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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, October 15, 2018 Page 4 tribute and be part of the circulator bus. He stated the other places do not have a bus going on a regular basis. Greenhouse Village had a positive response, unfor- tunately now, for whatever reason, there have only been a few riders from there. He stated within the past month, NewTrax has noticed there might have been one or two people from the places that haven't been utilizing this throughout the summer. Mr. Olson stated he thought there was more interest in the circular bus as people are feeling more comfortable with the bus. The other experience NewTrax has had, basing it on loops NewTrax has in other cities, is that unless there is a mar- keting plan that is getting out more regularly, a lot of seniors tend to forget about the program. He stated NewTrax and the City need to find ways that would be a little bit more, from a marketing approach, to have the reminder out there. He stated there needs to be touch points from management of the facilities that are willing to post this, educate the seniors, and be proactive. He stated NewTrax is happy with the fact of securing approximately $3,000 in funding, $700 in rider donations, and being under budget of what was originally proposed. He would hate to think from a community standpoint that the Council would let this project go prematurely. He thought some type of transportation was needed in the City and should be considered. With no one else appearing to speak, Mayor Roe moved the discussion to the Council. Council Discussion Mayor Roe wondered if it made sense to take some time for outreach between this six-month trial and the new route. He suggested there not be a route going during the outreach time in order to focus on the connection with residents, especially to the Rice/Larpenteur neighborhood and to the people in buildings with various languages. He thought it made sense to point out where the proposed route is planned to go and for residents to point out stops the residents would like to have on the route. He thought having the new marketing plan in place made sense be- fore the new route starts. He was thinking starting the new phase January 1, 2019. Mayor Roe mentioned in terms of looking at other types of buses to do other things, one of the things the City can look at is a similar model to what NewTrax does, potentially with those that provide school transportation because maybe the School District has some larger buses that are idle during the day and be willing to partner in this and run a route. Councilmember Willmus did not think it would make sense to pause the service while the marketing side is being evaluated. He thought the circulator bus would keep running as the marketing side is adjusted.