A Capital Area Transit System committee today approved negotiating a long-term contract with CATS CEO Bob Mirabito, following several closed-door meetings in recent weeks at which committee members reviewed his performance as head of the system.
Donna Collins-Lewis, who sits on the CATS board as a Metro Council representative, will take charge of ironing out the details of the contract with Mirabito should the full CATS board also approve the committee recommendation at its meeting Tuesday.
Last fall, the board approved a contract for Mirabito that runs through the end of this year. He was first hired on an interim basis in May of last year, at a time when several board changes and the resignation of former CEO Brian Marshall had left the transit system on shaky ground. A report Mirabito gave to the Finance and Executive Committee this afternoon included numbers that could indicate a substantial turnaround.
Mirabito reported direct revenue from fare boxes in August was the highest it had ever been, with more than $118,000 collected, continuing an upward trend over the past several months. But Mirabito said bus breakdowns have also continued to climb in recent months.
Also today, the committee authorized Mirabito to bid in a public auction for 10 buses that Roanoke, Virginia, is retiring from its public transit system. All of the buses are 2002 models with around 340,000 miles on them, Mirabito said, adding CATS sent mechanics to Roanoke to inspect the buses and they were found to be “in good shape.”
Mirabito isn’t authorized to bid more than $10,000 per bus, so he can’t spend more than $100,000 total, in addition to travel and shipping expenses. For each bus, the system will have to spend an additional $17,000 to paint it and wire it to its CATS Trax system. Mirabito said refurbished buses typically cost $175,000 a piece. The 10 Roanoke buses, if CATS wins the auction, will replace 1997 and 1998 models the system is currently using.
CATS has taken in just under $15.7 million from various revenue sources so far this year, according to figures presented at today’s meeting. The board has spent $13.8 million on operating costs and $1.13 million on capital expenditures.
The full CATS board will meet at 4:30 p.m Tuesday at the BREC administrative building, 6201 Florida Blvd.
