Charles City Council plans contract renewal for transit bus service

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

For the first five months of the year, the number of rides given each month by Charles City Public Transit is up significantly, according to a report presented to the Charles City Council Monday evening.

On the agenda for the workshop meeting was a discussion of renewing the annual contract with Dan and Tammy Elthon of Circle K Communications Inc. as the subcontractor to manage the transit system for the city.

The city of Charles City is the official contractor with the North Iowa Area Council of Governments (NIACOG) to provide public transportation, but the city contracts that service out to a private company, which since Aug. 1, 2018, has been Circle K.

“We currently have over 1,900 passengers in our system that we are moving around,” Tammy Elthon said in the report. “Some maybe only once in awhile, some people we see every week, some every day.”

From January to May last year, the transit service had 10,299 total rides, with 4,813 of those students. The the first five months this year there were 12,049 total rides, an increase of 17%, although the number of students January through May this year was down a little, at 4,617.

The total number of rides given last year was 24,282, with 9,473 of those students.

The service has three 20-passenger buses that run in the city and two more vehicles used for county and regional trips.

The bus service offers three trips between Charles City and Mason City every day on one of those regional buses, with passengers booked at least a day in advance, and a smaller 9-passenger bus is used for non-emergency medical transfers (NEMTs) for trips arranged by Medicare and Medicaid for their clients, Elthon said.

“Students continue to be a very important part of the transit service financially as well as a delight for the drivers. We take mostly preschoolers since they don’t have transportation to the private preschools by the school bus system,” Elthon said, adding that the service is full for fall with more than 60 kids signed up, and a waiting list started.

“During this summer we are encouraging parents to book us for their kids’ rides to swimming lessons, band lessons, summer school or any summer activity,” she said.

She said the smaller NEMT bus is providing transportation for a group of people who felt they were not being served.

“We are able to schedule those medical rides that did not fit into our bus schedule in the past,” she said.

“Our busiest time of the day during school or summer time is 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.,” Elthon said. “That seems to be when our riders book for doctors appointments, hair appointments, go to the grocery stores. During school that’s the changing of morning preschool to afternoon preschool.”

City Administrator Steve Diers said the renewal contract with Circle K to provide the service for another year is the same as previous years, except for a 4% increase in the monthly contract price to $5,572.95, or $66,875 annually.

“Tammy and Dan Elthon and the group there at Circle K do a wonderful job handling the day-to-day operations of the transit,” Diers said.

Council member Patrick Lumley added, “Since you’ve taken over I don’t think I’ve recalled ever a negative comment.”

Mayor Dean Andrews said, “There is a cost to the taxpayers, but like anything else you have to pay for a service, and it’s a good service.”

Diers said the regional bus to Mason City is reimbursed 100% by the federal government and Circle K has a separate contract with NIACOG for that.

The renewal of the contract for transportation services between the city and Circle K, and the renewal of the transit agreement between the city and NIACOG to administer the federal transit program for both the city and the county/regional services will be considered by the council for approval at an upcoming regular council meeting.

Prices for rides will remain the same. Rides in Charles City are $1 per one way for elderly or disabled, $1.50 per one way for students, and $4 per one way for the public. Rides within the county are $2 per one way for elderly or disabled and $4 per one way for the public.

Rides outside the county are $3 per one way for elderly, disabled and students, and $5 per one way for other public.

Also at the workshop session, the council discussed an agreement between Charles City and the Floyd Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to implement watershed improvement projects that the city is funding with a portion of the sponsored project dollars awarded from the new water resource and recovery facility (WRRF) project.

Diers said the city is getting about $1 million back from the State Revolving Fund in interest savings on the WRRF project, to be used on water quality improvement. A little more than half of that will be used within the city on stormwater projects, and a little less than half will be used for rural landowner water quality improvement projects in the watershed.

“It’s still a bit of work in progress. We wanted to get this general agreement out in front of you guys to take a look at,” Diers told the council members.

Doug Johnson, Charles City Watershed Project coordinator with the Floyd County SWCD, was at the meeting and said the SWCD will provide technical assistance and the watershed project funds will make up the part of the cost for the landowner projects that aren’t covered by state or federal funding.

The SWCD will also monitor adherence to the landowner project maintenance agreements, Johnson said.

He said there were eight or nine projects already designed by the Natural Resources Conservation District and most of them have the permits that are needed.

There are projects they would like to start in August, so they’d like to get the agreement signed as soon as possible.

Also at the workshop session, the council:

• Received requests for street closures, for the fireworks show Sunday, July 3, closing the Main Street Bridge from Court Street to Riverside Drive from 9-11 p.m.; and for the Firecracker 5 races Monday July 4, on Salsbury Avenue from Clark to Owen streets.

City Development Director Mark Wicks said that with the opening of the new Charley Western Recreational Trail bridge last year most of the 5-kilometer and 5-mile routes can be kept off city streets.

• Reviewed forms to be used for the annual reviews of City Administrator Diers and City Clerk Trudy O’Donnell, and also agreed to review City Attorney Brad Sloter, although he is not a city employee.

• Agreed to move the regular Monday, June 20, City Council meeting to Tuesday, June 21, because of the Monday observance of the federal Juneteenth holiday, and agreed to move the regular July 4 meeting to Wednesday, July 6, because of the Independence Day holiday.