WARREN — Without much fanfare, the last meeting of the Trumbull County Transit Board took place Thursday, putting a final end to the old way the county handled public transit.

The era came to an end with an air of uncertainty about how transit operations will be funded in the county. Although the county commissioners, through transit administrator Mike Salamone, are applying for funds to create programs to provide public transit, it isn’t clear how much will be awarded.

The move commissioners were expected to make — passing a resolution to join WRTA (the Western Reserve Transit Authority) and allowing voters to decide whether a sales tax increase should be passed to fund the system — did not come to fruition when commissioners Mauro Cantalamessa and Frank Fuda declined Commissioner Niki Frenchko’s arguments encouraging the move. The expanded program WRTA has been operating in the county, with increased busing funded with a grant from the state, is expected end in September.

But, Salamone is applying for $1.6 million in funds for WRTA. If awarded the funds, Salamone, the senior levy administrator and the board supporting people with developmental disabilities, are expected to work together to form a program to support seniors and people with disabilities.

Applications for the funds were due today, and Salamone said the county should know in the beginning of August how much of the funds were awarded. Other local governments and nonprofits were able to apply for the funds, too. If awarded, Salamone will put out a request for proposals from transit operators to create a program.

However, members of the general public aren’t likely to have access to government provided rides in the same amounts provided now by WRTA. Salamone has a plan to apply for funding to provide demand-response rides to members of the general public if commissioners can provide matching dollars, he said.

But, people aren’t expected to have access to fixed-route rides after WRTA’s pilot program pulls back, though WRTA’s bus 28, the Warren Express, will continue to travel from Youngstown to Warren.

The transit board hasn’t provided rides itself in more than a year, with programs switching to Salamone’s administration and WRTA after funding sources pulled out and the Federal Transit Administration took issue with the board’s practices and procedures, deeming the board “unfundable” for a time.

To close out business, the board members voted to give Mark Hess, the president of the board and the former longtime administrator of transit in the county and the city of Niles before, the power to pay the board’s final bills and to finalize the board’s final set of minutes for the Thursday meeting. About $31,500 remained after the bills were paid Thursday, which will be turned over to county commissioners after the final bills are paid.

Hess said the final meeting was “bittersweet,” and he ultimately agreed with the decision of county commissioners to pull the plug on the board and noted the dysfunction that plagued the board for years. Much of the problems were due to a lack of funding, Hess said.

Board member Carl Clemens, who is legally blind and has relied on the public transit systems in the past, said he, like Hess, was at the first transit board meeting, but was there as an advocate.

Clemens said the county needs access to a well-funded system that isn’t fragmented, especially as the county ages. He encouraged elected officials to try to get around without a vehicle to see what it is like.

“Just put your keys down for a week and try to use the system,” Clemens said.

Board member Jim Pirko criticized the board of commissioners for dissolving the board and expressed concern that people who need rides won’t have access to them.