PCC May 23, 2007, minutes

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Minutes
PCC Executive Committee Meeting
May 23, 2007
711 Eddy Street, San Francisco

PCC Executive Committee Members Present: Stu Smith, PCC Chair; Cheryl Damico; Laurie Graham, PCC Secretary; Dee Ann Hendrix; Genya Ehrlich; Pam Martinez for Hal Mellegard; Byron Yan; Iona Lawhorn; Ruach Graffis; Erma Brim; Sandra Fancher; Lisa Rosene; Jacy Cohen; Melecio Torres; Betsy Eddy; Claudia Grubler; Olivia Santiago; Matthew Yamashita; Patty Clement; Ruth Lawner

PCC Executive Committee Members Excused: Jeanne Lynch, PCC Vice Chair; Bruce Oka; Griff Humphrey

Guests: Erica Hamilton, Adult Day Services Network; Leon Schmidt, N&SM ADHC; Wannee Ratanasanguan; Robert Schwarz; Nelson Sosa, MPT; Jane Bolig, National/Veteran’s Cab Company

Paratransit Broker: Marc Soto; Kevin McNay

Muni: Annette Williams; Kate Toran

Read and Approve Agenda

Stu Smith, PCC Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:40 am. He read the agenda, which was motioned/seconded and passed (M/S/P) as presented.

Approve minutes of April 18, 2007 meeting

The minutes were M/S/P as presented.

Comments from the Chair:

Stu thanked everyone for attending the meeting and he welcomed two new members in the Affiliated Disabled caucus. At the last PCC meeting, Claudia Grubler and Olivia Santiago were both voted in by acclimation. It’s important for all of us to continually look for recruitment opportunities to ensure that the PCC remains vibrant and brings in new members with new ideas and experiences. Today there is a vote scheduled in the Affiliated Elderly caucus.

It has been a sad few weeks for the PCC community. Jewel McGinnis passed away two weeks ago, and we heard the news earlier this week that Vince Behan also passed away. Stu stated that he would like to take some time to honor both of these outstanding individuals. They both gave a lot of time, energy and commitment to making sure that our paratransit service meets the needs of the riders.

Many PCC members, staff and community members told stories and anecdotes about Jewel and Vincent, and their hard work advocated on behalf of the senior and disabled community. Iona Lawhorn wrote an essay about Jewel, which Kate read on Iona’s behalf. (This essay is attached at the end of the minutes.) Jewel and Vincent will be missed. Kate stated that Cindy Kauffman suggested that an award be named after Jewel, and Griff Humphrey suggested to Kate that the PCC Appreciation Luncheon should be renamed the Jewel McGinnis Appreciation Luncheon. Kate stated that these suggestions will be discussed by the Planning and Review Subcommittee. Kate announced that the PCC Appreciation Luncheon will be held on June 20th at the Legion of Honor. The group will meet at 11:15 am for luncheon in the Legion Café and then at 12:30 pm there will be a docent-led tour of the museum. Kate will be sending out more information and luncheon order forms.

Election: Affiliated Elderly Caucus

Kate stated that there is one vacancy in the Affiliated Elderly caucus as well as one vacancy in the Public Agencies, Adult Day Health Care Representative slot. Kate stated that she had been in discussion with Erica Hamilton, the Coordinator for the Adult Day Services Network, about the two vacancies. Kate hadn’t added the Public Agency vacancy on the agenda because typically the agency simply appoints a representative to the PCC. The ADHC representative slot had been filled for many years by Elizabeth Boardman. The slot was originally for the ADHC Planning Council, which was a public body appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The ADHC Planning Council was disbanded a few years ago, and there is no comparable public agency serving its purpose. The Membership Subcommittee discussed this topic at the time of the change, and decided to change the By-Laws to broaden the category. The By-Laws were amended to read “ADHC Representative,” and Elizabeth Boardman continued her PCC Executive Committee membership in this slot. Now we are at the point that Elizabeth has retired, and there really is no comparable public ADHC public entity. Kate explained that she discussed this with Erica and with Stu Smith and that the intention was to discuss Erica participating on the PCC Executive Committee in the ADHC slot, although the Adult Day Services Network is not technically a public agency.

Cheryl Damico stated that the Planning and Review Subcommittee (formerly the Membership Subcommittee) should meet to discuss this topic further. Annette suggested that the group may want to move the ADHC slot to another caucus such as non-profit providers or an affiliated caucus. Patty Clement stated that the language in the By-Laws should reflect that the position should include Adult Day social programs as well as Adult Day health programs.

Erica Hamilton was then voted in by acclimation as the Affiliated Elderly representative for the Adult Day Services Network.

Report from the May 2, 2007 PC&O Taxi/Ramp Taxi Subcommittee

Cheryl Damico gave the following report:

• Commissioner Tom Oneto explained the proposed taxi drivers’ health package. He stated that the San Francisco Taxi Commission adopted and forwarded the Drivers’ Health Care Working Group’s recommendation to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with one minor modification for final decision.

• All San Francisco taxi drivers would pay 10% into the plan; participating drivers would pay an additional 20%; medallion holders and taxi companies would each pay 25%. The monthly cost to the drivers would be $265 per individual participant.

• The proposed meter rate increase: the flag drop rate would be reduced to $3.00. Thereafter, each 1/6th of a mile will be 40 cents and wait time will be 40 cents per minute.

• Driver incentives program: A large number of ramp taxi medallion holders and drivers attended the meeting. Kate gave an over view of the draft taxi driver’s incentive proposal.

• Ramp medallion owners suggested several incentives; such as:

allowing the ramped vehicle to operate beyond the 3 year/ 350,000 miles maximum limit would be a good incentive for the ramp taxi program.
Providing wheelchair riders with stickers which they would give to the drivers for their waybills when a wheelchair ride is provided
allowing ramp taxis to start the meter when a wheelchair order is received.
one central number for the ramp orders works better and the incentives should be given directly to the drivers.
adding $5 - $7 or 15% - 20% to the meter for each wheelchair ride.

• Under the broker report Marc Soto stated that 6,000 copies of taxi cab pocket guide, which was created by Easter Seals/Project Action, will be distributed to taxi drivers through the color schemes and the SFPD. The monitoring of Ramp Taxi wheelchair pickups will be increased

• The next PC&O Taxi/Ramp Taxi meeting will be on August 1st at 10:30 am

Update on the FTA Section 5310 Grant Process

Kate reported that typically the 5310 process begins in January, and the PCC convenes in February/March to review the applications for the federal funding. This year, the 5310 process has been delayed because there is are changes to the process as brought about by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). This federal funding legislation (SAFETEA-LU) requires that a coordinated transportation plan is in effect before the 5310 funds can be approved. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is in the process of developing the coordinated transportation plan. Two of the consultants working on the plan (Richard Weiner and Jan Garret) came to the PCC meeting in January to provide information about the process and to get in-put from the PCC on important transportation needs for seniors and disabled persons which are not met by ADA programs that should be included in the plan.

At this point, CalTrans is anticipating at least a 6 month delay in the process. Kate will continue to keep the PCC informed.

Paratransit Broker Report:

Marc Soto provided the following report:

Ramp Taxi Survey: As follow up from the accessible taxi conference in New York, the Broker staff met with Muni and Taxi Commission staff to discuss improving the ramp taxi service. A survey was developed and staff made random phone calls for ramp taxi service to under-performing companies (not Luxor and Yellow). Marc will report on the results at the next PCC meeting.
SF Paratransit Customer Satisfaction Survey: The survey phone calls have been completed by the firm Corey, Canapary and Galanis and next the data needs to be synthesized. A preliminary report should be available by the next PCC meeting.
PASS Training: There will be a Passenger Assistance Training at the Broker’s office on June 6th – 8th. Individuals who need to be re-certified only need to attend on the 8th. There are five free slots for re-certs, so please sign up with Kevin. Also, Marc is working on setting up a Paratransit Eligibility Training for certification staff.
MPT Status: During the transition from TME to MPT Veolia Management met with Nathaniel Ford, Director of the Municipal Transportation Agency, to discuss the MTA’s concerns with the ADA van service. Nathaniel Ford stated that service had to stabilize, and then improve. Stabilization was defined by an immediate reduction in complaints and improvement in on-time reliability. Veolia and the MTA agreed that MPT would have a 90-day deadline for contract compliance. June 1st will be the 90th day of the contract, and the Broker has developed an evaluation tool to assess MPT’s performance. If MPT has achieved substantial compliance, the Broker will work with them for an additional 60 days to tie up the loose ends. Veolia has been working with the MTA on other options if MPT is not in substantial compliance. The Broker is serious about contract compliance and service improvements. MPT is working on making the needed improvements. A new phone system has been ordered and MPT will work to pre-cable and pre-wire the new, expanded office space and then they will work with Marc on the cutover plan for installing the new phones to minimize any interruption in phone service. MPT has issued new driver uniforms and ID badges. MPT has purchased a new Nextel mobile phone system with an activated Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) capacity. The Broker’s IT staff has conducted computer scheduling and dispatching training for MPT staff. Matthew Yamashita has been officially hired as MPT’s general manager. There’s still work to do in the maintenance area, and MPT will be outsourcing some vehicle maintenance.

Ruach Graffis stated that she has problems getting through to a person after 7:00 pm. On the 21st, Ruach called after 8:00 pm and nobody answered. She called 4 different numbers that she has for MPT. Finally at 8:20 pm she was able to get directly through to a driver. She was trying to cancel her ride. Twice Ruach has cancelled rides and the van still shows up. Matt will look back at the specific phone records and check with staff about what happened. Marc recommended that Matt make test calls after hours to check on what’s happening.

Robert Schwarz stated that he has been tracking his trips and MPT is late over 30% of the time, ranging from ½ hour to 1 our. He needs to schedule his pick up 1.5 hours in advance of his appointments. He has experienced about 8 no shows.

Jane Bolig stated that National or Veterans would also like to provide taxi back up service for MPT.

Jacy Cohen stated that she has had two parents call her about the customer satisfaction survey. Many ARC clients are non-verbal but the caretakers said that they were not able to take the survey. Marc responded that in the past, Corey, Canapary and Galanis set up procedures so that caregivers were able to take the survey. Marc will follow up and check with Jon Canapary on that item. Jacy then reported that group van service has stabilized and she hasn’t had any complaints. A complaint was made on April 30th but there hasn’t been a response yet. Marc stated that he is not familiar with the April 30th complaint, but that he will follow up with MPT. Marc added that Self Help had some specific concerns with MPT. One day there were a total of 17 MPT drivers out, and that was a bad service day at Self Help. Cheryl Damico reported that MPT’s on time performance has improved for her service. Byron Yan stated that he had a few late trips this month (one on Mother’s day). Byron stated that it’s hard to reach a live person on the phone. They often just pick up and then put you on hold. Marc responded that that practice needs to stop. Lisa Rosene stated that she serves children and dependent elders and people cannot miss their vital medical appointments. Some parents of children in her program are in danger of losing their jobs because they take too many days off. Lisa cannot afford to wait for improvements; the day 17 drivers were out was a huge problem. Patty Clement stated that taxis work well for seniors, and that MPT should call the center when there’s a problem, such as the day 17 drivers were out. Sometimes family members may be able to bring in the clients.

Olivia Santiago stated that on behalf of City College students there have been some improvements but there are still some issues. The drivers need to know about disabilities. A blind student was asked to wait outside, and it was not comfortable for him to wait outside. There is a designated paratransit waiting area at City College, but usually students have to go out to wait for the driver.

Announcements:

Kate announced that Cynthia Petersen asked her to make the following announcement: As of July 1, 2007, GGBHTD will implement its annual fare increase adjustment, which it has done every year since 1998. Increases are implemented annually in order to keep them small and manageable and reflect actual operating cost changes and cost of living increases. This year, the annual fare increase will be 5% and will apply to regional bus and District intercounty paratransit service fares.

Kate also announced that the PCC advisory committee to the SF Taxi Commission will meet on June 14th from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm at the SF Paratransit office to interview the first batch of applicants for the 25 new ramp taxi medallions.

The next PCC meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 27, 2007
10:30 am – 12:30 pm at 711 Eddy Street.

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