Easy Lift Transportation will be moving its headquarters on Tuesday because of damage its offices sustained from the recent January flooding. The new office will be located at 1522 Cook Place, Building 333, in Goleta and will open Wednesday, just minutes from their previous location.
Located for over 20 years at 53 Cass Place in Goleta, this last-minute move is required due to building damage to their offices, which they rent from the Santa Barbara Airport. The organization is estimating the cost of the move and replacing damaged furniture and equipment to total approximately $37,000.
Easy Lift provides wheelchair-accessible transportation for passengers with limited mobility.
“I want to reassure the south coast community that our move will not affect our operations at Easy Lift,” Ernesto Paredes, executive director of Easy Lift, said in a news release. “We were able to continue providing lifesaving accessible transportation services during the flood through emergency evacuations as well as regular passenger access to medical care and grocery stores. Continuing to provide our services during our move will be easy compared to that.”
Mr. Paredes said he’s grateful to donors and remains proud of the Easy Lift staff.
“I remain continually amazed by the professionalism and compassion of our team,” said Mr. Paredes. “Our drivers and dispatch team have been under a lot of stress. Some live out of town and had a hard time getting to the Santa Barbara area during the flood. Plus, many are dealing with damage to their own homes and vehicles. And because our passengers are also stressed, our drivers stand in to help calm their nerves and reassure them with a friendly smile.”
Even though the move is expensive, and time-consuming, Mr. Paredes said he believes the organization “will be better equipped to take on any and all new transit challenges going forward.”
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
