KALAMAZOO, MI – With a millage request to support fixed-route bus services now scheduled for August, the clock is ticking for three Kalamazoo County municipalities to decide if they will join the taxing district and avoid losing major routes within their boundaries.

Last fall, Oshtemo, Pavilion and Texas townships each opted out of the new Central County Transportation Authority district that will supply fixed-route bus services currently offered by Kalamazoo Metro Transit starting next year as the entity consolidates from a city-owned and governed system to a regionalized one.

The district was originally drawn by Kalamazoo County commissioners to include: the cities of Kalamazoo, Portage and Parchment; Oshtemo, Comstock and Kalamazoo townships; Texas Township Precinct 3 (near Kalamazoo Valley Community College) and Pavilion Township Precinct 3.

But that vision was changed when Pavilion and Texas townships chose to opt out their precincts, which include routes to Pavilion Estates mobile-home park and KVCC's main campus, respectively.

Oshtemo elected to opt out precincts 1, 2, 3, 9 and 10, comprising roughly the northwestern two-thirds of the township; and opted in precincts 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, comprising the east edge and southeast corner of the township. The route to Meijer on West Main Street is expected to be lost if that plan holds.

Officials in those townships say they'd like to see a compromise that allows routes to continue without forcing residents who don't use the bus service to financially support the system.

"It isn't fair to our residents for one precinct to pay for a group of people in the mobile home park," said Pavilion Township Supervisor Pat White. "How are the people in our precinct 3 going to feel when they find out precincts 1 and 2 aren't paying anything?"

Texas Township Superintendent Julie VanderWiere voiced a similar sentiment about residents in that township's third precinct subsidizing a bus route only makes a few stops within its boundaries.

"We didn't want to opt out, we wanted to support it, but we wanted it to be equitable to everyone involved," VanderWiere said. "The majority of residents in precinct 3 don't even have access to public transportation, so the board did not feel that asking everyone to support the route was equitable."

Meanwhile, CCTA Board Chairwoman Linda Teeter said it's been difficult for board members to "wrap ourselves around the fact" that these townships chose to end service to these routes.

"But it's necessary to have these guidelines and to treat everyone in the same fair way so everyone knows what that's going to be," Teeter said.

The millage request

On Friday, the CCTA decided to push its millage request back to August instead of May as originally planned. That avoids the tax issue being on the same ballot as a statewide proposal to raise the sales tax to support road funding, as well as upcoming tax requests from Portage Public Schools and the Kalamazoo Regional Education Service Agency, said Sean McBride, executive director of the Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority and CCTA.

"Absolutely it affects our decision," McBride said in reference to the other requests.

The millage for the new urbanized district is expected to be between .7 and .8 mill for five years and will be levied starting on 2016 tax bills. Property owners would pay 80 cents for every $1,000 of taxable value if the tax was set at .8 mill.

Currently, Kalamazoo County residents pay .4 mill through 2016 to support on-demand van service as well as bus service outside the city of Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo residents also pay .6 mill to fund Metro Transit fixed-route services within the city, although that millage expires this year and would effectively be replaced by the new levy if approved by voters, McBride said.

Metro Transit will spend about $15.25 million during its 2015 fiscal year and estimates revenue at $10.35 million. The gap will need to be filled by the existing millage along with the new tax, which is expected to generate about $3.75 million if levied at .8 mill, according to information provided to CCTA members.

The townships that opted out of the district have been offered the alternative of contracting for fixed-route services for a price equating to what would be collected from the millage for five years.

Oshtemo Township Supervisor Libby Heiny-Cogswell expressed frustration over both options during a township board meeting earlier this month and said she and other board members are continuing to seek an alternative.

"I have an issue with the boundary being the voting precinct," Heiny-Cogswell said. "I wish it was county-wide. I think this policy is onerous for us. It's a difficult situation and I hope we're able to sit down with the CCTA and talk this through.

"Certainly, we support public transit and we don't want to see any of these lines go away."

Earlier this month, Texas and Oshtemo townships penned a letter to the CCTA requesting it continue to work with them to find an alternative solution. However, the Oshtemo Township Board voted 4-3 to table approval to send the letter after learning the millage request would be pushed to the Aug. 4 ballot.

During that meeting, township trustee Dusty Farmer said the board has already been presented with two options and noted that asking for a third seemed "adversarial."

"We have two ways before us to continue service in precinct 9," Farmer said. "Opt in or contract. It's not a surprise to me that the county sees us as adversarial, because we keep making decisions like this that make us seem adversarial."

Hieny-Cogswell said the township's decision to opt out some of its precincts from the CCTA boundaries wasn't a vote against public transit, but rather a decision made due to uncertainty over if these areas would expand in the near future to better utilize the bus routes.

"The board majority came to the conclusion it would vote not to levy taxes in areas unlikely to see direct benefit from the service in the near future," Heiny-Cogswell said in an email. "However, the township would like to focus on the long term and how service can expand in Oshtemo."

VanderWiere declined to offer specifics concerning what alternative solution Texas Township is seeking other than to say the board wanted to continue to have an open dialogue about the issue. She did mention that the township would like to have discussions about expanding sidewalk access to these routes since many aren't currently accessible for pedestrians, a sentiment Heiny-Cogswell also expressed bus service in Oshtemo.

"We're hoping to be able to come up with that compromise that works best for KVCC, the CCTA and Texas Township," VanderWiere said. "Our hope is that in five years' time, Texas Township will be ready at that time to be included in the millage and maybe even increase service."

She said there are ongoing discussions with KVCC officials about possibly sharing the cost of a contract that would sustain the route to its campus.

Teeter confirmed discussions between KVCC and the CCTA are ongoing.

"They very much want to have a discussion about service out to KVCC," Teeter said of officials at the community college.

On the other hand, Pavilion Township has already decided it will neither opt in to the district or contract for continued service to Pavilion Estates, White says.

"It's a fairness issue and I feel real bad about people in the mobile home park," White said. "But, no, there won't be any further negotiations from the township's standpoint."

White suggested instead that the CCTA consider a contract with Pavilion Estates.

Affected Riders

KVCC students Dre Love, 22, and Hunter Hice, 27, were shocked to learn the route to the college could be discontinued next year.

Both said they take the bus to KVCC every day they have classes. Love expects to have transferred to Western Michigan University by the time the route could potentially be cut next year, but Hice said elimination of the route could derail his plan to obtain a degree in chemical engineering.

"I wouldn't be able to go to college if it wasn't for this particular bus," Hice said. "I'd have to drop out."

Losing the West Main Street and KVCC routes would be a considerable blow to the CCTA. Those routes were the authority's fourth and fifth most ridden in 2013, respectively.

Conversely, the Pavilion Estates route was the second least traveled that year.

The CCTA has until May 10 to submit ballot language for the request to the Kalamazoo County Clerk's Office.

McBride says that new millage would do more than just maintain current levels of service. CCTA members are considering increasing route frequency for popular routes, and adding nighttime and Sunday service if the request passes, among other options.

If it doesn't pass, McBride said the CCTA is prepared to bring the question to voters again either in February or May 2016.

With the loss of the Metro Transit millage, McBride said the current system couldn't be sustained without a replacement.

"We need to have a millage to replace city of Kalamazoo's no later than May of 2016," McBride said during the CCTA's meeting Friday. "Otherwise, cash flow and service levels would be impacted."

Kalamazoo County Board Chairman John Taylor, D-Kalamazoo, said he is disappointed with the municipalities that have chosen to opt out.

"I think you're doing a disservice for the rest of the county when you opt out precincts that are parts of routes that are used by everyone in the county," Taylor said.

Alex Mitchell covers county government and taxes for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Email him at amitche5@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.