Carson City board approves going for Fed grant for JAC

The Carson Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Wednesday approved going for $143,920 in federal funds for paratransit bus service and bus stop access upgrades.

The organization, also called CAMPO, without dissent determined two Carson City Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) applications be submitted for funding in the CAMPO area. CAMPO representatives include both the RTC members and additional representatives from Lyon and Douglas counties.

The first RTC/CAMPO submission is for $108,296 for bus service operations helping people with mobility problems.

“The funds will be used to operate the JAC’s (Jump Around Carson’s) paratransit system,” said Graham Dollarhide, city transit coordinator. He said the funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) would require a 20 percent local match, which would amount to about $21,569.

The second submission is for $34,630, which also would come from the FTA and require a 20 percent match, to improve JAC sidewalk access at bus stops. Dollarhide noted, however, federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money can be used if available to meet that $6,926 match necessity. He said after the meeting this is the only situation in which federal CDBG funds can be used as match in this manner.

The RTC normally meets right after the CAMPO session each month, but there was no RTC meeting Wednesday. The RTC earlier met with the city’s Redevelopment Advisory Citizens Committee in a joint session to review together but vote separately on recommending the 90 percent downtown makeover design to the city’s Board of Supervisors. That design has been recommended and is slated for the next board meeting, which is Thursday, Dec. 17.