TAPA Fall Conference Chattanooga October 1, 2004

1
TAPA Fall Conference Chattanooga October 1,
2004

• Session Description
• Kingsport's is one of the newest fixed-route
  transit systems in Tennessee. During the first
  few years of service, low ridership almost caused
  the local axe to fall on the fledgling system.
  Through TDOT's persistent aide, the system grew
  and found a permanent home in one-quarter of a
  renovated downtown warehouse. Through visionary
  leadership, the concept of developing the
  remaining space into a transit-training-childcare
  facility was born. Today, a downtown campus of
  Northeast State Community College accommodates
  1,000 students and Kingsport Early Childhood
  Learning Center, a United Way agency, provides
  childcare on an ability-to-pay basis.
• Bio
• Jeff Fleming is a native of Kingsport, Tennessee.
  He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from
  ETSU in political science and geography. He
  began his career in Kingsport as a planning
  intern in 1984 and was tapped to start-up the
  city's Geographic Information System in 1992. In
  1998, he assumed leadership for the Development
  Services Department, which includes
  Building/Zoning, GIS, MPO, CDBG, Transit and
  Planning. For the past four (4) years, he has
  served as Assistant City Manager for Development.
  

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Historic Church Circle
MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort
Snow at Bays Mountain Park
Historic Shelby Row
Strong public schools music education
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• Transit originates from community visioning
  process circa 1996

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The Basics

• Prior to implementation of KATS in 1996,
  Kingsport was largest city in Tennessee without
  access to public transportation. Both Johnson
  City and Bristol have operated buses far longer
  than Kingsport.
• Need for public transportation identified as key
  goal in Kingsport Tomorrow Vision 2017 process
  (prior to bus service, subsidized taxi service
  was only public transit available to Kingsport
  residents).
• Reduced transportation cost to most at-risk
  Kingsport residents. For example, a subsidized
  roundtrip taxi ride to healthcare providers,
  grocery stores, or shopping centers may cost up
  to 6 to 10.
• A roundtrip bus ride ranges from 0.50 to 1.
• Provides on-call, curb-to-curb service to
  disabled residents under ADA
• Operates transportation for Senior Center
• Provides contractual transportation services to
  transport students from City elementary schools
  to after-school care at Boys-Girls Club, and
  Girls Inc.
• Provides contractual transportation services for
  Madison House Alzheimers Center.
• Provides charter service for Fun Fest,
  conventions, weddings, special events.
• In 1996, KATS averaged less than 400 riders per
  month. In July of 2004, averaged nearly 10,000
  riders per month
• KATS offers 4 routes covering all major shopping
  centers with several transfer points city-wide.
  Drivers are trained to help patrons who may not
  familiar with system and make sure the patron
  arrives to their destination.

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Funding

• KATS is predominantly funded by the Federal and
  State transportation budget.
• Total Budget 360,000 per year
• Federal portion 202,900 or 50
• State portion 64,330 or 18
• City portion 92,670 or 23

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Spin-Offs

• The Federal Transit Administration awarded a
  grant for 424,000 to the Regional Center for
  Applied Technology (RCAT). Without the
  relationship to transit, approximately 50 of the
  project funding for RCAT would not have been
  available.
• RCAT is co-located in the KATS building.
• RCAT was identified as one of the primary
  economic initiatives in the 1999 Economic Summit.
  It will be an invaluable asset in the citys
  effort to re-train the workforce for jobs in the
  new technology-based economy.
• RCAT has become the training center for the
  Citys Transportation Planners and KATS staff.
  Working with the RCAT staff, the city has been
  able to set up several training sessions
  utilizing RCATS equipment and space. This has
  been very beneficial to the Transportation
  Planning staff.
• Kingsport/Sullivan County was recently named as a
  non-attainment area for air quality standards.
  This rating is linked to ozone levels, which are
  attributed to urbanization and a dependence on
  automobiles as a sole transportation mode. To
  offset the non-attainment classification, local
  government must demonstrate that it is making
  efforts to improve air quality. One way to meet
  these requirements is to provide alternate modes
  of transportation, such as transit, bicycle
  lanes, greenbelts/greenways, etc.
• KATS offers FREE rides to the public on days
  that are declared Ozone Awareness Days.

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Ridership History

• In March 1996, Kingsport Transit had less than
  400 riders per month
• By July 2004, ridership had grown to 10,000 per
  month, with spikes nearing 14,000

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Peers
In fact, KATS has operating costs per hour lower
than every peer for both fixed route and demand
response service. The paratransit figures are
particularly impressive since KATS has a higher
number of demand response vehicles running than
most of its peers yet still maintains the lowest
cost per vehicle hour.
Source TranSystems 2004
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The Future

• System maturation
• Alternative 1 Modified radial structure with
  flexible zones
• Alternative 2 60-minute headway structure
• Alternative 3 Trunk route with mini-hub
  structure
• Alternative 4 General public demand-response
  system

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The Early DaysNewspaper Articles

• Jan 1, 1998 a decision on the future of KATS is
  expected in early spring
• Jan 5, 1998 Its use it or lose it time for
  Kingsport
• Jan 17, 1998 EDITORIAL Accepting the grant money
  would cement the city's long-term commitment
  to what has proved a worthwhile program.
• Jan 18, 1998 "If the board decides to accept the
  grant, I believe that we should continue our
  conservative approach regarding our
  transportation system by renovating or buying
  an existing building as opposed to trying to
  build a new structure,'' (Alderman Peggy)
  Turner said.
• Jan 19, 1998 Kingsport going with Transit Center
  flexibility in the use of the building
  makes the property particularly attractive.
  Even though the Cason building ranked third in
  a city study of possible transit center sites,
  (City Manager) Connet said, the opportunity
  for varied use of the structure makes it a top
  choice.
• Jan 22, 1998 Hot time in the old town Oh well,
  who had time for movies? We busy folk are too
  tied up in trying to decide whether or not the
  BMA will use a TDOT grant to build a transit
  center. (Transit center is government talk for
  'bus stop') Now if the BMA does use a TDOT
  grant for KATS, we can expect to read MORE
  words MADE up of all CAPITAL letters that
  stand for something. One of those words will be
  DEBT - D Empty Bus Terminal.
• Aug 10, 1998 Kingsport officials Friday finalized
  the 270,000 purchase of a 16,000 sf downtown
  building that will serve as home to the city's
  transit center. The city's most recent
  quarterly statistics show more than 16,000 trips,
  a 90 percent increase from the prior year.

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The Early DaysNewspaper Articles (continued)

• Nov 2, 1998 told the BMA the city's taxi
  subsidy program is not in compliance with the
  Americans with Disabilities Act and may have to
  be discontinued. The city has contracted with
  local cab companies to provide public
  transportation since 1985. The taxi program is
  the only form of public transportation available
  after 5 p.m. and on weekends when the Kingsport
  Area Transit Service does not operate.
• Nov 18, 1998 phones haven't stopped ringing
  since Kingsport's taxi subsidy program was
  discontinued two weeks ago. But Taylor said the
  city had no choice but to end the service.
• May 16, 1999 Jeanette Blazier should be
  Kingsport's next mayor. Amidst dissent she can
  keep people around the table. The results are,
  for example, Drive Smart, a program designed to
  reduce traffic accidents KATS, Kingsport's
  transit system and Community Unity, resulting
  in the Unity Service, Black History
  Celebrations and scholarships.
• As of Sep 7, 2004, there have been 107 newspaper
  articles (thats an average of 1.6 articles per
  month) for 68 months

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Kingsport Area Transit Center

• 4,000 sf finished
• 12,000 sf unfinished

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A seed is planted by TDOT

• December 1997
• A model program suggested
• Transit - Training - Childcare
• Every idea has its day...

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• Our perfect storm the convergence of an idea, a
  location, and leadership
• Circa 1999

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A New Day in Kingsport

• Oct 21, 1999 -- Kingsport Mayor Jeanette Blazier
  says city leaders have a common goal but are
  working separately to achieve it.We need to
  get our local act together not that were not
  doing well but we need to get on the same page
  and have a common goal, she said.That goal,
  said Blazier, is economic diversity.In a report
  to the Sullivan County Economic Development
  Commission, Blazier said that even before the
  news this week that Eastman Chemical Co. will cut
  1,200 jobs, city officials were aware of the need
  for a more diverse economic base in
  Kingsport.An economic development summit is
  planned for Nov. 4 and 5, during which the
  Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Kingsport
  Economic Development Commission, Downtown
  Kingsport Association and city planning staff
  will meet to discuss economic growth in the city.
  After the news weve had in our community
  this week regarding Eastman Chemical Company, the
  ultimate goal that we want out of all of this is
  to have a diversified economic base in our
  city, she said.Blazier said that while
  officials expect manufacturing to continue to be
  a strong player in the Kingsport economy, they
  also know they must articulate a vision for
  the economic base of the city.Blazier called
  the summit groundbreaking.These players
  have never been at a common table before, she
  said. Theyve all been doing their own separate
  planning.

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Economic Summit

• November 3-4, 1999
• 60 Community Leaders
• Local Government, Business, Community/Neighborhood
  , State/Regional
• Visioning and Strategic Planning
• Consensus Building
• Groundbreaking

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BMA Economic PrioritiesApproved 3 Jan 2000

• Create an infrastructure plan that supports
  economic development efforts with emphasis on the
  following areas
• MeadowView Convention Center area
• I-81/I-26 Tri-Cities Crossing
• Regional Center for Applied Technology, Northeast
  State
• Redevelopment - Downtown Core Urban Area
• Kings Port Commerce Park at Tri-Cities Crossing
• Holston Business Development Center (small
  business incubator)
• K-Play (new recreation and sports facilities)

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• We are beginning to look more like a midwestern
  rustbelt city than a booming sunbelt city. What
  are we going to do about it?
• Circa 1999

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Key Demographic Factors

• Population
• Income
• Cost of Living
• Median Age
• Median House Value

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Population

• Kingsport, TN
• City 44,905
• Urbanized (TN-VA) 95,766
• Bristol, TN
• City 24,821
• Urbanized (TN-VA) 58,472
• Johnson City, TN
• City 55,469
• Urbanized 102,456
• Cleveland, TN
• City 37,192
• Urbanized 58,192
• Morristown, TN
• City 24,965
• Urbanized 54,368
• Oak Ridge, TN
• City 27,387
• Urbanized 39,599

• Knoxville, TN
• City 173,890
• Urbanized 419,830
• Chattanooga, TN
• City 155,554
• Urbanized (TN-GA) 343,509
• Asheville, NC
• City 68,889
• Urbanized 221,725
• Greenville, SC
• City 56,002
• Urbanized 302,194
• Spartanburg, SC
• City 39,673
• Urbanized 145,048
• Roanoke, VA
• City 94,911
• Urbanized 197,422

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Per Capita Income

• Kingsport, TN
• City 20,549
• Urbanized (TN-VA) 19,788
• Bristol, TN
• City 18,535
• Urbanized (TN-VA) 18,061
• Johnson City, TN
• City 20,364
• Urbanized 18,250
• Cleveland, TN
• City 18,316
• Urbanized 17,412
• Morristown, TN
• City 15,894
• Urbanized 17,068
• Oak Ridge, TN
• City 24,793
• Urbanized 21,711

• Knoxville, TN
• City 18,171
• Urbanized 21,306
• Chattanooga, TN
• City 19,689
• Urbanized (TN-GA) 20,596
• Asheville, NC
• City 20,024
• Urbanized 20,107
• Greenville, SC
• City 23,242
• Urbanized 20,826
• Spartanburg, SC
• City 18,136
• Urbanized 21,093
• Roanoke, VA
• City 18,468
• Urbanized 21,093

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Overall Cost of Living

• Johnson City, TN 88.2
• Kingsport, TN 88.8
• Bristol, TN 89.2
• Cleveland, TN 91.1
• Chattanooga, TN 91.8
• Morristown, TN 93.3
• Knoxville, TN 93.7
• Spartanburg, SC 94.3
• Greenville, SC 95.7
• Asheville, NC 103.1
• Oak Ridge, TN 105.3
• Roanoke, VA 109.4

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Median Age

• Kingsport, TN
• City 41.9
• Urbanized (TN-VA) 40.3
• Bristol, TN
• City 39.9
• Urbanized (TN-VA) 39.6
• Johnson City, TN
• City 36.9
• Urbanized 37.5
• Cleveland, TN
• City 34.0
• Urbanized 34.4
• Morristown, TN
• City 36.1
• Urbanized 35.8
• Oak Ridge, TN
• City 43.4
• Urbanized 41.8

• Knoxville, TN
• City 33.4
• Urbanized 36.0
• Chattanooga, TN
• City 36.8
• Urbanized (TN-GA) 37.0
• Asheville, NC
• City 39.2
• Urbanized 40.4
• Greenville, SC
• City 34.6
• Urbanized 35.6
• Spartanburg, SC
• City 34.7
• Urbanized 35.6
• Roanoke, VA
• City 37.6
• Urbanized 39.0

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Median House Value

• Chattanooga, TN 75,800
• Johnson City, TN 94,600
• Cleveland, TN 96,800
• Knoxville, TN 96,800
• Morristown, TN 96,800
• Bristol, TN 99,700
• Kingsport, TN 99,800
• Greenville, SC 104,300
• Spartanburg, SC 104,400
• Asheville, NC 125,500
• Roanoke, VA 136,600
• Oak Ridge, TN 138,500

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Summary

• Compared to the 12 selected cities, Kingsport
  has
• 7th highest city population
• 8th highest urbanized population
• 3rd highest per capita income
• 2nd lowest cost of living
• 2nd highest median age
• 7th highest median house value (99,800)

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• Our goal to become the first K-14 public
  education system in America

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Summit Outcome

• Educated workforce
• Attract/retain young adults
• Transit-training-childcare
• Educate Grow
• first K-14 program in the nation
• create college campus downtown
• Nurture the seed planted by TDOT back in 1997

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Educate Grow 2000Goals

• To encourage our youth to seek advanced training
  and post-secondary educational opportunities
• To provide an incentive to our youth to remain in
  the area
• To act as a catalyst for downtown redevelopment
• To address workforce development issues by
  creating a skilled labor force
• To provide easier access for our current
  workforce to additional training

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• So we hit the road to bring our dreams to life
• first to Nashville, then Atlanta

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We Propose a Partnership

• Federal Transit Administration
• Economic Development Administration
• Appalachian Regional Commission
• TN Dept of Transportation
• TN Dept of Economic Community Development
• TN Board of Regents (Northeast State)
• City of Kingsport
• Sullivan County
• Kingsport Economic Development Partnership
• Kingsport Times-News
• Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce

By working together in a community partnership,
we can create a new paradigm that links mass
transit, workforce training, and multi-faceted
economic development to create a a healthy,
well-connected city that is truly livable.
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Center for Applied Technology at KATS

• Economic Development Administration (EDA)
  236,500
• Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) 150,000
• Local funds 135,000
• Surface Transportation Planning (MPO)
  198,000
• Federal Transit Administration 414,000
• TOTAL 1,133,500

Plus a paying tenant. Northeast State pays
KATS 45,000 per year in rent
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Grand Opening September 16, 2002
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Enrollment exceeds expectations
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September 8, 2004

• Cline is among more than 5,100 students enrolled
  at the college this semester, which marks the
  eighth consecutive fall that Northeast State had
  posted a new record enrollment. The figure
  includes 1,054 first-time freshmen, a 19 percent
  increase over fall 2003.
• The community college's growth came even as many
  students had more financial flexibility to attend
  more expensive four-year institutions thanks to
  the Tennessee Lottery Scholarship program.

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The Future

• Adjoining land has been purchased for 182,000 to
  eventually double the footprint of RCAT
• A multi-story facility is possible, further
  expanding the future options
• The property now consumes the face of an entire
  city block on Main Street in the heart of an
  historic block in downtown Kingsport
• Strategic location opposite the Downtown
  Kingsport Associations new headquarters and The
  MAC (Main Art Center)

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Summary

• There were several elements that came together
  simultaneously and created great synergy -- our
  perfect storm, if you will.
• First, as we established a transit system and
  remodeled an oversized facility to accommodate
  it, TDOT officials suggested that we consider an
  innovative partnership providing cross-functional
  access between transit-training-childcare.
  Initially, this idea was not embraced by local
  officials, but we proceeded with renovating 2,400
  sf of a 16,000 sf building to accommodate transit
  operations.
• Second, the local newspaper publisher had an idea
  while mowing his yard. What if we paid for 2
  years of college for our graduating seniors?
  What would that do for economic development?
  What would it do for workforce development? He
  began fleshing out these ideas with the local
  community college president.
• Third, an election yielded a new mayor and 3 new
  aldermen -- a majority of 4 on a 7 member board.
  
• Fourth, an "Economic Summit" was held to bring
  together 60 community leaders from CEOs to
  non-profits, from local government to state
  government, from volunteers to educators. The
  question, "What are WE going to do about our
  local economy?". We invited experts in economic
  development and the economy. The economist told
  us our demographics look like those of a rustbelt
  community of the early 80s. He further explained
  the void in the "youth" sector and our
  overdependence on manufacturing (40 of our
  economy). He explained that new skills are
  necessary to diversify to a more
  technology-driven economy -- skills which our
  workforce simply didn't have. We have long had a
  reputation for excellent K-12 education, but we
  always send our best and brightest off to college
  in some other place and they rarely return --
  "brain drain". Through facilitated brainstorming
  and consensus-building, the idea of "Educate and
  Grow" moved to the top of the list and everyone
  was excited about the prospects. We have several
  other economic development initiatives, but this
  one tops the list.
• With broad-based community consensus, this idea
  moved forward quickly. The only criticism is that
  we moved so fast we didn't initially ask the
  County or others to participate. However, they
  got on board and provided their graduates with
  scholarships, too. We expected somewhat of a
  snowball effect -- which is great -- but we
  wanted to be first. We wanted to be able to tell
  economic development prospects that education is
  so important to the people of Kingsport, TN, that
  we pay for 2 additional years. Isn't this the
  kind of place you want to bring your business? A
  place that gets results? A government that is
  nimble and progressive?
• Northeast State came on board from the onset.
  They taught us the importance of community
  colleges, because they too are nimble (and
  inexpensive). Universities tend to be larger and
  more unwieldy. Northeast State developed
  curricula to support IntelliThought, a software
  company specializing in e-business who is having
  a hard time finding qualified workers. The
  company is 2 blocks from the transit center in
  downtown Kingsport. In 2 years, a student can
  feasibly move from high school to tech job (or
  they can continue in a 4-year local university at
  their own expense).
• Based on historic enrollment projections with a
  factor for the attraction of "free college", we
  estimate that 250,000 (150k county and 100k
  city) will fulfill this need. At 1,600 per year
  per student, we can accommodate 160 students.
  However, each student must apply for all other
  forms of grants first. Any money that is "left
  on the table" goes into an endowment so it is not
  lost from year to year. During the first
  semester, 150 students applied countywide, but 50
  received other scholarships leaving 100 on the
  Educate Grow program. The next semester,
  approximately 70 of the 100 returned. The
  downtown center opens this fall and we'll see how
  that effects enrollment. (If you need to know
  more details, I can put you in touch with
  Northeast State).
• So, what do we get for our investment? We fill a
  dangerous demographic void and slow the graying
  of our community. We get qualified workers for
  economic development prospects. We obtain a
  "starving student" employment base for our
  restaurants, retail, etc. We get a college
  presence in downtown with the potential for 1,000
  students per day (although the scholarships are
  good at any Northeast State location). We get a
  critical linkage between transit, training and a
  United Way childcare agency -- ride public
  transportation, drop off the kid(s) next door,
  take classes across the street -- improve your
  life and economic future therefore, improving
  the city's life and economic future.

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• Positive news for a change

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• Oct 6, 1999 KATS changing routes to improve
  ridership
• Nov 5, 1999 Economic Summit opens with a
  challenge to take some risks and 'think outside
  the box'
• Nov 6, 1999 Proposal introduced at summit calls
  for city to pay tuition for city's graduating
  seniors to attend Northeast State
• Nov 18, 1999 Small business development critical
  in Kingsport's economic future
• Nov 18, 1999 This town ain't made for walking
• Nov 24, 1999 Kingsport Transit Building could be
  used to house new Northeast State branch
• Dec 2, 1999 Downtown Kingsport Association
  celebrates 25th anniversary by reflecting on a
  year of change
• Dec 16, 1999 Panel hears details of Northeast
  State campus for downtown Kingsport
• Dec 27, 1999 Regulations prohibit use of transit
  buses to provide school transportation
• Jan 3, 2000 Maybe Model City should do away with
  school buses
• Jan 13, 2000 Development Partnership pushing for
  downtown Kingsport college campus, new
  multi-purpose sports complex
• Jan 25, 2000 KATS opens new downtown transfer
  station
• Jan 26, 2000 Kingsport Area Transit System opens
  new downtown transfer station
• Feb 9, 2000 Kingsport Economic Development
  Partnership discusses funding priorities
• Feb 10, 2000 Kingsport leaders say state
  officials receptive to proposal to establish
  Center for Applied Technology
• Mar 7, 2000 Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen
  told outsiders look at data and see Model City as
  a mid-1980s rust belt town
• Mar 9, 2000 Work progressing on downtown branch
  of Northeast State Community College
• Mar 18, 2000 Gas prices have businesses,
  non-profits weighing options
• Mar 21, 2000 Kingsport Board of Mayor and
  Aldermen balks at size of budget draft's
  documentation, proposed tax increases

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• Mar 16, 2001 School board weighs statement on
  RCAT
• Apr 24, 2001 BOE candidates air views on school
  funding, RCAT
• Jun 27, 2001 Incoming chamber president outlines
  vision for city
• Aug 15, 2001 Jenkins announces 380,000 in
  federal funding for RCAT
• Sep 25, 2001 City accepts 1 million grant money
  for NSTCC satellite
• Sep 30, 2001 RCAT will be major benefit for city
• Oct 16, 2001 Regional Center for Applied
  Technology 80,000 short of goal
• Jan 25, 2002 Education, training are keys to
  success in high-tech world
• Mar 2, 2002 City, county higher education
  initiatives garner international attention
• Mar 11, 2002 RCAT, Educate and Grow wise
  investments in higher education
• Apr 3, 2002 Hilleary lauds city's K-14 education
  system
• Apr 18, 2002 Transit Center, RCAT pairing good
  for city
• Jun 5, 2002 Communities see value of Educate and
  Grow
• Jun 9, 2002 Construction begins on Regional
  Center for Applied Technology
• Jun 10, 2002 Groundbreaking held for Kingsport
  Child Development Center
• Jun 21, 2002 BMA reviewing possible cuts in
  service, personnel
• Jun 29, 2002 State shut-down back-up plans in
  place at ETSU, Kingsport Center, NSTCC
• Jun 29, 2002 Regional Center for Applied
  Technology faces good, bad news
• Jun 30, 2002 NSTCC hopeful classes won't be
  delayed for RCAT opening

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• Summary
• Integrating transit, training and childcare has
  paid off!