WGXC-90.7 FM
County transport consolidation stalled
Feb 07, 2011 9:10 am
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Columbia County transportation"]
[/caption]A county plan to consolidate its transportation needs and save taxpayers is going nowhere fast, according to a recent piece in ccScoop, which notes that the much-touted consolidation plan was not funded in the 2011 approved county budget, leaving no funds available to begin implementation of the initiative. County planner Ken Flood had sought $75,000 for the program, of which he had a "high degree of confidence that half would be covered by a federal grant so that the actual cost to the county would have been $37,500." Last summer, county leaders received the 130-page transportation study, which outlines a number of ways the county could reduce the cost of transporting residents, whether it be the elderly who use the Office For the Aging transportation, or the disadvantaged, who use transportation provided by the Department of Social Services. All areas of county funded transportation were included in the study, including the county bus service. In the meantime, plans are moving forward on a separate initiative to consolidate the city and county bus lines, though the plan has been stalled by what Flood terms "state bureaucracy,' with current Hudson trolley drivers saying they still haven;t been given an official final day for their runs. Maybe all this will be worked out next year if and when Columbia County gets its first County Administrator approved. And could that CA be Hillsdale supervisor Art Baer? We all promise a future report...
[/caption]A county plan to consolidate its transportation needs and save taxpayers is going nowhere fast, according to a recent piece in ccScoop, which notes that the much-touted consolidation plan was not funded in the 2011 approved county budget, leaving no funds available to begin implementation of the initiative. County planner Ken Flood had sought $75,000 for the program, of which he had a "high degree of confidence that half would be covered by a federal grant so that the actual cost to the county would have been $37,500." Last summer, county leaders received the 130-page transportation study, which outlines a number of ways the county could reduce the cost of transporting residents, whether it be the elderly who use the Office For the Aging transportation, or the disadvantaged, who use transportation provided by the Department of Social Services. All areas of county funded transportation were included in the study, including the county bus service. In the meantime, plans are moving forward on a separate initiative to consolidate the city and county bus lines, though the plan has been stalled by what Flood terms "state bureaucracy,' with current Hudson trolley drivers saying they still haven;t been given an official final day for their runs. Maybe all this will be worked out next year if and when Columbia County gets its first County Administrator approved. And could that CA be Hillsdale supervisor Art Baer? We all promise a future report...