Tia Hatton Tenny, Staff Liaison, announced that she will be attending graduate school in the Fall and will be leaving her position with the city mid-summer. The city is working on posting her job and filling it. Staff shared that they do not yet know which staff member may provide coverage as Liaison if the position is not yet filled.

LaReina Reyes could not present, so Kim Austin from MetroPlan was the second presenter. Jamie Larson introduced the topic of MicroMobility, peer city comparisons, and previous MicroMobility Share efforts in Flagstaff. Throughout the presentation, the Commission asked questions and discussed the topic with staff. Vice Chair Metzger asked how many bikes were part of the previous share. Staff did not remember exactly, but planned to look it up and guessed 300-500. Commissioner Lammie asked why the city needed to be involved and why the marketplace is not driving it. Staff responded that there is no permit process and that this current process will address this by fixing the code. Director Antonopoulos stated that issuing an RFP will help the City put controls on it. She said businesses are asking about coming to town, but there is currently no permit mechanism. If the City issues the RFP, they get to establish a community-engaged manner that works best and protects our community.

Kim Austin spoke on risk management topics such as liability, injury, parking locations, staff time and oversight, public perception, and compliance with bike ordinances. Ms. Austin then spoke about risk-mitigation strategies. Ms. Austin also talked about special considerations, such as equity (pricing, inclusive devices, payment options, redistribution of devices). Ms. Austin presented the available options for allowing MicroMobility Share, including prohibiting it from code (if the answer is “no,” we do not want to enable it), issuing one RFP, or permitting multiple vendors (if “yes,” we want to enable it).

Commissioner Lammie asked how these devices are typically used (whether point-to-point or round-trip). Ms. Austin stated they are generally taken point-to-point.

Vice Chair Metzger asked if it would be paid for with cash. Ms. Austin shared that the payment options vary and can be connected to transit fares, which are handed out like bus cards and sold at specific shops.

Commissioner Metzger asked what the age or rule is for helmet use. Ms. Austin responded that it is 18 and younger for bikes and that there is not one for scooters.

Commissioner Lammie asked if there are scooter spaces on the bus. Staff responded that they are thinking about this, and it is not currently an option, but also that it is not intended to take these devices on the bus.

Vice Chair Metzger and Wolkowinsky expressed support. Chair Wolkowinsky expressed that there is a lot of room for improvement in the general design of micromobility in Flagstaff compared to other cities. 

Commission Born expressed interest in the one operator option. He suggested membership ties between a partnership with Mountain Line and the transit, and recommended the ability to request a new station for parking in new areas. He also suggested going to the community to see what they want in the procurement and tiered pricing based on how many miles someone uses annually, or tiered options for the trip's distance.

Commissioner Carlson also expressed his appreciation for this process and its intentions. He loves micro-mobility and said we must advocate for and implement it whenever possible. He also expressed concern about this being overregulated and supported implementing it on a broad scale sooner rather than later. He agreed that we vastly need to upgrade our non-car infrastructure. He echoed support for integrating it with the digital and physical systems of the Mountain Line transit. 

Vice Chair Metzger disagreed and wanted to see restrictions and wanted the responding party to work with the City to meet those restrictions.

Commissioner Lammie asked if the city was interested in generating revenue through this. Director Antonopoulos said the city is just looking to cover costs, not generate revenue.

After some brief initial discussion around tabling this item, Staff Liaison Hatton Tenny encouraged Chair Wolkowinsky to still form a working group during the meeting, given the timeline for Ms. Hatton Tenny’s departure and the idea of bringing ordinance updates to a June retreat. This group will work to provide recommended updates on the outdated ordinance. These updates would need to be approved by the Commission, go through a legal review, and be read at two Council meetings. 

Chair Wolkowinsky expressed interest in the working group, but no others present expressed interest. The Commission and staff decided to appoint the two absent Commissioners, Scurlock and Konkel, to the working group just in case they wanted to help update the ordinance language. 

Chair Wolkowinsky moved to approve the working group, and Chair Metzger seconded the motion. All voted yes. The working group was formed, and the motion passed. 

The Commission will likely have a retreat during their regularly scheduled meeting in June, but it may be held at the Sustainability Office, start a little earlier, and go a little longer. Food will be provided.

• Quorum was checked for the May meeting.

  • The Commission did a head count of who could attend the May Commission meeting to ensure there would be a quorum. Chair Wolkowinsky will not be able to attend, but the other four Commissioners in attendance said they could make it.