The Twin City Air Transportation Authority reported a notable increase in riders and a series of operational improvements during its meeting in Benton Harbor.

Director reported that monthly ridership rose from about 8,800 in September to just over 10,000 in October, an increase of more than 1,000 board members flagged as significant though staff did not attribute it to a single cause. He said the authority27s fuel and ridership reports were available and would be distributed.

Staff recapped a Veterans Day safety workshop that included annual drug-and-alcohol training, renewed language-translation procedures required by the FTA, lift and mobility-device securement retraining and de-escalation training. According to staff, those trainings generated many questions and were intended to improve day-to-day safety and operations as the agency prepares for higher winter risks.

The authority also told the board it has closed the outstanding FTA deficiencies noted during its triennial review. Staff said the maintenance department moved from inconsistent preventative-maintenance tracking to a policy of completing and documenting maintenance in its scheduled windows, and that a procurement finding was closed after additional price analysis and use of step procurement procedures.

Facility work included completion and painting of the east-side stairs with added drainage; staff said a local Benton Harbor contractor performed the work following procurement policies and multiple bids. The board discussed replacing aged garage doors with timed sensor-operated doors to save on heating costs; staff said quotes had been obtained and the project could be completed by mid-December.

On mobility operations, staff said the procurement process is complete and the vendor is preparing a first draft contract. That draft will be shared with the board chair and the authority27s attorneys for markup before it returns to the full board for further action.

The board moved and approved the director27s update, which included these operational items. The board set its next meeting for Dec. 16 at 5:30 p.m.