10-20-75 Council Meetin Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 20, 1975 REGULAR MEETING - RECONVENED (CONTINUED) RESOLUTIONS RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL URGING THE SOUTH BEND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION CORPORATION TO IMPLEMENT A FOUR -MONTH EXPERIMENTAL SHOPPERS' SHUTTLE BUS. A public hearing was held at this time on the resolution. Council Vice - President Robert G. Taylo3 chaired this portion of the meeting as Council President Parent made the presentation for the resolution. He talked about the many problems encountered in attracting shoppers to the downtown district. He felt something should be done now, and he was proposing a shuttle bus to the downtov area from the Scottsdale Mall. He felt the proposal of using the buses on a more expanded method was necessary. He indicated that the program was a trial program and would cost approximately $2,000 per month. He stated that he had talked with members of the Public Transportation Corporation, and the corporation had indicated that it wished to present a counter proposal. He stated that he would be willing to amend his proposal in accordance with the proposal submitted b5 the bus company. Mr. Stephen Lobdell, Chairman of the Public Transportation Corporation Board of Directors, indicated that the corporation had held a meeting this date concerning the Parent pro- posal. He asked Mr. Michael Setzer, Manager of the corporation, to explain the proposal to the Council members. Mr. Setzer indicated that the corporation wished to propose an experimental venture which would entail a shuttle between residential areas and downtown South Bend on a rotating schedule. Every Monday, hourly service would be provided for a specific area to downtown and so on. Each day of the week, another area of the city would be serviced. He asked that the experiment be conducted during the Christmas shopping period starting after Thanksgiving. The proposal would be utilized only for a short period because of the limited amount of funds available. He suggested using a specifically - painted vehicle, and that no fare be charged during the experimental period. The downtown area would participate by providing the necessary adver- tising. The approximate cost would be $4,000 and half of that cost would probably be promotional expenses. The Downtown Council had indicated a strong interest in the proposal, according to Mr. Setzer. Councilman Taylor wondered if the Public Transportation Corporation's proposal was in addition to the proposal of Council President Parent. He wondered where the $4,000 would come from. Mr. Setzer indicated that the proposal of the PTC was an alternate to the Parent proposal. Regarding the expense, the amount of $4,000 was an estimate and approximately $2,000 would be required to prepare a special bus and to meet the ordinary expenses of operating the bus. He stated that the remainder would be spent on advertising. He indicated that the PTC would provide the vehicle and maintain it if the Downtown Council would fund the promotional effort. Mr. Felix A. Stech, 1306 North Kaley, indicated that the city was short $450,000 on the municipal garages. He felt everything should be done to take care of that shortage. He asked that the Council consider providing some free parking in the downtown area for a few hours on Monday evenings and Saturdays in an effort to encourage people to shop downtown. Mr. Frank Nemeth, 1809 Hass Drive, wondered if there would be any cost to the city for the program. He felt the proposal of the PTC was a good one in that it would not cost the city any money. He wondered where the centrally - located areas for the shuttle would be. Mr. Setzer indicated that precise routes and schedules had not been prepared as yet. Mr. Nemeth felt the PTC proposal was a better solution to the problem than the Parent proposal. He wondered if the Christmas shopping period should be the right time to experiment. Mrs. Darlene Scherer, 506 South Twyckenham, Vice - President of the League of Women Voters, indicated that, during the past year, the league had endorsed shuttle bus service. She stated that the league favored experimenting with shuttle service between the various shopping areas, in addition to the shuttle to the neighborhoods. She stated that the league favored funding the program through revenue sharing funds, if necessary. Mrs. Scherer talked about the need of adequate publicity and indicated that the league would help in that respect. Council President Parent commended the PTC for its proposal. He indicated that he would agree to amending his proposal to incorporate the proposal of the PTC. He made a motion to amend the resolution as follows: The 2nd WHEREAS clause to read as follows: WHEREAS, the linking and unifying of residential areas with the shopping areas through low -cost bus service may lead to greater overall sales for all South Bend metropolitan area merchants; and The 3rd WHEREAS clause to read as follows: WHEREAS, inexpensive express shuttle bus transportation would be an important service to shoppers; and The 4th WHEREAS clause to read as follows: WHEREAS, an experimental program would be within the South Bend Public Transportation Corporation's tight budget; and The THEREFORE clause to read as follows: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, that a Shoppers' Shuttle Bus as outlined below be instituted by the South Bend Public Transportation Corporation for a trial period to begin as soon as possible. Section 1 to read as follows: SUMMARY OF THE SHOPPERS' SHUTTLE BUS. Initially, a shuttle bus service would be provided between the River Bend Plaza and the major residential and shopping areas of the South Bend metropolitan areas. Five major areas of the city would be served by a shuttle bus one day per week, with the Saturday bus duplicating one of the routes done earlier in the week.