Agenda Packets - 2007/03/05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item No: 4D Meeting Date: 03/05/07 Type of Business: WS City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Kurt Ulrich, City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Care-a-Van Funding Request Background: At the meeting of local Mayors and managers held on January 22nd, the request was made by the School District to help support the Care-a-Van program in the local communities. The Care-a-Van program provides on demand services to riders within the four cities that need reliable, inexpensive transportation. Fares are voluntary contributions. Discussion: The MVSD has been facing an increasing subsidy for continuing the Care-a -Van service and during their most recent fiscal year, the service cost about $26,000. According to the School District, to maintain a viable service, there needs to be a supplemental revenue source to provide about $15,000 per year. Based on the percentage of rides provided to residents in each community, the cost allocation for an annual $15,000 contribution is shown below. Shoreview - 40% or $6,000 New Brighton 38% or $5,400 Mounds View 14% or $2,100 Arden Hills 10% or $1,500 Each City agreed to bring this request back to their respective city councils to determine if this is something that they would be willing to fund on an ongoing basis. The Shoreview City Manager, Terry Schwerm, subsequently wrote: Our City Council discussed the issue of the Care A Van service that was brought to our attention at the last Mayor/Managers/Administrators meeting. The Shoreview Council's reaction to providing funds for this service was lukewarm. Although they felt that the care a van has been a good service over the past 20 years, they were not sure that they wanted to begin contributing monies for a service that clearly is requiring more of a subsidy each year. They also had several questions about the efficiency of the service, who is using the service and for what purposes, the per trip subsidy. Based on their discussion, my sense was that our Council would need to receive a lot more information before they would be willing to consider contributing to this service. I just wanted to keep the group updated as you bring this matter to your City Councils.