HUNTLEY – Sun City residents living in Rutland Township may face the possibility of losing access to the Grafton Township bus service if a funding solution is not found.
The cost of running the bus – which has had to undergo several repairs as it ages – is about $118,000 per year. The bus is currently funded by Grafton taxpayers and a $10,000 annual grant by the Village of Huntley. Rutland taxpayers do not contribute, but just over half of the bus’s riders live there, according to Grafton Township Supervisor Jim Kearns.
He estimates the cost of transporting the Rutland riders to be nearly $50,000 per year. Kearns said he would hope Rutland could contribute $2,000 per month toward the bus.
“We’re not trying to cut the Rutland township riders off, but someone has to pay the bill,” Kearns said.
Rutland Township officials were not immediately open to the idea when Kearns presented it at their August 13 meeting. Rutland Township Supervisor Margaret Sanders said if Rutland were to help pay for its Sun City riders to use the bus, it would also have to make it available to residents of nearby Gilberts and Pingree Grove.
“In order for Rutland Township to be able to help fund that, we would have to levy funds for transportation, and it would have to be in our budget,” Sanders said.
Though she is a Sun City resident, Sanders said she must “serve all the residents of Rutland Township” and that the decision for Grafton to pay for Rutland riders was made before she took office.
“We never gave any kind of permission or anything for Grafton to give rides to people and then ask us to pay for it,” she said.
Kearns said Grafton “will look at all options before cutting” the service to Rutland. This includes applying for a McHenry County Senior Services grant – which can only help Grafton riders – and exploring a potential partnership with Pace.
The Pace option would allow Grafton to lease a 12-passenger bus with a lift from Pace for a $1,000 down payment and $100 per month. Kearns said the option comes with increased “bureaucracy” and regulations, but he continues to explore it.
He added that a higher fee for Rutland riders alone would not make up the difference needed.
Sun City residents who live in Rutland and use the bus have expressed concern as to what would happen should a solution not be found.
Fran Kaplan of N.31 said she uses the bus every day to get to the store and doctors’ appointments.
“If they didn’t have the bus, I don’t know what I would do,” she said.
“You can be isolated in Sun City if you don’t have a car. If you can’t get out, your neighbors are busy running all over the place. You can be left at home, isolated, and that’s not too good,” Diane Hanson of N.8 said.
Hanson said she spoke with Sanders, who recommended she try outside organizations who provide rides, like Faith in Action, recently renamed Senior Care Volunteer Network.
“Faith in Action are volunteers; they’re lovely people, but there would be so much influx on their little agency if all of a sudden we could not use that Grafton Township [bus],” Hanson said.
Hanson said she’d like Sun City to provide a bus service for residents, as many cannot take full advantage of the amenities without transportation. She and other residents plan on bringing up the issue at a September SCCAH board meeting.
Resources for rides in Sun City
Grafton Township bus service: 847-669-8500
Senior Care Volunteer Network (formerly Faith in Action) 815-455-3120
Dial 2-1-1 for help with transportation and other social needs
