HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-05-16 Transcription Page I
Council Present: Alter,Bergus,Dunn (remote),Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas
Staff Present: Fruin,Jones,Kilburg, Goers,Nagle-Gamm,Rummel, Knoche,Havel,
Sovers
Other Present: LeFevre,USG Liasion, Monsivais,Alternate Liasion
1. Evaluate the Feasibility and Funding Sources Needed for a Zero-Fare Transit System
Teague: We are going to start the City of Iowa City work session for May 16,2023. And the-I want to
make sure that Councilor Dunn can hear us and we can hear him.
Dunn: I can hear you. Thank you.
Teague: Awesome.Welcome. And welcome to councilors and everyone here in the audience.We're
gonna go to our first agenda item,evaluate the feasibility and fixnding sources needed for a zero
fare transit system and Darian is just going to jump on up here. So welcome.
Nagle-Gamm: Good evening. Afternoon,I suppose not quite there yet,but we're getting there. Hello,
Mayor,councilors,very excited to be here tonight to talk about transit.
Nagel-Gamm:All right.Rachel,I may need your help with the projector.
[INAUDIBLE]
Teague: And we see it up here.
Goers: We can see it here Darian. So if you can see it,good.
Nagle-Gamm: Great. I can see it.Again,I'm Darian Nagle-Gamm,Director of Transportation services.
Very happy to be here tonight to provide an update on the status of transit service and talk about
the future of transit service. Tonight's agenda to just gonna give you a brief high-level 101 service
summary. We're going to talk a little bit about some of the operational challenges we've been
experiencing. We're going to talk,we're going to rewind a little bit,talk about some of our recent
transit service improvements up to and including yesterday.We had some changes yesterday,so
we'll have some very fresh changes to talk about. And then we'll talk a little bit about transit
service enhancements.And those are those vision items that we have been sort of evaluating since
the transit study came out.We originally evaluated 10 different ones in the council,kinda
narrowed that focus down to three. So we'll talk about zero fare,which-which will be the
headliner tonight. We'll talk about Sunday service and we'll talk about late-night on-demand
service. And of course,no transit service enhancement discussion is complete without talking
about transit funding. So that's gonna be a very important piece of our discussion this evening.
And then we're going to follow up with um,some discussion about staff recommendation and
what those next steps might be.All right, fust and foremost,our mission. So Iowa City transits
mission is to make transit more dependable for those that rely on it every day and make it really
an easier choice for others. Welcome more people to transit,make it work for a better ah,and
greater number of our community members. We are always on a mission to improve our
reliability, affordability, accessibility,safety,of course, sustainability. And we want to make it
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um,as equitable of access for everyone in the community as we can. All right,high-level service
summary. So how do we provide that service to the community? So we have 13 routes,um,six
days a week. The routes are the same no matter the time of day or day a week. That's a-that's
recent enhancement. We provide service from about 6:00 AM to around 10:45,11 PM. at night.
So that's about 17 hour on the weekdays 12 hour on Saturdays. Our fare is $1 currently,we do
have reduced fare options including a reduced fare 31 day pass. We-our services is free for those
that are 65 and up,which is great. Those that have qualified disability also ride transit for free.
Um, it's half-price for youth. Uh,free for Medicare or Seats cardholders. And then the downtown
shuttle for as long as I can remember,is-is a free service so that is always been free. We also offer
a paratransit operations along with our fixed route service. Um,that is-that service is contracted
through Johnson County Seats. Those rides are$2 for qualified riders. All right. So how do we
provide the service? So the fixed routes,of course,the-the paratransit is door-to-door service
depending on location,but the fixed routes are on,as they say,a fixed route. And this is a map of
our current routes um, across the- across the community,including some of the changes that we
made to the North Dodge route in northernmost route in the bright green. And we'll talk a little bit
more about that later. Ah,but these are all a result of the Iowa City area transit study. And these
are all part of the major overhaul that we did in ah,2020 and 2021.All right, let's talk about
staffing. So it takes 63 employees to operate our transit system on a daily basis,and that includes
two transit administrators,that's myself and Mark Rummel.We have 3.5 supervisors. We also
have two parking supervisors that are under the transportation services umbrella,and we do rely
on them heavily, and especially during these major transit system changes,they've been
instrumental in helping as well. So I don't want to leave their-their names out.Uh,we have 47
mass transit operators. That's our-our budgeted number. That's 22 full-time and 25 three-quarter
time. That three-quarter time-those three-quarter time positions are necessary because we have
such an odd number of service hours and it helps us provide that coverage through the heavier
peak hours.We have four mechanics on staff to help keep the buses rolling every day. We have
four maintenance workers that help us tum the buses over at night and to help make sure they're
clean and presentable for the morning and all fueled up,ready to go first thing. We also have a
new management analysts position who um,I just think five months now ah,on staff very
talented and has been an extraordinarily helpful both on the transit side and the parking side of
the house. And we have a program assistant position that will be filling in the near fixture to help
with all of- all of the things um,that we have going on at transit,which is-is quite a bit.All right,
this is the slide I'm very excited about. So this is Iowa City transit ridership. And I'm gonna just
kinda walk you through really briefly where things are at.But this is really a high-level overview
since 2000. So you can see from 2000 to about 2008,which was sort of at our peak during the
Great Recession. If you remember,transit ridership across the country really spiked,then um,and
we-I would say we've remained fairly steady for the next few years after that until about 2015.
Um,then we started to see a little bit of a dip. I attribute that to ah,the-the rise of ride-hailing
services that became so easy to-to call up with a smartphone,gas prices also really started to
decline about that point. So I don't think we could point to any one factor,but I think those two
are definitely uh,parts of that-that decline between 2015 and then 2019.And of course,as you
see highlighted on here,you know the pandemic and that really did a number on our ridership.
And here in Iowa City,cross the metro area and really across the country. So we went from 1.4
million riders per year right before the pandemic to a low of about half a million riders during
2021.We've rebounded a bit in-in FY 22 to 850,000. And we're really excited to say that the
forecast for this year,it looks like we're going to clear 1.1 million,which is more of a mental
thing for-for any of us and trends that we're really excited to clear that mark again because it's
been a bit of an unknown. We're not sure how new commuting patterns are going to-to shake out
and if you know what percentage of people are going to come back to transit,but we're really
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excited to keep moving the ridership needle up and some of the enhancements we'll talk about
later,I think could really-really boost that. So how do those,how do those numbers translate to
the rest of the country?I love to include this,especially in all of our grant applications. It's in
every one of them as many times as I can mention it.But Iowa City area ranks 21st in the nation
in per capita ridership. So we have been on this list for some time. This is actually probably the
lowest that we've been on this list.I think we've been as high as 11th in the nation.And that just
shows the strength of our transit systems,the long,proud history we have with transit use in the
community.And um, so I really like to highlight that as a success always,even when this was in
FY21,that was our lowest transit ridership we've had um,in a very long time. So um,-so it's
something we're always looking to see how we can move up on those lists,get more people on
board.But we're-we're coming from a great place and we're coming from a community that's
really supportive of transit. So it's -it's a great new story. All right,ridership by month. So I just
wanted to just give you a real quick glance as to how our ridership moves,um,with the seasons.
You probably could have expected this graph to look this way. So because we're so,uh, into the
flow with the University traffic,um,and how people ebb and flow with the University calendar,
you can see the spring-you can definitely see a pronounced spring semester and a pronounced
fall semester. In FY20,our highest ridership was about 91,000,um,in July it was 44,000. So it
varies between those amounts,generally speaking. And again,this was FY22. The next slide
here,this is just,uh glimpse as to what our ridership looks like by day of the week.I just
compared,um,FY19 because that was our last pre-pandemic year we had with FY22,which is
our last full year's worth of data we have.But I think the sh-well a it shows,you know,ridership
was definitely down. So before this year,we're-we're coming out of that,um,we're coming out
of that pandemic dip.It was hovering about 43%below our pre-pandemic levels. Um,we're
actually now,I think we're going to f- finish the year in the high 20s,maybe 26,27%below pre-
pandemic levels. So we're definitely crawling out of that.But one good news,um, story here,one
story this slide tells me is that,no matter what uh,um,our overall ridership levels are doing,
things that are pretty consistent on a daily basis as you can see. So it's pretty consistent Monday
through Thursday,Friday,slight dip, Saturday goes very far down. That's p-if you looked across
all of our years,it's going to look very similar to that. Saturday ridership is only 6%of our total
weekly ridership. Um, Sunday ridership. If we had a Sunday ridership on here,I would expect to
see that it would be half of the Saturday ridership. That's usually what you can expect on
Sundays,and that's a pretty kind of standard industry. Um,it varies a little bit between
communities,but I-I would say it would probably be about half of that amount if we had- if we
had Sunday service ridership here to report.All right,ridership by route. So we've ranked these,
each one of our 13 routes by ridership.And you can see at the very top end,the South Iowa City,
the lower Muscatine,the West Iowa City,and the Oakcrest are by far the top performers. South
Gilbert,Eastside Loop,Peninsula, and North Dodge,those are our lowest performers in terms of
ridership. We do have a few in the middle that we're watching very-very cautiously and
carefully,now we're very excited to see what happens. The two Courts Street and the nine
Towncrest,um,beginning yesterday,we just began 20 minute-service on these two routes,they
had 30 minute-service before,so we're really interested in seeing what these changes due to
ridership. Of course,all of the changes to the system that we did as part of the big transit study,
we weren't able to evaluate really how any of those individually worked definitively because of
the pandemic. So this will be the fust changes that we're making where we can measure the
impact that we're going to see the ridership. So we're really carefully watching the Court Street
and Towncrest and see how they might move in this list.
All right,operational challenges. And I- and I think I highlighted some of these at the budget
work session in January,but,you know, staffing,in general,has been a challenge,and having
adequate staff being able to hire adequate staff to cover unplanned absences,um,to plan and
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execute service improvements like what we did yesterday,um,having-we're having hiring pools
that are greatly diminished,we are leaving postings open and we'll-we'll go long time before we
even get an application and this is an unusual state for us to be in.We've had a pretty consistent,
um,supply of interested parties,um,over the years so it's definitely been a challenge. That
coupled with we've got an aging workforce and the need for time off has been increasing. So we
kind of have these two things happening at the same time,um,that's been-it's been a real
challenge for us.
Teague: I have a question. So you have 47 mass transit operators. Do you know what your staffing ratios
would be?Wh-how many staff do you need to make it all work?
Nagle-Gamm: So ideally,the- so the council gratefully,um,approved four additional,um, four-three-
quarter time staff, so part-time staff for us last August. Um,and we use that number to help
design the transit system that we-the tweaks that we rolled yesterday. So in theory,our budgeted
number,we provide the service to the budgeted number that we have,if that makes sense. The a-
what's unknown variable for us is when people get sick and,or there's long-term unexpected
absences,um,it becomes a real challenge for us,and the big problem is-is that if we-,um,we're
not like other-,um,we don't have other jobs that we can-if we're overstaffed,this-I guess,but
what I'm trying to say is if we have too much staff and then we don't have enough hours for
those- for that staff to drive,then that becomes a problem too. So it is a-we have to ride a really
razor-thin edge in transit.Um,we don't have other projects we can assign people to,you know,if-
if- if you know we just happen to have no sick calls for a week,which would be amazing.But,
you know,um, so we-the number that we proposed last August was the number that we thought
we would need in order to put together the-to compensate for unplanned absences to the best that
we could and also plan for those service enhancements that we rolled out yesterday. If we have
more staff,we could improve services, so inc- say for example,increasing the frequency of
service on some of the buses,but at some point,we're going to need more buses too. So that is a
very not clean answer for your question.
Teague:No,I mean I understand it for you. Thank you.
Nagle-Gamm:It's a b-it's a kind of-,it's a-it's a- it's a moving target for us and we-we try to get as close
to-um,
Teague: Sure.
Nagle-Gamm: -having a number where we feel comfortable,but then,um,it's just dependent on the
status,the health,well-being of- of our-of our team. You know,retirements-,unexpected
retirements,unexpected long absences.Yeah.
Taylor: Kind of on those lines,I've-I've known a few people who've been transit drivers and they would
talk about the trippers.Now,uh,do you still utilize those,are those the three-quarter timers that'll
go out,uh,to meet the buses and to let those transit drivers go on their meal breaks and those
kinds?How do you deal with that-
Nagle-Gamm:Yes.
Taylor: -with your numbers?
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Nagle-Gamm:Yes. So we have what we call as extra board drivers. And all of our new drivers, so
through the union agreement,we have a seniority-based system. So all of our new drivers,uh,
began as I think it's like a tripper about,we call them extra board drivers. And they have a semi-
they have a very flexible schedule, so their schedules are very dependent on that week's needs.
Um, and they do go relieve drivers if- if necessary,they do bus switches if necessary. So it's very,
um,you know,we try to target a certain number of hours,but the sched-the schedule isn't
necessarily set. Um, so yeah we have-that's all of our newest drivers start in those positions and
then they work their way seniority-wise into selecting runs, if you will,which is more of a set
schedule and certain routes that-that describes that a little better for you. Yeah. So safeties and
other challenge,um,that we've been talking about,um,increasingly talking about in recent years,
and,um,I think I've mentioned managing passenger conflicts at the fare boxes is always a
challenge.Um,you know,the mask mandate,being responsible for ensuring everybody was
wearing a mask was a real challenge.Um,and that was-I mean,we were happy to do it and we
wanted everybody to ride safely,our drivers wanted everybody to be on board safely,but that was
a real challenge. So- so we have had some of those conflicts decrease,but we have just generally
seen an increase in disruptive and aggressive behavior from the public,and it's a minority of the
public. I will say it is not-it is not,you know, everybody on the bus,there's certainly- it's just a
small number of people. Um,but verbal assaults,um, are becoming increasingly common.In fact,
it's- and that's not just here that's everywhere. Um, federally,we've just recently been required
and I'm talking within the last month because of this uptick to report all verbal assaults,um,on
the bus and whether that's directed at-,I think it's only if they're directed to the driver, sometimes
there's passenger to passenger conflicts too. Um,but that is not an uncommon thing for our
drivers to have to deal with,um,is to just deal with,um, some back-and-forth with-with not
happy customers,especially when-when there's either a conflict of the fare box where they have
to enforce some of our rules so that everybody can ride peacefully. Physical assaults,um,are
thankfully much less common,but they have occurred,um, and that is something that's just a
concern for staff um,always. You know,is- it's- it's s-we have some staff that I think is more
comfortable in-in addressing some of the rules of being onboard,um,than others because there's
just,I think that fear of potential,you know, conflict or,um,just a fear of retribution or,um,just
ge-generally I would say an increase in-in fearfulness.
Thomas: Is there- is there any pattern like to that in terms of the time of day or day of the week?
Nagle-Gamm:I'm trying to think if I can discern a pattern off the top of my head based on the incidents
um,as I become aware of them and I feel like it's really they're all-all times of day.Uh-we could
do some deeper analysis and actually part of our- our new federal reporting kind of requires that
we do that. So that's something we can certainly get back to you on and something that we should
re-evaluate. We do have calls that happen later at night. Um,you know,maybe that could be
alcohol fueled.We do have some that happened in the middle of the day or in the morning too.
Um, so it's just,I think it's off the top off the cuff,I would say it's it happens except for in the
early morning hours. I don't know if we get a lot of incidents in the early morning hours. I think
it's all other times a day seemed to be fair game for-for these incidents.
Thomas: Yeap.My experience when riding the bus,not here but elsewhere was evenings seem to be more
problematic,but-.
Nagle-Gamm:Yeah. It might-it might-that might-that might fair itself out.We'll-we'll take a look at that.
On-time performance issues. There's another operational challenge,and I'm very happy to say
that a lot of the changes we've made yesterday for to address this specifically. So um,I was very
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short with this one. Um,we'll report back,but we're so far things have looked,uh,really good and
just the two days that we've been running on some of those changes which were designed to fix
this issue.Um,I've been talking with you all about the condition of our buses and facilities um,
for- for several years. You're all fairly aware of the age and condition of the transit facility, for
example,um,but we do have older buses. The downtown interchange itself is not really,um,uh,
it's not really hospitable to-to passengers. There's not good cover,there's not good seating. Um,
the annex that's down there,which is a small break room that's attached to the mall um,that was
built into the public right-of-way is in poor condition and,um,it was a real challenge during the
pandemic. It is very small. Um,and there's two restrooms and a very small room with a
refrigerator and a couple of places to sit.And it's-even though we have rotating,um,meal breaks
and schedules,um, it was impossible to keep any sort of reasonable distance [LAUGHTER] in
there.I mean,it's-it's maybe our standards have changed a little bit,um,but uh, it's defmitely on
our agenda to-to take a look at that facility and how else we might be able to provide better break
facilities for our staff downtown. And then last but not least,in terms of condition,our bus stops.
Um,just generally speaking,um,as part of the transit study,um,we hear it from the community.
We can see at ourselves as part of the transit study it identified as an area of opportunity is our
bus stops.We need to take a look at our bus stops. Um,there's-there's a lot of facilities that we
could be adding to our bus stops to make them more safe and comfortable for our passengers.
And,um,and they also need,we have nearly 500 stops. So as we add these facilities,that's going
to take a lot of maintenance,um,to make sure that they are maintained in a way that is safe and
comfortable for the public too. So two things that are on our mind in terms of a bus stops. And
we'll be-that's something that we're going to begin addressing in the next year by bringing in
consultants to help us make recommendations for each bus stop across the community,develop a
plan and then go and start making those improvements,including the downtown interchange.
Dunn: Quick question for you before we get too far into this and it's possible that I may have missed,um,
you would adressing this,but early in your presentation you had,uh,it was one of the first slides.
We had a graphic that showed a downward trend for ridership starting or at least maybe peaking
in 2015. Um,and I'm wondering if you guys have any,uh,broader understanding as to why
ridership has been a- a downward trend since then?And again,apologies if I-I just missed that
comment.
Nagle-Gamm: Thank you. That's-that's an excellent question.Um,I think it's a multifaceted the-the
reasons,but two things stand out to me.Um,the gas prices,if you look at the gas prices um,after
um,the great recession in 2008,they-they were-they're was a precipitous drop.Um, so I think
that's one factor.But then also we had the rise of ride-hailing services. Um,app-based,really easy
to use ride-hailing services. So I think those two things are,I would say account for a good
proportion of it. Um,maybe the general economy also afforded more people the ability to buy
cars and pay for parking too,um,that it's defmitely a possibility,but the-the economy definitely
approved. So those three factors are-are at the top of my list.All right,and the last operational
challenge is electric buses,um,we're still learning. Um they are-they have many positive
benefits and we'll talk a little bit more about those.But,uh,um,they-it is like learning a whole
new language. Just can't believe it.
Teague: Spaceship.
Nagle-Gamin:Yes exactly. Um it's- learning to drive a spaceship.It's essentially it and they just
everything from a troubleshooting perspective,I think the drivers have picked up on them pretty
easily,but they do drive di-different. So it's- it's defmitely a different from a driving perspective.
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You've ever driven in electric vehicle. You know what the pedal, it feels very different to drive.
They're same size. Um,they may be flow a little bit down the road because they're very much
heavier.Um,then all of the equipment on board is-is different for the drivers.Um,but from a
troubleshooting and maintenance perspective,when something,when we get signals from the
bus,we have to figure out what that means. Um,they're all under warranty and we do work with
Proterra,um,very closely. In fact,we-we-we're still learning. We need them to help us work
through most of the issues. Um,but it's-it's a learning experience. So-so we're-we're-we're
taking it day by day. All right. So transit service,improvement time,I just want to take you on a
real quick um,journey back in time and just bring you back up to today just to-to touch on the
points that we the things that we've done in the last few years to improve the transit system. In
August of 2019,we kicked off the Iowa City area transit study. Um,in June 2021,the council
approved the plan.We had a little pandemic break in there.I think we're all very busy with other
things for a bit. The first two pieces of the plan that we implemented was a fair policy alignment
with Coralville.In July of 2021. In August,we launched the new bus routes,um, it's staff
schedules. In January of 2022,we commenced electric bus operations, so we've been in-been in
play with electric transportation for a little over a year now,which has been very exciting. Um,
and then yesterday we had our first round of service level adjustments since the big changes to
the transit system. So we'll talk a little bit more about each one of these in the upcoming slides.
But the next phases,of course,are to consider zero fair or other enhancements,um,and to work
on the bus stops.Um,that's kind of our two hot items that are really kind of at the top of our list
right now.All right, so back into that Rewind mode. So those first-that first group of transit
system changes,um,for those that weren't here or just a refresher for those of you that were,um,
we redesign the routes,we renamed them,we-we numbered them,which has been really helpful.
I'm starting to refer to them solely by the numbers and I'm hearing people in the community to do
that too. So um,there's a color assigned to it and a number which I think helps with legibility.All
of our buses now run every 30 minutes or better during peak times. Um,and that's a major
improvement over our-our former system.Half of our routes now have 30 minutes service mid
day,which it was only a few I mean,only a handful of routes had 30 minutes service,I think
maybe three or four,um,before. So that was one thing we heard from the community. Let's make
service frequency in the middle of the day better so we can use it for these other non work-related
or off schedule-off eight to five schedule work trips. Um,we improved our evening and weekend
service and we made in the same routes as the weekday, so we no longer had a separate evening
and weekend route. So you didn't have to think about what time it was.Um,it was-it just much
cleaner and simpler for the public to understand. Of course,we locked-we launched the battery
electric buses last year. We allow transfers at any stop. That was something that wasn't,um,
system-wide before. So that's been really helpful for the community.Again,we align our fair
policies with Coralville to make it so much easier for people to make cross metro area commutes.
You could use all the passes bought in either community on either system,uh,interchangeably.
We introduced zero fair for those 65 plus and those with disabilities.And I can't tell you the
number of emails of cheers that I got from people who qualified,um, for those free senior,they
call them the senior cards.Um,they were very excited about that.Um,it was really nice to be
able to-to offer that service and give another reason,um,to stay in Iowa City,um,for- for those
in their golden years. Um,those with disabilities also-qualifying disabilities also received a free-
are able and to qualify for free transit and then of course we had that youth 50%discount. So
those were the big changes that we did to the transit system in 2021 and 2022.And what we did
yesterday,I'm just going to highlight these really quickly is we,um,made some changes-
physical changes to the North dodge route, so we no longer directly serve Pearson or ACT,we
would drive onto both of those campuses,um,and they no longer need our service,but
thankfully,um,there's other people in the areas that we're really excited to have our service so we
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changed the route up a bit. Um,we now-so where the ACT campus-we used to pull into the
ACT campus off of Scott Boulevard,now we just go down Scott Boulevard and use that fantastic
roundabout-new roundabout at First Ave and Scott,which is a dream to tum around in-in a bus,
that's much easier than pulling in and backing out,I will tell you that. Um,the drivers have been
really happy about that.But now we're providing service to First Avenue roundabout turning
around and coming back before we head north, so we're able to provide direct service to Oaknoll
East,um,which they were thrilled about and we're thrilled to be able to provide that service.
Further north on the route when you get over the interstate,we used to serve Pearson,which is on
the east-um,no,on the west side,excuse me,of Dodge Street. Um,they have since ceased their
operations or the bulk of their operations there, so we are now serving the opposite side of the
Northgate Corporate Park where there's more employees,there's more,um,potential for
ridership. Um,we're very excited and we've been working with the Highlander. We have a stop at
the Highlander and they've been very accommodating and very excited to have us there and we
also put two stops on Highlander place,which is that little road that gets you to the Highlander,
um,and so we're excited to start to market that new transportation-the new transportation service
that we have available for that side of Northgate,um,very soon to let-to get the word out,let
everybody know. I mentioned that we have 20 minutes service now on the Court Street and
Towncrest routes. Um, so this is in a frequency improvements so we go from 30 minutes to 20
minutes. Um,this is going to resolve some of these persistent on-time performance issues we had
on these routes.We just didn't get these routes right. It was just too tight of a-30 minutes was just
not enough in terms of the full total schedule.It's a 30 minute-30 minute ride it wasn't enough
time,so we changed the route into a 40 minute route and then we have higher frequency service,
so we put more buses out there and that is solving the problem,um,and providing better service
so it is-it's an absolute win,um,40 minutes service on these two routes in the evening and
Saturdays too,which is an improvement from- from hourly service so we're really excited,like I
said,to-to watch how these routes,um,perform in terms of ridership. We've started transit earlier
on eight routes. So after we launched the transit system changes,we heard from a lot of people on
the east side that a-just a trip or two would make a big difference so we are adding 1-2 trips on
each one of these routes in the early morning hours just to help,um,those early birds get where
they need to go or help them make those connections. So-um, so we're excited to have gotten that
off of the ground yesterday. And while we're making-and when we open the schedule or when
we open the-crack open the schedule,or,um,make changes to the system in general,we're
always looking for ways that we can improve the schedules for our drivers because it is there-
there's some tough schedules,um,that are out there so we increased-um,while we had the
schedule open,we increased the number of shifts with two consecutive days off. Um,that's
something that maybe not everybody thinks about,but it was-it's just not a possibility for us
based on the 17 hours a day we need coverage and the-and the six days a week Um, so we've
been really excited about that. Our part-time drivers have more scheduled predictability,so to
your question,um,Councilor Taylor,we have-they're the ones that have the-the most haphazard
schedules,I would say,or unpredictable schedules but we found ways to build some more
predictability into each one of that,um,to help-um,just to help encourage-to encourage those
folks,a,to stick around,but to make their schedules more livable really for them.Um,we
reduced our split shifts to only two,. I think before we made all these transit system changes,we
are at seven or eight,somewhere in the high,um,not quite 10,but somewhere up there. Um, so
we had-we have-um,we have the employees that have work four hours in the morning and then
they go home and then they come back and work four hours in the evening,which as you imagine
is- it can be a-a really difficult schedule,um,but we've found a way.We keep reducing the
numbers.We found ways to make it work,and now we're down to only two of those schedules
and I think those are people that actually like them, so- so thats-that's kind of a win for us too,
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but we're always looking for ways to-to reduce those split shifts.And then as I mentioned,we
increase the trip length on the Court Street and the Towncrest. Those are great benefits for our
customers to be sure,um,20 minutes- so buses come by every 20 minutes but the delight from
our staff has been overwhelming. They have been so happy yesterday and today because those
buses' schedules are so tight,it was almost impossible to get off the bus and nun to the bathroom,
um,and get back in time or grab something or you know take a break in-between those.It was a
really tough route for- for- for- for our drivers to drive. So it's become,I think,our least favorite
route to our most favorite route in-in the course of 24 hours so-um, so we've been really excited
that that's been-um,that's been a kind of a thom in-in our side for some time. So we're really
excited to make those changes. All right,electric buses.Um,so just a really high level,we just
put together-we're just getting all the data together,um,to start understanding,um,the benefits,
um,and the drawbacks of electric buses but,um,really excited to announce,we put 60,000 miles
on E-buses-on our electric buses last year-in the fust year. Um,that's an 88%carbon emission
savings per bus so we saved 32 metric tons of CO_2 just from that transition of four buses from
electric into diesel,um,both from having the electric is just generally speaking,less carbon-
intensive,but because we have MidAmerican Energy electric,which is,um, 88%renewable,that
really increases the amount of carbon savings that we can see. So that was a really exciting
number to see.We also ran the calculations to see how much the fueling costs for an average
diesel bus last year versus the average electric bus and we calculated out that the diesel buses are
$0.98 per mile to fuel and the electric bus only costs $0.23 per mile at our electric rates last year,
so it's really exciting news and that is a considerable-real savings.Um, 82,000 total is what we
calculated in savings from those four electric buses in FY22.As I mentioned before,we're still
getting to know the buses,we're still learning their language.Um,we're leaming how to
troubleshoot, again,we're very reliant on the manufacturer,um, and we're still awaiting our final
charger installation. That project has been-we've been on temporary equipment which is- is-kept
us moving,um,but we're really excited to get the final chargers installed we've had-been
hampered with,um, supply chain issues for a very long time,um,installation issues. There's not a
lot of- it's a global experience,at least in this area,in the installation of this equipment,so there's
been a lot of back-and-forth between Proterra Power Electronics,who is the manufacturer for the
chargers,and then our local contractors. So it's been-it is a project.We'll be happy once we get
this-this piece done because we'll have that knowledge and we'll have some more experience
going into our next-um,our next expansion,um,but it's-we're still-we're still waiting on that.
And then the bus downtime,the last thing I want to mention again is for the warranty repairs,like
I said,so I would say though our repairs for the electric buses are taking twice as long. So that is
really the downside right now. Part of that is us,we have to figure out the problem,we have to
troubleshoot it.We usually have to bring-if it's a warranty repair,we have to bring Proterra in to
help us fix the-of course,the buses are still under warranty so things are taking longer,um,I'd
say,in general. There hasn't been a repair that we haven't overcome yet,we figured out how to
work through all the challenges. The doors are a bit fmicky and we're still working with Proterra
on-on those pieces but outside of that,we've been able to come to a-um, a resolution with-with
every repair that's-that's been needed.It's just they're taking longer. So when they're down,
they're down for longer,um,and we're hoping to see that-to become more commensurate with
our diesel buses as we gain that knowledge and experience going forward.All right, so we've
arrived at our next steps. So,um,really we're at the point to just talk about what are some of the
next options for our transit service. That was-we were in a very unique position with Iowa City
area transit study. Um,I remember our consultants mentioning how exciting it was to not only be
working on a study where we're trying to figure out how to optimize everything,but you're
looking,you know,for-if-based on what we hear from the community,how do we-how do we
enhance the system?Um,and it's still exciting for me to think about and-and the council had
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given us some direction a few years back about the transit service enhancements that-that you
thought might be the most beneficial and based on what we're hearing from the community and
those who are zero fair transit, Sunday service and then late night overnight on-demand service.
So I'm going to talk a little bit about each one of those.Just highlight some of the benefits and
some of the challenges with those based on,um,our research that we've been doing into those
particular enhancements. So first off,zero fare. So what is zero fare?You just hop aboard.Um,
there's no fee,there's no pass required. The fare is essentially prepaid.In FY22 just as in FYI,the
fare only covered 13%of the cost of each ride. So for those that imagine taking away that fair,
you know,you need that fare and it is a considerable part of our revenue. We'll talk about exactly
how much in a few slides,but really that fare only covers 13%of our total-the cost of each ride,
and that is across the United States. There-I can't think of a transit system that is not supported
with other-and needs to be supported with other funds and other,um,finding methods. So ours
is again 13%of-of the expenses for each ride.And of course,zero fare was- is indicated as a
strategic plan item in the-the city strategic plan for FY23 and 24. All right.Zero fare benefits,
um,lots of benefits here I probably could have put more on the slide,but there's-there's plenty of
words here,um,really,it's Zero fare.First and foremost,will remove a significant barrier for
transit use, and whether that barrier is the cost,or the fact that you have to,uh,get a pass,go
somewhere,get a pass,figure out how to work the-the fare box,um,just-it's something you have
to do to get-to get onto-onto the bus,so,um,in,you know,in building a transit system that will
accommodate more riders,what you're looking for is ways to remove barriers,and this-this could
be a very big one,um,it will increase ridership,um,we'll talk a little bit more later about what
we think that might look like,but it will increase ridership,um,it will improve our on-time
performance,um,because for every few imagine the stack of-on customers waiting to-to get on
board to use their pass,they kind of go one at a time,someone might have questions, so it might
be looking,taken for change,um,you know,in their pocket,it takes time,so in those little-those
little moments really add up over the course of a whole route,so it will improve our on-time
performance. It will clearly reduce our fare collection expenses because we will not have,uh,
staff time devoted to-to managing the fare collection system,um,it will address,uh,equity goals
for the community,um,making,uh,transportation available to anybody no matter what income
level you're at easily available to anybody,no matter what income level you're at. It will reduce-
helped to reduce some of those conflicts at the fare box,um,that occur when people don't have
fare- don't have enough fare,they want to use a transfer,they can't use a transfer,um,those things
that just happen,um, at the fare box,it will just be a hello,a friendly wave,uh,you know,
welcome aboard.It'll be,um,it'll be a different,um, environment at the fare box really. Um,one
of the most important benefits,um,to me is that no additional staff or buses are required,um,I
couldn't say this years ago when we first looked at this,that was not the case,that is the case now.
So if there's an upside to the pandemic,maybe that is it.Because our ridership is down,we do not
need to add staff and we do not need to add buses at this time,so,um,just wanted to-just wanted
to point that out,this would be easy,um,in a relatively quick implementation from- from our
perspective.We could also potentially forego 900,000 in fare box expenses, so our fare boxes are
unfortunately or fortunately,depending on how you view the timing,at the end of their useful
life,they will stop being supported,um,by-by our-our fare box manufacturer,and so either-
either way,we can,you know,if we can talk about retiring them,we can talk about,um,you
know,getting a new set,but they will be upwards of 1 million dollars to replace all of our fare
boxes. Um,going forward,this is a potential way to forego those expenses. Clearly,Zero fare
would address our climate action goals and our liability goals for the community,so that's the
more if we really want to shift 55 percent of trips from,um,single occupant vehicles to biking,
walking,and riding transit,um,I can't think of a better way to-in a faster way to-to achieve
those goals then to provide a- a,you know,biking and walking doesn't work for everybody,and if
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a car or a vehicle is the-is a right tool for the job,I can't think of abetter way than to make,uh,
the transit system zero fare,so people can just hop on board,um,and replace that single-single
occupant trip,um,that they might have otherwise made. And last but not least,this would benefit
every single person on every single ride.It's one of the very few things that we could do that will
truly matter what time of day,no matter what income level,uh,no matter what your-your ability,
whether you have a disability,whether you don't have a disability,it would benefit every single
person,um,who hops on board in this community. So challenges with Zero fare. So of course,
this would come with challenges,and the first and foremost,I'm sure it's on everyone's mind is
that loss of fare revenue, so in FY 22,that would have,um,looked like a loss of about$871,000
this year-this fiscal year that we're wrapping up,it's closer to a million,um,to give you kind of a
sense for what that would look like,what gap would need to be made up. There will be federal
funding impacts,um,locally we'll talk about this in a few slides,but locally our fimding,um,one
of our factors that are fimding is dependent on is fare revenue, so that'll be something that we
need to consider,and again,we'll talk about that.Increased demand could require more service,
staff and or capital needs. So again,if we-if- if Zero fare does take off,um,and,um,ridership
continues to grow and build,there is a likelihood at some point we would need additional staff,
we would need additional buses,we would need additional service to help handle,um,the
demand,which would be a great position to be in,but it does not come without,um,you know,
financial challenges that would need to be overcome.Increased paratransit demand,that's another
factor to consider, so,um,when you take away that fare from paratransit as well,we will likely
see an increase in-in demand, so that's something that we have to be considerate ol� and think
about in addition to-to the fixed route system.
Teague: Would you just make it a little,um,speak to that a little more?
Nagle-Gamm: Sure.
Teague:Because paratransit whatever we do within the city,um, as far as fare,if it's free it's required,the
paratransit has to also be,uh, free and then also speak to Coralville,um,who also has a bussing
system.What would that look like?
Nagle-Gamm: That's great questions. So first and foremost,yes. So because are,um,we can- federally we
can charge no more than double fixed route fare for paratransit, so you'll see a dollar fare for,um,
our fixed route system and then a two dollar fare for paratransit. However, if you're making the
service free,um,for fixed route,then-then you need to follow suit with your paratransit services,
so that would-that would need to be free as well,and,um,if Iowa City decided to pursue Zero
fare,that would mean,um,Coralville,um,I don't believe that they've had these discussions,um,
in that community,um,but if-if Iowa City was fare,there's a chance that Coralville could still
require a fare, so there could still be a bus pass that you would need to purchase or you would
need if you transfer the Coralville,use the Coralville service,you would still need to,um,bring
your dollar or bring your bus pass.Um,so there is a chance that if Iowa city considered that this
path forward that the Coralville,there's a good chance that Coralville will still be charging a fare.
Teague: And Coralville is clearly aware we're having this conversation?
Nagle-Gamm:Yes.Yes. The Coralville is aware. Yes, sir. Coralville was part of the transit study as well,
um,and the-the vision item for a Zero fare,um,system focused only on core excuse me-only on
Iowa City,um,at that point,we were the only community that was really mean Cambus was also
onboard with the study. Clearly already have a Zero fare system,um,but it was really only from
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Iowa City's perspective at that point,and I think-as far as I understand,I don't believe that
they've had,um,conversations,um,past that point,that I'm aware of.
Teague: Thank you.
Nagle-Gamm:Yes.And then last but not least,a challenge,um,that we expect will happen with Zero fare
as well,um,increase in free-riding,um,or people riding just to ride. So,and we did see an uptick
in this small period during the pandemic when we,um,we were Zero fare,and we're back
boarding at that time for social distancing,um,and that can become problematic because,you
know,people can be taking up space for other passengers who are trying to get to locations, and
sometimes there could be,uh,concerning behavior,um,we do have rules in place to prevent
people from,you know,doing that now,um,so you can only ride one route,um,you can ride the
route, and then you can ride back,um,but then you have to,you know,you have to exit the bus,
um,so,and just like if there's,you know,if there's any concerning behavior,we would handle it
just like we handle concerning behavior today,um,it's- it would-it would not be any different,
but this is something to be aware of that will likely be,um,an outcome on some level. Alright,
transitioning from Zero fare to Sunday service. So what is Sunday service,um,basically
mirroring the Saturday schedule on Sunday,um,it would be fixed route and it would also be
paratransit service,so that would be,um,both of those would be offered on a Sunday if,um,if
that service were considered.Um hourly service, so most of our routes run hourly on Saturday
now with 40 minutes service on the Lower Muscatine and as of yesterday on the court street and
the Towncrest.Benefits to Sunday service. Well,it would be predictable seven-day week service,
so there'll be no question of whether there were service offered on any particular day,it would
improve the access to weekend employment opportunities,um,we can access to shopping,
festivals, church,uh,recreation,um,that sort of thing,um,across the weekend.It was highly
requested in the transit study and it would,um,as I mentioned before,I would apply to fixed
route and paratransit. So both of those services would be available.All right. Challenges with-
with Sunday Service. I think the fust,ah,and foremost challenge,um,is that we're going to need
additional staff in order to provide seven-day week service. It becomes,um,considerable
challenge to add th-that extra day on Sunday.Um,we especially from-uh,we would need more
drivers to be sure,10 additional drivers,but we would need additional administrative staff. We
would need a supervisor or a weekend operations supervisor to manage it. We have an on-call
situation that we kinda get by with right now.Um,we don't have mechanics on staff over the
weekend and we don't have maintenance staff on the weekend,but we would need that staff if we
had service on both days to ensure that continuity of service throughout the week Um, 10,three-
quarter time drivers right now. I honestly can't tell you how long that would literally take if we
posted that right now,um,to fill those positions. It would take some time.It took us the better
part of between August and now and we're still not fully staffed,um,to-to get to fully staffed,
um,from the four additional,um,drivers that you approved last August. So it-it would be a real
challenge to-to get the number of drivers. And I- and I honestly wouldn't be able to peg a time to
that very easily. Again,I mentioned these issues earlier that the candidate pools have diminished.
Um,we have less applicants with CDLs and then new federal requirements which are lengthening
the,um,process by which people,um,the training that people need before they can get their
CDL.Because of the additional staffing increases necessary,the expenses,um,were forecasted to
increase by about 1.3 million annually. Um,paratransit demand would also increase like I
mentioned. So paratransit demand is about$68 a trip. Um, it-we had 25,000 little over 20- almost
26,000,um,last year- last fiscal year in terms of trips to give you a sense for how many of those
trips we offer throughout the community.And then the-the last challenge I wanna mention is that
we expect to Sunday ridership not to exceed 24%of the weekly ridership. So again,if you
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visualize that-that day of the week chart,that Monday through Thursday was pretty consistent.
Friday dropped out and Saturday really dropped down. Sunday would be about half of what that
Saturday service would be in terms of expected ridership.
Alter: I know this is like an onion where you peel one thing back and there's more and more layers to this.
But I was wondering-I know at one point early on there was the idea of a pilot program,right?
And I'm just wondering within scope of that,I guess.Was there a study done on what routes
would be most used by?-You know,where would it be-I'm not coming out with a question right.
I think you know where I'm going.I guess what I'm thinking is in terms of Sunday ridership and-
and sort of the-the big lift that it would take in terms of capacity of money and whatnot.Um,
have you been able to consider maybe well, it's the South route, its Court,it's whatever-
whatever-whatever.But it would be like we've got four routes that we're going to go with to
begin with or-or to say that this is what we're going to offer and then others can chime in. Other
users can say,hey,actually we would want this. I don't know if- like I said,I understand this is
incredibly complex,but I'm thinking-I love that you gave the scope of like here's what it would
be for everything. Have there been other considerations of scaling it downward a little bit?
Nagle-Gamm:It's a really good-it's a really good question.And I-I don't think from a fixed route
perspective,we considered anything besides an all-or-nothing.Um,not to say that it couldn't
happen.I mean,theoretically,you know,we could-we could apply a service,but I think the-the-
the benefits might diminish though because we would need-still need all that staffing,that
administrative overhead,um,to provide even service on Sunday at all. Um, so the cost-benefit
might not be there unless you can maximize your ridership,um,which would really take a full
expansion.We did,um, some other options.We did looked at-look at is doing an on-demand
option,um,on Sunday. One of the-,um,and that's that-that-that's a different-that's a different,
you know,animal altogether.But the next option I'm going to talk about is a late night overnight
on-demand option,but really that can be extended to any time transit is not an operation. So in
theory,if that was-,um,that might be-that might be an option for Sunday service as well. So that
might-we-there might be a way to-to utilize that service to help provide on-demand,um,
support,um,on Sundays.But yeah,we did look at this holistically.Um,and we didn't- and we
didn't-,um,we didn't get route by route ridership projections,um, from the consultant team.
Yeah.
Alter: Your point though about the overhead. I mean,that's just not going to give you the return on
investment if it's just to down size the number of routes so,yeah. All right. Thank you.
Nagle-Gamm:All right. So segue way right into late-night on-demand. And like I said,this could be also
applied to,um,anytime transit is not in service. I think that's how some communities use this as
well. So again,runs when transit is not in service.Um,this particular way we're envisioning this
would be a shared vehicle or a vanpool. You'd schedule by phone or by app. And this is another
strategic plan item that's in the plan for FY25 or FY28 to evaluate. So benefits of an evening or
late-night on-demand service is that it provides a safe,late-night transportation option for
employees. It provides equitable access to opportunity. It's a reliable service.Um,there's,you
know,some oth-other options out there where you don't really-I say,I'm thinking Uber or Lyft
or some-some sort of partnership in that respect. You don't always know, ah,the supply of
vehicles at any 1 hour. This is kinda more of a-a reliable and a guaranteed,um,ride. And of
course,it supports economic development and our equity objectives. Challenges. Its cost
significantly more per ride than transit.Um,there's a question,of course,of who would,um,
contract and operate the service. Um,a regional service would be best,um,in this community,I-
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I suspect, and serve those who work and live in different communities.Not all late-night
overnight,um,demand is just enclosed within Iowa City so it could be a broader discussion than-
than what we're having right here. That might require cost-sharing agreements with other
communities. Um,and our preliminary estimate,um,and that's been a bit since we put this
together was about 650,000 per year and that was just really considering Iowa City related trips
and that was about$35 per ride. I suspected if I ran these numbers right now,um,you'd see that
$35 per ride go up,maybe by$20. Um,based on how we've seen for example Seats,ridership per
ride go up. So costs are escalating and increasing. Um,um,it seems like by the minute we're all
hoping that things start settling down,um,but I suspect that that number,when we revisit it,it's
gonna look-it's gonna look higher.
Harmesen: I have- it's probably a dumb question,but why not the city by half a dozen vans and hire those
six-,you know, six positions and or whatever it would be that with all the added stuff. What
would be the as opposed to contracting it out?
Nagle-Gamm:I would say-and we did look at that too. Um, and this was,um,prior to your arrival on
council.We did look at internally managing that and between the-the software package that we
would need to get the-the vehicles and the staffing. Um,I don't think it rose to the top of the list
in terms of the cost-benefit.
Harmsen: Okay.
Nagle-Gamm:Um,it would be-and I would suspect anybody who's doing the service,whether it was in-
house or any other,um, service,it's going to be a challenge to staff it as well,especially this
because it's late at night and it's overnight.Um,so,yeah,it was-it's-Yeah. I think that those are
some of the challenges that we would have in-house.
Fruin: Think it's just looking at who already has maybe invested in some of those fixed assets,whether it's
of an app,if you're subsidizing in-in Uber or a Lyft,ah,type of operation where you have
providers like Horizons that does this up in Linn County,um,and being able to tap into not only
their workforce that may be able to go between communities but also their dispatch system,their-
their vehicle fleet. Um,you know,there's-there's economies of-of scale to-to tap into even Seats
might be,you know,an option to explore.Um,but for us to start on-demand from scratch,we just
have to expect that it'd be a little bit more expensive,uh,with that initial,um, investment in the-
the back end of things.
Harmsen:Would that hold true then of- for a Sunday service because that would be daytime would be the
same sort of thing,or would that change the-change the dynamic a little?
Nagle-Gamm:You-you mean in terms of whether this it-would be,um, it would be,ah.
Harmsen:Harder to find staff because it no longer would be overnight,you know,that kind of stuff.
Nagle-Gamm:Yeah,I mean,I think it's any-anything that we would need to staff on a Sunday during the
day would be easier for us to staff on a night. However,weekend staffing is a challenge,um,in
general for us but,um,yeah.For- for the reason Geoff outlined the economies of scale and the
fact that especially,um,the Horizons I think of,but- any we could,you know,anybody with a
vanpool service could provide this. Um,it seems like it would be a quicker,um,more efficient
process to rely on a reliable partner who's provided the service with,um,results,and honestly,
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Horizons comes to mind and- and I've spoken with Cedar Rapids. Um,they've gotten very good
feedback from Cedar Rapids because they provide off-transit service for Cedar Rapids. So they
provide their-the-the contracted service for Cedar Rapids. So it's good to know there's a model
in the area that works.Um,and they have expressed interest in,um,potentially expanding if that's
ever something that the council wants to pursue.
Harmsen:I don't wanna go too far down the rabbit hole, so I'll ask one more. Um,the Horizons,do you
know what do they charge?Do they charge the riders a certain set fare,or does depend on
distance,or how does that work?
Nagle-Gamm: So when we last talked,um,and this might have changed because again,that$35,um,per
ride estimate was developed in part with conversations through Horizons. Um,they were
charging,I believe it was six dollars one way,um,and that again,was a couple of years ago. So I
don't know if that's changed.Um,which is not inexpensive really. Um,it's not but it's when the-
when- for the passenger,but when you're talking about cost per ride of 35 or up,um,you know,
it's-it's a small portion of it. So City of Cedar Rapids does subsidize the service. I think all the
metro area,um,entities. It's my understanding that they-they help to support that service.
Harmsen: Thank you.
Nagle- Gamm: Yeah.
Alter: I have one question. Um,because you just answered the one about what the cost for the passenger
would be roughly understanding it's probably gone up since then. Um,but the other is whether
there's-you've had any conversations with the University about partnering since and I recognize
to your point that,you know,this probably be more regional than just Iowa City,but on the flip
side,especially like weekend nights,um,I'm really struck by the-the safety aspect of this and
that I know that at one time there kinda were those like weird party bus get home options. And so
I was thinking that the University might,I mean,I realize times are tough all over.But I just
wondered if those conversations had possibly happened that there could be a partnership since I
would think that students would be,um, a significant portion of potential riders.
Nagle-Gamm:Yes,we haven't,um,I wouldn't say we have had formal conversations,but that would,um,
because this is on the strategic plan as an item for the future where that will be part of our
conversations.Absolutely,um,and they are- it's been interesting to watch University because
their services are evolving to-evolving and changing as well. So, ah,we do keep in
communication and-and talk about these different types of services that we have.And,um,and
so that's something that I'm excited. I think they've just recently rolled out some changes to that
end to their late night-overnight and that's something I have on my list.Next time,um,I have my
regular quarterly meeting with the University to talk about just how those programs are going.
But that will definitely be part of that discussion at anytime when-when the time is right for,um,
for us to move forward and bring you more information. Um,we'll certainly be looking at what
the University is doing then if there's any partnership opportunities there.All right.Next slide,
transit funding. So this is where the real exciting stuff happens. So,um,FY22,I'm just giving you
a snapshot on this slide of what our transit l ending,or revenue looks like. So,um,you can see the
largest,um,portion is,ah,we use that for a local match,but that is,ah,that's our-that's really our,
um,transit levy. So that's our,uh,property tax revenues. That makes up the greatest portion. Um,
our federal operating grant,which we're going to talk about in a few slides have a little bit of a
discussion about that made up 16%of our total revenue. COVID Relief Funding,um,which all of
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this has an expiration date on it made up about 23%. So nearly a quarter of our-our revenue last
year was COVID fimding relief. Then you get into a smaller slice.Um,so fare revenue made up
8%of our total revenues. To give you kind of a sense for,ah,it's- it's not an insignificant portion,
but compared to all of our other fimding sources,it is-it is relatively small. And then our other
funding sources,other revenue and most of this is proceeds from the court's treat transportation
center. And if you weren't aware,that was developed in 2006 I believe,as a partnership project
between the Federal Transit Administration and the city.And all proceeds are to go to support the
transit system. So we have parking proceeds.We have,um,there's-there's a restaurant,there's a
daycare,there's the inner city bus,um,all of those rents,they go to the transit system. So that is
what that,um,the bulk of that 7%in other revenue is. All right.Little bit more about fare
revenue. First,let's talk about,um,transit trip costs. So if you look at the box on your right in
FY22,each transit trip cost$7.64. So that's how much it cost the city to provide that trip. Um,one
dollar fare,of course,um, covers then 13%of those transit expenses. And I just wanted to show
a,um,and you know,the fair is a small portion of that,but also,um,the transit trip that$7.64
may or may not seem shocking,but just a few years ago it was three dollars and some cents. So
it's more than doubled very quickly. Um, so it's something that we're keeping-we're keeping an
eye on. Each paratransit trip cost$68 per trip. And again,we recover two dollars for the fare. So
that's $66 that we need to come up with from under-other fimding sources. And so that really-
that fare only covers about 3%,um,of-of the expenses for paratransit. So the fare makeup not
they're not insignificant,but they do make up a small portion of,um,the overall expenses. And as
I mentioned before,um, 871,000 was our fare revenue in FY22.We're forecasting about 985,000
for this fiscal year that's about to wrap up. So those would be the fares that are foregone if we-if
we considered moving to zero fare. And that includes both fixed route and paratransit.
Teague: Can you help me understand this a-a little better?
Nagle-Gamm: Sure.
Teague: I think it used to be$80 per hour for a bus to run. So I'm trying to make the shift in my head to
the 764.
Nagle-Gamm: So it's probably 100. Is it 100, and what do you think it is now?
Rummel: 105.
Nagle-Gamm: So it's bright- it's about 105 now per hour. So that is the total cost of operating that bus. So
that is the driver,the fuel,the average,you know,the maintenance cost for it to provide one hour
of our service it costs a little bit over$100 per hour.Yeah.
Teague: Thank you.
Nagle-Gamm:Yeah. All right. As I promised,we're going to get into federal funding land and I will try to
make it as exciting as I possibly can. It's difficult with this material,but 5307 is that operating
funding that we get to keep our transit system afloat. It is very important,um,it helps fund all
transit systems across the United States we're all very dependent on it. And the urbanized area,so
the whole urbanized area through the MPO,receives an allocation based on-an annual allocation
based on urbanized area population,population density,and then last but not least,small
intensive communities. And this is bonus fimding. And we are a small intensive community,call
it stick funding.Um,but there are six criteria for the small intensive,um, community fimding.
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And if in this criteria,we're outperforming larger metropolitan areas,we get-our metro area gets
around$500,000 bonus. For each one of those criteria we are hitting. We hit four of the criteria
on a regular basis. So we get over two million extra dollars per year because we are a high
performing,um,metro area,which is really great news.We take all that fimding comes through
the MPO. The MPO helps distribute those fimds locally to Coralville transit,Cambus and City of
Iowa City using a formula that they've had in place for some time. This formula considers,uh,
total operating costs for each entity,locally determined income,revenue miles,and then last but
not least, fare revenue. So there in lies the-the impact-the potential impact to our federal fimding
by moving to a zero fare. So without any changes to this MPO JC formula.If you looked at last
year's,um,distributions, for example,Iowa City would lose about$600,000 annually,moving to
a zero fare if no changes to the formula we're done. That would be simply because we'd be
reporting zero fare revenue into that formula that determines how-how the-how the fimding is
distributed. Iowa City would of course,propose a formula- if zero fare-if we decided to move in
the direction of zero fare,Iowa City would propose a formula update to keep funding allocations
in the metro area stable. So what Iowa City would propose is that we keep our funding formulas
stable for the next two years based on where they're at right now. So that chart on your right,um,
as I mentioned,there's four formula,um, four criteria that we use. The chart on your right shows
you basically how those criteria related to the proportion of funding that was,um,delivered to
Iowa City Coralville or Cambus for the last ten years. So you see in the last,um, four or five
years,um,Iowa City's proportion has been about 61-61.33 percent. Our proposal would be to
carry that current funding level and the same level for Cambus and the same level for Coralville
transit,carry it forward for two years,um,if we-if we decide to move forward with a zero fare
pilot so that we can ensure that our fimding is stable and consistent and we're not penalize for
bringing a zero fare service to the-to the community,really the metro area community. Iowa City
specifically,but we do support,um,transit service for the metro area also. All right.More about
federal fimding. So more than you probably ever want to know. So this chart shows our federal
funding between,um,FY13 and our forecast through FY29.And you can see in the light pink,
uh,the allocations when they were much lower in the first,um, 10 years- 10 or so years. That was
underfimd or former federal legislation. It was mapped 21 if you follow that sort of thing. Uh,but
you could see our funding levels were relatively low,they never cleared two million dollars.
We've received a historic increase in our federal funding for transit as part of the bi-partisan
infrastructure law that was signed into law last year. Uh,life-saving,life-giving,uh,not just for
us but for transit agencies across the country,um,it was nearly a 50 percent increase,which is,
we've never seen anything like that. That's,of course really great news,right?Especially if that
federal fimding um,continues. You can see There's a five-year time limit right now in bi-partisan
infrastructure law,we don't know what happens past those five-years. Um, it is-if this graph
shows you what would happen if federal fimding continued to,um,on the same trajectory.But
we also don't know if this scenario is,um going to happen where it was a historic,um, increase
and then it's followed by a decrease back to our previous fimding levels.We-there isn't a historic
record of transit levels-transit funding making such dramatic drops.But we need to be prepared,
especially when we're considering these really,um,this kinda high ticket transit service
enhancements.We need to be prepared and aware,um,of all options, so there is a potential for
drop-off. In the next couple of slides,I'm going to show you some- some transit fimding
forecasts. We forecast at each one-if transits,um,the fimding levels stay where we hope they
will stay or even increase,we would not be opposed to an increase. Uh,we did not run a scenario
about an increase,uh,but we also want to make sure we're presenting to you tonight to what it
would look like if that fimding level dropped back down again because that's something we need
to consider.All right, so first- first slide I want to show you is status quo operations. So this is if
we did nothing.No enhancements to the transit system. We just-we just keep on running the
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transit system.Um,you can see in the top scenario here,this is where there's no drop-off in
federal funding. You can see,even with no drop-off and federal funding,even if we don't enhance
the transit system in any major way,we're going to start seeing budget shortfalls in the out year in
FY29. If there is a drop in federal funding,we're going to start seeing those shortfalls a little bit
earlier.We're going to start seeing them in FY28,um,$76,000 is what it's forecasted,but really in
FY29 if that federal funding drops off,we're going to-we're expecting at least a$2.8 million
shortfall at that point. So that's just something for us all to be very aware of in general,ah,we're
not the only transit agency who's seeing this on the horizon. Um,it's just something we need to be
cognizant of as we're having these discussions about,uh,transit services.
Alter: You can,um put a pin in this if it's upcoming,but you had a slide as well that said that the-the
main revenue source right now is actually our property taxes. And so I'm wondering about all the
changes in the state and property taxes and what that does so-
Nagle-Gamm:It's a good question. So I-I don't-I'm trying to think how far down the road Nicole went
with when we're developing these scenarios. There could be changes to our property taxes. If they
make changes to how we are able to assess it right now it's $0.95 on every 1,000 dollar in taxable
valuation. Um, if the state makes changes to that,there's no changes right now in this latest batch.
But if there are changes to that in fixture,this is going to change.
Fruin:Yeah. That-that's right. The-the legislation that just passed this-this session did not touch the
transit levy,but there's clear intent to continue down the road of property tax reform next session
to you hear a lot of this is a first step. This is a start type of language from the state legislature. So
at this point,we don't anticipate a change to the levy.But at the end of the day,what this is
showing and- and the underlying assumptions that are going into these numbers is expenses are-
are far exceeding revenues. So this shows roughly about a 5%growth year over year in
expenditures for status quo operations.And excuse me,revenues would-would only be growing
about 2%.Now if you remember the last two years,we've had a decrease in taxable value,the last
two budget years. So we would like to think and historically we've performed better than 2%on
the property tax side. Um,but that hasn't been our case recently. So there is some conservative
numbers built-in here,but we've also have good reason to budget conservatively earliest project
conservatively here.
Nagle-Gamm:All right, so the other fix-funding projection we wanna to share tonight is if we went into a
zero-fare system. So under the top scenario,that's a no drop-off in federal funding. That's our
best-case scenario right now.You can see we would have fixnding available for four years.We
are assuming we're gonna be able to break even for those four years. Those four years are the last
four years we'll have the COVID funding-the COVID Relief funding available to us. Those are
coinciding.In addition to that increase in federal operating and the COVID fixnding has been a
really-a lifesaver for the community. So the- it becomes a challenge when we get into FY27,so
then we start to see the shortfalls appear in 27.We see an over$900,000 shortfall with-with no
decrease in federal fixnding. So this is the best-case scenario,$2.2 million shortfall forecasted in
FY28,2.5 million forecasted in FY29. And again,that's a federal o- operating funds continue at
the same level. Situation gets a little bit more bleak if there's a drop-off in federal funding.Again,
in the 900,OOOs in terms of a shortfall in FY27,FY28,it's looking more like a 3.5 million deficit.
And then FY29,upwards of 43.95 is what we're forecasting for a shortfall with the zero fare. So
clearly,there's things for us to think about. And- and what this slide tells me is that we do have
funding for-we do have funding for a pilot,but we're going to need to think really long and hard
about what other-this is something that we want to continue for the community.If this is the
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direction we want to head,we're going to have to think long and hard about how we might be
able to support it through other funding revenue sources in the fixture. Which leads me to my staff
recommendation. So,you know at this point from staffs perspective,where we're at,especially
considering where we're at with the ridership and the cost, associated costs and the other
challenges associated with all of these different enhancements where really our recommendation
is that we would prioritize a two-year zero fare pilot.And the reasons are,first and foremost the
zero fare will benefit every single rider, every single day,no matter what time they're riding,it's
gonna be a benefit for every single person.We expect ridership to increase between 20%-60%. In
the Iowa City area transit study,the consultants based on other experiences and with
communities,not unlike ours across the country,they forecasted 40%-60%. I bump that down a
little bit us-to-to get us a little bit lower because I-I'm not quite sure about the pandemic effect,
but it could be anywhere in there.But I suspect we will see-we will see a significant ridership
increase,which would be a great thing for the community. Again, it will remove that barrier for
transit use for all those people who just have-haven't hopped on board because they just haven't
figured out the fare thing. They just didn't want to go get the fare-take the fare,don't know how
to work the fare box somehow makes them nervous. How easy to just hop on board and-and go.
This is one of those rare-rare community projects that will truly address climate,equity,
economic objectives,livability objectives. You know it can really put Iowa city on the map.
We're already all over the map in terms of livability,we're always very high on the rankings.But
in all honesty,the ease with which people move throughout community is a hallmark of a great
community.Iowa city could also be known for having a great transit system that it's free and so
easy to use.It's-these are the things that-that help make Iowa City a great place to live. It would
definitely improve the passenger and- and driver experience. It would make boarding and de-
boarding quicker,reduce those conflicts at the fare box,we can implement it fairly quickly. Like I
said,if Sunday service would take time to implement,to get the staffing,to get things in order
and-and the other,a late night overnight that will-that will also be a service that it's gonna take
some time to plan and-and execute. This one can be done fairly quickly. We have the potential to
forego 900,000 in today's cost for replacing the fare boxes. Those cost will-will rise over time.
Then again,the-the-the less conflicts that the fare box,which I already mentioned. So back to
those other options that have been-we've been percolating on and thinking about for- for several
years to-to adress Sunday service first,it would be challenging to staff,as I've mentioned,
especially in the staffing conditions we're at right now,it would be difficult to pilot in that you
have to hire staff-additional staff in order to pilot. So you know then you could come to a point at
multiple years later.Maybe it's not the-the direction we want to proceed.And-and then you have
this additional staff onboard. And-and that can be challenging from a pilot perspective. And we
generally expect a low overall ridership increase.Again,back to that day of the week slide,we're
going to see probably half of Saturdays ridership.Late night on-demand service also has a high
cost per ride.We do expect relatively low ridership when compared to the fixed route system.
And that will-that will also be-that will take more time to develop that entire project. So from
our perspective- from staffs perspective right now the timing is really ideal to consider a zero
fare pilot at this time. We have the COVID Relief Funding,which is a great position for us to be
in. We're very thankful for that federal support. We are in an unfortunate-and fortunate position
where we have COVID ridership losses. So we have extra capacity,known capacity that we know
we can-we can increase ridership with that and we don't have any additional staffing needs or
any additional buses. That was not the case when we did the study. The-the price tag for this was,
I think at that point 2.3 million in annual operating costs and then about four million for
additional buses. So we're in a different situation now. So it's I don't wanna go through another
pandemic again to get into this situation.But this is-this might be a really great opportunity to
take advantage of some of that ridership losses and help build that back.We would recommend
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an annual check-in with council on the things that we'd want to discuss would be to review the
ridership. What we're seeing from a ridership perspective re-review the financial forecast that we
just reviewed with you.Determine whether to resume collecting fares and initiating fare box
procurement,those processes we will need to plan for well in advance. It's not an easy thing to
able take some time. The better part of a year if we do transition, if we were to move forward
with zero fare and if we ever wanted to transition out of that pilots back into a fare based system,
we would need the time to be able to get the fare boxes that we need. Another thing we would
want to discuss if-if these check-ins is-is really discuss funding strategies to address potential
fixture shortfalls. And speaking of fimding sources. So this is just a really high-level,um, er,
quick chart just to identify what some of those landing sources could be. Um,there could be,um,
increased parking fees that could help support transit operations. There could be er,changes-
changes to or use of property taxes to help support operating or capital expenses. There could
potentially be a utility tax or a sales tax that could help support,um,operations or capital
expenses. And the last one I wanted to mention is community partnerships. So this is something
that other communities have leveraged,um,in their own communities to help support,um,Zero
fare Missoula Montana is one example. Um,they have,er,very strong community partnership
and I think their,um,their entire Zero fare launch was,um-not their entire,but it was- it was
made possible by partnerships within their communities. So businesses,organizations that found
the value providing an easy zero fare transit system, and they've been running it for some time,
successfully running their service for some time.All right. So if zero fare,if we were to-to
continue down the path of zero fare,this is kind of what,um,the launch sequence might look
like. The completed phases brings you basically up into this point today where we're discussing,
er-we're having our work session discussion.But the next steps would be in July. If- if this is the
direction we want to move to we would go back to the MPO and ask for a funding formula
discussion to make sure that,um, especially within this pilot period that we aren't going to lose
federal funding at this time,that we-that it remains stable. So we would like to have that
discussion on the MPO board level.Er,we could plan,like I said,we could transit,we can make
this transition relatively quickly. We could transition the summer or fall to a zero fare system. It
is one of the rare big changes that we can make in the transit system that we can do quickly and
it's hard to do things quickly and transit. So er- so summer or fall is when we could expect to
launch. Um,we would schedule a one-year check-in.Next summer we would come back and talk
through those items that I just discussed, funding,how the ridership is going,um,just have a
general discussion about where things are at,what the funding forecasts look like.And then we'd
also make plans for the next-for the next year and have again another check-in in the summer of
2025 and determine how to proceed from that point. So that concludes the presentation. Thank
you all,um, for letting me go on about transit. I'm always very excited to do so. And I'd be
happy to answer any questions,er,that you have.
Harmsen:Er,thank you very much for your presentation.Um,do you anticipate any,er,difficulties with
the MPO JC discussion about the funding formula because that seems like if that goes poorly,that
could be a-an obstacle or a sure thing that would trip us up.
Nagle-Gamm: Great question. We've had a preliminary discussion already. So we've,um,I've met with,
um,the MPO. The MPO hosted a meeting between us,um,Coralville transit and Cambus, and
everybody wants more money always,right?Um,but I think everybody,um,the general tenor of
the discussion was that nobody wanted to lose money,um. So I think there's -I think there's
definitely some opportunity,er, for a discussion here. And if we're presenting it in such a way to
carry us through-through this zero fare,um,and maintaining the funding that's already there in
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terms of,um,proportions,I think we would have a good,um-we would get a good shot at
concurrence with that.
Harmsen:Are there any other parts of the fimding,proposals,grants,anything else that's based on fare
that, er, cut ridership counts could substitute for could we facing any other,um,things that might
trip us up in that way?
Nagle-Gamm:I don't believe trip us up.Um,there are opportunities in my mind,um,depending on how
much we increase ridership and how our performance numbers go up.But there are two more
stick categories where we could potentially get bonus fimding, so I would like to look a little bit
more into if- if we start increasing our ridership,we're getting this 20,30,40 percent. Um,what
would it take for the community,the greater metro area to-to bring more money in?And I'm not
saying that's a done deal,but that's something that I-I wanna look a little bit more into.Um,
barring I think as Geoff mentioned,the question marks fimding levels, er,in my mind are,you
know,the property taxes.What happens with um-what happens on the state level with property
taxes in terms of transit fimding?That's-I'm not sure how that's going to pan out.But I think
federally,I think that is really the only-the local distribution formula is the last piece that,um,
that we need to really seriously look at.
Harmsen:And it seems like in many ways the long-term success of this program is going to hinge on
increases in ridership. Um, and then so how would that be counted in such a way that should there
be a skeptic of this we could say,because we don't have the fare counter,right,which is a pretty
hard and fast way. So what would those ridership counts be looked like if somebody did have
questions?Like,are those the federal government wanted to audit those counts to make sure they
were accurate and complete,er,how would-how does that work?
Nagle-Gamm: That's a great question. We ha-we will be required to. So we're going to maintain the fare
boxes in the fare-in the buses for the duration of the pilot.We would not-we would not get rid of
them and so we will still count on them. So for example on election day and we do zero fare on
election day, so we cover up,we would cover them up,and then we have,um-we have a button
that we push to count ridership. We need that ridership data and we will collect it.
Harmsen: Sure.
Nagle-Gamm:It is required. It's a-it's a requirement of our federal fimding as well that we have that
ridership data.Um,if this is something that the community would like to pursue long-term,we
will probably move to a system more like Cambus's system. They also have to report numbers
and they don't have ridership. And you've all seen Cambuses„there can be crushed loads of
people getting on those at-at one time. Um,they have-we all have tablets,um,on our bus that's,
um,they're Syncromatics tablets. They are AVL system. The drivers login and logout. It allows
us to see from a dispatch perspective where the buses are,you know,send that information to the
app.Um,there's counting,er, software,if you will,that were add ons that we can buy so they-
that-that the drivers could use that to collect data.And then Cambus also has automated
passenger counters over their doors. So they use a dual combination and I'm not sure how they
reconcile them,but that's something I'm very interested,um,in finding out about. So we plan on
meeting with Cambus and,um,and figuring out a little bit about their system.But I have heard
that they really- it's the-the way that they're doing is really effective and they really like it. So we
will still continue-we will still continue to count,we will still have ridership numbers,and we
will still have that data,um,er,that we can make available to anybody in the public.
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Harmsen:Excellent. Thank you so much.
Nagle-Gamm:Yeah, Thank you.
Thomas: I think one other point that-that certainly I've made in public events where we've talked about
transit is if we were to do this then Iowa city becomes a zero fare city.I mean,Cambus is already
zero fair. I think having both systems,zero fare makes them much more coherent statement about
Iowa City as a Transit City. So I think there's that. I mean,it is interesting Cambus is,you know,
coming from the Bay Area. It's-it's really almost equivalent to what-what I experienced in the Bay
Area. And-and it has very high it's serving students who are living in a high density for the most
part-parts of Iowa City. So at,you know,the bus is that also high reminds me of San Francisco.
The buses are crowded.But yeah,I really do like the idea of Iowa City being known as a transit
fair city. Whether you're writing Iowa City transit or Cambus,I think that-that says a lot about
transit as a priority here.And then all the other reasons,of course,I think make perfect sense. I-I
know in my experience,bus-bus drivers have a hard job,you know,collecting fares as well as
driving the vehicle. So getting that off their plate,I think is a huge benefit to the driver,which,
you know,it's-a hard enough job without worrying about making sure people are paying their fare
and the actual paying of the fare and so forth. So I remember riding in Brazil where they had a
separate person on the bus collecting the fares from the driver,which I thought,well,that's nice.
But yeah,just taking that off there,you know,their responsibilities I think would really enhance
the,you know,the experience of the driver and then the bus stops. You mentioned that,you
know,I've also tried to emphasize it's,you know,taking the bus is also either a walk or bike ride
to the bus. So what's that experience like?And certainly the bus stops and you know, at many
experiences where you're-you're hypersensitive to time when you're waiting for a bus. So trying
to make that as pleasant experience as possible,I think is-is another important piece.
Teague: I and sure the Council can ask a lot more questions. One thing I wanted to know is,when do you
need an answer from us time-wise because we saw your kind of saw your timeline at the bottom.
Nagle-Gamm: Sooner rather than later.If-if you'd like to meet that timeline. We would-like I said,we
would if we receive the direction to proceed,the first agenda item would be to have those go back
and have those conversation-follow-up conversations with Coralville transit with-with Cambus
come to some agreement about the fanding formula and then take that to the-the MPO board for
formal review.And that would be in-in July I think to 12 for the 13th,is here or is not here.
Teague: So we have at least one more work session that we can maybe follow up on this. Or we can come
back to this item.
Fruin:Yeah,you-you can schedule another work session. Or we could-we could put a resolution on the
formal meeting if you'd like to.You don't have a formal vote on this and kind of that historic
record of-of this pilot. That's fine,too.We could take that approach.I don't know that our
resolution is required,but there's-there's a good we'd like to get this launch. Our-our target would
be before the school year.I think that's-that's a good target to have.But there's a lot of work to do
in terms of communication and marketing prep as well,and will need every bit of it. So we'll
probably start working towards that after today without making any concrete decisions until you
feel comfortable giving us that green light.
Teague:Maybe I can get a temperature of the council.
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Bergus: Sorry. I think as far as the pilot,I don't have really any hesitancy,you know, is something that we
would be setting the expectation that could be reversed if it didn't go as we would hope.And I
just think that it's hard to imagine a project with as much strategic plan alignment as something
like this. So I and based on,you know, an hour and 40 minutes of information from-from Darian,
I feel comfortable saying,yes,let's pursue this now.
Dunn: I also strongly support the pilot.
Teague: All right.
Alter: I do too.
Teague:Right. So I think we'll go ahead with a resolution and we'll probably have it on our next agenda
or one of our future agendas. Thank you so much.
Nagle-Gamm: Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it.
Bergus: Thank you.
Alter: Very exciting.
Bergus: It's exciting.
Teague: All right. We're going to move on to our-we're going to try to do this right now. So we're going
to move on to info-information Packets May-May 4th.
2. Clarification of Agenda Items
Teague: I'm sorry.Yes.Maybe clarification-clarification of agenda items first.
3. Information Packet Disucssion [May 4,May 111
Teague: All right.May 4th,information packet.
Bergus: It probably police relating to the iP3.
Teague: IP3. Yeah,that's going to be our 2023 Iowa small business community of the year award that we
received and we actually on Saturday receive that by the SBA members. And so we're going to
ask council at the end of this work session to gather around and take a picture. Yes. That's a huge
accomplishment for this community. So yeah.
Alter:Nice.
Teague:May 11th,I'll point out that IP7 May 20th we'll be at the Iowa City farmer's market.Mayor Alter
and I.
Alter: You just promoted me.
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Teague: All right.Mayor Pro Tem,Alter an L And that time will be 09:00 AM to 11:00 AM.
Bergus: I noticed the memo from our Climate Action Coordinator and I don't know that that needs I think
that's for our information we're planning to pursue those. Is that right?
Fruin:Yeah. It was something-last time Sarah presented to you and asked her to go back to the Climate
Action Commission and have this discussion. So she's just reporting back.We don't need specific
direction.
Bergus:Looks good. It's exciting.
Teague: And I do plan with Mayor Pro Tem and Geoff to have kind of some of those ARPA fund dollars.
Some of those I would say low-hanging fruit or some of the ones that people are waiting for
answers to get it on our agenda sooner rather than later. So we'll be working on that.
Fruin:We're pretty close to having a quarterly update,is that in June?
Kilburg:Yeah,the quarterly update will be coming up here in May-you're right,June. Sorry about that.
Teague: And not just know,there's a few things on there that I think the council can talk about,so we'll
work some of that in.
Bergus: Great.
Teague: All right. And anything else for May 11th?
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4. University of Iowa Student Government(USG)Updates
Teague: We're going to move it a USG. Yes.
Teague: Welcome-welcome.
LeFevre: Hi council. Sorry.I was a little late. I was dropping off my roommate at the airport.
[OVERLAPPING].Every other student is basically gone from campus except for the ones living
here in town. So great parking,but the route to Cedar Rapids is really busy. So overall,not much
news coming from USG,Keaton and I,current GR director and former City liaison are working
on a renters guide to present to you guys obviously,and to have data ready. And then we're
working on a lease gap housing program that we ran multiple years.It goes to the House Hotel.
So that's-that's in the works from us mostly,um,and then UIowa will wants to increase non-
student undergraduate tuition by 1%and a$305 increase from in-state residents. I got this from
The Daily Iowan. So that's the University news,but not much else is really happening besides a
bunch construction. So thank you guys so much.
Teague: All right.
Bergus: Thank you.
Teague: Get rest to all the students that are taking off this summer.
Alter: Yes.
5. Council Updates on Assigned Boards,Commissions,and Committees
Teague: All right. Any updates on boards,any commissions,assignments or anything like that?
Taylor: I'll just-quickly Rachel and I participated in a disability committee, a Zoom meeting and there
was a really excellent presentation I thought by the joint emergency management commission on
storm preparedness,including information about mechanisms they have in place for persons with
disabilities,which I hadn't really ever thought of that you hear the storm sirens,but what if you're
deaf or all those things. So it was really an excellent presentation.And with all of our recent
severe storm warnings we've had,I think it would be a good presentation to have either for or one
of our work sessions or even to suggest for a joint entities meeting.I think it would be good for-
for people to know those kinds of things.We talked about some upcoming dates for the disability
awareness of events. I don't have those dates in front of me,Rachel do you recall some of those
dates,I think they're coming up more in the- in the fall,I believe in.But keep-keep your eyes out
for that because that's always a good event and usually on the ped mall and the proclamations and
things. So that's all.
Teague: Great. And-and that might be at least from what I can hear,a good presentation for the joint
entities maybe.
Taylor: Yes,it'd be very good for that.
Teague: Any other updates?All right. Well,we are adjourned until our formal meeting at 06:00 PM.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of May 16, 2023.