The Sherburne County Board is considering partnering with other organizations to establish a Regional Transportation Coordinating Council (RTCC).

 

At a workshop last week, Brian Gibson, executive director of the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization (APO), gave a presentation about the organization, which intends to bring stakeholders and transportation providers together to create an information network.

 

“It would be a one click, one call method for anyone in the county to access knowledge about transportation services,” said Mary Jo Cobb, Sherburne County Director of Health and Human Services. “If someone needed to get to Minneapolis for a meeting 10 a.m. tomorrow, they would be able to search all options.”

 

Gibson said it is an initiative of MnDOT and the Dept. of Human Services.

 

“Transportation is one of the top issues. The idea is rather than (MnDOT) keep buying motor vehicles, maybe get people who have the vehicles to work together to coordinate and use what we have more efficiently,” he said. 

 

“The Center for Independent Living may have a van they use for their clients, yet it sits for 20 hours a day. That’s kind of the idea here - get the transportation  providers and stakeholders together and figure out what services are being provided, where the service gaps are and how can we fill those gaps.”

 

Gibson said they applied for a grant from the state last year to do some planning. That process included researching other RTCCs and contacting service providers and stakeholders. Some of those include: Voigt’s Motorcoach; Reach Up Headstart; Trailblazer Transit; Metro Bus; Tri-CAP; WACOSA; Functional Industries; Central MN Council on Aging; Care Cab; Elite Taxi; Career Solutions and Central MN Jobs & Training. They are also contacting HHS and Veterans Service offices for Wright, Sherburne, Morrison, Benton, Stearns and Mille Lacs counties.

 

Gibson said right now, each provider has their own schedule and their own contact information. The ultimate goal of the RTCC is to have one place that has all the transportation information.

 

“If my mom falls and breaks her hip and needs to get to her medical appointments, she doesn’t know who to call,” he said. “This RTCC becomes that one point of contact. The public needs to know one 1-800 number, one website, and they get all the information they need in order to complete their trip.”

 

He said they are applying for another grant for Phase 2 of the process - implementation. That involves getting the counties together to negotiate a joint powers agreement to form the RTCC. He said the APO can provide an office and equipment for the start-up, and MnDOT has agreed to provide 100% of the funding for the first year. 

 

Gibson said they are asking for a one-year commitment from each of the counties, with no monetary commitment.

 

Cobb said she felt the RTCC would be a great benefit.

 

“This is for the general public but we could also benefit here in HHS with rides for some of our clients,” she said. “We spend a lot of time coordinating rides to get people to court, to interviews, to jobs, getting kids to visit their parents.”

 

Commissioner Felix Schmiesing said he saw merit in the idea, but felt coordinating all the different providers would be difficult.

 

“It sounds like a lot of cats to herd to me,” he said.

 

Commissioner Tim Dolan had the same reservations.

 

“I definitely see how this would be beneficial. But we have a bunch of providers now that are having trouble getting their service utilized the way that it’s supposed to,” he said. “Will they be able to figure it out once they get together?”

 

Commissioner Barbara Burandt felt an RTCC was important for older and disabled people who had difficulty getting around. 

 

“I think it’s too good of an idea to let it go,”she said.

 

Since it was a workshop, no vote was taken to give a one-year commitment. A resolution will be presented to the board for their consideration at a future meeting.