SPRINGDALE -- The congressional budget impasse is holding up money needed to begin replacing Ozark Regional Transit's bus fleet, Executive Director Joel Gardner told his board of directors Thursday.
A wind-whipped fire in the transit's Springdale bus barn Jan. 10 destroyed 20 buses. Explosions launched parts of buses more than three blocks away.
Continuing resolution
An federal appropriation act that provides budget authority for federal agencies to continue in operation when Congress and the President have not completed action on the regular appropriation acts by the beginning of a fiscal year.
Source: Staff report
Regional Transit has started the process of recovering from its losses, Gardner said. It has received a declaration of emergency and has applied for emergency funds from the federal transportation agency.
However, the federal government is operating under a continuing budget resolution, and there's no emergency money in that resolution for the transportation agency. The current resolution is to expire on April 28, and officials are hoping that a new federal budget or another continuing resolution will include the emergency money, Gardner said.
Regional Transit has applied with the Arkansas Municipal League Risk Management Fund to replace the destroyed buses, but Gardner said he doesn't know if what the transit system will receive will be based on new bus value or depreciated value. Gardner said he hopes to use the money as federal matching funds when the time arrives.
"We are running on borrowed vehicles," he said. "We're looking to keep them alive for the next 18 to 24 months."
A lot of those buses will have to be returned to their owners over the coming months, Gardner said. Other buses being gifted to the transit system have surpassed their minimum useful lives, as determined by federal transportation officials, he said.
Mechanics are replacing parts as needed to make the borrowed and donated buses roadworthy, and to make sure the borrowed buses are being taken care of, Gardner said. He was not sure whether that cost is reimbursable through insurance.
Transit system Chairman Jerre Van Hoose said he called Thursday's meeting at the bus barn so board members could see the damage and hear what comes next.
The board approved resolutions to transfer ownership of buses from Athens, Ga.; Key West, Fla.; Mount Vernon, Ky.; Springfield, Mo.; University of Arkansas Razorback Transit; Wichita, Kan.; and North Central Texas Council of Governments. The paperwork is required by the federal transportation agency.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, and fire investigators are planning another group inspection of the site, Gardner said. The National Transportation Safety Board will likely send an investigator this time, he said.
The burned-out hulks are being left undisturbed, under a canopy that will have to be replaced. The fire also damaged the back wall of the bus repair facility.
Gardner said he expects the burned-out buses to remain on-site for another two months or so. He has a mobile crusher lined up to remove them once he gets the go-ahead, he said.
Metro on 02/10/2017