MONTICELLO, NY — Much of the current transportation program in Sullivan County is concerned with getting seniors and Medicaid patients to appointments, and the Office for the Aging runs shopping buses, but there are also trips open to the general public. According to the county website, there are “two round-trip routes, one of which runs on Thursdays from Lumberland/Bethel to Monticello, and a second that runs on Fridays from Delaware/Callicoon to Monticello.”

Also, ShortLine Bus provides service between Fallsburg, Monticello, Liberty and Loch Sheldrake on a daily basis.

But the legislature is weighing the recommendations of a consultant that would significantly expand the county’s transportation operation. At a meeting at the government center on December 11, Edward McAndrew, the commissioner of the Division of Public Works, said a consultant has been working on recommendations for updating the transportation program, and those recommendations include the expansion of routes, the addition of drivers and the hiring of a transportation coordinator.

Freda Eisenberg, commissioner of the Division of Planning and Environmental Management, said it was the consultant’s opinion that the county could be eligible for some $804,000 in grant funding based on the amount the county spends now on transportation, which would be used as a match in applying for additional funds from the New York State Department of Transportatio and which would also include federal funds.

She called the recommendations “clearly ambitious” and included providing “commuter services” to help people get to work, and “lifeline services” to some of the more remote locations in the county such as Callicoon.

The changes would also include the addition of a daily Route 17B run from Monticello to Bethel and Cochecton, which would be a significant change.

Legislator Kitty Vetter asked if the proposed service would include Willowemoc. McAndrew said not if there were not enough riders to support it.

Legislator Kathy LaBuda said the more funding the county gets the better they will be able to serve the outlying towns, such as Lumberland and Rockland, whereas now the Liberty, Fallsburg and Monticello areas get most of the service.

Legislator Alan Sorensen said, “In terms of applying for $800,000, I would like to see something in writing from the funding agency that the county wouldn’t be obligated to maintain that level of service in the future if the funding weren’t provided in the future.”

Eisenberg said the idea of running the expanded program as a pilot project, or an experiment for the first two years, was discussed.

Sorensen said, “I would need some assurance that it could be set up as a pilot project.”

McAndrew said, “We definitely have to expand our program,” specifically the portion of the program that is open to the public, because that is the expectation from the funding agencies, which give the county grant money for the operation of the transportation program on a biannual basis.

County manager Josh Potosek said that a lot of details remain to be worked out, and the grant application to pay for the programs won’t take place until April. He said the legislature will have a lot of time to consider the various recommendations that will be made.