Luzerne County Transportation Authority
Date:
Board Chairman Mr. Sciandra welcomed everyone to the meeting and invited those present to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The following Board Members were present for the meeting: Mr. Alshefski, Mr. Cefalo, Dr. Kepner, Mr. Polakoski, Ms. Villano, Mr. Young, Mr. Zeller and Mr. Sciandra.
None.
Board Chairman Mr. Sciandra asked for approval of the board minutes from the February 24, 2026 Board Meeting. A motion was made by Mr. Young and seconded by Mr. Alshefski. Motion carried.
Mr. Young made a motion to approve the treasurer's report pending audit. The motion was seconded by Mr. Cefalo. All members present voted yes; motion carried.
Mr. Sciandra did not have a report at this time.
Attorney Blazosek noted for the record that the Board went into an executive session until approximately 4:55 p.m. During that time, Mr. Fiume updated the Board on matters touching on real estate and future plans involving development of the agency, personnel and physical improvements. No decisions were made.
Mr. Fiume said that ridership was up in February compared to the month before. He mentioned additional workforce trainings this spring and stated that reasonable suspicion training is coming up in April for management staff.
Dr. Kepner said the committee met today at 3:00 p.m. and many reports included information that had already been shared. She said there is ongoing discussion of using more Microtransit and trying to improve that ridership. She stated that the next meeting is the same day as the board meeting, April 28, 2026 at 3:30 p.m.
Mr. Polakoski said the new hires were given their safety training. The Safety Committee meeting was held March 17, 2026, and all safety concerns that were turned in were discussed by the committee and have either been resolved or are in the process of being resolved. The Accident Review Committee meeting was on March 24, 2026, and all accidents to current day have been presented, reviewed and finalized by the committee.
Mr. Cefalo said the organization continues to engage outside organizations regarding improving efficiency and strategically changing the organization while moving forward with options around Microtransit. He stated that the next set of actions is to get case studies in front of the Board, understand benchmarks and lessons learned, and start to put proposals together for possible options.
Mr. Padavan was absent from the meeting.
Mr. Zeller said that through February, consolidated passenger revenue was slightly over budget by 1%. He stated that Microtransit passenger revenue is 13% over budget and Shared Ride's funding revenue is 2% over budget as a result of new subcontracted MATP services.
Mr. Zeller said that the agency spent 5% more in state funding revenue than budgeted. Contributing factors included operations overtime, vehicle repair, contracted building repair and settlement expense. Mr. Zeller confirmed that the settlement expense was a $70,000 legal settlement with a previous employee, which was not covered by applicable insurance.
Mr. Sciandra asked Mr. Coviello about overtime. Mr. Coviello stated that he has employees out in the department and will be down three people next month. Mr. Lisman said the overtime issue is more in vehicle operations, not maintenance.
None.
No new business was discussed.
There were no remarks.
With all business completed, Mr. Young made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Alshefski. Motion carried.