The Town of Westlock has started the process of ending the Westlock and District Seniors and Disabled bus service.
Citing the scheduled June 30 end-of-service date, town CAO Darrell Garceau said written notices have been sent informing drivers their services would no longer be required.
“If the intent is true of council not to run the service beyond June, we had an obligation to provide notice to those drivers,” he said. “At this point in time, I don’t have any instruction from Westlock town council to continue the program beyond the June 30 timeline.”
Garceau said town administration made the move of sending out the notices in part because the Westlock and District Community Transportation Committee — tasked with investigating ways to keep the service running in one way or another — has not yet provided its findings to council.
Without a draft plan for the service moving forward, the town had to act to give its employees sufficient notice in order to follow employment law.
Garceau said he anticipated the committee would give a presentation at the May 27 town council meeting, but that did not happen. He now anticipates the presentation will take place on June 10.
That presentation should include the committee’s findings, what work has been done in coming up with any new service plan, and the results of the survey the committee sent out in March, according to Garceau.
During the 2013 town budget process, councillors decided to shut down the bus service, citing a yearly deficit of approximately $50,000.
Councillors chose to keep the service running in 2013 until the end of June, giving community groups time to come up with a way to keep the bus running.
Garceau said the result of the decision to give the service a six-month stay of execution was the creation of the Westlock and District Community Transportation Committee, which aimed to find a way to keep at least some of the service alive.
“That committee continues to review and give consideration to a potential model for a transit system in Westlock to accommodate those with disabilities similar to the service that is currently being provided,” he said.
Although Westlock County initially showed willingness to help keep the service running, that willingness has since dried up.
At the May 14 county council meeting, councillors voted on a motion from reeve Charles Navratil to provide $2 per capita into the bus service only within the town — i.e. the bus would not travel into the county.
That motion was defeated on a 3-3 vote.
