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Village questions sustainability of Project Mover e‑bike pilot after consultants outline budget shortfall
Summary
Consultants presented Project Mover’s usage data (9,419 trips; 2,394 unique users) and said NAERTA grant funding ends in 2026; they proposed a temporary $200,000 municipal bridge and a two‑tier municipal contribution. Trustees pressed for a detailed business plan, capital lifecycle costs and clarified who owns equipment.
Project Mover — the multi‑municipality e‑bike pilot — drew an extended review at the village work session as consultants laid out system usage and a looming funding gap.
Mayor (introducing the program) said, "Project Mover is the name for the ebike um program," and framed the pilot as fourfold: safe bike lanes, appropriate bike selection, affordability and a regional replication model supported originally by a roughly $7 million NAERTA award.
Consultants from Nelson Nygaard and Mobility Development presented system metrics and a near‑term budget forecast. Drew Vanhangle and Mitch Larosa reported 9,419 total trips systemwide, 2,394 unique users and 14,540 total miles logged. Mitch Larosa told the board that "the lion share is going towards staffing," describing operations costs (field staff for battery swaps and rebalancing) as the largest ongoing expense.
The consultants said the NAERTA grant ends in late 2026 and that operating the system in full would require more funds than remain in the grant. Their interim plan includes a no‑cost extension request to use remaining NAERTA funds into 2027–28 while pursuing county/state support, private sponsorship and a municipal bridge totaling roughly $200,000 per year split across six partner municipalities. The proposed two‑tier structure would in general allocate about $40,000 a year to higher‑usage municipalities and $20,000 to smaller partners.
Trustees pressed for additional financial detail. One trustee asked why capital costs were not included in the operating projection and raised lifecycle questions about bike replacements and batteries; the consultants said NAERTA covered initial capital and that ownership currently rests with a system operator (Shared Mobility Inc.) but that they would confirm contractual details and timelines. Trustees also challenged the absence of a formal five‑year business plan or trend analysis and asked consultants to return with audited proformas, sponsorship outreach progress and clearer governance proposals for day‑to‑day management after the grant ends.
What’s next: the consultants agreed the board should receive a fuller financial plan and answers to the trustees’ questions at a follow‑up meeting, including (1) lifecycle capital estimates, (2) a clear inventory of contracting/ownership, (3) a detailed operator risk breakdown and (4) an updated budget based on the June accounting of remaining NAERTA funds.
