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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-20-2010 - 6aORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: April 20, 2010 Action Agenda Item No. ~_ SUBJECT: Shuttle Transportation for Low-Income Orange County Residents for Job Related Activities DEPARTMENT: Social Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) Yes ATTACHMENT(S): Title VI Public Document Public Notification Orange County Map Job Access & Reverse Commute (JARC) Application INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvette Smith, 245-2885 Jackie Terrell, Essential Transportation Services, 452-1092 PURPOSE: To receive public comments on a proposal from Essential Transportation Services (ETS) to provide transportation services for job related activities to low-income residents in Orange County under the administration of the Orange County Department of Social Services, and to authorize staff to proceed with the project if funded through a Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. BACKGROUND: Recipients of services from the Orange County Department of Social Services (DSS) are in critical need of safe and reliable transportation services for job related activities which would ultimately fulfill the goal of self-sufficiency. The proposed project, if funded through a Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, would address this much needed gap in service for Orange County low-income residents. DSS's role in the project would be as follows: (1) Provide assistance to the mobility manager who would coordinate transportation services to the Work First Program's rotating three month life skills program. Services would be provided from 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. and includes transportation to and from the Orange County facilities. ETS would provide door to door services for participants and be available via dispatch for on-demand services throughout the day. (2) Provide assistance to the mobility manager to provide transportation to participants in Work Experience Sites and Job Search during the hours of 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. ETS would provide transport for recipients within a 15 mile radius of their place of residence, i.e. Mebane residents would be placed within Mebane and not be required to come to Chapel Hill for employment. 2 (3) ETS will provide services to residents qualifying at 150% of poverty. The mobility manager would work with case workers to conduct an assessment of the employed and how best to use transportation services through activities such as travel/training. These services would be conducted from 5 a.m. - 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. in the form of a connector route to already established routes by Orange Public Transportation and Triangle Transit. ETS would also be available for on demand services after 7 p.m. DSS would determine eligibility of applicants at 150% of poverty and administer the voucher program through vouchers provided by ETS under. the terms of the JARC grant. Applicants would be expected to fund 50°I° of the service. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The project is contingent upon receipt by ETS of a Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. There is no cost to the County as ETS will provide the necessary funds for the local match. Staff believes this project will reduce County staff time and associated costs equivalent to 1 full time equivalent position for a savings of $42,667 per year. Receipt of the grant by and services through Essential Transportation Services would also allow DSS to return a County van to the County motor pool for a savings of $7,644 annually. RECOMMENDATIONS}: The Manager recommends that the Board: 1. Receive Public Comments; 2. Close Public Hearing; 3. Approve the application for the transportation services provided by ETS (if funded by the JARC grant); and 4. if the grant is awarded, authorize staff to negotiate an Agreement with ETS, subject to review by the County Attorney, and authorize the County Manager to sign the Agreement. 3 Voluntary Title VI Public Involvement Title VI of the Civil Right's Act of 1964 requires North Carolina Department of Transportation to gather statistical data on participants and beneficiaries of the agency's federal-aid highway programs and activities. The North Carolina Department of Transportation collects information on race, color, national origin and gender of the attendees to this public meeting to ensure the inclusion of all segments of the population affected by a proposed project. The North Carolina Department of Transportation wishes to clarify that this information gathering process is completely voluntary and that you are not required to disclose the statistical-data requested in order to participate in this meeting. This form is a public document. The completed forms will be held on file at the North Carolina Department of Transportation. For Further information regarding this process please contact Sharon Lipscomb, the Title VI Manager at telephone number 919.508.1808 or email at slipscomb@ncdot. gov. Project Name: Date• Meeting Location: Name (please print) Gender: ^ Male ^ Female General ethnic identification Cate ories (check one) ^ Caucasian His anic American ^ American Indian/Alaskan Native ^ African American ^ Asian/Pacific Islander Other: Color: National Oriein: After you complete this form, please fold it and place it inside the designated box on the registration table. Thank you for your cooperation. 4 Important -A public hearing MUST be conducted whether or not requested by the Public. PUBLIC HEARING RECORD APPLICANT: Essential Transportation Services DATE: April 20, 2010 PLACE: Orange County TIME: How many BOARD MEMBERS attended the public hearing? How many members of the PUBLIC attended the public hearing? Public Attendance Surveys ^ (Attached) ^ (Offered at Public Hearing but Wane completed) I, the undersigned, representing (Legal Name ofApplicant) do hereby certify to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, that a Public Hearing was held as indicated above and During the Public Hearing ^ (NO public comments) ^ (Public Comments were made and meeting minutes will be submitted after board approval) The estimated date for board approval of meeting minutes is: Signature of Clerk to the Board Printed Name and Title Affix Seal Here Date PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE This is to inform the public that a public hearing will be held on the proposed Targeted Transit Assistance Program (Section 5316) Application to be submitted to the North Carolina Department of Transportation no later than March 31, 2010. The public hearing will be held on Apri120, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. before the Orange County Board of Commissioners. The Section 5316 grant application seeks funds to assist in developing new or expanded transportation services such as shuttles, vanpools, guaranteed rides home or connector/feeder services that connect welfare recipients and/or low-income employees to jobs and other employee-related services. Reverse commute services are also covered under this program. This application may be inspected at the Orange County Department of Social Services at 113 Mayo Street from 8:30-5:00, Monday -Friday. Written comments should be directed to Yvette Smith at the Orange County Department of Social Services. The total estimated amount requested for the period July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012 Project Total Amount Local*Share Capital $541,170 $54,117 (Vehicles & Other) Operating $340,559 $170,280 TOTAL $881,729 $224,397 *Total local share will be provided by Essential Transportation Services I' I I_-~ I ., i ~1. : . II 1. - I 1; 1 ~ I 1 . 1 fF~ 1 t~E I g;~ :l;4 I,~ I ~ tl m \ l ` 1 _ , 1 m e i i I ~ i ~~ ~ I _..~ ---~- - -; ~ - Q, ®........~,,..M. v a m~, -- ~::~~. o - - =,;,= __~_ - - ~„~~a~ Fi` ... m o .., m ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA - NORTN CIIROLINq DEPARTMENT OF TRANBPORTgT10N BLgiE PDAO FNMIEIMNCE UMT~MMRegi MIE MFORFMTON BECTroN V.B. CEFMTMEN! DF TMx W OBigTgN Rql NgMMwMMMeiMDON V/ 7 PART 1- Applicant Information INSTRUCTION -Click On the gray rectangle (or use TAB key to navigate through the document after clicking gold lock icon on toolbar}. When the gray rectangle turns to black begin typing. The text will automatically wrap to the next row as you type. The answer may wrap to the next page if necessary A. CONTACT Legal Name: Essential Transportation Services, Inc. Address: P.O. Box 323 Morrisville State: N.C. Zi Code: 27560 Coun Wake Con ressional District: Contact Person: Steven Ward and Lesia Ward Tele hone: Area Code: 919 Phone Number: 824 -8460 Fax: 919-336-3140 E-mail: info@essentialtransportation.com Website: www.essentialtrans ortation.com Federal ID Number: ~ IMPORTANT: This section must be completed to have the aP~ication reviewed ___ 1. Are you the designated recipient for the Community Transportation Program (CTP) OR a designated duected recipient of federal funding? ^ YES X^ No 2. If yes, have you or will you apply for funds for activities or projects also being applied for here? Please indicate which ^ FY 2011 CTP application- --NNNp ^ have applied ^ will apply ^ pRRA______~_____w_ ^ have applied ^ will apply ^ 5307 ------------------------------------^ have applied ^ will apply 3. If yes describe what services, products, functions, activities etc. are in both applications? B. PURPOSE Applicant's Mission The mission of the Essential Transportation Service, Inc. (ETS) is to Statement provide quality transportation services in the Triangle area. ETS emphasizes customer satisfaction, accessibility, comfort and safety while providing eco-friendly buses as an environmental concern, policy awareness through giving back to the community and community engagement through serving the public. 8 Target Populations Served by the Applicant The Durham Chapel Hill Carrboro localized plan identifies the western part of the Research Triangle Park area comprised of all of Durham County, Orange County (this includes the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough) and northeast Chatham County as the region responsible for developing a coordinated regional public transit-human services transportation plan. ETS seeks to provide job related transportation services for the Orange County Department of Social Services' (OCDSS) low-income program and to implement a coordinated transportation plan linking the county to the existing services provided by Triangle Transit and Orange Public Transportation. The OCDSS serves the following communities: Chapel Hill, Cazrboro, Hillsborough, Cedar Grove, Efland, Mebane, Rougemont, residents on the Durham County/Orange County line and portions of Alamance County. Low income families in Orange and North Chatham County are faced with several major obstacles in obtaining and retaining employment. OCDSS has identified transportation needs in four areas of support for its low-income clients: the Work First Enrichment Program, a three month life skills training program at OCDSS; job search mandated for its clients to continue receiving services; (3) transportation to volunteer worksites for on the job training skills, and (4) provision of vouchers to former TANF and other low income workers to keep them employed and reduce the number of applicants returning to the system. Orange County's statistics are impressive. The county ranks 10~ in the state in family income. Fifty-one percent of the adult population have a college education (highest in the state); 87.6 percent of the population earned a high school diploma, and the county's per capita income is $41,435. Thus, low income residents in Orange County are competing for jobs with a highly skilled workforce. Typical jobs obtained by them do not provide a living wage; the mean cost of a home in Orange County is $382,000 and the median price is $250,OOO.On average, OCDSS clients make $7.50 per hour. Both the limited availability and the high cost of transportation is a major barrier to become self-sufficient. Safe, reliable, and inexpensive transport is critical for economic mobility for low-income residents of Orange and Chatham County. Furthermore, the lack of daycare and transportation for second and third shift work compounds the obstacles. Most OCDSS clients are women (95 percent), 50 percent are under age 30, 50 percent have a high school diploma, and 47 percent of participants live in North Orange County as of October 2009. Families living outside of the Chapel Hill Transit System still face transportation issues. New services to the County would benefit residents living outside of the present route and reduce the number of cars on the roads in the County. Product or Services ETS proposes to provide expanded geographical coverage through Provided or Produced infra-county and cross county services, a guaranteed ride home service including late-nights, holiday and weekend service, and to provide a 9 voucher program to transport low-income and welfare recipients to job related activities. It also seeks to improve the transportation services for Orange, and north Chatham County via the efforts of a mobility manager who would perform the following duties: coordinate the development of a streamlined website for all transportation services in each county; work with officials to develop a universal fare card transferrable to the three counties, develop individual transportation plans with new routes outlines for pazticipants, and coordinate with student interns (from Duke University, North Carolina Central University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Durham Technical College and Orange Community College) recruited to work on promotion of the new routes and acounty-wide proposed "Bus to Work Week". These latter measures would improve public perception of public transportation. Finally, the mobility manager would employ the use of Geographic Information System tools and Intelligent Transportation to improve targeted area transportation services. 10 PART 3 -Project Description IMPORTANT -The FTA requires that projects receiving funds under Sections 5310 (Elderly and Persons with Disabilities, Section 5316 (Job Access and Reverse Commute) and Section 5317 (New Freedom) meet the needs that were described in the approved locally developed public transportation human service coordinated plan. A, PROJECT NEED/GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 1. Describe the tazget population for whom the unmet transportation needs as listed in the approved local coordinated transportation plan for your area that this project seeks to address. Answer: The Durham Chapel Hill Carrbom localized plan identifies the western part of the Research Triangle Park area comprised of all of Durham County, Orange County (including the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough), and Northeast Chatham County as the region responsible for developing a coordinated regional public transit-human services transportation plan. ETS proposes to coordinate with the Orange County Department of Social Services (OCDSS) as the lead agency to provide transportation services under the directives of the JARC program and to provide a connector route from the towns of Mebane, Efland, Cedar Grove, Rougemont, Alamance, and outer Hillsborough as a connector to the established route provided by Orange Public Transportation(OPT). Low income families in Orange and North Chatham County are faced with several major obstacles in obtaining and retaining employment. The county ranks 10'~ in the state in family income, 51 percent of the adult population have a college education (highest in the state), 87.6 percent of the population earned a high school diploma, and the per capita income is $41,435. Thus, low income residents in Orange County are competing for jobs with a highly skilled workforce. Jobs typically obtained by them do not provide a living wage since the mean cost of a home in Orange County is $382,000 and the median price is $250,000. On average, OCDSS clients make $7.50 per hour. Both the limited availability and the high cost of transportation is a major barrier to become self-sufficiency. Also, these rural areas frequently lack sidewalks, and it is unsafe for families to walk along the roads with small children in tow. OCDSS has identified transportation needs in four areas of support for its low-income clients: (1) the Work First Enrichment Program, a three month life skills training program at OCDSS; (2)job seazch mandated for its clients to continue receiving services; (3) transportation to volunteer worksites for on the job training skills, and (4) provision of vouchers to former TANF and other low income workers to keep them employed and reduce the number of applicants returning to the system. The goal of ETS is to establish a connector route to fill the gap in service area originating in Hillsborough and extending to Mebane as Orange Public Transportation and Triangle Transit (TTA route #420) serve the area between Chapel Hi11 and Hillsborough (including downtown Chapel Hill and UNC Hospital). In addition, service will be provided to the residents in these rural areas who are clients of OCDSS requiring door -to-door service, on demand response, ~ 1 transportation to work sites, and employment search. Forty-eight percent of Work First clients spend 0 - 6 months on Work First. The State allows up to 5 years of public assistance and OCDSS works to avoid an applicant becoming a repeat recipient. Self-sufficiency for these workers is heavily dependent upon safe, reliable and affordable transportation 2. Plan Information: Required: ETS will address the following priorities as described by the project planning team: 1. Hire aMobility Manager. 2. Provide infra-county and cross-county services. 3. Provide an evening service and late night service (10pm- midnight) as needed. 4. Work to establish a universal fare card that works on all services. 5. Provide travel training for customers. ETS will work closely with OCDSS in planning efficient travel routes and to provide travel training for the targeted population to maximize service quality under this project. This can be achieved by allowing the four targeted groups to schedule similar trips at the same time. For example, persons enrolled in volunteer work and job search could be placed in the same area for employment, if they live in the same county. OCDS5 prefers participants to find employment in the same counties where they reside as this makes transportation easy to coordinate. Answer: 1 Name of Plan/Title Durham Cha el Hill Carrboro MPO lan 2 Page Number pa a 21 (where unmet needs are listed) g 3 ~ Approval Date ~ 2009 3. Describe how this project will produce measurable difference(s) in meeting the defined unmet transportation needs. Answer: This project proposes to expand geographical coverage of Orange County's current transportation plan to include Efland, Mebane and Cedar Grove . Affordable transportation is a barrier to low- income residents. ETS proposes to provide a voucher program to transport low- income and welfare recipients to job related activities to be administered by the Work First program at OCDSS. The number of vouchers utilized would serve as a measurable and reportable output. The mobility manager would provide travel training to increase use and knowledge of public transportation availability. Another item is the decrease in repeat clients to the Work First program due to unreliable and non-existent transportation as a direct cause of job Loss. OCDSS will track the number of vouchers it provides to former TANF clients while the mobility manager will target the number of one way trips coming through dispatch and the numbers of persons trained, the number of web hits and the number of units added through improved customer knowledge after implementing the Triangle wide "Bus to Work Week" as a measure to reduce the number of vehicles on highways and as a way to gauge customer feelings regazding mass transit. Estimate the annual number of new people served, the number of trips that will be provided from the proposed. project, and the average cost per trip. A trip is counted each time a passenger boards a vehicle no matter how many vehicles are used to travel from origin to destination. Answer (new people): Answer (total trips): Answer (average cost per trip): WILL INCLUDE NUMBERS FROM DURHAM/CHAPELHILL LOWINCOMEAGENCIES 4. Describe the specific community (county) this project will serve, and provide pertinent demographic data and/or maps. Answer: Orange County has a population of 131,123. Currently, there are 7,500 medicaid cases, 3,800 adults in the Food Nutrition program with an expected growth of 25 - 35 percent month growth. 95 percent of the enrollees are women with children. Target Groups Percentage of the Service Area population Specific Descriptive Notes Racial/Ethnic population 22.4 % 2009 Census estimate Low income 14 % 2000 Census estimate Elderly 15 % 2009 Census estimate Disabled Medicaid Recipients 6 % 2010 Work First roll for Orange County Specify Other 5. Which of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) defined goals will this proposed project help to meet? See Appendix A Answer. Expand Extend Improve Improve Improve Remove geographic Hours/days of system access/ customer barriers to covera a service ca aci connections knowled a mobili X^ X^ XQ X^ X^ x^ Specify Other ~ B. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN I . List/describe additional key personnel needed to implement this project and the applicant's ability to manage the project. Answer: ETS is owned and operated by Lesia and Steven Ward. Lesia Ward has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. She is a 1993 graduate of North Carolina Central University in Durham. Steven Ward has 22 years of service with the National Guazd and 17 years as a driver with United Parcel Service (UPS). Lesia Ward will serve as project manager for the duration of the project. She 12 13 will be supervise the overall project and provide overall coordination of the project. Steven Ward drives as needed for ETS and coordinate driver schedules. Position and Title List up to 5 Key responsibilities by priority Mobile 1 Coordinate with local officials and policy makers as Manager needed 2 Provide travel training 3 Improve customer knowledge of transit available 1 4 Publicity and marketing of new services available 5 Work with Orange County Work First program to coordinate all services as contracted Project 1 Oversee project and implement recommendations as Manager advised by mobility manager and management consultant 2 Oversee drivers and other personnel 3 Assist with overall coordination of capital equipment 2 is ordered, delivered and ready by established deadlines 4Visit work employer work sites to publicize new service Management 1 Track customer needs and satisfaction through survey Consultant 2 Monitor and evaluate service provided 3 Track customer needs and usage on "Bus to Work Week throughout Triangle area and make 3 recommendations to policy makers and local officials 4 Recruit interns from area universities and schools 5 Produce report on usage and needs of low income residents and mass transit for area 2. Explain how this project is integrated into other s services or facilities provided by your agency. Answer: Currently, ETS provides services to Campus Crossings, Duke University and North Carolina Central University and businesses in the surrounding triad area. These services are strictly shuttle services and does not require housing of staff. Office space will be used primarily for mobilitymanager, dispatcher and meeting space for functions. All drivers will be cross-trained on routes and receive driver training. The current maintenance worker will service vehicles and ensure contracts are adhered to for maximum and safe vehicle performance. 3. Describe what the applicant plans to do to assure that the funded services are provided throughout the period of performance. Answer: ETS will adhere to the timelines established in the project goals. The project team composed of the mobility manager, project manager, management consultant and OCDSS will work closely together to ensure participants are utilizing the service and that their individual needs aze met. 4. Describe how the applicant will manage risk and provide for safe delivery of services or safe use and maintenance of capital assets. (i.e. driver training, maintenance scheduling, and insurance) Answer: It is ETS policy to provide a safe, and secure mode of transport for its customers. ETS policy mandates that all employees receive a drug screen and transit training. In addition, all drivers must submit a clean driving record and provide proof of insurance as a condition of employment. ETS produces a training manual for all employees and is updated annually as new transportation materials become available by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and policy changes within the Counties ETS operates. 14 ETS provides vehicle and property insurance as noted on submitted assurances documentation.