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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, March 6, 2002
| Contact: | Don Krupp, Thurston County Chief Administrative Officer, 360-786-5440 | | Michael
Harbour, Intercity Transit General Manager, 360-786-8585 |
PUBLIC
INVITED TO HELP DECIDE TRANSIT SERVICE BOUNDARIES
OLYMPIA – Local elected officials will hold a
public hearing late this month to take comment on plans to reduce the public
transit service area in Thurston County.
The reduction is being considered after the loss of $8 million a year
in revenue to Intercity Transit, the county’s public transportation
provider. The proposal calls for
changing the existing countywide service boundary to a smaller area consisting
of the cities of Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Yelm and Tenino and most of their
surrounding urban growth areas. Establishing
this new Public Transportation Benefit Area would mean discontinuing one rural
route currently in operation.
The hearing is part of the Public Transportation
Improvement Conference (PTIC) process initiated by Thurston County.
An elected representative from each city within the county and the
Board of County Commissioners make up the conference.
Over the past several months, officials from Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater,
Yelm, Tenino, Bucoda, Rainier and Thurston County have met to address the
issue and consider a new boundary.
Thurston County Chief Administrative Officer Don
Krupp says, “It’s important for citizens to attend the hearing and let us
know what their feelings are regarding changes in the service boundaries.
Many people depend on transit for their mobility and it’s critical
that we have as much input as possible before the final decisions are made.”
Intercity Transit has been borrowing on its
reserve funds to continue its current level of service, but indicates that
this service cannot be financially sustained past next year. “We simply don’t have the resources to offer service to
rural areas while providing effective service to the urban area,” states I.T.
Authority Vice Chair Graeme Sackrison, Mayor of Lacey.
Sackrison is also a member
of the PTIC. “If we can’t
provide the service, it’s reasonable to ask if it’s fair to collect taxes
in the unserved portion of the county.
Those who wish to find out more can do so by
visiting the Thurston County website at www.co.thurston.wa.us
People who cannot attend the hearing may still comment by March 28 by
E-mailing Don Krupp,
County Administrator, at kruppd@co.thurston.wa.us,
by mailing comments to 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Olympia, WA 98501, or by
calling 360-786-5440.
The
hearing will be held at 6:00pm on Thursday March 28 in room 280 of Building
One at the Thurston County Courthouse. Changes
to the transit service boundary may be made by the Public Transportation
Improvement Conference immediately after the hearing is concluded or at some
point shortly thereafter.
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