BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING MINUTES October 5, 2016-1:30 PM 5401 Old Redwood Highway, 1 st Floor Petaluma, CA 94954 1. Call to Order Chair Arnold called the meeting to order at 1:30 PM. Directors Eddie, Fudge, Lucan, Mackenzie, Pahre, Phillips, Russell and Zane were present. Directors Rabbitt and Sears absent; Director Moulton-Peters arrived later. 2. Approval of the September 21, 2016 Board Meeting Minutes MOTION: Director Mackenzie moved approval of September 21, 2016 minutes as presented. Director Eddie second. The motion carries 9-0-0. (Directors Rabbitt and Sears absent; Director Moulton-Peters arrived later). 3. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items Steve Birdlebough (Friends of SMART) suggested that SMART not adopt a no cellphone use that the public will violate. He suggested having the following terms keep it short and quiet. Joy (Penngrove resident) addressed her concern about Penngrove not being in Quiet Zone readiness she submitted her document to the Clerk of the Board. Chair Arnold stated that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requires horn blowing, repeated as necessary, until the locomotive clears the crossing. Director Phillips stated that there is an application process to establish Quiet Zones. Director Mackenzie stated that the City of Rohnert Park and Cotati are aware of the process and have not started. Penngrove will need to apply to the County of Sonoma for a Quiet Zone. Director Zane responded that is correct. 4. Board Member Announcements Chair Arnold gave the following statement SMART recently discovered that Northwestern Pacific Railroad Company has been storing hazardous material, liquid petroleum gas, on our property. The Board was unanimous in its direction to our General Manager, we want this hazardous cargo removed and we want it removed properly in line with all federal, state, Page 1 of 5
and local regulations. This is a public safety issue, not a freight issue. Freight shipments to businesses have gone through and let me just empathize that have and are going through with no delays and we will continue to let freight through. The only cargo affected, is the hazardous materials being stored on our tracks. Public safety is our top priority and we will continue to press Northwestern Pacific Railroad Company to remove the millions of gallons of hazardous materials they are storing on our property. Director Mackenzie mentioned that he will be attending the 2016 Rail~Volution Conference, October 9-12, in San Francisco. There will be a field trip from the San Francisco Ferry to Larkspur where the SMART train may be available for view depending on the Federal Railroad Administration s approval. Director Zane mentioned that the Santa Rosa City Council on September 27 th unanimously approved the intent to establish Quiet Zones in Santa Rosa. Director Lucan stated that there was one grade crossing that the City of Novato was not able to include in the Quiet Zone process. The City of Novato placed a request with the City of San Rafael to be considered the lead agency for an active comprehensive Quiet Zone through Novato, County of Marin and City of San Rafael. He thanked Mayor Phillips, San Rafael City Council and the community for considering the City of Novato s request. Director Zane mentioned that her staff is researching safety data for Quiet Zones. She suggested safety data research be provided, since there are liability concerns with some of the Cities in terms of adopting Quiet Zones. As a SMART Director, she would like to be better informed. 5. General Manager s Report General Manager Mansourian stated that Consent Item 6a is an agreement that staff has negotiated over the last three years with the County of Marin and City of San Rafael. The agreement states that the City of San Rafael will allow SMART to create parking on the street, and the County of Marin will allow SMART to have parking spaces at the Marin Center. He read a statement from Matthew Hymel, Marin County Administrator, stating that if additional parking is warranted, we would work with the County to reach an agreement on terms and conditions for Civic Center parking such as paid parking policy and time of availability. He stated that staff is working on the logistics of having the train available for viewing in Larkspur for the 2016 Rail~Volution Conference. At this time all trains are full of sandbags for simulation testing being conducted. He responded to Director Zane s comments regarding safety data research on Quiet Zones. SMART staff continues to research Quiet Zone safety data with little success; however, they will continue the effort to provide safety data to the board. Director Zane asked if there are other train agencies that may have the collective data before and after implementation of Quiet Zones. Mr. Mansourian responded that it s difficult finding data after Page 2 of 5
implementation of Quiet Zones. Director Zane mentioned the national train accidents occurring have distracted drivers to blame. She voiced her concern about Quiet Zones and proposed that SMART provide data to the cities for assistance in their Quiet Zone determinations. Mr. Mansourian stated that in November/December Board meetings he will provide the board with detailed testing reports. Director Mackenzie stated that City of Rohnert Park has not started the application process due to not having an agreement between the cities and not knowing what the legal and liability requirements will be once a Quiet Zone application is submitted. Mr. Mansourian stated that there are two points dealing with Quiet Zones: 1) liability and 2) maintenance. The maintenance agreement will state how to make a grade crossing completely safe and functioning. District Counsel Lyons stated that the time the Board approved the Quiet Zone program it had three directives: 1) grade crossings must be safe; 2) no additional cost to SMART may be incurred and 3) it should not increase the liability to SMART. Lastly, Mr. Mansourian stated that SMART has not stopped freight movement--the issue is the storage of hazardous materials in Schellville. SMART has allowed the following freight deliveries: I) Lagunitas Brewing Company (3 cars); II. Willowbrook Feeds, Inc. (2 cars); III. Dairyman s Feed & Supply Co. (2 cars) and IV. Hunt Berhens Feed (1 car). Director Zane stated that she is aware of joint and individual inspections with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) regarding the hazardous materials in Schellville and it was reported with no violation. Mr. Lyons responded that inspections were conducted and SMART has not received any of the reports. Director Zane stated that it s much more dangerous to have hazardous material movement rather than hazardous material storage. Mr. Mansourian responded that there will be a briefing in closed session today. Director Mackenzie mentioned that SMART had been served documents. Mr. Lyons responded that at this time SMART has not been served; however, he is aware that an action before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) has been filed. 6. Consent a. Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of San Rafael and the County of Marin for the construction of transportation improvements on Civic Center Drive at the SMART Civic Center Station b. Approve a Resolution to Authorize the General Manager to enter into agreements to create a Deferred Compensation Program for Temporary Employees Chair Arnold asked for Board comments on the proposed consent agenda. MOTION: Director Mackenzie moved approval of the Consent Agenda as presented. Director Lucan second. The motion carried 9-0-0 (Directors Rabbitt and Sears absent; Director Moulton-Peters arrived later). Page 3 of 5
7. Approve a Resolution and Authorize the General Manager to execute a Contract with The GBS Group for the Internet Connectivity (Wi-Fi) Solution for SMART s Trains General Manager Mansourian introduced Communications and Systems Engineer Mark Golucki who gave a brief overview of the product. Mr. Golucki gave the following highlights: SMART chose The GBS Group to provide Internet Connectivity (Wi-Fi) Solution for SMART s trains; This solution will allow passengers to use the internet up and down the alignment; Multiple cellular carriers will be required to host the cellular along SMART s rural alignment. Directors Comment Director Russell stated that on the East Coast, trains go through parts of the country that don't have cell towers causing coverage gaps. She knows people who commute two-thirds of the way to the city with difficulty connecting to the internet to do basic work. She stated the public riding SMART needs to understand what will be provided. She is very pleased and happy SMART is moving forward with The GBS Group. Mr. Mansourian responded that SMART has asked the consultant to provide a basic and a tiered Wi-Fi system. Mr. Golucki stated that the contract will have a tiered system as follows: Basic (Free) shared network, emails, newspapers, and journals Tiered System (subscribed users) for streamlining movies, videos and games Director Lucan asked if there will be Wi-Fi available at the stations. Mr. Golucki responded that SMART s partnership with Sonic is to provide internet service at the stations. Director Lucan asked if SMART will have a splash screen prior to turning on internet that can communicate to the public. Mr. Mansourian responded that it will. MOTION: Director Russell moved to Approve a Resolution and Authorize the General Manager to execute a Contract with The GBS Group for the Internet Connectivity (Wi-Fi) Solution for SMART s Trains as presented. Director Fudge second. The motion carried 9-0-0 (Directors Rabbitt and Sears absent; Director Moulton-Peters arrived later). Chair Arnold adjourned the Board to closed session at 2:08 PM to discuss the following: Director Moulton-Peters arrived at 2:09 PM 8. Closed Session - Conference with legal counsel regarding initiation of an action or to decide whether to initiate an action pursuant to California Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(4). Page 4 of 5
9. Report out of Closed Session Chair Arnold reported out of closed session at 4:14 PM on the following: Conference with legal counsel regarding initiation of an action or to decide whether to initiate an action pursuant to California Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(4). Report Out: Direction given to staff 10. Next Regular Meeting Board of Directors, October 19, 2016 1:30 PM 5401 Old Redwood Highway, 1 st Floor, Petaluma, CA 94954 11. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 4:16 PM Respectfully submitted, Leticia Rosas-Mendoza Clerk of the Board Approved: Page 5 of 5