EDITORIAL

This week one of Kearney’s neighbors did what’s best for the region by paying $1,995 to exchange a small bus for a bigger one to take passengers to downtown Kansas City.

This decision by the Liberty City Council came after the Clay County Commission failed to act, but the commission should be discussing a way to reimburse the city.

At a July 22 transportation summit called by Liberty Mayor Robert Steinkamp, only Liberty council members, Clay County commissioners and one representative from Kearney participated. There was nobody from Claycomo, Pleasant Valley, Excelsior Springs, Lawson, Missouri City, Glenaire or Mosby — as Steinkamp had invited.

So the summit was really an informational session on the current status and hopes for future public transit in the Northland. It ended with Steinkamp asking for $1,995 for a bigger bus to take people to and from Liberty and downtown Kansas City.

Steinkamp asked for the financial help because Liberty already subsidized the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority service with $37,447 for a 40-passenger bus and 20-passenger bus.

Among the problems with getting someone else to fork over $1,995 was that it was too little too late — and Steinkamp admits and apologizes for it. Steinkamp sent invitations on July 1 to the “summit.” He later learned that the KCATA needed to know by Wednesday, July 30, whether Liberty wanted to trade the 20-passenger bus for another 40-passenger bus. Steinkamp said he wanted a commitment for money by Monday, July 28. The Clay County Commission did not discuss allocating funds at its July 28 meeting, as Presiding Commissioner Ed Quick was not present.

With Kearney Mayor Bill Dane and City Administrator Jim Eldridge out of town until August, the Kearney Board of Aldermen did not have the opportunity to publicly discuss allocating the funds by the deadline.

We didn’t — and still don’t — think it’s Kearney’s responsibility to foot the $1,995 bill. Steinkamp called eight cities to the “summit” because it is believed that they each have residents riding the bus. Kearney shouldn’t be expected to pay just because it was the only city invited that sent a representative — despite the mayor and city administrator being unable to attend.

Also, there is no information about how many — if any — residents from Kearney or elsewhere ride the bus regularly. According to a one-day survey in October 2007 — before there was standing room only on the buses — 61 percent of the riders were Liberty residents. The survey found that 35 riders were from Liberty and the remaining were from Kearney, Lawson, Plattsburg, Cameron, Lathrop and “other.”

Now the bus is boasting nearly 100 riders a day with people standing. If the percentage remains true that 60 percent of the riders are from Liberty, then that means 40 percent — or about 40 people — are from the outlying areas aforementioned, including rural Clay County. So 40 divided by nine governances (the area cities plus rural county) means there’s an average of 4.4 riders per community. But without an up-to-date survey sampling more than one day, we don’t know exactly how many are coming from where.

Those cities — including Kearney — should not be expected to pay for a bigger bus nor subsidize the program until several surveys are conducted and the city of Liberty — or KCATA — submits a proposal to each city based on the number of riders coming from those areas. And those cities need a reasonable timeline to make a decision and negotiate an amount to subsidize.

When better data is presented, and if it shows a significant impact from a city’s population, then Kearney and the other cities should pitch in to help subsidize the transit program.

As for the quick fix Liberty funded, Clay County should pay for that. It’s only $1,995, and the County Commission has the means to do so. The commission needs to remember it serves all residents in Clay County, not just those in the rural parts. If residents from across the county are causing the bus to overflow, then the Clay County Commission should assist with funds for the quick fix and help with the proposal for long-term subsidy.

Comments on "Bus funds request too little, too late"

Comments are limited to 200 words or less.