The Rosemount City Council on Thursday opted to stick with the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) on a 3-2 vote, trusting a promise that the transit provider would consider additional bus service, signs and a park-and-ride lot for the city this spring.

The city had considered seceding from the south-metro transit organization at the end of 2009, saying bus service and facilities in Rosemount were inadequate after 18 years of membership -- and financial contributions.

"With the commitment we had last night, we can monitor this for year," said Mayor Bill Droste. "It would be in the best interests of the residents to stay."

Rosemount is served by two bus routes: the No. 420 flex route running to Apple Valley and the No. 479 rush-hour express route that jogs south to the 157th Street station before it turns north to Minneapolis. There is no park-and-ride lot, just a stop at the Rosemount Community Center marked with a sign in the parking lot.

In a special meeting on Wednesday, MVTA board chairwoman and Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz pressed Droste, a fellow MVTA board member, to explain what could be done to prevent the city from ending its membership.

The public transportation provider for five cities -- Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Rosemount and Savage -- already anticipates a need to dip into reserve funds to operate through 2009, thanks to a drop in revenue from the motor vehicle sales tax. If Rosemount had chosen to opt out, MVTA would have lost at least $622,810 from its $17.1 million budget.

"I want to make sure that you understand that we want to honor your commitment," Kautz said to Droste.

Droste requested more signs for the current bus stop, an express route that doesn't go south before going north, and concrete plans for a park-and-ride lot before 2014, as called for in MVTA's plans.

An average of six riders each day board the two buses on the No. 479 express route in Rosemount, according to the MVTA, but Droste said an additional 265 Rosemount residents drive to other park-and-rides lots in Eagan and Apple Valley to get more direct service to the downtown area.

"Until we get a park and ride and some visibility ... it's hard to build any service out of our community," Droste said.

His requests led to a unanimous pledge from the MVTA board to study ways to increase the number and location of signs at the current bus stop and hasten the construction of a park-and-ride lot. MVTA staff members also will look at ways to change the express route that serves Rosemount, possibly starting it at the 157th Street station and then going to Rosemount. Any change would happen in June or September, months when MVTA can modify its routes.

"We have got what Rosemount wants," Kautz said. "They're not asking for much."

That gesture was enough to convince the Rosemount council to continue its MVTA membership, but council members were hardly content. "It just irks me that the only reason they are talking to us now at MVTA is because we threatened to withdraw," said Council Member Kim Shoe-Corrigan.

Council Members Kurt Bills and Jeff Weisensel, who voted against continuing the membership, said they believed the city could provide better service, but would work with the MVTA for the next year or two.

The city had to notify MVTA of its membership intention by Feb. 15.

Katie Humphrey • 952-882-9056