KALAMAZOO, MI -- The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office will now oversee security at the bus station in downtown Kalamazoo.

A new agreement with the sheriff’s office for police services at the Transportation Center was approved at a meeting Monday, Feb. 10, by the Kalamazoo County and Central County transportation authorities.

The new agreement was needed after the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety terminated its contract effective Sunday, Feb. 9, according to the recommendation to the board from Metro Executive Director Sean McBride.

Exactly when deputies will begin patrolling at the center is still under negotiation because the sheriff’s office is understaffed and needs to recruit deputies for the positions, McBride said. During the transition, Metro will expand the use of the private security company, Security Plus, McBride said.

Not all details of the agreement are finalized “due to the condensed time period and fluidity of the situation," the recommendation said.

Discussions with the sheriff’s office began in November for the sheriff to supply two deputies to the transportation center. The hours of coverage have not yet been finalized but would be comparable to what the city provided previously, McBride said.

The term of the drafted agreement runs through Dec. 31, 2022. Metro will pay the sheriff’s office no more than $245,000 during the first full year of service. This rate is based on the actual cost attributed to a sheriff’s deputy and is the same rate that other jurisdictions, such as Comstock and Oshtemo townships, pay for contracted services, according to the recommendation presented to board members.

The precise monthly rate for the agreement between Metro and the sheriff’s office will be determined before the contract is finalized.

On average, the transit system paid $200,000 per year when contracting with Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety for security services, the recommendation said.

Overall, Metro budgeted $267,370 for “security services” in the 2020 fiscal year budget to cover the police contract and private security services.

Board member Curtis Aardema said Kalamazoo residents already pay taxes to fund emergency response from KDPS, and the dual transportation authorities that oversee Kalamazoo Metro should first be sure a new agreement with the sheriff’s office is necessary.

“We are duplicating a service that is already there,” Aardema said. “We need to make sure it’s a wise use of funds."

Aardema expressed concern that the cost to Metro was only laid out in the contract for the first full year, despite the agreement running through the end of 2022.

“There’s an open end that I’m not comfortable with," he said.

Aardema asked that the board consider instead a one-year contract with the sheriff’s office, though he agreed with a fellow board member that Metro’s executive team can be trusted to make the right choice in final negotiations, including setting annual payment rates through 2022.

The agreement with the sheriff’s office was approved by both authorities without any dissenting votes.

The Kalamazoo County authority was created in 2006 to provide countywide Metro Connect and Metro Share Van services within Kalamazoo County. Central County authority was created in 2014 to manage and operate the services of Metro within the urbanized area.

Sheriff Rick Fuller said the cost to Metro could be raised based on salary increases for the officers.

Jim Pearson, the Portage representative on the central county authority who also serves on the Portage City Council, asked Fuller about his recruitment efforts.

“Give us a realistic timeline for when there will be boots at the Transportation Center,” Pearson said.

Fuller told the board that his office is recruiting deputies much like other agencies in Michigan who are struggling to find police officers. The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office has 11 unfilled positions currently, Fuller said, and the process to get deputies at the center downtown could take six months.

During the transition, Security Plus will be on site from 10 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, 1 p.m. through 11 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. through 7 p.m. on Sundays, the recommendation said.

KDPS will assist the security team with any police, fire or medical needs as necessary.

Also during the meeting, McBride updated the board on changes to the Youth Mobility Fund, which gives Kalamazoo high school students free access to Metro buses. A restriction on the time when students were allowed to ride for free was lifted Monday, Feb. 3. It was originally implemented in December because of behavioral issues and overcapacity at certain times of the day.

Since the restriction was lifted, 1,661 students have used their pass, and Metro has not experienced any behavior issues on the buses or at the transportation center, McBride said. For the month of January, 14,897 students used their pass, bringing the total number of KPS rides since the program started to 116,486.

The Youth Mobility Fund is a partnership between Kalamazoo Public Schools, the city of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Metro Transit and the Kalamazoo Public Library. The passes are available to all of the district’s about 3,700 high school students, if they complete an opt-in form agreeing to Metro’s rules.

Previously known by the name Kalamazoo Metro Transit, the public transit system rebranded itself as “Metro” in January 2018.

Metro continues the work to prepare for the start of the 2020 school year, including working with youth representatives for feedback on improving the program, he said.

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