Region 11: 2024 Meeting Minutes (8/21)

  

HSTP Region 11

Meeting Minutes

August 21^st

Ron Gorst	Shawnee Mass Transit District – Vienna
Jimmy Leadingham	Jackson Co. Mass Transit (Jax Mass Transit) - Carbondale
Shawn Freeman	Jackson Co. Mass Transit (Jax Mass Transit) - Carbondale
Gina McCoin	Rides Mass Transit – Harrisburg
Erin Bryant	Five Star Industries – DuQuoin
Brianna Gilson	Caritas Family Solutions – Belleville
Elizabeth Daniels	Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Southern Illinois – Belleville
Jill Buford	Caritas Family Solutions – Belleville
Janee Baldwin	Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Southern Illinois – Belleville
Rob Wilson	ATS – East St. Louis
Sherri Bassen	South Central Transit – Centralia
Randy Goldsmith	Human Support Services – Waterloo
Rachel Newsom	Illinois Center for Autism – Fairview Heights
Jesica Gentry-Schlimme	Monroe-Randolph Transit District – Sparta
Andrea Stephens	AgeSmart – Swansea
Mark Beare	Monroe-Randolph Transit District – Sparta
Perry Cox	IDOT – Springfield
Mark Bollman	ComWell – Red Bud
Tunezia Badger	Spero Family Services – Mt. Vernon
Riley Anderson	Assistant Human Service Transportation Coordinator – Salem
Terri Finn	Human Service Transportation Coordinator – Salem

Call to Order: The quarterly HSTP meeting was called to order by Chairperson, Jimmy Leadingham, at 10:59 a.m.

Introductions: All attendees introduced themselves and their agencies.

Approval of May 2024 Meeting Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were reviewed. No additions or corrections. Motion to approve by Robert Wilson, seconded by Ron Gorst.

Guest Speaker: Rachel Newsome from Illinois Center for Autism was the Guest Speaker. She has been with the agency for 17 years. ICA has been open for 47 years and provides year-round educational programming to students between the ages of 3-21 diagnosed with autism, cognitive disabilities, learning disabilities, etc. ICA also offers client and family support services. ICA also offers first responder training on spotting the signs of a person with autism and how to deescalate a situation. This prompted a discussion on what providers can do to help drivers recognize triggers for riders with autism, along with what dispatchers can do to prepare for potential stressors i.e. driver changes and route changes. Rachel shared that they have two IDOT vehicles. ICA has applied for funding three times, been awarded twice, from East-West Gateway to maintain the cost of their fleet.

Regional Plan: Riley Anderson presented the Regional Plan updates to the group. There was a discussion among the providers with new updates. Monroe-Randolph is working on a route study to better meet rider’s needs in their counties.

Shawnee Mass Transit announced route changes going into effect on January 1^st next year. The agency has been working on improving transportation to medical appointments in Missouri along with better connectivity for Missouri residents to medical appointments in Illinois. They have also been working towards coordinating transportation with Jackson County.

SCT has the Chestnut Shuttle that provides transportation from Perry Co. to Carbondale. It was limited service to in the morning and late afternoon. They have been referring riders that need the route when unavailable to Jackson Co. Mass Transit. Quite a few SIU staff utilize the Chestnut shuttle. The route has opened and is now available more often.

JCMT is in the process of completely rebranding. The new name of the agency is Jax Mass Transit. A new website is in progress. They took over the Saluki shuttle from Rides after six months of planning and making the transition. This has led to some confusion among the riders since the previous provider provided transportation out of county along with the Saluki shuttle. Jackson Co. has expanded rural coverage as well has introducing routes to all major towns in the county. They no longer provide door to door service or residential service. Jax Mass Transit has received feedback that there is an interest in transportation to St. Louis and are working on applying for intercity funds to make this happen. They are working on applying for grant funding to work towards providing transportation to St. Louis. The agency has a new building and they have plans for a new building/location to be built with a transportation hub for connectivity to the other providers. The agency has plans to work on a Comprehensive Transportation Study.

Riley presented handouts of chart options for the HSTP Regional Plan for Region 11. There was a discussion what the group prefers. Riley will adjust the charts accordingly.

Transportation Concerns: Caritas needs new vehicles and maintenance cost is too high. Jackson County has lost their urban status and as a result, they have completely redone all the routes in the county. Jax Mass Transit has reported that they have bounced back from Covid and had 112,000 rides last year and their goal is to hit one million rides in the next four years.  

General Discussion: IDOT Updates – Perry Cox from IDOT was in attendance. He shared that operating contracts are done. The 5311 funding should start coming through in the next two weeks. Vehicle builds for CVP awarded vehicles began in August. There will be a new CVP application available in Spring of 2025. 

Handouts/Resource Materials – Riley went through the handouts. The group completed a Fill in the Blank Quiz in honor of National Senior Citizens Day. Riley reminded everyone to complete the Transportation Provider/Agency survey if you haven’t already and to continue sharing the existing rider/community survey and return those to Terri and Riley ASAP.

Next Meeting – The next meeting is November 20^th at Comprehensive Connections in Mt. Vernon at 11:00 a.m.

Adjourn: Jill Buford motioned to adjourn at 11:53 a.m. and Ron Gorst seconded the motion.