Johnston County discusses senior-center moves, JCATS expansion, federal transit funds and microtransit pilot

Johnston County staff briefed the Board of Commissioners on multiple transit and senior-center issues at the April 7 meeting, including building availability for Clayton and Benson senior centers, federal funding for JCATS capital improvements, and technology and vehicle investments aimed at expanding microtransit and on-demand services.

Josh Jensen, who presented for Community and Senior Services, said a property the county hoped to use for a relocated Clayton senior center had been sold without giving the county a right-of-first-refusal opportunity. Jensen said the county analyzed attendance and “we plugged in nearly 600 addresses into our GIS system at JCATS. And of the 600 people that regularly attend the Clayton Center, about 40% of them are Clayton citizens.” Jensen said that figure will be provided to the town of Clayton as part of discussions about subsidy or operational assistance. He also said the Benson facility currently used for a senior center may be sold when the town’s parks and recreation department moves this fall; that could create a need to find two replacement locations if both towns’ spaces become unavailable.

On JCATS, Jensen described recent and pending capital investments supported by federal grants. He said the county received roughly $4,000,000 in federal funds for construction of a new Selma facility (Phase 2) and additional federal funding of about $2,100,000 for further improvements. Jensen said the facility now includes air conditioning in the garage, two solar-powered parking canopies that he estimated can cover about 25 of the agency’s roughly 35 vehicles, and three Level 3 fast-charging stations. He said the county has five electric vehicles on order for local service and expects five additional gas-powered expansion vehicles this fiscal year.

Jensen gave system usage figures: “As a total, JCATs did 99,000 plus rides,” he said of fiscal-year 2023; he said the system is on pace in fiscal 2025 to add about 30,000 rides (transcript phrasing: “we are on pace to do a 30,000”). He described strong growth in quick-ride demand in the Smithfield–Selma area, saying the quick-ride service had provided about 15,000 rides in a localized zone and that from July through February of the current fiscal year the quick-ride program had completed more than 13,000 trips.

Jensen discussed federal operating dollars available to the Clayton urbanized area (UZA). He said about $930,000 a year is currently apportioned for the Clayton UZA but cautioned that accessing those funds requires becoming a direct recipient of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) money. Jensen said there is discussion about whether the county or another entity should be the direct recipient; he said the county would prefer to administer the funds because of existing transit expertise, but noted the county’s nonprofit operating structure complicates direct federal drawdown. He added that NCDOT and FTA discussions were scheduled that could affect the outcome and that the UZA funding can be used for several purposes and will roll over for up to five years if not spent immediately.

Jensen also said the county was awarded a technology grant for microtransit: $50,000 per year for four years to evaluate and implement microtransit technology. He said county staff had already purchased some of the intended technology and recently rebranded the agency’s mobile app so that “if you search JCATS in the App Store, it comes number 1.” Jensen described plans to use geo-fencing and software changes to route fare and funding responsibilities across service areas and articulated a long-term goal of interoperable, regional microtransit with single-ticket transfers to other providers.

On vehicle fueling and range, Jensen said staff are pursuing a propane-kit grant to add secondary fuel capability to long-distance buses to increase range by an estimated 200–300 miles; he said the propane option would be cheaper than gasoline and allow purchases on state contract pricing. On electric vehicles, Jensen said range varies with conditions but under normal local use the electric vehicles should achieve “a couple hundred miles” per charge.

Jensen described budget and operating-cost gaps for expanded senior-center space, noting utilities and cable costs for an independent facility are not covered by current funds and that federal grants cover payroll and programming but not all facility operating expenses. He said Clayton and county staff are working on interim options and a transit study funded through planning money for the Clayton UZA is forthcoming to help determine appropriate service design.

No formal board action was taken at the meeting; commissioners asked follow-up questions and requested additional coordination with towns and staff.