By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Dial-A-Ride was the main topic at Monday night's City Council meeting. Council members are in the beginning stages of coming up with a resolution to get the taxi-type service out of the red.
Dial-A-Ride ended last year in the red and will do so again in the 2008 budget, according to Niles City Administrator Terry Eull.
"They cannot operate this way anymore. We need to find ways to cut costs, rather than increase wages. We need to look at route possibilities, reducing hourly rates and so on. This is just in the beginning stages," Eull said.
Eull stated there will be more public hearings in the future, as they would like to get input from others.
Dial-A-Ride could possibly become a route-based system, with routes following a north-south path and an east-west path, allowing them to stop at different locations around town.
Drivers will still pick up special needs riders at their homes, but all other riders would go to a Dial-A-Ride stop.
The current cost for riders is $1 for adults in town and $3 for riders outside the city limits. Dial-A-Ride would like to keep those rates, which is why the routes would help, according to Eull.
Also recognized by the Niles Police Department and City Council members at the meeting were William Hartstein, Zachary Boyce, Gracie, a Napoleon Mastiff and her owner Elaine Gartland.
Boyce assisted law officials when he witnessed someone breaking into a home. Boyce called police, who were able to catch the thieves.
Gracie, a 110-pound canine was honored for helping police in a foot chase, which ended in the backyard of Gracie's owner, Gartland. Gracie noticed the suspect enter the backyard and, as the suspect turned away, she began growling. Police were able to catch the suspect as he had no where to run.
Hartstein helped police when he tackled a man, who was also fleeing officers.
In other news, the council approved a request from the Police Department to purchase a 1993 Ford F-350 truck from Marv's Car Lot in Zeeland at a cost of $5,000 for use at the LEC.
The board also confirmed the appointment of Jessica Rae Millar to the Niles Housing Commission to serve both an unexpired term and a full five-year term effective immediately and expiring on Dec. 31, 2012.