By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – Normal Township Supervisor Sarah Grammer is calling for removal of the entire Connect Transit board, which voted earlier this week for a series of fare increases and the elimination of a bus route.

Grammer said she’s appealing to the community to petition Normal and Bloomington city councils for a recall of the board overseeing the Twin-Cities transportation system.

“If the current board won’t listen to the community, it’s time to make room at the table for board members who will work to build a more accessible and affordable public transportation system for those who need it,” said Grammer.

Connect Transit Board Chairman Mike McCurdy said any future board would have to grapple with the same budget challenges and make tough decisions about other routes.

Grammer and McCurdy sent each other a series of emails on Thursday that they shared with the news media.

Grammer is particularly frustrated the board did not see emails sent by approximately 40 people before Tuesday evening’s vote, and a listening session last Friday at the Life Center for Independent Living came too late for information from that meeting to be included in a packet the staff prepared for board members prior to the vote.

Opponents believe the fare hikes harm the most vulnerable residents. Also, the transit system is doing away with the 30 day pass for Connect Mobility, which serves people with disabilities. In addition, the board is doing away with the Olive bus, which is said to be a low-ridership route from Main and Orlando in Normal to near Fort Jesse and Hershey Roads, east of Veterans Parkway. The Olive route’s elimination would save $156,000.

McCurdy told Grammer the emails were discovered a day after the board’s action, and that General Manager Isaac Thorne assured him it was an oversight.

According to McCurdy, Connect Transit staff went “above and beyond” requirements for collecting information and forwarding it to board members.

Grammer responded, “This flies in the face of the Open Meetings Act. Rather than reaching out to me or the others whose voices were excluded with a sincere apology, as would be appropriate, you apparently spent your time calling fellow board members for assurance they wouldn’t change their votes due to this large amount of additional feedback. The community deserves an explanation from the board at an open meeting.”

McCurdy noted Connect Transit hosted 14 community engagement sessions, and riders’ concerns made a powerful-enough impression for the board to delay implementing the four-year fare hike plan until October 1, instead of July 1.

“If 40 emails from the community make no difference to you and the other board members, I’m left to conclude that all of your listening sessions and your two hearings weren’t really about listening to the community at all,” said Grammer.

McCurdy said he wants to meet with Grammer to discuss alternative funding options.

“When you’re ready to seriously discuss transit in our community — even the system’s email practices, but particularly your ideas about how to sustainably fund it and your agency’s ability to help financially — let me know,” said McCurdy.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]