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Transportation board re-elects Coleman as vice chairman
at February meeting

The re-election of a board vice chairman, a report on Human Resources activities and an appointment to the Public Transportation Advisory Council led discussion when the Idaho Transportation Board held its monthly meeting Feb. 23 in Boise.

Election of Vice Chairman
Jim Coleman was re-elected as the vice chairman of the transportation board at the Headquarters meeting. Idaho Code requires the board to select a vice chairman in February.

Coleman is the senior member of the board, having been initially appointed in 2007 to represent District 1. He was reappointed in 2013, so his current term will expire on Jan. 31, 2019. He is an engineer from Coeur d’Alene. He chairs the Board Subcommittee on Right-of-Way and Access Management and serves on the Board Subcommittee on 129,000 Pound Truck Routes.

Annual Report on Human Resources Activities
Human Resources staff provided an annual report. Following are some of the highlights.

A workforce-planning project is underway. Staffing resources needed to meet customer demands, address changing technology, and determine new skills for the future are being evaluated, with organizational charts being developed depicting the future structure in 2020.

An employee spotlight program was initiated to recognize employees and to help employees get to know coworkers and what their duties entail. Support and training were provided to local public agencies to help them ensure compliance with federal regulations. Efforts to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), particularly linking STEM to the transportation industry, were conducted. A lot of activities focused on changing the culture and leadership development.

The employee turnover rate in FY14 was six percent, not including retirees. There were 17 dismissals or resignations in lieu of dismissal. Other statistics included 422 return-to-work cases processed, 21 Americans with Disabilities Act cases resulting in accommodations, 5,914 payroll actions completed, and 20 equal employment opportunity cases investigated.

In FY14 there were 92 preventable employee incidents, which was a slight increase from FY13. The top four accident categories are backing, being hit by another vehicle, damage by an object, and being hit head-on or in the side.

There were 119 injury incidents in FY14, which was also a slight increase from the prior year. The injuries resulted in $360,630 workers’ compensation payments and $109,038 in medical costs. It was noted that these payments were significantly below the FY13 payments of $690,925 and $255,154, respectively.

Public Transportation Advisory Council Appointment
The Public Transportation Advisory Council (PTAC) was established in Idaho Code to advise the department on issues and policies regarding public transportation. The PTAC shall participate in planning activities, identify transportation needs, and promote coordinated transportation systems. The council is comprised of six members with one representative from each district.

Due to the vacancy in District 2, staff solicited interest to fill the vacancy and received two applications. The board appointed Alisa Anderson to PTAC, completing the prior members’ term, which will end in March 2016. Anderson is currently the grants manager for the city of Moscow. She has been involved in public transportation for many years in various capacities such as writing grants to fund services, coordinating services between stops and different providers, and working with the Area Agency on Aging in northern Idaho.