[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:17]
CHAMBERS AT 401 EAST VIRGINIA STREET IN MCKINNEY, TEXAS. PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 551002, QUORUM OF THE CITY COUNCIL IS PRESENT. CITY COUNCIL IS NOT TAKING ACTION. THIS IS A BOARD OF COMMISSION, AND THE ACTION WILL BE TAKEN WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS BEING MEMBERS OF THAT BOARD. THE FIRST ITEM AFTER WE CALL THE MEETING ORDER, THE FIRST ITEM IS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS. THE NON PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS. IS THERE ANYBODY HERE THAT WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE TRANSIT DISTRICT BOARD AT THIS TIME? OKAY. NEXT WE HAVE
[Transit Service Update]
REPORTS AND DISCUSSIONS 26 0041 TRANSIT SERVICE UPDATE. YES, SIR. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS RYAN MCCUTCHEON. I'M A PROJECT MANAGER IN THE SERVICE PLANNING AND SCHEDULING DEPARTMENT FOR DART AND MANAGER OF THE UTD SHARED RIDE TRANSIT SERVICE. SO TODAY WE WILL BE DISCUSSING THE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR THE COLLIN COUNTY TRANSIT PROGRAM. AND FIRST, WE'RE GOING TO TOUCH ON RIDERSHIP AND DEMAND. NOW, AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT RIDERSHIP OVER THE LAST FEW QUARTERS, ONE THING THAT WE'VE FINALLY EXPERIENCED WAS A DECLINE IN OUR RIDERSHIP. AND THIS ACTUALLY OCCURRED IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER. NOW, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF REASONS WHY WE SAW A DECLINE IN RIDERSHIP, BUT MOST NOTABLY WAS THE FACT THAT WE ONLY HAD 18 WEEKDAYS. AND THE WEEKDAYS IS WHERE WE WHERE WE SEE THE MOST OF OUR RIDERSHIP.SO BECAUSE WE HAD THANKSGIVING AND THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING OFF, THAT CONTRIBUTED TO A DECLINE IN RIDERSHIP. AND ANOTHER THING THAT WE ALSO NOTICED WITH REGARDS TO THE NOVEMBER RIDERSHIP IS THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF UNIQUE RIDERS, PEOPLE WERE TAKING, ON AVERAGE 15 TRIPS IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, WHEREAS IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER THEY WERE AVERAGING 12 TRIPS. SO ESPECIALLY THOSE PEOPLE WHO WE CONSIDER TO BE OUR SUPER USERS, THOSE THAT TAKE MORE THAN 50 TRIPS PER MONTH, THAT NUMBER ALSO DECLINES. SO THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE REASON WHY WE SAW A DECLINE IN OUR RIDERSHIP. SO NEXT, LOOKING AT SOME OTHER KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS THAT ARE VERY HEALTHY AND WITH WITHIN OUR REALM OF OUR THRESHOLDS WAS THE NUMBER OF NO SHOWS. SO WHAT YOU SEE OVER AN ANNUAL BASIS IS THAT NUMBER WHERE PEOPLE NO SHOW OUR SERVICE. THAT HAS CONTINUED TO GO DOWN. AND WHAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR IS A NUMBER BELOW 5%. SO WE'RE AT HALF OF THAT IN THE YEAR OF 2025. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ALSO THE HEALTH OF OUR PROGRAM, WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ONBOARDED THROUGH THE ELIGIBILITY PROCESS. BASICALLY, THEY ARE A RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE MCKINNEY URBAN TRANSIT DISTRICT CITIES, AND THEY QUALIFY AS A SENIOR, A RIDER WITH A DISABILITY OR A LOW INCOME RIDER. AND WHAT WE SAW IN THE IN THE YEAR OF 2025 WAS ALSO A DECREASE WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WERE ENROLLED IN THE PROGRAM, BUT STILL AVERAGING ALMOST ONE PER DAY. SO LOOKING AT THE UNIQUE RIDERS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS GROWING BECAUSE WITH OUR ELIGIBILITY, WE DO NOT REQUIRE PEOPLE AT THIS TIME TO GO THROUGH THE ELIGIBILITY PROCESS AGAIN. SO ONCE THEY HAVE BEEN DEEMED ELIGIBLE FOR THIS PROGRAM, THEY CAN STAY IN THIS PROGRAM UNTIL WE MAKE CHANGES WITH REGARDS TO POTENTIALLY DOING RECERTIFICATION OF THEIR ELIGIBILITY. BUT AT THIS CURRENT TIME, IN THE YEAR OF 2025, WE AVERAGED ALMOST 450 UNIQUE RIDERS PER MONTH. SO NEXT, I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT TRIP CHARACTERISTICS. AND SO THE TRAVEL DISTANCE, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT REALLY HAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE COST OF OUR SERVICE. IT IS JUST OVER SEVEN MILES. AND FOR A SERVICE AREA THE SIZE OF COLLIN COUNTY, 886MI■!S, THAT IS A VERY REASONABLE TRAVEL DISTANCE.
LOOKING AT THE TRIP DURATION, THIS ALSO HAS REMAINED A CONSTANT THROUGHOUT THIS PROGRAM, WHERE THE AVERAGE TRIP DURATION IS 17 MINUTES FOR 2025. AND YOU'LL SEE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS IT'S BEEN IN THAT SAME REALM AS WELL. NEXT, WE WANT TO LOOK AT WAIT TIME AGAIN.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'LL HEAR US TALK ABOUT IS THAT WE ADDED UBER TO OUR SERVICE. SO NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE OUR WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES, BUT WE ALSO HAVE SERVICE THROUGH LYFT AND NOW UBER. AND SO THAT ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO PROVIDING A REALLY LOW WAIT TIME, THUS ENHANCING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. SO NEXT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT FAREBOX
[00:05:06]
REVENUE, BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO RECALL THE FACT THAT WE ACTUALLY MOVED FROM A FLAT FARE SERVICE TO A DISTANCE BASED FARE IN FEBRUARY OF LAST YEAR. AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS A DIRECT CORRELATION THAT ONCE WE DID THAT, WE SAW A LARGE INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF FAREBOX REVENUE THAT WE TAKE IN. AND SO BEFORE WE IMPLEMENTED THE DISTANCE BASED FARE, THE COST OF THE SERVICE AND THE COST THAT WE WERE RECOVERING FROM, THE FAREBOX WAS ABOUT 18%. NOW WHAT WE'RE SEEING, BECAUSE WE HAVE A DISTANCE BASED FARE, WE'RE RECOVERING ABOUT 30% OF THE COSTS OF THE ACTUAL SERVICE THROUGH FARE BOXES. AND NEXT WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOME GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION WITH REGARDS TO OUR SERVICE AREA. AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE ZOOMED OUT IS THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR THE AVERAGE UNIQUE RIDERS, WHICH IS ABOUT 450 PER MONTH, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THEY'RE GOING. IT'S IT'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PLACES THROUGHOUT THE REGION, BUT YOU CAN SEE A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF SERVICE IN THE CITY OF MCKINNEY. THAT OBVIOUSLY IS THE LARGEST SHARE OF RIDERS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS PROGRAM, REALLY FOCUSING ON THE UNIVERSITY CORRIDOR ALONG CENTRAL. AND THEN ALSO WHERE YOU SEE THAT REALLY DENSE LOCATION WOULD BE THE SAMARITAN AND WHO WE PARTNER WITH TO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION TO THEIR RESIDENTS. SO NEXT, I WANT TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF TIMELINE OF WHAT TO EXPECT IN THIS CALENDAR YEAR. WE ARE ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF PROCURING A SERVICE AS A SOFTWARE PROVIDER, WHICH BASICALLY WILL BE PROVIDING THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE USE TO BOOK TRIPS NOT ONLY THROUGH THE THROUGH THE PLATFORM ITSELF, BUT THROUGH OUR GO PASS APP AND ALSO OUR CALL CENTER. AND WE ALSO NEED SOMEBODY TO PROVIDE US DRIVERS AND VEHICLES. SO WE'RE ACTIVELY GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS RIGHT NOW. CURRENTLY, CITY OF MCKINNEY HAS THE SCOPE OF WORK FROM DART FOR THIS SERVICE, AND I BELIEVE MISS TUCKER WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THAT IN GREATER DETAIL THIS EVENING. SO OUR PLAN IS TO RELEASE THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NEXT MONTH. THEN WE WILL BE COMING BACK TO THE BOARD WITH SEEKING YOUR APPROVAL FOR WHO THE NEXT VENDOR WILL BE FOR THIS PROGRAM. OUR TIMEFRAME IS TO DO THAT IN THE EARLY SUMMER MONTHS, SO THAT WE STILL HAVE AT LEAST A RUNWAY OF ANYWHERE FROM 5 TO 6 MONTHS. SHOULD THE INCUMBENT NOT WIN THAT WHOEVER DOES WIN HAS THE NECESSARY TIME TO COME IN AND SET UP THEIR SERVICE. AND THEN WE'RE READY TO BEGIN A NEW CONTRACT ON JANUARY 2ND OF 2027. AND ALSO WHAT WE WILL BE IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CITY OF MCKINNEY STAFF IS THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS WITH THE DART LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION TO MANAGE THIS PROGRAM, SO THAT ALSO WILL BE BROUGHT TO THE BOARD IN THE EARLY SUMMER MONTHS TO SEEK YOUR APPROVAL. SO THAT BRINGS ME TO A CONCLUSION OF OUR PRESENTATION TODAY. I'D BE HAPPY TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS THE BOARD HAS. QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, ANYTHING. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU RYAN. RYAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU SIR. NEXT ITEM IS 26 0042[Transit Program Funding Update]
TRANSIT PROGRAM FUNDING UPDATE. GOOD AFTERNOON BOARD. MY NAME IS JASMINE TUCKER. I AM THE TRANSIT ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE CITY OF MCKINNEY, WORKING ON THE COLLIN COUNTY TRANSIT PROGRAM. TODAY. I HAVE A FUNDING UPDATE FOR YOU, AND I'D LIKE TO BEGIN WITH AN OVERVIEW OF OUR PROGRAM. RYAN TOUCHED ON THIS A LITTLE BIT, BUT IT IS A SUBSIDIZED SHARED RIDE SERVICE.YOU MUST LIVE IN THE UTD MEMBER CITIES LISTED ON THE SCREEN PROGRAM FUNDING RANGES. SO WE HAVE STATE AND FEDERAL GRANTS, MEMBER CITY CONTRIBUTIONS, AS WELL AS FAREBOX REVENUES WHICH ARE COLLECTED AT THE TIME OF SERVICE. DIVING A LITTLE BIT DEEPER INTO THAT FUNDING, WE HAVE OUR FTA FUNDS. SECTION 5307 REQUIRES A 50 OVER 50 MATCH REQUIREMENT. CARES ACT FUNDING HAS NO MATCH REQUIREMENT, AND THAT MATCH THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT COMES FROM OUR TEX-DOT FUNDS AND ADDITIONALLY OUR MEMBER CITY CONTRIBUTIONS. TAX FUNDS ALSO COVER OUR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THAT CARES ACT FUNDING. YOU MAY REMEMBER, WE WERE AWARDED 8.8 MILLION IN CARES FUNDING BY THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION IN 2020.
AS OF FY 25, WE SPENT JUST UNDER 920,000. I'D LIKE TO CORRECT THE RECORD HERE FOR THIS THIRD BULLET. WE PLAN TO DRAW DOWN CLOSER TO 920,000 FOR FY 26, LEAVING 4.2 MILLION FOR
[00:10:02]
FY 27 AND BEYOND. THIS IS A LOT OF NUMBERS HERE, BUT I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT JUST A FEW OF THEM TO YOU. IN THE SECOND COLUMN AT THE VERY BOTTOM YOU SEE 42 MILLION. THAT IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN AWARDED. SOME OF THAT HAS BEEN EXPENDED. AS YOU KNOW, THE CARES FUNDING HAS BEEN EXPENDED A LITTLE BIT. SOME OF THAT IS UNDISBURSED. SO IT'S NOT YET IN A GRANT. AND SOME OF THAT ACTUALLY A LOT OF THAT REQUIRES A 50 OVER 50 MATCH. SO THAT'S WHY WE HAVE A LOT OF THAT FUNDING IN THE FTA. FTA, 5307 BUCKETS. I'D ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT THE TEX DOT LINE, AS WELL AS THE MEMBER CITY CONTRIBUTION LINE. THE PROJECTED REMAINING AT THE END OF EVERY FISCAL YEAR IS $0. WE SPEND ALL OF THAT MONEY EVERY YEAR. THERE'S NONE LEFT OF THE LOCAL MATCH FUNDING AT THE END OF THE YEAR, AND WE ARE MAKING UP THAT GAP WITH THE CARES ACT FUNDING. THIS IS A OVERVIEW OF OUR FUNDING EXPENDITURES FROM THE LAST FEW YEARS. I'D LIKE TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO 2022 THROUGH 2024. YOU CAN SEE THAT WE WERE NOT COLLECTING MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS, AND WE ARE MAKING UP THAT SHARE WITH THE CARES ACT FUNDING. YOU CAN SEE IN 2024, WE SPENT QUITE A BIT OF THAT FUNDING. WE REDUCED IT STARTING IN 2025 BY STARTING TO COLLECT THOSE MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS AGAIN. AND YOU CAN SEE WE INCREASE THEM. AND WE DISCUSSED THAT IN THE PAST, AND WE'RE REDUCING THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE SPENDING IN CARES. BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE UP THE GAP. YASMIN, THE 5307 FUNDS WHAT COUNTS AS A LOCAL MATCH. IT'S TEX-DOT AND THE CITY CONTRIBUTION. CORRECT. SO CAN YOU GO BACK TO THAT SLIDE LIKE IF IF IN 2025 TXDOT AND THE CITY CONTRIBUTION IS JUST AROUND THAT TO 725, WHY CAN WE ONLY DRAW DOWN 571? IS IT BECAUSE THERE'S ELIGIBLE EXPENSES THAT WE'RE NOT DRAWING, BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE LEAVING A BUCKET EVERY YEAR IN THE 5307? THAT MAKES SENSE. ARE YOU ASKING WHY IT'S NOT DIRECTLY 5050? YEAH. LIKE IS IT IS THERE RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT 5307 CAN BE SPENT ON. NO, WE DON'T DRAW ALLOCATED FOR OPERATING AND SOME ALLOCATED FOR CAPITAL AS WELL AS WE HAVE SOME OPERATING FUNDS FOR TXDOT AND SOME ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. SO THAT'S WHY YOU'RE SEEING THAT DIFFERENCE THERE. BUT IF WE'RE IF WE'RE USING 725,000 THROUGH CITY CONTRIBUTION AND THROUGH TXDOT CONTRIBUTIONS, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THE REST OF THAT OR THAT AMOUNT AS A MATCH TO WHERE WE COULD HAVE REDUCED THE CARES ACT FUNDING BY, YOU KNOW, $150,000 IN 2025.CORRECT. YOU'LL SEE ON THIS NEXT SLIDE, I HAVE KIND OF OUTLINED HERE. SO YOU SEE, IF WE TAKE OUT THE CARES ACT FUNDING, WE COULD DRAW MORE OF THE LOCAL FUNDING. BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO INCREASE THE LOCAL FUNDING SIGNIFICANTLY. THAT TXDOT NUMBER IS STAGNANT.
THAT'S FORMULA FUNDING. SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE CAN JUST ADD MORE TO THAT BUCKET. YEAH. I'M JUST WONDERING WHY THE 5307 DOESN'T MATCH THE CITY FUNDING PLUS TXDOT FUNDING. IT SHOULD. AND YES, OKAY. LIKE I WAS SAYING HERE, THIS JUST SHOWS AN EXAMPLE OF THE CARES ACT FUNDING. IF WE WERE TO TAKE THAT AWAY, THE MEMBER CITIES WOULD NEED TO INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY. THE CONTRIBUTIONS WOULD NEED TO INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY. THAT NUMBER IS STAGNANT, THOUGH. THAT'S FORMULA FUNDING THAT WE ARE AWARDED EVERY YEAR. AND IT STAYED PRETTY STAGNANT THESE PAST FEW YEARS. NEXT, I WANT TO TOUCH ON SOME OF OUR REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES. I'VE DISCUSSED THE GRANT FUNDING, MEMBER CITY CONTRIBUTIONS, AND THE FAREBOX REVENUES, BUT I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS SOME OF OUR EXPENDITURES AND KIND OF GIVE SOME CLARITY. SO OUR NON-DEDICATED OPERATIONS, THAT IS OUR TNC, OUR UBER AND OUR LYFT, THOSE ARE OUR PARTNERSHIPS, OUR DEDICATED OPERATIONS, THAT IS OUR WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES, OUR PLATFORM BASE. AS RYAN DISCUSSED, OUR SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE SPARE LABS, I WANTED TO ALSO TOUCH ON OUR GO PASS LICENSING. THAT IS OUR APP THAT RIDERS CAN BOOK TRIPS THROUGH, WHICH REDUCES OUR CALL CENTER. AND THEN WE HAVE SOME ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS THAT FUNDS THE TRANSIT DIVISION SALARIES, BENEFITS, TRAVEL. TRAINING.
SOME CHANGES WE MADE TO THE PROGRAM THUS FAR, WE'VE TRANSITIONED AWAY FROM TELELINK INTO THE SPARE CALL CENTER. WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED OUR DYNAMIC FARES, WHICH IS THE FARE CHANGE WE HAD FEBRUARY. WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED POOLING WITHIN OUR LYFT SERVICE, SO ADDED UBER AS
[00:15:01]
A SECOND OPTION FOR NON-DEDICATED SERVICE. ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE TO CREATE SUSTAINABILITY FOR THIS PROGRAM AND REDUCE EXPENDITURES. SO SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS I HAVE.COLLIN COUNTY TRANSIT IS A SUBSIDIZED TRANSIT PROGRAM. AS OUR RIDERSHIP INCREASES, OUR SUBSIDIES INCREASE. THE COST TO OPERATE THIS PROGRAM WILL ALSO INCREASE OUR FAREBOX REVENUES ARE NOT SUFFICIENT TO COVER THE COST OF OPERATING AT THIS TIME AND OUR CURRENT. AT OUR CURRENT RATE OF EXPENDITURE, OUR CARES FUNDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE EXHAUSTED WITHIN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. NOW, I'D LOVE SOME DISCUSSION FROM THE BOARD, GIVEN WHAT I'VE OUTLINED, WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY? STAFF BELIEVES THAT A COMBINATION OF BOTH OF THESE CATEGORIES ARE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO CONTINUE THE PROGRAM, AND I'D LOVE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. ANY QUESTIONS. DO YOU SEE AN INCREASE? SO. SO WITH RIDERSHIP DOWN, DO YOU SEE IS THERE ANY DATA OUT THERE THAT RIDERSHIP WOULD BE HIGHER DEPENDING UPON WHAT THE COST OF FARES ARE BASED ON DISTANCE, AS OPPOSED TO A SET FARE LIKE WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST. ARE YOU ASKING IF RIDERSHIP HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY THE FARES THAT WE THE FARE CHANGE? YEAH, I GUESS SO. IN A WAY. I'M KIND OF TRYING TO DOVETAIL A LITTLE BIT ON ON JUSTIN'S COMMENT BECAUSE IF ULTIMATELY, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THE REVENUES THAT WE RECEIVE AND THE MATCH BASED ON BUDGET IS ALSO GOING TO BE TIED TO RIDERSHIP THAT WE'RE SERVICING AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THAT SHOULD INCREASE. SO FOR RIGHT, ISN'T IT RIGHT? I MEAN, COULD YOU I'M SORRY, COULD YOU CLARIFY YOUR QUESTION I CAN TRY.
IN THE YEARS PAST, WE'VE ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE WAS REALLY NOT A REASON TO INCREASE THE LOCAL MATCH SHARE, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T SEE THE PROPORTIONATE INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP NEED. RIGHT. AND THE STUDIES THAT WE DID IN THE PAST. AND SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS ULTIMATELY AND IT'S KIND OF ALMOST A CHICKEN AND EGG THING, BUT ARE WE TRYING TO INCREASE RIDERSHIP OR. STAFF HAS NOT DONE ANY OUTREACH TO TRY TO CREATE NEW RIDERSHIP, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ASKING. WE HAVE NOT BEEN SEEKING OUT EXTRA RIDERSHIP. WE'VE TRIED TO KEEP IT WHERE IT'S AT AND IS INCREASED OR DECREASED ORGANICALLY. BASED ON THAT, I THINK OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH SAMARITAN GREATLY INCREASED OUR RIDERSHIP, ESPECIALLY IN OUR LOW INCOME ELIGIBILITY CATEGORY. BUT AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, OUR CARES FUNDING IS MAKING UP ALMOST 40% OF OUR BUDGET. THAT WAS TO GO AWAY. WE HAVE A 40% GAP IN OUR BUDGET. JASMINE, SOMETHING THAT RYAN SAID, RYAN, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IS WE DON'T PUT PEOPLE THROUGH ANOTHER CERTIFICATION. NOW, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF WE'RE IF SAMARITAN IS A GREAT GENERATOR OF BUSINESS FOR US, MY UNDERSTANDING WITH THEM IS THEY HAVE A ROUGHLY NINE MONTH INCUBATION. FROM HERE, WE'RE TAKING YOU INTO WE'RE RELEASING YOU INTO FREEDOM, MORE OR LESS, OR THE WILD. WHY AREN'T WE RECERTIFYING THESE PEOPLE IF THEY ARE NO LONGER AFFILIATED WITH SAMARITAN AND THEY MAY NO LONGER QUALIFY? SO MIGHT THAT BE A WAY TO DECREASE COSTS TO BY RECERTIFYING PEOPLE AND BEING ABLE TO CULL THE HERD FROM FOLKS THAT MAY NOT, MAY NO LONGER BE ELIGIBLE? WE CERTAINLY CAN LOOK INTO THAT. I KNOW THAT OUR STAFF DEFINITELY IS PROACTIVE IN IDENTIFYING RIDERS THAT MAY NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PROGRAM ANYMORE. MAYBE THEY'RE LIVING IN ALAN, OR THEY'RE LIVING IN FRISCO, AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED THOSE ONE OFFS, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK INTO A FORMAL RECERTIFICATION. I'D LIKE SOME THOUGHT INTO THAT.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ME. NOW, THE OTHER QUESTION IS, IS THE LAST ITEM THERE IS LIMITED PURPOSE, BUT I DIDN'T REALLY THINK WE ASKED FOR A TRIP PURPOSE. I KNOW WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE TAKING THEM, RIGHT? WALMART DIALYSIS, BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE SOMETHING. BUT WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? IF WE LIMIT TRIP PURPOSE, I THINK WE WOULD NEED TO BEGIN ASKING FIRST. AND THEN I THINK THE BOARD AND STAFF WOULD HAVE TO ANALYZE WHICH PURPOSE IS TO LIMIT AND WHICH WHICH PURPOSES ARE VALUABLE VERSUS INVALUABLE TO THE BOTTOM LINE. OKAY. YOU KNOW, FOR ME, I'D LOVE TO START OUT WITH THE THOUGHT OF A RECERTIFICATION PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THAT WE DO HAVE SUCH A HOT SPOT OF ORIGINATING AND TERMINATING AT SAMARITAN AND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT THE FOLKS WHO WERE UTILIZING IT AS THEY WERE THERE, AND IF THEY'RE NOT THERE ANYMORE, THEN MAYBE HAVING THEM RECERTIFY. TO HIS POINT, WHAT IS THE TYPICAL INTERVAL WHEN YOU WOULD REEVALUATE SOMEONE? IS THAT A YEAR TIME EVERY OTHER
[00:20:02]
YEAR? WHAT WE DID DO A FORMAL RECERTIFICATION, I WANT TO SAY TWO YEARS AGO, BUT I, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT WE CAN CERTAINLY ESTABLISH A FORMAL PROCESS AND BEGIN DOING THAT EVERY X NUMBER OF YEARS. ARE WE DOING THE CERTIFICATION ON SAMARITAN, OR DO WE JUST ACCEPT THEIR CERTIFICATION? I MISSED YOUR QUESTION. SORRY. DO WE DO THE CERTIFICATION ON SAMARITAN AND RESIDENTS, OR DO WE JUST ACCEPT THE SAMARITAN? DO WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WHERE THEY PROVIDE A CERTIFICATION OF UNHOUSED STATUS AND THEY PROVIDE THAT TO US? BUT AND THEY LET US KNOW WHEN A RIDER IS EXITED AND WE USUALLY FOLLOW UP SAYING, HEY, WHERE ARE YOU LIVING? CAN WE VERIFY YOUR ADDRESS? AND THAT IS THE LITTLE POCKETS OF CERTIFICATION WE'VE DONE, BECAUSE SOMEONE WITH A DISABILITY, SOMEONE WHO IS OVER THE AGE OF 65, WE'VE GOT NO REASON TO RECERTIFY THOSE PEOPLE. I MEAN, OUTSIDE OF ADDRESS CHANGES, RIGHT? AND THAT WOULD BE WHAT WE WOULD BE CONCERNED WITH. IS THAT ADDRESS CHANGE. YEAH. SO BUT I MEAN, THE, THE INCOME, THE ONES WHO ARE CERTIFIED THROUGH INCOME, THAT MAY CHANGE. CORRECT. AND TO THEIR POINT, RECERTIFYING INCOME IS A IS A PROCESS THAT WE'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH ADDRESS. SEEMS LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST GET AN UPDATED ADDRESS ONCE A YEAR OR SOMETHING. AND AND THOSE ARE EASIER TO FIND IN THE INCOME CERTIFICATION IS THE THE HEAVY LIFT RIGHT. ANY OTHER FURTHER QUESTIONS. COMMENTS. WHAT IMPACT, IF ANY, DOES THE REDUCTION IN RIDERSHIP IMPACT THE FUNDS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE CARES ACT? I THINK THE COST OF SERVICE CONTINUES TO GO UP, SO I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE'S REALLY A LINK AT THIS TIME.OKAY. AND THE REDUCTION OF RIDERSHIP WAS SMALL COMPARATIVELY. I'M JUST TRYING TO AND I KNOW I'M PROBABLY NOT ASKING THESE QUESTIONS THE RIGHT WAY, BUT BUT IN TERMS OF THE CONSIDERATION AND DISCUSSION, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE NEED TO INCREASE REVENUES, IS THAT BECAUSE OF A CONCERN OF FUNDING AVAILABLE THROUGH THE CARES ACT? YES, THE CARES ACT FUNDING, ALTHOUGH IT WILL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL WE REACH THE END OF IT, WE ARE REACHING THE END OF IT SOON. IT WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY FOUR YEARS. IF WE MAINTAIN THIS LEVEL OF SERVICE, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF TIME. BUT TO CREATE THE TO MAKE UP THE GAP, I THINK WE SHOULD START DISCUSSING AND MAKING ADJUSTMENTS NOW. YEAH, THE THE REASON I'M ASKING THE CONCERN I HAVE IS HOW DO YOU LIKE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE GOING TO THE MEMBER CITIES, WHICH OBVIOUSLY MCKINNEY IS ONE OF THOSE AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO BE GOING TO THIS BODY AS A COUNCIL, THE OTHER CITIES COUNCIL, TO SAY, POTENTIALLY, WE NEED YOU TO INCREASE YOUR LOCAL MATCH IN ORDER TO ACCESS THE THE DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR OR THE 5050 CONTRIBUTION ON THE FTA'S. AND IF RIDERSHIP IS NOT INCREASING, THEN WHAT WOULD BE THE REASON THAT THEY WOULD WANT TO DO THAT? WELL, I THINK RIDERSHIP HAS CONTINUED TO INCREASE OVER THE COURSE OF THE PROGRAM, BUT ON THIS SLIDE, IT SHOWS THAT WE DIDN'T COLLECT MEMBER CITY CONTRIBUTIONS UNTIL 2025. SO WE HAD FOUR, FIVE YEARS THAT WE WERE NOT GETTING THAT REVENUE RIGHT. AND THE CARES ACT DRAWDOWN WENT FROM 1,000,003 JUST ABOUT TO ABOUT 900,000. SO THERE WAS A DECREASE IN THAT. BUT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT BEING A RELATIVELY PLATEAUED NUMBER, THAT DRAWDOWN, RIGHT. YEAH. FROM 917 TO ANTICIPATE 2026 TO 919. RIGHT. OKAY. AND I DO WANT TO ADD THAT MCKINNEY MAKES UP MOST OF THAT MEMBER CITY CONTRIBUTION BECAUSE THEY TAKE THE MOST RIDES, THEY HAVE THE MOST UNIQUE RIDERS. BUT AND YOU'LL SEE ON THE LAST SLIDE THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING INSTITUTING AN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE FOR THE MEMBER CITIES, BECAUSE MCKINNEY IS ADMINISTERING THE PROGRAM AT THE BEHEST OF THESE OTHER CITIES, AND TO EVENLY DISTRIBUTE THE FIXED COSTS AMONG THE MEMBER CITIES COULD HELP. JASMINE, DID WE EVER FIGURE OUT THE GEOGRAPHY CHANGE THAT THE THAT THEY WERE PLACING ON US AND WHAT THE IMPACT TO OUR BUDGETS THAT WAS GOING TO CREATE? WE DID. SO. THE MCKINNEY FRISCO US IS RECEIVING FUNDING NOW. WE ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO TOUCHING THAT BECAUSE OF HOW SLOW THE DRAWDOWN IS ON THE OLDER FUNDING. I THINK BY THE TIME WE GET TO THAT FUNDING, THEY MAY HAVE CHANGED IT AGAIN. SO I'M NOT REALLY CONCERNED. AT THIS TIME. FRISCO HAS DECLINED TO DRAW DOWN ANY OF THOSE FUNDS, BUT THOSE ARE THOSE COME THROUGH THE FED. YES. SO YEAH, WE'VE GOT 17 MILLION OUT THERE AND UNUSED FED FUNDS THAT IT'S NOT QUITE. YES, BUT IT'S NOT QUITE THAT MUCH FOR THE, THE MF US. IT'S ONLY I THINK ONE
[00:25:06]
YEAR'S WORTH OF THAT. I THINK IT'S THE FY 24. BUT ALL OF THE REST OF THAT MONEY IS FOR. MTD.YEAH OKAY. BUT IT DOESN'T CHANGE KIND OF THE SERVICE THAT WE HAVE TO OUTLAY OR. NO, IT IT REDUCES THE SERVICE AREA AND ADDS SOME, SOME AREAS. BUT AGAIN I THINK IT WILL PROBABLY CHANGE BY THE TIME WE GET AROUND TO USING THAT MONEY. THE I MEAN I DO I DO THINK MAX OBVIOUSLY MAXIMIZING THE STATE MATCH THE WHAT WE CAN GET MATCHED TO THE STATE AND LOCAL FUNDS THROUGH THE FEDERAL PROGRAM IS IS A SOURCE OF FUNDING THAT WE DON'T SEEM TO BE FULLY CAPITALIZED ON CAPITALIZING ON. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WE DO THAT MORE.
THE QUESTION IS IF WE WANT TO IF WE WANT TO MAKE THE CARES ACT FUNDING, WHICH WAS DISTRIBUTED IN 20, 25 YEARS AGO. BUT IF WE WANT TO MAKE THAT LAST FOR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THAT TIME FRAME IS, THEN WE CAN, YOU KNOW, CUT SERVICE TO DO THAT OR PROVIDE FUNDING TO THE CITY TO DO THAT AND WHAT THAT TARGET SHOULD BE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT SHOULD BE. I MEAN, WE'RE JUST BUT AT THE END RIGHT NOW, AT THE END OF FOUR YEARS, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO ONE OR THE OTHER. WE EITHER HAVE TO CUT SERVICE OR WE HAVE TO INCREASE FUNDING. AND SO I GET THE THE IDEA OF HAVING SOME CALLING IT FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY TO IT. BUT WHEN YOU'RE USING TEMPORARY FUNDS, YOU'RE ALWAYS GOING TO IT'S NEVER GOING TO BE SUSTAINABLE.
IT'S JUST WHAT'S THE TIME FRAME YOU'RE YOU'RE WILLING TO ACCEPT. AND RIGHT NOW, I MEAN, THE IDEA WITH THIS WAS TO GO OUT, ENGAGE WITH DART, GET THE ROBUST SERVICE THAT WE NEEDED, SEE IF IT WORKS, SEE IF IT SERVES THE CLIENTELE THAT WE'VE GOT AND AND SEE IF WE CAN BUILD RIDERSHIP. BECAUSE IN PRIOR RENDITIONS, WE STRUGGLED WITH THOSE KIND OF METRICS THAT WE WEREN'T ADDING RIDERS. AT ANY RATE, THAT OUR SERVICE WAS NOT MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT. AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE WE ARE MEETING IT NOW AND THEN. IT'S A DECISION OF, YOU KNOW, DO WE WANT TO KEEP PAYING FOR THAT THROUGH THROUGH CITY FUNDS OR DO WE NOT? AND WHEN DOES THAT WHEN DOES THAT DECISION POINT COME. RIGHT. SO STAFF BELIEVES THAT WE MUST INCREASE REVENUES AND REDUCE EXPENDITURES. SO A COMBINATION OF THE TWO I DON'T THINK WE CAN UNFORTUNATELY GO ON WITHOUT REDUCING OUR SERVICE IN SOME WAY. YEAH. I'M JUST SAYING WE DID THAT LAST YEAR. RIGHT. AND HERE WE ARE ATTEMPTED TO DO THAT. WE'RE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION. WELL, I MEAN, WE WE DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF IT. AND CUTTING, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY 25% OF THE CARES ACT USAGE. BUT, YOU KNOW, DO WE DO THAT EVERY YEAR FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS AND GET AN EXTRA YEAR OUT OF THE CARES ACT FUNDING? DO WE DO IT ALL AT ONCE? YOU KNOW, WE'RE KIND OF PLAYING WITH WHERE IS THAT YOU KNOW, WHEN DOES IT START TO COME? CAUSE HARM ON THE PEOPLE THAT ARE USING IT? OR WHEN DOES IT CAUSE HARM ON OUR BUDGET? AND I GUESS I GET THE THE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT THOSE DECISIONS TO BE MADE EVERY YEAR.
WE'RE PROGRESSING INTO IT. BUT I GUESS IT'S ALSO WE'VE STILL GOT FOUR YEARS OF THAT WILL BE WE'VE WE HAVE EXTINGUISHED ONE TIME, USE MONEY OVER A TEN YEAR PERIOD OF TIME, WHICH SEEMS LIKE A PRETTY GOOD USE OF OF THOSE FUNDS TO ME. I GET THAT WE WALK OFF A CLIFF AT THAT POINT, BUT I DON'T KNOW. WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THAT DECISION TODAY. SEEMS CERTAINLY NO DECISIONS NEED TO BE MADE TODAY. I THINK WHAT STAFF IS LOOKING FOR IS A DIRECTION TO FOLLOW.
WHERE CAN WE ANALYZE THESE OPTIONS AND WHAT COMBINATION OF THESE OPTIONS ARE YOU INTERESTED IN PURSUING? HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO START TO COLLECT THE INFORMATION ON THE NEED FOR THE RIDE? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S EASILY IMPLEMENTED? WE CURRENTLY ARE COLLECTING TRIP PURPOSES FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL WORK AND OTHER. ANOTHER BIG ONE WOULD BE HOME BASED WORK TRIPS, BECAUSE FOR OUR SERVICE THAT MAKES UP 50% OF THE TRIPS. WHAT WE SEE IS THE UNIQUE WRITER TRAVELS SOMEWHERE, AND THEN THEY'RE ULTIMATELY GOING TO MAKE THAT TRIP BACK. SO WE CAN ASSUME THAT AT THE HOME BASED WORK IS DRIVING ABOUT 50% OF THE TRIPS.
NOW, THE QUESTION BECOMES WE ASK THAT QUESTION WHEN PEOPLE BOOK THE TRIP THROUGH THE CALL CENTER. BUT WE DO NOT ASK THAT TRIP WHEN WE'RE BOOKING THE TRIP THROUGH GO PASS. SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE ONLY COLLECTING, I WOULD SAY MAYBE ABOUT HALF OF OUR RIDERSHIP. AND IT'S ALSO
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SKEWING MORE TOWARDS THE DEMOGRAPHIC OF SENIORS. SO I WOULD SAY THAT THE DATA THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE RIGHT NOW, I WOULDN'T WANT TO USE THAT FOR ANY PLANNING OR ANALYSIS GOING FORWARD. NOW, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE HAD THE CONVERSATION ABOUT POTENTIALLY WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT TO BASICALLY DO AN ORIGIN DESTINATION STUDY WHERE YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO COLLECT THAT INFORMATION, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO EXPAND IT TO YOUR RIDERSHIP, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO SURVEY 100% OF OUR RIDERS, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME OPTIONS. BUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THESE TYPES OF THINGS, THESE STUDIES, IT ALSO COMES WITH A COST. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK AS WE'RE TRYING TO BE SUSTAINABLE, THE MORE THAT WE TRY TO DO, WE ALSO NEED TO BE CONSCIENTIOUS OF THE FACT THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND MONEY IN OTHER WAYS TO BASICALLY GET THAT DATA. SO, OKAY. I MEAN, I'D LOVE TO GET SOME INSIGHT FROM YOU ALL WHEN IT'S TIME TO PULL THAT TRIGGER. I THINK FOR FOR ME, WHAT I'M THINKING ABOUT IS WE DON'T MEET EVERY MONTH, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE GOING TO BE NEEDING TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS FAIRLY QUICKLY AT SOME POINT THIS YEAR ABOUT WHAT TO DO FOR FUTURE YEARS. SO, YOU KNOW, AT WHAT POINT DO WE PULL THAT TRIGGER AND SAY, IT'S TIME TO INVEST IN LOOKING AT THAT DATA, COLLECTING THAT DATA SO THAT WE CAN MAKE A MORE INFORMED DECISION ABOUT HOW TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE. ANYBODY ELSE? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. NEXT, WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENTS REGARDING MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA. I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS THE TRANSIT BOARD. WE DO NOT HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION. CORRECT? CORRECT. I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN. SO MOVED. SECOND MOTION BY MAYOR COX. SECOND BY MR. CLOUTIER. WE ARE* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.