Valley Transit approves payments, FTA safety-plan update and awards maintenance-lift contract; 2026 budget largely flat

Valley Transit commissioners at a regular meeting approved several operational items, including payments for routine invoices, an annual Federal Transit Administration safety-plan update and a contract to replace a maintenance lift at the Whitman facility, and reviewed a largely flat 2026 budget that officials said includes only a modest increase for labor.

Chairman George Dearborn opened the meeting and the commission approved minutes and a batch of payments after staff review. Christine, a Valley Transit finance staff member, briefed the commission on items in the register: a payment to CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) for the annual audit (amount not specified in the register review), a $4,808 payment to Radio Engineering Industries, a $34,680.11 payment to Signature Landscapes, and a $53,690 payment to Cooney Architects toward phase 2 of the Whitman project. "If you flip to page 2, towards the bottom, we have a payment to Clifton Larson, AKA CLA, which is our auditors," Christine said when summarizing the highlights.

Commissioners then approved an updated Transportation Safety Participation Plan required by the Federal Transit Administration. Tracy, a transit staff member referenced during the discussion, and other staff told the commission the update contained only minimal edits from the prior year. Ron, a Valley Transit staff presenter, said the changes included an updated list of commissioners and minor checklist revisions; he also said the plan had been approved already by the agency's safety committee of labor and management before being forwarded to the Transit Commission for final approval.

The commission also awarded a contract to replace the maintenance lift at the Whitman facility. Ron presented the bids and recommended awarding the work to Myron Construction. "The low bid was Myron Construction, $861,921 with a contingency of 10% for a project total not to exceed $948,113," Ron said. He told commissioners the lift failure made replacement urgent because staff could not safely lift buses to perform wheel and undercarriage maintenance. Ron said funding for the replacement would come from the Whitman phase 2 project budget.

On the 2026 budget, Ron described the proposal as "relatively flat," with the only notable increase tied to labor costs. He said staff reallocated existing positions to different funding sources, reduced consulting fees (removing a $40,000 consultant line because a transit development plan is underway), lowered depreciation charges as assets dropped off the schedule, and reduced ADA paratransit ridership projections. He said the budget includes money for hiring and recruitment to maintain current service levels but does not include additional funds to restore reduced service: "We would have to increase our table of organization to add additional drivers to provide additional services," Ron said, adding that Valley Transit is currently short roughly six to seven drivers relative to the commission's target level.

Staff said a Transit Development Plan (TDP) is underway and expected in the second quarter of 2026; that study will inform any incremental restoration of service and priorities such as peak-time increases versus evening or Saturday service. The commission set its next meeting for a November 11 date and adjourned.

Votes at a glance: the commission approved the minutes, approved the payments register, adopted the updated Transportation Safety Participation Plan, awarded the maintenance-lift contract to Myron Construction (low bid $861,921; project total with 10% contingency not to exceed $948,113), and adjourned. Individual roll-call vote tallies were not recorded in the meeting transcript for these items.