Transit system to offer rides to Mason City upon council approval

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Transit trips to Mason City will be available soon for Charles City residents, pending City Council approval.

The council discussed the idea at a planning session Wednesday evening and could take official action at the regular meeting next Monday. Service could begin right after that.

The current contract with the city, Circle K Communications and NIACOG would need to be amended to make the change, and a draft of the new language was presented at the meeting Wednesday.

“There’s really no additional cost to the city,” said City Administrator Steve Diers.

Circle K Communications took over management of the transit system as an independent contractor on Aug. 1 of this year.

The city is reimbursed by NIACOG (the North Iowa Area Council of Governments) for 50 percent of the operating deficit for rides within city limits. NIACOG will reimburse the city 100 percent of any shortfall for the regional rides to Mason City for such things as fuel and driver’s hours worked.

Diers said no additional drivers will need to be hired for the trips to Mason City, as the current pool of drivers can be used for the out-of-county trips.

Floyd County will renegotiate compensation for Circle K and pay an assessment to NIACOG to run the buses to Mason City.

The regional trips to Mason City ended around Thanksgiving of last year, according to Floyd County Supervisor Doug Kamm.

“When it’s all said and done, they’ll be run as two separate entities because they’re two separate programs,” said Kamm.

A fourth city bus will be used for the trips to Mason City. Circle K Communications owner Tammy Elthon said the fourth bus could also be used within Charles City to help out with rides if there is a heavy call load and the bus isn’t being used for regional trips.

“We are averaging two to three per day that we’re telling ‘no’ for rides to Mason City. That does not count all the people who get on the bus that tell our drivers, ‘why can’t I go over to Mason?’” said Elthon.

The bulk of requests for rides to Mason City are for medical reasons and will need to be scheduled 24 hours in advance. Elthon said there are some riders who would be picked up in Floyd and Rockford, but only on hard surfaces.

The bus would drop riders off at their destination in Mason City and then they would have a designated time to be picked up to be driven back to their homes.

If customers of the Charles City transit system want to make trips to multiple places while in Mason City they will have to contact NIACOG and use the Mason City transit system for that service.

The first ride would leave around 7 or 7:30 a.m. and that bus could conceivably take those riders back home at around noon, Elthon said.

A second trip back up to Mason City to deliver passengers could begin again at 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon, she said.

Elthon said the current hours (7 am. to 4 p.m.) will be used for the regional rides.

Elthon said business has been good as the transit system has more than 450 passengers. Ridership for August was 1,590 riders, but part of the month did not include student riders. September saw the total jump to 2,288 and October’s total rides amounted to 2,781.

“As you can see, it’s growing. We’re busy,” said Elthon.

The one-way cost for regional rides to Mason is $3 for students, disabled or elderly. It costs $5 for the purchase of general public ticket. County tickets costs are $2 for students, disabled and elderly. It costs $4 for a general public ticket.

Once approved by the council, the transportation of passengers on those regional rides could begin. The amended transit contract will be on Monday’s regular council meeting agenda.

The council also discussed an internal borrowing of funds request for $2 million for the fiber-to-the-home broadband internet project. Lookout Point Communications and NewCom Technologies are currently in the process of working on the business plan and the layout for engineering.

The approximate cost for that phase is just over $400,000, which is paid out of the general fund cash reserves. Those funds will ultimately be reimbursed to the city as part of the long-term financing for project implementation. In order for the city to be reimbursed, there would need to be an internal loan resolution that stated as such. After discussions with the bond counsel, it was recommended to approve a loan that is substantially higher than what the anticipated cost may be in case of added costs.

A request was made for three projects to receive separate advances — the $100,000 SW Development Park Storm Water Project, a Cambrex forgivable loan ($36,250) and the Carnegie Arts Center step replacement project ($85,000).

“Those are projects the city has funded through our general fund with the intent that we will ultimately pay for those projects back through the TIF District that those are located in,” said Diers.

Also reviewed and discussed was a possible agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation for the North Jackson/South Main Street asphalt project overlay. The project would be funded through SWAP funds and would cover eligible construction activities to not exceed $920,000. Council will consider approval of the agreement and schedule for the hearing and letting dates at Monday’s regular meeting.