Council, BJCTA to enter work sessions
At a specially called meeting on Dec. 19, the BJCTA announced that it would be entering work sessions with the city of Homewood to find solutions to the transit issues that have been under discussion for weeks.
The city had originally planned to cut mid-day service on its three BJCTA routes and contract with ClasTran to provide VIP paratransit services between roughly 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. However, ClasTran decided to hold off on making an agreement to give the city and the transit authority more time to negotiate.
Ward 3 Place 2 Representative Walter Jones said the work sessions are not scheduled yet, but will most likely begin in the first or second week of January. The council decided on Dec. 15 to fund full BJCTA services until Jan. 31 so there was more time to make a decision.
The meetings will include members of Homewood’s finance committee and potentially some other city officials, as well as the BJCTA Board of Directors chair, vice chair and secretary. Chair Johnnye Lassiter said she has not had time to discuss the work sessions with the other board members, so no official options are on the table yet.
Ward 1 Place 2 Representative Britt Thames said the finance committee wants to discuss adjusting the stops and paths of Homewood’s existing routes to make them more efficient, perhaps dropping one route in the process. This was dismissed as an option in November meetings between the committee and the BJCTA, but Thames said that the transit authority seemed willing to consider it at Friday’s meeting.
Jones noted that the ClasTran deal is not ruled out yet. If the work sessions fail to produce a viable solution, Jones said ClasTran seems willing to move forward with an agreement. That would require BJCTA approval, however.
“It’s not off the table. It’s just another option,” Jones said.
The work sessions will only be about budgeting and solutions for the current fiscal year. In the fall, new discussions will likely have to take place for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
Update, 12/29, 4:10 p.m.: Homewood has a contract with ClasTran that would allow riders to pay $2 per trip, not $4.