By Jeff Pieters

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

A $36,000 contribution to the Southeast Minnesota Rail Alliance was put on hold by a Rochester City Council member's call for transparency.

The delay came after council member Michael Wojcik asked Monday whether the Rail Alliance had provided financial information, as the city requires of other outside agencies requesting city funds.

"I think it's important for transparency," Wojcik said.

The Rail Alliance is a group made up of the city, Olmsted County, Mayo Clinic and Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce. It advocates for high-speed passenger rail service through Rochester.

The financial request to the city was $30,000 for membership in 2009-2010, plus $6,000 to help pay for a recent rail study. The city previously pitched in $30,000 for basic organizational funding in 2008-2009.

Wojcik said a basic financial balance sheet and income statement would satisfy his information needs.

"We can provide that information, I believe," said city administrator Steve Kvenvold.

Volleyball Center site a possible 'flu center'

The council approved an agreement with the Olmsted County Public Health Department that permits use of the National Volleyball Center as a flu center.

The city agreement is patterned after an agreement inked last week between Olmsted County and Rochester Community and Technical College for a flu center at the University Center-Rochester fieldhouse.

The county is securing large locations in the area for use as immunization and treatment centers in the event of a large H1N1 flu outbreak.

Five new city buses being bought in 2010

A plan to buy five new city buses was questioned but ultimately approved by the council. Five new diesel-fueled buses will be purchased from Gillig Corp. for $364,450 each.

Three are replacement buses and two are for expanded bus routes.

The city had a proposal from another vendor, New Flyer, for a hybrid diesel model priced at $544,318 apiece. Council member Michael Wojcik and Mayor Ardell Brede questioned the decision to go exclusively with diesel buses.

"I'm not sure we've ever really investigated" alternative-fueled buses, Brede said.

Tony Knauer, who oversees city bus service, said that although the hybrid diesel models are more fuel efficient, the efficiency gains aren't enough to overcome the higher price, based on current fuel prices. Diesel fuel would have to cost about three times as much as it does now for the hybrid models to pay, Knauer said.

Emissions controls on standard diesel buses have improved to where they are similar to alternative-fueled buses, he said.

Brede suggested at some point the city might buy an alternative-fueled bus to test it and measure its performance.

The city is buying the buses with federal transit funding.

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