GATEWAY applies for $730,000 state grant
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on October 31, 2006 1:45 PM
The Goldsboro-Wayne Transportation Authority approved a resolution today allowing the city-county partnership to apply for a $730,000 grant from the state.
If the money is received, it would help GATEWAY with administrative, capital and operating costs for the 2007-08 fiscal year, Director Stephen Wright said.
The money is intended to be spent on rural transportation needs, Wright said. About $262,000 is being requested for administrative costs. That part of the grant requires a local entity to pay 15 percent of the costs -- about $39,000.
The state transportation department has a replacement program which allows GATEWAY to replace its vehicles after a vehicle has exceeded a certain age or mileage limit. Three of rural service vans have exceeded their mileage limits and could be replaced using money from the capital portion of the grant, Wright said.
The vehicles could be replaced for about $99,000 and an additional $150,000 would be used for installing mobile data computers and geographical positioning systems in GATEWAY's vehicles. Wright said the improved technology will allow GATEWAY to know where its vehicles are at all times. The $249,123 capital grant requires a $24,912 local match.
The state transportation department is also allowing grant money to be used for some rural operating costs, which it hasn't allowed in previous years, Wright said. Since a majority of GATEWAY's routes are rural, GATEWAY will apply for a $225,000 operating grant.
Wayne County officials plan to contribute about $120,000 to support local matches for the grants. Other matching funds will come from fares and other revenues equaling about $56,000.