Transit
Commission
Minutes 15
Wednesday, June 17 2020
9:30 a.m.
Electronic Participation
This Meeting was held
through electronic participation in accordance with Section 238 of the Municipal
Act, 2001 as amended by Bill 187, the Municipal Emergency Act, 2020.
Notes: 1. Underlining
indicates a new or amended recommendation approved by Committee.
2. Except where otherwise indicated,
reports requiring Council consideration will be presented to Council
on 24 June 2020
in Transit Commission Report 5.
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Present:
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Chair:
Councillor A. Hubley
Vice-Chair: Councillor J. Cloutier
Councillors: R. Brockington, G. Gower, T. Kavanagh C. McKenney J. Sudds, T.
Tierney
Citizen Members: A. Carricato, M. Olsen, S. Wright-Gilbert
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Absent :
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Citizen
Member: L. Williams (as advised)
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
No
declarations of interest were filed.
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CONFIRMATION
OF MINUTES
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Minutes 11, of the Transit Commission Meeting of Wednesday,
19 February 2020, and Minutes 13*, of the Special Transit Commission
Meeting of Monday, 01 June 2020 were confirmed.
Following up
from the Special Transit Commission meeting of Wednesday, 10 June 2020, where
that meeting had been adjourned while still In-Camera, as advised by the City
Clerk, and as noted in the Motion to proceed In-Camera, Chair Hubley rose and
reported at today’s meeting to advise, to all present, that the Commission had
met In-Camera on 10 June 2020 at 9:00 a.m. to receive an update on the Tentative
Collective agreement with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 279 (Conventional),
and that no votes had been taken other than to give direction to staff or to
deal with procedural matters. The matter was subsequently referred to Council
for consideration at its meeting of 10 June 2020, where a Motion to ratify
the Collective Agreement was approved in open session.
Minutes 14
and Confidential Minutes 14, of the Special Transit Commission meeting of
Wednesday, 10 June 2020 will be considered for approval by the Transit
Commission at its meeting of Wednesday, 16 September 2020.
*Note: There are no “Minutes
12”, as the Transit Commission meeting originally scheduled for Wednesday, 18
March 2020 had been cancelled after the meeting agenda had been distributed.
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Transportation Services Department (TSD) General Manager John Manconi
introduced this item, following which the Commission received detailed slide presentations
from Messrs. Pat Scrimgeour, Director, Transit Customer Systems and Planning,
TSD, and Troy Charter, Director, Transit Operations, TSD, speaking to both the Transit
Service Recovery Plan and O-Train Confederation Line Update. A copy of these presentations
is held on file with the City Clerk.
The Transit Service Recovery Plan
presentation covered elements of, but was not necessarily limited to: face mask
protocols for customers; proper boarding of buses; ridership; safety
precautions being implemented on the Transit system; staff observations and customer
feedback. The O-Train Confederation Line Update presentation covered elements
of: Line 1 System Improvements; work completed to date; and, upcoming work and
next steps.
Correspondence had been received from Mr.
Jan Lam* pertaining to East-end Bus Stop Assignments. In response to questions
from the Chair, Mr. Manconi confirmed that he would follow up with Mr. Lam.
[ * Individuals
/ groups marked with an asterisk above either provided comments in writing or
by e-mail; all submissions are held on file with the City Clerk. ]
Questions to staff and Commission discussions
centred upon the points touched upon during the presentations; whether scheduled
work would be completed on time; questions related to ongoing issues with LRT wheels
track vibration and alignment; vehicle retrofits; power outages and mitigation
measures; customer safety and security concerns; mask-wearing protocols; COVID19
and the effect of the pandemic on employees, riders and the ridership of both
OC and Para Transpo; payments to the Rideau Transit Group (RTG); potential
deficits due to declining revenues, and; LRT station infrastructure.
Mr. Manconi informed the Commission that
more information on discussions with RTG and Alstom would be forthcoming during
an In-Camera session at the City Council meeting of Wednesday, 15 July 2020.
Discussions having concluded, the
Commission ‘RECEIVED’ the presentation for information.
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REPORT RECOMMENDATION:
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That the Transit Commission receive this report on
the 2019 general accounts write-off of $880 as required by the Delegation of
Authority By-law 2019-280.
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RECEIVED
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REPORT RECOMMENDATION:
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That the Transit Commission receive the 2020 Q1 Status
Report for information.
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This item was held for
questions. Messrs. Manconi and Scrimgeour, along with Ms Wendy Stephanson,
Chief Financial Officer, Finance Services Department (FSD), and Ms Isabelle
Jasmin, Deputy City Treasurer, Corporate Finance, FSD, were present to respond.
Members’ questions
touched upon, but were not necessarily limited to: expenses related to LRT
trains; RTG non-performance; the ability to recoup lost revenue; the preservation
of the Prince of Wales Bridge and potential future connectivity with Gatineau’s
Société de transport de l’Outaouais (STO); and, using Presto cards as a
possible incentive to woo back riders.
Discussions having
concluded, the report recommendation was put before the Commission and the
report was ‘RECEIVED’, as presented.
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REPORT RECOMMENDATION:
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That the Transit Commission recommends Council:
1. Authorize the closing of capital projects listed in
Document 1;
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2. Approve the budget adjustments as detailed in Document
2;
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3. Permit
those projects in Document 3 that qualify for closure, to remain open; and
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4. Approve
the return to source or (funding draw) for the following funding balances and
eliminate debt authority resulting from the closing of projects and budget
adjustments:
a) Transit
Capital Supported Reserve: $6,438,668;
b) Provincial
Gas Tax Reserve: $2,078
c) Development
Charge Reserve: $1,510,426
d) Debt
Authority: $123,719.
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Vice-Chair Cloutier asked how the Transit
Reserves projected to the end of 2020 compared, historically, with Reserves for
the past five years. Mr. John Manconi, General Manager, Transportation
Services Department, and Ms Wendy Stephanson, Chief Financial Officer,
Financial Services Department, confirmed that this information would be
provided as part of a Financial Corporate Update at the 24 June 2020 meeting of
Ottawa City Council.
There being no further discussion, the
report recommendations were put before the Commission and were ‘CARRIED’, as
presented.
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REPORT RECOMMENDATION:
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That the Transit Commission direct the General
Manager of Transportation Services to commence a procurement process,
consistent with the City’s procurement policy, to identify potential revenue
opportunities from advertising in stations and inside train cars on O-Train
Line 1, and that staff report the findings to the Transit Commission at the
conclusion of the process, expected to be in Q4 2020.
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In response to questions
from the Commission regarding the timing of undertaking such an exercise, Mr.
Manconi confirmed that staff could take on
this task and that staff would be examining all potential opportunities to
generate revenue. The report recommendation was then put before the Commission
and was ‘CARRIED’, as presented.
The meeting
was adjourned at 11:40 a.m.
Original
signed by Original signed by
C. Zwierzchowski Councillor
A. Hubley
_____________________________ _____________________________
Committee Coordinator Chair