Agenda Item Request
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Accept the University of Minnesota’s contract amendment of $20,000 to the Phase 2 of the Mobility, Access, and Transportation Insecurity (MATI) grant.
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Background and Purpose of Request
In 2025, Cumberland County Public Health (CCPH) was awarded Phase 2 funding of $700,000 from University of Minnesota’s (UMN) Center for Transportation Studies to implement and research the Dirigo Access demonstration project. The Dirigo Access project is an income-eligible transit fare program with reduced and free fare categories that are delivered through a network of community-based organization. The funding supports the implementation of the project as well as a research component and the creation of a cooperative purchasing model that will fund the pass program beyond the two-year demonstration project period. Project staff have run into challenges with data collection for the research component of the project because some study participants are immigrants and at times have been afraid to use public transit. UMN intends to add $20,000 to the current $700,000 grant award through a contract amendment to support the additional data collection time needed to meet the goals of the research component of the project.
No matching funds are required and no additional county funding will be needed to complete the requirements of the grant.
Requestor
Liz Blackwell-Moore, Director of Public Health
Funding Amount and Source
$20,000 grant from University of Minnesota
Effective Date if Applicable
September 21, 2026