Cape Girardeau County Transit leader Tom Mogelnicki to retire

Tom Mogelnicki, who has led Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority (CGCTA) as executive director since April 1, 2007, will retire Saturday, Sept. 30, the County Commission announced at its regular meeting Monday, July 31.

Tom Mogelnicki

Tom Mogelnicki

Mogelnicki, 76, took over the government job just seven years after CGCTA's founding.

"My wife and I have decided to start enjoying life and it's time," he said, with the St. Louis native noting he previously spent 40 years building residential properties and taking on small commercial projects.

"In the last 10 years, we've doubled the budget from $2 million to approximately $4 million and updated transportation options for the community," said Mogelnicki, who came to Cape Girardeau to attend Southeast Missouri State University in 1965 and never left.

According to www.cgcta.com, the CGCTA's mission is straightforward:

"The primary reason the County Commission initiated a transit system was to increase county residents' access to health care, social services, and general life needs. The Transit Authority was also established to assist in coordinating and expanding the existing transportation services and to assist with pursuing additional State and Federal funds. Prior to the formation of the Transit Authority, countywide transit had long been a problem issue for the residents of Cape Girardeau County."

Everyday service

Bus transportation is free for anyone, with "demand response" taxi service starting at $7 per one-way trip. More information is available by calling (573) 335-5533, Ext. 1.

Those 60 and older may purchase senior discount coupons from CGCTA's administrative office, 937 Broadway, Suite 200, for $4 each.

Post-pandemic struggles

Since COVID-19 first made landfall in the U.S. in March 2020, CGCTA has dealt with several challenges,

"Hiring people has been difficult. We're still having trouble onboarding drivers and dispatchers," said Mogelnicki, noting CGCTA continues to experience a deficit of between six to eight drivers most days.

"It's hard for the general public to completely understand what (CGCTA) does. Every transit customer is important to us but every customer thinks they're the only one. We only have so many drivers and vehicles, and when we're overloaded, we can't get to everybody at a specific time. It seems the dialysis centers seem to book patients early in the morning and release them later in the day, and we get swamped. People often have to wait, and we can't help it."

Supply chain issues have taken a toll.

"It may take us up to two years to get a specialized vehicle delivered now, one that can accommodate a wheelchair, for instance. Before COVID, we could expect to wait six to nine months for a van," Mogelnicki said. "We got a van a week or so ago that we'd had on order for 21 months. We can't get people and we can't get vehicles."

CGCTA starts drivers at $13 per hour and automatically raises the wage to $13.50 after 30 days, After a review, a driver or dispatcher may receive a pay bump in six months.

Funding

"(CGCTA) gets funding from the federal and state governments but in order to receive it, we have to have local matches," Mogelnicki said, adding Cape Girardeau County and the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson traditionally pony up dollars to help the agency meet the match requirement.

CGCTA did receive $380,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding administered through the Federal Transit Administration, he added.

The transit service was formed in 2000 and is governed by a five-member board of directors, appointed by Cape Girardeau County commissioners.

Kathy Mangels, retired Southeast Missouri State University vice president for finance and administration, is the board's current chairwoman and will help oversee CGCTA's search for a new permanent leader.

Mogelnicki is active on the Missouri Public Transit Association and was MPTA president in 2013-2014.

What's next

Mogelnicki, who said he is available to help the agency, which he called "his baby," following his retirement, plans to spend a lot of time with wife, Karen, at the couple's residence at Kentucky Lake.

"I'm looking forward to taking a lot of fish out of the lake, especially bass and crappie," he said.