MEETING NOTICE AND AGENDA

 

WEST CONTRA COSTA

 

TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2004

 

7:30 TO 9:00 AM

 

LOCATION:   City of San Pablo, Council Chambers

13831 San Pablo Avenue (at Church Lane) - San Pablo, California

 

NOTES:

  • If you have special transportation requirements and would like to attend the meeting, please call WCCTAC at 215.3035 or 215.3044 at least 48 hours in advance to make arrangements.
  • Please refrain from wearing scented products to the meeting as there may be attendees susceptible to environmental illnesses.
  • Please turn off all cellular phones and pagers during the meeting.

 

 

1.      Call to Order and Self-Introductions – Chair Janet Abelson

 

 

2.      Public Comment – Please fill out a speaker card and hand it to the Chair/Staff

 

      At this time, the public is welcome to address the WCCTAC on any item which does not otherwise appear on the agenda.  With a full agenda, comments may be limited to three minutes per speaker.

 

 

*****  CONSENT CALENDAR *****

 

3.      Minutes, Sign-In Sheet and Meeting Summary from the December 12, 2003 Meet-

ing – ATTACHMENTS

 

      The minutes, sign-in sheet, and meeting summary from the December meeting are attached.

 

      Staff Recommendation:    Approve the December 2003 minutes.

 

 

4.   Staff Reports – ATTACHMENTS

 

      Employee Staff Reports from the Managing Director and the Transportation Project Specialist for December are attached.

 

      Staff Recommendation:   Accept the reports.

 

 

5.   Update on the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) – ATTACHMENT

 

      Attached is information from the January CCTA Administration and Projects Committee regarding the 2004 STIP.  As expected, there is no additional funding and the new CTC funding target indicates that projects may be delayed from one to four years. 

 

      Staff Recommendation:    No action required; for information only.

 

 

6.      Draft Amendments to CCTA’s Administrative Code – ATTACHMENT

 

CCTA is looking to correct some “ambiguities” in the Administrative Code regarding the composition of each Regional Transportation Planning Committee and the current RTPC practices.  Two options are proposed:  Option A is very specific regarding the composition of the RTPCs and would require a change to the Administrative Code if an RTPCs composition changed; Option B is simpler and would not require Administrative Code changes if the RTPC composition changed.

 

Staff recommends Option B.

 

Staff Recommendation:     Support Option B; direct staff to convey WCCTAC’s preference to CCTA staff.

 

 

7.      2004 Strategic Plan Revisions – ATTACHMENT

 

CCTA adopts a revised Strategic Plan every two to three years for the Measure C projects.  While there are some “unknowns” regarding transportation funding, CCTA has asked the RTPCs to review and comment on the Project Fact Sheets and revised cash flow requirements for various projects.  There are no West County projects under review for funding changes/updates; however, the local jurisdictions/County should review the Project Fact Sheets and provide input. The Project Fact Sheets were distributed at the WCCTAC-TAC meeting for staff to review.

 

 

Staff Recommendation:  Request West County jurisdictions/County review the Project Fact Sheets and provide comments to CCTA by February 5 (CCTA’s Administration and Projects Committee meeting to discuss 2004 Strategic Plan comments).

 

 

8.      WCCTAC Meeting Schedule

 

A revised schedule for January through June is attached (typographical error corrected).

 

Staff Recommendation:  No recommendation; for information only.

 

 

9.      Purchase of Services Contract with Greyline Cab – ATTACHMENT

 

WCCTAC’s contract with Greyline Cab for Guaranteed Ride Home taxi services has expired and a new contract needs to be negotiated.

 

Staff Recommendation:  Authorize the Managing Director, Transportation Project Specialist, and Advising Attorney to negotiate and draft a new contract.  Bring contract to WCCTAC Board for review and approval at a later meeting.

 

 

10.  Support for Regional Measure 2 (Perata) for $1 Increase to Toll on State-Owned Toll Bridges – ATTACHMENT

 

Regional Measure 2 (RM 2) would increase the bridge toll by $1 to support congestion relief and transit projects.  RM 2 will be on the March 2004 ballot.  Information on RM 2 is attached, as is draft Resolution 04-01.

 

Staff Recommendation:  Review and approve Resolution 04-01; direct staff to distribute the Resolution.

 

 

11.  WCCTAC Reserve Balance Recommendations – ATTACHMENT

 

The attached Memorandum, prepared in consultation with WCCTAC’s Treasurer (Bradley Ward, Finance Director, City of San Pablo), outlines recommendations regarding the reserve balance and the mid-year budget.

 

Staff Recommendation:  Review and approve the recommendations in the Memorandum.

 

 

 

 

*****  END OF CONSENT ITEMS  *****

 

 

ACTION ITEMS:

 

The order for discussion of Action Items is as follows:  (1) Staff  Report; (2) Public

Comment; (3) Board Discussion and Questions; (4) Action/Vote.

 

 

12.        Election of Officers and Representatives:  (a)  WCCTAC Chair; (b) WCCTAC Vice Chair; (c) CCTA Representative (even-year term); and (d) CCTA Alternate – STAFF and CHAIR – ATTACHMENT – 15 minutes

 

         ACTION ITEM

 

(a)          WCCTAC Chair – The Board will need to elect/reappoint a Chairperson commencing February 1, 2004.  Current Chair is Janet Abelson who has served for two years.

(b)         WCCTAC Vice Chair – The Board will need to elect/reappoint a Vice Chair commencing February 1, 2004.  Current Vice Chair is Kris Valstad who has served for two years.

(c)          CCTA Representative – WCCTAC’s “even-year” term (currently filled by Janet Abelson) is expiring.  The Board will need to reappoint Ms. Abelson or elect a new representative for the term from February 1, 2004 through January 31, 2006.  WCCTAC’s “odd-year” representative is Kris Valstad.

(d)         CCTA Alternate – The Board will need to reappoint the current alternate – Maria Viramontes – or elect a new alternate.  The CCTA Alternate serves until replacement/resignation and is the alternate for both CCTA representatives.

 

Background:  Other WCCTAC Chairs/Vice Chairs have served for two years for continuity.  Previous Chairs (in order of most recent):  John Marquez (Richmond), Maria Alegria (Pinole), Irma Anderson (Richmond), Lloyd Wagstaff (Hercules), and Cathie Kosel (El Cerrito).  While there are no formal policies regarding these appointments, they generally rotate among the jurisdictions and Board of Supervisors, and generally WCCTAC members with at least one year of tenure are appointed.

 

Note:  According to the WCCTAC JPA, only the Cities and the County may vote for the CCTA Representative – six votes total (one each – El Cerrito, Hercules, Pinole, Richmond, San Pablo, Contra Costa County); four votes are required for a majority vote).

 

Staff Recommendation:   No recommendation; Board action as appropriate.

 

 

13.        Measure C Issues:  (1) Report from WCCTAC Measure C Subcommittee;              (2) West County Outreach; and (3) CCTA’s Public Outreach  – ATTACH-MENTS/HANDOUT – STAFF – 15 minutes

 

         ACTION ITEM

 

(1)         WCCTAC Measure C Subcommittee – The Subcommittee met on January 14th.  A quorum was not present, but the members in attendance requested that two items be forwarded to the WCCTAC Board:  (a)  the draft letter (attached) requesting CCTA prepare subregional marketing materials for the continuation of Measure C; and (b) discuss the attached Memorandum from the WCCTAC-TAC regarding outreach materials for Measure C and the letter from the City of San Pablo (received subsequent to the WCCTAC-TAC meeting) – ATTACHMENTS

(2)         West County Outreach – After extending the deadline twice, WCCTAC received six responses from Community-Based Organizations.  Staff is meeting with Nelson/Nygaard (consultant) this week regarding the responses and staff will provide a summary handout at the meeting.

(3)         CCTA staff and the RTPCs are hosting meetings throughout the county to discuss the Draft Countywide Transportation Plan, the Draft Environmental Impact Report and the Measure C project/program alternatives.  The West County meeting will be held on Thursday, January 29th from 7 to 9 pm at Maple Hall (City of San Pablo) – ATTACHMENTS.

 

      Staff Recommendation:    Review and approve the letter regarding subregional marketing materials; other potential actions to be determined by the WCCTAC Board.

 

 

14.         Richmond-Area Community-Based Transportation Plan – SEPARATE ATTACHMENTS – Gail Murray, Nelson/Nygaard and Barbara Bechnel, Neighborhood House of North Richmond – 20 minutes

 

INFORMATION/ACTION

 

Information Item:  In 2003, MTC contracted with Nelson/Nygaard and Neighborhood House of North Richmond to prepare the first of five pilot transportation planning reports in low-income Bay Area Communities.  The planning effort took place between April and December 2003, and built upon the findings in MTC’s 2001 Lifeline Transportation Network Report.  Ms. Knudsen and Ms. Murray will summarize the study findings and “next steps.”  WCCTAC Staff participated in a number of the community meetings and planning meetings.  There will be a fifteen minute presentation, followed by five minutes of question/answer.  The Plan’s Executive Summary is attached (SEPARATE ATTACHMENT).

 

Action Item:  In order to implement some of the findings/recommendations in the study, Neighborhood House is requesting funds from WCCTAC’s Regional Studies budget to hire a part-time staff person to write grant applications and to oversee the next phases of the Plan (SEPARATE ATTACHMENT).

 

Staff Recommendation:  Receive the Plan; provide comments.  Underscoring the need to implement the projects and programs in the Richmond-Area Community-Based  Transportation Plan, staff recommends approval of the funding for the staff person to apply for grants and oversee the next phases of the Plan (under the direction of Ms. Barbara Bechnel at Neighborhood House).

 

 

15.        Follow-Up to WCCTAC Board Retreat on January 16th – ATTACHMENT – Staff – 15 minutes

 

ACTION ITEM

 

Thirteen Board members and alternates participated in the four-hour Retreat.  Staff appreciates the time and participation of the elected officials/Board members, and the staff who were present at the Retreat.

 

Staff would like to highlight several follow-up items:

 

1.      Staff will obtain copies of the PowerPoint presentations and provide them to the WCCTAC Board members.

2.      Staff will further research the Columbia Pike Project in Arlington, Virginia for discussion at a future Board meeting (due to the project’s similarities to the San Pablo Avenue Corridor project).  Information from the Columbia Pike website is attached (www.columbiapikepartnership.com).

3.      Staff will work with Susan Christy (Facilitator) and Board members who have not yet completed the “Team Dimensions Profile” so that once all Board members have finished the profile, we can have a full discussion of the ways that we prefer to work, based upon the results (“Creator,” “Advancer,” “Refiner,” or “Executor”).

4.      The results of the Measure C discussion are summarized in the attached Memorandum, including the recommendations to be forwarded to CCTA.

 

Staff Recommendation:  Provide time for Board members comments on the Retreat; review the follow-up items; approve the recommendations in Item 4 and direct staff to forward a letter to CCTA.

 

 

INFORMATION ITEMS:

 

 

16.    University of California’s Institute of Transportation Studies – San Pablo Avenue Smart Growth Project and Recommendations – UC Berkeley Students – PRESENTATION AND POSSIBLE HANDOUT – 10 minutes

 

         UC Berkeley students in the Institute of Transportation Studies will present the findings from the recently-completed study of Smart Growth and livability along San Pablo Avenue.

 

         Staff Recommendation:  No recommendation; for information only.

 

 

17.        Presentation and Discussion of the Draft Countywide Transportation Plan (Draft CTP) and the Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) on the Draft CTP – ATTACHMENT – CCTA STAFF – 15 minutes

 

CCTA staff will present the Draft CTP which has been distributed by CCTA (copies will be available at the meeting). The Draft EIR will be released the week of January 19th and copies will be available at the meeting.

 

         Comments on the Draft CTP and the Draft EIR are due on March 8, 2004.  The WCCTAC-TAC will be reviewing both documents at the February 12th meeting and will bring comments to the WCCTAC Board for review at the February 27th meeting.

 

         Staff Recommendation:  No recommendation; for information only.  Comments will be discussed at the February Board meeting.

 

 

18.    Correspondence/Other Information:

 

         Incoming:

         Local Government Commission Reports – December 2003.

         CCTA Items Approved for Circulation – December 18, 2003.

         Richmond Bay Trail New Year Report – January 2004.

         TRANSPAC Meeting Summary – January 5, 2004.

         CTP and Measure C Extension Proposed Meeting Schedule – January 6, 2004.

 

         Outgoing:

         Letter to David Murray at CCTA re:  STMP Administrative Fees – 12.16.03.

         Letter to Office of Traffic Safety re:  Grant Application – 1.13.04.

                                                           

         Newspaper/Internet Articles (all articles from West County Times unless stated otherwise):

         “Bus Cuts’ Impact Harder on Disabled, Seniors” – 12.26.03.

         “Commuter Bus Service Delayed Till February” – 12.29.03.

         “Blueprint OK’d for Bicyclists, Pedestrians” – 1.2.04.

         “Greenway Restoration on its Way” – 1.6.04.

         “Transportation Funds to be Tied to Housing” – 1.12.04.

         “Transportation (from Budget Analysis)” – 1.12.04.

                                                           

         Conferences/Workshops:

         ABAG Regional Economic Outlook – January 29 in Oakland.

         CTF Transportation Forum – February 25 in Sacramento.

         American Planning Association National Conference – April 24 to 28 in Washington, DC.

         Community Transportation Expo – June 12 to 18 in Seattle.

 

 

19.    Board Member Comments/Reports

 

20.    Other Business

 

ADJOURN TO NEXT MEETING:

FEBRUARY 27, 2004