HUMBOLDT — MIDAS Council of Governments will soon have a new building in which to park its buses, thanks to a Public Transit Infrastructure grant, according to Jay Kammerer, the transit manager for MIDAS.

The grant, in the amount of $539,895, will go towards the construction of a new facility to be located in Humboldt.

It was the third time MIDAS had applied for the grant.

“It’s a very competitive grant,” Kammerer said. “It wasn’t a surprise we had to apply more than once and we understood we might not get it on the first time in Humboldt. Our goal is to eventually have our own office and transit storage in each of our counties.”

MIDAS owns and operates the regional transit system in six counties: Webster, Calhoun, Hamilton, Humboldt, Pocahontas and Wright.

It also operates the DART system for the city of Fort Dodge.

The exact location of the new building has yet to be determined, Kammerer said.

“That’s the next step,” he said. “We currently rent a building up there.”

He said a property is likely to be acquired in the next couple of months.

Having a new facility in Humboldt has been a priority, Kammerer said.

“We have been looking at different options in Humboldt for several years now,” he said.

“Eventually we would like to have our own facility in each county,” he added. “This will be the largest one. We have the most vehicles in Humboldt and that’s why we wanted to get this one done next.”

The building will house eight buses, an office and two wash bays.

The increased space will be a benefit.

“Having more storage and keeping our vehicles inside,” Kammerer said. “If our maintenance has to do minor repairs to have our own facility. The wash bay is also a nice function. When the county buses are in Fort Dodge getting repairs or in the area here they go through our wash bay. They will be able to keep the buses clean without having to necessarily come to Fort Dodge.”

Kammerer anticipates construction beginning in the spring of 2018 with a completion set for the fall of 2018.

MIDAS has had similar buildings built in Webster City and Clarion, according to Kammerer.

Kammerer said it could be another 10 years before new structures are added in Pocahontas and Calhoun counties.