HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Letter for Match RequestJanuary 23, 2014
Name
Affiliation
Address
City, State, Zip
Dear Name:
The City of Rexburg has agreed to serve as the official applicant for an $80,700 public transportation grant (FTA 5311 program*) to help improve mobility for both residents and visitors
in our rural communities. We are taking this action as one of 11 local governments working together to implement the Regional Plan for Sustainable Development being prepared for Fremont,
Madison and Teton counties, Idaho, and Teton County, Wyoming, under our HUD Consortium’s $1.5M Sustainable Communities planning grant.
We would appreciate a matching commitment of $2,500 from your organization to support this 4-county, 2-state mobility project. Your contribution will help fund a 150-day pilot shuttle
demonstration for summer 2015 that will connect our communities twice each day, carrying passengers who cannot or would prefer not to drive. There will be a reasonable fare for riders
of this small bus service, and we intend to make riding easy by offering online reservations and ticketing, and use of self-service kiosks. We will bid out the service to qualified
carriers that will be required to operate ADA-compliant vehicles, interline this route with any of their connecting services, and install bike carriers that will be purchased with grant
funds.
The draft schedule and route map are attached for your information, and we would appreciate your feedback as we go through the grant process. Please note that the Rexburg departure
and arrival times are set to connect with the Salt Lake Express bus that travels twice daily to/ from West Yellowstone, thus allowing riders from Yellowstone National Park to access
Rexburg, Teton Valley and Jackson twice each day, seven days a week.
We believe that businesses, local government, and nonprofit organizations from across our four rural counties will want to share the costs and promotion for this new shuttle service
as it is being designed to carry a diversity of passengers. Your match contribution and the federal subsidy will cover system management, grant administration, and operating costs
for the selected providers. Fare revenue will offset the federal subsidy and the pool of contributions using a 57.5%/42.5% formula. If the pilot system succeeds, our consortium will
be able to apply for the ITD subsidy each year, and all partners can jointly decide how to improve the service as it grows.
Because we need your letter by February 10, please email your scanned commitment letter to Rexburg City Clerk Blair Kay who is coordinating this project application. A template is attached
for your use. If you have any questions on the proposed bus service, please contact Jan Brown at the Fremont County Planning and Building Dept. at jabrown@co.fremont.id.us or at her
office at 208-624-4643 extension 2265. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Mayor Richard Woodland
*5311 Formula Grants for Rural Areas: FTA’s 5311 program provides capital, planning, and operating assistance to states to support public transportation in rural areas with populations
less than 50,000, where many residents often rely on public transit to reach their destinations. The program is administered by the Idaho Transportation Department, and the City of
Rexburg will be a sub-grantee.
DATE
Mayor Richard S. Woodland
City of Rexburg
35 North 1st East,
Rexburg, Idaho 83440
Dear Mayor Woodland:
The City of __________________is pleased to support the City of Rexburg in its application for an $80,700 public transportation grant under the FTA 5311 program to launch the “Upper
Valley Connector”. We agree that this shuttle service linking Rexburg, Teton Valley and Jackson Hole will enhance mobility for all those residents and visitors who cannot or prefer
not to drive.
We are pledging $________ as our match contribution to this project for fiscal year 2015. We believe that businesses, local government, and nonprofit organizations from across our region
should all share in the costs and promotion of this new shuttle service, and we wish to do our part in making it a reality.
[Please mention 1-2 reasons that your city, county or organization seeks to improve public transportation choices for our region. You may want to state the mobility policy or planning
goal that this new connector will help achieve for your jurisdiction or organization]
In addition to our pledge, I am appointing _________________________________ to serve as our representative on the Project Advisory Team that will help launch this 150-day pilot if funded,
in 2015.
We look forward to working as a partner with Rexburg to advance our four-county Regional Plan for Sustainable Development, and we will support multi-modal projects that achieve our mutual
goals.
Signature