001recordings. Great. Everyone aware of that we're recording the meeting. All right. Well, thank you. I would like to call a special meeting um Tuesday, April 22nd to order. Is there any public comment? No. All right, moving right along. Uh revisions to the agenda. No. Okay. Our discussion for tonight, uh district and mount transportation activities contract addendum. Um Dave, I'll let you start with that. So um in front of you really what you have is an addendum to the regular contract for activity transportation to include information related to types of activity buses. So the agendum is really just defining that in the contract. Specifically, the term charter coach as used in the agreement, the regular agreement that we have in for activity um transportation contract um shall mean a motor coach, multi-function school activity bus or
002ultra coach liner. And of course throughout the contract the term school bus shall have the same meaning as the code or terminology and definition for school bus. So that's really specific components of this addendum uh that we're talking about tonight and sharing information about uh you have it uh on the see that it's on the agenda. you click on that. Um, also you'll see an attachment um that has pictures of different types of buses. That's the best way to display this information is to really show what they look like because describing them is kind of hard to do without. So, um, we have Seth um, Sullie here joining us from Rocky Mountain Transportation to share more information about those different types of buses. um and safety behind them and reliability and those kind of things
003as well. So it's okay with trustees. I would like to turn it over to you stand or it would be helpful if you don't mind. Sorry is not in the right spot. How's that? Great. Okay. Yeah. So, we just wanted to kind of I mean after obviously the incident earlier this year um just in talking with the community and the activities contract and dealing with certain things, the way it read was just we would like for this language to kind of be changed a little bit and basically allowing what we are technically currently running as bus 29 is considered an MFSAB. Um we heard the the need for safety and reliability. um to us kind of screams, you know, the safest thing is everybody knows is a school bus. Safest vehicle on the road. An
004MFSAB or a multi-functional school activity bus is basically just that. It is a school bus without the um lights to control traffic and can be painted basically different colors, but they are built to the same standard as a school bus. Um they go through a little bit more rigorous testing um and have a few more safety measures than your typical motor coach, although they all meet the FMVSS. Um school bus, as we know, is held to a little bit different standard. Um they go through what's called rollover tests where they take on two and a half times their weight on the roof and the roof cannot give more than two inches. There's a certain amount of deflection that it cannot pass. Um, so I guess if Yeah. So you'll see here on this bottom page,
005it kind of looks like your typical school bus or the snow bus that's kind of running around town. Um, we just felt that maybe, you know, including this language in kind of opens more options for us to bring in to the district more safety and more reliability with that. Um, the way we look at motor coaches, for lack of a better term, is they're kind of like the Ferrari, if you will, of buses in the world. Um, also very expensive. A lot more expensive parts, more things to work on. Um, you know, where the MFSAB is more of your Chevy, if you will, Chevy Ford. Um, that's just kind of the way it's really looked at. um more availability of parts to get those things if something were to fail to be able to get
006parts to them right away. Where Motor Coach right now we've got one down that we had to order a part. It's been about a month and a half and they're still on back order. Um just you know little things like that. So any questions on this for me? What's the seats like in that MFA? So it's still you're going to be like charter seating. So we can kind of se set them up, you know, with overhead racks, air conditioning, um, motor coach style seats. So it's not your standard school bus bench seat. Um, in fact, we have one right now that we've, you know, we're running where it has the coach style seats. They just don't recline. So, they're still built with compartmentalization in mind, just like our school buses where if there is not
007a seat belt and there is an incident that those kids basically deflect back into their seat um rather than being, you know, thrown out of the seat. Yeah. But yeah, interior wise, they look almost identical to a motor coach. Okay. Yeah. Perfect. Thank you. Yeah. And with the MFSAD, you still get underfloor storage. you know, if we can, you know, find them or build them. They still are much like a motor coach. You go in to try and build one right now, they're probably a year and a half, two years out, but that's why we'd kind of like to open this up now. It just gives us more opportunity, you know, for something to come across to get in the fleet kind of right away. So, and then this one, this photo is also a
008modified school bus. Is that correct? But it's just a smaller one. It's just a smaller one. Yep. Yep. Actually, I I know a little bit about those kind of things. I drive one. They're generally a van with no back end and then another company adds the shell to it. I'll thin their final glass. Okay. I'm not a big fan. Go ahead. They're just It depends. If the shell is metal, it would be a little bit more. Many of them that I know, they'll put the the entire back end behind the driver and fiber. They're dispens and wood. A lot of them are wood and the floor is usually wood and the the top is fiberglass and the side typically. And so I I question the safety of those a little bit unless they were metal
009and you know if they were if they were if they were designed as a school bus which many of them are not then that that then they probably do. Yeah. And kind of what you're alluding to is that's more of like a shuttle bus if you will. This is more an actual metal school bus the way it's built. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Do any like I always picture the motor coaches do as having a bathroom open? They do. Do the other ones have option for restrooms? Only one that's going to have an option is the one at the very bottom is that ultra coach. That's going to be the only other style other than a true motor coach that would have a restroom in it. The MFSABS are not built with a restroom, Mr. I just
010don't Yeah, I mean I just No, so maybe I I don't know. Yes, if coaches can elaborate on what that would look like. I guess on the history trip, we encourage them not to use the restroom. Okay. Because what we explained to you in the history trip uh premeating is if you go camping, right, and you use the restroom, when does that restroom become empty, right, at the end of the trip? So, we make enough stops to accommodate for one. So, that's not unusable. Thanks. Really good question because we talked to other coaches to the same comments. They make enough sounds they thanks But what kind of looks like? How does it drive? Is it So it all depends on how these things are speced. I mean, these things have hundreds of thousands of options.
011I mean, you can get what's called liquid spring ride, air ride. So there's they're not going to ride like a typical spring like school bus, if you will, super rough, bouncy. These will all have air ride on them. They kind of drive like a dream. They kind of float like a Cadillac. I mean, you're not driving a Cadillac Escalade, don't get me wrong. You know, you're still driving a heavy vehicle, but they do ride quite smooth. Just like they're built with the same kind of suspensions as like a motor coach would have. Okay. Even the MFSA. Yep. Thank you. And that applies to each of these lenses. Yes. Yep. Everything we can equip with airride on it. And you'll see these every single picture you're seeing, these are in school bus fleets across the state.
012I mean, basically across the country. I mean, you're going to see like Columbia Falls have it has MFSABS. Browning has some Ultra Coaches along with MFSABS. So, we wouldn't be the only ones with that in our fleet. You'll basically see them at any really sporting event you go to. Yeah. And you would feel totally comfortable putting your kids on any one of these? Yes. I mean, my my preference is the MFSAB just because I know the testing that they go through. So, FMVSS is a typical federal standard that basically every vehicle has to make, you know, meet motor coach has to do that. Only thing that goes above and beyond is that school bus and MFSAB. They have a little bit more rigorous testing done to them just because of the safety of what they're
013carrying. Yeah, I appreciate the perspective about the parts. I hadn't thought about that to share that, but yeah, the replacement parts you can probably so much easier if that makes sense. It's way easier. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Is there um I know one of the concerns because I've I've had this discussion multiple times before. I know one of the concerns that came up was storage. I know the motor coaches have is a significant amount of storage under underneath them and yet I've heard that that time is not enough. Is there anywhere near the amount in the in the MFSAB MFSA number two? I know there's not but MFSAB number one I I question is there enough storage and perhaps in the in the ultra coach given it shorter passengers. So the Ultra Coach realistically like
014we it's built as big as a motor coach, you know, depending on how it's spec and what we get. So everything's going to have a little bit different storage. The MFSAB doesn't have as big of storage as a motor coach. It doesn't. It is still pass through luggage. So there still is you open the the double bay doors, you can look right through to the other side. There is a frame rail that runs in there that if it's, you know, something super large, it may, you know, kind of hinder getting it in there. But as far as luggage, it's very big. As well as being able to put luggage in the passenger compartment overhead, you know, to car for band, for example. Sure. Um I I know how many instruments that are carried to the
015things my son was involved in and that's where I you know I heard stories about motor coaching. So that's what I'm concerned with. Is it is there a possibility of a trader add on or is I mean is there what do we do if we we run into that situation? We're not equipped for the right amount of money. You know it would be a suggestion at that time. you know, we could look into the trailer, if you will, but it could also be somewhere if there is 50 kids and there's a lot of big instruments, maybe doing two buses, you know, to spread out for adequate space, you know, for comfort, for storage, things like that. You know, I think that in that case, it's not that we're taking motor coach completely out of our
016fleet, okay? It's so, you know, on trips like that, like we still do plan to have a motor coach. This is just opening the avenue for the future to see, okay, we have something come available. We know that this board is going to allow this type of bus to be put in the fleet because right now the way it reads is basically all our option is is motor coach or school bus, nothing else. So, we just wanted to see that language put in there. You know, we could get lucky and find an ultra coach because they do have the same amount of storage underneath as a true motor coach does. you know, we might be able to get, you know, a screaming deal where, hey, we want to buy that bus and we can buy
017it right now. Um, you know, to make that investment, just need to be able to see that, you know, that language that it's acceptable, if you will. So, um, well, I'm trying to think, I don't know, like parents go down and help the instruments because you got to figure like the orchestra, there's no way they're like the cells and the they're obviously parents must have imagine. Yeah, the smaller A lot of times adults go along in their cars, right? And they can help. Yeah. We did also talk about the possibility like in certain situations, but there is a smaller MF SB right now, right? That can be used like a good bottle with with additional storage space. So those are some options that we could explore for sure if we need additional space. Yeah. Could
018we go through exhibit A and discuss which lessons are no longer probably we don't have this part. Yeah. Yeah. the addendum of in terms of the old con or the current contract it had the list of the buses currently we're using some of these MFSAs because we have to we have to there's no other option want to get the most safest and most reliable option out there so the list of buses can be updated the list of buses can be updated on the contract without meeting it I was just talking It just says whereas the charter buses and school buses identified in exhibit A to the agreement are no longer operational and substitutes have been required. Is that just in general or is there has that already I was just they've already started using substitutes
019because we had to Yeah. Yeah. So which ones of these in exhibit A are no longer in operation is the question. Um I would say look if you know all of their numbers. Betty, but this uh exhibit A um in the future is not necessarily a part of the contract. Okay. An exhibit that can be changed without so it's as as what it reques they have. It doesn't have to be approved. Okay. So it's but it can be up like we'll update it as when we do the new contract. Okay. Okay. gone. Do you want me to speak to what's not Sure. running right now. So 007 that 2000 is no longer 27 we haven't run at all. We just won't use it. Um is it 28? 28 is the 28 is no longer. So
02024 is the only motor coach from this contract. 29. 28 is the only one that's left. Yeah, 24. Yes, 24 is no longer Yeah, 28 is the only operation or no longer 20 is currently the the coach and then the rest. Yep. I mean, it kind of gives us an idea. those are I think um just to further what is sharing is that he's met with um myself and others part of different committees as we've been looking at this on a regular basis and discussed these very concepts we discussed in our um task force as well about just putting the most safe and reliable bus out there and our conversations with him have led These are as safe as any other bus. I know it's a tongue twister an acronym and all coaches meet all
021those safety requirements. So they're safe, reliable and you know comfort is in there as well. Want to consider that and they also meet some of those criteria as well. So um I think um I think it makes sense for us to consider this since it's presented. I think Mr. Brand said or if you have any other comments on No, just for clarification on the 28 we talked about um nine is the brand new one, right? That's an MF SAB. Yep. Um 30 is a shorter bus that we've been using and 31 I think you call it. 31 is Big Red. Big Red is also Yeah. Yeah. MF SBA MFA. Yeah, it's too close to the Montana school. We do have three like we are anywhere. Like right now there's three fulls size buses available plus
022the shorter. Okay. Yeah. And yellow buses, right? And yellow buses, which are 1, two, 7, 9, 10, 12, maybe not all exactly. Okay, perfect. I wanted the the school board to know too, I did some work in talking to some families and people who were here during accident many years ago that occurred. And so, um, in those conversations, um, does not appear to be a problem. It wasn't a concern at that time that I'm aware from conversations folks who were around at that time or family members that relate any information regarding the type of bus other than um a school bus was requested. So, but being associated with the cause of the crash that didn't appear to be what people remember cause of the crash appeared to be roads and conditions of the environment is
023what I've heard. But I think it was important to have some conversation and hear people's perspective later and what was discussed during that time. You know, the primary concern is putting the the the safest and most reliable bus out there on the road. and and being really focused on not driving in poor conditions. Avoiding that at all, putting students first. Any questions for any public comment? Just checking. I always like to have to by a lot. Um, all right. back to the board for further discussion or a motion. We approve the agenda as presented. Second, it was seconded by Terry. All in favor, everybody, Lucy, thank you. Thanks so much for being here. Um, oh, and then could you give us an update about the bus accident that just happened a couple weeks ago? Do
024you have any further information on that yet? I have I don't have any further information. Um, apparently the incident report so there's no investigation or anything. It was just an incident report. It's being held by district attorney just because there's young kids names involved in it. Um, so it's being held there. I've requested it because obviously our insurance agency needs it. But um, we got all testing back on the the driver pass everything with flying colors. So no harmful delay if you will at all. And the driver wasn't hurt, right? No. Okay. Thanks. Absolutely. Um one last motion by Quincy by all in favor. That is everybody. Thank you. Thanks everyone. Thanks everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks so much. No, absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Happy trail. But this is it. It is
025me.