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Grants under the Section 5307 program are available for the <br />planning, acquisition, construction, improvement, and operating <br />costs of facilities, equipment, and associated capital maintenance <br />items used in mass transportation service. The capital portion of <br />the FY 1995/96 Section 5307 grant is $315,700. A breakdown of the <br />capital expenses for the approved grant is provided in Attachment <br />1 (proposed revisions are also listed in this attachment). <br />As indicated in Attachment 1, the FY 1995/96 grant allocated a <br />total of $154,000 (design and construction) for an intermodal <br />terminal to be located at the Vero Beach Municipal Airport. Other <br />capital expenses include bus shelters, computer equipment, radios, <br />and renovation of the transfer facility located at the Council on <br />Aging. <br />ANALYSIS <br />Since the FY 1995/96 grant was approved, the sole commercial air <br />service carrier has left the airport, reducing the effectiveness of <br />moving all transit operations to the airport. Present leased space <br />at the airport is, however, adequate for use as an information <br />center and headquarters for the fixed -route bus drivers. As a <br />result, staff from the Council on Aging have recommended that <br />construction at the airport be delayed. Staff have also <br />recommended that funds allocated for construction of facilities at <br />the airport be re -programmed for more pressing needs. <br />As listed in Attachment 1, staff recommends that the current <br />transit grant be revised to eliminate the $154,000 terminal <br />construction funding and re -program the $154,000 for other transit <br />expenditures. The proposed revisions and rationale are as follows: <br />■ Purchase a Bus Trolley for $112,000 -- the trolley would <br />augment transit service on the barrier island and would act as <br />a transit promotional tool; operating costs would be partially <br />paid for by advertising from the business community <br />■ Increase Bus Shelter funding. by $2,500 to $10,000 -- the City <br />of Vero Beach has been working with the Council.on Aging to <br />construct bus shelters; the increased funding would be used to <br />add more shelters in appropriate locations <br />■ Increase Transfer Facility Renovations funding by $37,000 to <br />$57,000 -- since office space will not be moved to the <br />airport, this funding would be used for a more extensive <br />renovation of Transportation Department space at the Council <br />on Aging <br />■ Increase Personal Computer funding by $2,500 to $10,000 -- <br />funds would be used to purchase one additional computer; <br />increased demands for the National Transit Database reporting <br />require more advanced computers to keep up with scheduling, <br />dispatching, and reporting requirements <br />On July 2, 1996, Tom Fritz, Transportation Director of the Council <br />on Aging, presented the idea of a trolley purchase to the Board of <br />County Commissioners. The Board agreed to the use of current <br />transit grant funds for the trolley purchase. <br />The proposed revisions are a reallocation of funding within the <br />current grant, and do not change the total grant budget. Because <br />of the size of the reallocation, however, Federal Transit <br />August 27, 1996 <br />