Board Meeting
December 5, 2003
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
The Meeting Place
400 South CM Allen Parkway
San Marcos, Texas 78666

I. Chairman And Member Comments:

Mr. Wells thanked all Board members for their attendance at today’s meeting.

Pursuant to the bylaws of the District, the Chairman is to appoint the Vice Chairman, and Mr. Wells announced the appointment of Sid Covington to the position. Mr. Covington accepted the appointment.

Mr. Wells discussed the breakfast he had attended that morning for Congressman Lamar Smith with special guest, Congressman Don Young of Alaska, Chairman of the House Transportation Committee. Congressman Young is leading the reauthoriztion of TEA-21 and could be instrumental in gathering financial resources for the Austin-San Antonio corridor’s tranportation initiatives, Mr. Wells noted. Mr. Wells expressed appreciation for Congressman Smith’s efforts on behalf of the Rail District and thank him for his continued efforts to improve transportation in the corridor.

II. Call to Order:

Notice was duly posted and a meeting of the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District Board was held on December 5, 2003. Chairman Wells called the meeting to order at approximately 11:10 a.m.

Participants:

• Tommy Adkisson
• Mariano Camarillo
• Sid Covington
• Gerald Daugherty
• Fred Harless
• David Marsh
• Carroll Schubert
• Darryl Slusher
• Tullos Wells
• Jeff Wentworth

Al Notzon, Senator Barrientos, Sam Barshop and Shelton Padgett were unable to attend. Other participants included Bill Bingham and Ross Milloy.

III. Approval of Minutes of November 7th Meeting:

Gerald Daugherty moved and Fred Harless seconded approval of minutes with date corrections.

V.a. Committee Reports of Board Committees: Freight Rail Relations

Mr. Wells elected to go out of order on the agenda and discuss all committee reports. He gave the floor to Mr. Covington, who had no report on Freight Rail Relations. Mr. Covington stated that there will be a meeting in two weeks with the objective to kick off efforts in February.

V.b. Committee Reports of Board Committees: Program Management Oversight

Mr. Wells then passed the floor to Mr. Camarillo who gave a summary of the December 3rd meeting of the Program Management Oversight Committee. A General Services Agreement was discussed with PBS&J, the program management consultants, but the committee decided that the General Services Agreement is not necessary at this time, but agreed to reconsider the matter at a later date. The committee also discussed a process for reviewing Program Management Oversight activities generated by other committees, particularly an upcoming Work Authorization from the Freight Rail Relations Committee. Mr. Camarillo reported that his committee would review Program Management Oversight – related matters before presenting them to the full Board. He expects to discuss future Work Authorizations at the next meeting.

V.c. Committee Reports of Board Committees: Public Information

Mr. Wells then looked to Dave Marsh for his report. Mr. Marsh reported that the Public Information Committee had no formal report but that he had received useful comments on the draft brochure. He will address tasks at the next meeting. Commissioner Daugherty commented on concerns he had regarding presentation of the information to the public. Mr. Marsh addressed his concerns by offering to work closely with him on the final draft of the document.

Mr. Wells stressed the need to provide information to the public that is clear and correct. Commissioner Daugherty thinks this is a ‘propaganda’ piece and wants to be more neutral in tone. Mr. Marsh assured the Board that his Committee intends to distribute something neutral and will work with Commissioner Daugherty to that end. Mr. Wells expressed appreciation for all the work put into this project.

V.d. Committee Reports of Board Committees: Other Committee Comments

The floor was then opened for questions but there were none.

VII. Report on Recent Texas Department of Transportation Actions

Mr. Wells then moved to Item #VII on the agenda and noted that there were going to be two new Commissioners appointed to the TxDOT Transportation Commission as a result of recent legislation and it appeared that one new Commissioner would be appointed from San Antonio. He recommended that Board members and staff be prepared to update these new appointees as quickly as possible about activities of the Rail District.

VIII. Funding and Expenditures Report

Mr. Wells discussed the outstanding funds requested from the cities, counties, and Metropolitan Transit Authorities. Thus far, all entities have reported that their contributions are in process, Mr. Milloy said. Mr. Wells began discussion of expenditures for local staff expenses and the opening of a bank account for the Rail District. He said two invoices had been submitted to the District by the Corridor Council and McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, which are now being reviewed and said that he is fulfilling his fiduciary responsibilities by auditing all invoices and back-up details prior to approving distributions of funds. The initial invoices include a payment to the Corridor Council for reimbursement of time and expenses totaling approximately $40,000, Mr. Wells said. Another invoice was under review for the work done by District counsel, Bill Bingham.

Mr. Milloy also reported that the Board had thus far approved use of federal funds for Work Authorizations to be performed by PBS&J totaling approximately $70,000 in 2003.

IV. Committee Recommendations on Federal Legislative Consultant, Discussion and Possible Interviews with Proposers and Decision on Retention of Consultant

Mr. Wells moved to Item #IV on the agenda and passed the floor to Mr. Camarillo. Mr. Camarillo reported on the December 3rd Program Management Oversight Committee meeting in which the Federal Legislative Consultant RFP proposals were reviewed. Three companies responsed to the RFP. The evaluation criteria used was similar to the first RFP. Cost was not a consideration as the budget had been presented in the RFP and all three candidates had agreed to that budget. All three proposers were extremely well qualified and knowledgeable, however, Smith, Dawson and Andrews was the committee’s recommendation said Mr. Camarillo.

Mr. Wells introduced Greg Andrews of Smith, Dawson & Andrews. Mr. Andrews commented that their office has 13 on staff in Washington DC. Mr. Andrews described their staff’s 30 years experience in government relations and public affairs. The floor was then opened for questions.

Mr. Wells explained reasons for having a Legislative Consultant. He emphasized the importance of full involvement of all board in legislative activities. Mr. Marsh moved to approve the appointment of Smith Dawson and Andrews. Senator Wentworth seconded the appointment. The motion passed unanimously. At the request of Commissioner Adkisson a contract will be brought back to the Board next month. Mr. Wells thanked Mr. Camarillo and his committee for their efforts.

VI. Discussion and Approval of Additional Work Authorizations for Program Management Consultant

Mr. Wells then moved to Item #VI. on the agenda, asking Mr. Camarillo to take the floor. Mr. Camarillo then deferred to Mr. Lowry, who reported that there was discussion at the last Board meeting about developing a project workplan and submitting a Work Authorization (#4) to the Program Management Oversight Committee regarding a detailed workplan timetable and budget. Mr. Camarillo offered more detail as to the Work Authorization presented to his committee with a total budget of $118,000. He assured the Board that this was for work to be done in the future on a monthly basis and that the Board can elect to terminate this work at any time. Mr. Lowry concurred, saying there is a clause in the contract that allows the Board 30 days to terminate the agreement. There was general discussion and Mr. Camarillo then moved for approval of Work Authorization (#4) and Mr. Covington seconded. The motion was passed unanimously. Mr. Wells thanked Mr. Camarillo again for his efforts.

Mr. Lowry suggested that Work Authorization #3 be discussed in the future. Mr. Wells agreed. Mr. Lowry discussed updating the 1999 Feasibility Study and discussions opened regarding a workshop for all Board members. Discussions continued with the agreement that the workshop should start as soon as possible.

Mr. Wells emphasized that PBS&J should proceed to prepare applications for federal funds and crafting an RFP for future corridors analyses and other studies required to document the feasibility of the overall project. The RFP preparation and workshop plans should be processed through the Program Management Oversight committee, Mr. Wells said.

X. Public Comment

There were no comments from the public.

V. Adjourn

Chairman Wells advised that the next Board meetings will be held on January 9, 2004 in Austin, Texas, at a place and time to be determined. Chairman Wells thanked the Members and the audience for their attendance and participation.

There being no further items of business brought before the Board, Chairman Wells adjourned the meeting at 12:50 pm.