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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.2 SrCntrVanFeasiStudyCITY CLERK' File# 595-50 AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: December 4, 2001 SUBJECT: Senior Center Van Feasibility Study Report by Diane Lowart, Parks & Community Services Director ATTACHMENTS: 1. Budget Change Form RECOMMENDATION: 1. Approve the expansion of the Senior Center Trips and Tours Program for the remainder of this Fiscal Year using rental vans 2. Authorize the Budget Modification 3. Continue to reserve $50,000 for the purchase of a van with a final recommendation on the purchase to be decided as part of the Fiscal Year 2002-2003 Budget. FINANCIAL STATEMENT: $50,000 has been reserved for the purchase of a van. The estimated cost to purchase a van is $55,715 - $58,900. Operational costs associated with a van are discussed in further detail in the report. A Budget change will be required appropriating $10,385 from the Unallocated Reserves and increasing revenue by $3,780. DESCRIPTION: One of the 2000 high priority goals of the City Council was to "Explore the feasibility of purchasing a 15 passenger van for the Senior Center". In reSPonding to this goal, Staff had to determine if there was a need for a van; the type of van needed; and the purchase price and operational costs of a van. Need for Van Van transportation is a very common component of a Senior Center. Vans are used to transport seniors to and from the Senior Center, to transport seniors to needed services within the community and to transport seniors to Center sponsored trips and excursions. At the Present time, transportation of seniors to and from the Dublin Senior Center and to needed services within the community is not a pressing need. Most seniors who participate in programs and services at the Dublin Senior Center arrive by private vehicle. Some seniors take advantage of public transportation such as Dial-A-Ride, Wheels Bus or DART, but this is the minority of participating seniors at the Center. Center Staff and volunteers infrequently receive requests for transportation to the Center. When requests are received, seniors are informed of the transportation options through the Wheels Dial-a-Ride Program. Staff will begin to document these requests in order to discover whether the available transportation services are meeting the needs of the seniors. This will be particularly helpful in attempting to learn of the needs of seniors who are not currently participating in Center programs. COPIES TO: G:\SRCENTER\van\12-4 Van Feasibility Study.doc Senior Center Advisory Committee Parks & Community Services Commission A van for Center sponsored trips and excursions is desirable. Currently, bus trips are offered through a contract with Frontier Tours. Since the minimum needed to fill a bus is 40 participants, a number of the trips have been cancelled. Staff has found that there are seniors who are interested in participating in day trips, but there is not always enough people with the same interest to fill an entire bus. Since September 2000, the Center has offered 14 triPs, of which 10 were cancelled due to insufficient registration. If the City had a 15-passenger van, nine of the trips could have been successfully offered. In order to cater to the variety of tastes and interests, an alternative to a bus for day trips is desirable. A 15-passenger van would provide more flexibility in the type and number of trips offered. A van for the newly formed Th-Valley Trail Trekkers is also desirable. The "trekkers" meet at the Dublin Senior Center every 2nd and 4th Tuesday and visit trails around the East Bay. A volunteer trail coordinator plans the trips, and transportation to and from the selected trail is by carpools. However, many of the participants are reluctant to take part in carpools. A van lessens the possibility of individual liability for the drivers and limits the number of individual cars and drivers needed. Type and Cost of Van A variety of types and sizes of vans are available. Staff researched not only the types of vans used by other senior centers but also received information on vans from different dealers. Key factors in the purchase of a van are whether it should be handicapped and wheelchair accessible and the number of passengers the van will seat. If the City were to purchase a van, Staff would recommend a van with no less than 15 seats. Additionally, Staff would recommend that the van be handicapped and wheelchair accessible.. A 15-passenger van would accommodate 12 passengers, two wheelchairs and one driver and would cost $55,715. Another option would be a van that accommodates 16 passengers, two wheelchairs and one driver and would cost $58,900. Delivery time for the van would be seven months. With either option, a driver with a Class B Driver's License would be required to drive the van. In order to obtain a Class B Driver's License, a physical exam is required as well as a driver's exam that includes driving an obstacle course. For vans that transport 16 passengers or more, random drug testing of the driver every two years is also required. Proposed Program for Van As indicated previously, a van for an expanded Trips and Tours Program and for the Tri-Valley Trail Trekkers is desirable. The proposed Trips and Tours Program would involve twice monthly trips. It is anticipated that the majority of the trips would be day trips to local destinations although there would be some overnight thps. In order to coordinate an expanded Trips and Tours Program, additional part-time staff is required. Staff propOses hiring a Recreation Specialist who would be responsible for trip planning and coordination. The Recreation Specialist would attend the trips and would be licensed to drive the van on the trips. For the Th-Valley Trail Trekkers, it is anticipated that the volunteer trail coordinator would drive the van. Thus, the only cost associated with this program would be the operational cost of the van. It should be noted, that both the .proposed Trips and Tours Program and the Th-Valley Trekkers Program are not contingent upon the Senior Center owning a van. The Trips and Tours Program could be accommodated with a rental van and the Tri-Valley Trail Trekkers could continue to operate with carpools. The table on the following page shows the annual cost for the proposed Trips and Tours Program using a rental van, the cost of the program using a City owned van and the cost if the Tri-Valley Trekkers Program Was included. CAPITAL EXPENDITURES OPERATING EXPENDITURES Personnel Services & Supplies Operating Supplies Communication Rentals Internal Service Fund Subtotal Services & Supplies Contract Services TOTAL EXPENDITURES REVENUE Trips & Tours Trail Trekkers TOTAL REVENUE NET ANNUAL PROGRAM COST TOTAL FIRST YEAR NET COST TRIPS & TOURS TRIPS & TOURS RENTAL VAN CITY OWNED VAN $ 0 $55,715 TRIPS, TOURS, TREKKERS CITY OWNED VAN $55,715 $13,645 $13,645 $13,645 $ 2,100 $ 600 $ 600 $ 335 $ 335 $ 335 $ 4,2OO $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $10,440 $11,160 $ 6,635 $11,375 $12,095 $11,400 $11,400 $11,400 $ 31,680 $ 36,420 $ 37,140 $18,200 $ 0 $18,200 $18,g00 $ 0 $ 670 $18~200 $18~200 $18,870 $13,480 $18,220 $18,270 $13,480 $ 73,935 $ 73,985 Regarding a future senior transportation program, if the City pursues the purchase of a van for the Trips and Tours Program, it would be difficult to utilize the same van for a transportation program. With transportation programs, seniors typically rely on a ride on a given day and time. If the van were scheduled to be used on that specific day for a trip, the senior would be without the transportation that they had come to rely on. Therefore, if later it is determined that a senior transportation program is needed, a review of the van usage would be required. Recommendation The City Council directed Staff to explore the feasibility of purchasing a 15-passenger van for the Senior Center. Further, the Council reserved $50,000 for a van if the purchase was determined to be feasible. Based on the research done by Staff, there is not an immediate need for the City to begin a senior transportation program through the Dublin Senior Center. Thus, a van is not needed for this purpose. However, there does appear to be interest in expanding the trips and tours offered by the Senior Center. This can be done with a City-owned van or a rental van. Before expending funds to purchase a van, Staff would recommend that the Trips and Tours program be implemented for the balance of this Fiscal Year using rental vans to determine if there is an interest. The net cost to the City under this scenario is $6,605. This would require City Council approval of a budget adjustment. If the Trips and Tours program were successful, then Staff would recommend that funds be included in the Fiscal Year 2002-2003 Budget to purchase a van to expand the Trips and Tours Program further and to make the van available for the Tri-Valley Trekkers program. The Senior Center Advisory Committee and the Parks and Community Services Commission concurred with the recommendation to defer purchase of a van and to pursue expansion of the Senior Center Trips and Tours Program for the remainder of this fiscal year using rental vans. -3- It is the recommendation of Staff that the City Council approve the expansion of the Senior Center Trips and Tours Program for the remainder of this Fiscal Year using rental vans and approve the Budget Change FOrm (Attachment 1) authorizing a budget modification to increase revenue by $3,780 and expenditures 'by $10,385. Further, Staff recommends that the City Council continue to reserve the $50,000 for the purchase of a van with a final recommendation on the purchase to be decided as part of the Fiscal Year 2002-2003 Budget. -4- CITY OF DUBLIN BUDGET CHANGE FORM 'CHANGE FORM # New Appropriations (City Council Approval Required): Budget Transfers: __X__ From UnapprOpriated Reserves From Budgeted Contingent Reserve (1080-799.000) Within Same Department Activity __X__ From New Revenues Between Departments (City Council Approval Required) Other Name: Name: Senior Center Part-Time Salaries $6,000 Account #: Account #: 001-80800-70.1-002 Name: Name: Senior Center Workers Comp $100 Account #: Account #: 001-80800-701-006 Name: Name: Senior Center FICA-Medicare $90 Account #: Account #: 001-80800-701-008 Name: Name: Senior Center FICA-OASDI $370 Account #: Account #: 001-80800-701-009 Name: Name: Senior Center Operating Supplies $450 Account #: Account #: 001-80800-713 Name: Name: Senior Center Communication $225 Account #: Account #: 001-80800-714 Name: Name: Senior Center Rentals $900 Account #: Account #: 001-80800-719 Name: Name: Senior Center Contract Services $2,250 Account #: Account #: 001-80800-740 Name: Name: Senior Center Charges for Services $3,780 Account #: Account #: 001-565~021 Fin Mgr/ASD: Date: Signature REASON FOR BUDGET CHANGE ENTRY: In order to accommodate the proposed Senior Center Trips and Tours Program, a budget adjustment is needed to increase expenditures and revenues. City Manager: Date: Mayor: Signature ApP'roved a~ ~e City Co.cji Meeting on': Signature Posted By: Signature flormslbudgchng Date~ Date: Date: