Business Item 5c
STAFF REPORT
City Council Business Item
DATE: October 2, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Aaron Felmlee, Finance Director
THROUGH: Merritt Perry, City Manager
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING: Receive Public Comment Concerning the Transit Needs Assessment
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Hold a public hearing concerning the Transit Needs Assessment, and forward all public comment received to the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) for consideration.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Annually, the Transportation Development Act (TDA) Statutes require the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG), as the Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA), hold a Transit Needs Assessment Public Hearing for the purpose of evaluating the best methods of providing public transportation. It is local policy for HCAOG to additionally request each member entity hold a public hearing on transit needs annually. These local hearings are in addition to HCAOG’s required public hearing and the purpose is to broaden the hearing forum. The local hearings also provide City Council Members an opportunity to hear and respond to local comments. All persons and groups known to have interest in transit-related matters are notified in advance of these hearings.
The appropriate public notices are also published in the local print media. The public is encouraged to offer any comments and/or possible solutions to various transit needs. By holding a public hearing at a Council meeting, the Council is acknowledging the receipt of public comments.
The City of Fortuna provides two transportation systems to serve Fortuna residents. The first is the Humboldt Transit Authority’s Regional Redwood Transit System (RTS). RTS is a commuter service and covers a 65-mile stretch of Highway 101 from Trinidad to Benbow. Service runs from 5:30am-10:30pm Monday through Friday and from 8:30 am to 9:30 pm on Saturday.
The second is the Fortuna Transit Bus Service which is a Dial-A-Ride (DAR) system. The City operatestwo buses Monday through Friday from 8:00am-4:30pm. The Fortuna Transit Service is available to persons over the age of 50 or disabled persons living within the city limits of Fortuna. Riders call for bus service a calendar month ahead for doctor’s appointments, one week in advance to reserve a ride for hair, work, lunch site, or other non-medical appointments, and the day-of or day before for shopping, visiting friends, & Business Item 5c
banking. Riders are picked up at their homes and delivered to their destination, and when they are ready to return home or travel to another destination, they call the Transit/ Parks office to dispatch a bus for service. Fortuna Transit’s DAR started weekly medical appointments to Eureka in July of 2018 thanks to Measure E funds to allow people to get the medical services they need in the Eureka area.
The primary purpose of TDA funds is to provide various types of transportation services to the public that are financially "reasonable" to fund, and secondarily to provide funds for roadway repair projects. Before HCAOG can allocate funds for purposes “not directly related to public transportation services, specialized transportation services, or facilities provided for the exclusive use of pedestrians and bicycles” (PUC Sec. 99401.5), HCAOG must first implement the transit needs assessment process. Because the primary purpose of the TDA is to fund transit, the transit needs assessment process is used to prove that there are no “unmet transit needs” that are “reasonable to meet” prior to funding street and road projects.
Council will not be asked to make a finding on the Transit Needs Assessments. They are to receive public comment concerning transit needs and forward findings on to HCAOG.
If the HCAOG Board finds that there are no unmet transit needs or that there are no unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet, the City of Fortuna may then expend excess TDA funds for non-transit purposes. A finding that there are unmet transit needs, including those that are reasonable to meet, delivers a mandate to the respective entity to set aside funds, to implement a program to meet those needs deemed “reasonable to meet.”
FINANCIAL IMPACT
No immediate financial impact. Funding for any additional service recommendations or unmet transit needs would need to be paid for from fares, other transit subsidies, or other revenue sources.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
1. Receive staff presentation and review Council questions with staff.
2. Open the Public Hearing.
3. Close the Public Hearing.
4. Motion to forward comments received during the public hearing to HCOAG for consideration of the Transit Needs Assessment. Voice vote.
ATTACHMENTS:
HCAOG Synopsis to Cities regarding Citizen Participation Process for the Transit Needs Assessment