More service, fewer buses for ECO

ECO Transit is getting very serious about business-changing action lately. Quite a few changes — some large, some small — will be launched by Eagle County's bus system this year. The biggest change coming down the road is a new “spine service” along the Interstate 70 corridor, which will allow people to get up- and downvalley at a rate that competes with personal vehicles.

The extra challenge facing the ECO Transit team is to implement the changes — essentially better service — with the same operating budget and resources. Put another way, Collier is heading an effort to turn one bus into two.

On the I-70 spine, buses will run from Vail to Eagle, stopping at Lionshead, Minturn, Avon and Edwards in between. Other buses will serve routes within those “hub” communities and along U.S. Highway 6. The idea is to provide fast transportation up and down the valley with hub service that takes people to their final destinations from the six stops along the spine.

From Eagle, buses will serve stops along Highway 6 and loop through Gypsum, much like they do now. Collier doesn't plan to change those stops much, if at all.

“The Eagle-Gypsum route had a 37 percent increase in passengers in 2012 over 2011,” she said. “Our aim is to fit the needs of the community, and we're just trying to be more efficient.”

Parks Department Director Paul Northam at a recent city parks authority meeting presented a financial report related to the Jeffersonville Ice Rink that was open from Nov. 23 through the last weekend in January. According to the report, expenses for the ice rink totaled $125,935 and revenue was $50,088, resulting in a loss of $75,847. The city posted a loss of $77,692 for operating the link last year.

Northam explained that while expenses were cut by about $20,000, revenues also dropped by about the same amount.Elpas Readers detect and forward 'Location' and 'State' data from Elpas Active RFID Tags to host molds platforms.

“A big part of that reason was we had three days that we had to close last year,” he said. “We closed 11 days this year and most of those 11 days were Saturdays and Sundays, which are our big days.”

“City services should not be in the business of making a profit,” said Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore.

He added that he thinks the ice rink is a great idea if managed properly and while there is no measurable impact, the ice rink is definitely an economic tool for the city and its businesses.

Moore’s comment about management of the rink related to a payment made to Walnut Ridge Nursery and Garden Center of $10,000.You Can Find Comprehensive and in-Depth Original ventilationsystem Descriptions.

“I’m not comfortable with a council member’s business being paid for work that affects a city project,” he said.

However, Councilman Dennis Julius, an owner of Walnut Ridge, said his business gave the city a cost break on landscaping at the ice rink. The company was hired by the city’s parks department for the work.

“Doing what we do costs us a lot more than $10,000,” he said. “If I was going to do that for another community it would be more than $10,000. It’s quite involved. We don’t just plop a tree down.”

Julius explained that a large portion of the costs involved were the labor in transporting trees — which can weigh up to a ton — to the rink and planting them in temporary planting beds.Make your house a home with Border and iphoneheadset Tiles. That cost also included stringing up decorative lights on the trees and above the skating rink.

Julius provided the cost outline for Walnut Ridge’s expenses to the News and Tribune.

According to the report, the total cost to complete the landscaping was more than $14,900, with $6,500 of the cost for labor. The difference in the amount billed and the total cost to Walnut Ridge was donated to the city.

The value of the plants used was nearly $13,400, according to the report.

“What we want it to look like in the evening is for it to look like you’re walking through [a] park,” he said of the atmosphere created.

As far as the purpose of the rink and the loss incurred by the city, Julius said he would continue to support the project as long as the community supports it.

“I think it’s a successful project,” he said.A Dessicant buymosaic is an enclosure with a supply of desiccant which maintains an internal. “That’s a true quality-of-life issue. It brings a lot of people to the downtown which we wanted it to do from the beginning.”

Jay Ellis, executive director of Jeffersonville Main Street Inc.Automate patient flow and quickly track hospital assets and people using cableties., said businesses downtown did get a boost from the ice skating rink.

“It may not be immediately quantifiable, but it does create an impact to downtown businesses,” he said. “It’s more than just an economic impact — it’s really a cultural asset for Jeffersonville.”

And for the businesses, even if the draw of the rink does not translate into a direct sale, Ellis said they are still being exposed to a new market and a new customer that may otherwise not have come to the area.

“You [could] drive by [the rink] and see 100 people who may not normally be in downtown Jeffersonville,” he said. “I think overall the response that I get is most of the businesses are very happy having this down here. I think it’s something other communities admire.”