Cities take pass on Kootenai County public transit proposal

COEUR d’ALENE — City leaders don’t appear keen to embrace a joint powers agreement for local public transit proposed by Kootenai County Commissioner Bruce Mattare. 

Mayors and municipal staff convened Wednesday with county commissioners for their regular monthly meeting, during which they discussed the proposal. 

“It really gives you an opportunity to have a seat at the table,” Mattare said. 

Citylink serves Coeur d’Alene, Dalton Gardens, Hayden, Huetter and Post Falls, with three routes and 81 stops. Program manager Chad Ingle said Citylink provides more than 100,000 rides annually. There is no fare to ride Citylink buses. 

“It ensures our community members can easily access the services that they need,” Ingle said. 

The program also provides paratransit services for people with ADA-eligible functional limitations that prevent them from using the fixed route buses. This is not medical transportation, but rather public transportation. 

The Ring-a-Ride program offers additional service to service area residents over the age of 65 who have a physical mobility challenge and/or live where public transportation is insufficient, unavailable or inappropriate. Eligible riders can utilize up to eight round trips per month to access medical care, shopping and other destinations. 

Citylink is primarily funded by Federal Transit Authority and Idaho Transportation Department grants. The program receives match funds from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Kootenai Health, as well as contributions from participating cities. The city of Coeur d’Alene will contribute the lion’s share of the municipal contributions, about $104,000, followed by Post Falls, which will give $41,000. 

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe contributes about $250,000 to the program annually, Ingle said. Kootenai County budgeted about $64,000 for public transit for fiscal year 2025. 

When Mattare first floated the concept of a joint powers agreement in August, he said it was with an eye toward having cities shoulder more of the burden of public transit, as well as to make it more difficult for Citylink to connect with Spokane in the future. 

“You’re two commissioners away from connecting to Spokane,” he told city leaders Wednesday. 

Mattare previously noted that public transit is not a state-mandated service and questioned why the county provides it. 

City representatives indicated they’re satisfied with their current level of involvement and the county’s management of public transit, though channels to provide input wouldn’t be unwelcome. 

“This is working quite well,” said Coeur d’Alene City Administrator Troy Tymesen. “I would like to add we would like to maybe have a representative in working through stops or addressing ingress and egress to North Idaho College. I’m at the micro level of this.” 

Commissioner Leslie Duncan expressed some reservations about the proposal, saying a joint powers agreement would expand government. 

“Going to a joint powers would be more expensive,” she said. “Likely, you would have to take more from each entity involved to make that joint powers happen. To the point of being more involved, we can always have discussions.”