Thread by @MetroReasons

The #wmata Board is starting off its meetings late this morning. Executive Session appears to be running over.

Did I scare them into starting? The #wmata Board meet link just went live:

Stephanie Gidibi pulled 2 items from the #wmata Executive Committee meeting - Approval of 2020 Title VI Plan and the public outreach plan. More work apparently needs to be done on those items.

OIG summarizing their report, Among the work was recovery of $174,000 and finding an additional $1.1 of additional savings. wmata.com/about/board/me… #wmata

Nina Albert presenting parking changes @ Grosvenor; #wmata staff requesting permission to reduce parking available by ~200 spaces from Metro's Master Transit Plan. Public hearing on this was held in April.

As part of the staff recommendation to def building the "western expansion" at Grosvenor, need for more data after the elimination of the Grosvenor turnback is cited. That turnback could come back, depending on Metro's FY21 budget amendment & FY22 budget process. #wmata

"Ms. Albert, it's good to hear your disembodied voice"

Long-term development plans at Grosvenor envision several new buildings and a new #wmata parking garage.

Moving onto FY21 budget amendments. Federal CARES act money will be gone by the end of the year, and #wmata needs to find ~$212M to cut from its budget. The agency has proposed slashing a significant amount of bus & rail service to close that gap.

GM Wiedefeld notes that most of #wmata fare comes from Metrorail given it's more expensive pricing structure.

At the same time, rail ridership is very low, below bus, & hasn't increased much at all.

Was that a cat on the #wmata livestream

"The days of #wmata underspending federal grants and state and local contributions are behind us" - Tom Webster making the case for mostly keeping the capital budget in tact so Metro can continue to upgrade the system and work down its state of good repair backlog.

#wmata capital budgets these days are $1.5B+
The agency is recommending just $30M in cuts from non-safety-critical projects to help close its budget gap.

#wmata livestream cat confirmed.

https://twitter.com/JWPascale/status/1304059731498217476

"This is Paul Wiedefeld, General Manager of Metro"

ad infinitum

Smedberg: have gotten Q from VA partners about "what's happening on the capital side"

"We don't want #wmata to...turn back the clock" re: capital/SOGR projects, says Smedberg. Helped get Metro into its current issues

GM: it would be "a step in the wrong direction to pull back"

GM: We (w/APTA) think, if 2nd round CARES happens, wouldn't include as much funding as the first one.

"I think, to assume that we're getting that money, would be a mistake" -Wiedefeld

Devin Rouse: "Safety and proper maintenance are not areas where you can treat as a liability account to spend from, borrow from"

Agrees/thanks GM for not cutting far into the capital budget.
#wmata

"Each cut, every dollar, is a reflection of peoples' lives who are dependent on #wmata to work for them each and every day." -Gidigbi, recognizing the hard work Metro staff have put into its budget recommendations & incorporating equity principals

Michael Goldman, Maryland representative, voices concern that the Grosvenor and Silver Spring turnbacks, which affect stations in Maryland, might return.
#wmata

The fun of the #wmata Board is watching local politicians fight for service in their own jurisdictions.

https://twitter.com/JWPascale/status/1304072479388897281

#wmata Finance committee approves & moves ahead with FY21 public budget hearing for service changes. This will go to the full Board for approval later in the month first before being publicized.

ROCC update time. Jayme Johnson is leading the effort to "fix" the building's culture. #wmata

Johnson
* Thanks #wmata Board members that have been involved in his ROCC rebuild
* Beginning with interviews/conversations with all ROCC staff to listen & understand

Johnson: The WMSC's 21 findings fall within the 5 areas of focus he's laid out, and says the overlap is good & means they're beginning to look at the right things.

Johson has short, mid, and long-term goals for 2020, 2021, and 2022. #wmata

Johnson: ROCC roles and responsibilities are "multiple overlapping Venn Diagrams rather than a jigsaw with clear lines of delineation"; he has that on his list to fix
#wmata

Johnson says the ROCC is "on track" to be fully-staffed for the Silver Line Phase II's eventual opening. The WMSC says #wmata isn't. Unsure if this is a discrepancy or a result of Metro pushing SV II back to a July opening.

Johnson says #wmata is already working on its response to the WMSC audit (they have a 45-day deadline). Johnson says they're not just responding but beginning to address issues already.

Johnson says new ROCC metrics place focus on people and safety, with service more as a secondary item. #wmata

"In conclusion, we have a big challenge to face" to fix the ROCC -Johnson
#wmata

Wiedefeld: harassment and safety violations are unacceptable. The agency brought in an external law firm to investigate (ggwash.org/view/78958/wms…) and he doesn't yet have details. #wmata

Goldman says the #wmata OIG has already received reports of harassment from ROCC employees, and asks anybody with complaints or issues to bring them forward so they can be addressed.

Leader: average ROCC controller "age" is ~2.5years, due in part to high turnover. Says a majority of new-hires recently have come "off the street" (from outside #wmata)

Leader says another issue is that #wmata have treated the ROCC and BOCC controllers as equals. He says ROCC controllers have more responsibilities, dealing with trains and infrastructure. BOCC controllers only manage buses, not the streets.

Leader: #wmata lost in arbitration last time they tried to set up a fatigue policy limiting # of consecutive days. Says Metro is now trying again, working with its unions who need to sign off on the policy.

Goldman: is part of the issue # of controllers?

Impastato: "there are resource constraints", which became "severe" during Covid-19
#wmata

Goldman: is SV II opening in jeopardy due to ROCC staffing?

Leaders: 2 classes in training right now; one in on-job training, the other in initial classroom training. Says ROCC needs 47 to open SV II

"as long as everybody stays," #wmata can open SV II in July

Horner: the fact ROCC issues continued for over a decade "suggests to me management and the Board don't have the tools" to address problems in a timely manner.

Hoerner says he plans to issue a proposal for a larger #wmata reorganization "in due course" to get the ball rolling

Horner suggests #wmata consider a temporary suspension of rail service while the ROCC is "reconsituted," similar to Wiedefeld's 1-day Metrorail shutdown in yesteryear ggwash.org/view/41081/bre…

Johnson: Gravest problems identified in the ROCC are safety, but says #wmata needs a solid management level in place to help correct those issues.

annnd the #wmata livestream broke

Immediate reaction from my #wmata contacts is that Joe Leader's responses to Board questions weren't sufficient. Leader tried to offer some explanations why things are, but as one contact says, "it’s all about the culture first"

Please hold. #wmata livestream technical difficulties.

#wmata started a new livestream.

No clue how much content we missed.

Why is there no tin-foil-hat emoji

https://twitter.com/justingeorge/status/1304086497340067840

#wmata

"culture eats(?) strategy every day" says Gidibi, a systems change strategist.

(I believe she means strategic change won't stick until the culture changes)
#wmata

Letourneau jokes, apologies about the livestream issue. "trust us, not on purpose"
Says #wmata staff relies on it too

"We are listening. Many in the region are listening," says Letourneau.

Tells ROCC stauff: "For the good of all of us, please help us." #wmata

Letourneau: "The Board is taking this very very seriously." Says it's an "existential" problem for #wmata, says the rail system needs to be working as well as possible (see: pandemic)

Says looking into reports, but all those in the WMSC audit are anonymous & they need more info

Johnson says #wmata has put out a survey to other transit systems worldwide to gather best practices/feedback (12 responses so far) to help shape how to fix the ROCC. "We're not just looking at rail," and says they've talked with BWI as well

Wiedefeld says it's on purpose the #wmata ROCC reorganization work is being done in partnership with ROCC staff. Says it wouldn't work for an outside group to come up with plans to give to the ROCC to implement.

Smedberg makes note of a huge issue: that frontline ROCC staff need to be able to provide honest feedback to Johnson & team.

"That itself could be a challenge"
#wmata

Goldman: What are the new metrics & new ROCC director timeline?

Johnson: 10th Aug recruiter joined, want somebody by end of 2020.

Metrics: safety, 3rd rail power, trains/people, communication
#wmata (delayed tweet)