City commissioners agreed Tuesday to move ahead on a grant application to help pay for new public transit buses, but at least one commissioner said that wasn’t a sure sign the city was going to still be in the public transit business next year.

On a 5-0 vote, commissioners agreed to apply for a $520,000 federal grant that is administered by the Kansas Department of Transportation. The grant would pay for 80 percent of the cost of new buses. City staff members estimate that it could allow the city to purchase two to four new buses, depending on the model.

But Commissioner Rob Chestnut said he wanted to make sure the grant would not obligate the city to remain in the transit business. Commissioners have expressed concerns about whether the transit system will continue to fit into what are expected to be tight city budgets in the future.

“If the fixed route system isn’t feasible going forward, I want to know how this would work,” Chestnut said. “I think we have to start talking about all the options.”

Commissioners were told that the buses could be sold for fair market value, with 80 percent of the sale price being returned to the Federal Transit Administration.

In other action from Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, commissioners:

¢ Agreed to create a new Mayor’s Task Force on Climate Protection. The task force will have one year to create a plan for how the community could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming. Members of the task force should be appointed in the next few weeks.

¢ Told staff members to move ahead with an agreement with Black and Veatch engineers to create a construction plan for repairs to the Bowersock Dam. The engineering contract is for $120,000. The repairs to stop the dam from leaking likely will be $300,000 to $500,000, commissioners were told. The dam plays a major role in the city’s ability to use the Kansas River as a source for drinking water.

¢ Directed the city manager to write letters to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Corporation Commission urging that all necessary environmental tests be done on a piece of east Lawrence property owned by Aquila. The natural gas company owns property at Eighth and Pennsylvania streets, where it has a maintenance building. The property used to be the site of a natural gas plant that produced a dangerous by-product known as coal tar. East Lawrence neighbors want to make sure the natural gas company has done enough to protect the area from exposure to soil that possibly could be contaminated.