SQUAW ALPINE TRANSIT COMPANY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS QUARTERLY MEETING
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
1. Call to Order
Chair Keith Fountain called today’s meeting to order at 8:16 AM. A quorum was established.
2. Roll Call and Establishment of Quorum
Board members in attendance
Keith Fountain
David Stepner
Kyle Crezee
Bob Tetrault
Mike Martin
Rick Pendleton
Drew Conly
Lindsay Romack
Board members not in attendance
Peter Grant
Others attending
Joy Doyle
Judy Friedman (Recording Secretary)
3. Board Findings regarding AB 361
It was moved by Fountain and seconded by Martin to acknowledge California AB 361. SATCo will continue to meet electronically in compliance with the Brown Act. Motion carried unanimously.
4. Changes to / adopt Agenda
It was moved by Martin and seconded by Fountain to adopt today’s agenda as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
5. Approval of November 10 Meeting Minutes
It was moved by Fountain and seconded by Stepner to approve the minutes of the November 10, 2021 Board meeting as presented. Motion carried unanimously.
6. Public Comment
There were no comments on items not on today’s agenda.
7. Board Member and Adviser Comments
Martin reported that despite the recent weather and lack of new snowfall, Palisades Tahoe business is strong and TBID collections have been good. He is seeing weekend business extend into Thursday. More snow would be nice, but indicators remain strong for a good season, hopefully through May.
Conly announced he is submitting his resignation to the Resort at Squaw Creek today and will be relocating to Los Angeles. He has appreciated being a part of this Board. Fountain thanked him for his contributions to the organization and helping get more transit integrated into the valley. Doyle thanked him for his help and guidance professionally and the volunteer projects he has been involved in. Everyone wished him well.
8. Executive Director’s Report
a. January Ridership Reports
Doyle reported on ridership for December and January. She worked with Travis Gleason to develop comparisons with 2019-2020 winter season as shown in the Deep Dive Comparison included in today’s meeting packet. The report included comparisons of rides per hour, wait times, and possible reasons for the differences including hesitancy to ride in a van given COVID concerns, lack of new snow, and there are fewer employees living within the boundaries. In addition, there may be new owners and renters not aware of the service. There were driver shortages due to COVID, but that is not impacting the service since demand is down. Doyle is working with Christine Horvath at Palisades Tahoe to consider marketing strategies to increase awareness of the service.
All that said, expenses will come in favorable to budget.
A conversation followed as Board members described their observations and explanations for ridership numbers so far this season. Doyle noted good numbers on the evening TART Connect, the Olympic Valley Inn run, and Resort at Squaw Creek service, so lower numbers on Mountaineer are difficult to explain.
There was agreement that reinvigorating our marketing effort is important to inform and remind the public of the service; specific suggestions were made. Joy agreed to make re-marketing a priority.
b. New DBA “Mountaineer Transit Company” Status and Tasks/Timing
Doyle has contacted the Placer County Clerk, as suggested by Civitas. The application for the new DBA was submitted, but the County returned it saying that non-profits are not required to file a Fictitious Name Statement unless required by the bank. SATCo’s bank does, so the application has been resubmitted.
Doyle asked the group if the current logo should be used for the company name or should a new logo be developed by adding “Transit Company” under Mountaineer tex. There was consensus to use the current logo.
c. TBID Renewal Timeline Update
Doyle explained that in order not to conflict with the 2% TOT renewal, SATCo’s TBID renewal efforts will follow Placer County’s TOT renewal process.
Doyle and Fountain met with Supervisor Gustafson at the end of November to discuss SATCo’s TBID renewal plans and timing. Gustafson asked SATCo to inform the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association (NLTRA) because once SATCo’s new TBID goes into effect, lodging and lift ticket assessments will be one-half percent higher within SATCo’s boundaries as compared to the regional TBID and to make sure there are no conflicts with Placer County’s Tahoe CEO office 2% TOT renewal process.
Based on that, Fountain and Doyle met with Samir Tuma, President of the NLTRA Board. The NLTRA Executive Committee asked to wait until after the new CEO, Tony Karwowski, came on board at the end of January. That meeting will be scheduled for next month.
Doyle is planning to begin work with Civitas in April to draft the new Management District Plan (MDP), which is scheduled to go into effect December 1, 2022. But again, SATCo’s TBID renewal campaign and petition is scheduled to take place late-June through October 2022 or July through November 2022, after the 2% TOT initiative is on the June 7, 2022 ballot.
Fountain asked Romack for her opinion on increasing the assessment amount from 1.0 to 1.5%. Romack suggested that part of the conversation with NLTRA be to consider how all the assessments work together. That said, passage of the North Lake Tahoe TBID freed up other dollars that could be allocated to transit, which could be part of the discussion as well.
d. Delinquency Report for December and Delinquency History by Month
Doyle presented the Delinquency Report since the Board met last quarter. There are 55 delinquent accounts totaling approximately $13,800. Eleven accounts are delinquent more than $300 each and one owes more than $5,000. A letter was sent to that property owner stating that until the account is settled, service will not be provided to that location. Also, recently, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved property liens on TOT and TBID delinquencies, so the County will move forward to lien that property.
Doyle noted that Revenue Services also provided a quarterly delinquency report included in today’s meeting packet, which explain how they are working to collect on delinquencies. Doyle feels Revenue Services is working diligently to collect assessments.
9. Treasurer’s Report
a. Financial Reports - Board has reviewed Q1 financial reports
Pendleton presented the financial reports as of December 31, 2022. He reported the Finance Committee meets monthly to review financial statements and matters. There is a new line item in the budget to true up actual Downtowner expenses based on reconciliations.
It was moved by Pendleton and seconded by Fountain to approve the Q1 financial reports, ending December 31, 2021 and acknowledge the Board has review them. Motion carried unanimously.
b. Rev Expense Summary / Cash Flow & Revenue Projections
In general, the revenue forecasting philosophy is to stay conservative. Revenues could be up based on increased occupancy with the December snow and weekends remain strong. Pendleton expects revenues to be higher than budgeted and expenses should be lower. Repaying Palisades Tahoe loans this year should not be in question.
c. Tax Filings for Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2021
Pendleton reported Sharon Fereira has prepared the tax returns.
It was moved by Pendleton and seconded by Fountain to approve the tax filings as prepared by Sherrin Fielder for fiscal year ending September 31, 2021. Motion carried unanimously.
10. Chairman’s Report
Fountain thanked Doyle for all the work she has been doing for the organization.
11. Adjourn
There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting adjourned at 9:24 AM. The next regularly scheduled meeting is Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 8:15 AM.