The NorthStar Link bus service still has a future.

 

Monday, after more than an hour of debate, members of the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) reached an agreement to purchase five new buses and fund operations for the Link for at least the next five years.

 

The vote came after a long discussion between representatives from MnDOT,  Sherburne, Stearns, Hennepin and Anoka counties about who had the responsibility to buy buses and pay to run them.

 

The Link was started as a pilot program in in 2009 to carry commuters from St. Cloud to the Big Lake NorthStar Commuter Rail station. It also has stops in East St. Cloud, St. Cloud State University and Becker.

 

The Link bus agreement between the counties expires at the end of 2016, and over the past nine months there have been discussions about revising the funding formula.

 

Under the agreement, Stearns County pays 39.7% of annual operating costs. Sherburne County pays 37.6%. Anoka County pays 18.1% and Hennepin County contributes  4.6%. The operating budget for 2017 is $363,223 and is projected to be $1.475 million over the next five years.

 

Sherburne County Administrator Steve Taylor said at past NCDA meetings, Anoka County has made it clear they want to reduce their contribution.

 

At a meeting in April, representatives from Stearns and Sherburne counties met in St. Cloud with Tom Cruikshank, managing director of operations and planning for Metro Bus to talk about future costs.

 

Cruikshank said operating costs have continued to rise because of high maintenance and repair bills on the five-bus fleet, which are all 17 or 18 years old.

 

The cost to replace them with new buses is about $600,000 each. But under a program with the state, MnDOT will cover 80% of the cost to purchase the buses as long as there is a five-year commitment to keep the Link operating. That would leave a balance of $600,000 to be paid by NCDA members.

 

Officials from Stearns and Sherburne counties have said they might be willing to foot the bill for the capital purchases. But not for ongoing operations.

 

Cruikshank said there was a chance MnDOT would also fund 80% of operating costs. But it wasn’t a done deal.

 

Monday, Sherburne County Commissioner Bruce Anderson said he was concerned MnDOT would be reluctant to fund the bus service unless there was a more regional commitment than just two counties.

 

He said that’s what happened with the RiverRider Bus Service where Wright County and Sherburne County requested the same proposal and was denied by MnDOT.

 

Tom Gottfried, program director for MnDOT, said participation by all local entities was important.

 

“We’re looking for balance, consistency and sustainability,” he said. “Partnerships between two counties are really structutally very good, but are not sustainable over a long period, especially when you’re crossing multiple county borders.”

 

Gottfried said purchasing buses and funding operations was a long-term investement and commitment.

 

“MnDOT is not investing in the next two or three years. We’re investing in the next 20 years,” he said. “We’re seriously involved in this and would like to see that the local partnership is seriously involved.”

 

Anoka County Commissioner Scott Schulte proposed using a balance of $130,000 in unexpended NCDA funds to partially fund the purchase of the new buses. Since all four counties shared that money, he saw it as a way to keep local participation intact. 

 

Mary Richardson from the consulting firm Richardson, Richter & Associates, said that fund balance would cover 22% of the bus purchase.

 

“It seems to me that is a collaboration of all the counties that have participated in the Link over the last number of years,” she said.

 

Gottfried agreed.

 

“I believe that action satisfies us that you’re looking at making the investment, pushing forward, continuing and keeping the spirit and intent,” he said.

 

The members also agreed to amend the operations funding formula, reducing Anoka County’s annual contibution to $6,000 and dividing the difference among the other three counties - 33.3% to Hennepin County, 25.8% to Sherburne County and 40.9% to Stearns County.

 

Assuming MnDOT funds 80% of operations, the total 2017 operations budget is $89,387.

 

The vote by NCDA members was just one step in the process. St. Cloud Metro Bus still has to submit its funding application to MnDOT. And each county board still has to approve the expenditures.

 

The Sherburne County Regional Rail Authority will set its preliminary budget at the Sept. 6 meeting.