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2 Columbiana Co. organizations update equipment
The transit system provided more than 116,000 rides last year.
LISBON — The Community Action Rural Transit System and the Leetonia Community Public Library are gaining because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Phyllis Linderman, the transportation director for the Community Action Agency, a nonprofit organization, said it has received a total in $537,500 in recovery funds.
The library will receive a $174,000 low-cost loan and a $30,000 grant, both from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the recovery act.
Linderman said some of system’s equipment is more than 20 years old. The transit system is an on-demand system that had given more than 116,000 rides last year.
The buses are housed on state Route 30 on the eastern edge of Lisbon, while its main offices are on the north side of the village.
Linderman said that part of the facilities on Route 30 will be remodeled into an office area for the system.
The work will also include creating a waiting room for customers, she said.
The transit system is also working to make connections with the Western Reserve Transit Authority in Mahoning County to help people get to medical or other appointments in Mahoning County.
The system has also bought global positioning software.
“People call us and say, ‘Hey, where’s my ride?’” she said.
Now, staffers can check and tell the customer exactly where the bus is.
The transit system has dived the county into zones. A one-way ride from Salem to East Liverpool is $4.
In Leetonia, librarian Andy Smith said that the loan and grant will be used to buy new furniture and computers.
Their average computer is 10 years old, Smith said. When the library is finished, it will have computers for users as well as have wireless connections.
wilkinson@vindy.com
RECOVERY MONEY
Here are the items that will be purchased by the Community Action Rural Transit System with federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and funding for the Leetonia Community Public Library with U.S. Department of Agriculture funds.
TRANSIT SYSTEM
Two-way radio repeater with lines and antenna, $20,344
Twenty-six mobile radios, $33,332
Four portable radio two-way radios, $4,394
Two control stations with an antenna for two-way radios, $6,973
Global positioning software, $30,206
Six transit vehicles, $270,000
Garage rehabilitation and renovation, $60,000
Capitalized maintenance, $112,251
LEETONIA PUBLIC LIBRARY
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide $204,000 as part of the Recovery Act to the Leetonia Community Public Library for library equipment. Some $174,000 will be a loan from the USDA, the remaining $30,000 will be a grant.
Source: Office of U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson