A crucial transfer of five properties owned by the City of Williamsport to River Valley Transit Authority (RVTA) has been described by the bus service providers as “currently stalled, with minimal to no communication from the City Council.”

RVTA Board of Directors President Noah Bower and Todd Wright, the authority executive director, have released statements saying the authority risks losing $2.5 million in operational and/or capital projects funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) should the properties not transfer to authority ownership. The deadline given to provide the recorded deeds so the grant can be applied for is in October but Wright said the authority needs assurance before then to ease their minds.

Properties that have been undergoing a transfer process for over a year include: Trade and Transit Centres I and II, the RVTA building/garage and offices at 1500 W. Third St., a small parcel at West Fourth and Laurel streets (127 W. Fourth St.) and Church Street Transportation Center, the parking deck at 11 Church St., Wright said.

“Without this control, RVTA risks losing nearly $2.5 million in federal funding — funds essential to maintaining public transportation services relied upon by our community. Such a funding loss would have serious consequences for our riders, employees, and the broader region we serve,” Bower said. “Unfortunately, the property transfer process is currently stalled, with minimal to no communication from the City Council,” he said. “This ongoing delay continues to hinder RVTA’s ability to function fully as an independent transit authority.”

Council President Adam Yoder upon hearing the RVTA statement wrote back to the Sun-Gazette, appearing hopeful the transfers will happen in a timely manner.

“After passing a resolution to start the property transfer process more than a year ago, the City and RVTA each had items to handle to transfer these properties, each with items that to my knowledge still need to be finalized,” he said.

Yoder continued: “With the actions from the FTA earlier this year we have worked with further prudence to ensure the transfer of property is fair and equitable to the city while in alignment with FTA regulations.

“We’re hopeful to finalize the future of the properties soon and look forward to this portion of the RVTA separation coming to a conclusion.”

Wright said whatever the council can do to facilitate it quickly would be helpful.

“Time is running short and the mood of the federal government might be such that it decides to pull the money off the table,” Wright said.

He noted a recent conversation with the attorney working on the transfers was one of the reasons why the authority’s executive director and the board wanted to bring their concerns to light and push the council to approve the recording of the deeds and transfer of the properties’ ownership to the authority. Wright said there are about four of the five properties prepared for transfer with one — Church Street — under review. It’s going slow and is getting the authority and board worried, he said.

The federal grant is crucial because the RVTA has a $10 million annual budget, with about $6.2 million coming from the state, and there are local shares, fares, advertising etc., that are lesser amounts toward the overall operating budget, he said.

He noted a “master agreement, as a public transit provider, requires certifications and assurances that the authority is abiding by all federal rules and regulations and that it has satisfactory continuing control of its assets to receive the grant.”

“Bower’s statement, however, further explained efforts by the board and city on the process of the separation and why ownership of the properties is critical to funding.

“Since the establishment of the River Valley Transit Authority (RVTA) in 2022, a primary focus has been the separation of transit-related assets and responsibilities from the City of Williamsport,” Bower said.

“A critical part of this process involves the transfer of federally and state-funded transit properties, which are currently held under the City’s ownership, to RVTA,” Bower said.

“Until these assets are officially transferred, RVTA is unable to complete the required annual Federal Transit Administration (FTA) certifications due to a lack of “satisfactory continuing control” over all transit-related properties,” Bower said.

“RVTA remains fully committed to the responsible management of all state and federal funds.

“We have adopted new financial policies and procedures to ensure transparency and accountability – guarding against past mismanagement and reinforcing the integrity of our operations under the oversight of the RVTA Board of Directors,” he said.

“We are prepared to move forward and continue delivering the clean, safe, and reliable service to our riders expect. However, full independence from the City of Williamsport — necessary to achieve our mission — cannot be realized without cooperation from City Council on the outstanding matters related to the formal transfer of assets,” Bower said.