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| Volume 19, Issue 2 | Winter 2008 |
Area Bus GaragesJust prior to the fall conference an email notice was sent to all DTA members that new (under two years old) bus garages would be featured in the next newsletter. We received responses from five organizations. Here are pictures of their garages and their stories about struggles, rewards, and communities' efforts that have paid off. Standing Rock Public Transit Center On April 2, 2007, the Standing Rock Public Transportation (SRPT) Program opened a new 5,100 sq. ft. Public Transit Center in Fort Yates, ND. The new building includes five offices, a waiting area for customers, two mechanic bays and a wash bay. They are now able to purchase and store bulk fuel and service their own vehicles, which is more cost effective, thereby allowing them to continue to improve and expand their services. This also benefits passengers because SRPT can continue to provide affordable transportation. Pam Ternes, director, stated, "the new facility will help us attract more passengers and offers a larger and safer working environment for our staff. Our customers will also have a warm place to wait for their bus in our new waiting area."
Community Transit, Inc. A three stall garage with a meeting room/office has just been completed in Milbank, SD. This project was made possible through the cooperation of the SDDOT, Grant County, and Community Transit, Inc. Grant County donated the property on which the garage was built. The value of this property plus funds inherited from generous people made it possible to raise the local match needed to receive the federal funds. The Milbank Bus service is unique because most of their matching funds for operating and capital have come from benefactor's estates.
Prairie Hills Transit With communities spread across a 12,000 square mile area, it is no small job to keep the buses on the road and find a place that offers drivers an office to do paperwork and clean the vehicles. For the communities of Belle Fourche, Custer and Sturgis, each garage has its own special and unique features designed to meet the specific needs of that particular community. Signage at each facility and building colors are specific to all the Prairie Hills Transit (PHT) garages. With both offices and garage stalls, Prairie Hills Transit no longer has the challenge of buses that won't start because of the cold, blistered paint and employees without a space for paperwork. In Belle Fourche, the garage is two-stall and was done as a cooperative effort with the City of Belle Fourche. The land was donated by the city and the Public Works Director supervised the project. The new garage is located next to the police station and currently houses two vehicles that operate in both Belle Fourche and Newell. The agreement for the lease is automatically renewed annually. Driver Gary Stinton, who previously owned the Gregory Livestock Barn, is delighted to have gone from a livestock barn to a bus barn. Scattered throughout his office are sticky notes reminding him we "Haul livestock-Transport people."
Custer has the newest design with a three-stall garage, office area and upstairs meeting room. The biggest challenge in Custer was realized when a streak of granite on the building site needed to be blasted before the building could be built. The City of Custer donated the land to the Custer Area Transportation Board and they have set up a 25-year lease with PHT. West River Transit West River Transit now has four new bus buildings. They are located in Carson, Beulah, Center, and Garrison, ND. The process was a long and tedious four years from start to finish, but well worth it. Working with NDDOT along with the engineering firm was very helpful and informative. We learned from each other in every avenue, making the process manageable and in the end, much better buildings. When buildings are not located near the office, it is important to have a good communication system for the engineers to stay in contact with you, the office, and the subcontractors on a regular basis. Our engineers kept in close contact and were very timely in responding to our concerns and questions. The benefits of these four buildings are endless. Aside from the obvious, protecting the vehicles and their longevity, there is also the availability for the drivers to maintain the vehicles inside and out during winter months, to complete paperwork, to hold local meetings, and to control needs for their routes and riders. The communities have embraced the buildings with great interest and have been more involved due to the physical presence of the buildings. Even though it was a long and time-consuming process, West River Transit is glad it is completed and appreciated the opportunity to obtain these buildings. Here are pictures of two of our four garages; they all have the same floor plan.
Metro Area Transit Metro Area Transit (MAT) serves Fargo, Moorhead, and West Fargo. The shared statistics here are not mentioned to be compared with other small communities in the Dakotas, but rather to show the coordinated effort required for this building just like what happens in many smaller communities. This is a joint effort between Fargo and Moorhead and between North Dakota and Minnesota as depicted by these financial arrangements: Total budget $7M - The 80% ($5.6M) federal funding consists of formula and discretionary money; the 20% ($1.4M) is local share (Fargo owns 2/3 of facility and Moorhead owns 1/3).
The facility is approximately 50,000 square feet and allows for the storage and maintenance of 45-50 vehicles plus allows for future expansion. The transit administrative, mechanical, and contractors' staff are housed at the new facility. This beautiful building was constructed over a 14-month period. However, the directors, Julie Bommelman of Fargo and Lori VanBeek of Moorhead, would both agree it took longer for the planning-getting all sides to agree on the procedure for the financial arrangements and ensuring all planned features were included-than completion of the building. The building houses buses from both Fargo and Moorhead with room for expansion. Minnesota Public Transportation ConferenceIn the interest of keeping our DTA Conference fresh with ideas and support, the DTA Board of Directors sent two delegates to the annual Minnesota Public Transportation (MPT) Conference, which was held in St. Cloud, MN, October 29-31, 2007. Barb Cline of Prairie Hills Transit and Brenda Schweitzer of Brookings Area Transit were the two delegates that attended. The Minnesota Transit Association combined their vendor show and conference with a great agenda and format. It all began on Monday with a noon to 6:00 p.m. registration, as well as a NTI Training on Mobility Management. Their Annual Meeting and Transit Awards Ceremony was held on Monday evening. A separate program included the award honorees as well as a listing of the previous winners. A brief description of the award criteria was also included on this brochure. A welcome reception was held following the annual meeting and awards ceremony. Attendance was impressive, and ideas are already in motion for DTA planning! Tuesday opened with a breakfast, followed by the General Session, with opening remarks by the Director of the St. Cloud Metro Bus, David Tripp (note: the St. Cloud Metro Bus was named the Best Transit System of its size in North America by the American Public Transportation Association, APTA, in October), and St. Cloud City Council representative, Carolyn Garven, as well as MPTA President Tony Kellen. Following their opening, a wonderful motivational presentation was provided by Deadra Stanton, reminding us as the pace of change quickens every day, we sometimes end up chasing too many skinny rabbits. Lost energy and focus is the result. Her real-life examples, combined with the quick wit of a working mother, were the perfect way to start this conference. We hope to see her again, next time in the Dakotas! Five breakout sessions were offered. All had content similar to what we've offered, ranging from safety and security to issues relevant to Minnesota transit. Box lunches were served at the Vendor Expo, which included just fewer than 50 vendors. Many familiar faces and many new ones were seen. Random door prizes were given, and overall attendance was very good. The evening reception was provided by First Transit/Laidlaw Transit, with an amazing meal and entertainment by Minneapolis's "Bella Diva." This live entertainment kept the crowd entertained with a variety of genres. Look them up online: www.belladivamusic.com. It was agreed that DTA would've kept the dance floor full! Wednesday morning opened with breakfast and a legislative panel forum. The attendance by their state delegates was very impressive, with two senators and three representatives on the panel. It was also noted that the conference was attended by several other programs, including the Department of Health, interagency councils, programs for the elderly, etc. This is an area DTA has wanted to improve on, and we will work on accomplishing this for our future conferences. The balance of Wednesday included two sets of breakout sessions to choose from, followed by lunch and a final keynote speaker, allowing everyone to leave the conference on an 'up' note. A grand prize of a 20" flat-screen TV was the ending door prize, and you were given a ticket for this drawing when your evaluation was turned it! A win-win situation! And, no...it didn't end up in the Dakotas! Attending this conference has helped to keep the fires lit with DTA, and we appreciate the opportunity to do so.
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In this issue...
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For more information about Standing Rock Public Transportation or the new transit center please contact Pam at (701) 854-8033.
Community Transit, Inc. manages the Milbank project, which operates one 14-passenger mini-bus and a 15-passenger van. The Milbank project travels over 21,000 miles and provides over 13,000 trips each year. The majority of riders are school children, with elderly and people with disabilities also being served as well as the general public. This garage is especially appreciated because the vehicles have been parked outside in the past. In the winter months, it has been necessary to look for heated space to lease, which is not easy to find. The heated garage will also help lower maintenance costs.
For the residents of Sturgis, a three-stall design serves as bus garage, office, and is located on the campus of the Heritage Acres Housing complex. With land donated by the Heritage Acres Board, this agreement is set up with an automatically renewed annual lease to Prairie Hills Transit. During the open house, visitors enjoyed the carnival style popcorn popper, grilled brats and great hospitality.
Approximately $3.7M in discretionary money for capital improvements was obtained for Fargo in ND Statewide applications over the past few years with support from NDDOT, Senator Dorgan, Senator Conrad, and Congressman Pomeroy. Funds of approximately $2.3M have been obtained with the assistance of MNDOT congressional delegation including Senator Norm Colemen and Representative Colin Peterson.