WCCTAC
West Contra Costa Transportation
Advisory Committee
Minutes
The regular
meeting of the West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee was called
to order at 7:32 a.m. by Chair Brown in the City Council Chambers of the City
of San Pablo, 13831 San Pablo Avenue (at Church Lane), San Pablo,
California.
1. Call to Order and
Self Introductions
PRESENT: Sharon Brown, Chair (San Pablo), Maria Viramontes,
Vice Chair (Richmond), Janet Abelson (El Cerrito), Jerrold Parsons, (WestCAT),
John Gioia (Contra Costa County), Irma Anderson (Richmond), Ed Balico
(Hercules), Bob Franklin (BART), Maria Alegria (Pinole), Tom Butt (Richmond)
ABSENT: Joe Wallace (AC Transit)
STAFF: Lisa Hammon, WCCTAC Managing Director
Linda Young, WCCTAC
Transportation Project Specialist
John Rudolph,
WCCTAC Management Assistant
Nancy Cuneo,
WCCTAC Administrative Assistant
Hisham
Noeimi, CCTA Staff
Bryan Otake, WCCTAC
General Counsel
2. Public Comment
None.
On motion by Maria Alegria, seconded by Maria Viramontes and carried unanimously, the Board approved the Consent Calendar items as follows:
3. Minutes, Sign-In Sheet, and Meeting Summary from the March 31,
2006 Meeting.
4. Employee Staff Reports from the Managing Director, the Management
Assistant and the Transportation Project Specialist for April.
5. Request for Proposals (RFP) for Preparation of the Strategic Plan
for the Update to the Subregional Transportation Mitigation Program (STMP).
6. Reimbursement of Zeiger Engineers, Inc. from the STMP fees for
the Richmond Intermodal Station Project ($1,234).
7. Memorandum of Understanding Between AC Transit and WCCTAC for Professional Consultant Services with Ove Arup (to
be drafted after the MOU is final); subject to review and approval of WCCTAC’s
attorney.
REGULAR CALENDAR
8. Transit Summit (“Go I-80”)
Agenda
Managing
Director Lisa Hammon reported the “Go I-80” Transit Summit Agenda is unchanged
from last month. Three youth speakers
will be confirmed. Meeky Blizzard, Oregon
will be the keynote speaker and will speak on the power of civic
engagement. Ms. Blizzard works in
Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s office in Portland on land use and related
issues. Ms. Blizzard was also
responsible for a grassroots effort to defeat the SW Portland Bypass. Newspaper ads are being considered, and
outreach has taken place locally.
Chair
Brown asked the members to help the advertising efforts by sharing this
information within their cities. City
staff will receive email announcements regarding the Transit Summit.
Janet
Abelson asked if the flyers were passed out to the students at the local high
schools. Managing Director Hammon stated
a consultant had performed this outreach; she was not certain if every student
received a flyer. Janet stated the only
value in the flyer is if every student had received one.
9. Lifeline Transportation Grants
John
Rudolph reported he had submitted a Lifeline Transportation grant to the Contra
Costa Transportation Authority for Taxi Safety and Voucher Program. The three pieces of this grant request are
safety equipment for the taxis; the purchase wheelchair accessible van for use in
West County; and a late-night voucher program.
Managing
Director Hammon highlighted the other potential grants. She stated this process will be very
competitive, and she asked for direction from the Board on prioritizing the
projects. The Managing Director stated
WCCTAC is sponsoring three of the projects, and she will be one of three
individuals scoring and ranking the projects.
She proposed the following three items as the priority items: West County Transportation Center Phase II;
Taxi Safety and Voucher Program; and Low-Income Student Bus Pass Program.
Janet
Abelson requested clarification on the matching funds requirement for the Taxi
Safety Program. John Rudolph stated the
cities are not being asked for matching funds.
Instead the matching funds will come from staff time at WCCTAC, the
cities and the Sheriff’s Office.
Maria
Viramontes reported the City of Richmond is submitting a request for initial
start up funding for the Taxi Safety Program, as well as requesting an item in
their own budget. However, she noted
that Richmond would need to match some of the funding. She hoped the long-term maintenance costs
could be shared.
John
Gioia felt it was important to control the projects in West County and not
allow a panel member to decide priorities for West County.
Managing
Director Hammon thanked the members for their comments.
10. Update on the Subregional Transportation Mitigation Fee (STMP) Program
Bryan
Otake reported as of April 25th, staff had sent out the final draft
of the Cooperative Agreement with a request for comments/questions to be
submitted promptly. Only San Pablo has
submitted a comment. The County Staff
and Counsel indicated they may have questions, but it is unclear if these are
new questions or comments on the revision.
Tom
Butt requested clarification on impact fees and permits. Mr. Otake recommended Mr. Butt check with his
Building Permit Department, but in general the fee that is in effect at the
time of entitlement is state law.
Mr.
Otake stated the Board could allow the subcommittee to approve minor changes to
the Cooperative Agreement. The
subcommittee could meet prior to the next full Board meeting, with the final
Agreement on the May WCCTAC agenda.
Maria Viramontes stated she would request an item on the City of
Richmond’s May 18th agenda.
John
Gioia stated questions/comments should have been submitted from the County
Counsel’s office. He asked that the
document include clear, concise definitions, e.g. casino. He also supported having the fees be
effective as soon as possible.
On
motion by Maria Viramontes, seconded by John Gioia and carried unanimously, the
Board authorized the subcommittee to approve minor changes to the Cooperative
Agreement and have all agencies sign off on the document by next week; include in the document that each city and
the County are imposing a fee under the Fee Act and levying of fees will take
effect as of the date the Agreement is adopted.
The
Managing Director will schedule a subcommittee meeting next week; she will
notify the members.
11. WCCTAC Comments on the Draft Measure J
Financial Framework and Associated Policies
Managing
Director Hammon stated the TAC had discussed the Measure J financial framework
and associated policies. Staff drafted a
comment letter based on the TAC discussion for action by the Board. Ms. Hammon reviewed each of the comments in
the April 28th letter. Hisham
Noeimi stated the letter was a good first step.
Janet
Abelson stated when she worked on Measure J; she had never envisioned the extra
money for buses in West County to be used as capital. She stated that if the money were used for
purchasing buses, there would not be enough operating money to last the 25
years of the measure. She expressed
concern with categorizing these extra funds as “hybrid.”
The
Managing Director stated there are two components of the bus program, one for
operating and one for capital. After
hearing from the providers, it was recommended to move the funds to the
“hybrid” category. The Managing Director
stated if the funds are considered operating only, there could be no change
made in the future. However, if the
funds are categorized “hybrid”, they could be used as either operating or
capital depending on the needs in the future.
She stated the Board has 12 months to discuss the use of the funding
(capital vs. operating) and make a recommendation.
The
Managing Director added that staff is aware that $14.5 million over 25 years
will not fund the Low Income Student Bus Pass Program. She stated she was concerned that if the
program is not “front loaded” for the first 10 years, during which time other
funding sources for the remainder of the 25 years could be found, the program
will not be viable in any year of the 25 year measure.
Maria
Viramontes recommended support for the Authority’s consideration of paper
funding if there is a shortfall in order to continue jump-starting Measure
J. She felt strongly that a continuous
funding source for the school bus program needs to be identified over the next
10 years. Maria Alegria agreed. She felt it is critical to encourage and
develop walkable communities that are friendly and have quality, neighborhood
schools. She expressed appreciation to
the bus operators for their work on this issue.
Irma
Anderson stated the key is to allow flexibility, and she supported the letter
on Measure J.
Ed
Balico supported reviewing the “hybrid” funding and allowing the Board the
flexibility to float the funding where is it most needed.
Aleida
Andrino-Chavez, WestCAT, stated a need for more buses to provide more service,
but there is no capital money available.
She also supported the flexibility for capital in the future.
On
motion by Maria Alegria, seconded by Maria Viramontes and carried, the April 28th
letter was approved. Janet Abelson
opposed the motion.
12. Summary of Regional
Studies/Projects
The Managing Director reviewed the information
presented in the Quarterly Progress Report of the Neighborhood House of North
Richmond. WCCTAC has provided funding
for 7 regional studies/projects. The
Managing Director recommended development of policies and procedures for
allocating the funding of future studies/projects.
Jannat Muhammad, West County Transportation Center,
stated the BART/Bus Buddies Program would offer one-on-one assistance for using
the bus or BART. The training will
include how to plan travel, purchase tickets and use the systems. Videos are also available. The buddies will accompany the riders through
the entire process.
13. Status Report on the Richmond Transit Village
Project s
Alan
Wolken, Richmond Community Redevelopment Agency, provided an update on the
Richmond Transit Village Project. The
pedestrian-oriented mixed-use village will house 231 privately owned
townhouses; a large transit-related retail center with a multi-level parking
facility. The Village will also be a
transfer station for BART/Amtrak with a center platform. The station will be complete by the end of
2006 and will be fully accessible.
Janet
Abelson disagreed. She stated currently
the site is inaccessible. On Nevin there
are no curb cuts. She stated she has
complained for years that the area is inaccessible. Mr. Wolken stated once the construction is
complete, the station will be fully accessible.
Jerrold
Parsons informed Mr. Wolken of the need to address the pedestrian crosswalk on
Nevin to allow more time to cross the street.
He also noted that he has seen a car parking daily on a walkway where
disabled people are being blocked. Maria
Alegria would like to work with the City of Richmond on Nevin. She stated many families use this area and it
is not safe for crossing.
14.
Correspondence/Other Information:
Incoming:
Richmond Bay Trail Spring 2006 Report.
Outgoing:
Memo to Sheriff Rupf approved by the
WCCTAC Board at the March meeting.
Memo to WCCTAC Board members regarding
Taxi Driver Safety – Next Steps, 4.17.06.
Newspaper/Internet
Articles
(all articles from West County Times unless stated
otherwise):
“New Bus Service Fills Void Left by BART During
Night,” 3.22.06.
“BART Must do More to Safeguard Bikes,” 3.24.06.
“Feds’ Fuel
Rules Come Under Fire,” 3.30.06.
“Bridge Costs Soar,” 3.29.06.
“Caldecott Design Gets Jump-Start,” 4.5.06.
“Professor Contends Carpool Lanes Aggravate
Congestion,” North County Times, 4.7.06.
“Group Puts Off Listing Casino Concerns,” 4.13.06.
“Traffic Study Considers Three Casinos,” 4.15.06.
“Surfing the Net While Riding the Rails Could Be a
Reality,” 4.16.06.
“Florida Looks at Rental Car Tax to Pay for More
Transit Projects,” South Florida Sun, 4.17.06.
Handouts
Available at the Meeting:
FINAL Capitol Corridor Business Plan (FY 2006-07 – FY 2007-08)
15. Board
Member Comments/Reports
None.
16. Other Business
The
Managing Director stated the Pinole Valley Road onramp is closed. Caltrans has placed a small retaining wall
while emergency repairs are made to the existing wall. Work to reconstruct the existing wall is
expected to begin in May or June of this year.
The Managing Director will forward Caltrans contact information to the
members.