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1991-10010-Minutes for Meeting April 03,1991 Recorded 4/12/19919!--10010 "/'"''FIL'~' 0106 0800 APR 1. `7 1 `9 9 1 MINUTES DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERST't April 3 1991 Chairman Maudlin called the meeting to order at 10 Board members in attendance were Dick Maudlin, Tom Throop and Na#'c. ;rope Schlangen. Also present were Darrell Davidson, County ;S#er f; Kevin Harrison, Planner; Ralph Delamarter, Librarian; an4` R-Fck Isham, County Counsel. 1. CONSENT AGENDA Consent agenda items before the Board were: #1, signature of Resolution 91-027 proclaiming the week of April 7-13, 1991, as Telecommunicators Week in Deschutes County; #2, authorization for High Desert BMX to file land use actions for park at Demolition Landfill site; #3, signature of Resolution 91-019, accepting petition to vacate portion of C. B. Swalley Road, Engineer's Report, and Order 91-048 setting a public hearing for May 15, 1991; #4, signature of Resolution 91-020 accepting petition to vacate a portion of the Swalley Bridge Market Road, Engineer's report, and Order 91-050 setting a public hearing for May 15, 1991; #5, signature of Resolution 91-021 accepting petition to vacate all of Deschutes Northwest Road, Engineer's Report, and Order 91-052 setting a public hearing for May 15, 1991; #6, signature of Acceptance of Dedication and Vacation of Portion of Ferguson Road; #7, signature of Resolution 91-022 changing signature authorization for employees of Gates McDonald on Workers' Compensation Bank Account; #8, signature of Easement to PGT for Metering Station in LaPine Industrial Park; #9, signature of Resolution 91-023 declaring intention to transfer two properties (one on Cooley Road and the other on SE 27th) to Administrative School District #1, and setting a public hearing for April 24, 1991; and #10, signature of Resolution 91-025 declaring personal property surplus and directing disposition. SCHLANGEN: I move approval of the consent agenda. MAUDLIN: I'll second the motion. VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES 2. OUT-OF-STATE TRAVEL REQUEST Before the Board was an out-of-state travel request from the Sheriff's Department for Mike Johnson, representing the State PAGE 1 MINUTES: 4-3-91 0106 0801 y of Oregon on the Traffic Safety Team in North Carolina. The $1392 cost would be picked up by the Traffic Safety Commission. THROOP: I'll move approval. SCHLANGEN: I'll second. VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES 3. REPLAT OF THREE LOTS IN SUNRIVER Before the Board was signature of a replat, showing revised rear setback lines, on three lots in River Village I, Sunriver, for Gray, Simpson and Swan. THROOP: I'll move signature of the replat. SCHLANGEN: I'll second it. VOTE: THROOP: NO SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES 4. SUBLESSEE AGREEMENT WITH MCCAW COMMUNICATIONS Before the Board was signature of a Radio Transmission and Receiving Sublessee Agreement with McCaw Communications. Rick Isham said Cellular One was applying for a 100 watt low power application to go onto the OPB tower. Notice was sent to individuals with an interest in the Awbrey Butte site and no comments were received. McCaw Communications did receive a phone call from KICE asking for clarification. THROOP: I'll move signature of the radio transmission and receiving sublessee agreement. SCHLANGEN: I'll second. VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES 5. ORDER 91-055 SURRENDERING COUNTY ROADS TO CITY OF REDMOND Before the Board was signature of Order 91-055 surrendering County roads to the City of Redmond pursuant to ORS 373.270. THROOP: I'll move signature of Order 91-055. PAGE 2 MINUTES: 4-3-91 f SCHLANGEN: I'll second. Q VOTE: THROOP: YES 0106 0802 SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES 6. WEEKLY WARRANT VOUCHERS Before the Board were weekly bills in the amount of $169,700.76. THROOP: I'll move approval of the weekly warrant vouchers subject to review. SCHLANGEN: Second. VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES 7. WAIVER OF DUMPING FEES FOR GREAT OREGON SPRING CLEANUP Before the Board was a request from the Great Oregon Spring Cleanup organizing committee that the Board agree to waive the dumping fees for those participating in the GOSC on Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28, 1991. Everyone would need a red and white SOLV bag to be permitted into the landfill without charge. THROOP: I'll move the waiver. SCHLANGEN: I'll second. VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES 8. DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR RAIMONDI Before the Board was signature of a Development Agreement for a commercial building on S. Highway 97 for Robert Raimondi. THROOP: I'll move signature of Development Agreement. SCHLANGEN: I will second. VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES PAGE 3 MINUTES: 4-3-91 9. EXTENSION OF BIDS ON LIBRARY SOFTWARE PACKAGA0 6 0803 Ralph Delamarter said they had requested bids from the two vendors who had software which was compatible with their system. One of the bidders misunderstood the instructions and therefore did not submit their bid by the deadline. The other vendor submitted a bid by the deadline, but it had not been opened. Rick Isham said the Board had the authority to waive due to irregularities and could extend the time period when proposals could be submitted. THROOP: Due to the possible irregularity and the misperceptions that that could have caused, I would move that the Board authorize Ralph to extend the time period to allow the second bid to come in and give Ralph and the system that is looking at these two bids the opportunity to consider both, especially in view of the fact that the one bid that was received timely has not been opened. SCHLANGEN: Second that. VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES Chairman Maudlin adjourned the meeting of the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners and convened the meeting of the Governing Body of the Black Butte Ranch Service District. Board members in attendance were Dick Maudlin, Tom Throop and Nancy Pope Schlangen. Also present was Rick Isham, County Counsel. 10. RESOLUTION 91-024 AUTHORIZING PERS FOR BBR EMPLOYEES Before the Board was signature of Resolution 91-024 authorizing Black Butte Ranch Service District to participate in the Public Employees Retirement System and electing not to participate in the Federal Social Security Act, superceding Resolution 91-009, nunc pro tunc as of February 13, 1991. SCHLANGEN: I move signature of Resolution 91-024 authorizing all that. THROOP: I'll second the motion. VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES MAUDLIN: YES PAGE 4 MINUTES: 4-3-91 0106 0804 11. PUBLIC HEARING: DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION PLAN Before the Board was a public hearing on the proposed adoption of the Deschutes County Transportation Improvement Plan as a resource document. Susan Mayea, Board of Commissioners Office, testified that through a cooperative effort with a citizens organization, the County had received a planning grant from the State to conduct a transportation improvement plan for Deschutes County. Weslin Consulting Services was hired to conduct that study. She requested that the Board adopt the study as a resource document. The next step would be to implement the study as the public transportation element of the Countywide transportation plan which should happen within a year. It would eventually become the working document for a transportation district Board of Director if and when a district were formed. She did not feel that the plan would become outdated for many years in the future. She introduced David Browne, consultant with Weslin Consulting Services of Bellevue Washington. David Browne used a slide presentation to go through the attached Transportation Improvement Plan with the Board of Directors. Chairman Maudlin pointed out to the audience that adoption of the Transportation Plan as a resource document would not mean the formation of a transportation district which would require voter approval. Chairman Maudlin opened the meeting for public testimony. Pete Pedone, PO Box 3818, Sunriver, supported the adoption of the transportation plan and the formation of a transportation district. He was a hazardous materials consultant and worked with firms which transport, use and dispose of hazardous material. He suggested that the transportation planning for Deschutes County include provisions for the safe transportation of hazardous materials. If local officials could provide uninterrupted transportation of hazardous materials while keeping it away from populated areas, the Federal Government would not intercede. He felt funding was insignificant when compared to the tradeoffs that went with transportation planning. He said there might be other funding sources available if the safe transportation of hazardous materials was added to the plan since the Federal Highway Administration and the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety had provided additional funding to communities which planned for the safe transportation of hazardous materials. He hoped that Sunriver would be included in the regular transportation route should the district be formed. PAGE 5 MINUTES: 4-3-91 0106 0805 Jim Pessimer, President of the CAC Transportation Inc. which operated as Redmond Airport Shuttle, said they were one of three providers of transportation between Bend and the Redmond Airport. He felt that the information given in the presentation was outdated concerning who provided service to where. He felt the routes suggested in the transportation plan would adversely affect his business. Their business was user-paid and was not publicly subsidized. He did not feel that the income generated from the transportation district would cover the costs. The Rogue Valley Transportation System was operating at a loss, and they were an award winning district. Karen Cacy, co-chair of the Deschutes County Citizens for a Transportation District and public information officer for Tri-Met, said she was a weekend resident of Bend. She wanted the growth in Deschutes County to be planned, managed and organized. They wanted transportation emphasis over time to shift to moving people instead of vehicles. Transportation services needed to be closely coordinated with land use and economic growth. They recommended that economic growth be focused near urban centers by encouraging high density, mixed use development; automobile dependence should be reduced by promoting more condensed development, public transportation and bicycle commuting; and maintain the integrity of urban growth boundaries. She felt Deschutes County now had a state- of-the-art, conservative transportation plan. Steve Fosdick, Oregon Department of Transportation, 131 Transportation Bldg., Salem, testified that the Transportation Plan put together by Weslin Consulting was a good one. He said that tourists would not use a transportation system which was not "top notch." The problem now was convincing the voters that the time was right to put this plan into action. He suggested building support by bringing together representatives from business, seniors, and school students to work to strengthen the community support for a transportation district. He felt that a transportation district would not hurt the taxi cabs but would actually help them. He said the Department of Transportation supported Deschutes County efforts and would be ready to help. Commissioner Throop asked how much money went with the support from the Department of Transportation? Steve Fosdick said that funding loses by the formation of a district could be offset in other ways. He said there was a considerable amount of money that was only available to districts. He would not commit to how much money might be available to the district from the State. PAGE 6 MINUTES: 4-3-91 0106 0806 Dennis Maloney, Community Corrections Director, testified in favor of forming a transportation district. A poverty workshop was held a couple of years ago, and the difficulty of poor people in getting to their jobs and available services was discussed. He said one of the best things for a young person to do was to get a job, but that was difficult because of the lack of adequate transportation. He was participating in the formation of the Century Club which would include 100 businesses in each Deschutes County community which would give one kid an introduction to the world of work, and provide them with 100 hours of work. One of their first problems was getting the kids to the work site. It was also a problem for kids to get to wholesome recreational activities, i.e. the Rosie Bareis Youth Campus. Even the adult corrections population would be helped by getting a job, but in many cases their driving privileges had been lost. David Gordon, 60921 Willow Creek Loop, testified in favor of the transportation district. He had lived in San Francisco, Kansas City and Los Angeles and had worked in marketing and construction of single story and high-rise buildings. He felt the most important consideration was that the County continue to focus on transportation alternatives and a the benefits of a transit system. He said the citizens of Deschutes County looked to their elected leaders to review the logic and alternatives on transportation systems so a user friendly program could be developed which was efficient and cost effective for the short and long term. Justin Liversidge, with the Deschutes County Bicycle Advisory Committee, testified in favor of mass transportation. He felt the bicycle should play a vital role in any mass transportation program, i.e. bike racks on buses and at bus stations. Bob Slawson, Deschutes County Transportation Fund Advisory Committee member, testified in favor of the transportation plan. He said he would continue to work with the elderly/disabled to make sure they received proper service. He felt a transit district would improve, benefit and increase the services for the elderly/disabled. Bob Quitmeier, Community Development Director for the City of Redmond and Planning Director for the City of Sisters, testified in favor of the transportation district. He felt the concept of mass transit was long overdue in Central Oregon. It was unfortunate that there was no tri-county participation in the project. The Cities of Redmond and Sisters supported the concept of mass transit and the plan before the Board. The Comprehensive Plan of Redmond frequently mentioned mass transit and that greater emphasis needed to be made on mass transit. The only concern he had PAGE 7 MINUTES: 4-3-91 0106 080'7 heard regarding the plan was that Redmond was really the economic/employment center for the tri-county area with employees coming from Prineville, Madras, Sister, Bend, Powell Butte and Terrebonne, however the transit district plan was set up with Bend at the center. He was disappointed that there wouldn't be any service for Terrebonne. He would like to see continued interest expressed to the outlying counties to see if Deschutes County could contract service into these areas for people who work in Deschutes County. Maili Tigner, Deschutes County Mental Health, said there was a lot of emphasis on client independence for the disabled population, mentally and emotionally ill. Part of the problem they have with the current transportation system is that it didn't support independence. They often spent time ferrying their clients around to work and to community support services. It would foster independence if they were able to catch a bus to transport themselves. Their program paid money for different services which could be put into a community- based program. Debra Jones, Executive Director of COBRA, PO Box 1086, Bend, testified in favor of the transportation plan. She said they would sometimes lose clients because they did not have transportation. COBRA's philosophy was one of empowerment and being able to act on their own behalf, and therefore lack of mass transportation created a barrier for their clients. She also encouraged participation throughout the tri-county area. John Webre, Evergreen Home Services and advocate for elderly and low-income people in Central Oregon for the past 15 years, testified in favor of the plan. He said that Central Oregon was becoming a huge community of retired people. There were elderly people, who should not be driving anymore because of physical limitations, who were driving since there weren't many other options for them. He felt a transit district would also help the working poor, who might need both parents to work but were unable to afford a second car. He felt the private businessman would be advantaged by a transit system to help their employees get to work. As a private businessman, he would be interested in helping to finance a transit system. Terry Lynch, chair of the Deschutes County Citizen for a Transportation District and Executive Director of COCAAN, 2303 SW 1st, Redmond, testified in favor of the district. He felt there was a critical need for a transportation district, and the needs were growing with the influx of people into the area. It was frightening to consider what the area would be like in the year 2000 without a transportation district. He admitted that if a transit system were formed, there would be changes for the private transportation providers, however he PAGE 8 MINUTES: 4-3-91 a y .t 0106 0808 said there would be many people who would use the system that could not afford to pay for a taxi cab now. Mass transportation would improve the quality of the air. Bend was the most populated region in Oregon and Washington without a transportation system. The income from the transit system would not cover the costs, nor did it with other public services. He urged the Commissioners to adopt the plan as a resource document and provide the necessary leadership and support as the process moved forward. Betty Marquette, PO Box 1138, Sisters, was in support of the transportation plan, but felt it had not gone far enough. She felt that transporting children to and from school should be included into the transportation district plan. She felt the local residents would use a transportation system if the timetables were stable and the service was dependable. Mike Wilder, who operated a towing business, testified in support of the transportation district, however, he did not feel that support vehicles for the district would be cost effective. He suggested that the costs of providing those support vehicles be compared to the costs of using existing private businesses before any purchases were made. There being no one else who wished to testify, the public hearing was closed SCHLANGEN: I move adoption of Resolution 91-128. THROOP: I second the motion. VOTE: THROOP: YES SCHLANGEN: YES ~/I MAUDLIN: YES DESCHUTJS COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS EThr o Co i ssioner ~en Commissioner o g in, Ch irman BOCC:alb PAGE 9 MINUTES: 4-3-91 r 0106 0809 Citizens for a Transportation District TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Final Report Prepared By Weslin Consulting Services For Deschutes County March, 1991 0106 0810 TABLE OF CONTENTS (page 1 of 2) SECTION PAGE CHAPTER I: Introduction Local Transportation History . . . . . . . . . . I- 1 General Public Services . . . . . . . . . . I- 1 Taxi, Limousine & Motor Bus Services I- 1 Special Transportation Services . . . I- 1 Transportation District Background . . . . . . . I- 3 District Formation Issues . . . . . . . . . I- 5 District Formation Requirements . . . I- 5 District Boundary Alternatives . . . . I- 6 CHAPTER II: Planning Process Service Planning Approach . . . . . . . . . . . II- 1 Data Gathering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II- 1 Preliminary Planning . . . . . . . . . . . II- 1 Review of Service Options . . . . . . . . II- 2 Final Development of Service Options . . . II- 2 Population Growth and Distribution . . . . . . II- 2 Population Distribution . . . . . . . . . II- 2 Employment Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II- 3 Demographic Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II- 4 Senior citizens . . . . . . . . . . . . . II- 4 Low Income Persons . . . . . . . . . . . . II- 6 Geographic Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II- 7 Health Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II- 7 Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II- 7 Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II- 7 Community Involvement Program . . . . . . . . . II- 7 Service Planning Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . II- 8 CHAPTER 111: Development Of Alternatives Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Estimating Costs of Service Options Identification of Service Options . . . . City of Bend Local Service . . . . . City of Redmond Local Service . . . Inter-community Service to Redmond, Sisters, Bend, Sunriver and Lapine . Inter-community Service Between Bend and Redmond . . . . . . . . . . . . III- 1 III- 1 III- 2 III- 2 III- 2 III- 2 III- 4 . TABLE OF CONTENTS (page 2of2) 0106 0811 SECTION PAGE North County Local Paratransit Service . South and East County Local Paratransit service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paratransit Service Commitment . . . . . Saturday Service . . . . . . . . . . . . Sunday\Holiday Service . . . . . . . . . Night Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transit Service Alternatives . . . . . . . Baseline Service Alternative . . . . . . Maximum Service Alternative . . . . . . Intermediate Service Alternative . . . . CHAPTER IV: Evaluation Of Alternatives . III- 4 . III- 4 . III- 4 . III- 4 . III- 5 . III- 5 III- 5 III- 6 . III- 6 . III- 6 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV- 1 Technical Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . IV- 1 Transit Service Alternative Operating Costs . . IV- 5 CHAPTER V: Policy Recommendations Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V- 1 Implementation Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . V- 1 Funding Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V- 3 Passenger Fares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V- 5 Special Transportation services . . . . . . . . V- 6 Additional Operational Considerations . . . . . V- 6 Financial Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V- 7 Transit System Management . . . . . . . . . . . V- 9 I 0106 0812 LIST OF FIGURES (page 1 of 1) FIGURE PAGE I-1 Special Services Transportation Providers . I- 2 I-2 Transportation District Boundary . . . . . I- 4 I-3 Goals and Objectives . . . . . I- 8 I-4 Seven Desired Qualities of the Deschutes County Transportation District . . . . . . I- 9 I-5 Fixed Route and Paratransit Operating Costs in Selected Communities in Washington State I-10 II-1 Deschutes County Population 1950-2000 . . . II- 3 II-2 Major Deschutes County Employers . . . . . II- 5 II-3 Service Alternatives and Population Served II- 9 II-4 Alternative Ranking Criteria . . . . . . . II-10 II-5 Service and Policy Alternative Consolidation and Prioritization . . . . . II-11 III-1 Service Options . . . . . . . . . . . . III- 3 III-2 Service Category Scoring . . . . . . . . . III- 7 III-3A Baseline and Intermediate Service Options . III- 8 III-3B Maximum Service Option . . . . . . . . . . III- 9 III-4 Analysis of Service Concepts . . . . . . . III-10 III-5 Allocation of Service Resources to Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . III-11 III-6 Annual Hours of Service By Alternative . . III-12 IV-1 Evaluation Criteria and Ratings . . . . . . IV- 2 IV-2 Baseline Service Options . . . . . . . . . IV- 3 IV-3 Intermediate Service Options . . . . . . . IV- 4 IV-4 Maximum Service Options . . . . . . . . . . IV- 6 IV-5 Technical Evaluation Summary . . . . . . . IV- 7 V-1A Baseline Service Alternative Regional Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V- 2 V-1B Baseline Service Alternative Local Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V- 2 V-2 Financial Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . V- 9 V-3 Annual Operating Cost By Alternative. . . . V-12 V-4 Annual Operating Cost By Service Class . . . V-13 V-5 Operating Costs By Alternative . . . . . . . V-14 V-6 Implementation Schedule . . . . . . . . . . V-15 V-7 Revenues and Expenses 1993-2000 . . . . . . V-16 V-8 Service Hours 1993-2000 . . . . . . . . . . V-17 0106 0813 Chapter I INTRODUCTION CHAPTERI olds 0814 INTRODUCTION Local Transportation History Deschutes County has enjoyed a variety of public trans- portation services in the past. However, no urban transit sys- tem has been in place during that time. Service has been pro- vided primarily by private intra- and interstate motor carriers, by a number of private taxicab and limousine services and by several publicly-supported services for the elderly and dis- abled. A short description of those services follows. General Public Services Taxi. Limousine and Motor Bus Services A number of privately-owned companies provide a wide va- riety of taxicab and limousine services to residents of, and visitors to, Deschutes County. Direct transportation is pro- vided within the Cities of Bend and Redmond, between most com- munities in the county and the regional airport in Redmond and to a variety of destinations outside Deschutes County. Currently-available services include long-haul limousine services between Deschutes County and destinations throughout Oregon and Washington. There is also regularly-scheduled limou- sine service to and from the Redmond Regional Airport, and regu- larly scheduled intra-state motor bus services to the Willamette Valley, Portland, Klamath Falls and John Day. Transfers are available to interstate bus lines at various locations. Special Transportation Services Publicly-supported dial-a-ride van services for the elderly and disabled are provided throughout the county for a variety of trip purposes by several public and quasi-public agencies. In- formation and service provision is fragmented and eligibility requirements differ between the various programs. Special transportation services in Deschutes County, while providing a wide range of programs, can be somewhat confusing and intimidating to potential users. The systems, in general, suffer from a fragmentation of responsibility and information sources which detracts from the overall utility and efficiency of offered services. 0106 0815 Because of the large number of operators in the Deschutes county service area, the operating information from these ser- vice providers has been summarized in tabular rather than in narrative form (see Table I below.) FIGURE 1-1 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSIT PLAN Special Services Transportation Providers (Page I of 2) Primary Lift Dial-A Taxi Service Vehicle System on Bus Ride Script Area Owner All Outdoors Yes No No Statewide All Outdoors Central Oregon Yes Yes No Countywide COCOA Council on Aging Outside Ben d (COCOA) City of Bend Yes Yes No Bend Urban United Dia-A-Ride Area Senior Citizens of Bend Deschutes County N/A Yes N/A N/A Trans- Mental Health Central Public Trans. Opportunity Found. Yes No No Countywide OF of Central Oregon (OF) Residential No No No Countywide RAP Assist. Program (RAP) 2 0106 0816 FIGURE 1-1 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSIT PLAN Special Services Transportation Providers (Page 2 of 2) System All Outdoors Spec'1 Cont- Cent- Primary Program Major Driver ract ral service Adminis- Funding Train- Serv- Dis- Provider stration Source ing ices patch Same Same STF No No Yes Central Oregon Same Same STF, Co. Yes No Yes Council on Aging Gen. Fund City of Bend City of STF, City STF, Co. Yes No Yes Dial-A-Ride Bend of Bend Bend Gen. Pub. Works Fund Deschutes County Same DCMH N/A N/A Yes N/A Mental Health (DCMH ) Opportunity Found. Same Same STF, Yes Yes No of Central Oregon Mental Health Fund Residential Same Same Assist. Program Transportation District Background STF, Yes Mental Health Fund No No Deschutes County is situated in the rapidly-growing central Oregon region. It is economically supported by the wood products, manufacturing and light manufacturing industries and to a lesser, but significant, extent by tourism. While a number of programs exist for the purpose of providing public trans- portation for the elderly and the disabled, there are few public transportation alternatives available to the majority of the indigenous and transient population for making intra-county trips. 3 0106 0817 Lacking the financial means to establish a publicly-sup- ported transit agency without an additional funding base, the citizens of Deschutes County desire to form a legal entity to facilitate the financing and operation of such a system. The Oregon State legislature has provided the legal mechanism nec- essary to accomplish that goal. By forming a transportation district, the county and its citizens can acquire the legal means to establish a public transit system in Deschutes County as well as to levy taxes in support of public transportation op- erations and services. It is desired to form a Transportation District which in- cludes the entirety of Deschutes County. (see Figure I-2) The Citizens for a Transportation District wish to present to the voters of the proposed Transportation District service area a transit plan for their approval. Approval of this plan would levy a ad valorem property tax-to fund public transportation op- erations and capital facilities of the newly-created entity. The transportation district must have majority voter ap- proval on any local transit taxing proposals at the same voter referendum approving creation of the district. FIGURE 1-2 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSIT PLAN Transportation District Boundary Weslin Consulting Services, 1991 4 0106 0818 District Formation Issues A number of issues must be resolved before the certifi- cation measure is placed upon the ballot. A summary of those issues is presented here to set the framework for the develop- ment of the comprehensive transportation improvement plan. District Formation Requirements Before initiating a petition to form a transportation dis- trict, the Deschutes County Citizens for a Transportation Dis- trict are required by Oregon law to accomplish the following tasks: o Submit a feasibility statement covering the first three years of planned district operations. This statement must be filed prior to the circulation of a petition calling for district formation o Submit an initiating petition, which must contain any proposed funding base and tax rate assumed in the feasibility statement, calling upon the county to place the certification measure on the ballot. An al- ternate method of placing the measure on the ballot has also been included in state authorizing legisla- tion and is summarized later in this section. o Ensure that district directors are also elected during the same election as that at which the certifying mea- sure is submitted o If the district is to be funded by ad valorem tax rev- enues, ensure that both the question of forming the district and of approving the proposed funding base is included in a single ballot measure Oregon law allows the placing on the ballot of the cer- tifying measure, creating a transportation district, in one of two ways: o An initiative petition, signed by at least 100 reg- istered voters, urging the County government to call the certifying election, "at the same time as an elec- tion at which it is permissible to establish a tax base", or o a petition or resolution adopted by the governing body of the most populous city in the proposed district, in this case, the City of Bend, calling upon the county to place the certifying measure on the ballot as stated above. 5 o1®s C819 Oregon State law seems clear that no matter which method of district formation is chosen, the requirement for the prior sub- mission of a feasibility statement remains in effect. If the economic feasibility statement requires the levying of ad val- orem taxes, state law also requires that the question of forma- tion and of approval of the revenue tax base must be submitted to the voters at the next election as a single ballot question. An additional qualification to the formation process is that, under Oregon law, revenue measures may be submitted to the voters only in even-numbered years. This means that the first available opportunity to submit the question to Deschutes County voters will be in the spring of 1992. District Boundary Alternatives A Transportation District boundary may include a partial county, countywide, or a multi-county area. However, no matter what district boundaries are chosen at first, the boundaries of the District may be expanded at a later time via annexation pro- cedures. The annexation process may be initiated by one of the following methods: 1) request of a city; 2) voter petition; or 3) District authority. Majority voter approval is required to ratify the annexation and implement the local tax collection in the annexed area. A major issue to be resolved prior to transportation dis- trict certification is the determination of district boundaries. Because a majority of those living within the proposed boundary must ratify the district formation and funding base, the bound- ary issue must be decided before elections are held. In the case of Deschutes County, there is a clear predisposition to in- clude the entire county in the proposed transportation district. There are, however, a number of issues relating to that policy which should be considered. The first consideration relates to the perceived popularity of forming a transportation district within all subareas of the county. If the certification election is seen as a "close call", areas which seem less likely to ratify such district for- mation might be excluded from the proposed district. This may help insure passage of the measure within the reduced bound- aries. District exclusions could include areas having a large proportion of residents living on fixed incomes who may be unre- ceptive to supporting additional taxes or areas which are un- likely to receive substantial direct benefits from the opera- tions of the proposed district. The second major consideration concerns the costs of pro- posed services to certain sub-areas of the proposed district. Portions of the proposed district which are geographically dis- 6 0106 0820 tant from the major population centers may have expectations of additional services as a result of contributing to the dis- trict's tax base. The provision of services to such areas may increase costs to the district substantially in excess of tax collections from those areas. In a financially-conservative system, the costs of including such areas within the district could outweigh the perceived benefits. Both of these considerations are relevant in the present deliberations concerning the proposed district boundaries. The costs of including the extreme southeastern portion of Deschutes County in the District should be carefully weighed with respect to the benefits to the district of their inclusion. The commu- nities of Millican, Brothers and Hampton are geographically re- mote and economically dissimilar to the communities of the cen- tral and western portions of the county. While there are few economic reasons to offer additional services to these communi- ties, there may be demands for such services once residents be- gin contributing taxes to the district. There are also many good reasons for including the entire county within the District. Such an action would remove the re- sponsibility for providing transportation services completely from the County government and make the District the focal point for all public transportation issues within Deschutes County. The economies of consolidation and scale could also result in lower overall transportation costs for county citizens and would serve to identify the District with transportation to all county citizens. The Deschutes County Citizens for a Transportation District should give considerable thought to both sides of this issue before deciding upon final District boundaries. A Transportation District operates independently from other local governmental bodies. Its only function is to provide pub- lic transportation for all citizens within the designated bene- fit area. The Deschutes County Transportation District is to be comprised of seven Board Members, elected at-large from the pro- posed transportation district service area at the same election in which the district formation and funding base are ratified. A major ingredient of a successful Transportation District is a transit plan which identifies expectations and how they are to be achieved. These expectations are embodied by goals and objectives developed to clearly state the District's vision of its future. The District's preliminary goals and objectives are listed in Figure I-3. Such goals and objectives should be reevaluated and ratified by the new District Board after elec- tion to office. The District Board also must develop a mission statement. The purpose of the mission statement is to embody in a single 7 0106 0821 sentence the most significant achievements the agency expects to accomplish. The following mission statement has been suggested: The mission of the Deschutes County Transportation District is to aggressively pursue a balanced transportation improvement program to ensure the region sustains strong economic growth while protecting livability. Ensure progress is made in each mayor area: 1) District formation; 2) Consolidation of services; 3) Plan for service im- provements. FIGURE 1-3 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Goals and Objectives o "First, do no harm." Existing services must not be adversely affected by district formation. o Identify ways to assist existing transit providers to deliver service more economically to as many passengers as possible through economies of scale. o Provide three viable service improvement options in- cluding a financial plan for capital acquisition, maintenance, operations, and depreciation. o Provide several funding options for service improve- ments, allowable in the State of Oregon. A number of attributes have been identified which reflect a vision of what the future transit system should become: o Bring together the communities which make up the Transportation District, o Be accessible to all population segments in the commu- nities in which it operates, o Be pleasant to use, o Vehicles should be clean and pleasing to the eye, o Be compatable with other existing and planned modes of public and private transportation, 8 A 0106 0822 o Be efficiently operated, o Convey an image of quality and dependability. The purpose of these attributes is to convey to the public as succinctly as possible the most predominant qualities that are expected to be represented by a new transit system. None of these qualities are necessarily of any greater importance than the others. FIGURE 1-4 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Seven Desired Qualities Of The Deschutes County Transportation District Efficient Accessible Pleasant Compatable High Quality unifying Attractive 9 A FIGURE 1-5 0106 0823 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Fixed Route and Paratransit Operating Costs in Selected Communities in Washington State Population (Thousands) 0 50 100 150 200 250 C-Tran Kitsap Ben Franklin Intercity Transit . Whatcom Grays Harbor Everett Clallam Yakima Valley Transit 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Annual Operating Cost (Millions) Population ® Fixed-route 0 Paratransit Westin Consulting Services, 1990 10 010 6 0824 Chapter II PLANNING PROCESS 010 6 0826 Review of Service Options --The preliminary transit ser- vices were reviewed for the purpose of identifying transporta- tion concerns and identifying potential problems. Desired changes and additions were identified and agreed upon at this time. The information gathered through review with the DCCTD Board was used in the development of revised transit service options. Final Development of Service options Information gath- ered in the review phase was used to prepare the final list of service options. At this stage, detailed route descriptions, schedules, vehicle requirements, service hour requirements, capital facilities inventories and operating cost estimates were prepared. Population Growth and Distribution The market potential and peer group analysis identified the need and potential for transit services by examining available community population, employment and demographic characteristics. This analysis used information obtained from the State of Oregon Department of Human Resources, Deschutes County Planning, the City of Bend, the City of Redmond and the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council. Employment data was obtained from several sources, including State of Oregon Busi- ness and Employment Outlook, Deschutes County, Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council and local chambers of commerce. Population in Deschutes County has tended to grow at a greater rate over the past few decades than has the State of Oregon as a whole as shown in Figure II-1. Official popula- tion estimates for Deschutes County are prepared by Portland State University's Center for Population Research and Census and are felt by many to be quite conservative. According to this official source, population within Deschutes County in 1989 totaled approximately 70,600. Population Distribution of the estimated county area population, approximately 26,000 persons, a little over one-third of the total, reside within the Bend or Redmond corporate limits. Of the total population of Deschutes County, over thirty-nine percent (39%) reside in unincorporated areas. II-2 FIGURE II-1 0106 C827 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Deschutes Coun Population 1950-200 POPULATION (Thousands) 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Source: Portland State University Prepared by Weslin Consulting Services These findings have certain implications for the provi- sion of public transportation services. With nearly one-half of the population of the Transportation District service area residing in and adjacent to the cities of Bend and Redmond, these two communities offer the greatest market for public transit. The rural areas of LaPine, Sisters and Sunriver as well as the less-populous rural areas in the southeastern portion of the county represent, collectively nearly one-half the pop- ulation of Deschutes County. Since these rural areas are sparsely populated, providing public transportation services to this dispersed, yet substantial, population presents a con- siderable challenge to the District. Employment Factors Typically, one of the major trip-purposes served by pub- II-3 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990E 2000E • 0196 0829 FIGURE II-2 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Major Deschutes County Employers (Page 1 of 2) NAME EMPLOYEES CITY Bend Millwork Systems 1700 Bend St. Charles Medical Center 1000 Bend Bend/La Pine School Dist 980 Bend Mt. Bachelor Inc. 700 Bend Sunriver Properties 600 Bend Redmond School District 423 Redmond Deschutes County 400 Bend D A W Plywood & Remanufacturin 377 Redmond D A W Forest Products 350 Bend Deschutes National Forest 350 Bend Beaver Coaches 250 Bend Eagle Crest Partners 250 Bend Central Oregon Dist. Hospital 240 Redmond Inn of the 7th Mountain 225 Bend Eagle Crest Resort 220 Redmond City of Bend 215 Bend Shopko 200 Bend Willamette Industries 200 Bend Central Oregon Comm. Coll 170 Bend Riverhouse Motor Inn 170 Bend Fuqua Homes 165 Bend Opportunity Center 140 Redmond Tektronix 140 Redmond Safeway 130 Bend Bend Memorial Clinic 125 Bend K-Mart 120 Bend The Bulletin 115 Bend Wagner's Supermarket (South) 110 Bend Sears, Roebuck and Co. 105 Bend Ponderosa Moulding 101 Redmond Wagner's Supermarket (North) 100 Bend Food Value 92 Bend Safeway 80 Redmond Source: Bend Chamber of Commerce, 1990; Redmond Chamber of Commerce, 1990; Central Oregon Business Factbook, 1988 II-5 0106 0830 FIGURE II-2 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Major Deschutes County Employers (Page 2 of 2) NAME EMPLOYEES CITY Bon Marche 75 Bend City of Redmond 74 Redmond Bend Research 70 Bend Cascade Pine Specialties 70 Sisters Irwin Saw Company 70 Redmond Wagner's Supermarket 70 Redmond Central Electric Co-op 67 Redmond Advanced Power Technology 66 Bend COCAN/COCOA 66 Redmond U.S. National Bank 65 Bend Redmond Wood Products 60 Redmond Food 4 Less 55 Bend Redmond Health Care Center 54 Redmond First Interstate Bank 51 Bend Nosler Bullets 51 Bend Bob Thomas Chevrolet 50 Bend Emporium, Inc 50 Bend Harold Barclay Logging 50 Sisters Juniper Fuel 50 Redmond Robberson Ford 50 Bend Thomas Sales & Service 50 Bend U.S. West Communications 50 Bend Source: Bend Chamber of Commerce, 1990; Redmond Chamber of Commerce, 1990; Central Oregon Business Factbook, 1988 Low Income Persons It has been estimated that more than one resident in eight in Deschutes County may be classi- fied as a low-income person. This category included over 8,700 persons countywide in 1986. In 1989, 45 percent of all county households had incomes of less than $20,000 per year. Income studies suggest that even as the economy has ex- panded, the poor generally have not participated in that ex- pansion. Indeed, studies suggest that the percentage of the population living below the poverty line has increased during II-6 0106 0831 the 1980s. Generally, lower incomes, particularly when those lower incomes are manifested by a reduced auto ownership, may suggest an expanded market for public transportation services. Geographic Factors Certain other geographic factors also tend to expand the potential demand for transit in Deschutes County. These in- clude major shopping, educational and health care facilities in Bend and Redmond. Many of the constituent communities in the proposed Transportation District contain modest shopping, medical and educational facilities. Health Care While some medical facilities exist out- side of the immediate Bend area, most surgical and medical specialty procedures require trips into Bend from a wide sur- rounding area for residents of the smaller communities. Be- cause of the large number of children, elderly and low-income persons living outside of the central Bend core area, the po- tential for medical trips by those unable to drive to and from Bend from outlying areas appears substantial. Education The only post-high school educational insti- tution in the region, Central Oregon Community College, is lo- cated in Bend. While a majority of students show local area zip codes as their permanent residences, there are a substan- tial number of students traveling to COCC from all over De- schutes County. To the extent that future services meet the needs of COCC students and faculty, COCC should be considered a major potential market for public transit. Shopping The three largest traditional shopping areas in Deschutes County are in Bend area. The Bend River Mall, the Mountain View Mall and downtown Bend's retail core have all been identified as the major retail areas to which trans- portation is desired by area residents. Specialty shopping areas in the smaller communities such as Sisters and Sunriver may also be expected to draw some interest, but can be ex- pected to have a smaller influence upon transit ridership ac- tivity. Community Involvement Program The most important aspect of the development of the tran- sit plan for Deschutes County is the participation of the pub- lic it is designed to serve. Therefore, an intensive public participation program should be undertaken prior to any sub- mission to the voters. II-7 0106 0832 The foundation of the community involvement program is the establishment of one or more Citizen's Advisory Groups. A potential alignment might have one group representing the Bend-Redmond urban area, a second group representing the rural areas to the north and east of Bend and Redmond and a third representing the rural areas to the south and east of Bend. Each of these three Citizen's Advisory Groups would be represented by its chairperson, or other designated represen- tative, on a District-wide Steering Committee. The Steering Committee can also include other prominent individuals who have a special interest or knowledge of public transportation. During the development of support for the ballot measure, meetings with these groups and the Steering Committee would be conducted for the purpose of developing marketing strategies for the geographic subareas, distributing literature to the constituent communities, soliciting volunteers to assist in the marketing effort, establishing and staffing a speakers' bureau, assisting with fundraising tasks and keeping the tran- sit issue alive and visible in the most positive manner possi- ble. Service Planning Issues The consultant considered potential transit services identified by the officials and citizens who have been inter- viewed. After reviewing the list of desired transit services, the service concepts and policies were refined to a prelimi- nary list of potential services. This consolidated list of potential services is listed in Figure II-3. A priority setting exercise was used to identify the rel- ative ranking of the services and policies. The priority set- ting exercise involved ranking each of the potential service options according to the goals and objectives developed. Each alternative was given a subjective score between 0 and 4, re- flecting the degree to which that alternative fulfilled the system goals and objectives. The results of that exercise are summarized in Figure II-5 which shows a ranked ordering of the service and policy alternatives based on the scores received. II-8 FIGURE II-3 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Service Alternatives And Population Served 0106 0833 Alternative Local feeder service Tourist service Commuter service 65+ and disabled service Service to shopping and medical Connections to Amtrak and Greyhound Express or local service Regional service to airport and college Local loops using regional buses Service for students Special events Commuter service Regional services Connect cities with regional service Rural feeder service Door-to-door service Commuter and Regional Community-to-community Shopping related Greyhound Alternative Local loop and community-to-community Social or special events Late night relief Convenient Population Served City residents Tourists Workers Seniors and disabled Everyone Travelers Workers Travelers, students, faculty Neighborhoods K-12 students Everyone Workers Everyone Everyone People in outlying areas Seniors and disabled Workers, everyone Everyone Everyone Everyone Neighborhoods, everyone Everyone Everyone Everyone 11-9 0106 0834 FIGURE II-4 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Alternative Ranking Criteria 1 Population served Commuters Elderly/Disabled Students Tourists Shoppers Low income 2 Trip purposes served Work School Personal business Medical/Dental Recreation 3 Projected ridership 4 Operating cost 5 Serves need not currently met 6 Efficiency and cost effectiveness 7 Comfort and Convenience II-10 0106 0835 FIGURE II-5 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Service and Policy Alternative Consolidation and Prioritization Selection Criteria service and Policy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total Alternative Regional service 3 4 3 3 2 3 3 21 Intercity service 3 4 3 3 2 3 3 21 Local feeder service 2 4 3 3 3 3 2 20 Elderly/disabled service 1 4 1 4 4 2 4 20 Rural feeder service 2 4 1 4 3 2 4 20 Connect cities to regional service 2 4 3 3 2 3 2 19 Door-to-door service 4 4 2 1 3 1 4 19 Shopping/medical service 3 2 2 3 3 3 2 18 Airport/college service 2 2 4 3 2 3 2 18 Late night service 3 3 1 2 3 2 3 17 Student services 1 2 3 3 3 2 2 16 Express service 2 1 3 1 4 1 3 15 Local loops/regional bus 2 3 2 4 2 1 1 15 Special events 2 1 2 2 3 2 3 15 Commuter service 3 1 2 1 4 1 2 14 Amtrak/Greyhound connections 1 2 1 3 2 1 3 13 Greyhound alternative 1 2 1 3 1 2 3 13 Tourist service 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 12 This list of locally desired transit services was used by the consultant team to prepare transit service options. These options serve as the basis for packaging transit services into alternative plans as described in the next chapter. II-11 0106 0836 Chapter III DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVES 0106 083'7 CHAPTER 111 DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVES Introduction The first stage of service planning resulted in a list of service options that were subsequently refined for further analysis and eventual incorporation into four alternatives. The purpose of this chapter of the transit plan is to explain how the process was conducted. The first section identifies the service options and the second section presents how those options were allocated to the three alternatives. Estimating Costs of Service Options The precise estimation of the cost of operating public transportation services depends upon a number of variables. Wage rates, work rules, materials costs, management policies and ownership arrangements all contribute to the specific cost of providing public transportation services. Surveys of systems operating in areas of similar size and characteristics to those of Deschutes County demonstrate a wide diversity of unit operating costs. Typically, the cost of providing fixed-route bus services ranges from $35 to $55 per revenue hour. The costs of providing paratransit services range from $20 to $40 per revenue hour. In the interest of ensuring that operating cost estimates quoted in this report are sufficient to cover recommended ser- vices, the consultant has maintained a conservative bias to- ward the unit operating costs used to estimate system revenue requirements. For that reason, operating costs near the top of the expected range have been applied. For fixed route ser- vices, an estimate of $50.00 per revenue hour has been assumed while an estimated $35.00 per revenue hour has been included in paratransit cost calculations. Actual operating experience may result in lower unit costs than those assumed in the preparation of the financial component of the Deschutes County Plan. However, the consult- ant feels that a conservative approach to financing the opera- tion of a new system is the preferred course and is confident that the Deschutes County Transportation District will be able to fund the operation of proposed system services within the operating budget described in this chapter. . 0106 0838 Identification of Service Options Figure III-1 lists thirty-three service options including their annual operating costs and transit vehicle requirements. Those service options that are essential for a minimum level of service in the benefit area were identified and included in all three of the alternatives subsequently defined in this chapter. All thirty-three service options are included in the Maximum Alternative. The primary purpose of the following section is to describe the content of the various service op- tions and how the Intermediate Alternative was developed to represent a level of service that would fall between the Base- line and the Maximum Alternatives. The following describes each of the categories of service options that are included in Figure III-1. City of Bend Local Service These routes serve the neighborhoods within the City of Bend. Service is initially assumed to operate between approximately 6 A.M. and 7 P.M. weekdays at a frequency of one trip per hour. These are shown in Figure III-1 as: o 3 Route C Weekdays every hour o 4 Route D Weekdays every hour City of Redmond Local service This route serves the neighborhoods around the City of Redmond. Service is ini- tially assumed to operate between approximately 6 A.M. and 7 P.M. weekdays. Trips are spaced at intervals of one hour. This is listed in Figure III-1 as: o 5 Route E Weekdays every hour Inter-community Service to Redmond, Sisters, Bend, Sun- river and Lapine This service operates in its northern sec- tor along Highway 126 between Redmond and Sisters, along High- way 20 between Sisters and Bend and along Highway 97 between Bend and La Pine, serving those communities and Tumalo and Sunriver. This service is designed to provide transportation among and between those communities. Service in the southern sector would extend as far south as La Pine and allows for some local circulation within the Sunriver development. Four daily round trips will be initially provided between the hours of 6 A.M. and 7 P.M., spaced approximately every three hours. This route is included in Figure III-1 as: o 2 Route B Weekday 4 Trips o 8 Route B Weekday 4 Add'1 Trips 111-2 010 6 0839 FIGURE 111-1 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Service Options SERVICE OPTIONS COST VEHICLES 1. Rt A Weekday 1/Hour $165,500 1 Bus 2. Rt B Weekday 4 Trips 178,200 1 Bus 3. Rt C Weekday 1/Hour 165,500 1 Bus 4. Rt D Weekday 1/Hour 172,900 1 Bus 5. Rt E Weekday 1/Hour 188,700 1 Bus 6. Rt F Weekday Variable 115,100 1 Van 7. Rt G Weekday Variable 115,100 1 Van 8. Rt B Weekday 4 Add'1 Trips 178,200 1 Bus 9. Rt A Saturday 1/Hr 34,000 10. Rt B Saturday 4 Trips 36,600 11. Rt B Saturday 4 Add'1 Trips 36,600 12. Rt C Saturday 1/Hour 34,000 13. Rt D Saturday 1/Hour 35,500 14. Rt E Saturday 1/Hour 38,800 15. Rt F Saturday Variable 23,700 16. Rt G Saturday Variable 23,700 17. Rt A Sunday/Holiday 1/Hr 39,300 18. Rt B Sunday/Holiday 4 Trips 42,300 19. Rt C Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 39,300 20. Rt D Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 41,000 21. Rt E Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 44,800 22. Rt F Sunday/Holiday Variable 27,300 23. Rt G Sunday/Holiday Variable 27,300 24. Rt A Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 25. Rt B Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 26. Rt C Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 27. Rt D Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 28. Rt E Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 29. Rt F Weekday Night Variable 17,700 30. Rt G Weekday Night Variable 17,700 31. Paratransit Commitment 243,300 3 Vans 32. Paratransit Saturday Commit 21,800 33. Paratransit Sun/Hol Commitment 51,600 111-3 0106 0840 Inter-community Service Between Bend and Redmond This service operates along U.S. Highway 97 between the cities of Redmond and Bend. It is anticipated that all trips will operate via the Redmond Airport. Initially, service would be provided at hourly intervals weekdays between the hours of 6 A.M. and 7 P.M. This route is included in Figure III-1 as: o 1 Route A Weekday 1/Hour North County Local Paratransit service This service will operate with a 12- or 15-passenger van in and around the triangle formed by the cities of Redmond, Bend and Sisters. This route is designed to operate door-to-door demand response service on an advance reservation basis between 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. weekdays. This is listed in Figure III-1 as: o 6 Route F Weekday Variable South and East County Local Paratransit Service This service will operate with 12- or 15-passenger van in the re- gion south and southeast of the City of Bend. This route, as Route F above, is designed to operate door-to-door demand re- sponse service on an advance reservation basis between 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. weekdays. Service is provided between munities via the secondary county ble, operating on Highways 20 and This is included in Figure III-1 the smaller constituent com- road system whenever possi- 97 only when necessary. as: o 7 Route G Weekday Variable Paratransit Service Commitment These services may be reserved for the disabled and/or for the elderly or they may be available to the general public. While no specific para- transit projects have been identified at this time, it is felt that a commitment equivalent to at least 10 percent of all base system service hours is desirable and necessary to assure the continued health of these services. This is included in Figure III-1 as: 0 31 Paratransit Commitment 0 32 Paratransit Saturday Commitment 0 33 Paratransit Sunday/Holiday Commitment Saturday Service While all of the service options in- cluded above contain only weekday service, a need for Saturday service exists. Therefore, an option has been identified for implementing Saturday services on most routes. 111-4 0106 0841 o 9 Route A Saturday o 10 Route B Saturday o 11 Route B Saturday o 12 Route C Saturday o 13 Route D Saturday o 14 Route E Saturday o 15 Route F Saturday o 16 Route G Saturday 1/Hour 4 Trips 4 Add'1 trips 1/Hour 1/Hour 1/Hour Variable Variable Sunday/Holiday Service A need for Sunday and Holiday service also exists. The third phase of services has been developed for implementing Sunday and Holiday Services on most routes. o 17 Route A Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour o 18 Route B Sunday/Holiday 4 Trips o 19 Route C Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour o 20 Route D Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour o 21 Route E Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour o 22 Route F Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour o 23 Route G Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour Night Service While the basic service options for most services included service only until 7:00 P.M., some level of evening and night service might be desirable. Therefore, sev- eral routes have been identified which might support some level of night and evening service, until 9:00 P.M. in the future. 0 24 Route A Weekday Night 0 25 Route B Weekday Night 0 26 Route C Weekday Night 0 27 Route D Weekday Night 0 28 Route E Weekday Night 0 29 Route F Weekday Night 0 30 Route G Weekday Night Transit Service Alternatives One of the tasks in the planning process was to determine the service options to be included in each alternative. The first step was to decide which service options should be in- cluded in both the Baseline and Maximum Service Alternatives. The next step was to make a determination of priorities among the various service options to identify which elements were included in the Intermediate Service Alternative. Three service development alternatives were identified for further study and evaluation. These three may be briefly categorized as the Baseline, Intermediate and the Maximum Ser- 111- 5 . 0106 0842 vice Alternatives. The essential ingredients of each alterna- tive are discussed below. Baseline Service Alternative The Baseline Service Al- ternative provides a foundation for transit operations of the Deschutes County Transportation District. It represents service which is fundamental to the support of public transportation services in the service area. The Baseline provides for weekday bus service between Bend and Redmond; and between Redmond and La Pine, connecting the communities of Redmond, Sisters, Bend, Sunriver and La Pine. This service is supplemented by additional van services throughout the county. The Baseline also includes local bus service within the cities of Bend and Redmond during the same time periods. Ser- vice on all Baseline routes would run between approximately 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. A commitment for additional paratran- sit service in the amount of $243,300 is also included in the Baseline. Maximum Service Alternative The Maximum Service Alter- native includes the elements of the Baseline, supplemented by an array of additional services. In this alternative, all Baseline services are further extended to operate on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. In addition, weeknight service until at least 9 P.M. is included for most services. The Maximum also allows for increased frequency of ser- vice on some of the Baseline routes to improve the functional integrity of the system and to improve the ease and reli- ability of passenger transfers between system services. Intermediate Service Alternative The service level in the Intermediate Service Alternative lies between the extremes of the Baseline and the Maximum. A priority setting exercise similar to the one described in Chapter II was used to identify the relative ranking of the following categories of service improvements: 1. Extension of Service to Sundays and Holidays 2. Extension of Service to later at night 3. Extension of Service to Saturdays The results of the process are included in Figure III-3A and Figure III-3B. 111 -6 0106 6843 FIGURE III-2 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Service Category Scoring selection criterion 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TOTAL Saturday service 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 19 Sunday service 2 3 2 1 3 2 2 15 Weeknight service 2 2 1 3 3 3 2 16 Based upon the results of the prioritization process, it was determined to include the Saturday service alternatives in the Intermediate alternative and include weeknight and Sun- day/Holiday service only in the Maximum Alternative. The three alternatives, and their included service options are summarized in Figure III-4. The conclusion of this process of developing a progres- sive set of alternatives resulted in the allocation of service resources to each of the three alternatives as described in Figure III-5. The amount of service that was finally included in the Intermediate Alternative represented a nineteen percent cost increase over the Baseline. Figures III-6 shows the relative difference in service levels among the three alternatives in terms of annual hours of transit vehicle operation. The Baseline includes 47,100 hours of service. This level of service is in- creased to 72,700 hours in the Intermediate Alternative and 99,300 in the Maximum Service Alternative. Fourteen transit vehicles are required to support the Baseline Alternative. This includes eight buses and six vans. The Maximum Service Alternative requires a fleet of fifteen transit vehicles composed of nine buses and six vans. These vehicles represent the increased vehicle requirements over existing paratransit vehicles currently in use. A por- tion of existing paratransit services to the elderly and dis- abled are currently provided to public agencies by private en- tities, and many existing agencies use their own vehicles for client transportation. It is assumed, at least in the short run, that such contractual arrangements will continue. 111-7 0100 0844 FIGURE III-3A DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Baseline and Intermediate Service Options SERVICE OPTIONS BASELINE ALTERNATIVE COST VEHICLES 1. Rt A Weekday 1/Hour $165,500 1 Bus 2. Rt B Weekday 4 Trips 178,200 1 Bus 3. Rt C Weekday 1/Hour 165,500 1 Bus 4. Rt D Weekday 1/Hour 172,900 1 Bus 5. Rt E Weekday 1/Hour 188,700 1 Bus 6. Rt F Weekday Variable 115,100 1 Van 7. Rt G Weekday Variable 115,100 1 Van 31. Paratransit Commitment 243,300 3 Vans 10% Contingency/Discreti onary 134,400 3 Buses, 1 Van TOTAL BASELINE ALTERNATIVE $ 1,478,700 8 buses 6 vans INTERMEDIATE ALTERNATIVE ADDS: 9. Rt A Saturday 1/Hr 34,000 10. Rt B Saturday 4 Trips 36,600 12. Rt C Saturday 1/Hour 34,000 13. Rt D Saturday 1/Hour 35,500 14. Rt E Saturday 1/Hour 38,800 15. Rt F Saturday Variable 23,700 16. Rt G Saturday Variable 23,700 32. Paratransit Saturday Commit 21,800 8% Contingency/Discretionary 19,800 TOTAL INTERMEDIATE $ 1,746,400 8 Buses 6 Vans (INCLUDES BASELINE) Most of the service provided in each of the three alter- natives can be classified into the following categories: in- ter-community, local and other. The other category contains a variety of paratransit, potential commuter, demand-responsive service, contingency, discretionary and recreational service options. III-8 FIGURE 111-313 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Maximum Service Options 0106 0845 SERVICE OPTIONS COST VEHICLES MAXIMUM ALTERNATIVE ALSO ADDS: 8. Rt B Weekday 4 Add'1 Trips 178,200 1 Bus 11. Rt B Saturday 4 Add'1 Trips 36,600 17. Rt A Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 39,300 18. Rt B Sunday/Holiday 4 trips 42,300 19. Rt C Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 39,300 20. Rt D Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 41,000 21. Rt E Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 44,800 22. Rt F Sunday/Holiday Variable 27,300 23. Rt G Sunday/Holiday Variable 27,300 24. Rt A. Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 25. Rt B Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 26. Rt C Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 27. Rt D Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 28. Rt E Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 29 Rt F Weekday Night Variable 17,700 30 Rt G Weekday Night Variable 17,700 33. Paratransit Commitment 51,600 Contingency/Discretionary 33,800 TOTAL MAXIMUM ALTERNATIVE $ 2,457,300 9 Buses 6 Vans (INCLUDES BASELINE AND INTERMEDIATE) The Baseline Alternative has over thirty-five percent of its annual operating budget dedicated to local service. This is followed by more than twenty percent of the operating bud- get dedicated to the regional bus operations. Although the other two alternatives allocate a progressively larger portion of their overall operating budget to these two categories of service, the overall commitment to paratransit and demand-re- sponse services is also increased in absolute terms. Further analysis of the three alternatives is contained in the follow- ing chapter which addresses the evaluation of the alterna- tives. 111-9 0105 0846 FIGURE 111-4 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Analysis of Service Concepts SERVICE CONCEPT BASELINE INTERMEDIATE MAXIMUM Sunday/Holiday Service None None All Routes Night Service None None All Routes Saturday Service None All All Routes Routes Service Improvements None Discretionary Route A 111-10 0105 084'7 FIGURE III-5 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Allocation of Service Resources to Alternatives SERVICE OPTIONS BASELINE INTERMEDIATE MAXIMUM 1. Rt A Weekday 1/Hour X X X 2. Rt B Weekday 4 Trips X X X 3. Rt C Weekday 1/Hour X X X 4. Rt D Weekday 1/Hour X X X 5. Rt E Weekday 1/Hour X X X 6. Rt F Weekday Variable x X X 7. Rt G Weekday Variable X X X 8. Rt B Weekday 8 Trips x 9. Rt A Saturday 1/Hr x X 10. Rt B Saturday 4 Trips X X 11. Rt B Saturday 4 Add'1 Trips x 12. Rt C Saturday 1/Hour X X 13. Rt D Saturday 1/Hour x X 14. Rt E Saturday 1/Hour X X 15. Rt F Saturday 1/Hour X X 16. Rt G Saturday 1/Hour X X 17. Rt A Sun/Hol 1/Hour x 18. Rt B Sun/Hol 4 Trips x 19. Rt C Sun/Hol 1/Hour X 20. Rt D Sun/Hol 1/Hour x 21. Rt E Sun/Hol 1/Hour x 22. Rt F Sun/Hol Variable X 23. Rt G Sun/Hol Variable X 24. Rt A Weeknight 1 Trip x 25. Rt B Weeknight 1 Trip x 26. Rt C Weeknight 1 Trip X 27. Rt D Weeknight 1 Trip x 28. Rt E Weeknight 1 Trip x 29. Rt F Weeknight Variable x 30. Rt G Weeknight Variable x 31. Paratransit Commitment A X X X 32. Paratransit Commitment B X X 33. Paratransit Commitment C X 111-11 010 6 0848 FIGURE III-6 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Annual Hours of Service By Alternative Recommended Plan REVENUE HOURS (Thousands) 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Westin Consulting Services December, 1990 111 -12 BASELINE INTERMEDIATE MAXIMUM 0106 0849 Chapter IV EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES 0106 0850 CHAPTER IV EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to describe the process used to evaluate the Baseline, Intermediate and Maximum Alter- natives. Several procedures were used. one was based upon the technical information developed for each alternative. This information was compared to expected performance in terms of evaluation criteria and measures. The second procedure involved relative success in achieving the by the consultant and the DCCTD at ning process. scoring each alternative's seven attributes identified the beginning of the plan- Technical Evaluation criteria were developed to evaluate the alternatives. The evaluation criteria that evolved as a result of the review process are included in Figure IV-1. Five major categories were identified: cost, productivity, markets served, service characteristics and system quality and integrity. Each of these evaluation criterion has certain sub-components and mea- sures that score the success of each alternative using rela- tive quantitative or qualitative factors. The range of ratings for each evaluation criterion are shown in Figure IV-1. Each alternative is evaluated according to the criteria listed in the first column and given a ranking corresponding to one of the potential scores shown in the sec- ond column. Perhaps the most important consideration in evaluating the alternatives is cost. Figures IV-2, 3 and 4 list the op- erating costs and vehicle requirements for each alternative. A larger contingency percentage was assumed for the Baseline than the other two alternatives due to the difficulty in pre- dicting unanticipated operational costs of a totally new set of services. This contingency percentage has been reduced in- crementally for each of the other two alternatives due to the fact that they are designed to be implemented in phases and experience should require less of a provision for unantici- pated costs. It is anticipated that the contingency amount might also be used as'discretionary funding. 0106 0851 FIGURE IV-1 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Evaluation Criteria and Potential Ratings EVALUATION CRITERIA RATINGS COST Total Operating Cost High/ Cost Efficiency Medium/ Cost Effectiveness Low Capital Costs PRODUCTIVITY Passenger/Mile High/ Passengers/Trip Medium/ Passengers/Hour Low MARKETS SERVED Commuters Convenient/ Elderly Adequate/ Disabled Limited Youth/Student Low Income Tourist Special Events Shoppers SERVICE CHARACTERISTICS Accessibility Convenient/ Span Adequate/ Frequency Limited Connectivity Directness Clarity/Simplicity System Coverage SYSTEM QUALITY AND INTEGRITY Support of Other Services Critical/ Systems Integration Desirable IV-2 0106 0852 Each of the individual service options included in the Baseline Service Alternative typically requires one transit vehicle and most are very similar in operating cost re- quirements. The paratransit commitment includes the pro- vision for acquiring three vans and the contingency line item identifies three buses and one additional van that would be used in anticipation of future service expansion and as spares. The cost requirements for the Intermediate Service Alternative are included in Figure IV-3. The total incre- mental additional annual operating cost for the Intermedi- ate Alternative is a relatively modest $268,000. When added to the Baseline operating cost the total for this al- ternative is $1,746,700 as shown in Figure IV-3. The total FIGURE IV-2 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Baseline Service Options SERVICE OPTIONS COST VEHICLES 1. Rt A Weekday 1/Hour $165,500 1 Bus 2. Rt B Weekday 4 Trips 178,200 1 Bus 3. Rt C Weekday 1/Hour 165,500 1 Bus 4. Rt D Weekday 1/Hour 172,900 1 Bus 5. Rt E Weekday 1/Hour 188,700 1 Bus 6. Rt F Weekday Variable 115,100 1 Van 7. Rt G Weekday Variable 115,100 1 Van 31. Paratransit Commitment 243,300 3 Vans Contingency/Discretionary 134,400 3 Buses 1 Van BASELINE TOTALS $ 1,478,700 8 Buses 6 Vans fleet requirement includes no additional buses or vans since the intermediate alternative services can use existing weekday vehicles for the inaugurated Saturday services. Figure IV-4 lists the costs for the Maximum Service Al- ternative. Of the $710,600 incremental additional costs for IV-3 01®6 0853 this alternative, nearly $180,000 frequencies on Route B weekdays. responsible for the additional bus native operations. is for expanding service This particular item is also required by Maximum Alter- The next largest component of annual operating cost in- creases occurs in the Intermediate Alternative and involves Saturday service on all local routes: Item 12 - Route C, Item 13 - Route D and Item 14 - Route E. The next major component inaugurates Saturday service on the two regional bus routes: the service between Bend and Redmond, Item 9 - Route A, and the service between Redmond, Sisters, Bend and La Pine, Item 10 - Route B. None of these routes requires the acquisition of an additional bus. The expanded area van and paratransit services likewise require no additional vehicles under the In- termediate Alternative. FIGURE IV-3 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Intermediate Service Options SERVICE OPTIONS 9 Rt A Saturday 1/Hr 10. Rt B Saturday 4 Trips 12. Rt C Saturday 1/Hour 13. Rt D Saturday 1/Hour 14. Rt E Saturday 1/Hour 15. Rt F Saturday Variable 16. Rt G Saturday Variable 32. Paratransit Saturday Commit 8% Contingency/Discretionary TOTAL INTERMEDIATE TOTAL INTERMEDIATE INCLUDING BASELINE COST 34,000 36,600 34,000 35,600 38,800 23,700 23,700 21,800 19,800 $ 268,000 $ 1,746,700 VEHICLES 0 Vehicles 8 Buses 6 Vans Each of the three alternatives was scored progressively higher in the technical evaluation of the alternatives under the cost category. The Baseline was given a "low" score, the Intermediate Alternative a "medium" score and the Maximum Al- IV-4 0100 0854 ternative a "high" score as shown in Figure IV-5. This is offset when the productivity of each alternative is taken into consideration. The Baseline was scored "high," the Intermedi- ate Alternative "medium," and the Maximum scored "low," reflecting the lower anticipated ridership in the Saturday, Sunday and Night alternatives respectively. Transit Service Alternative Operating Costs The technical evaluation also rated each alternative based upon how well it served a variety of markets. These markets included commuters, elderly, disabled, youth/student, low income, tourist, special events and shoppers. Each alter- native was judged to be either convenient, adequate or lim- ited. Although the Baseline Service Alternative is expected to provide excellent service to the elderly and disabled due to the high priority commitment of providing increased transit service to this constituency, other markets will receive lim- ited service. The additional service included in the Interme- diate and Maximum Service Alternatives provides incrementally greater service to the traditional transit markets. There- fore, these alternatives are scored progressively higher by being given "adequate" and "convenient" ratings. The fourth evaluation category involves service charac- teristics including accessibility, span of service, frequency of service, connectivity, directness, clarity/simplicity and system coverage. Since the Baseline Service Alternative has a limited span of service, frequency and accessibility, it was scored as being "limited." Likewise, since both the Interme- diate and Maximum Service Alternatives had incrementally greater span of service, frequency and accessibility, they were given the increasingly higher rating of "adequate" and "convenient." The last category addresses system quality and integrity as measured by both the support to other public services and the integration of the overall transit system with the commu- nities it is designed to serve. All of the three alternatives were judged to be critical but for different reasons. The Baseline Service Alternative is identified as being critical because it provides basic transit services where none exist today. The Intermediate and Maximum Service Alternatives were judged critical because they add an essential set of service improvements that enhance the quality and integrity of the system. IV-5 0106 0855 FIGURE IVA DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Maximum Service Options SERVICE OPTIONS COST VEHICLES 8. Rt B Weekday 4 Add'1 Trips 178,200 1 Bus 11. Rt B Saturday 4 Add'1 Trips 36,600 17. Rt A Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 39,300 18. Rt B Sunday/Holiday 4 trips 42,300 19. Rt C Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 39,300 20. Rt D Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 41,000 21. Rt E Sunday/Holiday 1/Hour 44,800 22. Rt F Sunday/Holiday Variable 27,300 23. Rt G Sunday/Holiday Variable 27,300 24. Rt A Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 25. Rt B Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 26. Rt C Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 27. Rt D Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 28. Rt E Weekday Night 1 Trip 25,300 29 Rt F Weekday Night Variable 17,700 30 Rt G Weekday Night Variable 17,700 33. Paratransit Commitment 51,600 5% Contingency/Discretionary. 33,800 TOTAL MAXIMUM $ 710,600 1 Bus TOTAL MAXIMUM INCLUDING BASELINE AND INTERMEDIATE $2,457,300 9 Buses 6 Vans IV-6 0106 0856 FIGURE IV-5 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Technical Evaluation Summary CRITERIA BASELINE INTERMEDIATE MAXIMUM Cost Low Medium High Productivity High Medium Low Markets Served Limited Adequate Convenient Service Characteristics Limited Adequate Convenient System Quality and Integrity Critical Critical IV-7 Olds 0857 Chapter V POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 0106 0858 CHAPTER V POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction The primary purpose of this chapter is to outline the fi- nancial assumptions and program that support the policy recom- mendations of the transit plan. The policy recommendations are primarily founded upon the on-site evaluations and inter- actions with the DCCTD Board and Deschutes County Citizens that has taken place over the past six months during the tran- sit planning process. The consultant team has participated in several meetings with the DCCTD Board, ODOT, and local public agency staff and officials throughout the proposed transit service area. Dur- ing this process, it became very clear that the citizens of the region need and want high quality transit service. In summary, the following section outlines the basis for initiating transit service within the Deschutes County Trans- portation District. A 0.65 mil real property tax, or combina- tion of taxes generating a similar revenue base, would support the implementation of all components of the Baseline Service Alternative as shown in Figure V-1 by late in 1995. All com- ponents of the intermediate Service Alternative would be im- plemented by 1997 and the weeknight component of the Maximum Service Alternative by the end of 1998. Implementation Approach A series of assumptions concerning service implementation have been incorporated into the financial analysis. In addi- tion, certain assumptions concerning the nature of the Trans- portation District organization and management structure are also implicit in the development of this analysis. A number of assumptions have been made concerning the re- lationship between the elements of the Baseline, Intermediate and Maximum Alternatives. It has been assumed that all Base- line Alternative service elements are to be implemented before any of the Intermediate Alternative elements are implemented; and similarly, that all Intermediate Alternative elements pre- cede the implementation of any Maximum Alternative elements. See Figure V-6 for the assumed implementation schedule implicit in the financial analysis. 0106 0859 FIGURE V-1A DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Sisters Baseline Service Alternative Regional Service S1 Redmond DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Baseline Service Alternative Local Service dmond Weslin Consulting Services V-2 FIGURE V-1 B . 0106 0860 Further assumptions were made concerning the scheduled implementation of elements within each of the alternatives. It has been assumed that service additions are made semi- annually, on April 1 and September 1 of each year, 1993 through 2000. The capital program provides for the purchase of all buses by 1997, while a replacement program for existing elderly/disabled vans runs through 1999. These are assumed to be new, "off-the-shelf" vehicles. The depreciated life of buses is approximately 12 years, although their useful life can be substantially longer. Vans and sedans are depreciated over a 5-year life. For the entire study period, an allowance for the replacement of aging coaches and vans has been in- cluded in the depreciation account of the operating cost schedule. Additional capital for service vehicles should be necessary only for the purpose of expanding the fleet after the year 2000. The capital program also includes the cost of leasing temporary administration and maintenance facilities in 1993 and 1994, the construction of a combined administration/ maintenance facility in 1995 and miscellaneous capital pro- jects such as shelters during the following period. Rather than attempting to develop costs for specific cap- ital projects, the methodology has been to allocate sufficient funds for the construction of critical facilities (maintenance headquarters) and for the development of capital support fa- cilities (shelters, etc.) during the remainder of the decade. The precise scope of the capital program will be determined by available funds. Funding Analysis Public transit systems in Oregon obtain operating rev- enues from several sources: local taxes, Cigarette Tax, fed- eral grants, fares and miscellaneous sources. Several al- ternatives are available for the first source, local taxes. These alternatives include a sales tax, motor fuels tax, prop- erty tax and utility taxes. The property tax would range from $0.60 to $0.65 per $1,000 of assessed value, depending upon the level of service to be operated, with the lower tax rate funding only Baseline Alternative services. V-3 0106 0861 A local-option motor fuels tax is currently allowed by Oregon State law and is typically levied against sales of non- exempt motor fuels within the proposed benefit area. Current- ly, all such fuel tax collections must be allocated to road and highway projects. However, in many states, this strict use requirement has been modified in favor of public transpor- tation projects. Should this policy be changed by the state legislature, a local-option motor fuels tax could provide a source of funds to soften the property tax burden of District operations. A more thorough discussion of funding alterna- tives is included in the Technical Appendix. While the financial plan assumes local taxes to consist entirely of ad valorem property taxes, a lower rate could be assessed along with the imposition of a motor fuels or other local tax to augment the reduced property tax revenues. The financial analysis has assumed voter approval of the levy of a property tax base of 0.65 mils. The actual levy of the additional property tax has been assumed to commence on November 1, 1992, with first collections coming to the Dis- trict in January, 1993. The Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) ad- ministers federal funds designated for the preservation, im- provement, and expansion of transit systems. These monies may be used for administration, operations, maintenance, and capi- tal projects. The majority of federal funds available are designated for use by large urbanized areas, with the re- mainder being disbursed to small urban and rural areas. The only existing program of federal supplemental funding for which the Deschutes County Transportation District would be eligible is UMTA Section 18 funds. These funds are admini- stered by the Oregon State Department of Transportation and are allocated to all eligible counties or transportation dist- ricts in the state on the basis of population as part of the Special Transportation Fund. Currently, such funds allocated to Deschutes County total just over $ 80,000 per year. For the purposes of this financial plan, it is assumed that the proposed transportation district will be eligible for the entire allocation, and further that the available fund dis- bursements will grow at a rate of only 3% per year. Miscellaneous revenues are received as a result of adver- tising, charter and interest income. The Transportation Dist- rict Board will develop policy concerning advertising on tran- sit vehicles. Such advertising could conceivably bring in an additional $30,000 in revenues to the District. For the pur- poses of this analysis, no advertising revenue will be as- sumed. In addition, federal regulations constrain the ability V-4 0106 0862 of a public agency to engage in contract services. Therefore, miscellaneous revenue has been assumed to consist primarily of interest income. Passenger Fares The question of fare policy can be one of the most diffi- cult for a new Transportation District to resolve. Many ex- isting systems appear to be leaning in the direction of abol- ishing user fares altogether. Support for this policy is war- ranted for a number of reasons: o The District may avoid a substantial capital ex- penditure by bypassing the requirement to install modern fareboxes, each costing between $2,500 and $6,000, depending upon features and durability, in its coaches. Other avoidable costs associated with fare collection include construction and maintenance of a vault room, purchase of a coin counting mach- ine, implementing and maintaining additional ac- counting functions and provision of armored truck service and other security measures. o In many jurisdictions, particularly in smaller sys- tems, experience suggests that the cost of collect- ing fares may often equal or exceed the revenue col- lected. o Drivers can concentrate upon providing superior ser- vice to their passengers without the burden of "policing" fare payment; thereby creating opportu- nities for more friendly, courteous and pleasant in- teractions between the drivers and passengers. o Transfers need not be printed, distributed, punched, handed out, collected nor monitored and transfer policies need not be developed or enforced, thereby reducing printing and distribution costs and promot- ing a more friendly, less bureaucratic image of the District and its services among its riders and the general public. o The fare-free transit concept is highly supportive of the desire to promote the entire service area as an interconnected, tourist-oriented area. Conversely, the disadvantages of fare-free systems in- clude the following: o The perception that those who do not ride transit, V-5 0106 0863 and who feel that they do not benefit by its opera- tion, are paying a disproportionate share of operat- ing costs o The loss to the system of the revenue, however small, which would be generated by farebox collec- tions. o The perception by many that "undesirable elements" may be encouraged to abuse the system. o The feeling that the public would not support a system which was not, in some way, "paying its own bills." For the purposes of the financial analysis, it will be assumed that a passenger fare will be collected, and further that the average fare collected will be approximately $0.30 per passenger. Based upon the operating experience of other systems of similar size to the proposed Deschutes County sys- tem, fare revenue in 1990 would be expected to total approxi- mately $3.25 per revenue hour of service. This amount will be inflated at an annual rate of four percent for the purpose of forecasting passenger revenues for the remainder of the plan- ning period. Special Transportation Services It is estimated that upon implementation of public trans- portation services by the Deschutes County Transportation Dis- trict, as much as $150,000 of existing funding for special transportation for the elderly and disabled may be lost to existing providers. It has, therefore, been assumed that the initial $150,000 of paratransit service offered by the Dist- rict will be to replace current senior/disabled transportation services funding, and that the remainder will provide addi- tional services. It has also been assumed that the full financial respon- sibility for providing all senior/disabled transportation ser- vices will eventually be assumed by the District. Consequent- ly, the cost of supporting this operation indefinitely into the future has been taken into account. The cost of maintain- ing the current level of elderly/disabled services will esca- late by at least 10% per year for the first five years of operation due to pressures on wage scales and increased admin- istrative overhead. Furthermore, the desire to set a strong commitment to service this market will require additional fu- ture funding. These extra expenses will come out of the con- tingency fund account. V-6 ®106 0864 However, for the sake of clarity, only those additional costs and revenues, over and above those now experienced by existing paratransit service providers with the exception of the aforementioned $150,000 funding replacement, are included in the financial plan. At such time as the Transportation District assumes full operating responsibility for all exist- ing elderly and disabled services, a more detailed financial analysis of economic impacts will need to be undertaken. Additional Operational Considerations The financial program assumes the purchase of "off-the- shelf" vehicles and the costs associated with their purchase and maintenance reflect this policy. However, conditions in Deschutes County present unique opportunities to provide ad- ditional services to the resident and tourist populations alike. Some of those opportunities may require the modifi- cation of vehicle specifications which may slightly increase the associated costs of ownership and operation. Because of the large influx of tourists into the area, a number of strategies to tap this market could be employed. Many opportunities for bicycle travel exist for tourists and residents alike. Many systems have had success with the in- clusion of bicycle racks on buses to transport riders to loca- tions where bicycle travel is more enjoyable and safe. Lug- gage-handling capacity could be provided on coaches operating between resort areas and the airport or other intra-state or interstate transportation terminals. Some systems have even provided racks on their vehicles to carry skis and provide transportation to ski areas during the winter season. While specific provision for these additional amenities is not included in the financial plan, the cost of providing them is not great and can be accommodated if the desire exists to do so. The consultant strongly urges the Transportation District management to consider these options at the time spe- cific service decisions are made. Financial Program The financial program places excess revenues for any given year in an interest-bearing reserve fund, from which any short-term shortfall of revenues may also be drawn. The rate of interest earned from this reserve has been assumed to be 7.5%. The reserve fund starts with a zero balance on January 1, 1993. It is to be used in the event inflation rates con- tained in the financial analysis may be exceeded or other events may warrant the need to withdraw from the reserve. V-7 0106 0865 Rates of inflation have been assumed to be 4% per year for tax revenues, 5% per year for operating costs and 6% per year for capital costs. Based upon the assumptions described above and upon anal- ysis of operating costs, capital costs and anticipated reven- ue, a preliminary financial program has been developed that can be used to guide the development of the Deschutes County Transportation District through its formative period. Figure V-2 identifies the projected revenues and expenditures for the District during the first eight years in two year increments assuming a 0.65 mil property tax or other comparable revenue source. The expenditures assume that portions of the Baseline Service Alternative are initiated by September of 1993, and that the entire Baseline Service Alternative is essentially in operation by the end of 1995. Implementation of the Intermed- iate Service Alternative begins in early 1996 and implementa- tion of the Maximum Service Alternative begins by 1999. This preliminary financial program does not provide sufficient rev- enue to support the full implementation of all the services identified in the Maximum Service Alternative. Without addi- tional revenue sources, the Sunday and holiday services and the frequency improvements to route B cannot be implemented during the time horizon of this analysis. For the purposes of this analysis, Sunday service was as- sumed to have lowest priority. Even with the exclusion of Sunday services, the cash reserves are maintained at a minimum level in this preliminary analysis. Typically, citizens indi- cate that Sunday service is of less importance than other cat- egories of service. There is a certain degree of overhead re- quired to implement Sunday service, including maintaining maintenance and service facilities and providing supervisory personnel and dispatch services. It is more cost-effective to eliminate all Sunday service rather than maintain this over- head for a reduced service and still be forced to eliminate other classes of service as well. The financial program contained in Figure V-2 shows that by the end of the eight year period operating revenues and expenditures are essentially in balance. This is primarily due to the fact that major capital outlays required in the earlier years have been completed. This analysis demonstrates that the vast majority of those investments and services de- sired by the community are affordable within a property tax proposition of 0.65 mils or its equivalent. If additional services or implementation of services at earlier points in time are desired, additional revenue will be required. V-8 FIGURE V-2 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Financial Program (Including Interest Income and .6.5 Mil Property Tax) (Amounts in $000s) 1993- 1995- 1997- 1994 1996 1998 REVENUES 0106 0866 1999- 2000 Local funding $ 4,539 $ 4,909 $ 5,309 $ 5,744 Fares 54 130 176 210 Other 279 2,165 299 346 Totals 4,872 7,204 5,784 6,300 EXPENDITURES Operations 1,441 3,908 4,985 5,925 Capital 2,662 3,649 494 194 Totals 4,103 7,557 5,479 6,119 CASH FLOW Year-End Surplus 769 -353 305 181 Previous Reserve 0 769 416 721 Accumulated Surplus 769 416 721 902 Transit System Management Management approaches follow two major themes, then fall into many variations. The first approach is the direct man- agement of the bus system using staff hired by the Board. The second approach is to hire a contract management firm to oper- ate the system. This contracting approach can range from the provision of a single manager to the assumption of the total operation of the system including provision of buses, maint- enance, accounting and all other functions necessary to pro- vide transit services. The ultimate decision is one that is governed primarily by local preference. It is also influenced by the scale of the operation, the resources available and the degree of control desired by the Policy Board. V-9 0106 0867 The primary element of the direct staffing alternative from the viewpoint of the Policy Board is the General Manager. Significant consideration should be given to the qualifica- tions and responsibilities for this position. Like any Board of Directors, the Transit Board retains the responsibility for establishing its mission statement, goals, objectives, poli- cies and performance standards. It is the responsibility of the General Manager to identify the staffing necessary to achieve the direction identified by the Board of Directors. The General Manager assures that transit operations function properly on a day-to-day basis in conformance with all of the expectations established by the Board. The General Manager's performance is directly related to the degree of success in achieving this primary responsibility. The General Manager and staff should have a free hand in operating the system. The Board's function is overall guid- ance, not supervision of operations or matters of detail. This approach depends upon having selected a highly qualified individual to operate the system. However, good transit man- agement talent is hard to find. It may be necessary to offer a level of compensation that is higher than other management positions in existing governmental agencies in the area. Cau- tion should be exercised when considering managerial experi- ence in fields other than transit; especially, for a new tran- sit system. Transit management for a new system can become extraordi- narily complicated and demanding. Public funding support will be required from a variety of sources with numerous rules, regulations and requirements affecting the provisions for ser- vice delivery, purchasing, equipment specifications, personnel hiring and other administrative functions. The demands on a General Manager for a small system are compounded by the fact that a large management support team would not be available. The manager would have to know how to run the entire opera- tion. Consequently, the General Manager for a new system will have to be one who has significant breadth and depth of expe- rience in the transit industry. As the system matures and op- erating procedures are established and clearly understood, a transit manager with more specialized talent and direct local community experience could inherit the position after the sys- tem has been in operation for several years. one possibility is to select the first General Manager on a contract basis. This individual would be retained for a specified length of time, such as up to two years, and would be offered compensation for salary, relocation and some living expenses. It would be made clear by the advertisement for this position that it is not a career opportunity. No bene- fits would be offered such as retirement and pension. The V-10 0106 0858 contract would specify the terms and conditions for the ser- vice to be provided. These would be developed by a selection committee appointed by the District Board. A major task of this committee would be to list the tasks they want performed and the basis for identifying the best candidate to achieve those tasks. The District Board should look for a transit manager with obvious hands-on experience. Ideally, he or she would be capable of driving a bus, would have some mechanical knowl- edge, would understand accounting principles and practices, would understand funding grant regulations, would have been involved in labor negotiations and would have held a variety of positions within transit organizations other than General Manager. This individual should be able to work beside the employees of the District at any given moment. The manager of a small operation will often be called upon to "pinch-hit" when a staffing absence or vacancy exists. As the experience of the organization grows, there will be less of a need for this type of manager. Under the contract management alternative, the District would contract with a firm for a specific time period to pro- vide an explicitly defined service and to manage operations. Typically, the term of the contract is for up to three years and the assets used to provide service are owned by the Dis- trict. If the assets are to be provided by the contract man- agement firm, a longer contract term should be provided. In either case, the management firm is paid a flat fee for ser- vices rendered. The primary advantage of hiring a contract management firm is the assurance of having experienced management. The contract would guarantee the availability of skilled, profes- sional transit managers who are supported by a central staff in another location that offer support in areas such as labor negotiations and maintenance. This alternative is often preferred where the governing body is interested in having a lower degree of control over the overall provision of transit services to the community. The contract management firm is in business for profit and consequently represents a more costly alternative. The addi- tional cost is theoretically offset by the provision of a package of management capabilities that are far better than those which could be effectively provided by purely local staff and resources. A report prepared by James Perry, "Organizational Form and Transit Performance: A Research Review and Empirical Analysis" prepared for the Urban Mass Transportation Adminis- V-11 0106 0869 tration found that the relative performance for transit prop- erties using contract management firms was no better than for transit properties that did not use such services. The only incentive to a management firm to perform efficiently is the potential loss of the contract at the end of the term. To provide additional incentives, clauses may be added to the contract to offer incentive-based compensation relating to performance. However, this has not been a widely accepted practice in the industry. A wide variety of contract management arrangements exist. These range from having a contract management firm on retainer to provide assistance in a specific area such as labor negoti- ations to having the contract management firm provide a com- plete package including the transit vehicles, maintenance fa- cility, operating personnel and all other functions necessary to operate a complete transit system. The recommended course of action for the Deschutes County Transportation District is to eventually employ a permanent general manager and staff. However, during the first several years of operation, it may be more prudent to utilize either a contract management firm, contract personnel, consultants on retainer, or some mix of highly-skilled, seasoned transit vet- erans who are not interested in being the career oriented gen- eral manager. A new system start-up requires an extensive ar- ray and depth of capabilities that are not as necessary after the system becomes operational. Although these talents are critical during the first several years, they may be an unnec- essary financial burden to the overhead of the new agency once the transit system is operational. FIGURE V-3 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Annual Operating Cost By Alternative recommended Plan ANNUAL COST (Millions) $1.4 $1.2 $1.0 $0.8 $0.6 $0.4 $0.2 $0.0 BASELINE INTERMEDIATE MAXIMUM Weslin Consulting Services V-12 December. 1990 010 6 08 70 FIGURE V-4 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Annual Operating Cost By Service Class Recommended Plan ANNUAL OPERATING COST (Thousands) $800 $600 $400 $200 $0 Weslin Consulting Services February, 1991 V-13 REGIONAL LOCAL RURAL PARATRANSIT 0106 08'72 FIGURE V-6 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Implementation Schedule Recommended Plan REVENUE ANNUAL MONTH/YEAR ITEM ROUTE DAYS HOURS COST SEP. 1993 1 A Weekday 3,310 $ 165,500 2 B Weekday 3,563 178,200 APR. 1994 3 C Weekday 3,310 165,500 4 D Weekday 3,458 172,900 SEP. 1994 5 E Weekday 3,774 188,700 APR. 1995 6 F Weekday 3,289 115,100 SEP. 1995 7 G Weekday 3,289 115,000 APR. 1996 9 A Saturday 680 34,000 10 B Saturday 732 36,600 15 F Saturday 676 23,700 16 G Saturday 676 23,700 SEP. 1996 12 C Saturday 680 34,000 13 D Saturday 711 35,500 14 E Saturday 776 38,800 APR. 1999 24 A Weeknight 506 25,300 25 B Weeknight 506 25,300 26 C Weeknight 506 25,300 27 D Weeknight 506 25,300 28 E Weeknight 506 25,300 29 F Weeknight 506 17,700 30 G Weeknight 506 17,700 V-15 w FIGURE V-7 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Revenues and Expenses 1993-2000 Recommended Plan (Millions) $6 $5- $4- $3- $2- $1 $0 0106 08'73 ,\\\U 93 94 95 96 97 98 YEAR REVENUES ® EXPENDITURES Weslin Consulting Services February, 1991 99 00 V-16 r e FIGURE V-8 DESCHUTES COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN Service Hours 1993-2000 Recommended Plan REVENUE HOURS (Thousands) 50 40 30 20 10 0 Westin Consulting Services February, 1991 0106 0874 V-17 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 YEAR