Kootenai County commissioners fail to advance FY2026 transit project list after one commissioner objects

Kootenai County Board of Commissioners on April 28 held a public hearing on the county’s Fiscal Year 2026 public transportation program of projects and discussed a related amendment to an agreement with the Area Agency on Aging; no public testimony was offered and a motion to adopt the FY2026 program failed for lack of a second.

Chad Ingle, transit department, told the board the FY2026 program of projects had been published in the Coeur d’Alene Press on March 28 and that, as of the hearing, the county had received no public comments. “This is the public hearing for our fiscal year 26 program of projects as published in the Coeur d’Alene Press on 03/28/2025. Our office has received no comments at this point as of today,” Ingle said.

The hearing drew no speakers in the room or on the phone, and the board moved to deliberate. Chair Pro Tem Duncan noted that the list had been approved earlier but that nothing in the current action would authorize spending; individual grant applications would still require separate board approval. Commissioner Eberline said she would not support the program. “I am not in favor of transit. Period,” Eberline said.

Before the public hearing, the board considered an amendment to an agreement between the county and the Area Agency on Aging that would adjust that agency’s reimbursement for the Federal Transit Administration 5310 “ring‑a‑ride” program. Chad Engel (transit department) explained the agency was reducing its reimbursement amount because of funding restraints and said legal had reviewed and approved the amendment. Engel described the reimbursement as match funding for the county’s 5310 senior transportation program.

Commissioner Eberline indicated opposition to that match, but the transcript does not record a completed vote on the amendment itself. On the FY2026 program of projects, Chair Pro Tem Duncan moved to approve the program for submission to KMPO (Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization) so KMPO could meet its deadlines; the motion drew no second and therefore did not advance. Duncan said approving the program at the meeting would not authorize any expenditures and that each grant application would return to the board for approval.

Commissioners and staff noted a timing constraint: KMPO requires the county’s program by its April deadline to compile regional materials. Chad Ingle told the board delaying action could create “issues” for KMPO’s timeline. Chair Pro Tem Duncan urged Commissioner Eberline to reconsider to avoid putting another agency in a bind, but Eberline repeated that she would not change her position.

The board did not receive public comment during the hearing. The discussion closed with no formal action approving the FY2026 program of projects; Duncan said the item would be set for a future meeting so the record includes the public hearing but the program was not advanced that day because the motion lacked a second.

Ending: The board intends to address the FY2026 transit program again at an upcoming meeting; staff and KMPO remain constrained by scheduling deadlines. No grant applications or expenditures were authorized by the discussion recorded at this hearing.