Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole Met March 2.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
CALL TO ORDER
President Troy Parlier called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Board Members Physically Present: President Troy Parlier; Trustees James Marter II, Terry Olson, Pam Parr, Luis Perez, Judy Sollinger and Brian Thomas.
Staff Physically Present: Dan Di Santo, Village Administrator; Christina Burns, Asst. Village Administrator, Tina Touchette, Village Clerk; Jeff Burgner, Police Chief; Jennifer Hughes, Public Works Director; Scott McMaster, Economic Development Director, Joe Renzetti, IT/GIS Director; Jenette Sturges, Community Engagement Coordinator, Marketing; and Karl Ottosen, Village Attorney.
PUBLIC FORUM
Public Forum was opened at 6:03 p.m.
Aryav Bothra provided a PDF presentation to the Board regarding his youth non-profit which provides teenagers with resources to become financially independent and aware; he provided his email and website and requested a donation and the ability to open a chapter in partnership with the Village.
There was no one else who requested to speak. The public forum was closed at 6:12 p.m.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business.
NEW BUSINESS
G.1 Presentation from Kendall Area Transit
Asst. Administrator Burns addressed the Board regarding Kendall Area Transit (KAT). The Village contracts with Voluntary Action Center (VAC), operator of Kendall Area Transit, for demand response transportation services in the Oswego. In 2018, the Village entered into a three-year agreement with KAT which expires in June. The draft FY22 budget includes continued funding for KAT. A contract renewal will be brought to the Board at a later date. Mike Neuenkirchen, the chief operating officer of VAC, presented an overview of KAT’s services in Oswego.
Program History
• In 2008-2009, Kendall County worked with local communities to develop the KAT program.
• KAT founded in 2010 through efforts by stakeholders throughout Kendall County to create public transit options for the citizens of this area with VAC as operator.
⮚ Was going to do a 10 year anniversary last year, but COVID stopped that.
• Program started with 7 buses, 7 staff, and provided 1,500 rides in its first year.
Voluntary Action Center (VAC)
• History
⮚ VAC was established in 1974 in Sycamore as a 501(c)3 Not-For-Profit agency
✔ Federal program encouraged volunteerism
⮚ Focuses on two central missions, nutrition programs and community/public transportation
• Services
⮚ Nutrition Programs
✔ Meals on Wheels
✔ Senior Meals
✔ Nutrition Programs
• Public Transportation
⮚ Dekalb County paratransit and deviated routes
⮚ Senior transportation in Sandwich area
⮚ Kendall County- KAT program
⮚ Between DeKalb and Kendall counties, VAC public transportation programs provide almost 225,000 passenger trips annually
KAT Today
• VAC typically provides 30,000-32,000 KAT rides per year (pre-COVID)
• First operational year (2010), VAC provided only 1,100 KAT passenger trips
• KAT has 20 employees, 16 buses, 2 minivans, and operates 11-13 routes daily throughout our service area (Kendall County, Aurora, portions of Naperville and Joliet)
How KAT Works
• KAT is a Demand-Response (Dial-A-Ride) paratransit service.
• KAT provides two types of service to clients:
⮚ Door-to-door service-Driver will assist riders with mobility issues from their door to the bus and from the bus to the door of trip destinations
⮚ Curb-to-curb service-Drivers will pick up riders from the curb in front of the trip origin to the curb in front of trip destination
• Serves all citizens of Kendall County and surrounding area
• Majority of ridership (70%-80%) are either disabled individuals or seniors
⮚ Open to any resident of the county
• Hours: M-F 6:00am-7:00pm
• Call KAT scheduling a minimum of two business days in advanced to schedule ride.
• KAT schedulers route trips based on demand and regular service locations.
Using KAT
• Registration
⮚ Fill out registration form
✔ Online or provided via mail
✔ Online portal in the works
⮚ Once registration form is received, rides can be scheduled by calling 630-882-6970 or 877-IGO-4KAT
✔ General rides at least 2 business days in advance
✔ Can schedule up to a week out
✔ Non-emergency medical trips can be scheduled up to 2 weeks in advance
✔ 24 hour or less requests can be accommodated only if space and availability
• Fare Structure
⮚ One way fare for KAT depends on location of rides
✔ In-County: $3.00
✔ Out-Of-County: $5.00
⮚ Seniors (60 years and older) receive $1.00 off all fares
⮚ Children 7 and under ride free with paying adult
⮚ Fares can be paid to VAC in exact change or through pre-paid fare cards
KAT Funding
• Vehicles (Rolling Stock) provided through Federal, State, and RTA grants
• Federal 5311 (General Public Transportation Funds, Pass-Through from State of Illinois)
• Federal 5310 (Seniors and Disabled Transportation Funding, Pass-Through from RTA
⮚ Oswego Township
• Local Contributions
⮚ County and Municipal Contribution
⮚ Local Private Donations
⮚ Service contract funding
• State Funding- Downstate Operation Assistance Program (DOAP)
⮚ Covers 65% of costs
⮚ Main source of funding
• All federal and state grants are reimbursements of costs already incurred
• All grants require local matching funds
• Expenses= $1.2-1.3 million
• Revenue= $900,000- $1 million from state funds; $150,000 RTA; remaining needs to come from local funding
KAT Ridership 2019
KAT Provided Services for Oswego
• 1,200 registered riders from the Village (as of February 2021); may not all be current users
• Approximately 9,000 rides for Village of Oswego in pre-COVID
• Approximate 29% of the KAT Service is for the Village of Oswego; some years have been as high as 40%
• 200 Ride per week
• 140 unique riders use the services on a weekly basis (as of 2019)
⮚ Due to the Covid-19 pandemic numbers in 2020 were reduced
• 36% of trips provided by KAT to the Village of Oswego are from riders outside Oswego Oswego Rides Compared to Overall System
• Due to COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, KAT saw a systemwide reduction in trips.
• Programs are starting to come back
• Oswego ridership is higher than others
Issues
• Slow and inconsistent repayments from the State means cash flow is a challenge; funding issues • More local match needed to capture additional State grand revenue
⮚ Don’t have mix to capture more funding
• Budget instability meant reduced hours and routes daily
Future of KAT
• Restore longer operational hours and weekend services
⮚ Need more local funding
• Look into establishing fixed routes
• Economic development
⮚ 13-14 vehicles per day
⮚ Would like to be part of the discussions regarding public transportation option
Board, staff and Mike Neuenkirchen discussion focused on Mike has been with KAT since 2014; Oswego holds a special place in his heart; going to bat for the people we serve; what revenue would be needed to eliminate the fare fees; fares are decided by the county; fees are a vital source of funding, but not the key funding source; assigning a value to the value of the ride; whether the Village receives a P&L from KAT; a budget report is sent to the Feds per their guidelines; budget is also submitted to IDOT and the Kendall Board; Administrator Di Santo will forward the report to the Village Board; KAT is here to work with what the units of government need; KAT’s finance director keeps an eye on impacts to KAT; need more local funds; P&L will help the Board understand the gap and needs. Mike to provide financial statements. There was no further discussion.
CLOSED SESSION
There was no closed session.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 6:43 p.m.
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