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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-02-09 TranscriptionWork Session page 1 Keith Ruff/ The reason we asked all of you here today is that there is going to be a change in how we get around, meaning paratransit. First of all, let me say, ! have not had one question asked of me over the years, how I would like the paratransit. And I don't think it's fair for any entity, anywhere, anyhow, made up of anyone, telling me what I'm going to do, what I'm going to take, and when I'm going to take it. I know money is scarce, but I think human values, outspend money by a million dollars. And I just don't like the attitude of City Council coming up with a plan without getting any of our input. I know I would never go over the year, and yet, two weeks ago, Mr. Thornberry told me that the survey was given to riders. I never saw that survey. How many of you saw that survey, raise your hand if anyone saw that survey? There is no one who saw the survey. Where are they getting the input. But the reason I called this meeting today is to talk to other groups to come up with answers to many questions that we had to the plan that was done without our input. And I would like somebody to pass out the plan to those who want a copy of it. Now, before I get lost in bureaucracy, what I'm going to do is give an overview of what has transpired over maybe the past year. Then we're going to break up into groups of maybe five, and the group will pick a facilitator, and the group up here will go from group to group to group. What we want you to do, and what we need you to do is come up with ideas that don't conceptually meet this plan. Meaning, if the plan that the City Council has put together, if it doesn't meet your needs, I want you to feel free to say so. I don't want people just to sit back and be afraid of any policies anywhere. We need to get this right, or it's not going to work for anyone. Does anyone of my colleagues have anything to say? Casey Hayse/ Yes. Can everybody hear me? I have a mic on. I would like to mention points that I identified in the plan that concern me a lot. I was told by the City Council at the City Council meeting that the service would not be substantially changed. I'm not a rocket scientist. I'm not a rocket scientist, but there are some numbers and some issues that concern me, and I think the whole group should think about this. One part of the proposal that was given to the City Council by the City of Iowa City states "the number of hours that people would work on paratransit per week" and that number was 375. Presently, SEATS hours are from 490 to 550 per week. Also, reading further in the City report, the national number of buses on the road anytime of the day is 7. When SEATS has 9 to 11 buses on the roads between 8:00 and 5:00 in the daytime. That fluctuates with demand, and I'm sure the demand would increase if people would ask for more rides if paratransit was marketed better. One huge concern that I have is all the negativity in the press about SEATS. See, I would like to say, publicly, that I feel that SEATS employees are dedicated, responsible, essential people with integrity that serve people in this community who are unable to use mainline service. And that This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 2 integrity deserves respect, their experience running the service. In this community, there's a lot of things that need to be changed, but the City of Iowa City, the City Council, the Board of Supervisors, have to use people with disabilities in the decision-making process. Not after the fact. After the fact is just like patting us on the head and saying "there, there, we took care of us, now you can advise us." We do not want to advise anyone after these decisions are being made that affect our lives. All of us in this room are people who use paratransit services, and we have a right to participate in the decision-making process. And this is our effort to make that happen. This is the beginning of the dialogue that I hope can continue into the future, and I hope that it slows the Council's process so that no bad decisions are being made. Do you have anything? Chris O'Hanlon/ After that, it's pretty hard to follow up. ??/ I think you've said your piece, because I couldn't say any more than what you said. O'Hanlon/ To me, I'd say, I think the critical thing is getting people involved now, before the decisions are made, before the planning is done, before it's all locked in stone. Getting the people involved after the fact, just drawing up a budget, laying it all out, and saying this is what we're doing, we're going to do it, and then later on we'll bring you in as an advisory board, to meet maybe quarterly or something like that, and tell us what we're doing wrong, is kind of putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. And so, hopefully, this is the kind of dialogue where we're hoping to get your input into this process so that the process isn't just one-sided. Typically, throughout history, people with disabilities have had things handed to them, decisions made for them, and they're told, well this is how we do it, you either take it or leave it. Well, those days are over, folks. We're going to start getting more and more involvement of the people who participate in the services and taking charge of their own services. ??/ I do. I've just got one question. Are they going to come door to door, or do we have to go to different stops. Because I don't think I can make it that far. O'Hanlon/ Well, those are some of the decisions that are being established now. IfI understand right. In the form that was handed out, the proposed budget, it clearly says that they're going to continue service as it is. ??/ Okay. O'Hanlon/ That's what -- This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 3 ??/ That's the -- O'Hanlon/ That's what they say -- ??/ That's the only question I had. O'Hanlon/ Whether or not that's the truth at this point is still to be debated, because the critical issue in all this is the money. The reason that all of this is being done is money. It's going to be cheaper to provide the service this way than the other way. If you get right down to it, at the heart of it is money. It's not to provide better services. It's not about getting your life better or whatnot, and some of these changes could impact those services. I don't know that they will. They're saying that it won't. Ruff/ And when I moved to Iowa, I thought our number one pride and joy was going to be the people first, and worrying about money later. This seems to be the reverse, worry about money and the poor little handicapped, they can take what we give them, as long as we balance our budget. I don't buy that, and I never have worked for a board that has not involved me. Everything the office does, I've never had a board do something without my involvement. So this completely tums my mind around about the basic philosophy of Iowa. We care more about the almighty greenback than we care about the people we live with. Don't forget anyone in this room that is not disabled can become disabled overnight. And then they can put up with the same crap we put up with. Hayse/ To me, it's right here in black and white. I look at this and I see less flexibility and I see that I can participate in cormnunity life less. That's what I see when I look at this report. And so, we up here, at the table, don't want to interpret the facts for you. The reason why we called this meeting was to get a consensus of the ridership ofparatransit. What are your priorities so we can offer those priorities to the City Council and to engage in a decision-making process with the City Council. That's why we're here. Ruff/ All right. On my agenda, we have Breakout Sessions, which I would like to start as soon as possible. But, before I left the office, I was given a letter by Rod Sullivan of the ARC. This letter was to Mr. Atkins. Chris, my co-host here, has consented to read it because you read a little clearer than I do. After the letter is read, we're going to gather every five. Please get into a group. Talk about the plan. We're going to do that for about 45 minutes. Then, I'm going to bring you This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 4 back as a group, and we're going to come up with some goals and issues that should be presented to the Council tomorrow night. Thank you, Chris. Kubby/ Chris, do you need the mic? O'Hanlon/ Thank you, Karen. I probably don't need it, because I have a big enough mouth as it is. "Dear Mr. Atkins. It has come to my attention that you are unhappy with the tone of my recent letter to the City Council, 2/3/98. I admit that it may be a bit harsh, but you should know that the tone of my letter is very representative of the comments we have gotten over the past couple of months. People who use paratransit service have serious issues with the City. You can refer to my earlier letter for specific concerns. The ARC of Johnson County truly wishes to help Iowa City to become a better place to live. Given this commitment, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with the City regarding paratransit or any other quality of life issue. We have offered to speak with the City at least twice, letters dated 12/9/97 and 2/3/98. In the past two months, no one from the City has spoken to us regarding these offers. We appreciate your willingness to contact a member of our Board of Directors on this issue, and hope that this is the beginning of a dialogue between the two groups. Please contact me at, there's a telephone number here, 351-5017, if you wish to discuss this matter further. Thank you for your interest in what the ARC has to say. Sincerely, Rod Sullivan, Executive Director of the ARC of Johnson County. Ruff/ And when Rod gave me that letter about an hour and a half ago, he said as of then, he did not hear from any City Council member yet. O'Hanlon/ To me, I know that several of us have gone and spoken to the City Council, in the individual sessions, and raised our issues. And now, we have the budget in front of us, which would indicate to some degree that, regardless of what we said or did, this is going to happen this way. And it's kind of ticking off a lot of people. That it seems like no matter what we say or do, we're going to get told what happens. And so, I suggest that if you people feel like many of us do, you should get your comments up and out today. This would be a real good opportunity for us to verbalize attitudes, ideas, feelings, at least as early in the process as possible, if you want to be involved in the process. Ruff/ Chris, may I add an addendum. Not only attitudes and feelings, but also mechanical needs. Many of us work nowadays. Many of us are going to depend on paratransit because of that work, and because we cannot give the old tired excuse to our boss, oh, the bus didn't show up, so I didn't get to work. How This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 5 would that sound from anyone not disabled? No boss would ever listen to that excuse. So, we don't need to have any to us as a group. O'Hanlon/ I also would like to say one thing about having read that letter, which came from a provider of service in the community. One of the things that quite often has happened is that you go to a few experts, providers, the establishment, a few contact people, people from Goodwill, people from here, from Systems homes, that's not the same thing as talking to the consumers, the people who use the service themselves. And so, while we validate that people are concerned and the providers of services out there are critically involved in this daily, it's really the people themselves that need to get their views expressed. So, hopefully, that's what we'll get today. Jeanette Ockenfels/ Well, my expression is, I have to get to work, maybe, I'm going to get back to my regular schedule, and I have to be to work, maybe three times a week, I don't know, my schedule is not like that right now, but when I get my full schedule, I like to have a bus there that can give me assistance, help me, without asking for help. And that's what I've been doing for Iowa City transit. Ruff/ Thank you, Virginia. ??/ Someone back here. Tim Keller/ I'm Tim Keller. Ruff/ Yeah. Keller/ I hope the business community of the towns of Swisher, Solon, Lone Tree, you know, are to blame for coercing the City Council into doing what it is doing. Sending a message to me, if I'm having no choice to live in those towns, to where I would be told I can't hold a job because I'm disabled. And the truth of the matter is, I will not be able to (can't hear) from Solon to Iowa City on a daily basis, except to pay the high cost of cab fare. Ruff/ Tim--? Keller/ They are going to make the business communities of these towns accountable for this, because we have some premises activities in these towns. Ruff/ Tim, maybe you could bring that up in your group, okay? I don't want to cut you off, but I don't want to waste time -- yes, ma'am? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 6 Louise Young/ Hi, my name is Louise Young, and I'm also speaking on behalf of my ex- husband Culver. I've used SEATS bus when I was recovering from a broken leg, when I was in North Liberty, and it was invaluable for being able to get to the doctor's. And a lot cheaper than having to use medical transit, which would have been the other choice. North Liberty has three days service now. People that are using SEATS from North Liberty can only use it Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Now, I live in Iowa City, and it's taking me a little while to get used to, I can use it every day, if need be. But, we still need to use it, because there are times when it's difficult for Culver to transfer into a car comfortably, when using SEATS bus, is a lot less wear and tear for him. It should be available for the whole County, when the City reneges on their part of the contract, they are not thinking about the effect on the rest of the County for services. Also, apparently, they seem to be under the impression they can get by with one SEATS van during noon hour? Huh-uh. What happens if somebody from the westside and somebody from the eastside needs the service at the same time? Ruff/ Yes, sir? ??/ (Can't hear) transit service at night is the (can't hear) that's the problem with SEATS, too. They can't get all the running at night. I'm surprised they'd cut SEATS, when they have such a great service. I wondered why SEATS is going to be cut when Iowa City transit already has problems, because they can't run on schedule. So why take on another service if you can't fix the first service? With those cuts at night, some people miss out on routes, because the buses out where I live only stops one hour, so you take away SEATS and you already have problems with the current system. Ruff/ I thank people for what they have told. But if we don't get into groups pretty soon, we're going to lose some valuable thoughts. I'll take one or two more comments. ?7/ A week ago today, I had to go to (can't hear) to have my dilated. I have macular degeneration. I have very blurred vision, in fact, from here I cannot see your faces really. And SEATS were extremely busy that day, but they didn't get to call me back to tell me they were going to send a cab. I'd already left the doctor's office. And I was sitting down in the lobby, and they'd sent a cab for me. I did not know this, and the cab driver sat out there in the cab for quite some time. I could not see to dial the phone. I had to give the money to a perfect stranger there in the lobby to dial the phone for me, to call SEATS and tell them where was my ride. And they said, well, they sent the cab for me. Well, the cab had stood out front, never got out, never came in to see if anybody was there for me. Drove off This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 7 and left, and then, when SEATS called me back and said they could come back and get me. And so, they made room for me, they came back and got me. Which I was gone from 1:00 until almost 4:30. Now, if they're going to rely on cab service, and I've had problems with this before, they pick me up at the grocery store, the cab driver throws my groceries in the back of the cab, drove me to the house and said, well, can't you get it yourself?. I mean, he wanted me to get out, get the trunk open, get my groceries out, and carry them into the house. I said well, no, I can't. I have to be careful when I walk. And what I can see. So, as far as having a cab service, I could go on a lot more about that. This is something that I think needs to be addressed by Council. Thank you. ??/ There's one back here. ??/ I would like to know if there is any information that describes exactly what's going on now, so we could compare it with what they offer. As a rider, I know what they do for me, but I'd just like to know what the services are, written out, so we could compare. Hayse/ That's a good idea. Maybe if it would be good for Bumell to help us understand the difference, and maybe someone from the City Council, whoever feels comfortable, could talk about the difference, so we can get more perspectives. Ruff/ And then we'll break up into groups. O'Hanlon/ We're trying, Keith. We'll get there. Hayse/ Do you like this, to compare? O'Hanlon/ Do we have someone here from SEATS tonight? Hayse/ Yeah, we have Burnell. O'Hanlon/ Burnell? Hayse/ Burnell is the Acting Director of SEATS. Bumell Chadek/ Hi, my name is Bumell Chadek. I'm the Interim Director for Johnson County SEATS, serving in the Interim for the past year. Adjusting the differences from what's proposed and what we presently do, lie in the number of vehicles -- Audience/ We can't hear you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 8 O'Hanlon/ It's on. Chadek/ Let me talk a little bit louder. How's that? Audience/ Yes. Chadek/ Basically, the proposal that the City has got out fight now specifies 375 vehicle- hours per week. What SEATS presently provides is somewhere between 490 and 550. It all depends on the number of rider requests we get. Some weeks are busier than others. It's seasonal. On average, I would put the figure at about 520 hours a week. That means that we've got vehicles that start as early as 6:00 in the morning, going as late as 10:30 or 11:00 at night. We've got vehicles out that meet the requests for the rides, as they come in. Each day is a little bit different than the others. Some days we have two vehicles starting at 6:00, 6:30, then increase that to six, seven, or eight at 7:00, up to 9:00 or 10:00, eleven to 8:00, and then throughout the rest of the day, that's the number of vehicles that we keep out, unless it is evident that we can do split-shifs. And I think those are the main differences. That for the proposal to include 375 vehicle-hours per week will ultimately reduce the number of vehicles on the road. That's the main difference. O'Hanlon/ What about the afternoon swing-shift to a cab service or whatnot? Chadek/ I have prepared a model of what was specified in Iowa City's proposal for the paratransit service. I took a week's worth of rides that we've served, and took those same routes, and put the number of vehicles on the road in the model, to indicate how many rides would need to be served by a cab or a private provider. For the week in question, it was January 18th through the 24th, I showed that if we reduce the number of vehicles as specified, down to 375 hours per week, what we end up with is well over 450 rides being provided by a cab company or a private provider. For the week in question, we actually had to, because we couldn't find fides for 44 of the requests, we had to put 44 requests onto a private provider for that week. So that prepared with 462. That's, I spent the weekend modeling it, and I've got copies that I've shared with both the City Council and Board of Supervisors. Ruff/ Okay. Chadek/ It looks like there are lots of questions. Maybe I can go around to the groups. I don't know if you want us to wrap it up here and get broken up into groups, but if there are lots of questions, I'll make the rounds. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 9 Ruff/ Well, I did want, like Casey has, one member of the City Council to briefly present their side. And then we'll go into groups. Oh, you will? Thank you. Dee Vanderhoef/ I'm not a transit director, and certainly I don't have all the specifics like Bumell has. Audience/ We can't hear you. Vanderhoef/ Okay, is that better? Audience/ Yes. Vanderhoef/ Just got to point it the other way, thank you. The Transit Director has a lot of figures in this proposal, and the ones that he just gave to you. And you have to recognize that those are the proposal numbers for the entire County. They're not the same numbers that we have just for the City of Iowa City. So, we are not comparing the same kinds of things that are there. What we did see in the days that we analyzed, they were quite different from the particular date that was presented in this packet. ??/ What are the sample days? O'Hanlon/ What were the sample days? Vanderhoef/ What are the sample days? They had -- ??/ The sample days, were the students -- (can't hear). Vanderhoef/ The sample days, were the students here, is that what you're asking? That I don't know. That was part of the Transit Director doing those. And we had a couple of weeks, and we pulled several out to look at. O'Hanlon/ I think I, one of the things that comes to mind here, and it may well be that, it seems like an issue for me that, if we're comparing slightly different services, and different requirements of what area is going to be covered, that's going to become a critical issue. We're in the process of changing from a County-run system to one which is basically largely funded by Iowa City, but to a system that is basically a City system, which may allow some services to go out into the County. And so, it's a big transition in that sense, from the perspective of the City officials and the City Council, it may be that they only have to provide a certain amount of This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 10 transportation. And therefore, budgetarily, it makes sense that they stay within that framework. Whereas we, as consumers, are looking at transportation issues throughout our community, which covers a lot of other areas outside of Iowa City. So maybe that is a critical issue, and maybe a different perspective on this thing. Are we going to try to break this up into subgroups? Because obviously, there's a lot of interest, and people are going -- the reason we thought that breaking into smaller groups made sense was so that everybody would have a chance to be active in those groups. So, I don't know quite how to divide, this is a pretty large group. Ruff/ I suggest no more than five. And I would like -- O'Hanlon/ No way, Keith, five groups? Ruff/ Five in a group. Because any bigger a group gets too unmanageable. O'Hanlon/ We really want to get individuals involved in it. So the smaller, the better. If we can kind of try to break it up so that we get some kind of even representation, so we get some dispersement of the City Council officials into the different groups, get a different impact. Yeah, Bob? Bob Welsh/ Do you have subject areas in (can't hear) that you people studied? O'Hanlon/ We kind of though originally that it would be good to just look at the proposal that's been given. We have enough copies out there so that each group should have an overall view of what's been proposed by the City. Bob Welsh/ (Can't hear) My feeling is that the quality of this advisory committee is critical to what we're talking about. If the advisory committee is going to have input on policy, then it seems to me that either City or County could operate the program. And I think that that's been my thrust all along. (Can't hear). O'Hanlon/ Bob, the problem that I see is the advisory committee's being called in after the fact. Bob Welsh/ Not to be argumentative or contrary, but that would be the case in (can't hear). (Can't hear) and then have the advisory committee do that. I'm wide open on it, and I want to listen to -- This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 11 O'Hanlon/ I think, yeah, that's what, how can we, can we start breaking offa bit and start trying to get together into some groups so that we can work on trying to get-- ? Ruff/ Let's let people get to work. I would like some of the non-disabled individuals to help (can't understand) and get groups together because we only have this room till 6:00 or 6:15. We need to get this accomplished this before we go. This is civic service. O'Hanlon/ Okay, start counting. ??/ You're here, join a group. Ruff/ Once you've joined a group please get together with the plans that you have in hand, and thoroughly go over it. You have until 5:30 -- O'Hanlon/ Keith--? Ruff/ To come up with -- O'Hanlon/ Do you want to say something like the ones over here, the twos over here, and so on? All/ (Talking). BREAK INTO SMALL GROUPS O'Hanlon/ Bring back together into the large group, if you can. And going around are some sheets with some call to action for you to sign up. If you're willing to receive a phone call of any information going around and pass it on to two or three people, please take the responsibility to sign the sign-up sheet and agree to help get information out as quickly as possible to people. Please feel free to do that. There're several of those sheets going around. Ruff/ Okay, people. We have until 6:00 to get all our ideas on paper. Let's go, people. Please. Let's get back together. Let's go, please. O'Hanlon/ People? Let's get into the group now. And if there's somebody here who's willing to do some writing up on the flip-chart, we need somebody who can write This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 12 comfortably. Would somebody please volunteer to come up and fill in some of the group concepts? Somebody's got some good penmanship out there that's good. Okay, if you guys can remember what group you are, I think each of your groups has kind of found a natural spokesperson for that group. If you guys could take responsibility to let us know what your group came up with, as we go around, we'll add it to the flip-chart and see if we can't get one kind of overall conclusion. Ruff/ Let's go, people. Try to get back into your groups as quick as possible. Thank you. Okay, everybody, let's start around. Please calm down, because we have a long night ahead of us for some of us. Okay. I would like the -- O'Hanlon/ We had at least six. Ruff/ I would like a spokesperson from Group One to come up and give their, what they came up with. Is there anybody here from Group One? O'Hanlon/ Where was Group One? Oh well. I need a spokesperson. Would someone from one of the groups, a spokesperson? Vanderhoef/ I'll start out. O'Hanlon/ I don't care who. Vanderhoef/ I'll do it. I don't know that we even had a number, but I can speak for this group that was in the far back comer. Concerns that were there, and things that people want to be addressed in the system was to the transfer from going from Iowa City to Coralville. This includes on the regular, fixed-route, and on paratransit. Okay. Another concern was the assistance from the driver to get, carry groceries, open doors, assist in walking in inclement weather and so forth. The next one was office assistance, in helping them plan their ride, and making sure that they allowed the time necessary to arrive on time, to get to work or for groceries, and how long to anticipate being there, and to plan their return trip. They're concerned about straight-out door to door service. With that door to door service, they were, in particular, concerned about any contract service, whether it be with a taxicab or with another private person who might be interested in providing a few rides. And that was how the drivers will be trained and their compensation. CHANGE TAPE TO REEL 98-21, SIDE 2 This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 13 Vanderhoef/ Okay. Let's see. Oh, a concern was about how to get their letter of eligibility for ridership on paratransit. There was a suggestion that there be an intake person. It was noted that the riders in many cases have jobs, and punctuality is important, and that these people with jobs are taxpayers. Okay, and there was an assessment that there are fewer vehicles on the road, that passengers will be on the van for a longer period of time. At least that's what they see as a possibility. And they have a concern about dispatching on Saturday on Sunday, in particular, for cancellations. Now, have I missed anything from my group? Speak up if I've missed you. I hope I have it all. Okay. O'Hanlon/Okay, has someone else got that kind of courage now? Come on, there was another. ??/ Our group didn't really have a number either, but, some of the concerns that were addressed in our group were: The ability for people in wheelchairs and disabled people to use taxicabs. Another concern was the smoking environment of taxicabs. Would there be smoke-free ones available? Another issue was, will cabs be picking up non-paratransit users at the same time? This could either delay getting somewhere they needed to be, or if they'll be picked up on time, were some of the issues with that. Another concern was cross-ridership within the County, and we were made aware that a contract can possibly be made with Coralville, making Coralville-Iowa City transportation available. But another concern was what about North Liberty? My understand was that the University does have some plans to close their dialysis unit at University Hospitals within the next two years, which would mean that the new satellite unit in North Liberty would be the main unit for many of the users. And a lot of those people apparently use SEATS to get to the University Hospital. ??/ That's a lot to write. ??/ Okay, I'm just explaining to people here. You can just write down cross-ridership within the County. ??/ I'll put concern. ?7/ I just wanted to explain that, that those people who need to receive dialysis then, in North Liberty, will not have a service if the City takes over, unless they provide for that later. And a major concern, I guess, expressed by everyone in our group, was the quality of service. Will the personnel have the respect and ability to work for the population which they need to serve? That's it for us. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 14 Ruff/ Could you name your group, please? ??/ We had a few of the same concerns that are up there. One of them was eligibility. The second thing was the long time some riders on SEATS spend on the bus. I know this isn't the usual thing, but this was commented on as a concern. Better scheduling. I've had no problem with scheduling, but I imagine there are other people who have had problems, so that's a concern. ??/ And the cost per ride. ??/ What? Oh, thank you. The cost per ride, will it remain the same? ??/ Rides to and from outlying areas? rides to and from outlying areas? ??/ Oh yes. The same concern they had there, as to the outlying areas, Lone Tree, what were the other towns mentioned? Solon, and those places that are visited now by SEATS. ??/ That was group five over there. ??/ I need group four. ??/ We're group two. O'Hanlon/ Any group that hasn't yet. ??/ There are two, yeah, I think there are two group fours, because we were one -- O'Hanlon/ It doesn't matter, as long as they're concepts. Welsh/ I had a sheet of paper and was assigned to write down some of the things said, so I was asked to do so. The first thing was, Dee Norton very graciously said that the Council has not made any decisions, and we've got a report and no one on the Council wants to mess up SEATS, and that one of the things they plan to do tonight is to ask their questions. Because Dee was saying that they have a lot of questions that people here have. Some specific suggestions. That members of the Council and Board of Supervisors should ride on SEATS, not just for an hour, but for a major part of a day, to just see what is happening. And they should be in the office to see what kind of calls come in, and what kind of assistance is provided. There was a real strong feeling in relation to a unified system. There are even This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 15 some questions, has the City been fair with the County. Why is the City against SEATS? Why can't they get together? Some of the, in terms of specific services, there was the recognition that getting to jobs on time, picked up. Getting to the medical appointments on a scheduled time, but with flexibility for pickup. That the importance of the human service aspect, one lady mentioned about a person who had been delivered to her home, but there was really no one there, and so there was the extra call into the SEATS office saying hey, what do I do now? There's really not a person here to take care of this individual. I guess it's saying that the door to door is not enough. It needs to be beyond that door to door in individual cases, to assist persons. There was a feeling that the time for all the governmental units to get together and set up an advisory committee would be now, not later. The need to have the phone staffed throughout the day. Some real concern that the budgets look small. And concern about then the quality of service. The number of the vehicles is a concern. The effect of type of gas on maintenance of vehicles was a concern. One of the important things, and again, this gets back to that beyond the door to door, is the importance to preserve the relationship between the consumers and the present drivers. Because those drivers, as one of the persons said, know my limitations, what assistance I need, and I can't communicate too well, and it's important that I have persons who know my situation. There was the feeling that gee, all the SEATS drivers should be given priority in terms of employment if the City does take over the system. Again, that whole stress about the unified system. So. ??/ Which group hasn't gone? ??/ Well, we haven't. Belman/ Could somebody write for me? ??/ Okay. ??/ Ernie wants to do it. ??/ Ernie, you do it. ??/ Go for it, Ernie. O'Hanlon/ I don't care who does it. ??/ Just do it. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 16 Marilyn Belman/ Okay. You know, a lot of the stuff that we talked about, that you guys have mentioned, we talked about, too. Thanks. One of the things we talked about -- all right, one of the things that we talked about was that Ernie brought up that the ADA has certain standards that we have to keep up. But we said those are basic standards. We've got a better than basic program here. We don't want to just have basic standards. We have a program that goes beyond that. We have a program that is already looking at human services, and that's what he said, when he reflected back on what we'd talked about. So that, we want services that have the human aspect. Services that have respect and courtesy in the training. That was all number one, I think we talked about it. Number two, I think, some of you guys have already mentioned, and that's the flexibility component. There's a lot of times that flexibility's needed in the scheduling. There are times that the people that are being transported around have difficulty, like myself. I have had seizures at school, and would call the, the Health Associate would call the SEATS bus, and wherever they were, they'd try to find time to fit me in, they'd come and get me at school. And that requires some flexibility. That means that they have to do, they have to look at their buses, they have to see what time, who's available to come out and get me at school. And so, you're dealing with people that are going to have special needs. That's the population you're dealing with. And so, that accommodation is going to require that you have vehicles available, and you have to have people that can answer those needs. And so, the flexibility doesn't need to be cut back. And that's one of the concerns that I think you guys mentioned in one of the other groups also, was the flexibility. And then, just as far as basic needs. They all mentioned the need to get back and forth to work. And the needs to have caring people that provide that transportation. Not just a body and a vehicle. And then number four, if the current agenda, and I think this was Tim's point, if the current agenda is adopted, and doesn't work, what do we do then? Because we've already taken the change, and how do we go back to what we had, and what we liked, and what we already said was something. So, if we agree that there's a need for change, then we all better work on it very slowly, and not just rush into it. And then, Casey, I think has a point, that consumer input's needed now. And some of you said that, too. But before, just waiting for, doing it afterwards, when the input's needed right now. And ask the consumers. Because they're the ones that can't walk the way a lot of the City Council members can, or can't drive the way City Council members can. They're the ones that, we have the firsthand experience. And so, the input from consumers is needed now, before it goes on too fast. So, consumer input needs to be gained right now. We recognize that the Councilors need to talk about accountability, and that control comes with accountability. So we recognize that that's where they're coming from. And we talked about Iowa City and Coralville being one system, but that Lone Tree would not be available under the present system. And This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 17 I think there were some reservations about that, because there are going to be people that will be handicapped by not having that wide range on assistance at places where it's available now. Scheduling was also mentioned. And the window of time. Some people would like to see us moving toward a system on- demand. But at present, with the number of people that are using it, that might be difficult to do. But that would be something that could be a goal. So scheduling could be something that could be addressed. And I think that was mentioned in one of the other groups, too, that scheduling could be something that could be addressed. That was probably it. Anybody else in our group have anything else to add? ??/ The only thing I would add is that some citizens were making improvements or changes as they arise, not just falling back to the system that we had, or whatever. The only thing I would add is establishing some sort of mechanism beyond just the committee, where a consumer or parent or anybody that was interested in making a systemic change, lay out specific ways of going about doing it. Without having to reinvent the wheel. O'Hanlon/ Is there another group that had anything? Sorry about that. ??/ Our group was concerned about curb to curb service; Sunday service; effective input on service provided; inter-County service; what would happen to the drivers; allowing travel time 15 minutes to a half-hour window at peak time; cabs, and buses; what ifI get sick at work, ifI call to make a ride home I will cause and tend to call for rides; and a new name for the buses; and attendant to bring along for someone to push a manual chair to and from -- ??/ I missed that last one you just mentioned. 97/ New name? 97/ No, the one after new name. ??/ Attendant. And respect. 97/ Pardon? ??/ And respect. 9?/ And respect. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 18 ??/ And I believe that's all from our group. O'Hanlon/ Anyone else? Is there anyone else that I haven't gotten to? Somebody's pointing this way. Ruff/ Any other groups? O'Hanlon/ Anybody else want to add anything because they saw such great wisdom up here before? ??/ (Can't hear) group four. O'Hanlon/ Who? Group four? ??/ Group four's already been up there. ??/ They had stated everything that they had come up with on the paper up there. O'Hanlon/ Well, you could restate it. If it's important. ??/ Like they said, transportation to and from work every day; shopping, visiting friends; people are willing to sit on an advisory board; rural residents, and difficulty coming into the City daily; and efficiency. O'Hanlon/ I kind of agree with that. There was talk about an advisory board to add input, and it's critical that who gets on that board, how will that be arrived at. Or, have another case of so-called surveys that went out that people didn't get involved and were left out. How's that going to happen? ??/ I can talk into it? O'Hanlon/ It's on. ??/ Okay. One thing that wasn't mentioned was getting people with disabilities to and from recreational facilities. Sure, everybody has to go to work, but sometimes they have to play, too. And I'd like to add that to the chart. ??/ Chris? Welsh/ I think two things from my notes I may not have mentioned is the feeling that if the City does take this over, that SEATS drivers should be given priority in the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998 Work Session page 19 hiring. And another of the concems related to the number of vehicles is the concern that the proposal may be relying too much on cabs or other systems. O'Hanlon/ Good. ??/ I just wanted to say that the SEATS employees do have 23 years of experience, and though I realize that there's some bus drivers or whatever that would like to have jobs in the paratransit system if the City takes over, but I'm all for the drivers that drive for SEATS now filling those spaces. Because they have the experience, they have the know-how, and they don't have to be trained. Ruff/ Okay. I want to thank everybody because I think this is the first time that the City Council really got the input they should've gotten weeks ago. I want everybody to give themselves a hand. Also, I want to thank people who helped people get here to and from work or to and from housing. And I just want to remind people that tonight there is a work meeting of the City Council at 7:00. And it will be helpful if some of you went to that meeting, just to listen to the conversation and see whether we made an impact today, or not. Thank you very much. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work session of February 9, 1998. WS020998