[0:05] >>Good morning. We will kick off the

[0:09] Audit and Human Resources committee

[0:10] meeting. I will recognize Board members in

[0:11] the room today. Board Director Judge Han,

[0:15] Director Mayor Fry, Director Ponce and myself. Do

[0:20] we have any public comment this morning?

[0:22] >> We have one, Dominic Maisoc. He is

[0:24] virtual this morning

[0:28] >> Dominic?

[0:50] >> Can you hear me now? Yes we can hear

[0:55] you. Okay I was late on unmuting. Okay

[0:59] I was thinking about something here,

[1:03] about you go out and advertise jobs for

[1:07] METRO and I have two actually two

[1:15] possible sources. Number one, I think

[1:19] they call Boy Scouts of America now

[1:23] scouting USA due to legal things that

[1:26] have happened. There's a group they

[1:28] call explorers. These are people that,

[1:31] this is open for men and women that are

[1:36] looking for vocations and career

[1:38] whatever. I don't know if you have to

[1:45] have Cub Scouts and regular scouting to

[1:48] go with it but I think that might be

[1:52] some ideas to encourage people 18 and

[1:57] above, or I don't know what the age

[2:00] limit is, to look at METRO as a

[2:04] possible place to work. That could also

[2:05] be divided up into saying METRO PD,

[2:12] operations, mechanics, where the rubber

[2:14] meets the road, and the office group.

[2:18] Secondly, as I'm thinking of HCC as

[2:23] well the school district I know the

[2:24] school is next to Kashmere. I think

[2:27] there could be some interoperable

[2:31] agreement to where students at

[2:32] [Indiscernible] can do the classroom in

[2:33] the morning and then come over to

[2:40] Kashmere to do their lab work in the

[2:47] garage also HCC has diesel mechanics I

[2:50] think it's a different campus but it

[2:54] could be an interagency agreement where

[2:58] you do your class work at HCC, and then

[3:00] you come over to Kashmere to do your

[3:05] lab work. In each case, when the person

[3:11] graduates, they are an apprentice. They

[3:16] have apprentice rank. They would have a

[3:18] union job under union 260 am paid to

[3:25] work for METRO. Between those two

[3:28] aspects, that could be two jobs at

[3:32] METRO and the person would already be

[3:36] pre-trained. Without having other

[3:37] comments I send it back to you

[3:40] >> Thank you so much Dominic, I

[3:46] appreciate the comments raised and the

[3:51] considerations thinking about how we

[3:52] can better prepare the workforce and

[3:53] partnerships with the school district

[3:54] and community college. Are there any

[3:58] comments? We will jump into the

[3:59] briefings and then comments from board

[4:02] directors. First up we have the monthly

[4:05] compliance report from Chief Audit

[4:06] executive Andrea Dennis

[4:10] >> Good morning. Can we pull up the

[4:19] audit dashboard please? Thank you. Can

[4:22] you please go to the next slide. Here

[4:25] is a summary of the internal audit

[4:30] dashboard and activity as of the end of

[4:35] December 31, 2025. Thus far we have

[4:37] completed 107 audit projects, we have

[4:41] 17 in the process as of the end of

[4:46] December. For the month of December a

[4:47] total of 22 audit projects completed.

[4:49] If you look toward the bottom of the

[4:53] screen we have the internal functions

[4:56] and IT audits, three of those have been

[4:58] completed, seven of those are in

[5:01] process and 10 currently not started.

[5:06] We have a summary of the audit

[5:10] recommendations we are tracking. We

[5:11] have a total of 16 still outstanding.

[5:12] If you go to the next slide please. In

[5:17] the next three pages we have a list of

[5:19] all audit recommendations we are

[5:22] tracking through completion. As far as

[5:23] changes in the report from the prior

[5:26] month, we have four recommendations

[5:30] that were implemented and have been

[5:34] removed from this report. I want to

[5:35] note the one item related to the single

[5:39] audit KPMG that we were tracking has

[5:42] been implemented and corrective action

[5:45] noted on that item, in addition to

[5:48] three other items. There were three

[5:50] items extended this month due to

[5:54] management needing additional time to

[5:56] implement the items. Those items are

[5:57] noted with a check mark. Please go to

[6:01] the next slide. We have two more that

[6:05] were extended. That concludes my

[6:06] presentation do you have any questions

[6:10] >> Are there any questions from

[6:14] colleagues? no? Thank you for the

[6:18] presentation. Next up we have the human

[6:22] resources metrics report, Karen Kauffman

[6:23] >> Thank you so much and good morning

[6:30] everyone. This... Next slide please.

[6:33] Nothing too significant to point out,

[6:38] our headcount has remained fairly

[6:40] steady at 4800 employees. Turnover has

[6:43] dropped somewhat, about an eight

[6:45] percent turnover now. Next slide. For

[6:52] the month of January, we had 67 hires.

[7:00] The one thing I want to point out here

[7:01] are leave of absences are higher for

[7:02] December but that's pretty typical. A

[7:03] lot of times employees postpone

[7:07] procedures until the holidays and so

[7:10] on. Nothing to be concerned about in

[7:13] that respect. This is a slide with the

[7:18] applicant and hire demographics,

[7:19] applicant demographics are on the right

[7:26] as you saw in the month of December we

[7:27] still had a fairly high number just

[7:29] over 3400 applicants and the total

[7:33] hires on the left are shown by gender

[7:38] and ethnicity. Next slide. Wanted to

[7:39] highlight several outreach events for

[7:45] the month of December. One of the

[7:46] events pictured here was a visit from

[7:50] the Gateway Academy, a high school in

[7:51] Houston for students with neurodiverse

[7:56] challenges as well as other types of

[7:59] learning disabilities. They came to our

[8:03] facility at Kashmere and heard speakers

[8:07] from various divisions, especially

[8:10] within operations and staffing. We also

[8:11] partner with Goodwill industries and

[8:15] had an event and had our open house at

[8:16] the Kashmere facility for bus operators

[8:20] service drivers and mechanics. Next

[8:24] slide. This shows the hiring incentives

[8:25] that were paid for the month of

[8:30] December. As usual, the highest number

[8:32] were for bus operators. We had 73

[8:36] employees eligible also several of the

[8:39] maintenance positions as well. In the

[8:40] footnote I wanted to mention too we

[8:45] continue to have bilingual incentives

[8:46] for our public interfacing employees

[8:51] who qualify for those. Also had

[8:52] payments in the month of December for

[8:56] those 359 employees participating in

[9:03] that program. Next slide. This shows a

[9:05] list of the new positions that were

[9:06] hired for the month of December, bus

[9:08] operators being the highest number. We

[9:14] had a number of wellness events in

[9:20] December. One was nutrition which was

[9:22] timely with the holidays and all of the

[9:25] holiday festivities. We had several

[9:29] financial wellness sessions as well as

[9:32] our partnership with the Gulf Coast

[9:33] regional blood center for a blood

[9:35] drive. Next slide. This shows our

[9:43] schedule of classes through our

[9:44] training and organization development

[9:45] group for January and February. We have

[9:47] a number of technical classes for

[9:50] Microsoft products as well as things

[9:51] like time management professional

[9:54] development business writing. I wanted to

[9:57] highlight a couple of courses for our

[10:01] employees who want to move up within

[10:06] the organization and perhaps interview

[10:07] for other positions so we had one that

[10:09] had to create an effective resume and

[10:12] interviewing skills we do provide those

[10:16] types of them to help prepare employees

[10:17] for future positions at METRO. Next

[10:24] slide. One of the new recognitions we

[10:27] are doing now is to recognize employees

[10:30] who are the most active in the

[10:32] e-learning online learning program.

[10:33] This is something they can do on their

[10:38] own with guidance from their management

[10:39] as to which classes are appropriate for

[10:42] their roles. We had two employees, Chad

[10:47] small and [Indiscernible] O'Bryant

[10:49] recognized for the courses they took

[10:50] during the year of 2025. That concludes

[10:53] my presentation.

[10:58] >> Are there any questions or comments?

[11:05] no? thank you again for the updates we

[11:09] appreciate it.

[11:10] >> With that, we will close out today's

[11:13] audit human resources committee

[11:16] meeting. The time is 9:15 AM folks, we

[11:26] posted for 9:30 AM for the next

[11:30] committee meeting our finance committee

[11:34] will begin here in 15 minutes at 9:30

[11:35] AM.

[11:41] >>

[26:06] >> I think we need to get started. I

[27:47] think we are ready to begin the finance

[27:52] and business administration committee.

[27:55] It is 9:31 AM. The first item on the

[27:58] agenda are public comments

[27:59] >> We have Dominic Maisoc virtual

[28:02] >> Okay

[28:05] >> Dominic?

[28:14] >> He does not appear to be on.

[28:35] >> We will move forward. We will come

[28:43] back if he joins. We are going to start

[28:44] with the briefing item the monthly

[28:48] financial reports, George? Thank you

[28:52] Chair Morales and members of the

[28:53] committee George Fotinos METRO Chief

[28:54] Financial Officer presenting the CFO

[28:57] report for today's committee if I could

[29:01] have the presentation please. To let

[29:04] you know this presentation will

[29:05] summarize high-level points detailed

[29:08] and monthly reports you will pass on as

[29:10] action item to the full board including

[29:11] the sales tax report investment report

[29:13] that report fuel hedge reporting

[29:15] monthly performance report. Next slide

[29:20] please the first slide presents the

[29:21] sales tax revenue the authorities

[29:26] largest source of income. These numbers

[29:29] represent activity from two months ago

[29:30] January number two represent activity

[29:33] from November. Recall last month I

[29:35] reported to the board that we have

[29:39] received an updated forecast of sales

[29:41] tax revenue for University of Houston

[29:42] Center for economic growth and

[29:45] opportunity. The forecast reduce the

[29:46] expected amount of sales tax revenue

[29:48] the amount we receive after general

[29:55] mobile by 25 million so with this new

[29:56] info we reduce the expected revenue

[29:58] amount for remaining months, that's the

[30:01] bars you see for FY 26 beginning in

[30:06] January year to date we received 359.4

[30:08] million in cash from sales tax revenues

[30:13] because the first two months of the

[30:14] fiscal year October and November were

[30:17] below targets we are playing catch-up

[30:20] with a $5.8 million Delta

[30:21] underestimates for the four month

[30:24] period. However we are 13.2 million or

[30:27] 3.8 percent over the year to your cash

[30:28] collections at this point last year. In

[30:31] the month of January we receive

[30:34] [Indiscernible] 2.1 or 2.4 percent

[30:39] overestimates and 4.7 million or 5.6

[30:40] percent more than January year ago. On

[30:45] the next slide all the remaining items

[30:47] reflect activity through December. This

[30:51] slide is the farebox revenue slide

[30:53] through December total $9 million. Year

[30:58] to date we are running on budget with

[31:02] projected estimates. Comparing farebox

[31:04] revenues through December of last year

[31:05] we trailed by 1.1 percent, $100,000.

[31:12] Next slide please looking at a detailed

[31:14] breakdown of METRO year-to-date farebox

[31:17] revenue by different modes. Local

[31:18] network including rail is 1.4 percent

[31:23] lower commuter bus is higher in line

[31:26] with the growth we see in

[31:30] park and ride ridership. Vanpool is 100

[31:31] percent lower we have not received

[31:33] revenues in December. METROLift is 20

[31:39] percent higher. The time the fares

[31:41] don't tie with ridership as they

[31:42] recognize various stages independent of

[31:45] usage. This is a good breakdown of how

[31:46] we see farebox coming in. Next slide

[31:52] please all four budgets representing

[31:54] METRO major appropriated activities are

[31:58] presented. The first quadrant on the

[32:01] upper left-hand side shows year-to-date

[32:03] operating expenditures versus budget,

[32:06] 3.3 percent or $7.4 million under

[32:12] nonlabor expenses specifically with

[32:15] contract and support services. The

[32:16] second quadrant is the capital budget

[32:17] broken out by two categories, the core

[32:24] business ended three month period 33

[32:25] percent or $17 million over. This as

[32:29] relayed last month in the CFO report

[32:32] because we are receiving buses sooner

[32:36] than we expected. 28 of the 45 diesel

[32:38] commuter buses have been delivered.

[32:41] Last month it was 15 so it was growing.

[32:46] 25 of the 51 diesel buses have been

[32:50] delivered. We expect this over run to

[32:51] iron out in the next two months, it

[32:53] catches up with the original schedule.

[32:56] The expansion enhancement category

[33:00] ended 61 percent or 41 million under,

[33:02] this is mostly due to timing with the

[33:07] rays in the referendum projects like

[33:10] bus stop accessibility. The third

[33:12] quadrant shows debt service 3.3 percent

[33:15] or less than 1 million under. Last

[33:21] month are reported to the board we will

[33:24] be issuing less debt than expected so

[33:25] we expect to see and under run in that

[33:28] category. The fourth quadrant you see

[33:30] the allocation for general mobility

[33:34] reflective of sales tax. You see that

[33:35] through December the amount is under

[33:36] what we expect to contribute this year

[33:40] by 1.8 percent or $1 million. Here is a

[33:47] breakdown of the three major funds as

[33:48] presented in the investment report. All

[33:49] of the funds be benchmarks by 10 to 30

[33:55] basis points our investment officers

[33:56] are doing a great job. The general fund

[34:03] balance is down $41 million with prior

[34:07] month due to outflows required to fund

[34:08] operating expenditures higher than

[34:11] inflows sales tax grants farebox and

[34:16] interest income. Debt service increased

[34:21] by 6.9 million representing program

[34:22] monthly contribution to cover interest

[34:23] and principal payments for debt. The

[34:24] general mobility fund increased 15

[34:28] million, this reflects an inflow of

[34:32] contribution from sales taxes in

[34:37] December 2018 .2 offset by 2.7 million

[34:38] of congestion mitigation payments made

[34:42] to multicity partners. Next slide

[34:46] please. METRO debt balance remains the

[34:48] same from last month at 643 million.

[34:53] The last time METRO debt was below 650

[34:54] million was 15 years ago in 2011.

[34:57] However the balance will not stay down

[35:02] long. Later this month we issue the

[35:03] first tranche of commercial paper 18

[35:06] million of referendum projects

[35:09] [Indiscernible] I'm happy to report the

[35:11] rating agency SMP is getting set up for

[35:13] this has given commercial paper the A1

[35:16] rating the highest rating they can

[35:20] give. Any questions for George? thank

[35:24] you for the presentation I have a

[35:29] couple of questions. What is a typical

[35:33] or approximate percent of our overall

[35:34] budget that comes from sales tax and

[35:36] what is it for farebox for the general

[35:38] public and for the board

[35:42] >> We can say sales tax is about 800

[35:45] million, about 1 billion take out the

[35:47] general mobility. Farebox right now I

[35:51] think we have it budgeted at 47

[35:53] million. You can see the difference

[35:56] between those. The other inflows that

[36:01] fund our operations are grants. We have

[36:06] that 200 million. And we also have

[36:13] interest and debt proceeds. We expect,

[36:16] well we are issuing debt, we don't

[36:19] issue debt unless we need the money.

[36:22] Our general fund was able to cover

[36:25] operations in the past years. We have

[36:28] not issued debt since 2018. So now

[36:33] moving into this year issuing that

[36:34] starting a commercial paper program, it

[36:37] gives us the flexibility to issue debt

[36:40] when we need it. That is the beauty of

[36:41] it

[36:46] >> And then, when do we expect the

[36:47] general fund balance to bounce back to

[36:49] 305 million the recommended amount we

[36:51] should have been there to be healthy

[36:56] >> Our, we have a constraint a reserve

[36:59] constraint which is 15 percent of

[37:01] operating budget and another layer is

[37:05] five percent of the operating budget,

[37:09] that is a board policy parameter. On

[37:13] top of that, 15 million. That's over

[37:18] $223 million. We are never at risk of

[37:25] not paying our bills. We have over $200

[37:29] million. But we optimize. So in the

[37:32] past year, we were 500 million above

[37:36] that, that's not very good as well

[37:39] because it's taxpayer money and we need

[37:40] to deploy those funds for uses. We try

[37:42] to optimize so we are using the exact

[37:44] amount and keeping a reserve that keeps

[37:51] a strong safe resilient, as part of the

[37:52] reason we have such a high

[37:56] [Indiscernible] because we do these

[37:57] things

[37:58] >> Thank you so much I appreciate that

[38:00] conversation on a higher level to give

[38:01] us an understanding of where we are,

[38:03] where we need to go, if that's

[38:11] something we need to address so I

[38:12] appreciate it thank you

[38:13] >> The one thing I want to add that was

[38:15] a good question, one of the reasons why

[38:18] we are healthy is because the majority

[38:19] of our revenue comes from sales tax

[38:22] revenue, that's very different from

[38:23] other transportation agencies across

[38:24] the US relying on fare revenue. The

[38:28] other thing is George and his team and

[38:34] that's why we monitor the forecast for

[38:36] the sales tax revenue because if we see

[38:37] it is going to go down, we adjust

[38:43] expenses as well. Is very important we

[38:47] look at that because we don't want to

[38:48] be in a situation where the operating

[38:49] expenses are more than net revenue

[38:52] coming in. Any other questions? okay. I

[38:57] wanted to ask a question about the fare

[39:02] boxes. May be Tom that would be a

[39:06] question for you. How are we as far as

[39:07] putting in the new fare boxes

[39:10] >> We have an update coming in the

[39:16] Customer Service Committee. But it's

[39:19] going extremely well with all the

[39:21] farebox is being installed, all the

[39:24] TVMs coming on board they are making

[39:26] changes as we speak on the platforms.

[39:30] And we have begun the transition to

[39:35] utilizing the new system. It's going to

[39:39] take a little time. We are working

[39:40] through allowing people plenty of time

[39:42] to make their transition from the old

[39:45] system to the new. We are still on

[39:49] track for full transition come February

[39:50] and April

[39:52] >> I'm sorry February and March

[39:58] >> Okay. How about our transition with

[40:00] our park and ride folks with the

[40:04] corporate sponsorships? Need to make

[40:06] sure there's not [Indiscernible] as well

[40:09] >> We are taking special care and

[40:12] making sure the right sponsors that

[40:16] have utilized the park and ride in

[40:21] anyway are giving every tool necessary

[40:23] to make the transition. We double

[40:24] checked on a few the other day and

[40:28] everybody is in good shape with no

[40:29] issues at this point

[40:32] >> This is probably more of a safety

[40:35] question but for the safety committee

[40:38] but once we get the farebox is in place

[40:40] and we have fare collectors in place

[40:44] collecting hopefully that will minimize

[40:49] [Indiscernible] we see

[40:50] >> Absolutely that is one of the

[40:52] objectives yes ma'am. Thank you George

[40:55] for your presentation. Everyone is okay

[40:58] we will move the financial report to

[41:01] the board for approval. Hearing no

[41:02] objections we will move it forward. We

[41:04] will go to the action item 3 Eddie

[41:08] Miranda

[41:11] >> Good morning, I am Allen Clark's

[41:15] chief strategy officer, I am Eddie's

[41:16] lesser replacement for the day. He is

[41:20] out of town. Happy to be able to walk

[41:21] you through our three items. The first

[41:23] of those item number three, we are

[41:31] requesting board approval for the

[41:32] Interim President CEO to be able to

[41:34] request our annual transit formula

[41:37] funds and to speak to that and give you

[41:41] additional background, I have my deputy

[41:44] chief strategy officer, Alberto here

[41:48] this morning. Albert I will turn it to

[41:49] you

[41:50] >> Thank you good morning. Let me make

[41:54] sure the clicker works and it does.

[41:56] Thank you and good morning. Today we

[42:01] will the FY25 formula funds for the

[42:05] FTA, particularly the 5307 5310 5337

[42:14] and 5339 bus. These funds METRO is the

[42:15] designated recipient for the funds.

[42:18] Those funds come into the Houston

[42:20] urbanized area. I want to pause quick,

[42:23] designated recipient what does it mean?

[42:30] it means METRO is responsible for the

[42:31] funds and act on behalf of the FTA for

[42:34] the urbanized area. In order to get

[42:35] these funds program we must develop a

[42:38] program of projects in coordination

[42:42] with regional partners. The 5307 funds

[42:43] came in at 119 million, 5310 5.9

[42:51] million 5337 22 million and 5339 at 9.8

[42:54] million for a total of 157 million,

[43:02] that's roughly 3 percent increase from

[43:03] the prior year the urbanized area this

[43:04] is a census designated area. If you

[43:15] note, the light purple and dark purple

[43:17] the dark purple is the METRO service

[43:19] area you see a translucent area to the

[43:24] northwest. That is METRO service area.

[43:27] The Houston urbanized area is dark

[43:31] purple. METRO is not the only one that

[43:32] operates in the Houston urbanized area.

[43:38] Harris County Fort Bend County and Gulf

[43:39] Coast transit District operate in this

[43:45] area. The program of projects, we work

[43:52] with our regional partners we have

[43:55] collaborative efforts and discussions

[43:56] to discuss the needs of the region and

[43:57] how funds will be allocated. METRO is

[43:59] required to approve the pop, required

[44:05] by the board. All the projects must be

[44:06] included in the regional transportation

[44:11] plans. All the projects will be within

[44:12] the Houston UZA. 5307 funds FTA is

[44:29] required to program a minimum of 1.75

[44:30] percent of the formula funds in safety

[44:31] and security, that is a minimum. Will

[44:33] talk more on the slide how we maximize

[44:38] the efforts. Also we are required to

[44:42] program at least a maximum of 10

[44:43] percent of funds in ADA paratransit

[44:48] services. What are 5310 funds, they

[44:55] support seniors and. Individuals with

[44:56] disabilities METRO use these for

[44:57] METROLift services. Something to

[45:00] highlight, METRO will conduct a call

[45:01] for projects with our regional partners

[45:06] and reserve up to 750,000 to do such.

[45:11] Transportation services will be a

[45:12] priority of these call for projects. I

[45:15] have been overseeing this process for

[45:19] 10 years now and have to admit this is

[45:20] my favorite part of the process, to

[45:23] work with smaller partner organizations

[45:24] to get services on the road. 5337 funds

[45:33] are used as a state of good repair to

[45:34] maintain fixed guide way high intensity

[45:36] bus networks. Think of the light rail

[45:42] and the HOV lanes. 5339 are bus

[45:46] facilities and bus for capital projects

[45:51] within Houston UZA to rehabilitate

[45:57] vehicles and facilities themselves. A

[45:58] high overview of the allocation in the

[46:03] Houston UZA. Every single category we

[46:06] discussed 5307 5337 5309 and 5310 plus

[46:12] the regional partners, you note that

[46:13] [Indiscernible] is Gulf Coast transit

[46:15] District, they also report inside the

[46:17] urbanized area but in coordination with

[46:21] them they have a significant balance of

[46:23] formula funds they are working through

[46:25] so we discuss with them and they did

[46:29] not need funds from FY25. Here is the

[46:39] 5307 program of projects for Houston

[46:42] urbanized area. METRO Harris County and

[46:43] Fort Bend County are part of this. I'd

[46:46] like to highlight the safety and

[46:52] security component $33 million. Earlier

[46:53] I talked about 1.75 percent that was a

[46:55] minimum, tapping into what George was

[47:00] saying, cash is important and the

[47:01] timing of the cash is also important.

[47:03] What we did is we worked with regional

[47:08] FTA, region six and said if it's a

[47:10] minimum can't we go above and beyond in

[47:14] the answer was yes. What this does in

[47:15] working with George's team at finance,

[47:17] we draw down the funds a lot quicker.

[47:20] Another thing is the ADA service

[47:22] support 10 percent maximum amount,

[47:28] Harris County and Fort Bend County

[47:29] there projects all of the projects are

[47:31] very much non-capital-intensive the

[47:34] meaning they will be reimbursed quickly

[47:35] and that's what we want for the

[47:40] urbanized area. 5310 projects will be

[47:44] part of this, you note that as a

[47:47] $750,000. This is a program of projects

[47:51] for the Houston urbanized area, Harris

[47:55] County for King County receiving funds

[47:59] as well. The 5337 program of projects,

[48:02] METRO will retain 100 percent of the

[48:05] funds as noted before regarding fixed

[48:08] [Indiscernible] as high intensity bus

[48:13] METRO being we are the ones that have

[48:14] the fix guide with the rail and HOV

[48:17] lanes. These projects will be

[48:19] implemented for state of good repair

[48:20] projects for Fannin South and West

[48:26] Belfort Park and ride. The 5339

[48:27] program is a regional fare collection

[48:30] system, this is ongoing and prime to

[48:33] receive federal funds. The timing of

[48:34] reimbursement of the funds is positive.

[48:39] The request for action, it's threefold.

[48:44] Board approval for the projects for the

[48:47] FY25 formula funds, permit METRO staff

[48:48] to issue a call for projects to solicit

[48:52] partnership proposals up to $750,000.

[48:58] To provide the interim CEO with

[48:59] comprehensive authority to implement

[49:01] the program of projects including

[49:05] submission of grant applications

[49:07] conducting administrative actions as

[49:08] required sub allocating funds for

[49:10] regional transit providers and

[49:11] execution of subsequent FTA grant

[49:15] agreements as always there are

[49:20] alternatives, the alternative here is

[49:21] to delay and move forward with the

[49:22] program of projects at a future date.

[49:28] Unfortunately it won't change the

[49:29] amount or time frame to implement a

[49:32] program of projects. That concludes the

[49:34] presentation

[49:35] >> Any questions for Alberta? thank you

[49:42] Alberto this is board member Ponce. The

[49:45] request for projects for 5310 could you

[49:50] give a little more detail as to what

[49:53] those proposals limits are

[49:54] >> What the limits are?

[49:58] >> More of what our, is it open to any

[50:05] kind of proposal or specifics required

[50:06] by METRO

[50:07] >> That's a fantastic question. The

[50:15] 5310 call for projects is limited to

[50:16] projects that enhance the mobility of

[50:17] seniors and individuals with

[50:19] disabilities. It is a requirement that

[50:20] services be open to the public, there

[50:22] are other criteria that follow. We do a

[50:26] fantastic job in advertising this. We

[50:30] work with our marketing team to get

[50:31] this out as best we can. We coordinate

[50:35] with [Indiscernible] I just met with

[50:37] the director yesterday on how we can

[50:40] collaborate more. We also emailed

[50:44] directly all past applicants and

[50:45] successful applicants to make them

[50:50] aware of the opportunity, as well as

[50:51] make presentations at the United Way

[50:52] and [Indiscernible] on the funds

[50:54] available. To talk about the projects,

[50:58] what we've seen in the past is capital

[51:02] projects operating. The last two years

[51:03] we have focused on operating projects,

[51:05] those that get the service on the

[51:08] streets, that's what we've heard as far

[51:11] as a resounding soundboard from many

[51:13] patrons in the region they'd like to

[51:14] see the service on the street. That's

[51:17] our main focus for call for projects

[51:19] >> Thank you

[51:22] >> Albert if I may, you might want to

[51:26] mention the kind of organizations we

[51:29] are working with which tend to be

[51:33] not-for-profit organizations. Often

[51:34] transportation is not their primary

[51:36] function but they are serving part of

[51:38] our community with significant

[51:44] disabilities and providing the more

[51:47] client based customized transportation

[51:51] for those individuals. Could you

[51:54] mention a few of those organizations

[51:55] >> Thank you certainly fantastic

[51:57] follow-up. I've been overseeing the

[51:58] funds for 10 years now. I have to admit

[52:00] it's the favorite part of the process.

[52:04] I've been out to these agencies and put

[52:05] the service on the streets. Without

[52:10] naming names one in particular the

[52:11] services to help individuals with

[52:16] intellectual disabilities and training.

[52:18] They go out with the service and train

[52:19] individuals to service vending

[52:20] machines. When they have their product

[52:22] and their dollies they can't, they have

[52:25] difficulty getting on our service. So

[52:29] these funds provide them to help

[52:31] transport them and do the service. The

[52:34] service is to get individuals to where

[52:35] they need to be and perform the

[52:39] training opportunities to get them

[52:40] prepared for the real world. Our

[52:43] services can accommodate the bulk of

[52:45] the project and the equipment like

[52:49] dollies. It's instances like this where

[52:51] you see the funds go in technician

[52:53] areas and it's a wonderful time saving

[52:58] >> How are reprioritizing these

[53:03] proposals? They are prioritized based on

[53:05] duplication of service, make sure they

[53:07] are sustainable. There's a lot of

[53:08] criteria that go into it. I'd be happy

[53:12] to present these findings at a future

[53:13] date when we complete the projects and

[53:16] the board and committee can walk

[53:17] through how they were selected. I

[53:19] certainly don't sit on the review

[53:23] committee, is comprised of regional

[53:27] partners in the region and H GAC for

[53:28] independent review of applications

[53:31] >> Thank you I would love a report on

[53:32] that

[53:33] >> Absolutely

[53:34] >> I have one question, what would you

[53:36] say is the number of partnerships you

[53:39] have? How many partners do you have

[53:43] >> Active partnerships is upwards

[53:47] between five and 10, meaning we have

[53:48] fund balances available and working

[53:51] with the finance team. At any given

[53:52] time when we do a call for projects in

[53:55] the past, we received from 1 to 5

[54:00] applications. Not a lot. Three or four

[54:02] years ago we revamp the entire process

[54:03] and said we are not getting enough. We

[54:05] went out and did the process over again

[54:08] and got 15 projects applications. It's

[54:13] a very difficult for the review

[54:14] committee to select the projects. But

[54:17] again it's wonderful to see funds go to

[54:18] these partners

[54:22] >> Thank you very much and thank you

[54:24] for the work you are doing

[54:27] >> Any other questions? thank you

[54:30] Alberto we appreciate your

[54:35] presentation. I'm going to go back to

[54:39] Dominic Maisoc I believe he is on the

[54:41] phone. Are you there?

[54:44] >> Terry can you hear me now? Yes we

[54:47] can hear you

[54:50] >> Okay. I'm going to mention it here

[54:53] and maybe I can talk about it later in

[54:55] other committee meetings coming up. Tom

[55:01] Jasien, thank you for giving me your

[55:04] number because I've been texting Tom

[55:09] about if I see something I text him

[55:10] immediately he told me to do that. One

[55:13] day I was on the 96, METRO's from

[55:17] Memorial going from the transit center,

[55:23] comes up Fulton Tidwell Parker

[55:28] Northline Drive up to the transit

[55:34] center [Indiscernible] in 1960. One day

[55:35] I got on the bus coming home.

[55:41] [Indiscernible] 10 people between the

[55:42] transit center and my house the stop at

[55:47] my house were on the bus.

[55:54] [Indiscernible] I was very observant on

[55:58] bus routes to see how people are

[56:01] paying. Just out of curiosity. So what

[56:08] happens was, there were 10 people. Out

[56:12] of the 10, only two paid fully, one

[56:15] person paid with a Q Card, I paid with

[56:21] a beta tested card for the new system.

[56:25] Eight did not pay at all or fully. Now,

[56:31] when there is a fare discrepancy I

[56:34] thought the operator was supposed to

[56:37] hit a button. On the new fare machines

[56:40] it sounds like the ding when you go

[56:41] into a gas station. I'm not hearing it.

[56:46] With this new system and the new

[56:50] computers and everything else we can

[56:54] get very granular where people are not

[57:00] paying their fares. I know the operator

[57:01] does not want to get into a hissy fit

[57:02] with their operators or customers but

[57:06] not paying full fare is a state felony,

[57:09] same as not paying full fare on the

[57:15] light rail lines. So I think one thing

[57:17] is with this new system we are putting

[57:20] in, if you don't pay any fare or full

[57:25] fare it is a state jail felony theft of

[57:30] fare. The operators are going to have

[57:33] to get more aggressive and suggest

[57:38] paying full fare. If they hit these

[57:45] buttons, Chief Tien can get his people

[57:46] to ride those buses are routes that

[57:52] have compliance with officers or fare

[57:55] inspectors. I don't want this to be

[57:58] like Dallas. Dallas is having a big

[58:02] problem with their income people not

[58:06] paying fares. With that, thank you Tom

[58:08] for listening to me, thank you for

[58:11] coming back to me and I send it back to

[58:12] you thank you

[58:13] >> Thank you Dominic for your comments.

[58:17] I'm going to go back to item 3 and make

[58:21] sure the committees okay to move this

[58:22] for board approval. Okay great. Moving

[58:25] on to the next action item

[58:28] >> Thank you very much. We have two

[58:32] different grants and George will come,

[58:37] one of our chief grant writers. The

[58:44] first concerns the ability to receive a

[58:47] grant for rifle resistant body armor. I

[58:51] will let [Indiscernible] explain the

[58:52] details of that

[58:56] >> Good morning. I'm requesting board

[58:59] action to authorize Interim President

[59:00] and CEO to apply for a rifle resistant

[59:03] body armor grant funded by the office

[59:04] of Governor public safety office in the

[59:09] amount of 280,000. This will outfit 205

[59:12] police officers with rifle resistant

[59:13] body armor to protect high caliber

[59:18] rifle bullets. This does not require a

[59:19] match

[59:21] >> Are there any questions? we can move

[59:25] that onto the board for approval.

[59:32] >> Item 5 is a little different type of

[59:34] grant through a similar process. Again

[59:43] I will let [Indiscernible] speak to that

[59:44] >> I'm requesting board action to

[59:45] authorize Interim President and CEO to

[59:46] apply for the peace officer mental

[59:48] health program funded by the office of

[59:52] Governor public safety office in the

[59:53] amount of 425,000 this funding will

[59:55] allow the supportive mental health

[1:00:00] wellness of peace officers that will

[1:00:01] focus on prevention treatment and

[1:00:02] resilience

[1:00:08] >> Any questions? we will move that on

[1:00:09] for board approval as well. Too good

[1:00:13] grant programs thank you. The last

[1:00:18] action item George?

[1:00:19] >> Thank you again to members of the

[1:00:22] committee. There is no presentation I

[1:00:23] will speak to the item. A request for

[1:00:29] board action for the official board

[1:00:30] authorization Interim President and CEO

[1:00:35] to direct a transfer of the

[1:00:36] administration health and welfare

[1:00:39] benefits, primarily health insurance

[1:00:40] for represented employees union

[1:00:44] employees, from the health and welfare

[1:00:48] trust to METRO administration. I'm

[1:00:49] going to go through the history of

[1:00:50] recent events that brought us here and

[1:00:52] recap how the administration of health

[1:00:54] and welfare benefits is currently

[1:00:59] conducted. With the preface this action

[1:01:03] is conclusive staff request after

[1:01:06] year-long review analysis of how the

[1:01:07] administration of benefits for union

[1:01:10] employees is conducted and the

[1:01:13] conclusion is the risk of conducting

[1:01:14] this benefits administration in the

[1:01:15] current fashion is too high. The risk

[1:01:23] that METRO frontline workforce the most

[1:01:24] important employees in the organization

[1:01:25] could lose their health insurance is

[1:01:26] too great to ever happen. Since 2015

[1:01:28] the threat of the risk has happened

[1:01:34] twice let's remember all funds

[1:01:36] supporting the administration of

[1:01:39] benefits for METRO employees are coming

[1:01:40] from METRO's taxpayer generated

[1:01:42] revenues and the hard-earned wages of

[1:01:47] employees. We have a fiduciary

[1:01:48] responsibility run our business

[1:01:49] efficiently. Let's begin with a recap.

[1:01:53] Both METRO and the transport workers

[1:01:58] Union provide health insurance benefit

[1:01:59] to the union represented employees and

[1:02:03] retirees and beneficiaries through a

[1:02:04] maintained health and welfare trust.

[1:02:06] This exists separate from METRO and is

[1:02:10] operated and managed by a board of four

[1:02:13] trustees. This trust is funded by

[1:02:15] contributions from the participants of

[1:02:19] the trust. This is the union

[1:02:21] represented employees METRO employees

[1:02:25] and retirees and contributions from

[1:02:26] METRO at a rate agreed-upon in the

[1:02:29] labor agreement. Almost a year ago on

[1:02:35] January 27, this trust requested METRO

[1:02:36] to provide additional funding to cover

[1:02:39] a deficit anticipated to render funding

[1:02:43] and sufficiency but of 2.4 million. In

[1:02:46] the event the trust had insufficient

[1:02:48] funds, that health insurance benefits

[1:02:53] of the health and welfare trust

[1:02:57] recipients would end. As you can

[1:02:58] imagine any emergency room visit event

[1:03:04] could be financially catastrophic for

[1:03:05] an uninsured frontline METRO employee.

[1:03:09] In February the board moved to

[1:03:10] implement the change control provision

[1:03:11] in the current labor agreement. This

[1:03:15] provision enable METRO to replace and

[1:03:20] appoint trustees of the health and

[1:03:21] welfare trust in the event certain

[1:03:22] financial were not being met. Along

[1:03:27] with the growing deficit and depletion

[1:03:31] of funds independent audits were not

[1:03:35] being completed on time major vendors

[1:03:36] not being properly assessed using the

[1:03:37] documented bid process. Since February,

[1:03:44] the health and welfare trust was

[1:03:45] governed my METRO staff from finance

[1:03:48] operations and human resources. It had

[1:03:49] representation from the union president.

[1:03:59] It was the objective of the newly

[1:04:00] appointed team of trustees to ensure

[1:04:01] all decisions and transactions were not

[1:04:02] being made without METRO consent and

[1:04:03] approval. During that time the

[1:04:04] authorized signatories of the bank

[1:04:07] accounts were renamed METRO have full

[1:04:10] access to various software and IT

[1:04:11] systems used to administer benefits.

[1:04:13] Internal staff resources were used,

[1:04:19] inventories of vendors invoices and

[1:04:23] ensure the open enrollment process for

[1:04:24] the union employees was executed

[1:04:25] successfully for this year and we were

[1:04:29] successful with that. Throughout the

[1:04:31] month and careful oversight is become

[1:04:33] apparent the current structure and

[1:04:35] mechanism of administering the union

[1:04:37] employee benefits through a third-party

[1:04:40] trust is insufficient and continues to

[1:04:43] pose risk. There's obvious questions,

[1:04:50] why have a separate entity controlled

[1:04:51] by METRO to administer benefits and

[1:04:52] welfare to METRO employees? Why work

[1:04:58] through a different set of vendors

[1:05:00] contractors and procedures to

[1:05:01] administer benefits to METRO employees?

[1:05:02] Why pay a separate [Indiscernible]. Is

[1:05:07] this the most efficient use of taxpayer

[1:05:11] funds? Is this the most transparent way

[1:05:13] to administer this benefit to our

[1:05:17] front-line employees? this request is

[1:05:18] ultimately coming for a better way, a

[1:05:21] better way to mitigate the authority

[1:05:23] risk and to use taxpayer dollars.

[1:05:30] Again, we are asking for board

[1:05:31] authorization for the Interim President

[1:05:32] CEO to direct a transfer of the

[1:05:33] administration of health and welfare

[1:05:37] benefits primarily health insurance for

[1:05:41] represented union employees in the

[1:05:42] health and welfare trust to METRO

[1:05:44] administration. I can answer any

[1:05:45] questions

[1:05:47] >> Are there any questions? I have one

[1:05:51] question. What was the original purpose

[1:05:55] for perhaps having the trust managed in

[1:05:58] the way it was a managed as opposed to

[1:06:03] the administration managing it anyway

[1:06:06] >> It has been historically done this

[1:06:09] way since close to METRO inception. I

[1:06:13] think it was part of a negotiation from

[1:06:18] long ago union agreement that had this

[1:06:19] is how they wanted to do this. Since

[1:06:23] then, there has been an issue. In 2015,

[1:06:27] the trust ran out of money. METRO had

[1:06:32] to come in like we did last time and

[1:06:36] bail it out. During that time, that's

[1:06:38] when we said from here on out, in that

[1:06:43] agreement we had this appendix D. If

[1:06:48] this ever happens again where there are

[1:06:49] financial controls we see as a risk,

[1:06:52] METRO can appoint the trustees of the

[1:06:54] board, the appointees of the trustee.

[1:07:01] >> So in the past few years we have

[1:07:02] seen two opportunities for there to be

[1:07:07] a very significant risk. So you are

[1:07:11] saying to us today that this is

[1:07:12] probably the best way to go for METRO?

[1:07:15] >> Yes

[1:07:16] >> I agree with you

[1:07:17] >> Any other questions? Thank you for

[1:07:20] that.

[1:07:24] >> Has there been ample communication

[1:07:27] meetings all parties made aware of the

[1:07:30] transition and action item moving

[1:07:34] forward

[1:07:35] >> This is a staff request for the

[1:07:39] METRO board. All parties, we have

[1:07:43] positioned it, we have internal

[1:07:49] meetings if this goes through and is

[1:07:50] approved we have a plan the plan will

[1:07:51] be a transition between now and May

[1:07:53] because in June we will start union

[1:07:57] negotiations again. We want to have

[1:07:58] this cleared out and taken care of

[1:07:59] before we get to that so we have a

[1:08:02] clean slate to negotiate wages and

[1:08:06] benefits. This is the first green light

[1:08:07] we need to begin the transition

[1:08:08] >> To add to that, the current union

[1:08:15] leadership is well aware of this

[1:08:19] proposal and is certainly not opposed

[1:08:24] >> We've also gone over this before.

[1:08:26] They also knew this was going to happen

[1:08:30] with the last injection of cash we had

[1:08:33] to make. I think this sounds like a

[1:08:35] good plan. We will move this onto the

[1:08:38] board unless I hear any objections

[1:08:42] >> Just want some clarification. Now

[1:08:46] instead of having the trust for the

[1:08:50] union employees, union or not now it's

[1:08:56] under the METRO administration?

[1:08:59] >> Yes. There are four trustees that

[1:09:01] govern the third member entity, that

[1:09:06] administrates the benefits for the

[1:09:08] union employees. Three of the 4R METRO,

[1:09:12] all of them are METRO appointees but

[1:09:16] three our staff. The other appointee on

[1:09:17] that is the union president who has

[1:09:19] participated in this whole discussion

[1:09:21] >> You might add George, that was the

[1:09:24] change we made last year in how the

[1:09:30] board was constituted. There's been a

[1:09:32] few changes, last year when the

[1:09:36] troubles came we took over the majority

[1:09:39] of the board.

[1:09:41] >> Thank you.

[1:09:45] >> Okay no other questions we will move

[1:09:47] this to the board for approval. The

[1:09:52] last item on the agenda is the debt

[1:09:54] issuance with Sheila Lefang

[1:09:57] >> Thank you. The manager of debt

[1:10:12] service and investments. Our group is

[1:10:18] presenting a debt issuance item

[1:10:19] contractual obligations for which we

[1:10:20] will be requesting board approval in

[1:10:21] the next few months. Can I have the

[1:10:22] next slide please thank you. The

[1:10:31] approved fiscal year 2026 budget

[1:10:32] includes a capital project expenditure

[1:10:34] plan comprised of referendum projects,

[1:10:38] bus and infrastructure projects as well.

[1:10:44] The plan is supported by 441 million

[1:10:47] in debt funding sources, specifically

[1:10:51] commercial paper, sales and use tax

[1:10:54] bonds and contractual obligations. Next

[1:10:58] slide please. We are now just over

[1:11:00] three months into the fiscal year. In

[1:11:06] light of new information, we are

[1:11:09] updating the fiscal year 2026 capital

[1:11:14] project financing plan. We intend to

[1:11:15] issue 124 million less than the

[1:11:20] original plan. The plan has changed due

[1:11:22] to a regional forecast of sales tax

[1:11:25] collections prepared by the University

[1:11:28] of Houston Center of economic growth

[1:11:31] and opportunity. George has mentioned

[1:11:38] that before. This has the effect of

[1:11:41] reducing METRO anticipated collections

[1:11:43] by 25 million for the fiscal year. The

[1:11:53] accompanying economic report noted key

[1:11:55] reasons for the downward forecast on

[1:11:58] sales tax collections as the effect of

[1:12:00] immigration policy on the workforce

[1:12:04] increased tariffs and economic

[1:12:07] uncertainty. Because of this refocused

[1:12:13] and other unexpected events such as

[1:12:14] government shutdown which occurred in

[1:12:18] the fiscal year, which in itself

[1:12:19] affected the timing of grant receipts

[1:12:21] now delayed to April in a few months, a

[1:12:25] general fund has diminished

[1:12:28] significantly as we are having to make

[1:12:32] payments for qualifying debt to finance

[1:12:37] capital expenditures such as bus

[1:12:38] budgets with every day with revenue

[1:12:41] cash receipts. In this chart the dotted

[1:12:42] line represents our general fund. The

[1:12:46] colored areas represent cash reserves

[1:12:51] which we mentioned earlier which are

[1:12:53] mandated by either the board policy or

[1:12:56] the debt policy. As is evident on the

[1:13:00] chart, we are very close to dipping

[1:13:03] into reserves. There's a cash infusion

[1:13:07] is necessary. Currently we are working

[1:13:10] on getting the two commercial paper

[1:13:13] lines established and we are well

[1:13:18] underway with that. So we can begin

[1:13:19] drawing down to cover these capital

[1:13:21] expenditures that we have to take care

[1:13:26] of. This chart highlights our planned

[1:13:27] response to meet those capital funding

[1:13:30] requirements and to do so in a timely

[1:13:35] fashion as well. In our estimate, we

[1:13:38] would like to start the process now to

[1:13:43] ensure the funding from the contractual

[1:13:45] obligations, which will be used as

[1:13:49] rolling stock becomes available in a

[1:13:52] couple of months, we are looking at

[1:13:54] April May timeframe. Next slide please.

[1:14:03] Does METRO have the authority to issue

[1:14:04] a contractual obligations which is the

[1:14:06] debt instruments we are looking to be

[1:14:10] approved, yes we do. These are

[1:14:13] authorized in chapter 1371 of the code

[1:14:20] and subject to subchapter a of the

[1:14:22] Texas local government code. METRO

[1:14:24] policy has also established guidelines

[1:14:29] utilization of the debt instrument to

[1:14:34] finance capital assets. We also have

[1:14:35] debt policy stated these can be issued

[1:14:40] without voter approval and of course we

[1:14:41] will come to the board to have a

[1:14:46] resolution adopted to enable us to do

[1:14:55] so. Next slide please. Just a brief

[1:14:58] outline of what contractual obligations

[1:14:59] which are also known as Kos these are

[1:15:05] debt instruments that presents a legal

[1:15:10] agreement between two parties, there is

[1:15:12] no election requirement meaning we

[1:15:13] don't have to go to the voters to get

[1:15:17] these in place. They are considered

[1:15:18] good for nonconstruction projects such

[1:15:22] as rolling stock. Rolling stock is

[1:15:23] equipment you use to generate revenue.

[1:15:26] They are good for a short duration

[1:15:30] projects, the projects which we use the

[1:15:35] KO with an average life of 5 to 12

[1:15:39] years. They will be issued as senior

[1:15:44] lien obligations, which means we will

[1:15:47] they are secured by pledged revenues

[1:15:48] and come from sales tax and they have a

[1:15:50] strong credit backing, rated AAA either

[1:15:54] rating agencies standard and pore. Next

[1:16:01] slide please. The projects we are

[1:16:04] looking to fund, we will issue

[1:16:06] approximately 75 million which will

[1:16:09] include borrowing costs. This will be

[1:16:10] used to acquire the equipment, the two

[1:16:13] groups of equipments are rolling stock

[1:16:15] we are looking to finance, revenue

[1:16:21] vehicles and also nonrevenue vehicles

[1:16:26] that support the operations. There's

[1:16:29] going to be interest related to the

[1:16:31] contractual obligations and also costs

[1:16:36] involved in issuing these. These items

[1:16:37] are already budgeted for in the budget

[1:16:42] we passed last fall. Next slide please.

[1:16:48] Our next steps, we will revisit with

[1:16:49] the committee in the next few months.

[1:16:54] Then we will be asking the board to

[1:16:55] specifically approved the issuance of

[1:16:56] the KOs, approve the amount which will

[1:17:02] be in the region of about $75 million.

[1:17:04] We will ask the board to authorize

[1:17:11] appropriate to execute documents

[1:17:14] associated with the financing. Also to

[1:17:18] approve the team which is the attorneys

[1:17:21] and underwriting syndicates associated

[1:17:22] with the financing as well. That is the

[1:17:27] plan we have as far as that is

[1:17:30] concerned. This concludes my

[1:17:33] presentation I'm happy to take any

[1:17:34] questions

[1:17:37] >> Just for the ignorant what is a KO

[1:17:42] versus CO. That is interesting that

[1:17:47] they did not call it a CO that was one

[1:17:48] of my first questions as well, there is

[1:17:52] no rhyme or reason. What does Ks

[1:17:58] stand for, contractual

[1:17:59] >> I'm okay with CO.

[1:18:03] >> Any other questions? I wanted to

[1:18:07] make a couple of comments to make sure

[1:18:13] we stress that the different debt

[1:18:16] instruments we issue will be depending

[1:18:18] on the purpose. If you have a

[1:18:24] referendum or a non-referendum, the

[1:18:25] finance team will make sure they use

[1:18:28] proper debt investment. The other thing

[1:18:29] I wanted to mention is when we are

[1:18:32] issuing debt for rolling stock heavy

[1:18:33] equipment things of that nature that we

[1:18:36] are going to match payback with the

[1:18:40] useful life. In other words we don't

[1:18:42] want to pay back in 10 years when

[1:18:43] useful life is seven years or five

[1:18:48] years. Any other questions? Thank you

[1:18:51] for the briefing. This is the last item

[1:18:54] on the agenda so the meeting is

[1:18:55] adjourned

[1:18:59] >> It is 10:42 AM we will start the

[1:19:05] infrastructure mobility committee

[1:19:06] meeting

[1:19:09] >> Excuse me it is 10:22 AM for the

[1:19:10] record

[1:19:15] >> I am Bob Fry the Chairman. I have a

[1:19:21] quorum present all of the board is here

[1:19:22] thank you for being here, Chairman

[1:19:23] Brock thank you for being here. I'm

[1:19:31] losing one. Okay. We have at least one

[1:19:36] speaker go ahead

[1:19:37] >> Dominic Maisoc

[1:19:40] >> Can you hear me? We hear you find

[1:19:46] Dominic go ahead. Mayor I was not at

[1:19:48] the rail meeting yesterday because I

[1:19:53] was doing my 180 at Council yesterday.

[1:19:57] As far as I'm concerned concerning

[1:20:01] that, METRO needs to watch the Union

[1:20:10] Pacific Northern Southern merger. I

[1:20:11] think there probably will be statements

[1:20:15] about the Houston terminal. I think the

[1:20:16] board needs to be very cautious of

[1:20:19] that. May be working with the cities

[1:20:21] and everything to have Union Pacific

[1:20:25] give the money for grade separation. In

[1:20:30] this, on the issues putting a downtown

[1:20:38] METRO police station within one of the

[1:20:39] downtown management District or Houston

[1:20:40] first. I'm going to say something, I'm

[1:20:44] for it, unfortunately it is something

[1:20:46] we have to have. My concern is people

[1:20:50] are becoming more and more and more

[1:20:56] uncivil. I will use the example of the

[1:20:59] bouncing off the walls cartoon World

[1:21:05] War II era. It seems like people are

[1:21:06] becoming more and more crude, becoming

[1:21:11] more and more uncivil. In the last

[1:21:15] meeting, people will be beginning to

[1:21:18] feel like, I don't have to pay my fare.

[1:21:23] It's a sad situation I don't know how,

[1:21:31] churches are doing part, maybe need to

[1:21:32] do more. Reverend that's in your

[1:21:35] department, that might be something you

[1:21:37] want to talk to your minister group

[1:21:48] with the Mayor. Use our ministers to

[1:21:49] tell people to obey the laws, the just

[1:21:50] laws that we do have. I don't how to do

[1:21:57] that. Secondly, you have this thing

[1:21:59] stand by for pavement repair. I think

[1:22:04] it's good that we have standby

[1:22:08] contractors that can come in and do the

[1:22:10] work, as long as they do the work well

[1:22:15] and do the work so we get the most bang

[1:22:16] for the buck. I know we've got in three

[1:22:21] months I know Terry is left, we've got

[1:22:25] the budget for believe it or not 2027

[1:22:32] coming up in April. That process is

[1:22:38] going on. With that, I have no other

[1:22:39] comments and will send it back to you

[1:22:40] Mayor thank you

[1:22:41] >> Thank you Dominic. Any other

[1:22:46] speakers? No sir. I will make one

[1:22:47] correction I said all of the board was

[1:22:49] here Board member Trevino is not here.

[1:22:53] With that, we will move on to action

[1:22:57] items. Casey?

[1:23:01] >>. Good morning I'm here to request

[1:23:10] board authorization for Interim

[1:23:12] President CEO to execute a competitive

[1:23:17] sealed proposal two-year contract for

[1:23:19] the asphalt and concrete paving for

[1:23:22] mobility improvements package three on

[1:23:23] an as-needed basis with Texas materials

[1:23:28] group, with a base contract value of

[1:23:35] $35,989,000. And a 10 percent METRO

[1:23:36] control to contingency of $3.5 million.

[1:23:43] Not to exceed amount of $39.5 million.

[1:23:50] >> If there are any questions I can

[1:23:51] answer them

[1:23:55] >> Questions or comments?

[1:23:56] >> Looks like it's okay, Casey. We will

[1:23:58] pass this on to the board

[1:24:02] >> Taylor?

[1:24:06] >> Good morning. Taylor, we are seeking

[1:24:16] approval of memorandum of understanding

[1:24:18] between merits and h Harris for an

[1:24:23] mixed-use development next to the

[1:24:25] Burnett transit Center. Last year in

[1:24:27] June and overview the opportunity and

[1:24:31] today I will provide an update and talk

[1:24:32] about the intent of the MOU. Before I

[1:24:35] start I want to recognize we have our

[1:24:41] colleagues from the Harris County

[1:24:42] housing finance Corporation here today,

[1:24:47] we have [Indiscernible]. With that I

[1:25:00] will begin. What is the [Indiscernible]

[1:25:04] development. A project led by the

[1:25:06] Harris County housing finance

[1:25:07] Corporation and arm of the county

[1:25:08] itself focused on promoting affordable

[1:25:11] housing. They have establish a vision

[1:25:15] for the project, a walkable mixed-use

[1:25:16] district with innovative mixed income

[1:25:20] housing commercial retail and

[1:25:22] neighborhood services serving the near

[1:25:26] North Side community as well as

[1:25:27] opportunities for small business

[1:25:28] success and high-quality pedestrian and

[1:25:30] green space. While METRO is not leading

[1:25:36] the project there is opportunity for

[1:25:37] ridership benefits and customer

[1:25:38] experience benefits related to safety

[1:25:40] and security and additional eyes on the

[1:25:45] street. This project is located in the

[1:25:49] near North Side, directly adjacent on

[1:25:50] the eastern side of Burnett transit

[1:25:53] Center. 10.7 acres the county owns.

[1:25:55] They are seeking to partner with more

[1:25:59] developers to bring the project to

[1:26:05] fruition. The preliminary site plan UC

[1:26:10] was developed by the county is subject

[1:26:11] to change based on negotiations with

[1:26:12] individual developers. They had broken

[1:26:13] the site into three tracts, tract one

[1:26:18] tract two being mixed-use developments

[1:26:21] with affordable housing and tract

[1:26:23] three being a shared open space area.

[1:26:30] As far as timeline tract one further

[1:26:35] away from the transit center on the

[1:26:36] eastern side is further along the scope

[1:26:40] from the county are seeking a minimum

[1:26:41] of 200 units affordable housing as well

[1:26:44] 15,000 square feet of retail or support

[1:26:49] services for residents. They issued an

[1:26:53] RFP last year and talk to a developer

[1:26:54] last year they are in negotiation

[1:26:58] process with the developer. They

[1:26:59] anticipate closing the end of this year

[1:27:00] and construction lasting two years.

[1:27:04] Tract two on the western side of the

[1:27:06] property adjacent to the transit center

[1:27:10] is somewhat similar with more

[1:27:14] commercial. It is a minimum of 200 unit

[1:27:18] affordable multifamily apartment

[1:27:19] complex with a minimum of 25,000 square

[1:27:20] feet of ground floor retail. They

[1:27:27] issued an RFP in the fall and

[1:27:28] anticipate selecting a developer in

[1:27:32] February. Similar timeline on the

[1:27:33] closing at the end of the year as well

[1:27:35] as construction lasting two years.

[1:27:39] Those are the two tracts. What is the

[1:27:46] purpose of the MOU, nonbinding

[1:27:49] agreement there is no contractual

[1:27:53] obligation for METRO. It does two

[1:27:54] things that identifies shared goals

[1:27:59] with Harris County finance Corporation

[1:28:00] and outlines roles and

[1:28:02] responsibilities. On the shared goals

[1:28:04] both parties want to ensure this is a

[1:28:09] transit oriented development that

[1:28:11] encourages ridership, that is the

[1:28:15] design of it. Also an opportunity for

[1:28:19] us to explore communities, to

[1:28:21] facilitate development and activation

[1:28:25] of METRO property itself. In the short

[1:28:26] term that could be enhanced pedestrian

[1:28:27] activity between our side and mayors.

[1:28:29] It could also be a long-term additional

[1:28:32] use of the transit center in the form

[1:28:36] of a joint development. As far as roles

[1:28:40] and responsibilities, Harris County

[1:28:41] housing finance Corporation is leading

[1:28:43] the project, METRO is a support role

[1:28:48] providing information and feedback to

[1:28:49] the county and their developers related

[1:28:52] to design and we are having an open

[1:28:56] mind if interest does come for

[1:28:58] additional development at the property.

[1:29:02] With that being said we are here today

[1:29:07] to request board authorization for the

[1:29:08] Interim President CEO to approve and

[1:29:15] MOU with the Harris County housing

[1:29:16] finance Corporation regarding proposed

[1:29:17] development adjacent to the Burnett

[1:29:18] transit Center.

[1:29:21] >> Questions or comments?

[1:29:26] >> I don't have any questions but I'm

[1:29:29] in support of this and excited about

[1:29:33] the TOD and the support we can provide

[1:29:35] for METRO

[1:29:36] >> That was one thing I wanted to ask

[1:29:37] you. You are okay with Harris County?

[1:29:41] Okay. The other thing is these projects

[1:29:47] like this next to our transit assets

[1:29:50] lead me to ask the obvious question.

[1:29:54] Chief, are you aware of this do you

[1:29:59] have public safety concerns as this

[1:30:00] goes forward?

[1:30:03] >> Yesterday they looped me in it is

[1:30:09] expanding and it's going to be more

[1:30:10] people there so will be a higher

[1:30:13] [Indiscernible] but a good thing right

[1:30:15] now it's close proximity to the

[1:30:18] headquarters at Buffalo Bayou so we

[1:30:21] still have a gap. As we increase our

[1:30:24] presence our safety initiative on the

[1:30:27] red line it will mitigate some of that

[1:30:28] in the initial term

[1:30:32] >> Tom, I would be sure to mention that

[1:30:39] public safety [Indiscernible] as it

[1:30:42] goes along so they are not caught by

[1:30:43] surprise later

[1:30:44] >> Yes, sir.

[1:30:46] >> Are there any other questions or

[1:30:49] comments? Kathy

[1:30:52] >> I'm wondering, this is for

[1:30:55] increasing the ridership. The goal is

[1:30:57] to increase ridership. Are there any

[1:31:00] other things? It looks like we have

[1:31:03] mixed-use on the businesses. Is this a

[1:31:04] little like an investment for METRO so

[1:31:07] we can profit from this or just for the

[1:31:13] purpose of increasing the ridership

[1:31:16] >> On our side it's about increasing

[1:31:19] ridership. The county is developing the

[1:31:23] property. They have their own goals

[1:31:24] related to affordable housing but ours

[1:31:27] is ridership.

[1:31:28] >> Thank you

[1:31:30] >> I would ask this question, you talk

[1:31:33] about the development and the proximity

[1:31:36] of the transit center next to it. What

[1:31:43] specifically bridges the two entities

[1:31:47] together to provide or to enhance

[1:31:52] transportation?

[1:31:53] >> That's what the MOU is serving right

[1:31:54] now or will serve. So we can have

[1:31:58] further conversation related to the

[1:32:00] design of the project. We want to make

[1:32:02] sure cents the design is integrated and

[1:32:09] supports transit and is a safe and

[1:32:10] secure environment

[1:32:11] >> My second question would be, are

[1:32:18] there any future developments this

[1:32:19] entity wants to partner with or have a

[1:32:22] relationship with METRO in?

[1:32:27] >> Not right now but we are open to

[1:32:28] conversations

[1:32:29] >> Thank you

[1:32:34] >> Anything else?

[1:32:35] >> Go ahead

[1:32:39] >> Director Ponce, I have not been out

[1:32:40] to the Burnett transit Center for some

[1:32:42] time now. With this development and the

[1:32:50] increase of parking for residents and

[1:32:53] customers as well as people coming to

[1:32:56] shop, could you speak a little on what

[1:32:59] the parking situation will be like? Are

[1:33:04] there multilevel parking garages that

[1:33:05] will be utilized for by both riders and

[1:33:10] residents?

[1:33:14] >> At this time, it's a separate

[1:33:15] development so there is not shared

[1:33:18] parking. They would have their own

[1:33:19] parking for residents and for retail

[1:33:25] and the transit center would stay as is

[1:33:29] >> I think you can see the interest in

[1:33:31] it. Everybody here has spoke, it's best

[1:33:33] to keep the board informed of how it's

[1:33:39] going. Personally, anytime you are

[1:33:41] talking this it's better when you're

[1:33:44] not talking to somebody, I certainly

[1:33:45] think we need to move this forward. We

[1:33:51] will move it forward. Thank you

[1:33:52] >> We will move on to five year

[1:34:03] contract on paving. Parmjit Kang, have

[1:34:07] not seen you in a while

[1:34:13] >> I am the senior program manager with

[1:34:17] infrastructure improvement here to

[1:34:18] request board authorization for Interim

[1:34:20] President CEO to negotiate and execute

[1:34:23] five year contract with two one-year

[1:34:28] options with 5 million each with AECOM

[1:34:38] Midtown Engineer Consor Engineers HR

[1:34:45] Green BGE Infratech and Exp US Services

[1:34:51] for design services for budget and

[1:34:52] plan construction projects on as-needed

[1:34:53] basis for not to exceed 140 million

[1:34:59] total

[1:35:02] >> Questions?

[1:35:06] >> Basically this is to put us in line

[1:35:09] with consultants as we need them when

[1:35:11] we need them, we pay for them when we

[1:35:15] use them. It's to be ready when things

[1:35:18] come up if we need additional help,

[1:35:21] does that cover it?

[1:35:22] >> Yes

[1:35:26] >> Is there any specific set-aside for

[1:35:29] small businesses in this consulting?

[1:35:34] Yes. 35 percent [Indiscernible]

[1:35:38] >> Any other questions? If I could just

[1:35:43] add a little bit, each one of those

[1:35:46] vendors has committed to 35 percent or

[1:35:50] greater, some of them [Indiscernible]

[1:35:53] >> On page 27 they are listed.

[1:35:59] >> That's a good point. Is it cut and

[1:36:05] dry as far as you are concerned? Okay

[1:36:09] no further questions we will move this

[1:36:11] onto the board. Thank you

[1:36:14] >> Clint, are you ready?

[1:36:28] >> Welcome Clint good to see you. Good

[1:36:36] morning sorry I did not hear my name.

[1:36:38] This morning we are here to request

[1:36:43] board action, the METRO Police

[1:36:47] Department and leadership identified a

[1:36:49] need for METRO police substation near

[1:36:51] the convention District area adjacent

[1:36:53] to both our green and purple line as

[1:36:59] well as the airport direct service. As

[1:37:05] such, the agency has begun discussions

[1:37:06] and developed a draft agreement with

[1:37:12] the Houston first Corporation to

[1:37:17] procure a ground-floor space of 1400

[1:37:18] square feet of the partnership tower at

[1:37:24] 71001 [Indiscernible] in Houston Texas.

[1:37:27] I will read the recommendation. Request

[1:37:30] board action for the Interim President

[1:37:34] CEO to negotiate execute and deliver a

[1:37:37] lease agreement with Houston first

[1:37:39] Corporation for the ground-floor 1400

[1:37:41] square feet of the partnership tower at

[1:37:47] 701 [Indiscernible] in Houston Texas

[1:37:49] for Houston METRO police department

[1:37:55] substation. As a note, this is a zero

[1:37:59] cost a lease arrangement and does

[1:38:02] include both option for a renewal, this

[1:38:08] is a one-year agreement now and has the

[1:38:09] option for termination at either party

[1:38:10] request.

[1:38:15] >> Are there any questions? I have a

[1:38:19] comment. I believe because of its

[1:38:23] location I believe ridership and the

[1:38:24] public will be pleased with this move

[1:38:33] >> Also in support given the upcoming

[1:38:36] increased activity in the next six

[1:38:37] months I'm glad to see this on the

[1:38:38] agenda

[1:38:40] >> I echo all of the above, it's a

[1:38:42] great idea

[1:38:45] >> You might want to go into why the

[1:38:49] location is so important?

[1:38:52] >> There's a number of reasons, this is

[1:38:54] the confluence of the two lines, we

[1:38:57] have both the green and purple line

[1:38:59] that connect to the convention center.

[1:39:06] The Houston airport direct service that

[1:39:07] runs every 30 minutes and delivers

[1:39:09] folks from the airport to downtown

[1:39:10] Houston is at this location as well. It

[1:39:16] gives the METRO MPD the opportunity to

[1:39:17] observe the activity occurring as it

[1:39:19] relates to passenger service and

[1:39:23] additional safety. Provides extra layer

[1:39:24] of general safety for the area at the

[1:39:27] convention center

[1:39:30] >> I think it's a good location, it

[1:39:33] should be done any other comments? We

[1:39:37] will pass it on, Clint thank you.

[1:39:49] >> Bridget Towns, hello

[1:39:54] >> Good morning everyone. I am Bridget

[1:40:04] towns, vice president of infrastructure

[1:40:08] improvement department here to request

[1:40:13] authorization for the president Interim

[1:40:14] President CEO to execute a contract

[1:40:15] modification with Wilson building

[1:40:16] services for the installation of a fire

[1:40:21] pump and generator at METRO central

[1:40:25] store warehouse. The original contract

[1:40:26] was awarded earlier last year in the

[1:40:35] amount of $1.928 million. Also at the

[1:40:41] time, METRO controlled contingency was

[1:40:45] approved in the amount of $192,818. The

[1:40:53] total amount of the original contract

[1:40:59] including the controlled contingency

[1:41:05] was $2.120 million. We had an earlier

[1:41:06] change order in the amount of $80,875.

[1:41:15] Which left us with the remaining

[1:41:22] controlled contingency of $111,942.

[1:41:27] This change order is for 197,057. The

[1:41:36] additional amount requested to cover

[1:41:40] this current change order is the delta

[1:41:43] between the change order amount and the

[1:41:49] remaining controlled contingency, which

[1:41:56] is $85,114. The total modified contract

[1:41:59] amount, including the change order,

[1:42:05] would be $2.206 million. Also as part

[1:42:12] of the change order, we would like to

[1:42:15] request a period performance extension

[1:42:18] to July of this year, this change order

[1:42:28] captures field driven revisions for

[1:42:29] unforeseen site conditions and code

[1:42:35] requirement including but not limited

[1:42:38] to adjusting conduit qualities

[1:42:42] increasing casing sides upsizing the

[1:42:45] tapping sleeve and valve and modified

[1:42:48] electrical components to meet the

[1:42:51] latest city codes. Are there any

[1:42:55] questions or comments? I know it is a

[1:42:56] lot of numbers

[1:42:59] >> Go ahead

[1:43:01] >> So this is for this location at 1900

[1:43:05] Main?

[1:43:06] >> This is for the METRO central store

[1:43:09] warehouse.

[1:43:11] >> Okay.

[1:43:14] >> I want to comment on this one. This

[1:43:18] warehouse is been a METRO hands for how

[1:43:21] long Tom? Since the 60s or 70s?

[1:43:24] >> Certainly back to the original

[1:43:28] origin which goes back to 1979. And we

[1:43:31] know it was before that. It has fallen

[1:43:38] into disrepair anytime you have a

[1:43:39] building that old anything you do cost

[1:43:43] a lot of money. The state of good

[1:43:44] repairs is what we demand on this board

[1:43:45] so this is certainly worth doing and I

[1:43:49] think we pass this unless I have

[1:43:54] dissension here. Comments?

[1:43:58] >> I'm in support of making sure we

[1:44:03] maintain our facilities. In a state of

[1:44:07] good repair. I don't know what the

[1:44:09] expected lifecycle is on the fire

[1:44:11] suppression system. It looks like we

[1:44:15] are making modifications upgrades if

[1:44:16] you have to replace and all of that. I

[1:44:18] did not know how much life we have

[1:44:21] current or how much extended life as a

[1:44:22] result of the repairs? Does anybody

[1:44:25] know?

[1:44:29] >> This is just for the fire

[1:44:32] suppression system. I would say

[1:44:33] probably off the top of my head, this

[1:44:38] would send it out for approximately 15

[1:44:39] years or so

[1:44:41] >> I guess and that's a good question,

[1:44:46] of course the caveat is let's start

[1:44:49] planning for 15 years from now.

[1:44:56] Anything else? we will pass it along

[1:44:57] thank you

[1:45:00] >> Thank you. We will move on to

[1:45:03] briefings capital project update Shri

[1:45:07] >> Good morning board members, we've

[1:45:13] got update starting with Tim Mills with

[1:45:14] an update on the universal

[1:45:17] accessibility program.

[1:45:19] >> Good morning everybody. We will

[1:45:22] start with the progress update for this

[1:45:25] fiscal year. December bit of a slow

[1:45:29] month with the holidays. We are still

[1:45:33] tracking for 250 improvements in design

[1:45:37] and construction, I expect to see a

[1:45:41] good jump in January. Board member

[1:45:43] Ponce, you asked last month about some

[1:45:46] of the more difficult stops getting

[1:45:49] into the open ditch stops and the

[1:45:56] partnership stops so I wanted to give

[1:45:57] an update on where we stand in the

[1:45:58] program and highlight some of the ways

[1:46:01] we are trying to address those stops.

[1:46:06] We are at 6100 improvements since the

[1:46:09] start of the program and F FY18.

[1:46:15] Everything in red are stops that have

[1:46:16] not been addressed as part of the UA.

[1:46:17] When you break that down there are

[1:46:20] stops in their existing compliant, some

[1:46:24] completed prior to the start of the UA

[1:46:27] program. Stops completed by others.

[1:46:29] Stops completed by a third-party. That

[1:46:34] leaves about 700 stops left to do, we

[1:46:39] have another 230 or so currently in

[1:46:43] construction. Right at about 1000 stops

[1:46:48] remaining. The green boxes around a

[1:46:52] couple of corridors, with these

[1:46:55] partnership stops is how we need to

[1:46:56] look at them and get away from the

[1:46:59] point-to-point improvements and look at

[1:47:00] it as a corridor based approach. To

[1:47:02] walk you through a few things. This one

[1:47:06] is on the northeast side of town,

[1:47:12] Eastland Street. Is a residential

[1:47:14] neighborhood with existing sidewalk on

[1:47:15] one side of the street. We operate bus

[1:47:18] service on both sides of the street.

[1:47:21] You can see on the left-hand side of

[1:47:25] the photo, there is an open ditch with

[1:47:28] a bus stop sign. A ditch on the

[1:47:29] right-hand side of the street with

[1:47:33] sidewalk behind it. It's a residential

[1:47:38] neighborhood, highlighted in the red

[1:47:39] box we have a school in the bottom

[1:47:40] right corner of the map and a parking

[1:47:42] community center in the middle off to

[1:47:47] the right of Eastland. This is one we

[1:47:53] are looking at improvements, there was

[1:47:54] a lot of benefit to the community to

[1:47:55] look at this as a corridor. I believe

[1:47:57] from Booker Street to Berry, close

[1:48:01] to 30 stops off of Wayside over to

[1:48:04] Eastland and back out to Wayside where

[1:48:13] we can catch a lot of bus stop

[1:48:14] improvements and improve the sidewalk

[1:48:15] in the neighborhood and include

[1:48:16] sidewalk connections to the school and

[1:48:17] to the community center in the park.

[1:48:21] That's one we are tackling ourselves

[1:48:23] under the UA program, benefits to the

[1:48:28] community. We are high on this one

[1:48:29] which is why we chose to advance this

[1:48:33] ourselves. Oats Road is another one, a

[1:48:43] little east of Eastland on the east

[1:48:44] side of town this is a two lane road

[1:48:45] with deep ditches on both side of the

[1:48:46] road, about a dozen stops on this

[1:48:52] stretch of oats Road. Almost all of

[1:48:53] them have very low zero ridership,

[1:48:58] there are two stops, a halfway house on

[1:48:59] the north end of the street where there

[1:49:04] is high ridership. We are including

[1:49:09] improvements there to address the ones

[1:49:13] with highest ridership and then we will

[1:49:14] work with the service planning group to

[1:49:17] figure out maybe we can optimize some

[1:49:18] of the stops and get rid of stops to

[1:49:20] cut down on the improvements but

[1:49:26] maintain service while still serving

[1:49:27] the customer base out there. Veterans

[1:49:31] Memorial on the west side of town, this

[1:49:37] is one multilane Road open ditch no

[1:49:43] sidewalks on either side. We've been in

[1:49:44] contact with the county they have a

[1:49:48] sidewalk project coming up so we are

[1:49:49] coordinating on bus stops making sure

[1:49:52] they get included in their project and

[1:49:53] addressing them as part of that that

[1:49:55] meets the standard and locations are

[1:49:59] good. That's a case of coordination

[1:50:02] between agencies. Same thing on

[1:50:07] [Indiscernible] Road, TxDOT has a

[1:50:08] project coming up open ditch on both

[1:50:09] sides of the road. There is a train

[1:50:14] track on the left side of the photo,

[1:50:18] coordinating with TxDOT to get stops

[1:50:22] addressed to our standards. There were

[1:50:23] a few that presented problems for

[1:50:24] TxDOT, four of them that we have to

[1:50:28] figure out how to address those. But it

[1:50:33] knocks out 15 difficult stops for us

[1:50:36] that will be done as part of their

[1:50:42] project. The last one, this is a few

[1:50:44] different streets up on the northwest

[1:50:49] side of town. This was not done in

[1:50:50] conjunction but this is a way it will

[1:50:53] improve our numbers. When they came

[1:50:58] with the service change, I believe in

[1:50:59] November or December board meeting,

[1:51:02] Route 64 will be discontinued next

[1:51:05] month. We had several stops on that

[1:51:07] part of the route that were residential

[1:51:09] neighborhood, open ditches with no

[1:51:13] sidewalk, eliminating that stop will

[1:51:14] take those off the UA list two

[1:51:18] completed to improve our compliance

[1:51:21] numbers. Again you can see there are

[1:51:25] multiple ways we are trying to address

[1:51:28] the stops, not all necessarily out of

[1:51:33] the UA budget. But it does show you the

[1:51:34] flavor of how we are trying to address

[1:51:37] these difficult stops. Are there any

[1:51:42] questions?

[1:51:43] >> I want to go back to oats Road. You

[1:51:48] were talking to planning within METRO

[1:51:52] and come up with roads that don't need

[1:51:54] stops, and it helps the coordination

[1:51:56] there, I'd like very much

[1:52:02] [Indiscernible] and with the

[1:52:03] coordination especially with two groups

[1:52:05] in house talking, a lot of times that

[1:52:06] does not happen so I'm proud of you.

[1:52:08] Are there any comments? Director Ponce.

[1:52:12] I want to thank you Tim for the update.

[1:52:17] I remember going out to one of the open

[1:52:20] houses, the public meeting for

[1:52:23] Commissioner Garcia by Veterans

[1:52:28] Memorial. I remember them talking about

[1:52:29] the expansion of Veterans Memorial

[1:52:31] there. This is another example of how

[1:52:34] we can collaborate with other partners

[1:52:38] to ensure not just our streets and

[1:52:40] sidewalks but METRO stops are up to

[1:52:44] date and accessible for everyone. This

[1:52:46] is one way of us to show other

[1:52:57] commission offices and also the nation

[1:52:58] as to what we are doing in Houston in

[1:53:02] collaboration to ensure all of our

[1:53:03] spaces are accessible to everyone.

[1:53:05] Thank you for that I appreciate that

[1:53:08] >> Also want to applaud the

[1:53:12] collaborative work as well. When you

[1:53:15] show the pictures of Veterans Memorial

[1:53:19] and Alameda Road you know how fast cars

[1:53:21] go up and down those heavily transited

[1:53:24] parts of the city. I'm very excited we

[1:53:28] will be doing work to make it more ADA

[1:53:32] accessible and also taking into

[1:53:34] consideration additional safety

[1:53:35] measures and those area. It is scary.

[1:53:38] We know Houston unfortunately has some

[1:53:43] parts like on Westheimer and parts of

[1:53:44] the city that are dangerous for

[1:53:46] pedestrians a national report recently

[1:53:49] said so. I know we are putting safety

[1:53:51] first and all things we do at METRO. I

[1:53:55] appreciate the work that we continue to

[1:54:00] visit busy and fast roads. It's great

[1:54:05] that we offer the service and hopefully

[1:54:06] we can make it safer

[1:54:08] >> And to piggyback off the one on oats

[1:54:12] Road, we are include flashing beacons a

[1:54:17] pedestrian crossing because these are

[1:54:18] two heavily utilized stops coming and

[1:54:19] going and a lot of traffic out there.

[1:54:23] Anything we can do to improve the

[1:54:25] safety crossing the street, getting

[1:54:28] between stops is something we are

[1:54:29] looking at as part of the UA program

[1:54:32] >> I echo the comments. What is the

[1:54:36] timeline for completion

[1:54:39] >> Oats Road, this one will go into

[1:54:41] construction I would guess in the next

[1:54:48] couple of months. Eastland, we are at

[1:54:50] the finish line I expect to have

[1:54:51] permitted planned for those maybe next

[1:54:55] week. That would again get going this

[1:54:57] fiscal year. Some of the coordination

[1:55:01] projects, I need to check in and see

[1:55:02] where they are on their timeline. Those

[1:55:04] are outside of our control but I can

[1:55:08] come back with an update with TxDOT in

[1:55:14] County projects

[1:55:15] >> I'd love to hear about the timeline

[1:55:18] from when we start to when we complete.

[1:55:21] Also some before and after photos would

[1:55:24] be great. Is really important, I echo

[1:55:27] what the other board members have said.

[1:55:31] Also, us being able to talk about all

[1:55:35] of these projects underway and the

[1:55:38] coordination and how we are

[1:55:42] complementing each other and working

[1:55:43] together not just in silos. To be able

[1:55:47] to promote that and tell the story that

[1:55:52] these investments and projects are

[1:55:55] underway and people will start seeing

[1:56:00] that progress.

[1:56:06] >> Anybody else? okay, Tim this is good

[1:56:07] staff work and you presented it well

[1:56:10] thank you. We will move on, Kenneth

[1:56:16] >> Good morning Mr. Brown.

[1:56:23] >> Good morning board Ken Brown

[1:56:27] director of service enhancements to

[1:56:28] provide the bus shelter program updates

[1:56:30] for January. Bus shelter program goals

[1:56:32] are listed, install 2000 new shelters,

[1:56:38] install 425 BOOST shelters and continue

[1:56:42] the rehabilitation program. Starting

[1:56:44] with the BOOST shelters at the time of

[1:56:45] the presentation creation we reach 235

[1:56:50] shelter installations, we have four

[1:56:51] shelter types at our disposal, we have

[1:56:59] installed 156 cantilever, 68

[1:57:00] [Indiscernible] so we are well on our

[1:57:01] way to reaching the goal of 100 for

[1:57:05] fiscal year 26, we intend to reach that

[1:57:06] goal prior to the completion of the

[1:57:12] fiscal year. Moving on to the new

[1:57:13] standard shelter program, our goal for

[1:57:17] the year is 500 shelters installed,

[1:57:21] 1500 in total. Our current progress was

[1:57:27] 1150 shelters. We have reached the 1200

[1:57:28] Mark so we are higher, well on track to

[1:57:34] reach our goal of 1500 by the close of

[1:57:40] the fiscal year. In addition we are

[1:57:43] focusing on transitioning our shelters

[1:57:47] from the current model to a model that

[1:57:51] accommodates airflow. Materials have

[1:57:53] been purchased by facilities

[1:57:54] maintenance to make the modification to

[1:57:57] the rehabs. We are looking at making

[1:57:58] changes to the new standard as well. We

[1:58:04] have 800 or so to install so we want to

[1:58:05] make sure we provide the same

[1:58:06] modification to though shelters as well

[1:58:08] so all customers can benefit from the

[1:58:09] change when the summer comes. Speaking

[1:58:16] of the rehab, we are currently in

[1:58:17] process of making that conversion. Once

[1:58:19] the materials are prepared and ready to

[1:58:22] go, you will see the rehabs shelters

[1:58:30] include the mesh panels. Last but not

[1:58:33] least is our partnership, we have a

[1:58:40] partnership with precinct two. We reach

[1:58:42] the goal of installation for them we

[1:58:43] were one short in December but I was

[1:58:44] recently notified the last shelter was

[1:58:45] installed. All 200 have been installed

[1:58:48] we are currently working to get the

[1:58:53] branding finalized so we can finish out

[1:58:54] the process and move on to forthcoming

[1:58:56] agreements. We are working with

[1:59:00] Precinct 4. We don't have a formal

[1:59:01] agreement in place because they are

[1:59:04] finalizing the design. Once they

[1:59:05] finalize the design we are able to

[1:59:06] review it and we will talk with them

[1:59:10] about a potential agreement. That

[1:59:11] concludes my presentation

[1:59:14] >> Questions? Just a comment on

[1:59:21] Precinct 4 partnership, I know they are

[1:59:25] working on finalizing the design and I

[1:59:26] look forward to partnering with them to

[1:59:27] get these on the ground

[1:59:28] >> Thank you

[1:59:32] >> Other questions? what is your

[1:59:35] timeline for having me air panels

[1:59:39] installed?

[1:59:40] >> We are a lot closer with the rehab

[1:59:45] because we have procured the materials

[1:59:46] 800 panels purchased by the field

[1:59:51] service center. With a new standard

[1:59:57] shelters we are working on a

[1:59:58] modification to the agreement because

[1:59:59] it will require additional resources

[2:00:02] transitioning from polycarbonate panel

[2:00:03] which is cheaper than mesh aluminum

[2:00:04] they will be more durable. I'd say in a

[2:00:07] month or so we should have that

[2:00:10] agreement modified and the vendor will

[2:00:13] go out and purchase the panels and

[2:00:17] start installing them. It won't start

[2:00:18] our progress with installing shelters,

[2:00:21] they will continue to do what they are

[2:00:22] doing now to get more shelters

[2:00:25] fabricated. Once we get the new

[2:00:28] materials we will transition. A month

[2:00:29] or two we should be looking at shelters

[2:00:31] >> A month or two to get shelters ready

[2:00:34] to go, what is the timeline for

[2:00:35] finishing

[2:00:36] >> The entire program? we look we are a

[2:00:42] year ahead of schedule, initially we

[2:00:44] thought it would be let me go back to

[2:00:50] the slide, initially we thought we

[2:00:51] would be getting this done in 2008. We

[2:00:55] think will we will be finished by 2027

[2:01:01] >> Okay. 2027. Let's see, okay that

[2:01:04] does it for me thank you anybody else?

[2:01:06] I have another quick comment. I know it

[2:01:13] was a year or two ago we said we wanted

[2:01:14] to prioritize this as a board and I

[2:01:17] want to credit the administration for

[2:01:22] the responsiveness. I really appreciate

[2:01:24] the updates and I'm excited about

[2:01:25] continuing to see progress on this

[2:01:26] initiative

[2:01:27] >> Anything else? Thank you.

[2:01:36] Construction update Bilal

[2:01:39] >> Good morning everyone. Director of

[2:01:49] construction. I will go over the

[2:01:51] construction updates. Our construction

[2:01:54] volume right now is 197.5 million

[2:02:01] dollars. Additional funds are available

[2:02:04] for 14.7 million to cover contingency

[2:02:08] for unforeseen conditions. For a total

[2:02:09] of 14 projects we are overseeing right

[2:02:11] now. The update for the maintenance of

[2:02:15] way project. The project is 65 percent

[2:02:18] complete, we are on target for July

[2:02:22] completion with the current pace of

[2:02:25] work we might achieve substantial

[2:02:26] completion a month earlier in June of

[2:02:30] this year. Exterior and interior work

[2:02:34] are ongoing. The MOW road work has

[2:02:38] commenced. The roadwork contractor has

[2:02:39] mobilized to the site last week. Next

[2:02:45] is the petroleum storage tank

[2:02:50] replacement that Hiram Clarke. I'm

[2:02:51] happy to report that both projects have

[2:02:53] been completed and handed to

[2:02:56] operations. The new fueling stations

[2:03:00] are operational. Also next month we

[2:03:04] will be breaking ground for the new

[2:03:05] petroleum storage tanks at Kashmere and

[2:03:11] Northwest bus operating facilities.

[2:03:12] Next is the TMC electric box

[2:03:14] infrastructure. This has been completed

[2:03:20] fencing around the [Indiscernible] have

[2:03:22] been removed allowing for the bus lanes

[2:03:23] to back into a normal operation.

[2:03:27] However we have hit a snag and cannot

[2:03:28] complete the testing of the Chargers at

[2:03:33] this time there was a water leak found

[2:03:36] in the vendor grass which is some of

[2:03:38] the electrical components.

[2:03:39] [Indiscernible] is in the process of

[2:03:44] ordering new parts. We don't have a

[2:03:45] date yet for when the parts are arriving

[2:03:50] which may cost some delay starting the

[2:03:51] electric bus service at this facility.

[2:03:55] Next we have the TMC elevators and

[2:04:00] escalators. I'm happy to report the

[2:04:02] major milestone has been achieved and

[2:04:03] all four new escalators are installed.

[2:04:05] These were shipped from Spain and we

[2:04:08] had to airfreight them to meet the

[2:04:12] schedule. Also the four new elevators

[2:04:13] are being delivered to the site this

[2:04:16] week. Installation will commence in

[2:04:20] parallel. All of the electrical and

[2:04:24] mechanical works are ongoing. We are

[2:04:25] getting ready to start the pedestrian

[2:04:27] bridge rehab which will start next

[2:04:29] month and include structure repair

[2:04:33] paint TMC signs and LED lights. That

[2:04:40] concludes my presentation before he

[2:04:41] bring Casey for the pavement projects

[2:04:42] any questions for me?

[2:04:43] >> Questions?

[2:04:49] >> Go back to the Chargers. Those are

[2:04:53] for the electric buses? How does that

[2:05:03] slow you down? it doesn't hurt you bad

[2:05:06] does it? All of the infrastructure has

[2:05:09] been installed the Chargers the

[2:05:11] switchgear the transformers. In order

[2:05:13] to start the testing and commissioning,

[2:05:15] the system had to be turned on. When

[2:05:21] they were about to turn it on they

[2:05:22] found a water leak inside the

[2:05:25] pantograph. What that did is

[2:05:26] short-circuited some of the electric

[2:05:29] circuits inside the pantograph in those

[2:05:30] parts had to be reordered. We cannot

[2:05:37] turn those on until the parts have

[2:05:38] arrived so that is slowing us down. We

[2:05:42] are not sure exactly what the lead-time

[2:05:45] on these things, [Indiscernible] is

[2:05:46] finding out we just found it two weeks

[2:05:48] ago. They don't have a delivery date

[2:05:50] yet.

[2:05:54] >> But, that is for the buses the

[2:05:56] electric buses. If you did not get

[2:05:59] that, it doesn't really slow you down

[2:06:03] that much does it

[2:06:04] >> Just the electric buses that don't

[2:06:06] operate yet. We were planning to start

[2:06:10] that service. So there will be some

[2:06:11] delay in that

[2:06:15] >> If this does not happen by the time

[2:06:20] of World Cup you are still in good shape

[2:06:21] >> Yes it is not slowing us down. Any

[2:06:24] other comments or questions? Thank you

[2:06:29] >> North Houston highway improvement

[2:06:31] project.

[2:06:34] >> You are on construction updates.

[2:06:37] Good morning again Casey McKay

[2:06:43] preconstruction as well as director of

[2:06:44] the construction BOOST and roadway

[2:06:47] projects. First I will go over the

[2:06:50] concrete asphalt paving for mobility

[2:06:53] improvement contract one update. The

[2:07:01] prime contractor completed the Texas

[2:07:02] Avenue Kirby Drive Montrose and began

[2:07:03] construction on April 1, 2025 on

[2:07:04] Washington Avenue and Westcott and will

[2:07:05] complete that project by the end of

[2:07:09] January. The picture on the slide show

[2:07:10] the completed asphalt service pavement

[2:07:13] near Franklin at the end of the

[2:07:19] Washington Avenue project. Next I will

[2:07:20] go over the Holcomb Boulevard update.

[2:07:24] The contractor began construction in

[2:07:28] October 2025. The westbound lanes have

[2:07:30] finish surface paving from Fannin to

[2:07:32] Kirby, now they are currently milling

[2:07:37] the two curb lanes from Kirby to

[2:07:48] Buffalo Speedway and are about to

[2:07:49] continue all the way to the project

[2:07:50] westbound and once they finish

[2:07:51] westbound they will do eastbound. Next

[2:07:54] I will go over the concrete asphalt

[2:07:57] paving for mobility and improvement

[2:07:59] contract number two update the prime

[2:08:03] contractor began construction in August

[2:08:04] along Hillcroft from Westpark to

[2:08:07] Westheimer. They are completed asphalt

[2:08:11] service paving Harris East 20th and

[2:08:14] North Post Oak the picture on the left

[2:08:17] shows the asphalt surface completed on

[2:08:18] North Post Oak facing I-10. The picture

[2:08:22] on the right shows the concrete

[2:08:23] intersection still being worked on on

[2:08:24] North Post Oak and Westfield. The

[2:08:31] asphalt project [Indiscernible] is

[2:08:33] [Indiscernible] which will start

[2:08:34] milling next week around January 22.

[2:08:41] Now I look over the JFK concrete panel

[2:08:49] replacement update. The contractor

[2:08:50] began construction on January 6, 2026.

[2:08:52] Cutting and concrete panel replacement

[2:08:55] began as seen in the pictures. We will

[2:08:58] complete this project before the World

[2:09:03] Cup. Next I will go over the BOOST 54

[2:09:10] segment four project update on Scott

[2:09:11] Street from Holmes Road to Swingle

[2:09:15] Drive. The contractor began

[2:09:16] construction on December 8, 2025. As

[2:09:22] shown in the pictures on the slide the

[2:09:23] sidewalk bus stops and shared use Path

[2:09:27] has started. The project will be

[2:09:32] complete around July 2026. We have now

[2:09:37] asphalt surfaced 65.63 lane miles and

[2:09:42] have restored 49+ lane miles of

[2:09:48] concrete panel replacements. This slide

[2:09:49] shows an approximate list of current

[2:09:54] and upcoming projects. This shows an

[2:09:58] approximate list of not yet started

[2:10:04] roadway projects. If there are any

[2:10:05] questions I'm happy to answer them

[2:10:09] >> Questions?

[2:10:10] >> This is Director Ponce. Can you go

[2:10:12] back to the first slide on Franklin. I

[2:10:23] think this intersection is amazing have

[2:10:29] we had conversations with Public Works

[2:10:30] in Houston regarding ramp accessibility?

[2:10:35] >> Yes, sir. I believe they are going

[2:10:36] to be working on that crossing in the

[2:10:39] near future. We did talk to them and

[2:10:42] they told us for the striping in that

[2:10:47] area to leave it as temporary striping

[2:10:48] because they would be doing work there

[2:10:52] >> Okay thank you. Other questions?

[2:10:56] I've got two or three public input from

[2:10:58] riders or drivers at the Post Oak,

[2:11:03] magnificent and good to hear. Anybody

[2:11:11] else? Thank you Casey. Rachel

[2:11:15] >> It's been a few months but I will

[2:11:24] move quickly but not talk too fast. I

[2:11:32] am in the planning group at METRO

[2:11:33] presenting on North Houston highway

[2:11:35] improvement project. Basically what is

[2:11:40] the program and how has METRO planning

[2:11:41] for it as well is reacting every day.

[2:11:47] Construction projects are fluid. Where

[2:11:48] trying to make our system maintain as

[2:11:49] functional as possible for rail and bus

[2:11:51] to keep routes running smoothly as

[2:11:56] possible to also protect the agency

[2:11:58] assets of course things like their

[2:12:02] light rail track itself while

[2:12:03] communicating changes to routes and

[2:12:04] detours to customers as often as

[2:12:08] possible. This is a calendar overview

[2:12:11] of the different segments. I will try

[2:12:15] to move quickly. Last year to segments

[2:12:16] were under construction and more in

[2:12:20] planning and design. Detours and

[2:12:23] service changes, detours that will be

[2:12:24] under six months are temporary. We been

[2:12:30] working with operation group and bus

[2:12:31] operations to determine what the

[2:12:34] detours might look like. In some cases

[2:12:35] it's better to detour a few blocks out

[2:12:37] of the way then change the route in its

[2:12:41] entirety. That happened on the nine

[2:12:45] Gulfton Holman. [Indiscernible] utility

[2:12:46] work down for three months we have

[2:12:49] returned the route back to normal

[2:12:53] operations. The 4041 was included in

[2:12:58] long-term service change. That is now

[2:12:59] permanently detouring around while Polk

[2:13:03] Street is closing. The 54 Scott is

[2:13:04] going to have to change later this

[2:13:07] year. The bridges at 288 will come down

[2:13:10] so that will be a longer-term service

[2:13:14] change. There are some instances where

[2:13:18] we change routes working with

[2:13:19] operations that ended up being

[2:13:20] fortuitous to keep it that way. The 40

[2:13:23] market closed down due to detention

[2:13:25] basin work. For segment three B1 it

[2:13:30] turned out to be a quicker route time

[2:13:32] and the housing development got shut

[2:13:33] down due to the TxDOT project so the

[2:13:35] ridership base was not there they

[2:13:39] maintain this route change because I

[2:13:40] had a better travel time. The first

[2:13:43] project is the one you have seen I-10

[2:13:49] at Studemont Heights they are lifting a

[2:13:50] portion out of the floodplain. While

[2:13:54] this is not a NHHIP project it does

[2:13:58] have implications for adjacent segments.

[2:14:03] I will get into the ramp later because

[2:14:04] that's where the crux of the impact is.

[2:14:08] This is on Saint Emmanuel this went

[2:14:09] into construction last year in October.

[2:14:15] This is basically providing drainage

[2:14:16] for the [Indiscernible] happening at

[2:14:21] state Highway 288. They board under the

[2:14:23] green and purple tracks to put in large

[2:14:27] box culverts. We did geotechnical

[2:14:28] monitoring to make sure there is no

[2:14:30] track deflection or damage to our

[2:14:35] assets. We will do that again this year

[2:14:36] because they have to go under the

[2:14:38] tracks to install sanitary lines and

[2:14:44] put in [Indiscernible]. Those are some

[2:14:47] of the local bus routes we've had to

[2:14:48] deal with service changes and temporary

[2:14:52] detours. Segment [Indiscernible] state

[2:14:56] Highway 288 I-69 the spaghetti noodle

[2:15:01] tangle south of downtown. The major

[2:15:02] impacts for us will be bridges for Elgin

[2:15:06] to [Indiscernible] across 288 will be

[2:15:08] taken down and replaced a longer-term

[2:15:12] construction project 54 Scott a

[2:15:16] high-frequency red route goes across

[2:15:21] the bridge this will come down later

[2:15:22] this year but TxDOT agreed to wait till

[2:15:23] after FIFA and keep alternate routes

[2:15:27] open [Indiscernible] the buses can

[2:15:29] route around in a close radius. 3A

[2:15:34] remains on track for the Wheeler

[2:15:37] transit Center. The main point to

[2:15:42] emphasize now as we are in discussions

[2:15:43] with text Opera advance funding

[2:15:46] agreement looking at rules and

[2:15:49] responsibilities might be. Because they

[2:15:50] need real estate from us which is one

[2:15:52] of those areas in blue. We want to talk

[2:15:55] about maybe doing the systems work and

[2:15:59] roles and responsibilities throughout

[2:16:02] the design and construction. This will

[2:16:03] impact both light rail and bus. We will

[2:16:07] keep the board apprised as we move

[2:16:08] through the negotiation with TxDOT. The

[2:16:11] next segment are the three C's the I-10

[2:16:19] northern downtown this segment does not

[2:16:20] have a lot of impact for METRO

[2:16:27] basically they keep the service roads

[2:16:28] open for I-10 East Park and ride routes

[2:16:29] should maintain service throughout

[2:16:30] construction and there's one local

[2:16:32] route that runs north and south across

[2:16:35] the freeway and it looks like it will

[2:16:37] not be impacted it's good news on that

[2:16:43] segment segment 3C2 as you move closer

[2:16:44] downtown the I-69 North and I-10 area

[2:16:47] the main impact for this is it's going

[2:16:49] to be a design build job that will

[2:16:54] impact the HOV HOT entrance at the

[2:16:58] northern end of downtown fortunately

[2:16:59] most of the equipment is for the

[2:17:03] further north [Indiscernible] we can

[2:17:12] take down and store and replace after

[2:17:13] construction is done the main impact

[2:17:14] will be that TxDOT stated in order to

[2:17:15] finish the construction they will have

[2:17:16] to allow general traffic to use the HOV

[2:17:17] lane to maintain three lanes in each

[2:17:21] direction. For a period of 12 to 18

[2:17:23] months HOV will not have an exclusive

[2:17:26] Lane which has implications for travel

[2:17:31] time. Fortunately the rest of the HOV

[2:17:34] HOT segment will remain unchanged from

[2:17:39] [Indiscernible] to Kingman that will

[2:17:47] operate as [Indiscernible]. This

[2:17:51] segment is by the UH downtown area the

[2:17:52] main impacts moving the bridges and

[2:17:55] changing slopes and heights the

[2:18:04] overhead contact system for light rail

[2:18:05] is attached to the side of the bridges

[2:18:06] as they move those we will look at how

[2:18:07] to retention and redesign the system as

[2:18:08] well as move foundations and things

[2:18:09] like that. Right now we are reviewing a

[2:18:10] rail crossing agreement with TxDOT rail

[2:18:14] so METRO is looking at doing the design

[2:18:15] but we would be reimbursed by TxDOT and

[2:18:18] have to coordinate who would do what

[2:18:23] during construction. We're in review

[2:18:27] that agreement right now of course on

[2:18:28] the other side of UHD redline station

[2:18:30] the routes coming out of that will be

[2:18:32] impacted with what happens on Main

[2:18:36] Street as a demo and reconstruct the

[2:18:43] bridges. 3C 4 the segment adjacent to

[2:18:46] White Oak Bayou comes after the White

[2:18:51] Oak Bayou project. There's going to be

[2:18:52] some closures potentially later this

[2:18:53] year with the buy you project that

[2:18:54] could last up to a year then we will

[2:18:58] have continuous on and off issues

[2:19:01] throughout the segments for quite a

[2:19:05] while that is something we need to work

[2:19:06] with TxDOT on how to get the park and

[2:19:10] ride routes in and out of downtown

[2:19:11] because this impacts all routes coming

[2:19:16] off of I-10 West. With the rest of the

[2:19:23] changes happening downtown. Access into

[2:19:24] downtown is going to change the Pierce

[2:19:25] elevated is going to be demolished

[2:19:26] which will impact the St. Joseph

[2:19:29] Parkway by the building a lot of the

[2:19:32] access downtown will change and the

[2:19:35] I-10 HOV entrances will be funneled

[2:19:38] onto two sets of street north end of

[2:19:45] downtown [Indiscernible] Smith and

[2:19:48] Louisiana for I-10 West. There's going

[2:19:49] to be more traffic on those streets

[2:19:54] more likely congestion and that has

[2:19:55] implications for operating time for

[2:20:03] buses. We hope through proactive

[2:20:04] planning with TxDOT we can mitigate

[2:20:07] these impacts we are working with

[2:20:08] operations and service planning group

[2:20:16] and every other department at the

[2:20:17] agency to figure out how to minimize

[2:20:18] the amount of detours and LRT

[2:20:19] shutdowns. Basically we are helping

[2:20:20] TxDOT on the construction sequencing

[2:20:30] they are not as familiar transit

[2:20:31] operations that we try to advise them

[2:20:32] on what would be best for bus and rail

[2:20:35] operations to minimize shutdowns. We

[2:20:37] are working with them to try to have

[2:20:38] major alternate routes open if

[2:20:39] something is closed for construction.

[2:20:42] We try to communicate this as often as

[2:20:43] we can to customers and that trickles

[2:20:48] down through folks in the call center

[2:20:49] the website that updates things like

[2:20:52] that. Of course all the detours that go

[2:20:58] through [Indiscernible] so that is the

[2:20:59] gamut of what we are working on right

[2:21:00] now happy to take any comments.

[2:21:04] >> Comments or questions?

[2:21:09] >> Basically what you are telling us is

[2:21:12] this is a moving disaster. I get it

[2:21:17] >> I have one question along I-10 245

[2:21:25] the HOV lane access and 45 access has

[2:21:26] been closed for some time. Do we know

[2:21:31] what the plan is and how long that will

[2:21:33] be

[2:21:38] >> I heard it is a year or two closure

[2:21:40] between I-10 West and I45 corridor.

[2:21:47] What happened [Indiscernible] they have

[2:21:49] to do a lot of changes so will be

[2:21:50] closed down for quite a while is my

[2:21:51] understanding

[2:21:56] >> You are keeping us up-to-date and

[2:22:00] this goes over our heads because it's

[2:22:04] so far out there when you make your

[2:22:06] reports first thing I would ask is if

[2:22:07] you see something coming up quickly

[2:22:11] which is probably the wrong word to use

[2:22:15] in this context if you see something we

[2:22:16] need to address the next time you come

[2:22:18] flag that say you need to look at this

[2:22:22] now so we're not looking out into 2030

[2:22:28] and we need to try to keep our

[2:22:29] passengers and riders informed of this

[2:22:31] stuff. We will get questions about this

[2:22:34] stuff you guys are on the front line

[2:22:35] and will hear a lot about this so if

[2:22:39] you keep that in mind for us

[2:22:45] >> Sure

[2:22:46] >> Anything else?

[2:22:47] >> Thank you Rachel good work

[2:22:49] >> Amma, West Belfort Park-and-Ride

[2:22:58] >> Good morning I am here to brief you

[2:23:07] on the West Belfort Park-and-Ride

[2:23:14] facility. I will give a quick overview

[2:23:19] on the background of the facility some

[2:23:20] of the existing conditions and the

[2:23:21] proposed improvements that will bring

[2:23:24] into this facility and next steps the

[2:23:29] park and ride is 5969 it's on with the

[2:23:38] image on the left it is bounded on the

[2:23:40] north by [Indiscernible] by you on the

[2:23:42] east by residential area and on the

[2:23:46] south by some commercial and

[2:23:50] residential uses as well. It has over

[2:23:53] 1800 parking spaces for bus space and

[2:23:58] serves to local and to express bus

[2:24:01] routes. It was one of our busiest

[2:24:07] routes, systems facilities during the

[2:24:10] covid time and post COVID we saw tick

[2:24:15] up in ridership which we are excited

[2:24:19] about. Nonetheless over the years this

[2:24:20] facility has been in need of some

[2:24:24] upgrades. We have explored different

[2:24:26] means of improving the facility. Due to

[2:24:31] some of our amenities, particularly

[2:24:36] related to the canopy, drainage and ADA.

[2:24:46] This is an image of the existing and

[2:24:47] current conditions of the facility the

[2:24:52] canopy due to weather has caused wear

[2:24:55] and tear discoloring of the canopy and

[2:24:56] exposing the railing of the facility as

[2:24:59] you can see on the top image in the

[2:25:08] center of the picture. There has been

[2:25:09] some rust to the canopy as well.

[2:25:17] Related to the drainage, some localized

[2:25:18] flooding continues to happen after we

[2:25:22] have inclement weather. This is due to

[2:25:26] insufficient inlet coverage in

[2:25:30] low-lying areas. And poorly aligned

[2:25:33] flow path, subsidence has altered the

[2:25:36] pavement grading and limited capacity

[2:25:42] with existing storm pipe. The

[2:25:44] pedestrian network existing conditions

[2:25:47] has noncomplying curb ramps faded and

[2:25:49] missing high contrast markings. Some of

[2:25:53] the curb ramps and designated landing

[2:25:55] spots have to go into ADA compliance.

[2:25:59] There are some unmanaged vegetation

[2:26:01] encroaching on the work path and

[2:26:08] complicating the way pedestrian

[2:26:14] navigate the facility. With these

[2:26:15] issues we are planning some targeted

[2:26:20] improvements and provide the facility

[2:26:21] to a state of good repair. Also be safe

[2:26:25] reliable and accessible for patrons.

[2:26:29] I'm going to start with the drainage

[2:26:33] improvements. We are looking to provide

[2:26:34] some selected inlet replacement pipe

[2:26:38] upgrades and installation of targeted

[2:26:42] drainage improvements regrading the

[2:26:46] pavement for faster drainage. We are

[2:26:47] hoping to incorporate permeable

[2:26:50] pavement and native plants to manage

[2:26:54] the water runoff. In relation to

[2:26:58] pedestrian network there will be

[2:26:59] installation of ADA compliant ramps,

[2:27:04] enhanced surface treatment such as

[2:27:07] repainting of the crosswalks. All aimed

[2:27:12] to create a safer more navigable

[2:27:14] environment for all pedestrians. With

[2:27:17] our canopy we are looking to provide an

[2:27:23] aluminum panel and will wrap columns

[2:27:27] with aluminum raps and upgrade lighting

[2:27:35] on the facility. We have also

[2:27:36] identified some grant funding

[2:27:39] opportunities that Allen's group

[2:27:43] discussed today through the FTA grant

[2:27:45] 5339, the bus and bus facilities and

[2:27:49] 5337 state of good repair grant, which

[2:27:53] we will be using toward improving the

[2:27:56] site. For the next steps, we are hoping

[2:28:00] to complete project development in the

[2:28:01] first quarter of this year with an

[2:28:07] evaluation of the concept looking for

[2:28:12] some energy efficient components for

[2:28:14] the site as well as selective parking

[2:28:15] covered parking on some of the lots and

[2:28:17] secondary components we see fit for

[2:28:21] bringing this facility to a state of

[2:28:25] good repair. Because these are federal

[2:28:27] grants we have to do any of our

[2:28:33] reevaluation. We have started that work

[2:28:34] and hope to complete that in second

[2:28:36] quarter of this year we hope to bring

[2:28:40] commence on design and third quarter of

[2:28:44] this year and complete it in the first

[2:28:45] quarter of 2027 and procure construction

[2:28:51] in the first quarter of 2027 and start

[2:28:52] construction third quarter of 2027,

[2:28:55] with a completion of construction

[2:28:58] sometime in the first quarter of 2028.

[2:29:06] We will bring, in terms of design we

[2:29:09] will have a task order to for the

[2:29:14] design contracts Shree brought to the

[2:29:18] board today. We will be working with

[2:29:19] his design team on that as well. These

[2:29:23] are some of the improvements we are

[2:29:28] planning for the facility. We are

[2:29:29] hoping to bring updates as we advance

[2:29:32] the concept and components we are

[2:29:35] bringing to the facility. Comments or

[2:29:36] questions?

[2:29:42] >> How old is that transit center

[2:29:47] >> It was built in 1993

[2:29:48] >> That's 22 years old. About time we

[2:29:50] did some work out there. Anything else?

[2:29:57] I think that does it thank you very much

[2:30:03] >> Shri I have one quick briefing. A

[2:30:08] little bit of context back in 2018

[2:30:13] transportation off peak direction HOV

[2:30:17] lane to allow METRO to utilize the

[2:30:21] inside lane next to the barrier

[2:30:25] separated HOV lane. This concept would

[2:30:28] provide METRO the ability to get the

[2:30:32] buses back in the direction to the park

[2:30:33] and ride and come back. And then next

[2:30:42] slide please, that is a picture of what

[2:30:45] we are talking about. The lane next to

[2:30:49] the HOV lane. Basically it is in the

[2:30:54] off peak direction, the striping and

[2:31:01] signage there. This is a close-up

[2:31:02] picture of what we are talking about.

[2:31:04] That particular agreement with TxDOT

[2:31:08] said if we were not using it and it was

[2:31:10] not utilized they would come back and

[2:31:11] ask us to remove it. They make that

[2:31:13] recommendation now and we agree with

[2:31:19] them. We will basically ask to go ahead

[2:31:22] and remove it. That is a quick briefing

[2:31:25] on this particular topic

[2:31:32] >> Any questions? It makes sense okay

[2:31:33] thank you for the update that is our

[2:31:40] last breathing does anybody on the

[2:31:41] board have anything to add before we

[2:31:43] close. We will call the infrastructure

[2:31:48] committee closed. At 11:35 AM we are

[2:31:51] adjourned

[2:31:56] >> The customer experience operation

[2:31:57] and business development committee

[2:32:00] meeting will meet in about five minutes.

[2:32:04] We will take a five-minute break good

[2:40:35] morning. It is 11:44 AM. The customer

[2:40:40] experience operation and business

[2:40:45] development committee METRO Board of

[2:40:46] Directors will begin at this time. We

[2:40:50] have one public speaker. Dominic Maisoc

[2:40:54] >> Dominic are you there?

[2:41:22] >> We may have to come back to Dominic

[2:41:28] >> We will come back to him. We will

[2:41:33] proceed with our first speaker. The

[2:41:36] first item on the agenda. Action item

[2:41:42] number two Michael Kyme

[2:41:43] >> Thank you Chair Preston. good morning

[2:41:46] committee. These are, the next two are

[2:41:49] related to the inventory. First

[2:41:53] will be [Indiscernible] and the second

[2:41:55] engines. The first one is for a

[2:42:01] recommendation to execute a contract

[2:42:04] with Cummins Southern Plains for

[2:42:06] transmissions for three-year contract

[2:42:09] and the total amount of $1.563 million

[2:42:15] and some change which represents a base

[2:42:18] contract to 1.3 million with a

[2:42:21] contingency of 260,000. Three-year

[2:42:23] contract as needed for operations. Any

[2:42:34] questions? Are there any questions? No

[2:42:35] questions we will move the item forward

[2:42:38] >> Thank you

[2:42:39] >> The next item is for engines also an

[2:42:42] inventory item. This will go to a

[2:42:45] company Holt truck centers of Texas

[2:42:48] also for a three-year contract total

[2:42:57] contract value $18,949,000. This also

[2:42:59] includes a contingency amount of 3.1

[2:43:02] million. This is for engines for

[2:43:05] inventory on an as-needed basis for

[2:43:08] three years. Any questions regarding

[2:43:12] this item? How many engines are they

[2:43:13] >> 109 engines

[2:43:16] >> At about 60,000 per engine

[2:43:19] >> Are there any questions? no

[2:43:23] questions we will move the item

[2:43:26] forward. Thank you Mr. Kyme. Next item

[2:43:34] Samuel Rumhizha

[2:43:42] >> Board members, interim president and

[2:43:46] CEO good morning my name is Samuel, I

[2:43:49] am the vice president of fleet

[2:43:52] services. I have a couple of items. The

[2:43:57] first item is a sole-source. I'm going

[2:44:00] to tell you a story about this 2095 a

[2:44:06] CNG bus. It's a new bus, fortunately

[2:44:12] about 21,000 miles on it which was

[2:44:16] unfortunately involved in a major

[2:44:18] accident. Being a new bus, a couple of

[2:44:23] problems come with that. The frame was

[2:44:26] damaged which means it would need

[2:44:33] people that can resuscitate bad and

[2:44:36] being a brand-new bus the only

[2:44:37] organization that can look into this

[2:44:38] bus is the regional OEM which is new

[2:44:42] flyer, the requests we have for that we

[2:44:46] request board authorization for the

[2:44:51] Interim President CEO to approve and

[2:44:52] execute a sole-source contract with new

[2:44:57] flyer industries Canada for the

[2:44:59] accident repairs a CNG bus 2092 at a

[2:45:03] maximum contract value of $534,000

[2:45:10] which includes a 20 percent METRO

[2:45:17] contingency amount of $89,000. Are

[2:45:18] there any concerns or questions?

[2:45:25] >> Any questions? no questions, we will

[2:45:28] move the item forward. The next item

[2:45:33] >> The next item is I will give a story

[2:45:44] on this one too. Our fleet the diesel

[2:45:45] and CNG buses have Cummins engines on

[2:45:50] them. Sometimes we have challenges to

[2:45:53] be able to take care of items out of

[2:45:56] warranty. We do tune-ups and things like

[2:45:59] that and we are so far better when we

[2:46:02] have a contract with Cummins where we

[2:46:08] are able to use them when we need them.

[2:46:10] Here is the request on the item.

[2:46:17] Request board authorization for the

[2:46:18] Interim President CEO to negotiate and

[2:46:19] execute a three-year contract with two

[2:46:21] options to extend for one year the

[2:46:28] Cummins Southern Plains maintenance and

[2:46:31] repair of Cummins diesel and compressed

[2:46:34] natural gas engines at a maximum

[2:46:41] contract amount of 3,500,000. Questions?

[2:46:48] >> There are no questions or comments

[2:46:49] we will move the item forward next item

[2:46:54] >> The last item again this one is

[2:46:57] pretty exciting. This involves the

[2:47:00] [Indiscernible] rants we got for CNG

[2:47:03] buses at the Northwest facility. As we

[2:47:08] start moving forward with this, I have

[2:47:13] met with some of the engineering and

[2:47:16] construction team on site to look at

[2:47:17] the fuel stations to be built. However

[2:47:18] we need to go ahead to get a place in

[2:47:25] line for us to order the 100 buses

[2:47:28] associated with the grant. The request

[2:47:34] is board authorization for Interim

[2:47:35] President CEO to negotiate and execute

[2:47:36] a contract with New Flyer of America as

[2:47:40] part of the FTA grant program for the

[2:47:50] purchase of 100 CNG transit buses at a

[2:47:51] maximum contract amount of $102 million.

[2:47:55] Which includes a 10 percent METRO

[2:47:59] control contingency of $9,330,000

[2:48:03] >> Questions or concerns? there being

[2:48:12] no questions or comments we will move

[2:48:13] the item forward thank you so much. At

[2:48:18] this time the next item is Gary Howard

[2:48:21] >> Good afternoon. Gary Howard vice

[2:48:30] president rail operations. Today I'm

[2:48:31] here to talk about track geometry

[2:48:34] overhead contact system hide and

[2:48:36] stagger and wire measurement services.

[2:48:43] That's a mouthful for you to give

[2:48:44] background before I give you the

[2:48:47] recommendation, the services performed

[2:48:48] a annually required to help identify

[2:48:54] potential track geometry defects in the

[2:48:57] overhead contact wire system, what we

[2:48:58] call a height and stagger. The wire

[2:49:02] conditions that may be on the rail

[2:49:04] system, any defects are found our MOW

[2:49:10] maintenance of way inspect the

[2:49:15] identified area, schedule repairs, and

[2:49:16] essentially ensure our system stays up

[2:49:19] and running. By conducting this type of

[2:49:23] testing on the rail corridor could

[2:49:25] potentially negatively impact service

[2:49:28] to customers. The recommendation is

[2:49:31] requesting board authorization for

[2:49:36] Interim President CEO to execute and

[2:49:40] deliver a three-year contract with two

[2:49:41] one-year options with rail pod Inc. to

[2:49:44] provide annual track geometry overhead

[2:49:49] contact system height and stagger and

[2:49:53] wire where measurement services on

[2:49:57] METRO rail corridors the contract will

[2:49:58] cover all three corridors the red green

[2:50:01] and purple, with a value not to exceed

[2:50:06] $1,496,000 are there any questions?

[2:50:14] >> Any questions? no questions or

[2:50:15] comments thank you we will move the

[2:50:16] item forward

[2:50:19] >> Next item is Rocky Marrero

[2:50:30] >> [Indiscernible] good afternoon

[2:50:31] Reverend and board members. My name is

[2:50:34] [Indiscernible] I'm the manager for

[2:50:40] project management. This request we

[2:50:43] seek board authorization to approve the

[2:50:44] execution of a contract with

[2:50:47] [Indiscernible] partners in a not to

[2:50:53] exceed amount of $378,413. This

[2:50:54] includes a base contract amount of

[2:51:01] $344,012 with a 10 percent METRO

[2:51:07] control contingency of $34,401. The

[2:51:11] contract covers the cleaning priming

[2:51:15] rust removal and painting of steel

[2:51:16] support and canopy structures at the

[2:51:17] rail station platforms, specifically 34

[2:51:20] of them. This project is in support of

[2:51:22] state of good repair, the major goal is

[2:51:25] for us to do corrosion prevention,

[2:51:29] lifespan extension anesthetics and

[2:51:31] compliance. This item was solicited

[2:51:36] from invitation to bid which went to

[2:51:37] the street in November 2025. We had six

[2:51:42] bidders, received January 8 and

[2:51:45] [Indiscernible] was the lowest

[2:51:50] responsive bidder. METRO establish a 35

[2:51:53] percent small business goal tidy Pro

[2:51:54] partners has committed to that small

[2:52:00] business participation. I'm glad to

[2:52:01] answer any questions or comments

[2:52:05] >> Any questions?

[2:52:12] >> Thank you sir, no questions or

[2:52:14] comments we will move the item forward

[2:52:15] >> Thank you

[2:52:17] >> At the beginning of the meeting we

[2:52:21] allow space for public comment. We will

[2:52:24] go back to that portion of the meeting.

[2:52:29] Do we have any public speakers

[2:52:31] >> Dominic Maisoc is on the line

[2:52:35] >> Reverend can you hear me? I hear you

[2:52:41] yes. Okay sorry about the difficulties.

[2:52:45] Reverend, I think in the previous

[2:52:50] meeting somebody was saying there was

[2:52:53] discussion about the Hardy yards and

[2:53:00] the Burnett transit Center working

[2:53:01] together I think there are two other

[2:53:02] opportunities for that to happen number

[2:53:06] one I think it should be a

[2:53:08] [Indiscernible] transit center with the

[2:53:10] new extension of public housing across

[2:53:15] from your church on North Main Yale and

[2:53:23] Cross Timbers. Three or four different

[2:53:27] bus routes come through 23, 36, 44 and

[2:53:30] 40. That would be a chance for people

[2:53:34] to meet and connect. Maybe they can go

[2:53:36] into town or somewhere else without

[2:53:37] going to the North land transit center.

[2:53:41] Secondly, I believe a couple years ago

[2:53:47] Harris County Housing Authority got a

[2:53:49] low bid on the southeast transit

[2:53:51] center. I don't know part of that was

[2:53:56] access, although transit centers are

[2:53:58] usually have the fence around them but

[2:54:01] I think for these people in a public

[2:54:06] housing situation, there should be at

[2:54:07] least a gate or something that they can

[2:54:13] access the public facilities. Also,

[2:54:19] too, I think with the 40 and 41 going

[2:54:23] through downtown. Right now it crosses

[2:54:25] the Red Line at Main Street Square. I

[2:54:29] think you might be looking to move that

[2:54:39] down to the next transit stop, I think

[2:54:46] it is Clay or Polk somewhere south of

[2:54:51] there so when the 40 and 41 come across

[2:54:55] they can leave the Dallas and come

[2:54:57] straight across without that large

[2:55:01] detour. That would also put 40 and 41

[2:55:08] near the [Indiscernible] center. And

[2:55:09] with the GRB moving south, with the

[2:55:13] extension it still would access that

[2:55:19] area also I mentioned in the other

[2:55:22] meeting about the Union Pacific merger.

[2:55:29] I do know they cannot make a public

[2:55:33] comment. However METRO and other

[2:55:38] government agencies can. I think legal

[2:55:39] needs to look at that 7000 page report,

[2:55:42] look at what Union Pacific wants to do

[2:55:44] with the terminal. METRO needs to speak

[2:55:47] up. And maybe METRO has County and

[2:55:54] other entities together can go to the

[2:55:55] service transportation board and say

[2:55:58] this is going to affect rail crossings

[2:56:00] and traffic and affect public transit.

[2:56:08] Union Pacific needs to do things to

[2:56:09] mitigate additional traffic into our

[2:56:13] fragile rail system. With that I have

[2:56:16] no other comments I will send it back

[2:56:17] to you Reverend Preston thank you

[2:56:18] >> Thank you Mr. Maisoc. At this time

[2:56:23] we will go to the briefings. Item 9,

[2:56:29] Eddie Miranda and Kurt Luhrsen

[2:56:34] >> Thank you. I will speak first, I

[2:56:38] will invite Taylor to the podium to

[2:56:39] give you an update.

[2:56:43] >> Good morning how is everyone today.

[2:56:46] I will give a quick update on FIFA.

[2:56:53] Next slide please. I'm going to go in

[2:56:54] order of meeting so far. The first one

[2:56:58] was FIFA football, that's a downtown

[2:57:01] management District. The main purpose

[2:57:03] is for the consulting group to

[2:57:07] understand METRO operations and

[2:57:10] schedules, better understand the

[2:57:13] overall plans in downtown. The work

[2:57:14] they are doing does not interfere with

[2:57:16] our services. Their work is focused on

[2:57:20] pedestrian walkways. We had another

[2:57:21] meeting yesterday to go for more

[2:57:24] information. They were going to have

[2:57:25] weekly and biweekly meetings until the

[2:57:29] tournament. The next meeting was local

[2:57:33] transportation committee, there is no

[2:57:34] fee for officials it's mostly local

[2:57:38] stakeholders. With the airport system

[2:57:43] trans Star County city. The main thing

[2:57:44] is we are waiting for the road closures

[2:57:48] around the stadium. They are

[2:57:49] potentially look at security perimeter

[2:57:51] figuring out the radius they want to

[2:57:53] do. We will get more info on that one.

[2:57:58] There was supposed to be human

[2:58:01] trafficking accessibility meeting but

[2:58:02] those were canceled at the last second.

[2:58:06] The main thing is we are waiting for

[2:58:07] the trainings for the human trafficking

[2:58:09] accessibility. Though some are catered

[2:58:14] for large events. We offer those at

[2:58:16] METRO and do the trainings so this will

[2:58:17] be additional steps there are

[2:58:21] recommending. Last Friday METRO

[2:58:22] operations held an internal meeting,

[2:58:27] operations to get the departments on

[2:58:28] the same page make sure everybody

[2:58:29] understands what's happening give an

[2:58:34] opportunity to ask questions. We have

[2:58:36] members from the host committee as well

[2:58:37] they were pleased with the meeting and

[2:58:38] see we are working hard and working

[2:58:40] toward what they want us to achieve.

[2:58:45] Looking forward we have our standard

[2:58:46] meetings every month with them. Houston

[2:58:51] venue transportation mobility meeting.

[2:58:52] That's what we had earlier the, that

[2:58:56] includes FIFA official so it gives us a

[2:58:57] chance to get feedback from FIFA.. We

[2:59:04] probably talk about mobility plans

[2:59:05] turned in an October we got feedback

[2:59:08] from FIFA in December Leticia in

[2:59:09] operation spearheaded comments they

[2:59:12] gave us she was able to respond to

[2:59:13] every single one of them. They are

[2:59:15] still pending some based on lane

[2:59:23] closures around fan Fest,. Once we have

[2:59:26] that we will get maps back to the host

[2:59:27] committee we are waiting on answers

[2:59:31] from the airport regarding potential

[2:59:32] ADA accessibility from where we have

[2:59:35] our new terminal for the fan Fest. The

[2:59:41] key next steps we look forward to, we

[2:59:44] have the final mobility plan due March

[2:59:48] 1. We work through the final comments

[2:59:50] we will turn it back into the host

[2:59:53] committee and get feedback. Once we get

[2:59:58] through the planning process we will

[2:59:59] have detail such as schedule and timing

[3:00:02] to the plan. We need to confirm fleet

[3:00:06] and operator availability, finalize

[3:00:08] service qualities we will submit the

[3:00:13] final plan in March. Obviously ongoing

[3:00:15] coordination with leadership and board

[3:00:19] updates as we finalize. That's all I

[3:00:20] have are there any questions?

[3:00:30] >> Thank you so much no questions

[3:00:31] >> We will move to the next item

[3:00:33] communication quarterly report,

[3:00:34] Meredith Johnson

[3:00:38] >> Good morning today's update

[3:00:49] highlights how communication is

[3:00:50] supporting METRO priorities through

[3:00:51] proactive messaging strategic marketing

[3:00:52] measurable results are focus on

[3:00:53] increasing awareness strengthening

[3:00:54] engagement supporting ridership across

[3:00:55] the system. Our communication goals are

[3:00:57] straightforward. Make it easier for

[3:00:58] people to understand METRO engage with

[3:01:04] services and choose transit. Everything

[3:01:05] we do is centered on clear information

[3:01:06] strong visibility and supporting

[3:01:10] ridership growth. Let's get into it for

[3:01:11] the quarter for early September

[3:01:15] marketing executed a three-part

[3:01:16] campaign focused on Route 500 to the

[3:01:19] airport. METRO now in general ridership

[3:01:29] information we partner with media

[3:01:30] outlets including general markets and

[3:01:33] Spanish-language television

[3:01:34] [Indiscernible] METRO services and how

[3:01:35] to reinforce presence across the region.

[3:01:39] Specifically from early September to

[3:01:41] early November marketing, pardon me, I

[3:01:44] think we got out of order, we played a

[3:01:51] critical role in supporting the ride

[3:01:52] METRO app and the new fare system,

[3:01:57] created dozens of how to graphics and

[3:01:58] instructional materials to make it easy

[3:02:01] for riders. They are designing new

[3:02:06] materials to support the terminal

[3:02:07] change insuring travelers have clear

[3:02:08] consistent ways of wayfinding during

[3:02:10] the transition. This is about reducing

[3:02:15] confusion and improving the rider

[3:02:16] experience helping customers navigate

[3:02:18] technology and service updates.

[3:02:20] Targeted marketing which I was talking

[3:02:23] about drove measurable ridership growth

[3:02:26] for the 500 route with a 12 percent

[3:02:30] increase in October demonstrating

[3:02:31] focused outreach support service usage.

[3:02:39] Is important to note it's often

[3:02:40] difficult to credit ridership growth to

[3:02:41] one factor especially as it pertains to

[3:02:43] communication efforts. In this instance

[3:02:45] the only thing that changed during the

[3:02:46] time period was public engagement

[3:02:48] efforts targeted marketing and earned

[3:02:51] media on the route and that reflects 12

[3:02:54] percent growth. Are social media impact,

[3:03:00] we generated more than 535,000

[3:03:04] impressions 24,000 engagements and 14

[3:03:05] part two percent engagement growth with

[3:03:09] videos driving views Instagram audience

[3:03:13] continues to grow at a rapid pace

[3:03:18] reaching 10.8 thousand followers. These

[3:03:19] results show how strong our growth and

[3:03:23] social media is. Something you won't

[3:03:25] see on the screen because I just

[3:03:26] finalize the number is total

[3:03:28] impressions for 2025 6.7 million a 98.8

[3:03:36] percent growth in compared to this time

[3:03:39] last year. If I was in one of your

[3:03:40] seats I would ask why? What is

[3:03:44] different? But we have seen as a strong

[3:03:48] follower growth. We've intentionally

[3:03:50] aligned our social strategy with how

[3:03:56] people consume information today.

[3:03:59] Audiences are skeptical of the

[3:04:00] traditional in-your-face tactics and

[3:04:01] platform algorithms prioritize content

[3:04:02] that feels organic, credible and

[3:04:05] conversational. We are focused on

[3:04:06] native content rather than repurposed

[3:04:09] ads, storytelling over slogans and

[3:04:12] trusted voices of customers over

[3:04:16] polished branding. We are seeing higher

[3:04:17] engagement more shares and follower

[3:04:20] growth not because we spend more

[3:04:21] because the content is more credible.

[3:04:29] One of our first initiatives with the

[3:04:30] new internal group was the city lights

[3:04:31] Christmas carolers. We have some talent

[3:04:35] at METRO. We brought together

[3:04:36] volunteers to sing and play music on

[3:04:37] the platforms. METRO was true partner

[3:04:39] with the community on this. One of our

[3:04:43] MPD officers played the saxophone,

[3:04:46] chief you have some talent there. One

[3:04:49] of the other things we did is relaunch

[3:04:56] the METRO Ambassador program. This is

[3:04:57] going to be crucial as we head into

[3:04:59] World Cup to engage employees to be

[3:05:01] part of the experience. We time that

[3:05:04] announcement with the FIFA World Cup

[3:05:09] draw party. That day we had 100

[3:05:10] volunteers sign up to be ambassadors

[3:05:11] and have grown since then. We look

[3:05:18] forward to more plans coming on how

[3:05:19] employees will be throughout the

[3:05:20] community making sure people get to

[3:05:21] where they need to be. We are being

[3:05:31] targeted with participation with

[3:05:32] stakeholders focus on key groups where

[3:05:33] we can grow ridership like student

[3:05:36] seniors and underserved communities. We

[3:05:38] make sure there's no corner of the

[3:05:39] region we offer service that don't know

[3:05:40] METRO can connect them to opportunities

[3:05:41] education and move around the region.

[3:05:47] This consistent presence supports our

[3:05:48] key initiatives such as securing

[3:05:51] stakeholder letters and building new

[3:05:52] enthusiasm for new route like the 500.

[3:05:55] We hear from many stakeholders and

[3:05:56] customers they want the Community

[3:06:00] Connector. We have a long and growing

[3:06:02] list so decisions ahead on where and

[3:06:07] how to expand. Engagement efforts are

[3:06:08] focused on meeting riders where they

[3:06:11] are, onboard outreach real engagement

[3:06:18] and university outreach [Indiscernible]

[3:06:20] from October to December public

[3:06:21] engagement completed 300 engagements

[3:06:22] and touch points around the region, 80

[3:06:26] meetings 116 community events and one

[3:06:28] group in the public engagement that

[3:06:29] focuses on infrastructure has been busy.

[3:06:35] I will save the update on that for the

[3:06:36] next meeting but we've got a lot of

[3:06:40] construction work going on. We send out

[3:06:41] mailers walk door to door up to

[3:06:45] businesses attend the meeting our team

[3:06:47] gets out personal cell phone number so

[3:06:48] people can call with questions about

[3:06:51] the project. We are focused on the

[3:06:54] messaging from a macro perspective we

[3:06:55] are fixing the roads to keep Houston

[3:06:56] from having a heart attack. We are

[3:07:04] addressing on-time performance in doing

[3:07:05] so and making it easier for people to

[3:07:06] choose METRO more on that to come. Key

[3:07:14] takeaways is that this reflects a

[3:07:15] coordinated communication team using

[3:07:16] data storytelling and community

[3:07:18] engagement these efforts are increasing

[3:07:21] awareness building trust and supporting

[3:07:22] ridership growth while positioning

[3:07:26] future growth. The communication team

[3:07:28] is well-positioned right now to do this

[3:07:29] because our agency is working as a whole

[3:07:35] enthusiastic well coordinated and the

[3:07:36] small communication victory show an

[3:07:37] entire agency working together to move

[3:07:38] forward the best we can. That concludes

[3:07:44] my presentation are there questions?

[3:07:45] >> No questions just a comment. Looking

[3:07:49] at all the numbers, I'm excited. I am

[3:07:58] proud of the efforts and I think the

[3:07:59] way your department has been doing and

[3:08:03] getting involved with the public and do

[3:08:09] all kind of things, just look at the

[3:08:17] numbers, it's very impressive. You're

[3:08:18] doing a very good job thank you

[3:08:22] >> Meredith could you answer one

[3:08:23] question for me or share with us what

[3:08:27] is the value of having trusted voices

[3:08:34] as we navigate telling our story and

[3:08:36] the storytelling piece

[3:08:37] >> People like organic information. We

[3:08:41] are all users of technology coming at

[3:08:46] us in different ways. People want to

[3:08:47] see someone that looks like them things

[3:08:48] like them talk like them using the

[3:08:50] system because they trust that person

[3:08:53] and they wanted to. Rather than the old

[3:08:59] traditional way of somebody popping on

[3:09:00] the TV screen with a flashy commercial,

[3:09:08] that does not build trust if you see

[3:09:09] somebody you trust or no or like the

[3:09:10] system you're more likely to try it in.

[3:09:16] It's really important that we are

[3:09:17] working with people in the community

[3:09:18] that have those voices to reach people

[3:09:19] and encourage you to ride METRO

[3:09:21] >> Are there any other questions or

[3:09:24] comments? board member Ponce

[3:09:28] >> Meredith and team, fantastic job.

[3:09:32] Very fortunate to work alongside with

[3:09:34] you all. You are amazing. Don't ever

[3:09:37] hesitate to reach out to board member

[3:09:39] and use us as well to send a message

[3:09:45] across. Thank you

[3:09:49] >> I appreciate that. Shout out to you

[3:09:50] for giving me great ideas on social

[3:09:53] media content, I encourage you for

[3:09:55] everyone here we love to tell great

[3:09:56] stories so thank you

[3:09:57] >> Thank you very much. This concludes

[3:10:03] the communication quarterly report. We

[3:10:04] will move to item 11, the monthly

[3:10:08] business development report, Russ Frank

[3:10:16] >> Hello board members. This is our

[3:10:19] monthly business development update

[3:10:20] ways we work to improve the customer

[3:10:23] experience to make more customer

[3:10:28] centric and increase ridership. One a

[3:10:30] METRO's biggest customer projects in

[3:10:31] the last 18 years since the launch of

[3:10:35] the Q Card. Is the ride METRO fare

[3:10:36] system to the new system has launched

[3:10:38] we began a soft launch on December 1

[3:10:43] this is when we turned on elements of

[3:10:44] the system and started getting

[3:10:45] customers on the system making sure

[3:10:49] everything would work well we had a

[3:10:50] public launch last Monday on January 5.

[3:10:54] This is where we turned on additional

[3:10:56] elements of the system additional

[3:10:57] functions on the ride METRO app we

[3:11:02] turned on the ride story and full

[3:11:06] functionality of the TVM we are running

[3:11:07] the Q Card system have not turned off

[3:11:10] the old system yet we need to allow

[3:11:13] many months for customers to transition

[3:11:14] from the old fare system to the new

[3:11:15] system we want to get familiar with the

[3:11:19] system. We have placed information

[3:11:22] throughout the entire system on the

[3:11:26] transition to customers. In March, I'm

[3:11:29] going to go back to the schedule in

[3:11:32] March we will wind down the Q Card

[3:11:35] system this is when we begin stopping

[3:11:37] the loads and weaning people off the

[3:11:42] system. On April 5 we plan a full

[3:11:45] decommissioning of the Q Card system

[3:11:46] meaning we turn off the old TVM and

[3:11:48] take the old validators off the buses.

[3:11:51] At that point we will put in additional

[3:12:00] TVM there was a question about the

[3:12:01] system if you go to the rail stations

[3:12:02] we have old equipment and new equipment

[3:12:03] on the rail stations we have an old Q

[3:12:04] Card TVM and new TVM on every station

[3:12:07] every bus has to validators so after we

[3:12:16] turn off the Q Card system at the

[3:12:17] beginning of April we will take off

[3:12:18] that equipment and put new TVM in the

[3:12:26] place of old ones so all the stations

[3:12:27] will have new TVM this is planned to be

[3:12:28] done before FIFA comes to Houston we

[3:12:31] will have all new equipment on the

[3:12:32] system we will also work with ride

[3:12:37] sponsors. We are getting the contract

[3:12:41] signed these are corporate partners

[3:12:42] where we have companies who help

[3:12:43] subsidize the fares for employees they

[3:12:44] give out the cards for us so we will

[3:12:49] have each of them have cards and

[3:12:50] employees uploaded into the system that

[3:12:51] will be done prior to the shutting down

[3:12:54] of the Q Card in April. This is a

[3:12:59] picture of the rail station we have

[3:13:00] information on the rail station these

[3:13:03] are examples we have posters that tell

[3:13:04] customers new ways to pay if you're on

[3:13:11] the Q Card we have a poster saying go

[3:13:12] to the old TVM until a transition to

[3:13:15] the new system. There's a sign on the

[3:13:16] front of the TVM that says get your

[3:13:19] card here all machines have been

[3:13:20] activated so customers can buy cards or

[3:13:22] buy tickets on the TVM the message at

[3:13:28] the top tells customers they can reload

[3:13:33] cards and we have posters to get new

[3:13:35] METRO fare cards on the system. At the

[3:13:42] validator on the rail stations you see

[3:13:43] a sticker it tells customers different

[3:13:46] ways to pay where they scanned tickets

[3:13:47] or mobile app or use open payment where

[3:13:49] they tap on the validator with their

[3:13:54] Visa or MasterCard Discover American

[3:13:55] Express Apple or Google pay. On the

[3:14:02] buses we have bus cards you see

[3:14:03] examples of where we had bus cards to

[3:14:04] tell people they need to get their new

[3:14:08] fare card these are in English Spanish

[3:14:12] Vietnamese and Chinese we had bus cards

[3:14:13] that tell customers ways to pay on the

[3:14:18] fare boxes we have a new sticker that

[3:14:19] tells customers ways to pay we have

[3:14:23] brochures on the buses and trains that

[3:14:25] explain the fare system you see

[3:14:29] pictures on the right transit centers

[3:14:34] and park and rides kiosk posters that

[3:14:35] tell customers to get the new ride

[3:14:37] METRO fare card. Since this is a

[3:14:41] critical transition for customers we

[3:14:46] are using real-time screens at the

[3:14:47] transit centers to flip every few

[3:14:48] minutes to remind customers to get

[3:14:49] their new fare card today. Ride stores

[3:14:50] are key locations to get the cards. We

[3:14:56] need to make sure on the Q Card steak

[3:14:57] and return them in April if the

[3:15:01] customer wants to transition from the

[3:15:02] old Q Card to the new system they can

[3:15:06] come to the ride store and the value of

[3:15:07] cards from the old cards into the new

[3:15:10] cards. This can been done at any ride

[3:15:14] store location you see some of the

[3:15:15] signs in front of the ride stores. Are

[3:15:22] bus operators and employees are key

[3:15:27] part of getting a message to customers

[3:15:28] we been producing information to get to

[3:15:29] bus operators and front-line employees.

[3:15:31] This is an example of a brochure given

[3:15:36] out for bus operators. There's been a

[3:15:37] large amount of materials designed by

[3:15:39] the marketing department and customer

[3:15:40] information about the new system. This

[3:15:42] is an example of some of those. There's

[3:15:47] probably a few more we had certain

[3:15:48] elements put on the system a coming

[3:15:52] soon message and soft launch materials.

[3:15:54] Now we have the full launch materials

[3:15:58] on the system are telling customers to

[3:16:02] get the new cards or how the new system

[3:16:03] works and the different ways to pay. If

[3:16:07] we learn about other questions

[3:16:10] customers or employees have four things

[3:16:11] have been on the system we create other

[3:16:14] materials to explain things better to

[3:16:18] customers. We will continue to brief

[3:16:21] you all each month because we will have

[3:16:22] things that happen every month we will

[3:16:24] make sure you know what's happening on

[3:16:28] the customer transition. To the next

[3:16:29] item is the vanpool program. We

[3:16:32] officially relaunched on January 7 last

[3:16:37] week in the first week and a half we

[3:16:41] had 50 vanpool deployed for numerous

[3:16:44] companies including Exxon Mobil

[3:16:45] Halliburton Baker Hughes Western

[3:16:48] midstream shall Baylor Hospital and UT

[3:16:52] dental we had 42 more vans scheduled in

[3:16:55] January these are targeted at Texas

[3:16:57] Medical Center institutions for the VA

[3:17:00] hospital the vanpool program is a

[3:17:04] regional program a much larger area

[3:17:06] than just METRO service area it serves

[3:17:11] a county region. METRO assist customers

[3:17:12] joining a vanpool a shared ride for

[3:17:14] customers with similar travel pattern.

[3:17:19] This is where there's not another

[3:17:20] service be on the METRO service area

[3:17:22] customers join a group METRO provides a

[3:17:26] van help subsidize the van with federal

[3:17:29] funding employers sometimes subsidize

[3:17:35] the other part of the ride for

[3:17:36] employees for some cover the rest of

[3:17:37] the monthly lease for the van. Many

[3:17:40] customers are eager to get back on the

[3:17:43] system. This is one of the vans being

[3:17:44] delivered to the customer last week.

[3:17:47] There's one van group that had a happy

[3:17:51] hour party with their co-riders to

[3:17:52] celebrate back on the road with their

[3:17:57] friends the ridership development group

[3:17:58] I mentioned last year about the Houston

[3:18:03] business Journal landing page. We had

[3:18:04] our first article last year. This is

[3:18:10] the second article published and

[3:18:15] targeted toward corporate human

[3:18:16] resource leaders to target them to know

[3:18:17] about transit benefits for the ride

[3:18:18] sponsor program. This is paid

[3:18:21] advertising. Trying to target corporate

[3:18:23] leaders to sign up to be in the ride

[3:18:26] sponsor program and understand commuter

[3:18:29] benefits for employees. This has direct

[3:18:32] links to the webpage which is for the

[3:18:35] savings calculator and for the ride

[3:18:40] sponsor webpage. In addition we have an

[3:18:41] ad in the book of lists, a lot of

[3:18:47] corporate offices where they compile

[3:18:48] lists of businesses and industries so

[3:18:53] people keep this book most of the year

[3:18:54] and these ads target corporate leaders

[3:18:58] being able to have them sign up and

[3:18:59] understand commuter benefits for their

[3:19:04] employees. Facility upgrades to the

[3:19:06] rail lines we've had regular weekend

[3:19:10] shutdowns. For December we had to shut

[3:19:11] down someone on December 6 and seven

[3:19:14] and a longer shutdown from the 11th to

[3:19:19] the 14th. We make sure customers are

[3:19:22] informed and know about the bus

[3:19:23] shuttles that are running for each of

[3:19:25] the shutdowns we installed 80 posters

[3:19:26] on the red green and purple lines we

[3:19:29] had 4500 other customer flyers created.

[3:19:35] We have variable messages on the rail

[3:19:36] stations before and during the shutdown

[3:19:40] we had 38 kiosks at the high-traffic

[3:19:46] stations. Keeping customers informed

[3:19:50] about holiday services important. This

[3:19:51] is a flyer from a couple weeks ago

[3:19:53] during the holidays we produce these

[3:19:54] for the fixed route system and

[3:19:58] METROLift. We have 4200 flyers produced

[3:20:00] and 12,000 fixed route flyers produced

[3:20:04] and distributed. Have been briefing

[3:20:08] your last year as we do enhancement

[3:20:09] efforts to improve the customer

[3:20:12] experience at bus stops by replacing

[3:20:13] old and faded worn-out signs. In the

[3:20:19] terminal you see in December 641 signs

[3:20:22] were designed and produced and

[3:20:25] installed are scheduled. Of those 551

[3:20:26] were part of the renewal effort. 90 of

[3:20:32] those were replacement signs this

[3:20:33] included replacing the full bus stops

[3:20:39] on routes for [Indiscernible] and

[3:20:44] updates for the 500 downtown direct. We

[3:20:49] have updated 45 routes and need to

[3:20:51] complete 54 more to change out signs in

[3:20:54] the system. Since September 2024, we

[3:21:02] were in the process of replacing 6179

[3:21:03] signs of the 9000 signs in the system

[3:21:05] and replaced over 1000 damage signs

[3:21:11] during the time. We had a focus group

[3:21:12] with friends from link Houston, the

[3:21:17] topic was to be able to give them

[3:21:18] briefings about our signage we work on

[3:21:22] throughout the system. We gave

[3:21:30] information about bus stops kiosks bus

[3:21:31] info post rail station signage we had a

[3:21:32] discussion about what we plan to do and

[3:21:33] got ideas from them about how to make

[3:21:35] improvements to signage. I want to

[3:21:36] remind you about the one METRO customer

[3:21:38] service initiative. The purpose is to

[3:21:42] make sure people know and employees

[3:21:43] that customer service is everyone's job

[3:21:45] not just people in the customer service

[3:21:50] department. This has gone on for

[3:21:51] several years we change the job

[3:21:53] descriptions years ago and added a

[3:21:57] bullet that says to provide excellent

[3:21:58] customer service internal and external

[3:22:02] customers. We've also heard about the

[3:22:03] event on Tuesday called popcorn

[3:22:06] Tuesday. The purpose is to get

[3:22:07] employees away from the desk to let

[3:22:12] them come down and motivate them and

[3:22:13] give them a tip for the week. You see

[3:22:15] pictures of some of the past tips you

[3:22:22] see many tips around the building as

[3:22:23] employees save them and pin them in the

[3:22:27] cubicles throughout the building lastly

[3:22:28] I want to mention the customer service

[3:22:32] stats for December we saw a significant

[3:22:35] increase in customer engagement from

[3:22:39] December 2024 to 2025. For 2025 we had

[3:22:41] 12,348 in person visitors at the ride

[3:22:45] store over 4700 more customers than

[3:22:51] last December. We had 47,200 customer

[3:22:56] calls which is over 12,400 more than

[3:23:00] last December. We had 10,000 customer

[3:23:04] text conversations, over 3000 more than

[3:23:05] customer conversations than last

[3:23:10] December. That is our business

[3:23:11] development update for the month

[3:23:13] >> Are there any questions? Board

[3:23:19] member Vilaseca

[3:23:20] >> Thank you for the thorough update I

[3:23:22] appreciate it. On a couple of questions

[3:23:26] on the last two sides as far as

[3:23:29] increased engagement at the rideshare

[3:23:32] store downstairs and a ride store along

[3:23:39] with calls coming in. Do you attribute

[3:23:40] that to the change in fare system. Do

[3:23:48] you have the breakdown of the reasons

[3:23:49] why people are stopping and why they

[3:23:50] are calling?

[3:23:51] >> I think it's a little bit of the

[3:23:53] fare system we will see more that in

[3:24:00] the coming months in the ride stores we

[3:24:01] only have four permanent locations and

[3:24:02] we opened nine mini ride stores so

[3:24:05] that data volume there. As we get the

[3:24:06] new fare system going publicly we will

[3:24:09] get a lot more in person customers to

[3:24:10] the stores in the next couple of months

[3:24:12] ridership has been going up since Covid

[3:24:16] we still see the effects of that of

[3:24:17] people calling over the months. When we

[3:24:27] visit with friends at other transit

[3:24:28] agencies they implement a new fare

[3:24:29] system they had high customer

[3:24:30] engagement over the transition so we

[3:24:31] think that will hit the coming months

[3:24:35] you will see these numbers go higher in

[3:24:36] the next few months

[3:24:40] >> Okay. And then are we staffed up and

[3:24:43] prepared to help address additional

[3:24:44] calls and inquiries with the fare system

[3:24:46] >> Last couple years we increase

[3:24:48] headcount to handle longer hours and

[3:24:54] take more calls in the ride stores we

[3:24:58] have temporary employees we hired to

[3:24:59] help with the fare system to work at

[3:25:02] the mini ride stores to have the

[3:25:03] headcount to run stores and help

[3:25:07] customers in person at the 13 ride

[3:25:08] stores

[3:25:09] >> Okay thank you

[3:25:11] >> Board Member Ponce

[3:25:16] >> Thank you Reverend. Thank you for

[3:25:19] that presentation very thorough and I

[3:25:21] appreciate that I'd like to say me and

[3:25:26] Reverend Preston contributed to the

[3:25:30] ride store and Vilaseca to I'm sorry we

[3:25:40] contributed I was able to go downstairs

[3:25:41] and they gave me a sweater and a pen an

[3:25:43] additional gear. I have two questions

[3:25:47] regarding the new fare system. Do we

[3:25:50] have a percentage of our ridership

[3:25:53] looks like as to how many of the

[3:25:59] ridership have transition to the new

[3:26:00] system

[3:26:01] >> I don't have those numbers right

[3:26:04] now. I know we would be work on those

[3:26:05] numbers it's only just started. Some of

[3:26:10] our big numbers will come once we get

[3:26:11] the ride sponsors on so companies help

[3:26:12] us get those on the system. If you go

[3:26:17] downstairs you see lines in the ride

[3:26:18] stores lots of customer is excited to

[3:26:19] get on the new system. The old system

[3:26:23] is old and the TBM don't work so lots

[3:26:24] of customers are excited to get on the

[3:26:26] system. I can get that for

[3:26:35] [Indiscernible] I think 1 million card

[3:26:42] since 2008 when the system when in place

[3:26:47] those will not be all replace many

[3:26:48] customers lost their cards and we don't

[3:26:51] have those we don't have an exact

[3:26:52] comparison to have old cards in the

[3:27:01] future we can give you numbers of who

[3:27:02] is on the system

[3:27:03] >> Thank you for getting a sweater we

[3:27:04] had lots of merchandise sales we sold

[3:27:05] lots of holiday sweaters from employees

[3:27:09] and from customers. The big hot items

[3:27:10] some of you tried to buy we had a block

[3:27:18] set a Lego set. We got one case of

[3:27:19] those in and they were sold out in four

[3:27:22] hours. It was just gossip in the

[3:27:23] building and employees went to buy the

[3:27:27] sets. We have more coming we don't know

[3:27:28] when they will be arriving but they

[3:27:30] have shipped and we will have more

[3:27:33] those for sale soon

[3:27:34] >> Wonderful one more question. Link

[3:27:42] Houston is a great organization I'm

[3:27:43] thankful we were able to partner and

[3:27:44] have a conversation with them. I'm

[3:27:47] interested to know what the feedback was

[3:27:54] if you don't have that right now

[3:27:55] that's okay but if you could come back

[3:27:56] later

[3:27:57] >> We can give you more information

[3:27:58] about their ideas I don't have all

[3:28:00] their comments I was not at the entire

[3:28:02] meeting but the customer information

[3:28:03] team led the meeting and we were headed

[3:28:08] downstairs big posters of all the

[3:28:13] kiosks and signs explaining how we make

[3:28:14] it easier for customers and we can get

[3:28:17] you other ideas. They did not know all

[3:28:18] the details of what we had done to

[3:28:21] improve the signs and what it goes into

[3:28:26] to make the signs so it was a good

[3:28:27] discussion we can get you the follow up

[3:28:28] on the feedback

[3:28:29] >> Thank you very much again I'm sorry

[3:28:31] director Vilaseca for forgetting you

[3:28:35] >> Chair of the board

[3:28:40] >> As I mentioned earlier I want to

[3:28:42] make sure our park and ride and

[3:28:47] corporate contracts also sponsors are

[3:28:50] well aware of their instructions and

[3:28:51] what they need to do to make sure we

[3:28:53] don't have disruption

[3:28:57] >> We are working with the

[3:28:58] transportation coordinators of each of

[3:28:59] the companies we are following up with

[3:29:03] them. All of the companies are not on

[3:29:05] the new system yet this is the

[3:29:09] beginning of the process. Over the next

[3:29:10] few months we work with the companies

[3:29:11] to make sure they have their cards, can

[3:29:15] upload employees into the system and

[3:29:16] distribute those two employees.

[3:29:20] >> Mr. Frank, thank you so much

[3:29:24] >> We will move to the next item the

[3:29:28] next briefing will be Community

[3:29:30] Connector update

[3:29:35] >> Good afternoon I will be presenting

[3:29:40] today. This is a board briefing on the

[3:29:43] Community Connector service the

[3:29:47] community service is the operation that

[3:29:49] uses smaller electric vehicles that

[3:29:53] provide local trips in designated zones

[3:29:56] we been working with MV Transportation

[3:30:00] to operate the service. METRO has a

[3:30:04] contract with MV Transportation to

[3:30:05] provide METROLift ADA service and

[3:30:11] Microtransit service. The METROLift

[3:30:12] service is the largest part of the

[3:30:14] contract more than 90 percent of trips

[3:30:19] provided are ADA trips the remaining

[3:30:21] portion of the contract provides

[3:30:24] Microtransit demand response open to

[3:30:25] the public in designated zones that

[3:30:28] services similar to the Community

[3:30:32] Connector service it was natural to ask

[3:30:33] MV to continue the service. We work

[3:30:36] with MV they met with the current

[3:30:39] operator to inspect vehicles develop an

[3:30:41] operating plan and enter into an

[3:30:43] agreement with the vehicle operator and

[3:30:48] the app operator to continue operating

[3:30:49] the service for 90 days it was a team

[3:30:54] effort working with procurement legal

[3:30:56] risk and operations worked with the

[3:30:59] develop a contract modifications.

[3:31:05] MV started operating the service with

[3:31:06] the subcontractor on January 7 so we

[3:31:09] are in the early stages we been

[3:31:12] operating for six days we will continue

[3:31:16] to evaluate the service we are looking

[3:31:17] to enhance driver training and

[3:31:19] requirements we will be introducing

[3:31:22] fare equipment or apt a solution to

[3:31:27] collect fares we will continue to

[3:31:30] evaluate the service by developing key

[3:31:31] performance indicators determine if

[3:31:32] adjustments are needed and continue

[3:31:34] working toward the best customer

[3:31:42] service experience we can. Is a short

[3:31:43] briefing because we just started a few

[3:31:44] days ago

[3:31:45] >> Are there any questions?

[3:31:48] >> Thank you so much we know it is

[3:31:52] early thank you for your presentation.

[3:31:56] A final breathing is the monthly

[3:31:58] operation report Kurt Luhrsen

[3:32:05] >> Thank you Reverend Preston I will be

[3:32:09] giving the update for January covering

[3:32:12] the performance for the month of

[3:32:17] December. Over all ridership for local

[3:32:20] bus continued the trend of slow steady

[3:32:23] increases we've seen post covid

[3:32:30] Curb2Curb we have expanded that in the

[3:32:31] last year so that continues to grow as

[3:32:34] does our commuter park and ride services

[3:32:38] as more and more employees are coming

[3:32:42] back to work downtown and more

[3:32:43] employees come to work more days of the

[3:32:44] week. That continues to grow. Rail

[3:32:47] right now continues to lag, we are

[3:32:53] working on a number of projects to

[3:32:54] improve that experience for folks, we

[3:32:57] hope to see an improvement as the year

[3:33:02] continues this calendar year. Next

[3:33:05] slide. Digging into more detail, our

[3:33:11] on-time performance was good. I want to

[3:33:15] say I'm very proud of our bus

[3:33:18] operations staff. This is the first

[3:33:19] time on-time performance has hit 80

[3:33:23] percent on the local bus since we moved

[3:33:27] to account every point by the second

[3:33:31] system 20 years ago. That is a huge

[3:33:34] achievement and that goes to the work

[3:33:37] we are doing in many areas of bus

[3:33:41] operations. That's not just one group

[3:33:42] that's from the scheduling team

[3:33:43] supervision team on the street. Bus

[3:33:47] control who is monitoring the service

[3:33:51] in real time, we have standby buses to

[3:33:52] step in when things don't go as planned

[3:33:54] to keep the service moving as well as

[3:33:58] communication team to alert customers

[3:34:01] what's going on to make sure we can get

[3:34:02] everybody where they need to go as

[3:34:06] quickly as possible. Very proud of the

[3:34:07] effort the team has done, I'd be remiss

[3:34:09] if I did not point that out. We

[3:34:16] continue to increase our passenger

[3:34:17] counts year-over-year for the month of

[3:34:20] December. Park and ride similar trends.

[3:34:24] Good on-time performance since we made

[3:34:26] that change in the fall and early

[3:34:31] winter. We adjusted some deadhead times

[3:34:34] as TxDOT took some roadway capacity out

[3:34:38] of the freeway, we adjust how buses get

[3:34:39] in and out of downtown to improve

[3:34:42] on-time performance. That has studied

[3:34:45] our decline and we are pleased with

[3:34:49] those results. The park and ride

[3:34:52] ridership rebounds strongly month over

[3:34:53] month compared to last year. Mean

[3:35:01] distance between failures the team is

[3:35:02] doing a good job keeping the service on

[3:35:04] the street. They look for ways to

[3:35:06] improve pullout. The new buses roll in.

[3:35:11] They have been excellent for the most

[3:35:13] part as they hit the street the

[3:35:18] customers appreciate that. The

[3:35:19] operators like the new bells and

[3:35:23] whistles and everything on there as

[3:35:27] opposed everybody appreciates driving a

[3:35:28] new vehicle as opposed to a 14-year-old

[3:35:31] vehicle. That is very positive and

[3:35:32] everybody is responding well to that.

[3:35:36] And the reliability has been good as

[3:35:37] well as you see from the statistics.

[3:35:45] Rail performance we've continued our

[3:35:46] improvements on the red line in terms

[3:35:49] of on-time performance after we have

[3:35:50] those changes made to the signal in

[3:35:53] September and October. We are back up

[3:35:57] to our 93 percent goal on the red line

[3:36:00] and looking to make further

[3:36:04] improvements to that. As I mentioned,

[3:36:05] we continue to see the same 15 to 18

[3:36:10] percent decline month over month on the

[3:36:14] red line this year. We're working on

[3:36:16] that companywide to reverse the trend.

[3:36:20] Next slide. Green and purple not as

[3:36:23] pronounced as the red line. On-time

[3:36:26] performance very strong on green and

[3:36:30] purple. The ridership is down slightly.

[3:36:34] Not as much as red. And we are hoping

[3:36:39] to double our efforts and improve that.

[3:36:47] Next slide. Good reliability. We talked

[3:36:49] for a number of months on the projects

[3:36:50] we are doing in real maintenance to get

[3:36:53] the cars retrofitted and cleaned up,

[3:36:56] get improvements made to them in a

[3:37:01] number of areas. We are starting to

[3:37:02] show signs of good on-time good

[3:37:05] reliability with the vehicles as we

[3:37:12] move forward. Next slide. METROLift

[3:37:14] performance again I could not be

[3:37:19] happier. We had a little blip on

[3:37:23] on-time performance last month. We

[3:37:24] spend a lot of time talking about the

[3:37:27] fare system. We have introduced a new

[3:37:28] way for people to book their rides on

[3:37:33] METROLift as well as how we schedule it

[3:37:35] and dispatch them using the new app it

[3:37:39] has taken a lot of people a lot of

[3:37:43] effort and over time call volumes went

[3:37:44] up with questions about the system the

[3:37:46] length of time it takes to handle folks

[3:37:48] go up those numbers are coming down and

[3:37:52] we start to get a handle on how to use

[3:37:57] the system. Every time we make a change

[3:37:58] throughout the day it recalculates the

[3:38:04] optimum assignment of vehicles and trip

[3:38:07] locations. We really expect to see

[3:38:10] better customer experience moving

[3:38:13] forward. We had our highest on-time

[3:38:15] performance for METROLift last month.

[3:38:20] As you can see the ridership continues

[3:38:22] to steadily grow. Next slide. Good

[3:38:28] reliability. Many vehicles have been

[3:38:29] replaced in the last year and a half.

[3:38:34] Are contractors do a good job of

[3:38:35] maintaining them and keeping them on

[3:38:38] the street. Our hot lanes all our

[3:38:47] meeting the standards I think I will be

[3:38:48] asking to make a presentation to give

[3:38:49] you more detail. If you remember three

[3:38:55] months ago we made some changes on the

[3:38:58] 59 North corridor as to when the toll

[3:39:03] would be the highest and when we would

[3:39:11] exclude non-HOV users from the lanes to

[3:39:12] make sure we could get speeds up. We

[3:39:17] want to come back and tell the story of

[3:39:18] what we saw on how people have responded

[3:39:21] and how speeds have improved and it's

[3:39:24] flowing much better for the HOV and HOT

[3:39:26] including the bus service in that

[3:39:29] corridor. Very positive with all of our

[3:39:36] speeds now. Next slide. I want to

[3:39:38] highlight you heard from Russ about the

[3:39:40] marketing communications slide of the

[3:39:41] shutdowns we had in December. This is

[3:39:47] very critical work for the rail it does

[3:39:54] not just magically operate without a

[3:39:58] whole lot of effort and maintenance

[3:39:59] over time and it is quite exciting to

[3:40:03] go out and see the fireworks going off

[3:40:07] as they are grinding the rail the

[3:40:09] picture second to the right someone is

[3:40:16] grinding the rail and getting ready to

[3:40:18] take it out you see on the far right

[3:40:24] there welding it at a temperature you

[3:40:25] don't want to go anywhere near and

[3:40:30] making sure the two pieces of metal

[3:40:31] rail can be bounded together and work

[3:40:34] seamlessly and smoothly for customers.

[3:40:41] You see a picture of what you don't see

[3:40:42] on the bus side is service supervisors

[3:40:44] out there manning the lines and

[3:40:48] communicating with customers making

[3:40:49] sure the bus service replacement

[3:40:53] services working. Because the rail

[3:40:54] shutdown doesn't mean people have a

[3:40:57] place to go. I've got a picture the bus

[3:40:58] going through the construction zone and

[3:41:00] the picture to the far left, seeing the

[3:41:03] amount they have to dig out. What this

[3:41:08] work was, three of the four locations

[3:41:09] where the rail line crosses they are

[3:41:15] called diamonds. We replaced three of

[3:41:17] the four diamonds in this four-day

[3:41:19] work. You can see the amount of

[3:41:23] concrete they have to jackhammer out,

[3:41:28] saw cut the damaged part of the rail off

[3:41:32] it's quite a lot of heavy dirty work.

[3:41:35] We have done this in the dead of summer

[3:41:42] when it's 100 degrees. We had our first

[3:41:43] time replacement last year it was

[3:41:45] hovering above freezing, about 38

[3:41:49] degrees last year. It was more pleasant

[3:41:53] temperature wise this year. Are

[3:41:54] contractors and maintenance of way

[3:41:56] crews are dedicated and do a dynamite

[3:42:00] job. I want to give them props for what

[3:42:04] they do every day and focus on the

[3:42:05] importance of this kind of maintenance.

[3:42:08] We replaced three of the four diamonds

[3:42:11] this weekend. One of the welds you see

[3:42:14] on the right if it is that particular

[3:42:18] one, one of the welds did not work to

[3:42:21] our satisfaction. It was showing signs

[3:42:25] of weakness. We could of gotten a bad

[3:42:27] batch of thermite, a number of things

[3:42:29] could of cause that. We will be going

[3:42:32] back in the next shutdown in February

[3:42:36] to cut out that small piece of rail

[3:42:40] input in a replacement. This is why we

[3:42:44] do these things repeatedly. I know they

[3:42:45] are a hassle nobody likes to show up.

[3:42:48] They show up to the rail line and they

[3:42:49] don't want to get on a bus. It's a lot

[3:42:52] of work for customer service to answer

[3:42:55] questions but it's so important to keep

[3:42:58] the rail line running particularly when

[3:42:59] we have major events like FIFA if we

[3:43:02] wait until the last minute and the rail

[3:43:07] line fails we have to continue to go

[3:43:08] over this five miles an hour. If you

[3:43:10] have written the rail line it can get

[3:43:13] up to 35 or 40 miles per hour. Five

[3:43:16] miles per hour is very slow. Noticeably

[3:43:22] slow. So we are looking forward to

[3:43:23] getting this last one fixed and

[3:43:25] hopefully getting better welds out

[3:43:28] there as we look for ways to improve

[3:43:31] our service and make sure it's

[3:43:35] top-notch for users. I'm happy to

[3:43:36] answer any questions

[3:43:37] >> That is our report

[3:43:41] >> Thank you for that update. Also

[3:43:44] thank you for your coordination. I know

[3:43:46] there is a lot of events and activity

[3:43:51] you have to coordinate around to do the

[3:43:54] work. Also doing it in advance of

[3:43:58] events upcoming so thank you

[3:44:03] >> Any other questions or comments from

[3:44:07] board members? Allow me to say thank

[3:44:09] you to the board members in attendance

[3:44:13] to the meeting. Mayor Fry had to leave

[3:44:14] early but he began with us thank you

[3:44:18] board member Ponce Board member

[3:44:19] Vilaseca Board Member Han to our Chair

[3:44:21] and interim president and CEO the time

[3:44:28] is 12:48 PM and this concludes the

[3:44:30] customer experience operation business

[3:44:31] development committee meeting

[3:44:33] >> Good afternoon we are beginning our

[3:44:53] public safety committee meeting. The

[3:44:56] time is 1248 are there any public

[3:44:57] comments

[3:45:00] >> One, Dominic Maisoc

[3:45:04] >> Reverend can you hear me? Yes I hear

[3:45:09] you loud and clear. You can start my

[3:45:11] 180. I want to make a comment about

[3:45:18] those four diamonds at Central Station

[3:45:22] Junction area. My read of this is those

[3:45:30] rails highly specialized crossing, not

[3:45:31] only do you have the gutter for the

[3:45:37] light rail, those look like very

[3:45:46] expensive pieces of track. I don't mind

[3:45:47] the LRT cars crossing those diamonds at

[3:45:50] slow speed so we get much life as we

[3:45:54] can. Chief, I appreciate you and I

[3:46:04] appreciate Tom Jasien. If I see a

[3:46:08] problem I text you. I appreciate that

[3:46:14] one-on-one information or conversation

[3:46:16] we are having. One thing though and I

[3:46:19] saw something the other day it was

[3:46:22] yesterday. At the city Council meeting

[3:46:25] I went down to the [Indiscernible] to

[3:46:28] eat which is main and capital. I come

[3:46:35] out at 730. One thing I am noticing is

[3:46:38] as the sun is going down, all of the

[3:46:46] homeless come out. Again, this is a

[3:46:51] situation, not just METRO or METRO PD

[3:46:54] problem, this is a citywide problem. It

[3:47:03] seems like and I've noticed several

[3:47:04] times I've been in the downtown area,

[3:47:05] people are using the red line

[3:47:12] [Indiscernible] my observations have

[3:47:13] been on the red line of course, people

[3:47:19] use the transit facilities as shelters.

[3:47:26] There's also problems at the

[3:47:27] [Indiscernible] station on the red

[3:47:29] line. I think there may be a solution

[3:47:31] chief and this is in terms of Moody

[3:47:35] Park. I noticed the Harris County

[3:47:40] sheriff's office is watching the red

[3:47:44] line north to Northline I think the

[3:47:45] Houston city Council has approved

[3:47:50] having Moody Park being under the watch

[3:47:51] of the Harris County Parks Department

[3:47:57] and that might be an incentive for

[3:47:59] Harris County sheriffs to Park and

[3:48:03] watch stuff at the park as well as

[3:48:07] using the restroom I know there are

[3:48:10] restrooms at Moody Park that also gives

[3:48:15] us an opportunity to leverage that to

[3:48:20] also watching the park and the red

[3:48:23] line. I have those on the north end and

[3:48:27] it's not as many people it it could be

[3:48:34] the homeless situation could be our

[3:48:35] customer base is moving somewhere else

[3:48:40] because on [Indiscernible] that line is

[3:48:45] booming. Then 96 which I ride to the

[3:48:47] rail is booming. So I don't know,

[3:48:52] lastly I was talking about the

[3:48:54] [Indiscernible] I think part of the

[3:48:55] thing is you need to get part of your

[3:49:01] team a part of METRO staff and riders

[3:49:07] like myself we need to form a task

[3:49:09] force and see what we can do with

[3:49:14] making fares better, better enforcement

[3:49:19] other things. Link Houston is a good

[3:49:21] idea but there are other people that

[3:49:25] ride the system. You have 30 seconds.

[3:49:31] All riders from all parts of the system

[3:49:39] on all forms of the system and maybe

[3:49:40] together we can come up with ideas for

[3:49:41] safety and improving enforcement of the

[3:49:42] rules of the system I have no other

[3:49:43] comments back to you Reverend

[3:49:49] >> Thank you Mr. Meisel that concludes

[3:49:51] the public comments. At this time we

[3:49:55] will have opening public safety message

[3:49:59] to promote safety awareness. Santiago

[3:50:01] Osorio

[3:50:02] >> Thank you members of the committee

[3:50:06] good afternoon. This month we are

[3:50:07] serving national human traffic

[3:50:10] intervention month. January is the

[3:50:11] month to focus on human trafficking at

[3:50:14] METRO the safety of riders is a top

[3:50:17] priority. During this month we

[3:50:18] encourage the community to stay alert

[3:50:21] and look out while using the transit

[3:50:23] system human trafficking can occur

[3:50:25] anywhere including the public system.

[3:50:28] Being aware can save lives. If you

[3:50:32] notice anyone that seems suspicious

[3:50:36] trust your instincts. Signs of

[3:50:37] trafficking include being aware of

[3:50:40] location suspicious behavior and

[3:50:43] activities see or take a look at

[3:50:46] customer that are unable to speak for

[3:50:48] themselves, that they look like they

[3:50:54] are out of place, if they are fearful

[3:50:55] of control by another person. Contact

[3:50:57] the police department and make a

[3:51:01] report. Police Department has a 24 hour

[3:51:05] hotline, also a direct line at

[3:51:10] 713-224-2677. Were reported to one of

[3:51:14] the transit employees you can also

[3:51:17] contact the human traffic hotline at

[3:51:20] 1-888-373-7888. Your awareness can make

[3:51:24] a difference together we can keep

[3:51:26] transit safe thank you

[3:51:28] >> Thank you so much for that public

[3:51:34] safety message. I'd like to take an

[3:51:38] opportunity to say in December 2025 we

[3:51:40] we're excited about coming into a new

[3:51:44] year we made it to January 2026 with

[3:51:49] excitement and expectation the amazing

[3:51:50] thing has happened this month, we've

[3:51:53] been faced with an unexpected shooting.

[3:51:56] I believe as an agency, everything we

[3:52:01] can do to place safety measures in

[3:52:03] place is a very important. We have a

[3:52:09] wonderful METRO police team. I want to

[3:52:10] say thank you for all you do. Thank you

[3:52:15] for what you are doing and we respect

[3:52:16] the fact that your lives are on the

[3:52:19] line for us. We will move now to the

[3:52:24] action item number three. Mr. Domingo

[3:52:29] [Indiscernible]

[3:52:33] >> The purpose of this is to implement

[3:52:38] unarmed security guard services across

[3:52:39] all METRO properties facilities and

[3:52:43] parking areas. The services will

[3:52:45] include served and response

[3:52:46] capabilities to support special events

[3:52:49] and emergencies. I'm requesting

[3:52:54] authorization Interim President CEO to

[3:52:55] execute a three-year contract with two

[3:52:56] one-year options with InterCon Security

[3:52:58] systems from armed security services

[3:52:59] for a maximum contract amount not to

[3:53:08] exceed $49 million. InterCon Security

[3:53:13] has committed to 20 percent small

[3:53:14] business participation by utilizing

[3:53:17] patrol division LLC the contract

[3:53:21] effective April 15, 2026 funding is

[3:53:22] included in the FY 26 operating budget

[3:53:25] >> Are there any questions?

[3:53:28] >> Board Member Han

[3:53:32] >> Do we have something similar to this

[3:53:35] contract this upcoming contract now? is

[3:53:43] this something we do have or is that a

[3:53:44] new contract we are going to have

[3:53:45] >> Is a little bit of both. We

[3:53:46] currently have a contract although the

[3:53:50] new contract is different than the

[3:53:51] current contract

[3:53:54] >> In size and scope

[3:53:57] >> So right now we do have something

[3:53:58] similar but it's a different than the

[3:54:03] new contract we will have

[3:54:04] >> We have an unarmed contract

[3:54:07] currently but the scope of work for the

[3:54:11] existing contract is very different

[3:54:14] than what is proposed

[3:54:15] >> Would you explain the difference so

[3:54:17] folks are aware

[3:54:22] >> The existing requirement is for the

[3:54:25] security guard force more entry-level

[3:54:30] than the current contract. The proposed

[3:54:31] contract requires a higher security

[3:54:33] license a level II license from the

[3:54:37] state. The proposed contract will

[3:54:41] require level II license. The uniforms

[3:54:43] equipment training and background

[3:54:44] requirements for personnel will be

[3:54:47] different as well as an increased

[3:54:48] presence with the new contract staffing

[3:54:56] certain posts that don't currently exist

[3:54:57] >> So besides the higher level of the

[3:54:58] security force in the new contract, as

[3:55:02] a member of unarmed security force do

[3:55:09] we have many more guards in the new

[3:55:10] contract compared to the older one

[3:55:13] >> Yes. The hourly increase will be

[3:55:18] approximately 1000 hours weekly. The

[3:55:20] coverage will expand. We have

[3:55:25] approximately 80 guard force personnel

[3:55:26] that will increase to 120

[3:55:28] >> Alright thank you

[3:55:35] >> Any other questions? Thank you so

[3:55:36] much we will move the item forward.

[3:55:43] >> We will proceed with the briefings

[3:55:47] the monthly police and security report

[3:55:52] Chief Ban Tien police and security

[3:55:53] update

[3:55:54] >> Good morning good afternoon Board of

[3:56:01] Directors and Mr. Jasien this will be

[3:56:02] our public safety briefing for

[3:56:07] December. The key take away is we

[3:56:13] engaged our metrics based on major

[3:56:16] Groups. offenses a are more serious

[3:56:19] and b less serious since the beginning

[3:56:21] of the fiscal year we have seen a good

[3:56:27] trend trending down and we would like

[3:56:28] to continue to maintain the trend.

[3:56:37] [Indiscernible] incident I want to

[3:56:38] highlight the fact that our two biggest

[3:56:40] location problem locations are the bus

[3:56:44] stop and bus shelters. And the LRV

[3:56:47] platform the simple fact that we do

[3:56:48] share the space like any major city

[3:56:51] with the city of Houston and try to

[3:56:52] prevent as much as we can the reality

[3:56:57] is we are reflection of the city

[3:56:58] because we share the space

[3:57:06] [Indiscernible] biggest problems

[3:57:07] because of that we are serving a lot of

[3:57:09] resources at those locations

[3:57:13] enforcement, we have seen

[3:57:14] [Indiscernible] with those contact with

[3:57:16] individuals being rude or misbehaved

[3:57:18] and we have seen a trend to reduce

[3:57:27] enforcement slightly perhaps it is a

[3:57:28] coordination with the surge we have

[3:57:29] been a safety initiative in the last

[3:57:31] couple of months. We want to focus on

[3:57:35] the most important thing to react and

[3:57:36] have a huge impact on. It's basically

[3:57:43] assault cases we have on the assault

[3:57:45] type we break into three types the most

[3:57:47] serious aggravated assault simple

[3:57:49] assault and intimidation we see a

[3:57:51] slight uptick on assault in the month

[3:57:54] of December and compared to November

[3:57:57] aggravated assault and simple assault

[3:58:03] with intimidation pretty flat. Fare

[3:58:06] citation thanks to the new system we

[3:58:10] implemented we almost slightly doubled

[3:58:16] the enforcement and we continue

[3:58:20] it takes a while for folks to get use

[3:58:22] to a system to make sure they get use

[3:58:25] to it and we will take more enforcement

[3:58:26] action as we move forward. Our care

[3:58:37] [Indiscernible] regular basis to come

[3:58:38] in contact with the homeless population

[3:58:41] to provide a service and offer service

[3:58:43] they need in comparison to November and

[3:58:46] December we increased our contact to

[3:58:51] 600. The harsh reality is the fact that

[3:58:54] if you look at to the right of that

[3:59:01] half of the close to half of them stay

[3:59:05] with [Indiscernible] and some of them

[3:59:06] take contact over and over but they

[3:59:08] also [Indiscernible] most of the time

[3:59:11] if we put enough emphasis and

[3:59:16] engagement for those individuals some

[3:59:17] of those seek resources for help.

[3:59:20] Perhaps there is no true metrics to

[3:59:24] gauge that but some of the success

[3:59:29] officers can provide individual and

[3:59:37] most of them have individual stories a

[3:59:38] lot of them have a tragic story and the

[3:59:39] reality is we get them to a place they

[3:59:40] need to go because if they stay out

[3:59:41] there it will be a tragic at the end of

[3:59:43] the day. These are major arrests I want

[3:59:46] to continue to paint the picture and

[3:59:50] frame the graph to the picture to the

[3:59:55] right. This is our heat map imagine the

[4:00:00] vast space we have in the METRO area

[4:00:01] responsibility over 1300 square miles

[4:00:04] four counties among them 14 cities. Most

[4:00:11] of our location of the incidences

[4:00:14] basically cluster around the middle in

[4:00:15] close proximity to the red line. The

[4:00:17] reason for that is most of the riders

[4:00:21] biggest ridership using the system

[4:00:22] throughout the red line train in

[4:00:26] downtown. The truth is it spreads out

[4:00:30] all over the city so MPD for a small

[4:00:31] department we have a lot of space to

[4:00:37] cover. Next slide. Here are a couple a

[4:00:41] significant arrests we made. I want to

[4:00:48] highlight this one being the fact I

[4:00:49] wanted to telegraph to the bad guys we

[4:00:50] are out there patrolling bus stops and

[4:00:51] bus routes. Because of that it led to

[4:00:53] this arrest and narcotics related crime

[4:00:57] suppression officers patrolling the

[4:01:00] areas. I want to put a public safety

[4:01:02] message. We do put some time presence

[4:01:06] on those buses and bus routes and they

[4:01:11] are often have plainclothes routes as

[4:01:17] well. I want to highlight this because

[4:01:19] of the collaboration with the law

[4:01:22] enforcement agency. Is stemmed from an

[4:01:27] disturbance on the bus and by the time

[4:01:28] the officer got there the suspect had

[4:01:30] left the scene because of the way we

[4:01:34] communicate in this case with Houston

[4:01:37] PD we were able to track the suspect

[4:01:38] down the road he was involved in a

[4:01:39] shooting that weapon was recovered I

[4:01:43] can only imagine without the

[4:01:46] collaboration and we did not apprehend

[4:01:48] the suspect that they often like any

[4:01:55] big city we absolutely don't have the

[4:01:57] ability or resources to impact and

[4:01:59] prevent every crime but the key of how

[4:02:01] we respond that is going to be key

[4:02:10] meaning the fact that in order for us

[4:02:11] to do that we rely on collaboration

[4:02:12] technology and most importantly the

[4:02:13] people that committed out there not

[4:02:14] just to go to a scene but go beyond the

[4:02:18] call and that's what I call commitment.

[4:02:22] This is a snapshot of what we gauge. We

[4:02:27] call it a group a crime in the state

[4:02:32] standard meaning a more serious crime.

[4:02:36] I want to frame this in perspective

[4:02:38] meaning the fact that earlier slide use

[4:02:45] all the heat map. The take away from

[4:02:49] this is roughly in the month of

[4:02:52] December we have approximately over 5.9

[4:02:54] million riders. The serious crime we

[4:03:01] are tracking 122. For every 100,000

[4:03:02] riders we have for the month, to our

[4:03:05] impacted. The statement is so true one

[4:03:09] crime is too many regardless the end

[4:03:14] state outcome of the crime one crime

[4:03:15] is too many as I mentioned earlier my

[4:03:22] department cannot prevent everything

[4:03:23] and anything but we can continue to

[4:03:26] identify hotspots served those

[4:03:27] resources for collaboration and

[4:03:30] partners since November thank to board

[4:03:31] approval for the initiative we have we

[4:03:34] put outside agency the system during

[4:03:39] peak time. We continue to assess and

[4:03:42] evaluate hotspots and continue to

[4:03:43] expand those areas of coverage. In the

[4:03:49] interim we also operations have

[4:03:50] invested in a lot of new technology. We

[4:03:56] telegraph our capability but we do rely

[4:03:57] on technology to solve crimes. Are

[4:04:00] there any questions this is all I have

[4:04:02] >> Are there any questions?

[4:04:09] >> I just want to echo the comments of

[4:04:13] Chair Preston. I appreciate all the

[4:04:15] work you do and certainly in making

[4:04:20] sure we hold people accountable when

[4:04:22] they ride our system and they are not

[4:04:28] behaving. It's making sure we want to

[4:04:31] make sure we have the proper resources

[4:04:32] you need to get your job done. We want

[4:04:35] to thank you and law enforcement for

[4:04:39] making sure folks are safe so thank you

[4:04:41] >> I do want to echo the comment that

[4:04:45] is so true since I've been here

[4:04:51] basically I've been told and I welcome

[4:04:54] that chief to the best of our ability

[4:04:57] we give you the resources to do your

[4:04:58] job but we will hold you accountable

[4:05:00] this is the reason we expand our

[4:05:03] footprint decentralize the location

[4:05:09] putting key storefront type or

[4:05:11] substation most impactful to a

[4:05:12] particular location and more strategic

[4:05:19] and also given the resources and I

[4:05:20] don't want to over telegraph a new

[4:05:21] capability will come to us in the next

[4:05:22] few months, the mobile station to take

[4:05:24] resources where it's most needed on top

[4:05:29] of that the expansion increased hiring

[4:05:31] of the police officers I have to

[4:05:32] appreciate every bit of that but that

[4:05:35] is a true statement you should hold me

[4:05:40] accountable for every single individual

[4:05:41] that wears this uniform accountable

[4:05:46] >> Board member Vilaseca

[4:05:48] >> I also wanted to thank you and the

[4:05:51] team for doing the work every day and

[4:05:56] going above and beyond. It's a

[4:05:58] difficult situation when these tragic

[4:06:03] events,. I did talk to Tom earlier this

[4:06:04] week about making sure if there's

[4:06:06] anything I or we can do to support your

[4:06:14] staff operators witnesses with

[4:06:15] psychological and emotional support and

[4:06:16] well-being given these different

[4:06:21] experiences. I know you are going to

[4:06:22] circle back around with me but I want

[4:06:24] to voice public support of that, being

[4:06:28] sensitive to those needs

[4:06:29] >> Thank you so much man

[4:06:34] >> Board member Ponce

[4:06:36] >> Reverend Preston is looking at me

[4:06:40] over there. I echo the same sentiments.

[4:06:44] As you were speaking sir I was thinking

[4:06:49] about not just taking these folks out

[4:06:53] of our buses but the folks that make it

[4:06:54] into our buses and rails that don't get

[4:06:59] caught, they go into other

[4:07:02] neighborhoods and commit crime. The

[4:07:03] work that you and your staff are doing

[4:07:09] our significant to keeping our

[4:07:13] customers and staff save. Not just them

[4:07:14] but the communities they are going into

[4:07:20] as well. I think other law enforcement

[4:07:24] agencies are thankful for the work

[4:07:25] METRO PD is doing as well so thank you

[4:07:28] very much. After this I would like to

[4:07:29] circle back on item 3 if that's okay

[4:07:31] with the board

[4:07:33] >> I want to capture that moment. I

[4:07:36] think your assessment is 100 percent

[4:07:41] accurate. Bad guys now days there is no

[4:07:43] jurisdictional boundaries they go where

[4:07:44] they go some of our initiatives called

[4:07:47] displacement we do our best with the

[4:07:51] collaboration the case we talked about

[4:07:55] this is the key we go and respond to

[4:08:00] the call and not collaborate with

[4:08:01] partners I can only imagine what the

[4:08:02] individual is going to do throughout

[4:08:04] the day not just on our system but in

[4:08:05] the city of Houston so thank you sir

[4:08:10] >> Thank you for your comments I'm

[4:08:13] going to take a point here just before

[4:08:16] moving to our next item we will circle

[4:08:19] back on item number three board member

[4:08:23] Ponce

[4:08:24] >> Thank you Reverend Preston. Summit

[4:08:33] gave me the idea and I started thinking

[4:08:34] about this item a little more regarding

[4:08:38] the unarmed security guard services. I

[4:08:41] wanted to get a better idea as to how

[4:08:44] that is going to impact the METRO PD

[4:08:49] work as well. When I think about it

[4:08:52] putting more security officers there we

[4:08:59] can think about it where we can get

[4:09:01] more METRO PD officers to those high

[4:09:06] crime areas and then focus these

[4:09:08] security officers in those low income

[4:09:11] areas is that the idea here?

[4:09:14] >> To piggyback on your question, it

[4:09:17] would be good to understand the

[4:09:22] coordination between the two and where

[4:09:25] they complement each other

[4:09:29] >> If I can I will ask Santiago and

[4:09:31] Chief Tien to respond

[4:09:36] >> Thank you. To answer the question

[4:09:40] I'm going to start off by saying the

[4:09:41] coordination within PD we are our goal

[4:09:47] we understand that guards are not

[4:09:49] licensed police officers and therefore

[4:09:50] they serve a different purpose we do

[4:09:59] have a lot of areas candidate for their

[4:10:00] services and we intend to place them in

[4:10:01] areas where currently MPD is occupying

[4:10:04] space where they can be free and be

[4:10:08] re-assigned to areas the chief is in

[4:10:09] more need of it those areas we can

[4:10:12] coordinate once we get more into the

[4:10:17] details of the contract so that there's

[4:10:18] a big coordination related to transit

[4:10:19] centers we are staffed within PD areas

[4:10:24] that security guards can take over to

[4:10:25] give a quick example most recently with

[4:10:26] a fare the new fare media initially it

[4:10:32] was a sign of task to have officers at

[4:10:37] those location but through the contract

[4:10:40] we shifted guards to the little fare

[4:10:42] ride stores in order for them to be

[4:10:45] tied into the eight hour shift there.

[4:10:49] Being able to be deployed to buses or

[4:10:51] trains the coordination is there.

[4:10:55] Further we can only have areas where we

[4:10:56] have no other than cameras. We

[4:11:01] will be deploying guards more on a

[4:11:02] regular basis where we have knowledge

[4:11:05] where there is vandalism or auto theft.

[4:11:09] Things like that that criminals don't

[4:11:11] care if they see a guard or officer,

[4:11:16] they see someone there they figure it's

[4:11:17] better to go somewhere else. He that is

[4:11:22] the goal behind the expanded security

[4:11:25] guard contract. I hope I answered your

[4:11:26] questions

[4:11:29] >> I think it's an excellent idea. Is

[4:11:32] an efficient use of resources. I'm on

[4:11:36] board for this one

[4:11:39] >> Chief Tien do you want to weigh in

[4:11:44] >> Yes, sir. I see the guard as a

[4:11:49] deterrent and somewhat to a large

[4:11:50] degree a prevention to have their

[4:11:52] presence. By having them in fixed post

[4:11:54] facility type allows to free up and MPD

[4:11:59] officer to take enforcement actions.

[4:12:04] From the police side I welcome all the

[4:12:07] help, even to the speakers we kicked

[4:12:12] off the committee meeting made it a

[4:12:13] fact that the relationship helps they

[4:12:17] tell us exactly what our problems are

[4:12:18] and where we need to go because we have

[4:12:23] the ability to mobilize to address a

[4:12:27] location where they are. Having

[4:12:28] additional resources will free up my

[4:12:33] resources to move elsewhere. With

[4:12:34] expansion I need all the help because

[4:12:38] by adding new facility I need officers

[4:12:41] patrol to enforce so I welcome all the

[4:12:42] help

[4:12:49] >> Thank you I have one question

[4:12:50] whether or not we will be deploying if

[4:12:57] you are able to share some of these

[4:12:58] guards onto the bus routes or trains

[4:12:59] will they supplement current presence

[4:13:03] there or I'm curious to hear the extent

[4:13:06] you can share

[4:13:07] >> To the buses themselves we have had

[4:13:12] discussions where it's more suitable

[4:13:13] for law enforcement to ride buses but

[4:13:20] to the transit centers where we get

[4:13:21] bulk of customers to interact with

[4:13:22] buses and yes there are transit centers

[4:13:23] identified that are heavy ridership

[4:13:30] like TMC Wheeler we have other centers

[4:13:31] where guards will have a lot of

[4:13:33] presence. If there's coordination with

[4:13:37] the chief and special initiatives we

[4:13:38] will be adding more guards with law

[4:13:43] enforcement that's a possibility. We

[4:13:44] are open for those conversations

[4:13:49] >> Most of the resource will be

[4:13:50] anchored on a fixed post type when you

[4:13:53] move out to maneuver and take actions I

[4:13:56] want my police officers out there. I

[4:14:00] just mention stuff will happen sometimes

[4:14:09] we cannot control what happens but how

[4:14:10] we respond is key by having arm to

[4:14:11] police officers out there it will be

[4:14:12] key. I don't believe the guard is here

[4:14:16] to replace MPD they just augment and

[4:14:17] support

[4:14:19] >> I have another question. These

[4:14:30] officers security guards are they going

[4:14:35] to be mobile so they are circulating

[4:14:37] around locations rather than having a

[4:14:40] fixed post

[4:14:41] >> There's a portion of the contract

[4:14:43] that is identified to have mobile units

[4:14:47] currently we have one so we are moving

[4:14:51] up to 10 maybe 15 meaning vehicles they

[4:14:53] can go from one transit center to

[4:14:57] another. There's an opportunity in

[4:14:58] [Indiscernible] and Spring Park and

[4:15:02] ride. Those are within three miles of

[4:15:07] each other and it's a perfect scenario

[4:15:08] for someone to move back and forth and

[4:15:09] show presence at any given time. So we

[4:15:11] have that ability

[4:15:12] >> Thank you

[4:15:13] >> Any other questions or comments?

[4:15:17] Thank you we will move the item forward.

[4:15:24] We'll move to the next briefing the

[4:15:25] monthly bus and rail safety report.

[4:15:30] Mohammed

[4:15:34] >> Good afternoon everybody. As part of

[4:15:35] the regular safety report I will provide

[4:15:42] safety performance for the month of

[4:15:43] December 2025 for rail bus and

[4:15:46] paratransit focusing on collisions and

[4:15:50] safety actions underway. We will start

[4:15:54] with the bus operations. We experience

[4:15:55] the month of December 21 collisions.

[4:15:59] That is below the benchmark of 22. This

[4:16:03] is the second consecutive month we

[4:16:07] remain under target. Some of the things

[4:16:09] we are doing we continue to monitor

[4:16:13] every event that occurs. Investigated

[4:16:15] to the extent possible in generating

[4:16:19] corrective actions as needed. We have

[4:16:20] training programs and initiatives

[4:16:21] underway such as the procurement of the

[4:16:27] bus training simulator. On the rail

[4:16:31] side, happy to report we met our

[4:16:36] benchmark and we ended the month with

[4:16:38] three reportable collisions the

[4:16:40] benchmark was nine so this is the third

[4:16:41] month we came below target which is

[4:16:49] encouraging. Real collisions tend to be

[4:16:52] closely monitored system wide programs

[4:16:57] in place. I'd like to thank Chief Tien

[4:17:00] for his enforcement actions, traffic

[4:17:04] engagement, it's been happening for a

[4:17:05] few months and I believe this has

[4:17:07] helped with driving numbers where we

[4:17:11] are now. Paratransit side of the house,

[4:17:15] December showed three board collisions

[4:17:19] that was the benchmark so we met the

[4:17:24] benchmark for the service. These events

[4:17:25] are reviewed as part of the ongoing

[4:17:27] safety oversight of the service

[4:17:30] providers. Overall this year has been

[4:17:34] so far looking promising. Our annual

[4:17:38] members target toward [Indiscernible]

[4:17:39] looks to be either at or below the

[4:17:43] target and we will continue actions and

[4:17:45] activities and keep you updated on all

[4:17:51] the initiatives underway, technology

[4:17:53] initiatives and pilot program we are in

[4:18:00] the process. Are there any questions or

[4:18:01] comments?

[4:18:04] >> Thank you so much for your briefing

[4:18:11] >> The current time now is 1:21 PM and

[4:18:16] this concludes our public safety

[4:18:23] committee meeting.

Committee Meetings: Audit & Human Resources • Finance and Business Administration • Infrastructure & Mobility Planning • Customer Experience, Operations & Business Development • Public Safety

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