Claremont
“This has been a very difficult decision for the organization, and a very difficult decision for the board,” Valerie Bailey, interim executive director of the Community Alliance of Human Services, said Monday afternoon. “But that is the situation we find ourselves in.”
The nonprofit announced last week it would discontinue Sullivan County bus service and its volunteer driver program in early September.
Under its transportation program, Community Alliance provides about 30,000 rides per year, providing access to medical care, school, work, shopping and other destinations along bus run corridors connecting in Claremont, Newport and Charlestown.
A core group of about 300 residents make up the bulk of the ridership, said Bailey.
After its last planned day of bus service on Sept. 9, only a few administrative tasks will need to be carried out before Community Alliance itself ceases to exist.
The announcement touched off a wave of questions in the community, including whether the organization could be saved. However, Community Alliance’s funding woes are so great, Bailey said, that it’s unlikely that a last-minute cash infusion would save the day.
During the last three fiscal years ending in May, the organization lost $114,000 in 2014, $81,000 in 2015, and an estimated $100,000 for 2016. Projections for next year amounted to another loss of about $150,000, Bailey said.
“If there were an amount that could be raised right now, it may keep the doors open a little longer, but the challenge is the sustainability of that funding,” she said. “We don’t see that happening in a timeframe that can avert the Sept. 9 closing.”
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation, one of the major financial backers of the service, issued a statement on Friday that said it is “fully committed to finding another agency to take over this important transportation service.”
Bailey said that, while talks with other agencies are ongoing, nothing concrete has emerged, and so she felt it was important to notify residents of the impending cessation of the bus route.
“We wanted to give everyone 30 days notice,” she said. “We felt obligated and committed to making sure our patrons heard as soon as possible.”
State Rep. John Cloutier, D-Claremont, went to a meeting of the Sullivan County Commission Monday afternoon to raise the issue.
“I suppose the NH DOT could reach out to them and make a proposal,” he said Monday evening, after the meeting, “But at this point, they’re not going to do anything. The money just isn’t there.”
County Commissioner Jeffrey Barrette said the amounts of money needed were far in excess of the county’s regular $25,000 contribution to the service.
“We are not really the right entity, or in a financial position to be able to do that,” he said. “Obviously, we’re very sad and we understand that it’s a really valuable service for those who need it.”
Barrette said that this year’s allocation to the organization has not yet been disbursed, and that, if another agency stepped in to fill the void, the money would likely be allocated to that organization.
He said that behind-the-scenes talks to identify another agency have been in progress for months, but have not been successful.
Jessie Levine, Sullivan County Manager, said she was aware of conversations, “but I don’t know where they’re headed.”
Bailey, who recently left a 37-year career at the Student Conservation Association in Charlestown to pursue a career as an interim leader for organizations going through transition, was hired at the Community Alliance in April, when it was already apparent that the organization was in serious difficulty, she said.
While she and others explored other funding options, she said, it was clear by July that a closure was likely. “We kept reviewing and reviewing and reviewing to see if there was any other way to avoid this decision,” she said.
Her assessment is that, as the organization closed down other programs under the Community Alliance umbrella that it deemed were duplicative of other groups, it inadvertently sapped its ability to maintain its transportation program.
“It left a small transportation program to shoulder the full administrative load,” she said. “That’s become very challenging.”
Of the 10 employees, six drive buses, while four provide administrative and support functions, she said. The organization’s total annual budget is roughly $775,000.
Much of that money has come from a combination of federal and state grants, and local matches, with Charlestown spending about $14,000 each year, Newport $5,000, Claremont $1,300 and Sullivan County $25,000.
The organization also collects bus fares, with a single ride costing between $1.50 and $2.50, and discounted packages available for multiple rides.
The volunteer driver service reimburses drivers for the use of their cars, and provides about 40 rides per month to residents throughout the county, according to Bailey.
“This is a critical service for the residents of Sullivan County. It truly does allow a measure of independence,” she said. “It allows them to access important services, and without us, I’m not sure how they’ll get those services.”
Levine said that the county, the state and the local communities were all dedicated to seeing the service restored in some way.
“I think that we are all champions of having public transportation,” she said, “and I don’t see us dropping the subject.”
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211.