Butler Transit Authority on Tuesday approved the purchase of a kiosk that will check the temperatures of employees entering the office.

Authority board members unanimously approved buying the Meridian kiosk for $2,710 from Pomeroy and a $300 annual subscription fee.

John Paul, authority executive director, said the automated kiosk will take the temperatures of authority employees, bus drivers and maintenance staff from the authority's contractor MV Transportation. The kiosk will be placed between the two sets of doors entering the authority's office, maintenance garage and storage facility on Hollywood Drive.

Currently, the authority is paying $1,279 per week to have someone manually take the temperatures. No high temperatures have been reported so far, according to Paul.

If the kiosk detects a person with a temperature above the limit set by the authority, the second set of doors won't unlock. Paul said the temperature can be set as high as 100.4 degrees. If the temperature is below the setting, the doors will unlock and allow the employee to enter.

The kiosk has facial recognition technology that will allow it to recognize employees once they are entered into the system and produces reports notifying the authority when an employee has a high temperature, he said.

Authority staff will be able to obtain the reports remotely through WiFi.

The kiosk is expected to be delivered and operational by mid-June.

Other business

In other business, the board renewed a $7,500 consulting contract with Delta Development to help prepare an application to the Federal Transit Authority's Helping Obtain Prosperity for Everyone (HOPE) program for a grant to study public transportations options in and around Slippery Rock.

The HOPE program has $8.5 million in available funding.

The Delta contract includes consulting for a proposed “Last Mile” service in which transportation would be provided for bus riders from the Route 528 Park & Ride lot in Zelienople to their employers and then back to the Park & Ride.

Paul said the authority, county officials and employers are discussing the program to decide who would provide the transportation.

In addition, the board approved reinstating regular bus fares for local service on June 1 and authorized Paul and his staff to fully reopen the commuter service to Pittsburgh when they deem it appropriate. The commuter service was reduced from four to two buses in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.