SACO — The Biddeford- Saco-Old Orchard Beach Transit Committee has voted to pay the city back the $8,000 down payment it made on the Camp Ellis Trolley last year.

In 2015, a seasonal trolley style bus provided transportation from downtown Saco to Old Orchard Beach and then to Camp Ellis, and back to downtown Saco. The Camp Ellis trolley was spearheaded by then-Saco Mayor Don Pilon, who had pitched the idea during his campaign.

The trolley was acquired by local bus service provider ShuttleBus-Zoom, which at first thought it could acquire a good used trolley for $8,000. The original deal fell through, but when a trolley became available for $38,000, then-City Administrator Richard Michaud – who has since retired – allocated $8,000 of city funds toward the cost of the trolley with- out city council approval.

Under the city charter, in the case of an emergency or unusual circumstance, the city administrator does have the right to spend up to $8,000 without city council approval. However, some members of the former city council last fall questioned the process, saying the council should have had input in the $8,000 payment.

Pilon’s intention was that the rest of the cost of the trolley would be paid through advertising. The first season netted about $11,700 in advertising revenue, according to information provided to the city last fall by ShuttleBus-Zoom. A little more than 1,800 riders used the Camp Ellis trolley in its 60 days of operation last year.

Biddeford City Planner Greg Tansley, chairman of the Biddeford-Saco-Old Orchard Beach Transit Committee, said in a phone interview Monday that the committee recently voted to give the city back its $8,000 payment for the bus.

Shuttlebus-Zoom receives annual funding from all three communities it serves toward the bus service, and Tansley said the $8,000 from Saco put it out of balance with the other two communities.

This will also allow Shuttlebus-Zoom to absorb the bus into its fleet and not limit it specifically to the Camp Ellis run, he said.

According to Tansley, the transit committee plans to run the Camp Ellis trolley again next year and will look at how it can improve the run, possibly by taking a more efficient route.

Craig Pendleton, executive director of the Biddeford + Saco Chamber of Commerce + Industry and a member of the transit committee, said as the chamber director, he is supportive of a sustainable run between Camp Ellis and Old Orchard Beach. He added that the chamber will work with Shuttlebus-Zoom staff, “in every way possible” to help make the Camp Ellis trolley run successful.

Saco City Councilor Kevin Roche, who represents the Camp Ellis area, said the $8,000 was “water under the bridge.” He said he supported the Camp Ellis trolley service and thought in the future, it needed to be run in a more, “clear and thoughtful way.”

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].