Molly Breslin

 

Ottawa native Molly Breslin joined our staff in September as a part-time Research and Writing Specialist.  She is currently completing the Sidewalk Assessment Reports for 13 communities and she will be working on Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) grants in the upcoming months.  When she isn't researching and writing, she can be found farming north of town.  Contact Molly at [email protected]. 

Human Service Transportation

 

Allow me to introduce myself; I am Kim Zimmerman, the Regions 1 and 3 Transportation Coordinator at NCICG.  The coordinator role is a federally mandated position to help coordinate effective and efficient public transportation for the state at a regional level.  Illinois is divided into 11 rural regions and the Chicagoland Area.  Each rural region is comprised of public transportation systems at the county level.  There are several smaller, nonprofit human service agencies such as senior centers or hospitals that may also provide transportation on behalf of the county or in partnership with the county.  These state and federally funded transportation providers are the result of a federal transportation act enacted in 1978.  Although the name of the act and guidelines have changed over the years, the bottom line is to provide safe and efficient transportation for all individuals.  NCICG's coverage area encompasses four counties in Region 3 (Bureau, Grundy, LaSalle, and Putnam) and two counties (Marshall and Stark) that are in Region 5 boundaries.  Come back next time and I will discuss the regions more in depth.

 

It is currently vehicle delivery season!  Several area agencies associated with the program are, or will be, receiving vehicles they were awarded as a result of the 2016 Consolidated Vehicle Procurement grant application.  These vehicles are free to recipients and paid for out of the above mentioned Federal funds.  Receiving new vehicles is very exciting for the agencies as it allows them to dispose of old vans or buses or allows them to expand services and provide more rides to the communities they serve. 

This summer, the communities of Granville, Naplate, and Ottawa were awarded over $30,000 in total for the purchase and installation of new trees.  Thanks to a grant opportunity through the Morton Arboretum, NCICG and these communities were able to partner and successfully secure funding to help reestablish the urban tree canopy.