Sunset Empire Transportation District to suspend operations

Apr. 28—The Sunset Empire Transportation District will suspend bus service and other operations starting Saturday after the agency's troubling financial condition came to light.

The transit district's board voted unanimously on Thursday afternoon to discontinue operations indefinitely and furlough employees.

"The message is we will not be offering any public transportation services effective Saturday due to the financial situation that we're in. We will get it restarted as soon as we have a financial package in place. And we'll get the process to restart up and running as soon as possible," Jeff Hazen, the transit district's executive director, told The Astorian.

The transit district's bus routes and paratransit services connect passengers across Clatsop County. The Lower Columbia Connector also takes passengers between Astoria and Portland. The agency has an annual budget of $6.6 million and had 46 employees as of earlier this month.

While Hazen has referred to a six-figure shortfall, the transit district has also reported that ridership is up 11% year to date.

In an extraordinary meeting on Thursday at the Astoria Transit Center, the board weighed financial options, heard from the Oregon Department of Transportation and met in an emotional executive session to evaluate Hazen's job performance.

In the morning, Hazen said he was communicating with a consultant to pursue financing options and was waiting to hear back, so the board put off a decision until late afternoon in the hopes of securing a last-minute reprieve.

The transit district foreshadowed the decision at a special board meeting on April 18, when Hazen first made the startling recommendation to suspend operations and claimed the agency was out of money. A decision was postponed after Hazen and the board learned of a possible financial lifeline from the state.

Over the past several days, Hazen declined to provide updates when asked by The Astorian and pointed to the board meeting on Thursday for the next announcement.

Outside the Astoria Transit Center on Thursday afternoon, passengers were disappointed.

Scott Staples, of Svensen, said he uses the bus to get to work.

"Everybody will tell you that it would be devastating to the town," he said. "It's ABC, with no public transportation, a lot of people can't get to jobs."

Tom Estes, of Warrenton, said he uses the bus to get to work, run errands and attend doctors' appointments.

"Well, that sucks," he said of the transit district's decision.

Estes also worried about the impact on older people.

"I know a lot of older people that use it," he said. "And that's gonna hurt a lot of older, elderly people, because how are they going to get back and forth to their doctors' appointments or the grocery stores?"

Lydia Ely of The Astorian contributed to this report.