Region 10: 2017 Meeting Minutes (7/18)

 

HSTP Region 10

Quarterly Meeting Minutes

July 18, 2017

 

Attendees:

David Armbrust	Marion County Horizon
Betty Cox	Clay County Rehabilitation Center
Janice Zwilling	Lawrence-Crawford Association
Gidget Simpson	CILA CORPORATION
Adam Lach	Rides MTD
Susan Love	Central Il. Public Transportation\CEFS\Effingham Co. Public Transit
Beth Beckmarts	CIPT\CEFS\ECPT
Peter Niccum	Community Support Services
Heather Baker	Charleston Transitional Facility
Terri Finn	HSTP Coordinator

 

 

The quarterly HSTP Region 10 meeting was held on July 18, 2017, hosted by CILA Corporation, in Flora, Illinois.   The meeting began with Betty Cox, Committee Vice President, calling the meeting to order at 11:08 am.  Introductions of committee members were done.   

 

The May 16^th meeting minutes were reviewed.  David Armbrust made the motion to approve the minutes, with Janice Zwilling making the second to approve the minutes.  All were in favor of approving those minutes.

 

Region 10 HSTP Plan:

Terri Finn started the discussion by explaining the updates that she made to the Plan using the most recent census\ACA information available, changes to graph, and inclusion of MAP-21 & the FAST Act.  She also mentioned that the population in many counties has decreased significantly in the past 3 years.  

Every committee member\agency that provides transportation should review their information listed in the ‘Transportation Provider’ section and notify Terri with all changes that need to be made. 

Committee members should be aware of the ‘Levels of Participation’ section of the plan as this explains one aspect of IDOT’s expectations of coordination and is used when scoring CVP applications.     

The ‘Trip Generator’ section should basically stay the same but if members are aware of locations in their respective counties that attract more ridership, they can make Terri aware of this location.  This section can be changed at any time that is necessary.  

The ‘Gaps and Needs’ section was updated with information submitted by committee members during the past few months.   Terri mentioned she was contacted by Shana Holmes with the Southeastern Illinois Agency on Aging, regarding transportation gaps.  These issues that senior citizens in her service area are having are to do with transport across state lines, &\or having to wait for return transport in the other state. The ongoing and most problematic transportation gap is always weekend and evening hours.  Vehicle sharing could help decrease this gap.  Adam Lach discussed how shared scheduling doesn’t always work for all providers, as with the one call center, some providers do not want to participate in shared scheduling.   There are geographic gaps in Southern Illinois---especially in extremely rural areas.  The lack of funding can make it more difficult to serve the most rural populations.  Adam added that many people that use public transportation do not understand the service; many think they are just set routes and they may not see a bus stop marker and thus believe that there is no any public transportation available so education to riders is very important.

 

Updates on Rides Plus One Call Centers and the Rides to Wellness Grant:

Adam Lach discussed the One Call Centers.  It is now up and operating.  Health care providers have been very pleased with the call center and the ease of setting up transportation.  Currently, the centers are receiving about 350 calls a day.  Pamphlets will be sent out to all Region 10 committee members.  Terri Finn discussed the “Rides to Wellness Grant”—SIU\Rural Medical Transportation Network (Dennis Presley), HSTP and Rides have worked together in meeting with medical & mental health providers in promoting the One Call Center in an effort to assist patients dealing with alcoholism and drug abuse, as well as any other medical\mental condition, in getting to their appointments, reducing readmissions to hospitals and reducing the use of emergency vehicles for non-emergency trips.  They are meeting next Thursday with patients in the Jasper Co. area to survey patients on their specific transportation needs.   

 

General Discussion:

Betty Cox asked if there was any information about CVP vehicles.  Terri Finn stated that mini vans (awarded from the 2016 application process) should be delivered this fall.  And, all IDOT contracts were back dated to July 1^st, so there shouldn’t be any backup from the state budget crisis.  Pete Niccum stated that the budget crisis forced 25 CSS employees out of work, for over a week, due to the rest areas being locked and shut down. 

 

New Business:

Betty Cox stated that the next meeting will be on October 17^th, which CCR is hosting.  This will be held at the Flora Banking Center, located on Rt. 50, in Flora, Illinois.

 

Vice President, Betty Cox asked for motions to adjourn the meeting.  Susan Love made the motion to adjourn the meeting, with Beth Beckmarts making the second to adjourn.  The meeting was adjourned at 12:14pm.

 

NEXT MEETING:

October 17^th---CCR—Flora