Yep.

Go ahead and get started for the transit commission meeting for Thursday, March 19th.

Do that.

It's on.

Yeah.

Yep.

It's green.

Um I'll speak louder.

Apologize.

Kind of haspy.

Um take a vote.

Cassens here.

Kevin Riley here.

Oh, Donald here.

Hey in here.

We have a quorum.

Please rise to remove any head here.

Thanks, everyone.

We can uh we do have a public hearing, so we have a public hearing after minutes approval, so we can uh we can take comments at that time.

Gotcha.

Item four a uh approval of minutes from February 5th.

Pay and moves.

Kevin Riley seconds.

Any comments or questions?

Seeing none take a vote.

Casson's aye.

Kevin Riley, aye.

O'Donnell Aye.

Motion passes.

Now we enter a public hearing.

Um public hearing.

Kevin Riley so moves.

Paying seconds.

We have a motion and second to enter public hearing.

Um other questions or comments for that.

Yeah, you can just vote vote to open it.

Kevin Riley, aye.

O'Donnell I.

Pay and I.

Okay.

Uh Mr.

Chairman, then what I'll do.

Thank you for opening the public hearing.

I'll just briefly go over the proposed changes for uh service changes for June 15th.

Um first a general statement.

Um what we looked at for these changes were more opportunities where we could reallocate resources to higher ridership areas or make serve make service improvements.

Um, but there are some uh proposed reductions in service.

Um as we've talked many times at this board, uh we do have a significant long-term uh financial um deficit if we if everything is the same.

So we are looking for opportunities to make reductions that minimize the amount of folks that are passengers that are affected.

We when we do make a reduction, we realize that it does affect individuals or recommend that.

And so um uh we're we're sorry for that, but unfortunately, the financial realities both now and the future have us uh looking at these when we can or they are affecting as few folks as we can.

Um with that general statement, I'm just gonna go through um the proposed changes, and it's a lot of routes, but uh uh with the exception of two, um they were relatively minor, but the one of the big ones that requires the public hearing is uh route we're recommending uh the Route Six on Sunday um service, just Sunday service be eliminated at due to low ridership.

Um this wasn't made in the vacuum, and none of these decisions are made in a vacuum.

In fact, we've been looking at this as a possibility for the last couple years, and the ridership hasn't improved, and it's at a level where with the other routes, because at one point back 20 some odd years ago, all the routes ran on Sunday, but we've uh eliminated ones, but it's now at the level that we've eliminated in the past, um, like the others, and I just want to point out um that routes three, nine, and fifteen currently do not run on Sundays, and they have higher weekday and Saturday ridership and also higher ridership per hour.

And I just want to point out that routes three, nine, and fifteen currently do not run on Sundays, and they have higher weekday and Saturday ridership and also higher ridership per hour.

Um, and so those parts of the city do not have uh service.

Um the change to Route 5 would be elimination of the West High after school trip, um, and that would be eliminated after the school year in mid-June is very low ridership.

We only have one regular student riding that.

In fact, the average ride uh number of uh students riding is one, and then the other change with Route 5 would be the 850 a.m.

uh trip on Sunday.

We'd propose for elimination.

Route nine um is a route that we really haven't looked at that much since uh post-COVID, but it is one that we've been uh examining, and essentially what we would be doing is we'd uh we're proposing on weekdays eliminating the first trip and then the first uh so base basically service wouldn't say starting at 55 would start at 6:30.

Um it has very low ridership, particularly on the outbound trip, and then the 120 trip basically um it would push back half hour service on Route 9 to 225.

So that there is some operational efficiencies too with eliminating these routes.

Um, the big change though for Route 9 is on Saturdays, and this was proposed by Sewer Pack in our transit development plan is to not operate north of Silvernail Road.

Route 9 serves a lot of the county facilities, and then Northview, Grandview, Silver Nail Road, WCTC, and what I have up here on the map is oh, sorry, is the outbound leg, and the reason why we waited to we would have done this a lot sooner, but we were having we're struggling with getting the timing down with the normal Route 9 uh routing.

We it would be difficult to try and run this in a half hour.

Um, so what we're proposing is one slight deviation from sewer pack's plan, and that is on the outbound leg, so leaving the transit center, we'd leave as a Route 8 and then come up on Dela Field, and then once we get north of Moreland, we'd resume the normal Route 9 routing that sewer packag recommended, and then at uh Grandview and Silvernail, we would uh we would turn and then the the outbound leg would end at the Silver Nail Plaza, and then inbound would be the normal inbound routing routing from Silver Nail Plaza back to the transit center.

The reason for this is this area north, the the area north of Silvernail, um we're only getting one trip, one boarding per Saturday, and two and a half um passengers getting off all day, and there's a total of 18 one-way trips, so it's very low ridership, and this is about 40, 45 percent of the mileage.

Um, so we can turn Route 9 into a half-hour route, and then what we would do is with that bus, the other half hour we'd run a second uh Route 4, which serves the south central part of the city, including Walmart, and that route can get very busy as we're as the weather is getting nicer, Route 4 gets very busy on Saturdays, a lot of wheelchairs, a lot of mobility devices, a lot of shopping carts, and so we'd be able to put more service back into the city and where we where there's more chance for ridership.

Um and then there would be a with this change on to the Route 9, there'd be a slight change to the metro lift.

Uh we're proposing a slight change to the weekend metro lift uh uh zone, and I will bring up the current metro lift.

So this is our current metro lift uh map.

Um all the areas that are shaded, that those are areas within the city, and then the areas outside are areas that are within three quarters of a mile of the fixed route, which is required by ADA, and we we have this uh out to Freighter at Hospital as well.

And but I would really want you to focus on the north end uh round WCTC.

So this is our week weekday zone, and what we're proposing is to not go that far north on the weekend, so we'd have a slightly different weekend zone.

So we'd have a slightly different weekend zone.

Nothing changes in the east to freighter, nothing changes within the city.

Um so that would just be the the change as a result of not operating the bus all the way up to WCTC on Saturday.

The for Route 4, I did state that we would increase service on Route 4 to 30 minutes on Saturday during the day.

Um one change we do have for Route 4 on Saturdays would be um although ridership during the day is really strong on Saturday in the evening, it it's rather low, and so we're recommending eliminating the last two Saturday night trips so the service would end at 7.45 instead of 8 45 p.m.

on Saturdays.

Also, with the if the Route 6 were approved for elimination, we're recommending that we run a second bus on Route 4 on Sunday, a shorter uh span of time, a five-hour uh span of time.

Um because Route 4 does have higher ridership than any other route um other than Route 1 on Sundays.

The other changes are um just single trips or just a few trips route three.

We're recommending uh eliminating the Route Three trips, last two Saturday trips for Route three, so Route Three would be um done with service by 5 p.m.

But that that area also that route three is the area that serves like uh the target on Caso Road and Woodman's, but we also have Route One that kind of either goes right, has stops that serve the same locations or within the uh near vicinity that goes till 11 p.m.

So there would be uh we feel that would be a low impact one, and then Route 8, the 615 weekday trip would be proposed for elimination.

Um that just means that uh Route 8 would have half hour service.

We'd go to an hour service a half hour earlier on Route 8, but that trip has very low ridership uh again around one ride per hour or per trip.

So with that, that is an overview.

Um I did we did receive a few comments, but I do believe there's a gentleman in the audience that would like to uh make a comment as well.

So Mark, is that you uh I've been taking that the route six for a long sorry could you state your name and address, please?

Oh my name is Mark Zarwell, and I live on 1219 South Grand View, right at the Hickory Hill apartments, and I've been taking the Route Six for a long time, and uh I don't want to have to move out of my apartment and and move to a different apartment where there's different routes, and I don't want to pay for an Uber.

That's why I I wish you the Route Six would run a little longer.

That's what what the issue is and I I can't afford a car right now.

It's too you know that's the problem.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sir, uh just one question.

How many times a week do you assume you take the Route Six bus?

Um how many times?

Almost like every day when I'm going to work.

So four or five times a day?

Yeah.

I mean a week, yeah.

Yeah.

Then I go down transfer to Route 1.

Yeah, that's from my work is that way.

That's why.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Okay.

Um thank you.

Um, Mr.

Zarwell was also had called in his comments, but um, I'm very happy that he came in um to do it in person.

We did receive one other comment, and that was from a Michael.

I do not have his last name or his address, but he is opposed to the cuts to Route 9.

Um, he uses it every day to get to work, and he's afraid that'll make it more difficult for him.

Um we do believe that he he was referring to the weekday Route 9 cuts, not the change to the Saturday uh Route 9.

So that is the end of our comments that we have received.

Anybody have anything else?

Brian, um, in this gentleman's case, don't we have that uh on demand or what I don't remember what you call it, or you you can call in and and we'll go pick somebody up?

Um well that's metro lift if he had a qualifying uh disability.

Um yeah, that might be an option if you're just gonna say I mean I do write a scooter in the summertime, but winter time no, I can't ride a moped in the winter.

That's the problem.

Yeah, and that might be an option too.

And we could I would I would if if this does get approved, what we could do is you can contact us on you know that call the transitor, talk to Kristen.

We could work on maybe there's a conditional conditional approval for metro.

Yep.

Yeah, that that we we could work with you if that if that if this is approved.

So that way I don't have to take it over.

Yeah.

No, that is a that is that would be an option if he has a qualifying disability.

Sorry, yeah.

Yep.

Any other questions or comments?

Um, I just have uh one.

I understand we have to make these we have to make some.

Oh, I'm sorry.

We're we're still in the public hearing, so if we're oh if you're okay with closing the public hearing, the next item is this is the action item on this.

If you can okay.

No problem with that.

I move to close public hearing.

Kevin Riley seconds.

Motion passes or there's a first and a second.

Uh let's make a vote.

Kevin Riley, I wouldn't pay an aye.

Motion carries.

So uh public hearing is now closed.

So then the 6A would be the um would be the review and act on the proposed service changes um that we just had the public hearing on that would be effective June 15th.

So now we can yeah, I'm sorry, I jumped the gun there.

No.

Um I know we have to make cuts.

We we can't we just don't have the money to to run everything at the current levels.

The but my question is is I'm the WCTC uh reductions at uh several years ago the YMCA said they were gonna relocate out there, but I've never seen them break ground or make any serious move to actually go there.

What would our position be if we cancel the route and then the YMCA does cross over there?

Would we be in a position to possibly reach that?

Well, that would be ultimately the decision of the council, but my recommendation is that we would not run on Saturday um unless WCTC, the City of Pewaki or the YMCA pays for it.

Current, we are we are getting no funding from WCTC, the City of Piocky, Waxha County to run to WCTC.

And so uh as city funds are uh and right now it's an efficiency thing.

You know, we have we've done this with several routes uh over the last few years where we have a uh a segment of the trip in this case about 40 45 percent of the mileage that were producing no rides or very little rides.

Um but the why, yeah, that is something that down the road we would look at.

I just so and I should state um I did notify my contacts at WCTC they were aware of uh of this and they didn't have any comments at this time, but that is something that we've talked to them in the past, and they brought up about uh service because of the YMCA and and such, and I told them at that time we're heading into a tough financial period, so any additional service, somebody else is going to have to pay it.

The city cannot afford it.

And so that would be my recommendation is that if somebody else is willing to pay for it, then we'd consider it.

Um but that's ultimately the council.

I mean, well, you would as this board would recommend, but ultimately the council would have uh the final say on that.

Thank you.

It's not what I'm hoping for, but it's reality.

Yeah, I I I haven't heard anything.

I'm a member of the Y, I haven't heard anything on the move.

Uh that's kind of good.

Buses don't run for free.

Yep, unfortunately, no.

So I I would uh I would move to uh to approve that proposed service changes effect of June 15th.

June 15th, yeah, June 15th.

Kevin Riley seconds.

Uh just that we need to make uh an effort to reach out to these people that might be being stranded and let them know how the metro lift works and whether they're eligible for it.

Yeah, that that is something that and the one of the things, and I I'd like to compliment our operations staff for doing this, but any of the trips that were affected, they were handing out notices of the beyond just us posting them, they were hand individually having the drivers hand them out on the trips that would be affected.

So pastors were no, so we could so they could start that conversation ahead of time.

So thank you.

Yeah, other questions or comments.

I had one more, and I apologize.

I did inform the school district and the principal at West High School about the proposed elimination of that.

And the only thing that the school district commented was they're very appreciative that we're doing this.

They understand, but they're very appreciative that we wait till summer till after the school year is done.

Awesome.

So let's take a vote on 6A, which has been moved and seconded.

Anyone have any other questions or comments?

No, take a vote.

Cassens I.

Kevin Riley, aye.

Pay and aye.

Motion passes.

Item 6B.

Uh 6B is the review and act on the resolution authorizing the filing of the 2026 federal transit grant.

Uh this is our annual resolution to allow me to uh apply for federal funds for operating and our approved capital projects.

Um I won't go over them unless you want to, but they were all approved in our CIP.

And then there is some funding for buses, uh, both the 2027 approved bus purchase and then future pair transit buses as well.

So move pain moves to resolution.

Kevin Riley seconds.

Seeing none, we'll take a vote.

Cass' aye.

Kevin Riley, aye.

Pay and aye.

Motion passes.

Item seven.

Uh seven is communications.

We had no formal communication, but we did Alex and I were talking today, and one of the things we are wanted to let you know is we're gonna invite you down to Badger Drive again.

Um if you would take us up on it probably sometime next month, um, to hope we'll we'll try and kill two birds with one stone.

Um we'll do uh presentation on why we use the bus size, the size bus that we do, and then also um hopefully the bus wash will be installed by then so we can we can show you that as well.

On our cars through uh a little bit too big for cars, unfortunately.

That's all we had.

Thank you.

Anyone else have anything?

Why is we are adjourned?

Do you do you have a proposed date for that?

Uh not yet.

Okay.

We'll work on that.

Thank you, Brian.

Yep, thanks, Brian.