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City Manager: trolley ridership strong; climate‑action plan costs exceed budget and will be reworked
Summary
City Manager reported trolley repairs are scheduled, trolley ridership averaged 346 riders per day in September (10,043 total) and early October daily averages rose to 394; eight climate-action plan proposals arrived with costs far above the $25,000 budgeted, so staff will seek alternatives.
City Manager Rochelle updated the council on several operational items, beginning with the city's trolley fleet.
Rochelle said the hybrid‑chassis failure that kept a third trolley out of service is being addressed: staff sent a demand letter to the vendor, the vendor located the needed parts and a contractor is scheduled to install them in the coming weeks. On ridership, Rochelle said September averaged 346 riders per day, totaling 10,043 riders for the month, and the first two weeks of October averaged 394 riders per day.
Rochelle said a trolley storage building pad has been poured with construction to follow in early November and that eight trolley stop shelters are scheduled to arrive in January; four will be installed in Monmouth and four in Independence.
On climate planning, staff received eight proposals to complete a climate action plan with price ranges of about $68,000 to $300,000 and an average near $100,000; with only $25,000 budgeted, staff said it is not currently feasible to proceed and will pursue alternatives and discuss the item during the council's strategic‑goals refresh.
Rochelle also reported that a newly installed EV charging station was taken out of service to address ADA‑related permit changes and that an application from Church In The Park for an emergency shelter will be reviewed for completeness and is expected as a work‑session item on Nov. 19 to discuss HB 3395 process considerations.
Councilor Lopez later asked staff to explore methodologies to estimate the economic impact of trolley ridership given the strong numbers.
