January 30, 2002 Special Meeting Transit
MINUTES
OF THE CORPORATION OF THE
MUNICIPALITY OF WEST ELGIN
SPECIAL MEETING
TH
JANUARY 30, 2002
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mayor Duncan McPhail, Deputy Mayor Graham
Warwick
Councillors: Trudy Balint, Brad Bandeen,
Mike Mooser
STAFF PRESENT
: Joanne Groch, Administrator/Treasurer
Linda Cranston, Clerk/Deputy-Treasurer
ALSO PRESENT:
22 members of the public, including stakeholders in
the Four Counties Transit Program
Mayor McPhail welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 7:38 p.m.
He explained that the meeting was called to review the current deficit position of
the Four Counties Transit program and representatives from all the eleven
stakeholders had been invited to attend.
The Mayor asked Jean Phillips, Four Counties Hospital Services to give
everyone a brief history of the transit bus service. Jean handed out a hand
written history and went on to talk about it briefly. She explained that the transit
bus had been in service since April 1994. The service is available to seniors and
disabled persons who require rides to medical appointments, senior programs,
shopping and visiting.
Affordable, accessible transportation has long been recognized as a much
needed service as a basic need in all rural communities. Especially for persons
with disabilities and wheelchair bound persons. This service also has made itself
available to facilities to take clients out on small group excursions as well.
The service was originally started by a group of dedicated volunteers who
continued to meet regularly while the Ministry of Transportation was providing
funding. The Ministry required that a municipality had to act as a secured party
for the service. Prior to December 1997 the ministry funded 50% operating and
capital costs of the operation. The remaining 50% funding was obtained from
client fees and fund raising. The local Legion groups in Rodney and West Lorne
contributed a great deal to the project during this time. A second-hand van was
purchased, and a paid driver and dispatcher were hired.
A new vehicle which was equipped with a wheelchair lift was purchased. The
Ministry of Transportation provided 50% of that purchase and the remaining 50%
was donated by the Four Counties Health Services Foundation. The Municipality
of West Elgin amalgamated in 1998 and they assumed the ongoing operating
and administration of the program, (at no cost) with the assumption that other
municipalities would recognize the value of the service being provided, even
though the Ministry would no longer provide funding for this service.
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Transit Mtg. Jan. 30/02
The Municipality kept the service running on an on-going day to day service,
however the physical exercise of going back through the files and pulling out all
the figures and times, and dates, etc. somehow got put on the back burning and
never got completed until after year-end for 2000. This took many hours of work
and it is now up to date. The Administrator handed out a revised invoice package
to all the stakeholders in the program. They showed clearly the numbers of
users, the groups that utilized the program, the times and dates over the four
year period.
Duncan explained that after the Government funding ran out, costs have gone up
and the local Legions no longer contributed to this program and therefore the
deficit grew from there. The Legions were experiencing a financial burden and
they had been reluctant to continue to commit to the program in the last few
years.
The floor was then opened to discussions:
- is there still an operating corporation in place, in the non-profit sense?
- needed and viable service
- $5.00 user fee per ride, should be reviewed
- service hours and special arrangements
- cost for mileage on the vehicle was .70 cents per kilometre, and the cost
for the driver is $ 20.00 per hour
- marketability and advertising, information flyers
- thought that $10.00 per trip would be more realistic to charge
- any grants available?
- committee should be formed
- local groups could be campaigned to sponsor the program
- notified of deficit sooner
- moral responsibility to offer this service and civic duty
Graham Warwick stated that the program brings benefit to our society as a
whole, and if the municipalities aren’t wiling to kick in their share then the
program will no longer be utilized by the very people it was created for. The issue
has to be looked at from all sides. The program was not created to make money,
it was created to provide a much needed service. It provides an excellent service
to our municipalities, especially for the senior sector.
It was decided that a Board of Management would be set up to govern this
program, as soon as possible. This board will review all the issues and make
some recommendations and changes as they see fit, to achieve a better service,
and also try at the same time, to ensure that the users of the service do not suffer
in any way.
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Transit Mtg. Jan. 30/02
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It was decided that the first meeting would be held on Tuesday, March 5, at 7:30
p.m. in the Municipality of West Elgin Council Chambers. The stakeholders will
be contacted and invited to send a representative to this meeting with the
purpose being to nominate a governing body from this group that will establish a
consistent schedule of meetings to organize and review the whole program and
bring about any changes needed for the betterment of this service.
SUBJECT: ADJOURNMENT
RES. NO. 1 Moved by Mooser
Seconded by Warwick
RESOLVED that Council do now rise and adjourn from this Special
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Meeting of Council at 8:50 p.m. to meet again on February 14,
2002.
DISPOSITION: Carried
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These minutes were adopted on the 14 day of February 2002.
______________________ ___________________________
MAYORCLERK
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