Item:
Title
Public Hearing for the Durham County ACCESS Merger with the City of Durham (15min)
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: June 10, 2019
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
A public hearing will be held on the proposed Durham County Community ACCESS merger with the City of Durham GoDurham Paratransit (ACCESS) Service. The public hearing will be held on June 10 at 7:00 pm, before the Durham Board of County Commissioners in the Commissioner’s Meeting Room, 2nd Floor, 200 East Main Street, Durham, NC.
Those interested in attending the public hearing and needing either auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or a language translator should contact Linda Thomas, Durham County ACCESS Transportation Program Manager on or before June 1, 2019, by telephone at: 919 560-8757 or via email at lathomas@dconc.gov <mailto:lathomas@dconc.gov>. Additional details about the merger would be available upon request. Please send all your request to Durham County ACCESS, 721 Foster Street, Durham, NC.
Since 1998 Durham County ACCESS and the City of Durham, as designated through an interlocal agreement, have provided demand response transportation in a coordinated model to Durham County residents that are elderly, disabled and transportation disadvantaged with trips to non-emergency medical, work, training and essential needs destinations.
The major goals of the merger are to realize cost savings and more efficient operations while continuing to enhance safety, time efficiencies and quality of customers service.
Under the Agreement the County conveys the authority to the City for specific administrative, financial and grant management procedures; transfers Durham County ACCESS vehicles to the City; and makes all County designated local funding and grant awards available to the City. The Interlocal Agreement maintains the level of FY18-19 for FY19-20 funding for Demand Response transportation trips for Durham County residents. The agreement also calls for the merged system to be co-branded.
|
Propose Merger FY2019-20 Durham County ACCESS Budget |
|
EDTAP |
$ 129,906.00 |
|
RGP |
$ 63,159.00 |
|
Fares |
$ 5,090.00 |
|
WorkFirst |
$ 50,904.00 |
|
County |
$ 100,000.00 |
|
Transit Tax (Local) |
$ 220,000.00 |
|
Transit Tax (Vehicles) |
$ 350,000.00 |
|
TOTAL |
$ 919,059.00 |
The transition is anticipated to be seamless-with no disruption or reduction of service to current riders.
The agreement does not call for any financial commitment from the City.
County and City staff after nearly a year of discussions provided the recommendation for Durham County ACCESS to merge with the City’s Paratransit Program. The merger is supported by the North Carolina Public Transportation- Public Transportation Division and The Durham County Transportation Advisory. Both the Durham City Council and Durham County Board of Commissioners will be required to vote on the proposed merger.
If approved, the merger will go into effect during the first quarter of FY2019-20.
Alignment with Strategic Plan: Public hearings align with Goal 5: Accountable, Efficient and Visionary Government. The objective of fostering informed public engagement.
Resource Persons: Gayle Harris, General Manager for Community Health and Well-Being and Linda Thomas-Wallace, Transportation Program Manager
County Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that the Board conduct a public hearing to receive citizen comments on the Durham ACCESS Transportation merger with the City of Durham.
Signature
County Manager: ____________________________