Village of Homer finalizing plans for new bus shelter (Video)

The village of Homer is in the process of finalizing plans for a new bus shelter on 53 Main St., village deputy mayor Pat Clune said at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting.

The bus shelter will be built in front of the old village office between the Homer Fire Department and the American Legion Post 465 buildings, Clune said. He added the village’s public works department will build the bus shelter, with the village also maintaining it.

The village received bid quotes from three separate companies, providing equipment to build a bus shelter, with one of them delivering it right to the village. 

The bid from Brasco International, Inc. of Michigan was accepted. The company put in a bid of $6,475. The bid was then authorized at the Cortland County Ag/Planning/Environmental Committee meeting on Tuesday, said county planning director Trisha Jesset Thursday morning.

The bid will go through another authorization and vote process at the county legislature meeting on June 24.

The county recently received a Federal Transit Administration grant where up to $10,000 could be provided to municipalities to help cover a majority of the costs for a bus shelter.

The village was one of those municipalities, and the county plans to match the exact amount in the Brasco bid that the village accepted, Jesset said. 

The village plans to cover additional costs for the bus shelter, which the board approved last month. Clune said the village has up to $5,000 to spend, adding village treasurer Tanya Digennaro found areas in the budget that “were underspent” and will help to provide funds for the bus shelter.

At Tuesday’s village board meeting, Clune said a basic model of the bus shelter costs roughly $6,500, but one “with the bells and whistles” is about $13,000.

Clune added that he has to go through details on bus shelter options again and have the board pick one that “makes the most sense.”

The main street location for the bus shelter was chosen due it being a central point for a bus stop, Clune said. The location of the bus shelter also had to be in front of a building the village owned, he added.

“It provides a point where people can get transportation,” Clune said Wednesday afternoon. “Originally there was no central point. People would go out, wave their hands and the driver would pull over.”

Clune added, “A lot of people don’t know the bus route or where to get the bus. A bus stop is pretty universal that a bus will stop by to pick people up.”

Village residents will benefit from the new bus shelter for a variety of reasons, Clune said.

“If you’re waiting for the bus, you won’t have to be in the elements,” he added. “It’s also an addition to multiple options of transportation in the village.”

Clune noted that the new bus shelter would be across the street from the Center for the Arts and the village’s basketball courts, along with being in close range of shops in the area.