NILES Local officials are told to resolve transit protest

WRTA will meet with the city to explain the details of the protest.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Local officials still have to resolve the bidding protest that has kept the Niles-Trumbull Transit Service from starting up.
Officials from the Federal Transit Authority office in Chicago recently ruled that protest procedures approved by NTTS should be used to handle locally a complaint lodged by Western Reserve Transit Authority against the bidding process.
The complaint, which has kept Niles and other participating Trumbull County communities from starting their own demand-response system, was filed by WRTA in December.
"This gets things moving along," said J. Terrence Dull, Niles law director. "At least this gives us some direction on what to do."
Dull said he, Mayor Ralph Infante and other city officials will coordinate a meeting with WRTA representatives to hear out the complaint and move from there.
Infante, who spearheaded the busing project, could not be reached.
"It's not a complex procedure," Dull said. "Basically, the city gives the complainant an opportunity to explain all the details of their protest."
Dull said no meeting date's been set, but officials are eager to get the matter resolved so busing can start in Trumbull County soon.
Submitted protest
WRTA, which operates a fixed-route busing system through Mahoning County and limited routes in Trumbull County, requested a bid package last fall from Niles.
When bids were opened by city officials, however, WRTA had submitted only a protest to the bidding procedure.
WRTA officials contend they could not get information needed to file a responsive bid.
Community Busing Services submitted the lowest bid.
Under the planned busing system, residents would arrange specific pickup and drop-off points, rather than using fixed routes, stops and times.
Several communities in the county pledged funding toward the one-year pilot program, and officials secured $400,000 in federal grants and local matches.
Last week, state Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd, attended a WRTA board meeting and asked that the bid protest be dropped.
Board members said they were not in favor of dropping the protest, but could not take any formal action since they lacked a quorum.
slshaulis@vindy.com