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AMENDMENT NO. ONE TO CONTRACT K-1819-150: BY AND BETWEEN THE BETWEEN THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AND THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, PROVIDING FOR AN EXTENSION OF SAID SERVICE AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE CERTAIN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, INCLUDING PARATRANSIT MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF NORMAN FROM AUGUST 5, 2019, THROUGH OCTOBER 1, 2019.
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BACKGROUND: On August 28, 2018, University officials advised City staff of their desire to transfer non-campus bus services in Norman to another operator by the end of the FYE 2019 fiscal year. Staff relayed this message to City Council during a Study Session shortly thereafter about the concerns the University had regarding CART's short-term funding challenges and long-term operational challenges. City Council approved Contract K-1819-123 with CART on October 23, 2018, which secured the City's contribution for the current fiscal year. City Council met again in a Study Session on October 30, 2018, to discuss the long-term operational challenges and to develop a strategy for moving forward. City Council focused on three key premises: 1) Ensure there is no interruption or break in service during the transfer; 2) Maintain or improve the current level of service provided by CART; and 3) Although the City would officially be the recipient of federal funds, the City may contract with an independent third-party agency to operate the system.
Since November, 2018, City staff and University staff worked closely with the officials from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Regional 6 office located in Fort Worth, Texas. FTA advised that the following steps needed to take place to effectuate a system transfer of operation: 1) Notice of Intent to transfer transmitted from the current operator to the FTA; 2) FTA responds to Notice of Intent; 3) New recipient or operator asks to be designated as a direct recipient; 4) New recipient seeks formal approval of FTA...
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