Board Meeting - January 21, 2013

K. Stintz (Chair), M. Adamson (Vice-Chair), M. Augimeri, R. Cho, J. Colle, N. Di Donato, A. Heisey, P. Milczyn, J. Parker and A. Virmani (Commissioners), A. Byford (Chief Executive Officer), D. Dixon (Chief Operating Officer), S. Ghaly (Chief Capital Officer), V. Rodo (Chief Financial & Administration Officer), C. Upfold (Acting Service Officer), B. Hughes (Acting Chief Customer Officer), B. Leck (Head of Legal & General Counsel), B. Ross (Executive Director of Corporate Communications), D. Garisto (D. Garisto, Head of Property) (J. Lee, Head of Materials and Procurement), A. Patrone (Administrative Co-ordinator - Corporate Services) and D. McDonald (Co-ordinator – Corporate Secretariat Services) were present.

K. Stintz was in the Chair.

Nil

Chair Stintz moved that the Commission approve the minutes from Meeting No. 1954 and that the Chair and Chief Financial & Administration Officer be authorized to sign the same.

The motion by Chair Stintz carried.

Prior to commencing with Public Presentations, Chair Stintz read a number of customer communications describing specific examples of employees who have provided exceptional service to TTC customers.

Chair Stintz and the rest of the Commission thanked the subject employees for their excellent customer service contributions.

Chair Stintz moved that the Commission recess to meet as the Committee of the Whole to deal with litigation or potential litigation matters, labour relations, employee negotiations, and to receive advice which is subject to solicitor-client privilege.

The motion by Chair Stintz carried.

Meeting (open to the public) – 1:05 p.m. 

Committee Room 2, 2nd Floor, City Hall

a) Baby Strollers & Pensioner Metropass Age Requirement

Elsa La Rosa

The Commission received the deputation for information and referred the matter to staff for report back on potential solutions.

b) Accessibility Standards and Presentation in our Standard TTC Fleet

Alan Yule

The Commission received the deputation for information and referred the matter to staff and the Advisory Committee on Accessible Transit for consideration of a future implementation plan.

c) Chief Executive Officer’s Report – January 2013 Update

Alan Yule

Brian Bohlert

The Commission received the deputations for information.
(See Item No. 3(a) for minute).

d) Reconsideration – Gateway Lease

Michael Aychental
CEO – Gateway Newstands

Dave Bryans, President
Ontario Convenience Store Association
(submitted brief)

Samuel Davis
President & CEO
International News

Warren Smagaren
VP Real Estate, Construction & Acquisitions
International News

The Commission received the deputations for information.
(See Item No. 12 for minute).

Nil

a) Transit Enforcement Officers (TEO’s)

Moved by: Chair Stintz

Direct staff to pursue claims against the eight individuals as appropriate to recover:

1. Wages paid to them for time when they were not at work during work hours, while they were being paid to work;
2. Costs incurred to investigate this matter, including costs to investigate their whereabouts during work hours; and
3. Costs incurred in cancelling and/or rectifying fraudulent Provincial Offences tickets and convictions issued by the Transit Enforcement Officers (TEOs);

The motion by Chair Stintz carried.

b) Transit Enforcement Officers (TEO’s)

Moved by: Commissioner Heisey

1. That the Commission fully supports the request for the reinstatement of Special Constable Status for TTC TEOs; and
2. That the CEO report back to the Commission with a recommended action plan to respond to the control and/or operational issues identified through the course of the investigation.

The motion by Commissioner Heisey carried.

a) Reconsideration: The Leslie Barn Streetcar Maintenance and Storage Facility – Name Change

It is recommended that the Commission endorse changing the name of the new streetcar maintenance and storage facility currently being built at Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard from “The Leslie Barn” to “The Leslie Barns.”

Approved

NIL

1. Reports with Confidential Attachments (Committee of the Whole)

NIL

2. Presentations

NIL

3. Budget Matters 

a) Chief Executive Officer’s Report – January 2013 Update

It is recommended that the Commission forward a copy of this report to (1) each City of Toronto Councillor and (2) the City Deputy Manager and Chief Financial Officer, for information.

Approved

4. Procurement Authorizations

a) Procurement Authorization – Malvern Garage Bus Washrack Upgrade (Pilot Project) Contract H1-15

It is recommended that the Commission authorize the award of Contract H1-15, Malvern Garage Bus Washrack Upgrade (Pilot Project) to Matheson Constructors (Matheson) in the amount of $2,386,300.00 inclusive of all taxes on the basis of lowest acceptable total bid price.

Approved

5. Procurement Authorization Amendments

NIL

6. Notice of Awards

NIL

7. Service Matters

NIL

8. Other Business

a) Project Delivery Process on Significant Construction Projects

It is recommended that the Commission receive this report for information.
Received

b) TTC Corporate Policy Review – Policy 5.3 Procurement

The Commission approved the recommendation in the staff report, as follows:

“It is recommended that the Commission approve the following:

1. TTC Corporate Policy 5.3 – Procurement, as amended, for implementation effective February 1, 2013; and
2. Staff report back to the Commission after meeting with the Infrastructure Health & Safety Association (IHAS) to discuss the possibility of using IHSA’s recently created Safety Certification Program as a mandatory requirement for TTC construction contracts in the future”.

Commissioner Augimeri moved the following ancillary motion:

That staff be requested to report back on the applicability of the “Hammer Heads” Apprenticeship Program for upcoming TTC projects.

The motion by Commissioner Augimeri carried.

c) Update – Bus Servicing and Cleaning

Commissioner Augimeri moved deferral of this to the next meeting in order to permit debate.
The motion by Commissioner Augimeri carried.

9. New Business

NIL

10. Correspondence

C1 – Valdo Tammark, ACAT Chair, forwarding for information the approved minutes of the October 25, 2012 ACAT General Meeting.

The Commission received the communication for information.

C2 – Arjun Lombardi, Merit OpenShop Contractors Association of Ontario, requesting to appear as a deputant at a future meeting regarding the TTC bidding process and the inability of workers who are not members of local trade unions to compete for TTC work.

The Commission received the communication for information and referred the correspondence to staff for appropriate action.

11. Newsstands Agreement and Newspaper Distribution in the Subway

The Commission received the report for information, without recommendations.
See also Item No. 12 for minute.

12. Reconsideration – Gateway Lease (October 24, 2012)

Chair Stintz moved the following motion:

That the Commission reaffirm the two recommendations contained in Report #12, as follows:

“It is recommended that the Commission approve the following:

1. The execution of a lease agreement with Tobmar Investments International Inc. (Tobmar) for the continued operation and management of the Gateway Newsstands in the subway system under the terms and conditions outlined in this report and further detailed in a letter from Mr. Michael Aychental, CEO – Tobmar Investments International Inc., dated October 1, 2012;
2. Amend the existing lease agreements with Tobmar associated with the bakeries, cafes and lottery locations to consolidate the terms for ten (10) years commencing December 1, 2012 to November 31, 2022 with a five (5) year option, adjust the rents and further amendments, as set out in the report and Attachment 1”.

Chair Stintz further moved that the distribution of free newspapers be the subject of a separate RFP issued by Gateway and; the TTC be part of the evaluation process for the selection of the successful proponent, along with Gateway.

Discussion ensued regarding this motion and Commissioner Virmani moved that this discussion go in-camera.

The motion by Commissioner Virmani failed on a vote of 5-5.

The Commission then voted on the original motion by Chair Stintz.

The motion by Chair Stintz carried.

Chair Stintz then moved adoption of the item, as amended.

The motion by Chair Stintz carried.

13. Response to Commission Enquiry: Service/Technology Choices for Sheppard East and Scarborough RT Corridors

Chair Stintz moved that the item be deferred until the City completes the consultation on revenue tools to pay for transit expansion and City Council has made a recommendation on appropriate ways to finance transit expansion.

The motion by Chair Stintz carried.

The meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m.

• A new suite of customer information tools for bus stop and shelters will be rolled out in January 2013 as a trial on the 94 Wellesley route.
• Consultations have begun with a group of employees on a new uniform for frontline staff. The new uniforms will help deliver on the TTC’s vision of a transit system that makes Toronto proud.
• Last December, the TTC completed the rollout of credit and debit card acceptance at all subway/rt stations; increases in the sale of Metropasses are already significant.

Commissioners re-affirmed the execution of a lease agreement with Tobmar Investments International Inc. for the continued operation and management of Gateway Newsstands in the subway system, and amend the existing lease agreements with Tobmar associated with the bakeries, cafes and lottery locations; and approved to separate out the distribution of free newspapers for a separate Request for Proposals issued by Gateway. The TTC will be part of the RFP evaluation process for the selection of the successful proponent along with Gateway.

Commissioners approved a motion directing TTC staff to pursue claims to recover costs from eight Transit Enforcement Officers recently dismissed by the TTC. The claims are to recover wages paid to the eight individuals for time they were alleged to not be at work (during working hours) while they were being paid to work; for costs incurred to investigate the matter; and for costs incurred in cancelling and/or rectifying fraudulent Provincial Offences tickets and convictions alleged to have been issued by these officers.

The Board also voted to fully support a request for the reinstatement of Special Constable Status for TTC Transit Enforcement Officers, and directed the TTC CEO to report back to the Commission with a recommended action plan to respond to the control and/or operational issues identified through the course of the investigation.

Commissioners voted in favour of renaming the future streetcar maintenance and storage facility, being built at Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard, to The Leslie Barns. The overall project has been developed with extensive input from the local community, and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2014.

In response to a deputation from a member of the public, Commissioners agreed to review how the TTC accommodates baby strollers to ensure policies and practices are applied consistently across the system.