Transit funding stirs debate
Ketchum officials want Hailey, Bellevue
to ante up
By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer
Ketchum City Council members this week
issued a mandate of sorts to the leaders of Hailey and Bellevue, asking them to
put forth greater financial support for public transit in the Wood River Valley.
In a lively discussion that saw Councilman
Baird Gourlay say its "ridiculous" that Ketchum pays up to 15 times more than
the city of Hailey to subsidize the Peak Bus commuter service, council members
took a long, hard look at how they want public transit to evolve in Blaine
County.
Rider numbers on the Ketchum Area Rapid
Transit bus lines are up 20 percent this year, compared to the relatively
low rider numbers tallied in 2003. Express photo by David N. Seelig
The discussion came Tuesday, July 13, as
council members discussed funding proposals for the Peak Bus and Ketchum Area
Rapid Transit bus lines.
The council this month is engaging in a
series of discussions aimed at refining the city’s proposed 2004-2005 fiscal
year budget.
KART, which is funded largely with
local-option-tax revenues from the cities of Ketchum and Sun Valley, has
requested approximately $481,000 from Ketchum for the coming fiscal year. The
figure is a 3 percent increase over the funding provided for the current fiscal
year.
With KART director Terry Crawford stating
that rider numbers are up 20 percent this year, council members indicated they
are inclined to provide the requested funding.
However, during a discussion of funding
for the Peak Bus and Wood River Rideshare—the commuter-service organization that
manages the Peak Bus for Blaine County—council members expressed concern that
Rideshare is not receiving adequate countywide support to improve the
commuter-bus program.
The Peak Bus since June 2002 has provided
low-cost transportation between Bellevue and the Ketchum-Sun Valley area, mainly
during peak commuting hours.
Rideshare Executive Director Beth
Callister has requested $38,500 for her organization, plus $30,000 to offset
costs of operating the Peak Bus. In addition, she asked the city for $26,000
over the next two years to put towards a federal matching grant that could pay
for a new 40-passenger bus and 10 bus-passenger shelters.
Council President Randy Hall said he wants
to see a long-range plan developed to expand and improve the Peak Bus system.
"I think it’s time the program evolved one
way or another," he said.
Gourlay, Councilwoman Terry Tracy and
Mayor Ed Simon joined Hall in asking whether $2,000 from the city of Hailey to
support the bus is an adequate amount.
"We’re a beneficiary, but I think we have
an unfair burden of funding placed upon us," Simon said.
Crawford noted that Idaho legislators next
year could consider a new law that would allow Blaine County to assess a local
transportation tax to promote transit systems. He warned, however, that the law,
if passed, would not provide any new funds to Blaine County for some two years.
Callister called for a greater commitment
to public transit from all government agencies in the county, instead of waiting
for the state "to pass some miracle funding plan."
Simon said he supports funding Rideshare
and the Peak Bus but is not inclined to provide the requested $26,000 for Peak
Bus capital improvements.