HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransit Funding MemoDate: September 30, 2009
To: Deschutes County Board of Commissioners
From: Judith Ure, Management Analyst
Subject: New Public Transit Funding
______________________________________________________________________________
The Oregon legislature recently approved a comprehensive transportation package that includes
a significant increase in the amount of funding available for public transit services and capital
purchases. These funds will be distributed through two new mechanisms, the Special
Transportation Operating (STO) program and Jobs and Transportation Act (JTA) that are very
similar to the Special Transportation Fund (STF) formula and discretionary grant programs in
which Deschutes County already participates. The County is eligible to receive a substantial
portion of STO and JTA funds, up to $381,724 and $814,811 from each respective program for a
two year period beginning July 1, 2009 and ending June 30, 2011.
The deadline to submit an application to the STO and JTA programs is October 30. Both
programs require that agencies requesting funds must solicit input from the local STF Advisory
Committee. However, in anticipation of additional funding potentially being made available,
Deschutes County’s STF Advisory Committee formulated its recommendations during the STF
formula and discretionary grant review processes completed earlier this year. Due to this
advance planning, Deschutes County is not required to conduct a new competitive process for
those STO and JTA funds that can fulfill the prior recommendation.
STF Advisory Committee Recommendation
During both the 2009 STF formula and discretionary grant processes, Deschutes County received
requests for funding from local public transit providers that far exceeded the amounts available
for distribution. As a result, the STF Advisory Committee recommended that any additional
public transit funds the County received be used to fund all of the prior requests in full before
considering any new applications. The Committee prioritized these requests in the event that the
additional funding may not be adequate to meet all demands. However, Deschutes County’s
allocations for both the STO and JTA programs are sufficient to fund all prior requests with
additional funds remaining. In the following section, staff proposes supplemental
recommendations for Board consideration to accommodate these additional funds.
In accordance with the STF Committee recommendation, STO and JTA funds would be
allocated as follows:
STO: $381,724
Provider 2009-11
STF Request*
2009-11
STF Award*
Difference To Be
Funded with STO
Bend Area Transit / Dial-A-Ride (BAT) $360,000 $254,258 $105,742
Cascades East Transit (CET) 250,588 164,766 85,822
Central Oregon Resources for Independent
Living (CORIL)
31,018 25,340 5,678
Opportunity Foundation of Central Oregon
(OFCO)
60,000 47,000 13,000
Department of Human Services Volunteer
Program (DHS)
44,000 37,334 6,666
Total $745,606 $528,698 $216,908
* Adjusted to two-year period to facilitate comparison.
Even after funding all of the outstanding requests as recommended by the STF Advisory
Committee, the County will have an additional $164,816 ($381,724 less $216,908) in STO
funding to distribute.
JTA: $814,811
Provider/Description 2009-11
STF Request
2009-11
STF Request
Difference To Be
Funded with JTA
BAT: Contractual Dial-A-Ride Services $224,325 $189,725 $34,600
CET: Contractual Services to Redmond 286,578 242,375 44,203
CET: Contractual Services to Sisters 52,422 44,338 8,084
CORIL: Preventive Maintenance 21,525 18,215 3,320
OFCO: Preventative Maintenance 66,400 56,160 10,240
City of Redmond: Mobile Truck Lift 62,811 0 62,811
BAT: Replacement Vehicles 263,806 0 263,806
CET: Expansion Vehicles 165,103 0 165,103
CORIL: Replacement Vehicles 46,655 0 46,655
OFCO: Replacement Vehicles 46,660 0 46,660
CET: Service to La Pine 22,432 0 22,432
Total $1,258,717 $550,813 $707,914
After funding all of the outstanding requests as recommended by the STF Advisory Committee,
the County will have an additional $106,897 ($814,811 less $707,914) in JTA funding to
distribute.
Supplemental Staff Recommendation
Deschutes County must submit an application for all or a portion of its allocated STO and JTA
funds by October 30, 2009. If the County does not claim the full amount for which it is eligible,
any funds remaining will be considered declined and returned to the STO and JTA funding pools
to be redistributed to other counties. To ensure that the County retains and uses all of the STO
and JTA funds available to this community, staff recommends the following:
1. Approve the Deschutes County STF Advisory Committee recommendations as outlined
above.
2. Distribute the remaining $164,816 in STO funds to all Deschutes County public transit
service providers proportionate to current need as determined by use of operational funds.
3. Submit a request by the County to accept the $106,897 remaining in the JTA allocation and
determine the distribution at a later date through a competitive process which includes
consultation with the STF Advisory Committee.
4. Authorize Chair to sign Deschutes County STO and JTA applications when available.
If the Board approves these recommendations, the final distribution of STO and JTA funds,
subject to Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) approval, will be as follows:
STO
Provider STF Advisory
Committee
Recommendation
Supplemental
Staff
Recommendation
Total Proposed
Award
Bend Area Transit / Dial-A-Ride (BAT) $105,742 $79,606 $185,348
Cascades East Transit (CET) 85,822 55,378 141,200
Central Oregon Resources for Independent
Living (CORIL)
5,678 6,922 12,600
Opportunity Foundation of Central Oregon
(OFCO)
13,000 13,186 26,186
Department of Human Services Volunteer
Program (DHS)
6,666 9,724 16,390
Total $216,908 $164,816 $381,724
JTA
Provider/Description STF Advisory
Committee
Recommendation
Supplemental
Staff
Recommendation
Total Proposed
Award
BAT: Contractual Dial-A-Ride Services $34,600 $0 $34,600
CET: Contractual Services to Redmond 44,203 0 44,203
CET: Contractual Services to Sisters 8,084 0 8,084
CORIL: Preventive Maintenance 3,320 0 3,320
OFCO: Preventative Maintenance 10,240 0 10,240
City of Redmond: Mobile Truck Lift 62,811 0 62,811
BAT: Replacement Vehicles 263,806 0 263,806
CET: Expansion Vehicles 165,103 0 165,103
CORIL: Replacement Vehicles 46,655 0 46,655
OFCO: Replacement Vehicles 46,660 0 46,660
CET: Service to La Pine 22,432 0 22,432
Deschutes County: For Future Distribution to
Service Providers through Competitive
Process
0 106,897 106,897
Total $707,914 $106,897 $814,811