Thursday, April 12, 2001
Since the shut down of TACT, Trumbull is the largest county in the state without its own bus service.
BY REBECCA SLOAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Warren Mayor Hank Angelo, Niles Mayor Ralph Infante Jr. and Terrence V. Thomas, president of Community Bus Services, have asked Trumbull County commissioners to support a long-awaited proposal to get a countywide transit system up and running.
"We really need a public transportation service in Trumbull County, especially for seniors," Thomas said at a special Wednesday meeting of commissioners and other officials.
The proposal, which would be spearheaded by Infante, would ask communities interested in participating to pledge a dollar for each resident, money that would then be matched by county, state and federal funds.
"For example, from just one dollar pledged, each community would immediately end up with $19," Thomas said. A total of about $2 million in Federal Transit Administration funds is available.
What's being done: Angelo and Infante told commissioners they plan to talk first with larger communities.
"We'd like to get this core group of communities -- Girard, Howland, Niles, Warren and Liberty -- to back the proposal first," he said.
"We are asking for a commitment of $120,000 to $230,000 from these communities, so that means the most that the county would have to match would be $230,000."
Larger communities will be approached first because the amount of money earmarked for the area is determined by a formula that considers population density in designated urban areas, Thomas said.
Trumbull County's designated urban areas are portions of Warren, Niles and Girard.
If approval is forthcoming, the plan must then be OK'd by the Federal Transit Authority and then the Eastgate Council of Regional Governments.
Federal criteria for a transportation system include securing local funding, a security policy, a drug-free policy and plans to meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The $2.5 million in FTA money available this year for Mahoning and Trumbull counties is going to Western Reserve Transit Authority in Youngstown, but that organization operates only sparingly in Trumbull County.
Last year, Trumbull County applied for about $600,000 of the federal transit money to operate Trumbull Area Coordinated Transportation, but the application was turned down because the county hadn't met federal qualifications.
Since the shutdown of TACT on Dec. 31, 2000, Trumbull is the largest county in the state without its own bus service.
Questions: Noting many unanswered questions, commissioners said Wednesday they may vote April 19 on the plan.
Commissioner Michael O'Brien questioned whether or not smaller county communities that do not wish to pledge funds would be included.
"They are still a part of the county, and the county is funding this, so are they entitled to receive the service?" O'Brien asked.
Thomas said those details fall to the commissioners to decide. Infante said smaller communities could join later.