The future of the Main Street Trolley is in question.
The Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has sent a letter to its members asking for input concerning the trolley which it has operated for 10 years.
“Though we all agree the trolley is a source of pride for Clear Lake and would genuinely like to see it remain a part of the community, as a board of directors we have a fiscal responsibility to make smart business decisions on the organization’s behalf,” stated Chamber President Rod Bernard.
Bernard and Main Street Trolley Committee Chair Mike Finnegan said the primary use of the trolley in recent years has been wedding charters. It has also been used for shuttle service and narrated tours, however ridership declined for narrated tours, making them cost prohibitive and they were discontinued.
“During the past 10 years the trolley has not only failed to pay for itself, but it has been operating at an annual net loss of $5,300,” said Finnegan. “The committee has been working to find options that would make the trolley more visible and profitable, but the problem is that most ideas identified weekends as the opportunity for most ridership. But that would take away the charters on the wish and the hope that you would get riders to generate more than the $300 the charter would guarantee.”
Maintenance has also been an issue for the trolley.
After purchasing the vehicle in 1997 for about $48,000, approximately $33,000 was spent in 2004 to refurbish the trolley. Chamber officials say over the past five years the trolley has had an average income of $11,097 and an average expense of $18,376, reflecting a net loss of $7,200, primarily due to maintenance needs.
“It’s not just as simple as hiring a driver and buying diesel fuel,” said Finnegan. “In the last year we’ve fixed exhaust and steering problems and unfortunately it’s not as cheap to fix as a car. It’s getting harder to get parts for the (1985) vehicle. It currently doesn’t have a working fuel gauge and we haven’t found the parts to fix that.”
In addition to maintenance, Finnegan said insurance and storage must also be figured into the vehicle’s cost. Currently, the vehicle is moved between storage facilities which Chamber members have made available. If those options run out, the estimated cost of parking the vehicle inside for storage is $350 to $500 monthly.
“The trolley also takes Chamber staff time to clean and ready the trolley for outings-- There’s many factors involved that people don’t realize,” added Finnegan. “In a perfect world someone would step forward with an endowment that would cover the $5,000 loss yearly. But unless or until that happens, the Board faces a tough decision.”

Bernard and Finnegan welcome thoughts about the future of the trolley in written format. Emails may be sent to the Chamber of Commerce at laurie@clearlakeiowa.com [1], or Finnegan at mike@clreporter.com [2]. Letters should be sent to: Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, Attn: Mike Finnegan, P.O. Box 188, Clear Lake, Iowa 50428.