More than 100 members of Valley Interfaith Action presented a check for $200,000 to the Rockingham County Supervisors Wednesday. It was an attempt to sway county officials to help fund door-to-door public transportation county-wide. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports.
Members of Valley Interfaith Action, or VIA, presented the county supervisors with a surprise check on Wednesday afternoon. VIA descended into the monthly meeting in Downtown Harrisonburg following a press conference outside the building where the group made its plea.
VIA has been working to create a plan to tackle the county's transportation issues for over two years.
The service, operated by a state-qualified transit operator, would be available to any resident of Rockingham or Harrisonburg for rides to, from, or within the county. Riders can make a reservation up to 24 hours in advance and will be driven to and from their destinations.
To move forward and allow the state to award the pilot, they needed to raise $200,000 in matching funds, leveraging an additional $800,000 in state and federal funding. The other crucial component is a letter of support from the Rockingham County Supervisors to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
According to Ann Petit, co-pastor of Massanutten Presbyterian Church, VIA asked the supervisors for a letter of support in January. The supervisors denied the request in a 4-1 vote until the group could raise the proper funding.
VIA claimed that while raising funds in good faith, the supervisors sent a letter of support to another group based in Augusta County – The Alliance Committed To Improving Our Neighborhoods, or ACTION.
According to VIA, that service is an “Uber-like model” that would cost five times the amount of their proposal and only serve the Dayton-Bridgewater corridor.
PETIT: The supervisors did not question them, nor did they require matching funds at the time of their vote. Further, despite countless conversations and contacts with them, not once did the supervisors share this information with us, nor did they propose a larger conversation to evaluate the merits of both proposals.
William Kent Carneal, with Otterbein United Methodist Church, called on supervisor Joel Hensley to meet with the group.
CARNEAL: Supervisor Hensley, you said come back when we had the money in hand. Well, here we are. We have the money in hand. And we, your constituents, have asked to meet with you, but you have refused. You won’t even return our calls and emails. That, sir, is disrespectful.
Valley Interfaith Action represents over 10,000 Rockingham County and Harrisonburg residents across different religions and faiths.
