City staff is recommending bus and paratransit service remain free through fiscal 2021 given the support the city has received for transportation services through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the council had waived fares for the city’s buses in an effort to ease the economic difficulties caused by the pandemic. The council was scheduled to vote on whether to repeal those waivers Monday night, but City Manager John Glascock said that wouldn’t be necessary, given the influx of federal aid.
Public Works Director David Nichols said bus service has stabilized over the past several months, not only because of free fares but also because routes had not changed recently. Both he and Glascock, however, said it will be important to watch whether the waning demand for paratransit service, which serves people with disabilities, rises too much during a period of free fares.
The council also held a public hearing on the capital improvements plan for fiscal 2021. It detailed the different infrastructure projects the city plans to carry out in the coming fiscal year. It includes:
- $4.8 million worth of projects for the electric utility.
- $3.3 million for improvements to government buildings.
- $1.3 million in Parks and Recreation Department projects, all funded by dedicated parks sales taxes.
- $1.1 million to replace a quint firefighting apparatus.
- $4.7 million in street maintenance and construction, including $2.2 million to extend Discovery Parkway from Gans Road to New Haven Road.
- $3.7 million in sewer upgrades.
- $3.2 million in solid waste projects, including $2 million for a new bioreactor cell at the landfill.
- $2.4 million in stormwater projects.
- $1.2 million to replace buses.
- $21.8 million in water projects, including the treatment plant upgrade.
Mayor Brian Treece quizzed the utilities staff about the wisdom of taking on more sewer projects when those already underway for years have yet to be finished. Some of his constituents west of West Broadway, for example, have been waiting 10 years or more for promised sewer improvements to be installed, he said.
Glascock and utilities engineer Erin Keys said it takes a long time to get the necessary easements from property owners.
Treece also pressed David Sorrell, Columbia’s utilities director, about why it has taken so long to replace downtown street lights. The fiscal 2021 budget includes $300,000 for 94 downtown street lights, which the council has approved before.
Treece wondered if the work should be contracted out.
“Do you think your department is capable of that or do we need to contract that out to someone that could do the whole thing?” Treece asked.
Sorrell told the mayor that design challenges have delayed the work but that he’s confident it will be done this year, using a combination of city staff and companies already under contract.
Treece called it a “public safety issue” because street lights are shown to prevent crime.
Fourth Ward City Council Member Ian Thomas took issue with the highway loop extending Discovery Parkway fron Gans Road to New Haven Road. He said the outer loop would boost urban sprawl, hinder walking and cycling and detract from the city’s downtown and inner areas.
Earlier in the meeting, there were five scheduled public comments regarding police reform and racism in Columbia. They ranged from urging the city to revamp its mental health services and take mental health-related crisis intervention responsibilities away from police to racism in Columbia Public Schools.
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Columbia poised to waive bus fares through 2021; council reviews capital projects - Columbia Missourian
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