Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
MAY 16, 2024
Subject
SUBJECT: MEMBERSHIP ON METRO’S GATEWAY CITIES SERVICE COUNCIL
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE nominees for membership on Metro’s Gateway Cities Service Council.
Issue
ISSUE
Each Metro Service Council (MSC) is comprised of nine Representatives who serve terms of three years; terms are staggered so that the terms of three of each Council’s nine members expire annually on June 30. Incumbent Representatives can service additional terms if re-nominated by the nominating authority and confirmed by the Metro Board.
The Gateway Cities Service Council currently has two vacancies created by Councilmembers who have recently resigned.
Background
BACKGROUND
Metro Service Councils were created in 2002 as community-based bodies tasked with improving bus service and promoting service coordination with municipal and local transit providers. The MSC bylaws specify that Representatives should live in, work in, or represent the region of their service council; have a basic working knowledge of public transit service within their region, and an understanding of passenger transit needs. To do so, each Representative is expected to ride at least one transit service per month.
The MSCs are responsible for convening public hearings to receive community input on proposed service modifications, rendering decisions on proposed bus route changes, and considering staff’s recommendations and public comments. All route and major service changes that are approved by the MSCs will be brought to the Metro Board of Directors as an information item. Should the Metro Board decide to move an MSC-approved service change to an Action Item, the MSCs will be notified of this change before the next Service Council monthly meeting.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The individuals listed have been nominated to serve on the Gateway Cities Service Council by this Council nominating authority to fill the vacancies left by recent resignations from the Council. If approved by the Board, these appointments will serve for the remainder of the three-year terms and the subsequent terms specified. A brief listing of qualifications and the nomination letter for the new nominees are provided in Attachments A and B.
Gateway Cities
A. Danny Hom, Re-Appointment
Nominated by: Gateway Cities Council of Governments
Term: Remainder of July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025 term and subsequent term of July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2028
B. Jesse Flores, New Appointment
Nominated by: Gateway Cities Council of Governments
Term: Remainder of July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2024 term and subsequent term of July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2027
C. Priscilla Papias, New Appointment
Nominated by: Gateway Cities Council of Governments
Term: Remainder of July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2024 term and subsequent term of July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2027
For reference, the table below contracts the 2022 American Community Survey demographic and 2023 Metro Ridership Survey demographics data for the region withService Council membership, should these nominees be appointed. Each Council has nine seats; one seat is equivalent to 11% of the Council’s membership.
Note: Los Angeles County data taken from 2022 Census Quick Facts; Census data includes a question that intends to capture current sex; there are no questions about gender, sexual orientation, or sex at birth.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
Maintaining a fully appointed service council of representatives for each service area is important, as each Representative is required to regularly use public transit, and each Council is composed of people from diverse areas and backgrounds. This enables each Council to better understand the needs of transit riders, including the need for safe operation of transit service and safe location of bus stops.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
Metro seeks to appoint Service Council members who represent the diverse communities, needs, and priorities of each respective region. To encourage nominating authorities to nominate individuals who will closely reflect the region and its ridership, staff shares regional ridership, resident, and Service Council membership race/ethnicity and gender demographics with each nomination request. These practices will continue to be utilized in an effort to work towards Council composition that more closely matches the demographics of each region and its ridership. Staff will also continue to encourage nominating authorities to improve representative membership through their appointments as opportunities arise.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Approval of this recommendation supports the following Metro Strategic Plan Goal: 30 Enhance communities and lives through mobility and access to opportunity.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The alternative to the recommendation would be for these nominees to not be approved for appointment. To do so would result in reduced effectiveness of the Service Councils, as it would increase the difficulty of obtaining the quorum necessary to allow this Service Council to formulate and submit their recommendations to the Board. It would also result in the Service Councils having a less diverse representation of their respective service areas.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue to monitor the major contributors to the quality of bus service from the customer’s perspective and share that information with the Service Councils for use in their work to plan, implement, and improve bus service and the customer experience in their areas.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Nomination Letter
Attachment B - New Nominees Biographies and Qualifications
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Dolores Ramos, Senior Manager, Regional Service Councils, (213) 922-1210
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Conan Cheung, Chief Operations Officer, (213) 418-3034
