BOARD MEETING Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 10:00 a.m. Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency Nashville, Tennessee MINUTES

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1 BOARD MEMBERSHIP PRESENT BOARD MEETING Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 10:00 a.m. Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency Nashville, Tennessee MINUTES Scott Foster Chairman Paul Ballard Secretary Howard Bradley Tom Brashear Kirk Bednar Ernest G. Burgess Angie Carrier Roger Farley Don Fox Bob Franklin Jo Ann Graves Rick Gregory Jay Johnson Jim Ladieu Bill Orange R.J. Hank Thompson Kenneth Wilber ADDITIONAL ATTENDEES: Terry Bebout Tauna Blaisdell Erin Collier Sam Edwards Glenda Griggs Tanisha Hall Era Hogan Danny M. Leverette Lucreacia Points Mary Ann Sparkman Allyson Shumate Diane Thorne Jeff Wilson Mayor, City of Hendersonville Governor Appointee Mayor, Robertson County Alternate, Wilson County Alternate, City of Brentwood Mayor, Rutherford County Alternate, City of White House Governor Appointee Mayor, City of Lebanon Alternate, City of Mt. Juliet Mayor, City of Gallatin Alternate, City of Goodlettsville Alternate, City of Franklin Alternate, TDOT Mayor, Cheatham County County Executive, Sumner County Mayor, City of Portland TSG Mayor, Spring Hill TMA Group NERR

2 CALL TO ORDER Chairman Scott Foster called the RTA Board meeting to order at approximately 10:00 a.m., on Wednesday, March 21, 2007, at Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency, Nashville, Tennessee. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Foster called for approval of the minutes of the February 17, 2007 Board meeting. Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess made a motion to approve the minutes. Cheatham County Mayor Bill Orange seconded and the motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENTS Chairman Foster called for any comments from the public. There were no public comments. ACTION ITEMS Item 4 was presented by Chairman Foster. The item was Strategic Task Force Report. Chairman Foster stated the main points in this section are the new positions for the RTA, the resignation of Mr. Bill Farquhar and the letter requesting funding to TDOT. Chairman Foster stated that Mr. Farquhar could discuss his resignation and the needed positions of RTA. Mr. Farquhar began by thanking everyone and informing the Board of his future endeavors. Mr. Farquhar provided suggestions on the vacant positions and how the Board might fill them. Tom Brashear questioned Mr. Farquhar on his ideas regarding continuing the combination of the two positions or the separation of them. Mr. Farquhar stated it would be better to separate the two positions. Chairman Foster suggested the discussion of the positions be moved to the Strategic Task Force meeting. Mayor Foster also alerted the Board that Mr. Farquhar will submit his ideas for job descriptions and possible salaries for the jobs. There were no objections. Gallatin Mayor Jo Ann Graves made a motion to approve the letter to TDOT. Sumner County Executive Hank Thompson seconded. Chairman Foster called for a vote on the motion. The motion passed. Item 5 was presented by Hank Thompson. The item was Executive and Legislative Committee Report. County Executive Hank Thompson stated he appreciated the attendance of several Board members on March 20 th at the Senate Judiciary Committee Meeting. County Executive Thompson stated the proposed bill has been rolled over to another Senate Judiciary committee meeting. County Executive Thompson also commended Mr. Sam Edwards on his effects in this legislation. County Executive Thompson stated the bill has to get through the senate first. He also stated the future of commuter rail depends on the senate, therefore; it is important the facts are not misconstrued by the trial lawyers or the legislators. Paul Ballard stated that Mr. Edwards did a good job. Mayor Graves stated that the impact we can have on the legislators should not be underestimated. She also stated the end of medical malpractice debate in the legislature is approaching, therefore; something is needed for the trial lawyers to compensate.

3 Lebanon Mayor Don Fox made a motion to approve Executive and Legislative Committee Report. Jay Johnson, City of Franklin, seconded. The motion was passed unanimously. Item 6 was presented by Paul Ballard. The item was Operations Oversight Committee Report. Mr. Ballard stated the committee met on Tuesday, March 20, The Committee accepted reports on insurance renewal for the Music City Star, along with status of the Relax & Ride operations and marketing for the month of February. In addition, action was taken on the proposed Line of Credit with Bank of America. Item 6a was presented by Paul Ballard. The item was Insurance Update. Mr. Ballard reminded the Board the insurance policies for the Music City Star expire on June 1, Staff has begun the process of working with the insurance broker, Marsh Inc. to provide information to the risk markets about the service. A strategy session is scheduled with Marsh to better understand what levels of coverage are feasible and affordable this year. Data on incidents, passenger miles and claims made have been provided. A risk mitigation analysis was conducted in early November and all of the recommendations have been implemented. Mr. Ballard stated he wanted to thank Terry Bebout and his crew for the perfect safety record. Mr. Brashear asked about the term of the contract with Marsh, Inc. Mr. Bill Farquhar responded that the contract term is for five years. Item 6b was presented by Paul Ballard. The item was Status of Federal, State and Local Funding. Mr. Ballard stated that federal, state and local funding can be reviewed in the Board packet. Mr. Ballard stated that Bank of America has provided a term sheet for the third Line of Credit (LOC). The potential third LOC will be to cover the costs of operating the agency while waiting for the federal flex process or re-imbursement on state funds in the future. It is anticipated that this LOC will be maintained on a permanent basis. The terms are: a) $1,500,000 LOC b) Commitment Fee of 1.25% ($18,750.00) due on or before closing c) Annual Interest rate of % of the 30 day LIBOR index plus 134 points (If the LIBOR is 5.31%, the interest rate to the RTA is 4.710%, as an example) Item 6c was presented by Paul Ballard. The item was February Relax & Ride Operations and Ridership. Mr. Ballard stated the ridership on the two Relax & Ride services continues to show increases over the same month ridership a year ago. In February, the 96X Murfreesboro increased from 161 to 208 daily riders, or 28.59% over last year at this time. The ridership on the #35X Rivergate Express to Hendersonville increased from 33 riders per day to 71 riders daily, an increase of 131%. The new express R&R #96 bus started service on January 29 and is showing great success and providing comfortable and additional seating for all relax and ride commuters. RTA staff was at the park and ride lots to meet the commuters and guide them to the service of their choice; express or local. Mayor Fox made a motion to approve the term sheet for a $1,500,000 line of credit with Bank of America and accept the committee report. County Executive Thompson seconded and the motion passed.

4 Mr. Ballard stated an item not on the agenda was the March 20, 2007 Operations Oversight Committee report of a proposed lease. Mr. Ballard stated the Committee received a proposed lease for the RTA property adjacent to Mt. Juliet station. This is a project involving the Transit Orient Development (TOD). Chairman Scott Foster asked for further information on TOD and asked the Board become knowledgeable of the project. Mr. Ballard appointed a sub committee to review the proposal and to report back to the Operations Oversight Committee. Item 7 was presented by Tom Brashear. The item was Marketing Committee Report. Mr. Brashear stated the Marketing Committee met on Tuesday, March 13 th and the committee accepted reports on the status of the marketing efforts for the RTA services. They also approved the issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for marketing services. Item 7a was presented by Scott Foster. The item was RFP for Marketing Services. Chairman Foster stated that the RTA has had a contract with a marketing firm for the past three years. This contract has expired and it is time to solicit proposals from the marketing consulting community for the next several years. This contract is on a task order basis; which enables staff to move forward with work and projects, without having to solicit quotes for each individual task. Item 7b was presented by Scott Foster. The item was Marketing Update. Chairman Foster asked Allyson Shumate to introduce the Ms. Stevi Griffin to the Board. Mrs. Shumate introduced Ms. Griffin as the new Marketing Coordinator and Ms. Griffin thanked the Board for welcoming her. Chairman Foster asked if there were any questions about the results of Friends Ride Free Promotion for February He also stated that an update on Employer Outreach activities is in the Board packet for review. Rick Gregory, City of Goodlettsville, made a motion to accept the report of the committee, approve the RFP for Marketing Services, and the issuance of the RFP for Marketing Services. County Executive Thompson seconded and the motion was passed. Item 8 was presented by Mayor Don Fox. The item was East Corridor Oversight Committee Report. Mayor Fox stated the ECOC met on March 20 th. The committee accepted reports on the February Music City Star operations and new morning train and shuttle schedules which coincide with Vanderbilt beginning to offer commuter benefits to Music City Star riders. In addition, the committee approved the operation of a Friday only late night train to begin on April 6 and continue through the end of the calendar year. Mayor Fox also stated that commuter rail needs to eventually begin to service the general public and not just the commuters. Mayor Fox commented that the novelty of the Friday late night train and transportation to the Titans games are great steps toward that goal. Mr. Brashear commented his father rides the train and he notices when children are out of school because they often ride with family members. Mr. Brashear thinks this is a great illustration of public service. Mayor Fox stated that the success of commuter rail is due to the commuter but it could be more successful with overall public support.

5 Item 8a was presented by Scott Foster. The item was Late Night Service. Chairman Scott Foster asked the Board to review the information about the late night service and if more information was needed to please see Mr. Farquhar. The board packet states: Last November and December, staff in partnership with Transit Solutions Group (TSG), the contract operator, offered late night service during the Christmas season. The service encouraged a large number of riders to try the service. I also received very favorable response from the public. Staff is proposing to again offer late night service on Fridays (the Thursday service was poorly patronized) beginning on April 6 th for the remainder of the calendar year. One additional train would leave Lebanon at 6:50 p.m. and return from Nashville at 9:30 pm. The schedule provides for as late of a departure from Nashville as possible, while ensuring the crews receive sufficient rest before the next day s operation. The trains will be marketed via press releases, conductor announcements and flyers on the trains. In addition, staff will be aggressively seeking sponsorships for the service to further off-set the costs. Item 8b was presented by Scott Foster. The item was April 2, 2007 Schedule. Chairman Foster stated in order to better provide a reliable bus shuttle service to West End the morning train schedule have been moved back five (5) minutes. Staff expects this will increase the number of riders on the trains by providing better service to the West End commuters. County Executive Thompson made a motion to approve the April 2, 2007 schedule and the Late Night Service. Mr. Bobby Franklin, City of Mt. Juliet, seconded. The motion passed. Item 8c was presented by Scott Foster. The item was February Music Star Operation and Ridership. Chair Foster asked the Board to review the board packet for this information. The packet includes ridership, details of a charter train, and on time performance. OTHER BUSINESS Chairman Foster stated that it is his duty to inform the Board to please pay their dues. Mr. Farquhar thanked Mayor Fox for being the first to send in a response to the RTA dues. Mr. Franklin discussed the staged Car-Train crash in Mt. Juliet on Saturday, March 3, 2007 and the support of the staff. He acknowledged all the participants that made it a successful event and the great turn out of about 500 people. Mr. Farley discussed the Nashville Public Television show, Tennessee Crossroads, for the marketing committee. He commented that it would be an excellent marketing event. Mr. Farley also referred back to Item 7b on pg.27 of the Board packet; which Mr. Farley noted that he worked with Charter as well and he would assist if needed. Mr. Brashear talked about the Donelson Station. He stated there is a request from some businesses to have a shuttle route from Elm Hill Pike and back to the station. Staff is working on the possibility. Mayor Graves referred back to Item7b regarding Sprint. Mayor Graves commented on what an excellent way to increase productivity. Mrs. Shumate informed Mayor Graves of the status of this item.

6 County Executive Thompson referred back to Executive and Legislative Committee Report in Item 5 and stated that Senator Doug Jackson deserves to be commended for his assistance to Mr. Edwards. Chairman Foster mentioned that the RTA s website needed to be updated. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:45 a.m. Respectfully, Paul J. Ballard Paul J. Ballard RTA Secretary