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Record of Proceedings

Nampa-Caldwell Joint Workshop with Valley Regional Transit on Transit Services - February 19, 2026

Public Meetings — Thursday, February 19, 2026
BodyNampa, Idaho
SessionPublic Meetings
DateThursday, February 19, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:56:39

Transcript — Verbatim
2:02

There we go.

2:03

Sorry.

2:03

We we usually start with the invocation and a pledge before we go to formal roll call.

2:08

So I've asked Councilman Reynolds to open us in prayer the pledge.

2:12

So if you would please stand.

2:19

Dear God, thank you for this morning.

2:20

Thank you that we all get to be here.

2:23

And uh help us in our decisions and our discussion that we have today.

2:28

Please give us wisdom.

2:29

Um please give us uh the ability to connect with our sister city and be able to have good relationships as we go forward.

2:40

Thank you for everything you give us and for everything you do for us.

2:43

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

2:47

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

3:00

Thank you.

3:13

I think some of you have made your way to the room.

3:16

I try to let you all know we have coffee.

3:17

Feel free to grab coffee, banana, muffins, uh in the in the room right around the corner.

3:22

So that is available.

3:24

Um we I'm not necessarily sharing the meaning per se, so I think uh just kind of some ground rules is once we do our respective roll calls, uh BRT has a lot of important information I'm gonna share with us.

3:36

So I'd say to Elaine and Steven and stuff, there's no need to have to look if someone has their hand up, there's no need to have to like go through the chair or presiding officer.

3:46

Just we want this to be back and forth dialogue.

3:49

You have questions, just put your hand up.

3:51

Um, so the formalities of having to go through a chair and all that is you know, not necessarily the intent this morning.

3:58

We just want good two-way dialogue and this is a workshop, no decisions are being made.

4:02

There's not an action item on our respective agendas.

4:06

This is informational, however, the information is gonna help inform decisions, so I think our respective cities are um gonna contemplate as we consider what the the role of BRT is in our respective communities.

4:17

We're linked, um, in many ways.

4:20

So um I'll defer to Mayor Phillips and your clerk maybe calling the roll call uh for your counsel and then we'll follow.

4:28

Yeah, thank you.

4:28

I just want to start out real quick just saying we really appreciate the opportunity to work together.

4:33

Um our council was definitely on board when we reached out and uh thank you, council for being here bright and early.

4:39

I know this isn't our normal time, so we'll give it to you guys for having your workshops and such this early.

4:44

Uh thank you, Mayor, for arranging all this.

4:47

Um it's very important that we work closely together.

4:50

We are uh literally next door to each other, so I look forward to not only today, but future opportunities um of working together uh on things like the animal shelter and others.

5:01

So thank you for that.

5:02

And with that, um, Madam Clerk, will you call the role for Coldwell?

5:07

Councilor Tillmont.

5:09

Here, Councillor Stadik?

5:10

Here, Counselor Register here, Counselor Williams?

5:12

Here, Counselor Algood?

5:14

Here, Counselor Dittenberg.

5:15

Here.

5:16

We are all present.

5:17

All right, thanks.

5:18

Um, our clerk.

5:20

Shark.

5:21

Yes.

5:21

Thanks.

5:23

For Nampa City Council Scog.

5:26

Here.

5:26

Jingula.

5:28

Bills.

5:29

Yes.

5:29

Reynolds.

5:30

Here.

5:30

Rodriguez.

5:31

Here.

5:32

Griffin.

5:33

For present to absent.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Transportation█████████████████████████████████████████████55%
Transportation Safety█████████11%
Economic Development█████6%
Budget Equity Analysis█████6%
Public Safety███4%
Land Use Planning███4%
Public Engagement██3%
Fiscal Sustainability██3%
Procedural██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Nampa-Caldwell Joint Workshop with Valley Regional Transit on Transit Services - February 19, 2026

This joint workshop brought together the city councils of Nampa and Caldwell with Valley Regional Transit (VRT) leadership to discuss transit services in Canyon County. VRT CEO Elaine Clegg and Chief Development Officer Stephen Hunt presented an overview of recent service improvements, ridership trends, funding challenges, and future plans. No decisions were made; the session was informational and aimed at fostering dialogue between the two cities as they consider the role of transit in their communities.

VRT Presentation Highlights

  • VRT has increased Canyon County ridership by 17% over two years, nearly reaching a three-year target of 20%.
  • Service hours have declined 6% while population grew 15%, resulting in nearly a 20% drop in service hours per capita.
  • Route 42 (serving Nampa-Caldwell corridor) was redesigned to run hourly all day, leading to significant ridership gains.
  • Route 40 (Caldwell to Boise via freeway) was combined from two underperforming routes and now offers all-day service.
  • Route 45 (Nampa to Boise State via CWI) saw the largest percentage increase in ridership.
  • On-demand service lost some riders as more people shifted to improved fixed routes, but unmet demand remains due to limited seats.
  • VRT is testing commingling of paratransit and on-demand services to increase seat availability; in three weeks, the seat gap dropped from 13% to 6%.
  • A new vanpool program will launch in spring 2026 for trips within Canyon County and to western counties, with no local cost to cities.
  • VRT is exploring supplemental event services for downtown Caldwell, the Ford Idaho Center, and other venues.
  • Federal funds cover about 50% of VRT's budget; Idaho is the only state without dedicated transit funding.
  • The 2030 census may reclassify the area as a large urban area, reducing federal matching rates.

Discussion Items

  • Council members asked for detailed ridership data on Routes 40 and 42, specifically boardings originating in Nampa and Caldwell versus elsewhere.
  • Council member Bills noted Nampa currently bears about 66% of Canyon County's transit costs and expressed concern that Nampa cannot continue to be the sole carrier of such services.
  • Council member Stoddick questioned the county's relatively low contribution compared to cities and suggested the county should contribute more.
  • Council member Stoddick also raised concerns about VRT's past investment in electric buses, calling them unreliable, and expressed support for compressed natural gas (CNG) buses instead.
  • Council member Reynolds asked about transitioning from a system used primarily by those who need transit to one that people want to use, citing convenience and traffic mitigation.
  • Council member Griffin noted budget pressures on Nampa (e.g., shelter cost increases, infrastructure failures) and questioned the return on investment given low per-route ridership. He requested average daily ridership data for Routes 40 and 42 originating in Nampa and Caldwell.
  • Council member Griffin also expressed willingness to support placing a transit levy on the ballot if VRT proposes one, emphasizing giving voters the choice.
  • Mayor of Caldwell asked about the threshold for federal funding changes and when costs might shift.
  • Council member Register asked about the Canyon County Rides to Wellness service and its regional versus local ridership.

Key Outcomes

  • No votes were taken; the workshop was informational with no action items.
  • VRT committed to providing additional ridership data to both councils, specifically daily boardings on Routes 40 and 42 by municipality of origin.
  • VRT will share video testimonials from Canyon County Transit Day as follow-up.
  • Council member Griffin indicated support for a future transit levy measure if placed on a May primary or general election ballot.
  • Both councils acknowledged the need to evaluate transit funding collaboratively, especially given state-imposed revenue restrictions and shared growth challenges.

Meeting Transcript

There we go. Sorry. We we usually start with the invocation and a pledge before we go to formal roll call. So I've asked Councilman Reynolds to open us in prayer the pledge. So if you would please stand. Dear God, thank you for this morning. Thank you that we all get to be here. And uh help us in our decisions and our discussion that we have today. Please give us wisdom. Um please give us uh the ability to connect with our sister city and be able to have good relationships as we go forward. Thank you for everything you give us and for everything you do for us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Thank you. I think some of you have made your way to the room. I try to let you all know we have coffee. Feel free to grab coffee, banana, muffins, uh in the in the room right around the corner. So that is available. Um we I'm not necessarily sharing the meaning per se, so I think uh just kind of some ground rules is once we do our respective roll calls, uh BRT has a lot of important information I'm gonna share with us. So I'd say to Elaine and Steven and stuff, there's no need to have to look if someone has their hand up, there's no need to have to like go through the chair or presiding officer. Just we want this to be back and forth dialogue. You have questions, just put your hand up. Um, so the formalities of having to go through a chair and all that is you know, not necessarily the intent this morning. We just want good two-way dialogue and this is a workshop, no decisions are being made. There's not an action item on our respective agendas. This is informational, however, the information is gonna help inform decisions, so I think our respective cities are um gonna contemplate as we consider what the the role of BRT is in our respective communities. We're linked, um, in many ways. So um I'll defer to Mayor Phillips and your clerk maybe calling the roll call uh for your counsel and then we'll follow. Yeah, thank you. I just want to start out real quick just saying we really appreciate the opportunity to work together. Um our council was definitely on board when we reached out and uh thank you, council for being here bright and early. I know this isn't our normal time, so we'll give it to you guys for having your workshops and such this early. Uh thank you, Mayor, for arranging all this. Um it's very important that we work closely together. We are uh literally next door to each other, so I look forward to not only today, but future opportunities um of working together uh on things like the animal shelter and others. So thank you for that. And with that, um, Madam Clerk, will you call the role for Coldwell? Councilor Tillmont. Here, Councillor Stadik? Here, Counselor Register here, Counselor Williams? Here, Counselor Algood? Here, Counselor Dittenberg. Here. We are all present. All right, thanks. Um, our clerk. Shark. Yes. Thanks. For Nampa City Council Scog.

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