The Westlock and District Seniors and Disabled bus service has been granted a seven-month reprieve.
Westlock town and county councils have both agreed to continue funding the service until Jan. 31, 2014, giving the Westlock and District Community Transportation Committee more time to find a viable way to keep the wheels rolling.
At their council meetings last Monday and Tuesday, the town and county agreed to a 50/50 split of the bus’ operational deficit until the end of January.
However, the county capped its contribution at $19,000, citing the fact the bus does not serve its residents directly.
For Westlock mayor Bruce Lennon, it’s good to see the county back on board.
“The county needed to contribute,” Lennon said.
“It should’ve been a joint venture, and it had been in the past. In those days we did drive out into the county, but there wasn’t a demand in the county and that’s why the service was ultimately cutoff.
“We felt that it should be really a joint effort and we’re happy the county has agreed to help contribute over the next six or seven months.”
The moratorium gives committee chair Kelly Harris-Martin more time to look into various funding models to keep the bus alive.
“We’re looking at several funding models — be that municipal funding, joint or be it totally privatized; but we need time from now until Jan. 31 to get our ducks in a row,” she said.
“The model that we’re looking at right now is a public-private partnership. I’m also the manager at Community Futures and I’ve been able to reach out through our network at C.F., and I’ve been in touch with other economic developers around Alberta. They’re willing to work with me on putting together a framework going forward, but I can’t do a P3 framework in 15 days. This is going to take time.”
Although it is unclear what the P3 framework would look like or how much money it will cost, Harris-Martin said, there are several non-profit organizations that have already approached the WDCT committee to become private partners.
“But we can’t go ahead without the framework agreement,” she said.
Previously, the town cited a yearly deficit of roughly $50,000 and councillors mailed out letters to bus drivers — indicating services for the bus would end by June 30. But the termination of employees has been postponed due to the cost sharing agreement, Lennon said.
“My understanding is that they will be notified their employment will continue until at least January,” Lennon said.
“One of the drivers is getting close to retirement anyway, but for sure, we’re happy with the services that they are providing. I guess it’s just the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Any changes to the service won’t be introduced until a new framework to keep the bus alive has been sorted out, Harris-Martin said. Those changes could include expanding the bus’ territory back out into the county, but at this point it’s purely speculative.
“I do want to stress that this is very preliminary,” she said. “But at this point, we do have both parties at the table so we’re pleased with that.”
