After listening to complaints about how Capital Metro runs its board meetings and public comment process, the board is considering several changes that could make it more convenient for citizens wanting to speak at the monthly meetings.

Currently, the board goes into executive session if outside counsel is needed to discuss items on the agenda directly after the general public comment period. Members of the public have to wait—sometimes several hours—until executive session is over speak on specific agenda items.

"We were hearing the executive sessions run long, and they don't allow people to plan," said Kerri Butcher, Capital Metro's interim chief counsel.

To accommodate members of the public who want to attend the meetings, the board has decided to start meetings consistently at noon, which would allow the public to come in during their lunch hour to voice their opinion on an issue. At 1 p.m., or once public comment has concluded, the board would go into executive session with outside counsel.

Butcher said Capital Metro pays outside counsel by the hour and it is more fiscally responsible to hold the executive sessions earlier in the meeting.

Although the proposed change does not alter the order of the meeting—executive session with outside counsel would still take place after the public comment period—those wishing to make a comment would no longer be prohibited from talking about an issue that is not on the agenda without notifying the board ahead of time. The three-minute time limit will remain, but if someone is addressing more than one issue, he or she may request up to five minutes.

The board will discuss and vote on the changes at its Feb. 27 board meeting at 3 p.m. at the Capital Metro headquarters, 2910 E. Fifth St.

The board will put into effect other changes that do not require a vote in March. Those changes include adding a consent agenda item to vote on routine topics, such as contract renewals. However, board members may pull items from the consent agenda if they have concerns.

Already, the board has consolidated its four committees into two: the Finance, Audit and Administration Committee, and the Operations and Planning Committee. Butcher said that perviously, several agenda items had involved more than one of the four previous committees, and board members had been hearing items twice.

The new committees have not yet set their meeting schedules.

New signs

For the past few weeks, Capital Metro has been unveiling its new bus stop signage, which depict several ways to find out the next arrival of a bus. Using the bus stop's ID number, a customer can text, call, go online or use a QR code to locate the information.

One woman who spoke during the Jan. 23 meeting said the new changes are inconvenient to customers who do not have cell phones because Capital Metro took down the schedule maps.

Board member Ann Stafford agreed and asked staff to look into options that would not exclude riders without cell phones from finding bus times. Stafford said she likes the option of being able to use the QR code, or Quick Response code, which is as two-dimensional matrix barcode that transmits information through one's smartphone application.

"We had conversations that this would be in addition to, not in lieu of [printed schedules]," she said.

Later this year, Capital Metro will add braille and raised lettering that correspond with the stop IDs to the bus stop signs.

More information is available at www.capmetro.org/newsigns.