Dallas will be the site of the Super Bowl next January. The influx of visitors will give the city another opportunity to showcase DARTs ability to move people around a city that hopes to shed its dated reputation. The convention and visitors bureau is capitalizing on the array of mass transit services the Dallas Area Rapid Transit has to offer visitors. Interesting to see how they view transit as an addition to the quality of life. Perhaps another vision of our future for Central Texas?

Read more

[via Dallas Morning News]

Cap Metro

Capital Metro Board Appoints Doug Allen Interim President/Chief Executive Officer

October 12, 2009Austin, Texas -Today the Capital Metro Board of Directors named Doug Allen Interim President/CEO. This appointment takes effect upon the retirement of current President/CEO Fred Gilliam at the end of this week. Allen currently serves as Executive Vice President/Chief Development Officer for Capital Metro.

“Doug Allen has a wealth of leadership experience in the industry and has demonstrated his commitment to Capital Metro and central Texas transportation since joining the Authority more than a year ago,” said Capital Metro Board Chair and Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gomez. “During this transition, it is critical that we remain focused on the core mission and goals of this agency.”

With new Board appointments expected by the end of the year, today the Board recommended waiting until January to begin a national search for a new President/CEO.

Allen joined Capital Metro in March 2008, bringing 30 years of transportation planning and development experience. As Executive Vice President/Chief Development Officer, he currently oversees all strategic planning, communications, marketing, community development, transit oriented development, engineering and construction functions.

Allen spent the majority of his career in the Dallas-Fort Worth area beginning at the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) in 1978. In 1984, he joined Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and was instrumental in developing plans for the DART light rail system and high occupancy vehicle network.

Allen is a member of several professional organizations including the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) where he serves as vice chairman of the Policy and Planning Committee.

Read more…

[via Cap Metro]

SB 1263 BILL SUMMARY

Board Composition and Appointments

Board terms are extended from two to three years and staggered.

An eighth board position is created. Two additional board members will be added when more than 35% of the service population lives outside principal city.

Board members are appointed as follows, appointments must be made by December 31, 2009:

· CAMPO appointments – 2 of the 3 CAMPO appointments must live in largest city

o 1 elected official from a jurisdiction in which CapMetro’s tax is collected and whose presiding officer serves on CAMPO

o 1 person with at least 10 years of financial/accounting experience

o 1 person with at least 10 years of executive-level experience

· Travis County – 1 appointment – must live in the county or work in the Cap Metro service area within the County

· Williamson County – 1 appointment – must live in the county or work in the Cap Metro service area within the County

· Small Cities in which CapMetro’s tax is collected - 1 appointment, must be an elected official on the governing body of one of those small cities

· City of Austin – 2 appointments, one must be an elected official

Board Transition

o Appointments scheduled to end in 2009 are extended to December 31, 2009.

o Appointments previously expiring in 2010, continue to expire on that date.

o All Board positions must be appointed under the new law between the effective date of the bill, September 1, and December 31, 2009, regardless of the start of the term: Jan. 1 or later in 2010.

Current	Expire	Appointing	Future Appt.	Requirements
John Trevino	Dec-09	CAMPO	CAMPO		10yrs financial experience	2 of 3 must live in Austin
Mike Manor	Dec-09		CAMPO		10yrs executive level experience
Chris Riley	Jul-10	City of Austin	CAMPO	elected	from a jurisdiction in which CapMetro’s tax is collected and whose presiding officer sits on CAMPO; only CAMPO board members representing jurisdictions in which CapMetro’s tax is collected are on the panel that votes on this appointment
Mike Martinez	Jul-10		City of Austin	elected	member of CoA Council (including mayor)
Jamie Jatzlau	Dec-09	Small Cities	Small City	elected	member of a city council (including mayor) of a city in Capital Metro’s service area
Margaret Gomez	Dec-09	Travis County	Travis County		live in the county or work in the portion of the county served by CapMetro
John Cowman	Aug-10	Small cities/ unincorporated	Williamson County
	N/A	N/A	City of Austin	None

Sunset Review

o Subjects Capital Metro to a self-funded review by the Sunset Commission, but prohibits the agency from being abolished. Sunset Report anticipated beginning of 2010. Capital Metro Self Evaluation Report available at http://www.sunset.state.tx.us/82ndreports/cmta/ser.pdf

Internal Auditor

o Requires the Board to appoint an internal auditor to a five year term and authorizes the removal of the auditor with at least three-fourths the vote of the Board.

o Requires the auditor to report directly to the Board instead of to the CEO.

Annual Report

o Requires the authority to provide an annual report to each municipality or county in which sales tax is collected regarding financial obligations between the two.

Rail Referendum

A referendum will continue to be required for Capital Metro to build a passenger rail facility using their current revenue sources.

o Capital Metro referendum not required for Capital Metro to enter into a contract to construct, operate or maintain passenger rail service on behalf of another entity.

o Separate Capital Metro referendum not required to spend funds if an election called by a political subdivision included Capital Metro financial participation.

CAMPO Setting the Fare

Provides that an increase in single-ride base fares become effective unless the CAMPO Board takes action within 60 days of the vote to stop implementation.

Moral Turpitude

Changes fare evasion for Capital Metro services from a crime of moral turpitude, which would block the offender from such things as enrolling law school, applying for professional licenses, securing a realtors license, securing a CPA certification at any time in the future, to a Class C misdemeanor.

Fare Enforcement

Allows Capital Metro to hire fare enforcement officers, just as DART does, to ensure MetroRail riders have purchased their ticket.

Officer Jurisdiction

Permits off duty officers contracted with Capital Metro to enforce laws throughout the Capital Metro jurisdiction, not just within the municipality in which they are commissioned.