Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:53:50 -0500
From: Gene Galin
Subject: Taxpayers foot 99% of the Pittsboro Express cost
Taxpayers foot 99% of the Pittsboro Express cost
Read the entire article at
http://www.chathamjournal.com/
By Donna Kelly
Pittsboro, NC – Why did the Board of Commissioners decide not to continue funding the Pittsboro Express Bus after the current contract runs out? Let’s look at some background and numbers.
We should be focusing on solutions that fit the unique conditions within Chatham County, not trying to use programs designed for different areas. If the county is going to invest in anything, it should be investing in Chatham Transit, which uses smaller buses or large vans to run a system more suited to the rural nature of Chatham County.
Chatham Transit had just started building a regular route to Chapel Hill right before the Express Bus was started. Why did we encourage an outside transportation agency to supplant the efforts of a local agency?
Let’s look at the public record < chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=457 > as recorded in the minutes of the Chatham Board of Commissioners.
The first mention I’ve found of the Pittsboro Express (PX) bus is at the 9-15-08 regular meeting. Rita Spina, on behalf of CCEC makes some comments about a DOT presentation on development of the 15-501 corridor and describes the desperate need for bus service. In response, George Lucier mentions the Pittsboro Express bus proposal that is being developed. During the commissioner reports section of the 11-17-08 regular meeting, Chairman Lucier expressed concern that there were two public meetings scheduled about the bus, but they were scheduled without coordination with the board of commissioners and both meetings conflicted with Chatham County board of commissioner events. This calls into question the claim that this is a joint project and indicates it’s a Chapel Hill Transit project.
The first official presentation of the program was during the 12-01-08 regular meeting. During that meeting Chapel Hill Transit officials explained that they heard about a grant opportunity in July and applied for it. They were awarded the grant and had been working on gathering information and developing a proposal for service. It appears there had been very little discussion with Chatham Transit at this point. It’s also clear that this proposal was developed around the grant that had been received that would largely fund it. The grant was a federal reverse commute grant designed to help bring workers into Chapel Hill. Although it might evolve into something that would truly benefit Chatham County, the purpose of the grant that was the foundation for the whole program was to help Chapel Hill. The actual budget breakdown for the upcoming year as presented at the 7-19-10 BOC meeting by Chapel Hill Transit:
Federal $96450 50%
County $46050 24%
UNC(state) $30000 16%
Pittsboro $18000 9%
Riders $ 2400 1%