The Fox Cities Transit Commission met 05/27/2025. The entire meeting took only around 11 minutes. During the meeting the commission approved the purchase of the vacant lot just north of the downtown transit center for $150,000 and also approved updates to Valley Transit’s Title VI program.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
APPROVAL OF PAYMENTS (ACTION ITEM) – Year-to-date diesel costs were $2.40 a gallon; they had budgeted for $3.75 a gallon. Year-to-date unleaded gas costs were $2.71 a gallon; they had budgeted for $4.50 a gallon. It was noted that these payments included three payments for snow removal, one for snow in February, and two for snow in March. The commission voted unanimously to approve the payments.
AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE AND OFFER TO PURCHASE 222 N ONEIDA STREET (ACTION ITEM) – Valley Transit has an accepted offer to purchase the vacant parcel directly to the north of the transit center. They need this land in order to build a block-wide multi-story building with a transit center on the first floor and housing on upper floors. The lot used to house the old Menn Law Firm building but it now green space after it was bought by the City of Appleton which tore down the building. The land has been appraised at $150,000 by an independent appraiser. Valley Transit has an accepted offer to purchase for $150,000 and would now like permission to execute the agreement. The commission voted unanimously to approve the request.
APPROVAL OF TITLE VI PROGRAM UPDATE (ACTION ITEM) –Per Valley Transit Mobility Manager Sarah Schneider, the Title VI Act of 1964 forbids any programs that receive federal assistance from discriminating against any individual due to race, color, or national origin. Valley Transit does indeed receive federal funds, and as a result, is required every three years to update its Title VI plan. The plan before the commission was essentially just the 2022 plan revised to included recent census data and update any actions Valley Transit was taking to ensure discrimination was not taking place. The commission voted unanimously to approve the updated plan.
FINANCE REPORT (INFORMATION ITEM) – Valley Transit Assistant General Manager Deb Ebben briefly went over the financial report.
She indicated bus fare revenues were less than what had been budgeted for. She also noted that due to timing issues, the last two weeks of deposits do not typically end up on the report.
Advertising revenue was also down.
Some expenses looked like they were high but that was generally because in those areas Valley Transit pays for the entire year at the beginning, so they have a large upfront cost which evens out by the end of the year. Those areas include insurance, various subscriptions, and software costs. Overall, their expenses were lower than what had been budgeted for.
RIDERSHIP REPORT (INFORMATION ITEM) – In April, fixed route ridership was down by approximately 12,000 rides or 19% compared to April of 2024. This was reflective of the decrease in fixed route bus service hours implemented in July of 2024.
The ADA and Ancillary services increased by approximately 700 rides or 10% in April compared to April of 2024. Additionally, due to the decrease in fixed-route bus service, the Connector service increased in rides as people used it instead of the buses. In April of 2025, it had approximately 1,000 more rides than in April of 2024.
REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITESM (INFORMATION ITEM) – Commissioner Michael Brown asked if they might start using a consent agenda for the meetings to cut back on the need for staff to give reports that were already included in the agenda packet. Commissioner Larry Wurdinger understood the benefit of consent agenda for long meetings but did not think it was necessary for Transit Commission meetings which tend to be over in 30 minutes. Valley Transit General Manager Ron McDonald said he would put the request on the agenda for discussion at the next meeting.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1290113&GUID=2F3971A5-E918-41BA-80DB-CA3CDD21638B
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