Ulster Transit gets $5M COVID-19 grants
Two grant awards totaling $5 million have been allocated for Ulster County’s COVID-19 response by the Ulster County Area Transit.
The funds will be used for operating expenses necessary to maintain service during the pandemic.
The money is coming from the federal government’s first CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act stimulus program signed by President Trump back on March 27.
Burt Gulnick, commissioner of the Ulster County Finance Department, said Monday that state operating assistance is based on ridership numbers and miles traveled. Since the buses weren’t operating for a time and are still not at full steam, Gulnick expects that the state operating assistance will be down. These federal monies will help replace that.
UCAT’s annual budget is $6 million, which includes $1.8 million in county taxpayer funding. The remaining funds are through state and federal funding.
“We know many of our na
tion’s public transportation systems are facing extraordinary challenges and these funds will go a long way to assisting our transit industry partners in battling COVID-19,” K. Jane Williams, the acting administrator of the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration, said. “These federal funds will support operating assistance to transit agencies of all sizes providing essential travel and supporting transit workers across the country who are unable to work because of the public health
emergency.”
Ulster County will not actually receive the money upfront. UCAT has to spend it and be reimbursed.
Gulnick hopes the county will be able to use the federal grant monies to offset county funding for the bus system, freeing up that money to be used elsewhere.
Ulster County has also received a grant for approximately $500,000 for the Office for the Aging, helping to cover agency costs related to additional food deliveries.
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In other COVID news, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul visited Community
Family Development Inc. in Poughkeepsie Monday, meeting with local child care providers.
The discussion centered on the need for critical support for the child care industry, which has seen nearly half of the organizations close because of the pandemic and others facing increased operating costs.
“Our nation was facing a child care crisis even before the pandemic hit – many working families lived in child care deserts, including 60 percent of the Mid-Hudson region, and those who did have access to child care often struggled to afford it,” Senator Gillibrand said.
“Now families and providers are facing unprecedented
instability and uncertainty. Child care providers are critical to our economy and we can’t let them face these challenges alone. To get parents back to work and care centers open, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) must provide clear, practical guidance and Congress must provide funding to give providers the resources needed to comply with public health guidance and keep everyone safe. These resources are essential to weather this crisis and to lay the foundation for our recovery.”
Gillibrand and U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle, D-Rochester, sent a letter to the CDC calling on it to work directly
with child care stakeholders to clarify and implement critical guidance that protects children, staff and families. Gillibrand is also urging Congress, currently involved in shaping the next coronavirus relief package, to invest $50 billion in federal funding to stabilize child care providers as they work toward safely reopening.
“To get our economy back firing on all cylinders, the stress and cost of the child care burden on families and providers must be addressed,” Lt. Governor Hochul said. “It is no longer an individual family’s problem, it’s a problem for our economic recovery, and it’s finally part of the national conversation.”
By the numbers
Ulster County on Monday reported 1,942 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 91 deaths since the outbreak began. It said 116 cases are active and 1,735 people had recovered.
Dutchess County reported 4,425 confirmed cases, 195 active cases, 4,077 recoveries and 153 deaths.
Columbia County reported 477 confirmed cases, 9 active cases, 431 recoveries and 37 deaths.
Sullivan County reported 1,441 confirmed cases, 3 active cases and 50 deaths.