After many twists and turns, Community Action of Freeborn County finally won a contract to operate Mower County Transit Tuesday.

Wednesday, April 10, 2002

After many twists and turns, Community Action of Freeborn County finally won a contract to operate Mower County Transit Tuesday.

Mower County commissioners unanimously approved the contract with the organization during the board meeting, and authorized the takeover with a $35,000 annual contract fee.

&uot;It was a roller coaster,&uot; said Community Action Executive Director Collette Turcotte. &uot;But I am happy with the result, and we will do our best.&uot;

Starting Wednesday, the organization will start handling the four regular bus routes and two work express lines in Austin and a county-wide on-demand riding service.

Despite the change in the operator, Turcotte, who is serving as an interim transit coordinator of the system since Wednesday, said, &uot;The service will be seamless. Riders should not see anything changed.&uot;

The organization’s attempt to take over the service had been hampered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

MnDOT District Manager/Planner Jean Meyer has expressed concerns about the budget structure and Community Action’s capability in managing the public transportation system. Disagreeing with a health insurance package offered to the employees by Community Action, two transit executives have resigned.

The Mower County Board postponed endorsing the contract at its March 26 meeting. Instead, it started exploring the possibility of establishing a joint-powers agreement with the City of Austin to govern the transit system.

MnDOT still prefers the joint-powers scheme, but will not go against the county’s decision, according to Meyer. &uot;We will review the contract and may cut back grants if necessary. And the agency will keep scrutinizing the service operation,&uot; she said.

The venture was part of Community Action’s efforts to diversify its revenue source.

About 90 percent of its $215,000 annual budget depends on state and federal grants, many of which are designated for a particular program and have a sunset clause. Turcotte expected the new public transportation service to strengthen the organization’s financial backbone, and the fiscal stability would then enable them to launch a new social service.

For the past couple of years, Community Action has been trying to launch a newcomers’ resource center that would assist newly arrived residents to find a job and get information about various social services available in Freeborn County.

But the plan has stalled since the Minnesota Department of Public Safety rejected a grant application of $77,000 by the organization last November.

In addition, the center lost $20,000 in funding promised by the County Family Services Collaborative because of a contingency clause defining the funding would be carried out only after the state’s approval of the grant money.

Though the new contract with Mower County would not contribute much to the organization’s book after deducting expenses, Community Action decided to start the Newcomer Resource Center by July on a much smaller scale than it was originally planned. According to Turcotte, the center will rent an office space next to Community Action on Stevens St. in Albert Lea, and provide the service once a week. One Spanish-English bilingual staff member will be in charge of the service.

&uot;With the prospect that Farmland will return to the community, the presence of the Newcomer Resource Center would become crucial,&uot; Turcotte said.