Region 11: 2025 Meeting Minutes (11/19)

 

HSTP Region 11

November 19^th, 2025

Meeting Minutes

Jon Douglas	LINC, Inc. - RedBud
Kari Docherty	Spero Family Services – Mt. Vernon
James Harris	Centerstone of Illinois – West Frankfort
Janee Baldwin	Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Southern Illinois – Belleville
Patty Evansco	Millstadt Senior Center – Millstadt
Sara Nollman-Hodge	South Central Transit – Centralia
Justin Johnson	South Central Transit – Centralia
Robert Wilson	Alternative Transportation Systems/St. Clair Co. Transit District – East St. Louis
Jimmy Leadingham	Jax Mass Transit – Carbondale
Darla Harris	Jax Mass Transit – Carbondale
Mark Beare	Monroe-Randolph Mass Transit District – Sparta
Howard Penrod	Arrowleaf – Vienna
Kendrick Bell	JTC Academy – Cahokia Heights
Paul Wibbenmeyer	S.A.V.E. – Belleville
Adam Lach	Rides Mass Transit District – Harrisburg
Damon Loveless	Touchette Regional Hospital – Cahokia Heights
Anne Riley	Caritas Family Solutions - Waterloo
Mark Bollmann	ComWell – RedBud
Natalie Brant	Perry Co. Counseling Center – DuQuoin
Ian Pierce	Five Star Industries, Inc. - DuQuoin
Perry Cox	IDOT – Edwardsville
Riley Anderson	Assistant Human Service Transportation Coordinator – Salem
Terri Finn	Human Service Transportation Coordinator – Salem

 

        I.            I. Call to Order: The quarterly HSTP meeting was called to order at 11:05 a.m. by Chairperson Pam Jones. South Central Transit in Centralia was the host.

     II.            II. Elect a New Secretary: Terri Finn took a motion to add an item to the agenda – Election of a New Secretary. Jimmy Leadingham motioned to approve the update, Kari Docherty seconded. Sara Hodge-Nollman volunteered to fill the secretary role.

  III.            III. Introductions: All attendees introduced themselves and their agencies.

  IV.            IV. Approval of August 2025 Meeting Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were reviewed by the committee. No corrections were noted. Motion to approve by Adam Lach, seconded by Jon Douglas.

    V.            V. Guest Speaker: Anne Riley from Caritas Family Solutions, formerly of Human Support Services (HSS), was the guest speaker. She discussed the recent merging of the two agencies and the services HSS offers. She has been with HSS for 12 years. The agency has been providing services for 52 years. The HSS board has discussed merging with another entity to expand services and area they serve. On October 1^st, the agencies merged. Over the next year, Anne will oversee the seamless transition of combining funding streams, vehicle fleets, services, etc. Caritas provides services in 50 counties roughly. She will be chief program officer as of July 1^st, 2026, when the merger is complete. Gary Huelsman, CEO of Caritas Family Solutions, will now oversee the newly acquired office.

  VI.           VI. Regional Plan 2025: Riley presented the updates to the Regional Plan. Riley shared updates on the non-emergency medical transportation meeting that she and Terri recently attended. These meetings include a representative from the Governor’s office and the Illinois Assoc. of Medicaid Health Plans and the Statewide Independent Living Council and IDOT. The Governor’s office is interested in stories of people with disabilities not being able to access transportation to employment. Please send your stories to Terri and Riley by Friday so they can be shared.

Kari motioned to approve the updates, Robert Wilson seconded the motion.

There was a discussion on what agencies are doing to meet the gaps and needs. JTC Academy has opened a new school and has a need for additional transportation.

St. Clair Co. Transit District has introduced microtransit in St. Clair Co. and is in preliminary discussions to expand transportation services into rural areas within the county – including Freeburg, Millstadt, Marissa, and Smithton.

Monroe-Randolph Transit District has concluded their route study. The agency will be working on introducing fixed routes and microtransit in 2026.

Millstadt Senior Center shared that New Athens has a great need for medical transportation.

South Central Transit has made route changes to their late-night routes. This will free up buses and drivers for non-emergency medical transportation. They have also launched a new website with route/service information and interactive maps.

Jax Mass Transit has an app called ‘JAX Go’ where you can schedule your ride and has live tracking. Rides Mass Transit District has a new app available to riders where you can request a ride.

VII.           VII. i-Annual Review of HSTP Region 11 By-Laws: The committee was asked to review the potential updates to the By-Laws. No comments or corrections were noted. Jimmy motioned to approve updates, with Rob seconding the motion.

VIII.        VIII. Transportation Concerns: Terri reminded everyone that 5310 Annual Certifications need to be submitted by December 31^st, 2025. ComWell mentioned having problems with IDOT vehicles declining before they age out of the fleet. They have informed IDOT. Perry Co. Counseling shared concerns of SCT ending the late-night shuttle services for factories.

  IX.          IX. General Discussion:

a.       IDOT Update – Perry Cox was in attendance. He shared that CVP applications are expected to be released in the Spring. March of 2026 is the tentative date. He briefly discussed the new IDOT Capital Grants manual.

b.      Potential Guest Speaker Ideas – Kari Docherty suggested Spero Family Services could do a Crisis Intervention/De-Escalation training. Natalie Bryant of Perry Co. Counseling suggested Rebecca Anderson from her agency could speak about the services they offer. If anyone has any contacts or agencies, they would like to see speak at an HSTP meeting, please reach out to Terri and Riley and let them know.

c.       Handouts/Resource Materials – Riley Anderson went through the handouts. If you haven’t completed your Open Meeting Act training, you must do so to be a voting member of the committee. Terri Finn was recognized as IDOT’s Transportation Planner of the Year for her accomplishments. She is semi-retiring and will be in the office part time beginning January.

d.      Set meeting dates/locations for 2026 (all meetings will begin at 11 a.m.):

                                                              i.      February 18^th on Zoom.

                                                            ii.      May 20^th will be hosted by Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Southern Illinois in Belleville.

                                                          iii.      August 19^th will be hosted by Spero Family Services in Mt. Vernon.

                                                          iv.      November 18^th will be hosted by South Central Transit in Centralia.

    X.            X. Adjourn: Adam motioned to adjourn at 12:07 p.m. Damon Loveless seconded the motion.