Transportation Advisory Committee

AGENDA Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting 12:00 PM - Wednesday, March 13, 2024 City Hall Council Chambers Page 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 2.1. Approval of the Transportation Advisory Committee December 13, 2023 3-4 meeting minutes 12-13-2023 Meeting Minutes 3. TOPICS OF DISCUSSION 3.1. Update from Sarah Berg, Lead Driver  Ridership report usage from mid-December to mid-March 3.2. Update on Additional Buses  New gas powered bus arriving in April - City's portion of the new bus is 10% of the cost  No update on the electric powered bus 3.3. Newly Hired Bus Drivers  Drivers have been trained to operate Hermann Express buses  All new drivers will be trained to operate Hermann Express and Heartland buses 3.4. Heartland and Hermann Express Office and Bus Storage  The current Brown County facility is not working due to cold storage  If the electric buses arrive before we secure a site, etc., the city will need to store the buses 3.5. Hermann Express ad is in the New Ulm 2024 Visitor Guide and Progress Edition 3.6. Hermann Express Signage  Some of the signs need to be replaced, overall signs are doing well 3.7. Change to Bus Route  Following Sunset Apartment stop, the bus will head back to 5th North Street to Garden Street o allows someone to stop at NUMC that traveled from the south side of town o allows another loop by Linderhof Apartments and Hillside, stopping on Garden Street if necessary o avoids the upcoming roundabout construction on Highway 14 and Highland Avenue beginning in early May 3.8. 2023 City Expenses for Hermann Express Bus Operations  Final expense amounts will be available in April or May 2024 3.9. Other discussion Page 1 of 4 4. NEXT MEETING 5. ADJOURNMENT Page 2 of 4 City of New Ulm Transportation Advisory Committee Minutes of Meeting December 13, 2023 Attendance Members Michelle Markgraf Eric Warmka Kim Marstone Citizen Representative City Council Representative Transit Passenger Tom Henderson Scott Windschitl Nathan Moldan, Vice-Chair Citizen Representative County Commissioner Rep Assistant Transit Manager Chris Dalton Anne Broskoff Pat LaCourse, Chair City Manager Director of Human Transit Manager Services Joe Stadheim, Secretary City Engineer 1. Call to Order Meeting was called to order by Chair LaCourse. 2. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Michelle Markgraf and seconded by Chris Dalton to approve the September 13, 2023 meeting minutes. All ayes and carried. 3. Discussion 3.1 Lead Driver Update: Ridership - October – 443 rides, November – 465 rides. No new stop requests. There are requests to operate during the noon hour. Route revisions will be explored when the full bus fleet arrives. Routes average 162 miles per day, route should be able to be cut once additional busses are available as it should cut the mileage in half. Looking at new software for route information. Stops that need to be cleared in the winter were discussed, at Linderhoff, possibly near a close light standard, and a plowed loop at Hermann Heights parking lot. Will set up a meeting with Public Works. Average around 20 riders per day, Saturday ridership has increased. 3.2 Holiday Closings. Will operate until 4:00 on Friday, December 22nd. Will not operate 23rd – 25th. 3.3 2024 Visitor Guide Ad. Will be same guide as the 2023 ad that was used. 3.4 Bench Report. No update at this time. Will be revisited at a future Sertoma meeting with update to follow. 3.5 Hermann Express Bus Operation. Bus involved in slight accident, light hit in the HyVee parking lot. Has been repaired and is back in service. 3.6 Other Discussion. Michelle Markgraf will be resigning from her position on the Committee. Interested individuals should contact City Manager Dalton or Lisa Pelzel in the City Page 3 of 4 Administration Office. Chair LaCourse offered his thanks to Barb Dietz for her past service on the Committee. Future meeting with the State of Minnesota for Electric Vehicles and with the consultant for bus purchasing and selection along with building specifications. 4. Next Meeting Date The next meeting date was set for Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. With no further business the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Joseph Stadheim 2 Page 4 of 4