WARREN — A start date for two new Western Reserve Transit Authority bus routes in Trumbull County was proposed at Tuesday’s Trumbull County commissioners workshop.

If the start date passes at today’s commissioner’s meeting, one bus for both routes will start at 1 p.m. March 11 at the corner of North Park Avenue and High Street in Warren.

“The 1 o’clock one will be on the same side as the Warren Board of Education,” Trumbull County Transit Administrator Mike Salamone said. “Then when it comes back to become the ‘Elm road bus,’ then it will be on the other side, at 1:30 p.m.”

After the meeting, Salamone also said he invited officials from the Ohio Department of Transportation, Eastgate Regional Council of Council of Governments, the Trumbull County commissioners’ office and Warren Mayor Doug Franklin’s office to ride the first bus March 11.

Commissioners voted earlier this month to approve the funds needed to provide the local match for the routes — 73-West will travel from West Market Street to Tod Avenue NW to Norwood Street to Northfield Avenue NW to Parkman Road, and 74-Elm will travel from High Street to Elm Road NW to Walmart.

Commissioners accepted $148,178.50 from Warren, which was needed to pay for half of the local match of $296,357 through the Federal Transit Authority’s 50/50 Flex Funds Grant that will be used to finance the bus routes through March 2025. The other half of the money will be provided by the county.

The grant will fund the operation of both fixed routes that will run Monday through Friday, for a one-year period. Five bus routes were discontinued last year because the state did not renew funding for them.

Earlier this month, Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said resuming the bus service on these two routes will give the commissioners, working with Warren and WRTA, time to develop a permanent solution to the public transportation problem in Trumbull County.

“The big picture is we are collaborating with Warren,” Cantalamessa said. “The FTA (Federal Transit Authority) and the state are willing to work with the county on whatever the plan is in Trumbull County. It does not matter if the plan is with WRTA. We have to demonstrate our needs. They will help us. These are the two most traveled routes.”

Salamone said the county is hoping to find funding to keep the routes running over the years. Commissioner Niki Frenchko previously described the passage of the funding as a “bandaid on a hemorrhage.”

“There was no reason there should have been a gap in services,” Frenchko said then. “There is still no plan in place. These rides will expire in a year, but there is still no plan in place.”

Frenchko continues to advocate for the county to join WRTA and then allow voters to decide whether they want to pass a 0.25% sales tax to have a regional bus service throughout the county.

Cantalamessa argues the sales tax increase would provide $7 million a year for the bus service and the county does not need that level of service.

“We need to have a tailored system,” he said.

Commissioner Denny Malloy said the county should reestablish a transit board.

“We showed the state, and demonstrated to the state, that we have a need here, and it’s a very specific need,” Cantalamessa said Tuesday. “And we want to grow, but at the same time, we want to do so very responsibly, and I think this is the necessary first step in order to do that.”

Cantalamessa thanked ODOT and Warren officials for working on the WRTA reboot. Salamone plans to present the plan to Warren City Council and the Trumbull County Commissioners during their respective meetings today.

SPECIAL MEETING

In accordance with Ohio’s Sunshine Laws, if the commissioners were to discuss future plans involving the WRTA system, the March 11 event could be considered a public meeting. Therefore, as explained during Tuesday’s meeting, the board may decide to designate a special meeting on that day so other local officials could attend.

“There’s so many things we can do in the same room together, and there’s only a few things we can’t,” Malloy said Tuesday. “The difference would be, being that (WRTA Executive Director) Mr. (Dean) Harris is there and we are talking about bus routes, and I think since we’ll be talking about the future, it would be really hard to not (call a special meeting). And I think it would be irresponsible to not talk about the future of transportation while we’re on that bus.”

Malloy agreed, saying “the bus is what’s going to facilitate, it’s going to be the grease that gets us talking.”

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