The City of Los Alamitos has announced at its most recent Council meeting that it will soon introduce its own system to transport senior citizens around town free of charge.
“This is just the first step in the implementation of our senior master plan,” said City Manager Chet Simmons, announcing plans to roll out a four-vehicle transportation system that will provide free transportation within the city for residents 55 and above.
“This will be the first of its kind in Orange County,” he said.
With a growing population of over 55 residents, Simmons said the city worked with the Orange County Transportation Authority to partly fund the service and that the city had found a local sponsor to fund half of the city’s share of the matching part of the grant.
Ron Noda, the city’s Director of Development Services, said more than 10 percent of senior residents noted in a recent survey that transportation was a growing problem.
City officials said residents 55 and over currently make up more than 30 percent of the city’s population and is a growing sector.
Noda said the entire cost of the project is $3.8 million, with OCTA playing half the cost, with the city responsible for a 50 percent match for the $1.9 million grant.
The seven-year project will cost approximately $257,000 per year, with the OCTA paying the other 50 percent, he added.
“While the city has its first-year matching taken care off, “we’re working very hard to to get either a grant or a sponsor to cover the next six years.”
Noda said the company called “Circuit,” which runs similar programs in nearby communities, has been awarded the project following a request for proposals.
Accordingly, he said that discussions are underway to potentially provide transportation to other communities such as Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Cypress, etc.
Right now, said Noda, the proposal will only provide free transportation to “every corner of Los Alamitos.”
In response to a question from Council member Emily Hibard, Noda said persons under 55 will not be prohibited from riding, but there may be a small fee of $3, although he noted exact amounts would not be determined until the program was fully developed and approved by the Council.
Noda suggested the service will operate much like a current ride-share operation, where residents can notify the service when they need to be dropped off or return from a doctor’s visit, or whatever.
“We are very excited about the program,” he said. Although waiting times will vary, he said residents should have to wait between 8-10 minutes for a ride to arrive.
He said the project will fund a fleet of four electric vehicles, including two sedans, one bus, and a larger-type bus, primarily for citizens requiring service under the American with Disabilities Act.
“All of the vehicles will be electric, and the carbon footprint will be zero,” he said.
Noda said the proposals for the service requested operations of five days per week, 12 hours per day, probably Tuesday – Saturday, although that was not yet official.
In addition, Noda told Mayor Shelley Hasselbrink that the service will offer communications in various languages to accommodate everyone in the city.
He said the vehicles, once acquired, will be branded with the city’s logo and other markings.
In other action, the city honored Sydney Forsyte, a senior at Los Alamitos High School, who had spearheaded the effort to bring the “Anne Frank: A History for Today” exhibit to her school. She is the granddaughter of two Holocaust survivors and an intern with the Freedom Writers Foundation.
“I want to thank the city for declaring Anne Frank day here in the city of Los Alamitos, “ said Forsyte, who recently graduated from LAHS, “especially at a time when it is more important than ever to stand united against anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, “ she said.
“Since working with Anne Frank LA to bring the travelling freaking exhibit to Los Alamitos high school where I just graduated by the way yeah I witnessed a truly inspiring shift students coming together learning and story and embracing the importance of inclusion and empathy in everyday life another learning and story,” Forsyte told the Council.
“Today our city not only preserves Anne Frank’s voice and legacy, but also affirms its commitment to compassion, justice, and fighting against hatred of all forms, she said.
Mayor Hasselbrink said while several major cities in Los Angeles have declared Anne Frank Day, Los Alamitos becomes the first in Orange County to do so. From here on, May 12 will be remembered as Anne Frank Day in the city, said Hasselbrink.
In other action, the city heard from former Mayor Marilyn Poe and Debbie Kent, Vice President and President, respectively, of the Los Alamitos museum, as they thanked the city and its public works department for the recent upgrades to the museum.
Kent reported that the museum recently hosted a luncheon for city workers to show their appreciation for everything the city does to support the historical association.
“Everybody that works there is a volunteer,” she said, “and we all love the city or we wouldn’t be there. We thank the city for its support of the building and for keeping it beautiful,” Kent told the Council.