RENSSELAERVILLE — Bob Bolte is still asking for donations for the town’s senior and youth bus. 

“If we made a commitment to our town, and, basically, we had borrowed that money, then it’s our obligation to go through with our commitment and get it back to them,” Bolte said.

Last year, he and a trio of residents — Marion and K.B. Cooke and Stephen Wood — asked the town board to buy the bus on the condition that there would be no additional costs to the taxpayers.  The town approved and bought the bus for $57,000. 

Since, Bolte has led the effort to repay the town by collecting donations.  On Friday, he said he had $600 in his pocket.  Throughout the past year, he has sent letters to businesses and legislators.  To date, over $52,000 has been raised, and just over $4,000 still needs to be collected to meet the goal. 

Many local businesses and residents have given to the cause as well as larger corporations, such as Price Chopper and Stewart’s Shops.  Bolte said over 150 businesses and citizens have donated. 

Last year, an anonymous donor gave $5,000, and then matched donations from the Fourth of July to Labor Day.  The Greenville Rotary donated $3,500 from its bike-athon.

Once, an 8-year-old girl tried to sell Bolte Girl Scout cookies.  He told her about the bus, and she gave him $5.

Four signs have been erected in the town depicting a thermometer to show how much has been raised.  Any extra money, Bolte said, will be used for gas and insurance.

Bolte said he’s not going to take credit for all the money collected because a lot of people have steered him in the right direction. 

“You’ve got to do something for your senior citizens,” Bolte said.  “You’ve got to do something for your youth.” 

The senior citizens in the town have been paying their taxes for 50 or 60 years, said K.B. Cooke.  He added that now it’s his turn to help and he hopes the next generation “will pick up the ball for our behalf.”

Rensselaerville’s bus is accessible to those with handicaps and it carries two wheelchairs.  Each week, volunteers drive elderly residents to doctors’ appointments and to go shopping.  Every Tuesday, the bus goes to Greenville, and on Thursdays it goes to Cobleskill. 

The bus has taken seniors twice to Saratoga Gaming & Raceway in Saratoga Springs and to see Christmas lights at Washington Park in Albany.  It was also used to take elderly residents to a restaurant and to a Christmas party.

“These are trips that a lot of these seniors would never be able to get on [and they] cannot afford the bus fare — to hire a bus at 600 or some dollars — to go,” said Bolte. 

The senior/youth bus has also taken Little League teams and Boy Scouts to Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium in New York City.

In Rensselaerville, the town board is divided politically, and many issues are contentious.  The bus is no exception.  Residents have questioned whether funds could be raised to pay back the town, and town council members have disagreed over parking the bus in the town’s highway garage.  This month, at a meeting that was more harmonious than recent meetings, the town board agreed to park the bus indoors, following a resolution passed last year. 

Bolte frequently attends town meetings and updates the town board on how much money has been donated for the bus and its trips.  He has kept records of the businesses and individuals that have donated, the mileage of trips, and the names of the groups and individuals that have ridden on the bus.  When the bus needs an oil change, Bolte donates the oil and filters. 

While Bolte, K.B. Cooke, and Ronald Bates are the primary drivers of the bus, the three volunteers are not the only ones who can drive it. 

Because the bus is registered for 14 passengers, anyone with a New York State license can drive it.  It was originally meant to carry 20 passengers, but four seats have been removed so that a driver is not required to have a commercial license.  Though there are more than 14 seats, Bolte said, only 14 passengers are allowed.  The extra seats, he said, are for larger passengers. 

Groups interested in using the bus first contact Ann Vogel, one of the town’s senior-service coordinators, who coordinates with the town’s clerk, Kathy Hallenbeck.  Those who want to drive the bus first give their drivers’ licenses to Hallenbeck, who sends the licenses to the town’s insurance company, which makes a check with the state’s Department of Transportation.  Before new drivers first drive the bus, Bolte shows them how to use the wheelchair lift.  He also takes them for a short drive.  

Last year, two former Rensselaerville town supervisors — John Geurtze and David Bryan — were arrested for stealing. 

“Did it hurt us?  Yes, it did,” Bolte said.  “It hurt us badly collecting because people lost a lot of faith in people that were going out collecting money.” 

But, he said, everything that is collected for the bus is documented and turned in at least once a week with an official town receipt.

“And anyone can come and ask how much money is in this thing,” Bolte said.  “We did everything above board.”