Seeking Right Direction
Council to continue to look at transit
The Porterville City Council will continue to consider what direction it should take when it comes to the city’s transit system at its meeting tonight.
A public hearing will be held during the City Council meeting in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. tonight.
Those who wish to do so can attend the meeting but must wear a face covering. Comments can also be submitted to councilmeetingcomments@ci.porterville.ca.us
The City of Porterville is looking at continuing to cut back on its bus service and to continue to expand its new shuttle service, Transport.
Transport is similar to shuttle services used in major metropolitan areas such as New York City in which a group of passengers ride together and are taken to their specific destinations.
The city has moved more away from bus service and more toward the Transport service in large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city has already eliminated bus routes 7 and 8 and is now considering the elimination of bus routes 4 and 6.
The city is also proposing service hours for the Dial-a-ride program for the disabled and senior population to be offered from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.
It’s also proposing the Eagle Mountain Casino Park—n-ride lot off of Highway 190 be added to the Transport route.
The city is proposing a monthly pass of $100 that would allow those to use all of the city’s transit services. Also proposed is a fare of $3 for the first five miles and 50 cents for each additional mile to use Transport.
The City Council could approve any or all of these proposals at its meeting tonight. Whatever proposals that are approved would go into effect on October 1.
The city is also proposing evaluating the expansion of Transport to Lindsay, Terra Bella, Springville and Woodville, which could also be approved at tonight’s City Council meeting.
In addition as part of the Consent Calendar the council will consider a memorandum of understanding with the Tulare County Regional Transit Agency for personnel and administrative services.
Porterville has entered into an agreement with the county for the agency to manage transportation services for participating cities in the county.
There are other numerous items the City Council can approve as part of the Consent Calendar, including the following items:
The council will consider the approval of repairs to the city’s Waste Water Treatment Facility at a cost of $2.5 million. The repairs would be funded by the city’s Waste Water Treatment Fund reserve.
The staff report stated the project will “include the repair of Digesters No. 2 and No. 3 as both experienced structural damage of their steel dome covers. The Digester No. 2 dome cover was installed in 1953. There is significant corrosion damage to the Digester No. 2 floating dome cover that renders it inoperable. The Digester No. 3 dome cover was installed in 1977, and the fixed dome cover was damaged when over flow piping plugged due to struvite built up in supernatant piping and has been out of service since 2016. Repairs will likely require removing the digester dome cover to repair damage to the concrete wall at cover anchor bolt locations. Additionally the center column support bracing has buckled in at least one location. Also, the obsolete heat exchanger that was installed in 1977 and the digester gas flare will be replaced. The flare has recently required repairs to fix digester gas leaks.”
The City will also consider using $100,000 from Measure R — the ½ cent sales tax for transportation and related areas —to be used for trail maintenance and related security costs as far as air quality is concerned.
Mayor Martha Flores has also asked for local mosquito abatement services to be considered. The council will consider placing this matter on the agenda for its September 15 meeting.