Bullhead Area Transit System Commission Regular Meeting – February 3, 2025
Bullhead Area Transit System Commission Regular Meeting – February 3, 2025
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The commission unanimously approved the minutes from the November 4, 2024 meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Scotty (Bullhead City resident) requested that the commission ride the bus route to Safeway between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. to observe accessibility issues. He also requested a bus stop at the DMV/police station/court area and asked that paratransit cardholders be allowed to request the driver to stop at Rio Grande (a former stop) to reduce his walking distance. He noted he has a paratransit card but has not used it.
- Harvey Pryor (Bullhead City resident) echoed Scotty's requests for a DMV stop and also asked for a bus stop at the new hospital, as the current route does not serve it. He requested that the green route on Miracle Mile stop at 2585 Miracle Mile for Southwest Behavioral without requiring a transfer. He criticized the city's lack of public information about a December 30, 2024 bus accident, stating that no official statement has been released. He also noted that the meeting time (5:30 p.m.) prevents transit-dependent residents from attending because the last bus leaves before the meeting ends.
Discussion Items
- Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Update: Interim MPO Executive Director Johnny Loera reported that the MPO is now fully staffed (2 people) with an office at 2135 Highway 95. The first major task is a Unified Planning Work Program, which includes creating a public participation plan, a Title VI Civil Rights Act plan, and a Long-Range Transportation Plan (20-year horizon). The Long-Range Plan will require a consultant and take 12–18 months. The MPO will also develop a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for funding projects. The first advisory committee and executive board meetings are scheduled for March 2025. A dedicated MPO website will provide public access to documents.
- Finance and Ridership Report (Michael, Transit Staff):
- Reimbursements from ADOT under the 5311 grant are delayed due to ADOT's e-grant system overhaul (started late December 2024, still incomplete). A stack of reimbursements is ready, but staff cannot submit until the system reopens. ADOT has requested an FTA extension because multiple agencies are affected. For the 5307 grant (transition after September 2024), staff must wait for the TIP to be developed by the MPO before applying for funds. No immediate risk of losing funds.
- Ridership for calendar year 2024 reached 142,000 rides, up from about 100,000 during COVID. The peak was 180,000 before a slight decline pre-COVID. Ridership fluctuates seasonally (spring/fall highest). Staff projects 150,000 rides for the next fiscal year based on historical growth (6–8% per year).
- No passenger complaints were received since the last commission meeting.
- Transit Accident Report: On December 30, 2024, a transit bus had a collision on Miracle Mile near Riverview Drive. The driver suffered a medical episode, drove through a barricade, and struck several parked construction vehicles, ending with a large dump truck. The driver and two passengers were transported to Warm Springs Hospital with minor injuries. The vehicle's disposition is pending insurance determination. Staff noted that a press release was issued by the city's PIO the next day.
- Transit Facility Update: Work on the transit facility plan has been delayed due to holidays and the contractor focusing on other city projects. Staff is finalizing discussions on fixtures and furnishings. The final plans are expected to be completed in early February 2025, after which they will be presented to city administration, the council, and the commission. Environmental clearance (NEPA) is being included in the plans. Once funding is secured (staff will apply for federal grants), construction can proceed. Staff hopes to have a clearer timeline by the end of 2025.
- Commission Questions: A commissioner asked about the drop in ridership in the last three quarters (about 4,000 fewer riders). Staff responded that ridership fluctuations do not affect funding, which is population-based. Another commissioner asked about adding a fifth route; staff explained that service expansion is guided by planning documents (short-range transit plan). A planning grant application has been submitted, with a preliminary award expected in February 2025. The planning study would take about a year, with a final plan potentially adopted by July 2026. Commission involvement and public input will be sought.
- Future Agenda Items: No items were identified for the next meeting.
Key Outcomes
- The minutes of the November 4, 2024 commission meeting were approved unanimously.
- Staff will continue to pursue reimbursement from ADOT and prepare for direct FTA submissions once the MPO's TIP is in place.
- The MPO will begin its Unified Planning Work Program, with initial committee meetings in March 2025.
- A short-range transit planning grant application is pending; staff will update the commission at the May 2025 meeting on its status.
- The transit facility plan is expected to be finalized in February 2025, after which staff will seek funding for construction.
- No new future agenda items were proposed; the next regular meeting is anticipated in three months (likely May 2025).
Note: The agenda listed the meeting at 5:30 p.m., while the summary instruction referenced 12:30 UTC; the date (February 3, 2025) is consistent.
Meeting Transcript
All right, call to order Bullhead Area Transit Commission meeting uh February 3rd, 2025. Madam Secretary, roll call. All commissioners are present. Join me in a pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic, which is one nation. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. All right. So we have a uh presentation this uh this evening on the uh metropolitan planning organization, an update presentation from the interim uh MPO executive director, sir. Yes, good evening, Chair, board members. My name is Johnny Loera. I am the interim director of the MPO. Um I wanted to give you a very brief update. I think uh Mr. Peluso has already explained the MPO, the reason behind it, how it's formed. So really I'm just gonna talk to you a little bit about what we've been doing so far. And the first update that we have is that we are now fully staffed. We're a staff of two people, myself and we have a staff member that just came on actually today was her first day fully with the MPO. She's a transportation planner and grant writer is is her title. So what she's doing for now is helping with the budget, physically getting the office up and running. We have an office now over at the Monarchs Plaza 2135 Highway 95. We've well, I've attended a couple of meetings in Phoenix. We've melt met with the other MPOs and the uh the councils of government and with ADOT. Uh some of it is educational, some of it has been uh going towards you know future agenda settings and and uh conferences conferences, things like that. Uh they've been talking to us about what's required of the MPOs moving forward. You know, this only happens once every 10 years with the census, so we are the only new MPO in Arizona. There's I think another 10 or so throughout the country, and they're all kind of going through these the same issues that we are. Um, first real task is to produce a work program. It's called a unified planning work program. And we are into that now. What this does, it kind of sets the stage for the next couple of years of what the MPO is going to do, what we have to produce. So the first thing that we really have to do is administrate the the MPO. So that's the day-to-day operations. We have to get funding for these things. So that's staffing that is going to meetings, that's financial records, staffing support for the advisory committee, and for the executive board meetings, which those meetings will start in March. We'll I think we'll have our first advisory committee and our first executive board meetings. We have to create a public participation plan so that when we do have plans to actually present to the board, there's a plan to get that out to the public as well. There's a Title Six Civil Rights Act plan that we have to show that we are in compliance with all civil rights uh act laws. And then the first kind of real big piece of that work program is the long-range transportation plan. So that is a plan with a 20-year horizon that we have to go out and get a consultant for uh that process takes 12 to 18 months once we choose a consultant for them to study our transit system, study the condition of the roads, you know, potentially uh upgrades to the roads, um turn lanes, you know, new new signals, things like that. Uh but once we have once once that's actually in process, we will be presenting uh to the executive board with updates, and their their task will be to give us kind of priorities, right? So as the consultant presents the different things they think uh are required to update our system transit or any uh physical upgrades, the board will then give us direction as to what they think the the priority projects will be. Um and then we get that uh approved officially at after the part the public participation, we'll get that piece approved. Um, and that leads into the transportation improvement plan. So that's that's a plan that has to be has to be updated every couple of years with the actual projects that we're trying to get funding for. So we have to create this list, uh different projects, it could be actual construction projects, could be funding for the transit system, could be new buses, new vans, uh expansion of the system potentially, but that will be in that plan, and that those are the projects that we then go out to to ADOT and we go to the federal highways to try to get funding for. And really, I think those tasks will keep us busy for the next at least year or two, uh, as far as the MPO goes. Any questions? Okay, go ahead.
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