Council backs grant to aid bus merger

City lawmakers will support an application by Ulster County for a $20 million grant that could, in part, be put toward consolidating Kingston’s Citibus service and the Ulster County Area Transit system.

The Common Council voted 8-0 on Tuesday to adopt a resolution supporting Ulster County’s grant application. The resolution was adopted without comment from members.

Alderwoman Nina Dawson, DWard 4, was absent.

Mayor Steve Noble told the council’s Finance and Audit Committee on Monday that the county was seeking support from the city for the second phase of its Municipal Consolidation and Efficiency Competition application. He said the county applied for the money earlier this year and was awarded $50,000 from New York state. That money was used to study a possible merger of the Citibus and UCAT systems, as well as the dissolution of the village of Ellenville and other shared-services initiatives, Noble said.

Ulster is one of six counties in New York eligible to submit an application for the next phase of the funding. The application is due June 23. In addition to the public transit consolidation, the grant application also includes a new volunteer firefighter training center and other projects.

The possibility of a city-county bus merger was brought up last year during sales tax negotiations between Kingston and Ulster County. A feasibility study, known as the “Transit Integration Study,” was launched earlier this year to examine whether the two systems could be combined.

In other business Tuesday, the council voted 8-0 to authorize Noble to apply for a $7.9 million grant from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. to pay for upgrades at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

Noble had told the Finance and Audit Committee the upgrades were necessary for the city to comply with an amended state Department of Environmental Conservation discharge permit. He said the permit requires the city to reduce the nitrate levels in its wastewater discharge. To do that, the city must upgrade its treatment plant, Noble said.

“This is not an inexpensive project,” the mayor said, adding that the city has about two years before it needs to start construction to comply with the permit, so it will apply for as much grant funding as possible. Noble said this grant application is due June 23.