PROPOSED TRANSIT SYSTEM Attorney hired by Niles studies WRTA's complaint

The city's response is due within 30 days.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- A Washington, D.C., lawyer is the latest stop for a bidding protest that's kept a new bus service from starting up in Trumbull County.
Atty. Steve Diaz, a former employee of the Federal Transit Authority, is reviewing the official protest filed late last week by Western Reserve Transit Authority of Youngstown.
Diaz, an attorney specializing in transportation, has been hired by Niles to help the city with this transportation issue. Niles is the lead agency of the new Niles-Trumbull Transit System.
Mark Hess, Niles city engineer, said the city has 30 days to respond to WRTA's protest, which was first filed with the FTA in December.
WRTA's protest
WRTA has asked the city to throw out all bids received last year and start anew, saying the process did not provide full and open competition, city officials did not properly respond to questions WRTA had about the proposed system and the lowest bidder, Community Busing Services, has a conflict of interest in bidding on the proposal. WRTA officials could not be reached on Monday.
Hess said the conflict of interest claim stems from a March 2001 meeting sponsored by the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, where CBS officials signed in as a representative of Niles, the lead community on a proposed Trumbull County transit service.
Hess said though CBS is contracted to provide some busing service in Niles, the company is not an agent of the city.
Niles Mayor Ralph Infante said all information related to the complaint was forwarded to Diaz. Copies also were sent to the FTA.
Now, it's a matter of waiting for an opinion from Diaz on behalf of the Niles-Trumbull Transit System.
"Hopefully, that will be the end of it," Hess said, noting WRTA could again appeal to the FTA if it isn't happy with Niles' course of action.
"The FTA has to find legal grounds to hear the appeal, but it's possible," he said.
An appeal to the FTA could take months, again delaying the startup of the service. It's the latest in a long line of meetings, hearings and reviews involving local and federal transit representatives about the proposed Niles-Trumbull Transit Service.
About the system
The brainchild of Infante, NTTS is designed to provide transportation to all residents in Trumbull County who request it.
Several communities have signed on, pledging $1 per resident.
The proposed plan would allow any resident to use the service, but those who live in participating communities would be charged a cheaper rate.
The program received federal and local funding totaling $400,000 for a one-year test run. Officials originally hoped to have the service operational before the end of last year.
slshaulis@vindy.com