projects, he said.

The motion to reject the single bid for public address system was approved unanimously, by roll.

QUARTERLY CAPITAL PROGRAM STATUS AND ELECTRIFICATION REPORT

Ian McAvoy, Chief Development Officer, said the systemwide Bridge Rehabilitation, the San Bruno/South San Francisco Grade Separation, Outside Boarding Station Improvements and Package C of the Caltrain Maintenance Facility (CEMOF) are all projects in final design.

Mr. McAvoy corrected that the bid award of CEMOF Package B.2 is March 14 and not March 18 as listed in the report.

CEMOF Package B.1 and the San Francisco Tunnel Rehabilitation projects are currently active.

In regard to electrification, Mr. McAvoy said all documentation has been submitted to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A project manager, who has most recently been working as a key project manager on the UK West Coast Mainland Electrification Program, will join the Caltrain team in April to assist with Caltrain's electrification project.

Ms. Lempert said at the Dumbarton Corridor Study, Menlo Park was pressing for electrification of Dumbarton Rail. Ms. Lempert asked what the timetable is for Caltrain electrification and if it could fit into Dumbarton Rail.

Ms. McAvoy responded that in previous plans, the line was to be electrified by 2010. For a complex project like this, there have been some delays while moving towards construction. The timing of the project needs to connect with the availability of funds from the region to replace existing rolling stock. The current working estimate for electrified revenue service is 2014. In regard to Dumbarton Rail, the estimate is between 2010 and 2012 for revenue service. When the Dumbarton Rail project manager comes onboard, he will evaluate system integration. Mr. McAvoy expects there could be synergy between these two projects but work will need to be done to see if it is feasible and cost-effective.

Ms. Lempert asked if the increase in oil prices is a factor for determining where electrification should be done.

Mr. McAvoy responded yes, staff has done net present value analysis. Staff is also working on a cost analysis comparing electrification with traditional diesel.

Director Hartnett said in addition to evaluating whether to electrify the whole system, Dumbarton Rail is looking at what kind of locomotives to use. Director Hartnett asked where the funding for electrification would come from and how it would affect the schedule.

Mr. McAvoy responded that the funding plan is a critical element for the approval of the project. Caltrain staff has worked closely with the MTC to ensure this project is specifically in the core element of the expenditure program. Currently, the funding plan is made up of a combination of San Mateo sales tax revenues, Santa Clara sales tax revenues, a small amount of federal flexible funds for San Francisco's share and other flexible funds from the state. Mr. McAvoy said he feels it is prudent to link the monies for the replacement of the existing rolling stock. The gallery cars could possibly be replaced with something more modern that would be compatible with electrification. Mr. McAvoy said there is a minor shortfall in the program and there are issues with when monies will be available. However, Mr. McAvoy said he feels confident that innovative financing techniques can help cashflow problems.

Director Hartnett asked if the high speed rail bond is not passed, will there be monies to fund this project.

Mr. McAvoy replied if the high speed rail bond does not pass, there will be a funding shortfall for the project. However, given the benefits of the project, when other funding becomes available over the next several years, it will be used to backfill the project since it is a high priority project and 80 percent of the funding is already identified.

Jack Ringham, Atherton, said he supports the concept of electrification but he hopes it can be accomplished without overhead wires. He said it is important to coordinate with the High Speed Rail Authority because if the line comes down the Peninsula, grade separations will be needed. If grade separations are constructed throughout the entire corridor, the conventional electrified third rail could be feasible and safety issues would be mitigated. Mr. Ringham also said the cost estimates for electrification do not include the cost of tree removal or the indemnification of the property owners along the right-of-way.

Richard Mlynarik, San Francisco, said there is a misperception that electrified and diesel trains can not operate on the same lines. He also said it is financial insanity to electrify with fewer than 100 trains per day because of the cost.

REPORT OF LEGAL COUNSEL

CORRESPONDENCE

Previously distributed.

DATE/TIME OF NEXT MEETING

SPECIAL MEETING FOR A BUDGET WORKSHOP
Monday, March 14, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. at the San Mateo County Transit District Administrative Building, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, CA 94070.

REGULAR BOARD MEETING
Thursday, April 7, 2005, 10 a.m. at the San Mateo County Transit District Administrative Building, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, CA 94070

ADJOURNED

Meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.