Columbia City Council looking to keep Go COMO free for riders Monday night
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia City Council will hold its bi-weekly meeting Monday night and on the agenda are bus fares and the city's neighborhood watch.
The meeting is at 7 p.m. at City Hall. City council will look at keeping Go COMO free for riders and will vote on if they should take a deeper look at its next meeting, on funding the city's neighborhood watch.
Go COMO has been fare-free since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the city's 2021 budget meetings, the city manager learned Go COMO was able to manage its expenses with sales tax and the Federal Transit Administration Operating Grant, and recommended fares remain free for 2021. It was approved.
At its Sept. 20, 2021 meeting city council approved fare-free rides for 2022. Go COMO is once again requesting to suspend transportation fares for all users of the transit system in 2023. Normally bus fare fees are $1.50 per ride.
City staff has also prepared a resolution asking the city manager to sign an agreement between the city, Missouri and Neighborhood Watch of Columbia to approve a one-time payment of $2,500 to fund the program.
The neighborhood watch will work with the Columbia Police Department to connect with the community in an effort to prevent crime.
Neighborhood watch is requesting funds to purchase promotional signs, a computer and software for training videos and presentations, educational materials, and other expenses.
The group held its annual meeting a week ago and has had three meetings this year.
The group holds online and in-person training sessions for all interested residents.
Those interested can register for the online training sessions through the group's website. The next online training session is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 26.
