University Transportation Committee August 20, 2012 | 11:30 a.m. | Gerberding 142
Present: Josh Kavanagh, Transportation Services Ron Kahler, Fleet Services Mark Stanley, Student Life and HFS Patricia Riley, UWMC Matt Weatherford, PSO Representative Peter Dewey, Transportation Services Bob Ennes, Health Sciences Academic Services & Facilities John Vinson, UWPD Colin Morgan‐Cross, GPSS Representative Melanie Mayock, GPSS Representative Austin R. Bell, ASUW Representative Alicia Halberg, Transportation Services Steve Kennard, Real Estate Office Evan Smith, ASUW Representative Celeste Gilman, Transportation Services Miranda Leidich, SLU Mariann Woodland, Transportation Services
Absent: Miles Fernandez, ASUW Representative Sean Wilson, ASUW Representative Scot Rastelli, GPSS Representative John Schaufelberger, Faculty Representative Chuck Treser, Faculty Representative TBA, Faculty Representative Luther Martin, WFSE April Millar, WSNA Laura Davenport, SEIU 925 Dan Erickson, ICA Rebecca Barnes, Planning and Budgeting Kristin Francisco, Disability Services Office Jean Garber, Dentistry TBA, Labor Relations 1. Meeting called to order at 11:33 a.m. ‐ Josh Kavanagh a. Adjustments to the agenda i. Josh Kavanagh would like to add a “committee processes” item between items two and three. ii. Celeste Gilman has an update about Montlake bridge openings, which she can present as item 12.
iii. Dan Erickson, the ICA representative, is not here, therefore the Husky Stadium TIP update will be tabled until the September meeting. b. Approval of July’s meeting minutes i. All approved, none opposed, no abstentions. 2. Committee processes ‐ Josh Kavanagh a. UTC will be officially rechartered under the auspices of Facilities Services i. There will be no changes to the UTC’s charge as it is listed on the meeting agendas. ii. Voting members will receive official appointment letters in the mail. iii. In the coming months the UTC will formalize bylaws and have a more official outline in its duties as a committee. 3. Fleet rates ‐ Ron Kahler a. Fleet has seen its costs increase by $105k due to risk management liability charges. i. There are new understandings about the origin and understanding of liability costs within the fleet. 1. The liability costs are significantly skewed between vehicle types; this impacts the 12‐ passenger vans the most. a. These vehicles are prone to accidents, more so than others in the fleet, and the consequences of these accidents are usually significant. b. Fleet’s analytical staff brought these new costs, as well as the costs for the driver training program, into the rate structure. The staff distributed the costs in a way that was more rational and equitable than flatly rationing it across all vehicles. i. They used Fleet’s five‐year liability claim history to model which classes within the fleet drove up liability claims and then applied these charges on a by‐class basis. 1. A number of vehicle classes did not experience any significant liability changes and may even see a rate decrease. 2. Passenger vans and police vehicles had a disproportionate amount of claims. 3. This new methodology is accurate and fairer for Fleet’s customers; it’s a more equitable approach than past practices. ii. Fleet’s proposal is to return with a mid‐year update of rates to deal with this new $105k charge from risk management as well as the added costs of the training program, which was not included in the original rate package. 1. Josh Kavanagh hopes the UTC will recommend moving these proposed Fleet rates forward. c. Comment (John Vinson): This new cost distribution would result in a $9k increase in costs for UWPD, which is already on a very tight budget. i. Comment (Josh Kavanagh): The new charge is associated with the propensity for police vehicles to have claims. This liability distribution looks specifically at the last five years and allocating a cost that Fleet had previously covered. While it’s an increase, it’s a fair increase because Fleet looked at where these charges originated.
d. Question (John Vinson): What would happen if UWPD traded in its older vehicles? i. Comment (Josh Kavanagh): These charges are backward‐looking and these charges would be reallocated to the new vehicles. e. Question (Josh Kavanagh): Is there an endorsement to distribute liability costs in the Fleet based on where liability charges originate? Endorsement of this rate package will be taken forward for more accounting and analysis. i. Peter Dewey moves this item, Patricia Riley seconds. Josh Kavanagh, Mark Stanley, Patricia Riley, Matt Weatherford, Peter Dewey, Bob Ennes, Colin Morgan‐Cross, Melanie Mayock (carrying two votes), Austin Bell, Steve Kennard, Evan Smith (carrying two votes), Celeste Gilman and Miranda Leidich vote in favor; John Vinson opposes; no abstentions. 4. 12‐ passenger van training ‐ Ron Kahler a. So far, 99 people have been trained by UWPD’s team. Only two have not passed, and seven people have not showed up for training. There are 140 people signed up through the end of August and another eight classes in September. The training has utilized all six officers that SWERVE trained for this course. b. Training costs are near what Fleet had anticipated, though not all charges have been received yet. c. Fleet would like to thank UWPD for their partnership on this training program. 5. Managed fleet program ‐ Ron Kahler a. Executive Order 0501 came out from Gov. Gregoire several years ago, but only recently has been enforced by general services in Olympia on the state’s motor pool. i. This directive states that all state‐owned vehicles must be in a managed fleet. ii. There are only about 62 University‐owned vehicles that are not currently in the managed fleet. About 23 different groups own those 62 vehicles. Several of these vehicles are located in other states, or even in other countries. 1. Fleet is working with those different departments to bring them into the managed fleet. 2. This will cost those departments about $4.80/day, or about $150/month per vehicle. iii. This directive states that all state‐owned vehicles must be in a managed fleet. b. Question (Melanie Mayock): What does the term “managed fleet” entail? i. Comment (Ron Kahler): The departments can own vehicles, but the managed fleet takes care of the paperwork, reporting to the state on vehicle mileage, fuel use, costs and inventory. There are additional components listed in the executive order, but a mainstay includes verifying that vehicles comply with state and federal vehicle standards and other requirements. ii. There are only about 62 University‐owned vehicles that are not currently in the managed fleet. c. Question (Melanie Mayock): What was the purpose of the executive order? i. Comment (Ron Kahler): I speculate that it was to resolve issues with unknown state‐owned vehicles that needed to be replaced.
ii. Comment (Josh Kavanagh): The purpose of the executive order is to support efficiency and to enable implementation of other executive orders or rules governing state vehicles that already exist. Unless there’s some sort of centralized management, other orders or rules can be very difficult to enforce or ensure compliance. Fleet managers are now in a better position to track vehicles and ensure agency compliance. d. Comment (John Vinson): The police department has 15 other vehicles that aren’t managed by Fleet; we see this move as a money‐making strategy on TS’ part because UWPD already does these requirements on its own. i. Comment (Josh Kavanagh): TS would be happy to spend more time offline to talk about this issue further. There are significant questions about the ability of a standalone department to handle issues such as recall management, to name one. Beyond state compliance, we work to make sure institutional reporting is efficient and complete and that the same standard is used to aggregate that information. 1. It is TS’ interpretation of the governor’s order, briefed at Charles Kennedy’s level, that this will be compulsory in the near future. ii. Comment (John Vinson): One of the challenges UWPD faces is cost. The department’s budget is only about $50k for the year. Out of the roughly 23 cars in UWPD’s own fleet, only seven or eight of them are a part of TS’ fleet. Having fewer vehicles in TS’ fleet saves UWPD about $30k in estimated costs over the course of six years. 1. UWPD feels that they are paying Fleet $3k to manage cars for them, when they feel they would be capable of managing the cars on their own. 2. UWPD has its own fleet manager who already works closely with Ron Kahler and the TS Fleet shop. 3. These price increases are very significant in terms of UWPD’s overall budget. These issues have significant financial impacts on UWPD that could be tough to bear in this economy. a. Comment (Bob Ennes): Chief Vinson has a fair point; UWPD has a large number of vehicles, and if they can meet the same reporting requirements at a lower cost that would be more beneficial for them. i. Comment (Josh Kavanagh): I will certainly entertain that possibility, although, there is, in general, and not specifically at UWPD, a lack of understanding about the compliance and reporting process and best practices in fleet management. ii. Comment (Peter Dewey): The cost, $4.85 per day per vehicle‐‐any vehicle that spends at least 12 hours in the shop each year will recoup all of those costs. iii. Comment (Josh Kavanagh): Additionally, transparency is important to TS and the department is in the process of accounting out these costs so that
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customers can see exactly where their dollars are going. iii. Comment (Josh Kavanagh): The previous vote was for a liability insurance that is backward looking and is not associated with the managed fleet. e. Question: When does this managed fleet executive order take effect? i. Comment (Josh Kavanagh): The executive order came into place in January 2005 ‐ it was an unfunded mandate that came before both Josh and Ron joined TS. f. Josh Kavanagh and John Vinson will discuss this issue more separately. Faculty/Staff U‐PASS subcommittee update ‐ Matt Weatherford a. At the last subcommittee meeting members met with UW’s legal counsel to more closely examine the different funding options for making the faculty/staff U‐PASS program more sustainable. b. An agenda has not been set for the next meeting. South Campus Transportation Committee update ‐ Bob Ennes a. The full committee has not met since the last UTC meeting, but the subcommittee looking at allocations has met. b. The allocation subcommittee is looking at imposing a freeze on new allocations. i. A freeze began in 2009, but many schools have asked for exceptions. TS is seeking to put a stop to these exception requests, but wants to have a plan in place to allow for some flexibility for individual units. c. Once the freeze is in place, the full committee will be able to look towards a more final allocation system. Universal Student U‐PASS Advisory Board update ‐ Austin R. Bell a. The Advisory Board has been discussing and re‐evaluating the NightRide program. NightRide and UWPD’s NightWalk program have been working together in an effort to make both programs better for students. b. The board continues in its committment to shared governance policies as the student employee’s arbitration is sorted out by the administration. i. Currently, the Advisory Board’s position is that the ASUW and GPSS created the Universal U‐PASS program and that there are state laws outlining the governance and creation of this fee. The Memorandum of Understanding regarding the fee says that any change or deletions of the program needs both ASUW and GPSS’ consent. 1. Conversations are ongoing at this point. Arbitration ‐ Josh Kavanagh a. The situation is currently difficult to predict, but Josh Kavanagh gets the impression that the administration is looking at redefining the population that is a part of the universal program to exclude some or all academic student employees (ASEs). i. There are significant logistical issues surrounding this issue. This population is not defined at the time in the quarter when the student fee is applied.
b. There is an agreement with UW Human Resources about the concept of, regardless of funding source, if a population were to be defined out that it would be structured as a rebate, rather than a refund or exclusion. c. The issue continues to be dramatic and Josh Kavanagh will keep the UTC informed, though there may not be any closure by next month’s meeting. 10. Boot program overview ‐ Mariann Woodland a. On September 17 parking enforcement will begin a booting program that everyone will love to hate. b. Currently when a registered owner compiles fines for $195 or more they receive a notice followed by a default notice. After that, they are put on a list and parking enforcement officers will impound (tow) them. c. Booting will cost less, $75 v. $160, and is easier to take care of. The customer can come into the office, take care of their citations, and have the boot removed in a timely manner. They will no longer need to make arrangements to get to a tow yard and deal with a third party ‐ the entire transaction will be handled in hour. d. The booting program will result in improved customer service for students and their parents. Transportation Services can get people back into their vehicles and on the road more quickly, and they will still have access to personal effects such as laptops and books. i. Tow yards are difficult for some students as many cars are still registered in a parent’s name and the tow yards sometimes wanted the registered owner present in order to return the car. e. Transportation Services expects this will affect approximately 450 customers, but they would be towed otherwise. They will be notified of this change. f. Comment (Peter Dewey): Seattle instituted a booting program last year, so TS is following their lead on this program. Currently there are something like 10 tows each month. g. Question (Bob Ennes): How long does the car stay there, booted? i. Comment (Mariann Woodland): Cars will stay booted for 72 hours, after that they will be impounded for up to 24 days. h. Customers will only be booted during regular business hours, and booting will end at noon on Fridays, which is consistent with towing hours. i. If someone receives a boot at noon on a Friday TS will try to send them some type of communication. ii. Question (John Vinson): What will happen after 9 p.m. when the gatehouses close? 1. Comment (Mariann Woodland): Currently customers tend to call UWPD at 9:30 p.m. or afterhours for towed vehicles, so it wouldn’t be any different. Though seeing your car and not being able to drive it may have a different psychological impact. a. UWPD and TS will have more discussions about after‐hours customer service in regards to the booting program. 11. Pacific Street HOV/transit‐only lane update – Celeste Gilman
a. Celeste Gilman conveyed to SDOT the UTC’s support for making the current HOV lane on Pacific Street a transit‐only lane. It will be converted to a standard BAT lane (business access and transit) so that customers can still make right lanes into UWMC. b. Transportation Services is considering making a request that Vanpool vehicles be allowed to use the BAT lane—this is not something that is standard in the city, but it is something that the city’s traffic engineer could do to support our Vanpool program. c. Celeste is still waiting to hear more information about the queue jump timing for the intersection of Pacific and Montlake. 12. Montlake bridge operation – Celeste Gilman a. The bridge operates 24 hours a day. It is a federal law that U.S. Coast Guard marine traffic has the right of way over vehicular traffic. i. Vessels can be held for up to 10 minutes and there are peak hour restrictions. 1. April 31 through August 31 there are no bridge openings between 7‐ 9 a.m. and 3:30‐6:30 p.m. 2. September 1 through April 30 there are no bridge openings between 7‐10 a.m. and 3:30‐7 p.m. b. About 400 vessels pass through each month, about 2,500 each year. The Montlake bridge has much more traffic than any of the other bridges across the ship canal. 13. Parking system replacement and business rules – Peter Dewey a. Transportation Services is currently in the process of articulating what its current products and services are, and what it will want to change in the future. i. TS has a very complicated set of products and services and it is looking at potentially keeping them the same, changing them, or discontinuing them. 1. If there are products that UTC members think should be saved, changed or removed then they ought to notify Peter Dewey (
[email protected]) ii. Currently there are many complex systems, services and products serving small populations. TS wants to simplify the system and align it with the values identified by the UTC at previous meetings. b. When the department looked at implementing new computer systems, it felt it would be more deliberate to identify the reasons why products and services are the way that they currently are. c. The desire is to go out to proposal this fall, select a company in the winter, and start implementing the new system in phases in spring through fall 2013. d. We’ve also been talking to other universities about their systems. i. For example, as UTC members might know, the plan is to change from a physical permit system to a virtual permit system that would be based on license plate numbers. 1. University of Maryland has this system with 19k parking stalls. They are not 100% virtual, but they’ve implemented their system using mobile recognition vehicles.
14. Agenda for next meeting – Josh Kavanagh a. Husky Stadium TIP update – Dan Erickson b. Parking System Replacement and Business Rules – Peter Dewey