Public commenter tells commission the proposed park shuttle pilot "does not work" financially

During the citizens‑to‑be‑heard period, a public commenter who the chair addressed as Allison delivered detailed financial objections to the county’s proposed park shuttle pilot.

Allison said she had submitted written comments and summarized her calculations to the commission, noting differences between a previously cited $2.5 million study cost and the pilot’s $3 million figure. She described the pilot’s capacity as two buses entering the park per hour with 15 seats each and used National Park Service visitation data to question whether the shuttle would meaningfully reduce vehicle traffic. "The economics do not work," she said, adding per‑rider cost estimates ranging from roughly $39 to $72 depending on utilization assumptions.

Her comments framed the issue as a question of scale and funding: she compared the pilot’s five‑and‑a‑half‑month cost to the county’s green‑book funding for park operations and concluded the pilot would be expensive relative to the park’s operating budget.

Commission response: commissioners did not take action during public comment; the speaker asked for a response from County Attorney Steven Stocks and noted she had submitted her full calculations in writing to staff.

Next steps: commissioners did not vote on the pilot during the meeting. Staff and the commission will need to reconcile public comment calculations with the pilot proposal and any budget documents when the pilot returns for formal consideration.