PENN TWP — The Butler Transit Authority on Tuesday discussed a compressed natural gas bill from the state for $18,543, which is expected to triple next year.

The Department of Transportation billed the authority at a rate of 64 cents per thousand cubic feet for the CNG that fuels its fleet of 11 buses for four months from March through mid-June, John Paul, authority executive director, said at the authority's end of the year meeting at the Butler County Country Club.

The bill was not among those the board approved for payment. The bill will be paid at the end of the month, Paul said.

The authority opened its CNG fueling station in February. The bill is for CNG used through the end of the fiscal year.

Because the bill covered a fourth-month period, Paul said he believes the authority will pay triple the amount in 2020 when it will be billed for the entire year.

He said PennDOT will deposit the money into an account that transit authorities across the state can use to upgrade their CNG facilities after an existing contract expires in 15 years.

The authority's fueling station is one of 29 public transit projects statewide costing a total of $84.5 million that was funded and constructed under PennDOT's public-private partnership project with Trillium CNG.

Trillium builds and maintains the fueling stations under the contract.

Before the station opened, the authority leased a temporary station for $7,500 a month.

Paul thanked Maggie Stock for serving on the board.Her five-year term as one of three representatives from Butler expires at the end of the year.The Butler County commissioners will appoint her replacement, Paul said.The board also approved its meeting schedule for next year. Meetings will be held Jan. 14, Feb. 11, March 10, April 28, May 19, June 9, July 14, Aug. 11, Sept. 22, Oct. 20 and Nov. 17 at the Butler Transit Center on Hollywood Drive in the Pullman Center Business Park. The Dec. 8 meeting will be held at the country club. All the meetings begin at 5 p.m.