Commission approves support letter for WRTA study; agency seeks USDA grant and local backing

The Fremont County Commission voted to approve a written support letter for the Wind River Transportation Authority’s (WRTA) partnership with the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) as WRTA seeks a USDA-funded study to assess sustainable funding and potential service redesign.

WRTA Director Tim Nichols told the commission October 2024 marked a five-year record high in monthly ridership and that demand trends continue to grow. Nichols said WRTA and CTAA are preparing a USDA grant application to finance a roughly 12-month study to identify sustainable funding models for rural transit agencies and to test service redesign options, including microtransportation or demand-response models. “In around April, we should have a report, with a couple different options, and its anticipated cost savings,” Nichols said.

The nut of the discussion was whether the county would formally back WRTA’s application and allow WRTA to gather local data. Nichols asked the commission for a support letter and requested that any letters be provided by March 17. Commissioners asked about the study’s cost and WRTA’s commitments; Nichols said the CTAA engagement so far has required little local time because CTAA pulled national transit reporting data (NTD) and performed initial analysis.

Commissioners approved the support letter after brief questions about the level of staff involvement and whether the study required a local match. Nichols said the USDA grant application being pursued would, if awarded, pay for the study; WRTA is also seeking partnership letters from governing bodies within Fremont County and from tribal governments. Nichols listed potential follow-up actions should the grant be awarded, including stakeholder engagement and pilot service redesigns.

The commission’s approval was framed as a one-time endorsement for the application and does not itself commit county funds; Nichols described possible internal WRTA adjustments if funding shifts, including reallocating portions of operating grant funds to administrative and maintenance categories to reduce local match obligations. He said the proposed reallocation could shift up to $250,000 within WRTA’s operating grant to lower local-match requirements because administrative/maintenance match rates are lower than operating-match rates.

The commission’s action gives WRTA a county endorsement to include with the CTAA/USDA application. Commissioners asked for follow-up briefings if the grant is awarded and requested copies of any support-letter templates sent on the county’s behalf.

Commissioners: The motion to approve a support letter passed with the board’s affirmative votes.

The commission will expect WRTA staff to return with results of the CTAA engagement and any grant award notifications so the county can consider next steps for coordination and possible local support.