Novi Civic Center to house People’s Express for 6 more months

NOVI — The People’s Express transportation service company will continue to be housed at the Novi Civic Center for at least another six months while the company continues its search for an adequate facility nearby, and the city will continue to provide subsidies to Pex, as People’s Express is known, so that older adults and residents with disabilities are able to ride the bus for free.

The Novi City Council during its regular meeting Jan. 6 unanimously voted to provide Pex with a six-month contract extension to continue to utilize space at the Civic Center for its local operations, after the transportation company was not able to find a suitable location to set up its local operations within the initial six-month period that the council had given.

“To date, usage of Pex has been through the roof as residents have been pleased with the service provided by this new partner,” City Manager Victor Cardenas said during discussion at  the Dec. 16 City Council meeting.

Pex will pay the city $450 a month for use of the Civic Center space for the first six months. The matter will be brought back to the council by May, and if Pex has still not found a suitable location, the council can extend the contract at a rate of $600 a month. Pex can continue to utilize the city’s fuel pumps and will be billed accordingly for their usage.

The council had previously granted Pex a two-week contract extension to allow city staff to bring the council two separate contracts Jan. 6: one for the use of city space and the other for the subsidies.

Mayor Justin Fischer and Mayor Pro Tem Laura Marie Casey both expressed their dismay at the Dec. 16 meeting that the issue had not been brought to the council sooner, as they had requested in July.

“I said I was supportive of Pex being here and allowing them to set up here in the Civic Center through the transition and have the 14 parking spots, but to sit here tonight and basically have a contract that is either approved or expires is unacceptable to me,” said Fischer.

He “strongly” encouraged Cardenas to look through all the city’s contracts and see when they expire and to devise a plan as to when to bring them back to council. He pointed out that Casey had requested that this matter be brought back to the council at least three months before the contract expired, not a few weeks.

Cardenas apologized for the short notice and said that he will update the council with the company’s progress on finding a location in April. Cardenas said that if the company cannot find a new location by June, the city was considering charging the company at the market rate of $400 a month.

Fischer said that he was not sure that the $400 rate is accurate. He said that he believes it would be a little higher and include costs for the additional parking spaces.

“We are basically approving the same exact contract that we did six months ago and expecting a completely different result,” Fischer said at the Dec. 16 meeting. “Hey, have another six months for free and hopefully, maybe this time, you’ll actually make some efforts towards finding yourself a permanent location. In my business (finance) we call that the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

Councilman Brian Smith asked if there was any advantage to having the company at City Hall. Cadenas said that 10 drivers who were formerly employed by the city are now employed by Pex. Those drivers are from the area and it would disrupt those drivers to have to go to Pex’s location in Whitmore Lake to get the vehicles.

“Frankly, I think they need to go back to Oakland County if the $1.5 million or $2 million that they are getting isn’t adequate to support their services. I think they should go back to Oakland County and ask for another $1,000 a month to adequately pay for their space,” Councilman Dave Staudt said.

He suggested that Pex go back to the county within the two-week extension and request the additional monies.

“I think it’s a great idea to investigate further. I can see the benefits to having Pex employees use the space if drivers are formerly from here. So I think it’s a great avenue or approach to see if there’s a more appropriate rate if they were to continue to stay in the space, but not necessarily have a free upgraded space, I think is a great plan,” said Councilman Matt Heintz.

Eveliina Taylor, deputy director of Pex, said that the company has been working with the county to do a community transit plan, which includes facility assessments.

“We have been trying to figure out how to get the facility space for the growth we have experienced,” she said. “It is a countywide issue.”

Taylor said they are doing assessment of what their long- and short-term facility needs are. She said that includes working with the state and looking at grants.

She said they have also been working with a real estate agent to assess some space that would be beyond the 14 vehicles they currently have hosted in Novi. They are looking for a space that would host over 50 vehicles and that can be secured.

“We are looking for informed decisions, but we are actively looking and we are wanting space kind of in the heart of the southwest communities,” she said.

Casey said that by having Pex at the Civic Center, they have been able to get to know the community better and it is great for marketing by having the buses parked in the parking lot, though it does take up a lot of space in the Civic Center parking lot.

The contract to continue providing free rides for people with disabilities and senior riders with Pex was also unanimously approved by the council Jan. 6.