A Good Start To The New Year

I was feeling quite anxious about my struggle to get the county transit department to make needed changes in operations. At times it felt that no progress was being made and the blow-back from some quarters was disheartening. However today is a new day; one that holds promise for the many local residents who have suffered the indignities of biased and prejudicial actions on the part of the transit department.

This morning when I logged on to the internet, a notification was waiting for me. It seems that someone saw one of my pieces and commented on it. Here is his comment: “I ride the bus a lot and I hope you can make some changes, most of my Ride's are bad”. That really got my day off to a great start. Knowing that my efforts are appreciated by those who most need an advocate is fantastic news and gave me a much needed boost.

Then I noticed that the transit page of the official county government website has the scheduled holiday hours listed for this year, and guess what? No four day holiday weekends. That is great news for the many county residents who have no other transportation options and will be able to better schedule errands and social outings.

Additionally, I saw this in the minutes of the last county commission meeting: “UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENT” “Chet Falkowski, citizen of Boyne City, discussed Charlevoix County Transit and read a document expressing his concerns”. I was somewhat bemused by that notation as the document I read was a call for the termination of the transit manager and the entire transit oversight board.

Calling for the termination of the transit department leadership was not something I wanted to do, nor is it something I take lightly; however, it was warranted due to their refusal to take corrective action. It seems more than a little interesting that it was mentioned in the official minutes as simply a document, with no mention of the call for termination, which is what the document is in its entirety.

The day after the commission meeting was the transit oversight board meeting. Being aware of the call for termination, it looks like they are now taking CYA actions like removing the official transit Facebook page, presumably to get rid of the incriminating posts made by transit management. Thankfully I captured many of them in advance.

The struggle continues, as much more action is needed on the part of county transit, but all in all, this year is off to a good start.