Building Health Inc. representatives asked the City Commission Oct. 14 for a letter of support for a KDOT transit grant and described current service levels and unmet demand across Crawford County. At the start of the meeting, representatives from CCAP also told commissioners the county’s public transportation provider faces a funding shortfall that could force temporary suspensions of some routes.

Becky Grama, director of Building Health Inc. (a nonprofit subsidiary of the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas), said the agency operates Care Van general public transportation and non‑emergency medical transportation (NEMT) across Bourbon, Crawford and Cherokee counties. Grama said the program provided 6,845 rides in Crawford County in the last program year (July 2024–June 2025) and that, from Feb. 1 through Aug. 31, 2025, the service turned away roughly 47 rides per month due to capacity limits.

“We ask riders to call well in advance because we are quite busy and the dispatch schedule fills up,” Grama said; she added the program runs ADA‑accessible vans and conducts quarterly rider satisfaction surveys. Cassie Jones, Building Health’s transportation program manager, said the agency uses NEMT billing (primarily Medicaid) to reduce the local match required by the KDOT 5311‑type program and that Community Health Center leadership has agreed to provide local match funding while the program builds that billing revenue.

Earlier in the meeting, Casey Brown (CCAP) and Scott Christiansen (CCAP director of transportation) told commissioners that Crawford County is served by five routes and is facing a funding crisis that could require temporary suspension of some services. CCAP said the city’s recent budget increase will help — Pittsburgh committed $33,000 for next year compared with $30,000 this year — but that operating a single route requires about $40,000. CCAP asked to meet with city staff to discuss schedule or service‑day adjustments as short‑term mitigations.

Commissioners asked about fare policy and funding structure. Grama said Care Van generally provides KDOT‑funded general public trips at no charge to avoid reducing federal funding and collects fares only when appropriate; the program’s local match is supplied across the service area and supplemented by NEMT revenue. When asked about the risk of federal funding cuts, Grama said she had no definitive cause for alarm but noted the funding landscape is uncertain and that KDOT‑funded vehicles are restricted to KDOT purposes.

The Building Health presenters requested a letter of support from the city to accompany a grant application for fiscal year 2027 KDOT transit funding; staff said a sample letter had been provided to the city clerk and the commission.

Why it matters: public transportation connects residents to medical appointments, work, education and basic goods. Both CCAP and Building Health highlighted capacity limits and funding constraints that could affect continuity of service for elderly, disabled and transit‑dependent riders.

Ending: Commissioners did not take a formal funding action on the spot but were asked to provide a letter of support for Building Health’s KDOT grant application; CCAP and city staff will meet to discuss temporary schedule or service changes to address shortfalls if necessary.