Weirton Transit board addresses staff resignations
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WEIRTON -- While Weirton Council has been discussing whether to transition Weirton Transit into a municipal department, the transit provider's board of trustees is continuing to oversee current operations while also dealing with some recent personnel changes.
The Weirton Transit Corp. Board of Trustees met Wednesday, initially going into an hour-long executive session to discuss legal and personnel issues, before addressing recent developments.
"We received the resignations of our transit manager, Phil Gilcrest, and our operations manager, James Huff," explained board President Flora Perrone.
Copies of the resignation letters provided to The Weirton Daily Times indicate Gilcrest submitted his resignation July 3, with his final day being July 7.
Huff's resignation letter also was dated July 3, with a final date of July 7. In his letter, Huff requested he be able to return to his previous position as a part-time bus driver. Following Wednesday's meeting, Perrone confirmed Huff had resumed driving for Weirton Transit.
On Wednesday, the board agreed to offer a current WTC employee the position of interim transit manager, although no details on the individual were discussed in public session.
In June, the transit board voted to begin the process of dissolving the private, non-profit corporation which has overseen the public transit service in Weirton since its founding in the late 1980s. Weirton Council has approved two readings of an ordinance to consider transitioning the service into an internal department of the City of Weirton.
A representative of the West Virginia Department of Transportation Division of Multimodal Transportation Facilities has been in Weirton this week to review Weirton Transit's financial records. State officials have noted it is their preference for the city to take over the transit system. Officials have indicated, without such action, Weirton Transit may only have enough funding to last five to 10 months.
In the meantime, WTC's buses continue to run on the limited schedule set up by Gilcrest as a cost-saving measure.
"They are basically operating on the modified schedule established in June," Perrone said, noting, though, Weirton Transit is not receiving the additional support previously offered by Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority.
Those adjustments included operating only one regular route on weekday mornings, and one on weekday afternoons, two demand routes in the mornings, and one demand route in the afternoons, and only a demand route on Saturday.
In other business, it was noted more than $100,000 received from the Federal Transit Administration in June had been provided as part of the purchase of a new bus. The board voted to transfer those funds out of the WTC savings account and into its checking account in order to pay the bus vendor.
The moves are the latest development following WTC having to pay $125,000 to the Internal Revenue Service as a result of unpaid taxes and penalties. Weirton Council authorized the use of up to $75,000 to assist in those payments. An additional $50,000 was authorized in May to assist with operational costs.
(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com, and followed via Twitter @CHowellWDT)