In the event a public transportation authority encompasses one or more rural counties, each rural county may make application for aid under this Part. Any such aid may be given to such authority provided such aid is used within the rural county to carry out the purposes of this Part. Because of a public transportation authority's special lead responsibility for public transportation service within its jurisdiction established by State law, and to avoid potentially duplicative services or conflicting responsibilities, a rural county may, either by letter from its chief elected official or by resolution, designate its public transportation authority to do any or all of the following: apply for program funds, manage its grant, serve as its Services Coordinator, develop and implement a coordinated public transportation service on the county's behalf, or serve as the county's coordinated service operator. Such a designation may be made at any time, either as part of a county's application or after the county has been notified of a grant. Should a rural county grant recipient, within the jurisdiction of a public transportation authority, desire to designate an entity other than its public transportation authority as its coordinated service operator, the county shall first obtain written comments from its authority on the county's plan and said designation. The authority's comments shall address all elements of the proposed coordinated service in relation to the authority's public transportation service in the county, including the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of establishing another public transportation service within the county, and the prospects for avoiding service duplication.