Remarks by Dana Barrett
158 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 4 of 7
- Play at 1:58:05
“Did we allot extra resources to them to accommodate these extra days of court calendars?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 1:58:28
“Okay, so prior to this, this was not happening, and he was just sitting there with nothing to do? What are we saying?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 1:58:58
“Okay, that's great. I just want to make sure that if we're expecting them to do more, that they have the resources to do it. Sounds like for now, we're good.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:00:53
“I'm sorry, just a quick question on the last item before we get into this. Yes, ma'am. I don't want to forget. We were also told in the call with the sheriff that the... that part of the reason we were not able to use all the beds at ACDC was because of maintenance issues on that there was a couple of pods or at least a pod that was out of service at ACDC. If that's the case, I think it would be good to have that update as well. So we're aware of whatever the issues are, not just staffing, but if there are maintenance issues over there that are keeping us from using beds as well. So I just I…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:44:32
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just one clarification on the motion that you made, Commissioner Ellis. You said the first thing you said, I think, was you are making a motion to accept this report and IGA with MARTA, blah, blah. Is that right? Okay. So what do you mean by accept this report? I just want to know what I'm voting on.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:45:01
“Not that I don't appreciate the report. I just don't. I feel like those are two separate things. And I do have some issues with the report. That said, I think the data's very helpful. I actually wish there was some more data here. There's some areas that weren't covered that I think would be helpful to us as we look at other options and understand what the cost is going towards and all of those kinds of things. First of all, on the aging population data, our program starts at 60, so on page.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:46:39
“So, Mr. Chairman, just for clarification in terms of the way you want to run this conversation, I have questions about the report, and then we also have this motion that Commissioner Ellis put forward. I'm happy to just stick to the motion if that's what you prefer, but I do have questions about the report.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:47:07
“I GOT IT. AND I AM SUPPORTIVE OF THAT AS WELL FOR THE RECORD. IN A SHOCKING TURN OF EVENTS. ON THE REPORT ITSELF, ON SLIDE, ON PAGE 4, YOU HAVE AGING POPULATION DATA FOR 65 AND OLDER, BUT OUR PROGRAM STARTS AT 60. DO WE HAVE THE EXPECTED GROWTH OF THE POPULATION FROM 60 UP?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:47:42
“I mean, I get that most people don't really count 60 as senior, but we do, and so it would be good to know what the impact is there. And the other question I would have about the data in that regard is, It would be nice to see, I think, again, as we evaluate our needs and what we're spending money on and how we prioritize this spending along with the rest of the county spending or even the rest of the senior services spending, would be the usage of our program in terms of age in terms of geographic location you know so like a geographic map of how much usage we get in different parts of the…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:48:38
“Yeah, and it's something we've discussed but didn't implement, but it would be good to have some more information about how those work. If they're causing people not to ride, what is the cost of implementing something like that?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:49:07
“So is that attached to the agenda item? I'm sorry, maybe I missed it.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:50:20
“Okay, thank you for that clarification. I would like to see the whole report if possible, yeah. On the survey, first of all, thank you guys for doing a survey of our seniors. I think that's important. It's something I've asked for in the past, and I'm glad that it happened. Although I am just curious, the total number of riders. What page are you on? I'm on page, looking at page five and six, what seniors and staff value, the surveys and the responses. But the, you... show on the first page, what, a total of 273,000 rides, and how many riders is that? That's how many rides, how many riders?…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:51:20
“Okay, how many riders? I get registered, but...”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:51:27
“Okay. And so my question just on the survey is, is 45, and maybe I'm missing that it was 45 plus the interviews, I'm not quite sure, but is that a good sample size to get a real take on how they feel? And I'm just asking, I'm not a survey expert, so this is not a criticism, just a question.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:52:30
“I'm sorry, what was the time constraint?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:53:12
“Okay, so maybe I'm gonna withdraw my congratulations on doing a survey, because it doesn't sound like we really did a, it sounds like we started and we did some and we pulled from other places, but I do think it would be good to just survey our active riders on the service and how they perceive it and the things that they would like to see changed and then to act on those results.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:53:41
“So where are the results of those surveys? Is that what I'm looking at?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:53:48
“Okay, that seems like a miss. If we're doing that, that seems like we should have that in the... you know, in the results. But it's good that we're doing it. So I just, it would be good to include that, I think, in our assessment of how we're doing. Because, you know, you've got two pages here based on what the seniors and staff value. And I guess my concern is, these are great, I mean, I'm glad to see some of these things. These are things we've talked about in the past and we've heard about in the past. The issue of the three, you know, you have to make your reservations for demand response…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:56:54
“Okay, so what am I missing here? Why were they the only respondent?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:57:39
“So we're buying a service, I just wanna make sure I understand, we're buying a service from a company who isn't keeping their vehicles up to date and wants to charge us to replace their vehicles?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 2:59:44
“Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to suggest I would want them there to be a punitive approach at all, but if that's what you heard, that's not what I was implying. What I was saying is the reminders that we, you know, if we had a more robust system of reminders and requests to confirm, then maybe we wouldn't have so many cancellations. I was by no means suggesting that we have any kind of a punitive thing. I was just saying that there are, generally speaking, when you have a If you have an event as an example and you get a free ticket, you're much less likely to cancel than if you paid for your…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 3:01:39
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 3:37:44
“Yeah, thank you. On that, it's a cost of care petition, do I have that right? Didn't you just say that Lifeline was volunteering to do those?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 3:37:57
“So why would we not take that up? That seems like a good deal. Free is good.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026
- Play at 3:38:26
“So is that aligned with your motion? Okay. Okay.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 19, 2026