City of Gainesville - File #: 160003.

• File #: 160003.
• Version: 2
• Type: Discussion Item
• Status: Passed
• File created: 5/10/2016
• In control: General Policy Committee
• On agenda: 5/19/2016
• Final action: 5/19/2016
• Title: Bus Pass Program for the Homeless (B) This item is a request for the City Commission to consider and approve the proposed financial plan to provide a bus pass program for the residents of GRACE Marketplace and Dignity Village. This would include authorizing staff to participate with the Alachua County Community Transportation Coordinator in a State grant program to provide transportation services for the homeless at the same location.

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
5/19/2016	2	City Commission	Approved as Recommended	Pass
5/12/2016	1	General Policy Committee	Discussed

Title
Bus Pass Program for the Homeless (B)

This item is a request for the City Commission to consider and approve the proposed financial plan to provide a bus pass program for the residents of GRACE Marketplace and Dignity Village. This would include authorizing staff to participate with the Alachua County Community Transportation Coordinator in a State grant program to provide transportation services for the homeless at the same location.

Explanation
At Citizen's Comment on May 5, 2016, the City Commission received a comment from Theresa Lowe, Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry (ACCHH) Executive Director, regarding the need for interim bus services for the homeless at GRACE Marketplace and Dignity Village. The City has determined that the current Homeless Bus Pass Program is unsustainable and that the program needs to be restructured to comply with state and federal rules and regulations.

City staff had meetings with Theresa Lowe on April 18th and April 25th to discuss the restructuring of the Homeless Bus Pass Program and to seek input and feedback from ACCHH, allowing ACCHH the opportunity to develop a program to fit their needs as the primary homeless service provider. However, ACCHH did not provide any suggestions on how to restructure the program or identify priorities for a new program. As such, City staff proposed a plan to partner with the Alachua County Community Transportation Coordinator (CTC), MV Transportation, to apply for a Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged (CTD) Mobility Enhancement Grant. If awarded, this grant can provide transportation assistance for homeless individuals starting on July 1, 2016. In the interim, City staff would continue to work to identify a stop-gap measure to ensure that transportation services for the homeless would continue during the application and implementation period.

The Homeless Bus Pass Program was modeled after the current Employee Bus Pass Program, but homele...