Indigo Board of Directors Meeting Summary - October 16, 2025
Indigo Board of Directors Meeting Summary - October 16, 2025
The Indigo Board of Directors convened on October 16, 2025, to review operational awards, approve new board membership, and action on multiple strategic contracts and financial reports. The meeting featured the recognition of three retiring employees totaling 106 years of service, the formal acceptance of a new board member with extensive leadership experience, and the approval of key procurement contracts for fleet data, design services, and fuel supply. The board also received a clean audit report for the 2024 fiscal year and a detailed financial overview for September 2025.
Consent Calendar
- The Service Committee report for the meeting of October 9 was entered into the record without objection.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments or testimony were recorded during this meeting session.
Discussion Items
- Awards and Retirements: President and CEO Jennifer Pierce presented awards for safe drivers and honored three retiring employees: Dexter Davis (30 years), McGuire Rodriguez (25 years), and Daryl Watts (46 years). Board Chair Hahn acknowledged their collective 106 years of service. New board member Stan Smith was formally welcomed, highlighting his decades of leadership in public and private sectors, including a past role as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation.
- Ordinance 2025-02 (Real Property Acquisition): Chief Development Officer Brooke Thomas introduced an ordinance to authorize the acquisition of real property for local bus stop improvements and the Blue Line Bus Rapid Transit Project. She clarified that the acquisition involves "slivers of land" (e.g., additional three feet for boarding pads) rather than complete takings, with eminent domain used only as a last resort. A public hearing is scheduled for November 20th for the final action vote.
- Workplace Utilization Study: The board discussed the approval of a $150,000 contract with Doris to conduct a study on administrative workspace utilization. The study aims to provide evidence-based data to inform fiscal sustainability and the 2026 capital program budget, avoiding assumptions often made by staff regarding space usage. Chair Hahn recused themselves from the vote, noting a client relationship with the vendor, Closed Public Affairs Group (Note: The transcript states recusal is due to a relationship with "Closed Public Affairs Group" but the vendor is "Doris"; no discrepancy in the vendor name is noted by the chair, though the relationship explanation mentions a different entity name). Director Gardner and others expressed strong support for the study to ensure fiscal efficiency.
- Agreement to Adopt 2026 Meeting Dates: President and CEO Jennifer Pierce presented the proposed schedule for 2026. Board meetings were proposed for the third Thursday of each month (with a dual-session July for budget), Finance Committee meetings for February, July, and December at 4:00 PM, Service Committee meetings on even-numbered months at 8:30 AM, and Governance/Audit Committee meetings on the first month of each quarter at 10:00 AM.
- 2024 Annual Financial External Audit: Director of Governance and Audit Brian Atkinson and Emily Ballbach (Forvis Mazars) presented the 2024 audit results. Ballbach confirmed "clean" (unmodified) opinions were issued with no material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, or reportable findings. She noted one minor internal control deficiency related to a $1.4 million proposed audit adjustment for an accrued invoice, which was deemed immaterial due to being a single invoice error. Net position growth was attributed to capital investments in the Purple and Blue lines.
- Swiftly Contract for Fleet Tracking: Chief Operating Officer Annette Darrow recommended a three-year contract with Swiftly (three-year base with two one-year extensions) for fleet tracking and transit signal priority data. The total cost could reach $2.49 million if options are exercised. Director Quick questioned the cost increase in later years; Darrow explained the pricing model charges per vehicle as the fleet grows, but the initial years offer a discount based on current fleet size compared to the future 226-vehicle projection. The service supports BRT and local routes, including future transit signal priority on local lines.
- Far East Side Bus Stop Improvement Design: Project Manager Christian Cambron requested approval for a supplement to the Kinley Horn and Associates contract ($234,233) to expand the scope to include rear alighting concrete pads at 36 locations and two new pedestrian traffic signals. The contract includes a 43.3% commitment from Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE).
- Business Process Mapping for Payroll/HR: CFO Bart Brown proposed a one-year contract with NetLogics ($24,000) to map business processes for the ADP payroll/HR system upgrade. This is a precursor to a Request for Information (RFI) to potentially replace the current system with better tools. The vendor is a 100% Woman Business Enterprise (WBE).
- 2026 Diesel Supply Commitment: Director of Fleet Services Devin Smith recommended committing to purchase up to 1.7 million gallons of ultra-low sulfur diesel for 2026. Final pricing will be locked in on October 24 based on market rates at that time, with the vendor selection and official pricing to be presented at the next board meeting.
- September 2025 Financial Report: CFO Bart Brown presented the financial summary. Highlights include federal assistance revenue coming in $105,390 over budget before a 10-day government shutdown, while overall expenditures were under budget by $21.1 million year-to-date. Personnel services are under budget, while overtime expenditures are $1.58 million over budget due to operator shortages; however, overtime trends are decreasing while salary expenditures are increasing. Chair Hahn extended congratulations to the local Fever and Colts.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to Approve Minutes: The September 18, 2025 board meeting minutes were approved unanimously.
- Motion to Approve Ordinance 2025-02: The introduction of the ordinance authorizing property acquisition for bus stop and Blue Line projects was noted for November action. No final vote taken on the ordinance itself at this meeting.
- Motion to Approve Workplace Utilization Study: Approved to authorize a contract with Doris up to $150,000. Chair Hahn recused from the vote; the motion carried with the remaining directors voting 'Aye'.
- Motion to Approve 2026 Meeting Dates: Approved unanimously.
- Motion to Receive 2024 Audit Report: Approved unanimously, accepting the clean audit findings.
- Motion to Approve Swiftly Contract: Approved unanimously for the three-year fleet tracking contract with extensions.
- Motion to Approve Bus Stop Design Supplement: Approved unanimously for the $234,233 supplement to the Kinley Horn contract.
- Motion to Approve NetLogics Contract: Approved unanimously for the $24,000 business process mapping contract.
- Motion to Approve 2026 Diesel Commitment: Approved unanimously to allow bid solicitation and pricing lock-in on October 24.
- Next Steps: Public hearing on Ordinance 2025-02 scheduled for November 20th; final diesel pricing and vendor selection to be presented at the November board meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. The Indigo Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, October 16th, 2025, is called to order. Our deputy chief legal officer, Latasha Higgins, will call role. Latasha, would you please call role? Good afternoon, directors. Please indicate your attendance when I call your name. Director Smith. Present. Director Quick. Present. Director Fagan. Director Wilson. Director Gardner. Present. Chair Hahn. Present. We have a quorum. Please know for the record that we do have two board members participating virtually today. So each vote must be done by roll call vote. Thank you, Latasha. Next is item number two, awards and accommodations. President and CEO Jennifer Pierce will present any awards and accommodations we have for October. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much. We will start out as we always do with our safe drivers. We're going to put up a list of our uh September safe drivers, as always. These operators were recognized for their safe driving for the month of September with a National Safety Council patch, pin, and certificate. So congratulations to everyone. I will highlight on the next slide, Mr. Stephen Thine today. He has been working with us for 37 years and has 33 years of safe driving. So congratulations, Steven. Next is our September Operations Employee of the Month, Arvinder Sing, coach operator on Fixed Route. The person nominating him wrote to me that Arvinder consistently demonstrates exceptional customer service and a proactive approach throughout his daily operations. He engages with passengers in a friendly and professional manner, ensuring their needs are met. When he encounters questions from passengers that he cannot address on the spot, he promptly reaches out over the radio for assistance, ensuring he can provide accurate and helpful information. His dedication to resolving concerns not only enhances the passenger experience, but also reflects his commitment to excellence in his position. Arvinder's unwavering unwavering initiative and capability make him a true asset to the team. Congratulations, Mr. Singh. Next we have a couple retirements. And I'm not sure who all is in the audience, but we're going to start out with Mr. Dexter Davis. I know he was trying to make it. Dexter, are you here? All right. Well, we're going to talk about Dexter for a second. He um recently retired after 30 years of service. He started at Indigo in December of 1995. At the time, he simply needed a job.
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