Riders lament fate of WRTA in Trumbull | News, Sports, Jobs

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Would you walk 2 1/2 hours to a job interview? Or quit a job to find one closer to home? What about moving to a different city because of its access to a public transit system?

WRTA riders waiting for buses in downtown Warren last week said these are their alternatives to getting around once the service pulls back on its Trumbull County activities, after county commissioners did not move forward with joining the public transit authority.

The county is forming plans that remain uncertain for a service that can pick up older and disabled people, but once WRTA finishes up, if the state doesn’t provide more funding for Trumbull County operations, the majority of the pilot fixed routes and services for younger and non-disabled people will go up in exhaust.

Noah Thornton of Warren waited at the bus stop on High Street in Warren to catch the bus to a job interview. Without the WRTA route, he would have walked the 2 1/2 hours.

He said the city needs public transit.

“People already have a hard enough time getting around. The city should have a whole hub, like Youngstown,” Thornton said. “It is easy to get around Youngstown.”

The ease of using WRTA to get around Youngstown is the thing pushing Michelle Brown and Joe Rich to consider moving to the city from Warren.

“We use the bus to get where we need to go. Without it, we walk. It will be a real bad loss,” Rich said. “We might just have to move back to Youngstown.”

Tyrese Dunklin waited to catch a bus to his job Friday, a job he took because he knew he could take the bus there.

If it goes away, he said he’ll have to quit and find a job closer to home.

“I’ll figure it out,” he said.

DISAPPOINTED

Warren Mayor Doug Franklin said he is “disappointed” commissioners did not join WRTA.

“I thought it was an opportunity to create a major public investment, particularly in downtown Warren, but that would have had a ripple effect on the whole county because you can move people not only to jobs, but to entertainment,” Franklin said. “A part of the plan included a multi-million dollar transportation center in downtown. I am extremely disheartened.”

Franklin said he has heard nothing but support for the system from constituents and hopes commissioners will revisit the issue.

“The system connects people not just to jobs, but to educational institutions, shopping malls. It is a well-thought-out network to get people to where they needs to be,” Franklin said.

The pilot program was funded by the Ohio Department of Transportation and put in place in March 2020 by WRTA as the former Trumbull County transit system wrapped up activities following issues with federal transit rules and an elimination of their board-run services. The program had been scheduled to run until May, but is now expected to run until the end of August, but with just four routes instead of the six it began with, said Dean Harris, WRTA executive director.

“We were able to move ODOT funding around to extend our service for the city of Warren fixed routes until the end of August. But, we had to cut it down to four routes. Plus we will continue the Warren Express,” he said.

The Warren Express Route travels between Warren and Youngstown and has been in place for years as one of WRTA’s busiest lines and has its own funding source, Harris said. All of Warren’s new lines connected to the line, connecting the two cities.

COMMISSIONERS

Trumbull County commissioners were asked to decide by the end of May whether to approve a resolution joining WRTA. Commissioners Mauro Cantalamessa and Frank Fuda stopped the move by not holding a vote on the resolution. Commissioner Niki Frenchko supports joining.

If commissioners had voted to join, WRTA’s members — Youngstown and Mahoning County — would have had to approve the move, along with WRTA’s board. And, WRTA was expected to put a .25 percent sales tax increase in Trumbull County to fund the system. The amount is equal to an additional 25 cents on a $100 purchase and was expected to raise $6 million for the system of fixed routes, door-to-door scheduled pickups and a transit hub in downtown Warren.

WRTA went back to ODOT to ask for another round of operating assistance to keep the expanded fixed route service in Warren, Harris said. But, he hasn’t heard yet whether it will be approved, though he is willing to help.

“I am hoping that they can find some funding to continue to provide service for Trumbull and the city of Warren,” he said.

Frenchko has advocated for the economic development improvements a public transit can offer — it is said to increase property values and to return $4 to the economy for every dollar spent on it, for example.

“The longer we delay, the more we’re putting ourselves at risk for losing out on the economic development that people are looking to do, and also providing services,” she has said.

The area also has had higher than average rates of unemployment over the last several years, when compared with other counties in the state and country.

She said it will put Trumbull County in the position to share in the millions of dollars WRTA brings to the Mahoning Valley in federal and state grants, and that any system the county can cobble together on its own won’t be eligible for those dollars.

But Fuda and Cantalamessa argue the county may not need a $6 million system, that passing a tax so soon on the heels of COVID-19 isn’t fair to the public and that there are still legal concerns about whether the county could pull out of WRTA in certain circumstances.

And, both said they feel having one of the lowest sales tax rates in the state is a benefit. Fuda has also said the county may need to raise the sales tax itself, and so doesn’t want to have to do it for both the transit service and the general fund.

The county has a 6.75 percent sales tax rate, but the majority of the revenue from the tax is sent back to the state. Columbus takes 5.75 percent and Trumbull County takes 1 percent. It is one of the lowest rates in the state.

County commissioners in Ohio have the ability to impose a 1 percent increase at any time, as long as the increase is in .1 percent or .25 percent increments, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation.

Cantalamessa said he wants to start “smaller” and focus just on rides for seniors and disabled.

OTHER VOICES

The leaders of some communities in the county say their constituents need public transit.

“We have a lot of jobs coming in, we would like to see a bus services. Our businesses are clamoring for people to work. They may need transit. It bothers me a bit the commissioners didn’t put it up for a vote,” said Arno Hill, the mayor of Lordstown where several companies are setting up shop.

Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz said he wants to see public transit expand into Niles, but understands the hesitation of Cantalamessa and Fuda.

“I support regionalized transportation so long as it is sustainable and there is a need. I understand the commissioners’ position in being fiscally responsible and recognize their vision for a local county-wide plan,” he said.

Cortland Mayor Deidre Petrosky said it is a tough decision for commissioners, but it is time for a long-term solution to the county’s transit system.

“I understand about not wanting to pass a tax, however our tax is already lower, lower than adjacent counties, and it would still be rather low,” Petrosky said. “But it is important, there are people that utilize public transit for work and daily needs. There are people that for whatever reason don’t drive,” Petrosky said.

Commissioners should consider alternative plans, and it isn’t too late to, she said.

” … and if they can’t, they can go back to WRTA. It is important to have an alternative solution, otherwise leave it as it is now as bare bones and give voters an opportunity to speak in November,” she said.

rfox@tribtoday.com



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