As part of the Murray-Calloway County Transit Authority’s continuing fight to keep vehicles on the roads, officials with the joint organization are now seeking funds from the Calloway County Fiscal Court.
MCTA Board member Darrel McFerron presented a $9,000 reimbursement proposal at Tuesday’s Fiscal Court meeting.
Earlier this year, Murray State University announced plans to not renew a funding contract with the MCTA, citing too few campus patrons. Money from the county, McFerron says, would help soften that blow.
McFerron told the Court that MCTA staff along with both city and county officials had employed poor judgment when structuring the organization.
They relied too much, he said, on the assumption that individuals would take advantage of public transportation if it were available. Shortly after the MCTA formed, however, there were few incentives for city or county residents to use public transportation.
“It made us look rather foolish in that we were trying to do something and the public generally wasn’t ready for it,” he said. “I know it could work, and I was hoping it would work in our community.”
The Fiscal Court unanimously passed the first reading of the 2013-14 annual budget.
Judge-Executive Larry Elkins said magistrates could use time before next month’s meeting to consider funding proposals before the second and final reading.
In other business:
• Elkins spoke briefly on the need for a repaired railroad crossing on 4th Street in Murray and an increased speed limit on U.S. 68/Ky. Hwy. 80 north of the city. Elkins said he will continue to include those two items on the agenda for public transparency and to urge other public officials to act.
•Sheriff Bill Marcum presented a Life Saving Citation to Officer Stephen Holland for what the Court called his life saving acts during a storm earlier this year.
• The Court unanimously approved a resolution allowing Marcum to apply for a grant with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for weapons and body armor.
