 Good morning everyone it I will now call to order the regular meeting of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission It is Thursday, November 2nd, 901 a.m. Clerk. Will you please call the roll? Commissioner Peterson Here commissioner Sandy Brown Here Commissioner Johnson here Commissioner Montecino Commissioner Hernandez was supposed to be joining us. Let me just make sure Okay, let me just let him in I'll come back to his name Commissioner Cummings. I'm sorry Commission alternate chifrin here Commission alternate Quinn here Commissioner Koenig here Commissioner McPherson here Commissioner Kristen Brown here Commission alternate pigler here Commissioner Rotkin here and Commissioner Hernandez you're on mute Commissioner Hernandez He's here. I believe Commissioner Hernandez is joining us under an AB 2449 just cause request Commissioner Hernandez, can you unmute and state the nature of your request? Okay Well in that case what If I might Chair Koenig Commissioner Hernandez did speak to me about his request He is out of town on business for a conference and I believe that meets the requirements of AB 2449, okay, and is that one of the requests that we have to vote on then to allow the Commission No, the Commission can just accept the request since he's on official business for his agency. Okay Thank you, and I would trust that he'll be Fully connected to audio shortly Executive Director Preston are there any additions or deletions to the agenda today? No additions or deletions. We do have one handout That's for item 23 and that handout has been posted to our website Thank you We'll now proceed with oral communications Any member of the public may address the Commission on any item within the jurisdiction of the Commission that is not already on the Agenda the Commission will listen to all communication, but in compliance with state law It may not take any action on items that are not on the agenda Speakers are requested to state their name clearly so they can be accurately recorded in the minutes of the meeting We do a full agenda today, so we will take 10 minutes of public comment this morning Good morning chair Koenig and commissioners. My name is Matt Farrell. I'm here today speaking on behalf of Fort Friends of the rail and trail we want to thank the Capitola City Council including commission commissioners Brown and Peterson for their vote on Thursday night October 26th approving the consolidated application for the segment 10 and 11 draft EIR and secondly for the pedestrian and bicycle improvements approaching the Capitola Village on Cliff Drive and ending on Monterey Avenue As I told the Council on Thursday night as a person who visits Capitola Village regularly on my bicycle having these improvements will be a significant improvement to access for both Pedestrians and bicycles. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Farrell So anyone else here in chambers that wish to address the Commission? All right, so now we'll move to online comments start with Michael St Okay, good morning chair Koenig commissioners Michael St with CFST Last Wednesday the 25th. I attended the public meeting in Watsonville on adopting county transportation Network for a climate resilient future To me that implies projects approved presently should be climate resilient It has been proven and studied for years that car eccentric projects and widening highways is not climate resilient On the contrary car eccentric projects are the catalyst that fuels greenhouse gas emissions and global warming 60% of car greenhouse gas emissions in Santa Cruz County is caused by our transportation network Hard to plan for a climate resilient future when you are widening highways and inducing more demand for single occupancy vehicles Don't panic. There are ways to make our transportation network more climate resilient resilient more funds for mass transit Also reallocate funds from car eccentric projects to mass transit make the ox lanes bus on shoulder a dedicated bus lane and Begin to build a mass transit system that would actually achieve congestion and reduce it on highway one Lately more interest in public Rapid transit or pod car technology is growing every day as it is being studied and implemented in several cities around the world It's clean and sustainable capable of carrying thousands of people an hour It's infrastructure is flexible enough to avoid coastal erosion and sea level rags. We need to study more alternatives We can choose to do something better as John F. Kennedy Said on September 12th, 1962. We choose to go to the moon and The reason he did that because it was hard Six years ten months later. We were on the moon. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. St Brian people's Hi, this is Brian people's with trail now You know, Mike just spoke from campaign of sensible transportation, you know, Mike is a phenomenal guy You know just as an example he when I broke my neck a year and a half ago He called me. So, you know, he has a real value Passion for what he speaks to and I and I commend him for that But having said that I get a little confused by the campaign for sensible transportation and the efforts that they don't support actively support Building the coastal trail now, you know, they don't they they don't mention that we're going to destroy Thousands of trees building a trail next to the tracks We've only built one mile of it over a decade Watsonville will never get a trail There's not enough money So I just get a little confused that they come and speak to it And they're the they're the group that supported a no on 2016 measured B which has been phenomenal for our community Absolutely, we would not be where we are if we didn't win that trail now supported that measure as a political action So I'm tossing it back to Mike and I think like I said, he's a phenomenal guy Greatest guy real value-added person wants the community to do better So I'm challenging the campaign for sensible transportation to be sensible on building the interim coastal trail now Let's not destroy all those trees Let's build it so we can have an alternative to automobiles. I never hear them Commit commenting that we need to open the trail now. We need that option. So thank you for your time Thank you, mr. Peoples Next up miss Judy giddelson Hey, I'm Judy giddelson of Watsonville and I highly recommend that we Prioritize the repairing and maintaining of tracks both as an infrastructure to exit from a climate crisis if necessary and also to use the tracks or as a as a passenger rail and I Want to take 18 seconds of my time here to just Demonstrate what it may sound like on a light rail and I'm in Portland, Oregon and the light rail and it did sound like this So I'll come back in 18 seconds, but this is the potential of what a train might sound like Thank you. I think that would be a wonderful contribution to our society. Have a good day. Thank you Ms. Giddelson Next up Kerry Yeah, hi, this is Kerry Pico from Aptos Can you hear me? We can yes, I'm ready First of all, I've been in Portland and I would say the trains are more than silent There's a slide up there. I hope that you see it. We can see it. Thank you and This is really going to be very short, which is My last time I was here. I spoke about the the granting clause issue and condemnation I know at least one property owner has received a notice from the RTC that they're looking into the title That they may or may not own meaning they're going to do probably a Quiet title search and I'm pretty sure that RTC will discover they don't own it and I just want to highlight It's not just one property There are properties up and down the the corridor and I've At least 200 million dollars Will be have to be paid out if you build a trail Assuming that every property owner joins some You know one of these out-of-state Law firms to do that and and probably I won't be one of them So this is not about me and I'm just trying to save the county a couple hundred million dollars So thank you. That's about all I wanted to say Thank You mr. Pico Next up is Barry Scott. Thank you chair and thank you commissioners. I just wanted to Show some appreciation again for all the fabulous grants that you've been getting and encourage Continued work on Toward the ultimate trail design and a reminder along with Judy giddles and many of us are concerned because the 8% of 2016 measure D is Toward rail maintenance so much of it has been spent towards studies and and they keep telling us what we need to do next I'm glad to see that we're kind of working on that I'm looking at a RTC page from February 13th 2015 celebrating the completion of a complete Reconstruction of the La Selva Beach Railroad Trestle just eight years ago 2015 and so I encourage I encourage a Commissioners to encourage staff to continue to look for grants and funding packages that can go toward rail maintenance and And eventually reconstruction of some of these bridges and trestles and again good luck with all you do and thanks Thanks for everything. Bye Thank You mr. Scott Right, so you know what else? Alright, we have one more comment here in In chambers Morning sir. Good morning Jim helmer ben loman resident. I just wanted to Express my gratitude To the Commission and County Public Works last year there was quite a debate about street repairs and I'm a resident on Alba Road and Alba Road Jameson Creek portions of Empire Grade Road in Bonnie Dune Suffered extensive damage over the over the last three or four years not just the fires But all of the caravans of trucks addressing rebuilding and removal of debris I Know it was a tough decision on what roads to fund but all that the sailor in Zavalli has been through in the last few years We do I speak for many we appreciate Thank you Thank you very much sir. All right, so you know what else there was just to address us I will proceed with you Action on the consent agenda. Does any commissioner have questions or comments on the consent agenda? Seeing none with the consent agenda second motion by Commissioner McPherson second by Commissioner Pegler Seeing no public comment All those in favor of adopting the consent agenda say aye aye aye aye any opposed any abstentions motion passes unanimously And now proceed with the regular agenda. Does any commissioner have a report to share? Sure McPherson. Yeah, I thank you. Just recently or Yesterday or for the last two days have been down to Las Vegas not going to the tables but to enter a contract with yellow pine along with Silicon Valley Sustainable power we We signed a contract 30-year contract with yellow or 20-year contract with yellow pine to procure Electric energy that will eliminate fossil fuels on our path to eliminate fossil fuels in this area by 2030 15 years ahead of the state Target and I feel very good about that. We have some great partners in that And a next-era energy was there Silicon Valley representatives were there It was an amazing thing is outside of nowhere from Las Vegas. I don't only have to watch for as sheep and snakes and so forth, but there it is quite an impressive Facility that they have there and it was really great and to see us moving forward in this aspect this was said that transportation takes a great deal of majority of our fossil fuels that we have to try to eliminate and We're ahead of schedule and we have a great we have some great partners and This is I just want to say thank you to the three CE Staff that worked on this for many years to get make this happen. It was a really a great event It's one that's going to really help us in Santa Cruz County Thank You Commissioner McPherson Commissioner Brown Thank you Earlier this week. I had the opportunity to join executive director Preston and Sarah Christensen from our staff at the focus on the future conference put on by the self-help counties coalition It was a great opportunity to learn more about what other transit and transportation agencies are experiencing How they're addressing some of the challenges that they're facing both executive director Preston and Ms. Christensen were on panels and did a great great job at Sharing the things that we're doing here in Santa Cruz all the good work that's happening and I think it was a really good opportunity To show what's happening here in Santa Cruz. Thank you Thank You Commissioner Brown I'm sure I can I just wanted to ask Bruce McPherson Was it a solar array that's bringing the power? What's the answer? Yes? Yes? They have solar panels It just goes on and on and on. Yeah, yeah All right, seeing no other comments. I do have a Resolution here an appreciation of our retiring executive director is director Preston's last meeting with us and Guy has had a long and illustrious career in transportation planning, programming, engineering and project delivery 34 years in the business and Has been with the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission for almost exactly five years now since December 2018 During guys tenure the RTC has secured over 150 million dollars in grant funding for a variety of projects capitalizing on Measure D funds approved by Santa Cruz County voters in 2016 and really taking advantage of the sustainable multimodal and comprehensive Expenditure plan that was passed an association with Measure D and Also during guys tenure the RTC has initiated construction on the highway 1 41st Avenue to Soquel Drive Auxiliary lanes project completed storm damage repairs on the Santa Cruz Grant trail line right of way included an extensive Right of way phase for the North Coast rail trail preparing the project for construction and throughout all of this mr. Preston has served the RTC with professionalism and dedication and I will just add That guy you really have done a fantastic service for This organization in this County you've helped us navigate some difficult times with honesty And really a great deal of attention to the facts I think you've helped explain a lot of challenging and complex situations to to many of us as well as to the public so And you also helped shift this organization. I mean as was mentioned in the resolution here from one that was mostly conceptual and planning to one that's actually delivering some really large projects And of course helped to secure the funds from the state and federal sources to deliver those projects So just cannot thank you enough glad that you although retiring are still going to be in the area and And be available for some informal consultation from time to time One quick question This is in the form of a resolution I know that formally listed on the agenda and I've got some spots here for for eyes and nose As far as a vote, can we actually vote on proving this resolution? We're doing the recognition, but if it's not on the agenda, you shouldn't vote on it, okay? Well, maybe we can you can add it to the next agenda It's a resolution to the agenda Any further discussion any public comment on this? Right all those in favor say aye aye Any opposed any abstentions are that passes unanimously? So now we can not only praise you but have the opportunity to officially recognize you with this resolution any further comments from commissioners on this topic different Well, if this is a time to say what I think about I want to thank you for the incredible work you've done over a very trying period over the time for the for the commission over the some of the time you've been here not all the time and Lesser souls would have abandoned ship a lot earlier in terms of the kinds of controversies that we've had and they the strength of feelings in the public on different sides of the issue and you stood in the middle and I think we suspected by both sides For your willingness to proceed with what the Commission directed you to proceed with so not only have you been Incredibly successful in bringing millions of dollars of improvements to the county but you've survived and really played a very positive role from my perspective in Steering this ship through Very troubled waters. So from my perspective, you're really going to be missed And I really do want to thank you for all the work you've done for the Commission Mr. Johnson Thank You chair I've served with Linda and George and Guy they were they were great, but I think you were superlative You know, there's so many when you look up at the dais here of who is represented It's a diverse group and it's a lot of times like herding cats, but I say that in a nice way And what you've done to navigate that and to come through and be action-oriented and provide real transportation solutions which isn't always easy because a lot of studies that happen here, right and a lot of Reports and everything but to actually get things done. It's not always easy and so for that I'd like to compliment you and Wish you Godspeed on your future wherever that takes you. We sure Sandy Brown Thank you Well, I would echo the comments from my colleagues here about your your capacity your your Dedication and and expertise and all you have brought to the Commission And and the Commission's work. I want to add that personally as you know coming in as chair I Felt like I was a little bit in over my head and even though I had been on the Commission for a few years and Getting to work with you and talk with you more often and more in-depth was really a turning point for me in understanding better understanding the transportation funding framework, you know all the way from the planning and resources to construction and your engineering Lens Really helped me see our what we're doing in a different light Or in a more holistic light and so I just want to thank you for your your willingness to work with us you know to to help us understand the intricacies of the decisions we're making and Just being you know enthusiastic and and making transportation work fun so Just just so appreciate the time we've had here with you at the RTC and look forward to Connecting in the future as well. Thanks Thank you Yeah, I would repeat everything that's been said and Just point out and probably Could be the most contentious times in the transportation subject matter of Santa Cruz County You have brought a calmness and a direct a solutions oriented Address to us to say this is how we can do it or this is what can be done and what can't be done We didn't we needed that more than ever these contentious feelings are still among us in Santa Cruz County, but I think that if people listen to you and and what you're allowing us to Digest of what's what can be done or what can't be done or what this grant is for and what it can do We're very very thankful for that. So in some of the most difficult times You made them our most productive times and you're to be credited for that. So thank you Thank you mission rockin I Just I'm really appreciate the comments my colleagues have made and agree with them all the only thing I would add is I've been particularly impressed with your ability and willingness to meet with individual commissioners and members of the public Take a tour of the rail, you know with people it makes such a difference, you know, and you actually go out and look at things and Rather than simply coming to meetings or you know carrying out the minimum Aspects of the job and I think that's one of the reasons that we've been so successful with your leadership Huge divisions in this county maybe bigger than anything else that we've had I've really they haven't been healed completely People's told us agree about things, but there's been a kind of civility brought to this discussion about things It's very different than what was going on before you got here And so I just really want to appreciate that the time you've taken to, you know Sit down in an hour meeting an hour and a half meeting that a three-hour trip along the rail to see what's you know What actually are the constraints that we're talking about? Really made a difference for me, and I think for other people as well So really want to appreciate the way you've handled this job. Thank you so much Thank you commissure rockin commissure Montecino. Yes Well, we recently had lunch together and unexpectedly we ended up with the same restaurant, but I'm really You know when I appreciate your integrity You know in all aspects, you know every time you You've taken our calls or you know And and really put you know our questions to the forefront and explain things to To us in the community. I think that shows a lot Shows a lot, you know about you and what and where you're where you're about and we will be greatly miss Thank you. Thank you Commissioner Kristen Brown. Thank you I'll just echo what's already been said. I came on to this commission at a rather tumultuous time and one of the first things When I was appointed by Capital City Council to join the RTC Commission was you reached out and invited me to be a part of a tour of the rail line Which I found very helpful and very kind Since that time you've taken all of my calls been willing to meet every time I had questions brought a lot of clarity to a lot of the things that as previously mentioned we address a lot of really technical and complicated and complex issues and Having your kind of voice of guidance has always been so very helpful and I'm very grateful for that You will you will be missed But we wish you all the best and I think ultimately just thank you for your service Not just to our board but to our entire community It's really the county residents that are benefiting from the decisions that are made here under your leadership And so thank you again and wish you the best Thank you mission equipment Not elected never been elected, but nonetheless sky afforded me the right to ask ridiculous questions and direct me to the right data To draw my own conclusions. Thank you Thank you There's no other comments by commissioners. I'll open it for public comment Is anyone in the audience wish to comment on this resolution of appreciation for our retiring executive director? All right, sir, Christensen of your staff And just want to highlight a couple things that guy did I think that you know We're really lucky to have had him for the time that we did and I just want to You know for the community the greater community of this commission and staff as well He provided balance Empathy he led us through the pandemic That was really hard. He led us through a lot of change and overall You know generally provided a lot of leadership and bridged the gap when there was differing opinions in the community on the commission and even with staff He I just want to highlight the strategic implementation plan for measure D. That was a huge thing It the second strategic implementation plan is on the on the agenda today And he's passed the baton to Tommy Travers of our staff, which is great and That sip provided the framework to really stretch our dollars and that's there's a lot of value there And with that he's you know built trust and delivered on the promises made by measure D. And that's a huge deal and So with that I just want to say Thank you for your mentorship and thank you for everything you've done for this community Thank You miss Christensen Anyone else here in the audience? I didn't have a couple comments online Mr. Brian people's Hi, it's Brian from trail now. I'll just keep it short and thank guy for the phenomenal work. He's done and Just what everybody has said is true We're very fortunate that we have you and and and I'll actually say it that we're More unfortunate that you're leaving after only three years And I and as everybody knows we blame this dysfunctional board and The fact that they didn't support guy Preston in his guidance on rail making and they put roaring camp a private company an individual miss Clark over the community and Again, I'm not gonna leave it on a negative, but guy you did phenomenal work And appreciate your work, thank you Thank you, mr. People's and we are lucky if I'm director present for five years Mr. Sain Can you hear me? Yeah, okay. Yeah, I'd be remiss and not offering guy. Well I guess you could say Best of luck in the future as well as his retirement. I hope you enjoy is that he's had to listen to me for five years now almost every month and That's not an easy thing if you'd ask my wife. She would also agree I Think not having agreed on a lot of things and parts parts of the planning process is normal. I think I was very Held things close to himself. We didn't really know how he was thinking but he was there to Work for the RTC board and do what they voted on and he did an excellent job Lots of integrity in that area my last Director was mr. Don Darrell. He kind of wore his Thoughts on his sleeves quite often and it was pretty easy to Know what he was thinking but the guy did a great job I do appreciate you and your staff for all the funding you've come across To help us try to get our transportation network Back to some form of going forward. Thank you again. Enjoy your retirement and be safe on that bicycle Thank You mr. Sain See no further comments. I'll return it to the Commission for action of the resolution second Motion by Commissioner Schiffer in second by mr. Kristen Brown all those in favor say aye. Aye All right, excellent Any oppose any abstentions that motion passes unanimously So I will just ask since we do need to I think record The the eyes and sign this and then we'll get you a nice frame And I would ask the commissioners to just just stick around for a minute after the meeting so it could take a photo with Preston All right, we'll we do have a public hearing at 9 30 a.m. I think we're probably running about 15 minutes behind schedule if you're here for that public hearing We will be getting to the item shortly for the measure D five-year program of projects but for now we'll proceed with a Couple of reports first. I'll just say that we are going I will convene a selection of chair committee If to select our chair for this commission for the following year and a vice chair if you're interested in participating in that Please reach out to me. We'll form that committee And Now I'll hand it over to director director Preston for his director's report Thank You chair Conegg fellow commissioners and The public for all of the kind comments that you just made I'm gonna start my report With a few announcements before making my parting comments you're at RTC I'll start that by reminding you that the Commission and the county has partnered together on a planning study Called the climate adaptation and vulnerability assessment as part of our public outreach program RTC is conducting a survey where respondents can provide feedback regarding climate hazards that have impacted their travel Participants will have the opportunity to provide valuable input on how RTC in the county prioritized metrics for consideration of future projects to address the significant climate issues impacting County roads and the Santa Cruz branch rail line our planning lead on the study Brianna Goodman Plans to highlight the results of the survey which is open through November 10th to take the survey Please go to the RTC website at sccrtc.org right there on the home page under news and updates There's a link to the climate resiliency survey and the county and RTC value your input So if you have interest in that please go online and complete the survey I have an announcement regarding the release of the draft EIR for the coastal rail trail segments 10 and 11 and a draft And a public meeting on the draft EIR that's forthcoming The draft EIR for the coastal rail trial segments 10 and 11 has been released for public review and comment This critical four and a half miles line long segment traverses through a good portion of our county from 17th Avenue and live oak all the way to State Park Drive and Aptos The draft EIR provides an evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of the proposed projects and recommends mitigation measures To reduce impacts to less than significant where possible To find out more about the EIR and where to view it download it or make comments Please go to the again to the RTC website There again under news and updates You'll find a link that will provide you with all the information you need for the meetings and making comments on the draft EIR A particular note the County of Santa Cruz as lead agency is holding a public meeting on November 16th at five o'clock To receive a public comment on that draft EIR That meeting location is still being finalized and will be posted on RTC's website no later than Monday of next week Although we would love to see you in perfect person. If you cannot make the meeting again, please provide written comments through December 15th of this year I have another meeting announcement regarding Aesthetic features on the highway one auxiliary lane and best on shoulder project from State Park Drive to Freedom Drive Which includes segment 12 of the rail trail? RTC will be hosting a public meeting December 5th To get community input on potential aesthetic features such as lighting signage Public art and bridge railing options for the project on the highway side The project replaces two existing railroad bridges between State Park Drive and Rio de Mar Interchanges and widens the Aptos Creek Bridge It also replaces the rail bridges over the highway on the trail side at the project extends The coastal rail trail from a State Park Drive to Rio del Mar Blvd And includes five major bridges and traverses through the heart of Aptos Village The public meeting is on December 5th at six o'clock at Rio Sands Hotel and Aptos More there's more information posted on RTC's website I have an announcement that on October 18th the Monterey Bay Air Resources District awarded a grant of nine 194,900 dollars just short of two hundred thousand dollars to RTC for the go Santa Cruz County Bicycle incentives program. You may remember we talked about that extensively at prior meetings We applied for that funding and was awarded it This program will provide income qualified applicants with vouchers for standard bicycles Electric bicycles and discounted annual memberships to the B-Cycle bike share program The RTC was one of 11 projects awarded a total of one point three million dollars and grant funds out of three Over three million dollars of requested funding The RTC is also seeking additional funding for this program from the consolidated call for projects Which will be on next month's agenda Now I think it's time for me to close my laptop and Thank you for all of the wonderful comments that I just heard and to Acknowledge what this commission really means and what it means to me and what it means to the public and what it means to the community at large Transportation is one of these really unique issues that really affects all of us It provides us with our ability to get around it provides us with freedom If anybody knows what it's like to not be able to get from point A to point B You will realize how important it is that we include everybody consider everybody's feelings thoughts and Priorities because we have the ability to make a difference the ability to make change and Be positive about how we address things That affect everybody's life starts here with this commission on transportation on the regional level and it ends here with this commission It starts with this commission in that you provide good thoughts and good direction on where you want us to be going We do the planning necessary to put us in position to build partnerships and to bring Home improvements that are going to make a difference in people's lives I Want to thank the commission especially my chairs and I've had six of them In the five years that I've been here. I started with John Leopold who Headed the search for my position He was so generous when he offered me the position and thanking me for my interest in coming here and I was just floored I mean, I was like, are you kidding me? I wanted this job so bad and for him to be thanking me for being interested in the position He really cared about this community and wanted to make sure that he found the right person To to move this this agency forward I heard from some of my chairs here today, but they're not all here today. Some of them have retired and moved on My second chair was at Badoeuf with the city of Capitola Ed instilled a level of confidence in me that I cannot thank him for more. He trusted me. He gave me the The strength that I needed to get through some of the very difficult issues that I was about to Be faced with I remember talking to many different people about This job and I remember stating that I didn't realize how political it was going to be You know, I went to UC Berkeley. I thought that I've seen it all. No Berkeley's got nothing on Santa Cruz We we know how to keep people involved and and it's it's it's different my next chair was was Bruce McPherson and What a statesman I learned so much from commissioner Bruce McPherson about how to build relationships and how to bring people together how to communicate and respect the feelings of different people the comments that I heard here today about my listening and talking and Raging the gap Was so much driven by the relationship. I had with Bruce McPherson Bruce was my commissioner when COVID head and that was extremely hard. It was extremely hard for so many reasons To try to be able to shift everything on a dime and be able to continue To succeed as an agency Bruce was right on it The hardest thing that we had to do was not to be able to meet in person anymore I will miss those days of of the Juevos Vancheros down at El Palomar Where we would go over the agenda and talk about the important issues that affected our county We shifted from from commissioner McPherson to commissioner Aurelio Gonzalez and Aurelio was an amazing chair He got us through some of the most difficult meetings that we had With very little experience and government service He had a passion for Giving back to his community that I've seen by no other commissioner he Wanted to serve and do this position more than anyone that I knew of And it was therefore very very hard for him to have to step down in the middle of this tenure And he did so for personal reasons and that is something that I can relate to and I can appreciate and I hope people understand when people make decisions that there are sometimes Reasons behind them that are hard for us to understand And he taught me that it is very very important to Consider your own personal needs sometimes For the best of everybody involved From there sandy brown took over and sandy Was just a sponge she wanted to learn she wanted to understand she asked great questions She was extremely patient and in me because I can be extremely long-winded Extremely detail oriented and want to get all the facts out there But what sandy taught me more than any other commissioner Was to listen to the public and to really engage and make sure that we represent the people that Are part of our community Like no one other sandy brown Cares about what the community feels and cares about how We consider their thoughts and opinions about everything we do And now chair conig Chair conig Is my last chair and and the one I had to speak to about stepping down and we've built a close personal relationship but a chair conig conig is an amazing intelligent man who Really wants to understand the facts and drive them home. He cares about this community like you won't You don't you don't understand how much he cares about the issues And making sure that he represents his entire community When we came out of covet and we got to go back to In-person meetings, I got to go on my very first in-person post covet Legislative meeting up in sacramento with uh chair conig And you should see him step to the plate and represent this community on all of the issues That we care about and he Represented this community and helped bring home a lot of the grants that we recently seen Because he spoke about them in a way that came from his heart and he really does care about Making sure that we address the issues that are most important to everybody in this community um These partnerships that I developed with each of the Chairs and a lot of the other commissioners that I don't have enough time to mention all of you here So I decided to focus just on the chairs um is Very important and kind of driving home the approach and the style that's needed to be a successful organization Um, it's all about partnerships and when you're a small agency like the rtc with limited resources It's very important that we build consensus and community building efforts to make sure that we can do as much with Very little resources. I want to thank my partner agencies Santa Cruz metro The relationship has never been stronger Um, I've learned that we must work with the transit agency to build a partnership to really deliver and bring home the projects that are necessary to keep people moving on our bus system and to advance additional improvements that are going to Really improve the quality of life of all of the citizens The county and the cities have worked with us on delivering the rail trail projects We can't deliver all of the projects on our own. We've developed partnerships. We work together. We've strategized on how address The various values that are important to our community and the way we develop the projects That all comes from statewide and federal relationships, which we go up to sacramento We meet with the ctc. We meet with the california state transportation agency And would cal trans to make sure that we understand The direction that government is going and what we need to do to make sure that we can Bring home what's needed to this community and what's deserved by this community It's interesting. Um at the conference that we recently went to I was on stage. I'm sitting with some of my colleagues Vice chair brown was in the audience and and there was a lot of talk about the goals of The state and the federal government and and and what's being done to meet them and one of my colleagues talked about I'm having You know come around that they you know that she's drinking the kool-aid now and and understanding where to go That was so easy for me to follow up with And and I did so by um letting the rest of those in the room and the state know that You may now be drinking the kool-aid, but santa cruz. We made the kool-aid We really did. I mean we did so with the very very good planning that had been taking place Well before I came into this role This staff here at rtc and this commission with the decisions that you made Put us in position to have the successes that we have had And you've done so by having very good collaborative discussions You may not have always agreed on certain items, but you respected each other and you listened to each other And you listened to staff and you've made decisions and you've continued To ask for more information and we've tried to present it to you in an unbiased fashion And in a way that you can learn and we can learn from each other and continue to maintain flexibility because guess what Cherry may have been the flavor yesterday, but it's probably going to be great next week And be prepared to change the formula be flexible and do what's necessary by listening to your community and Bringing home the transportation improvements that will continue to allow people to improve their quality of life And the freedom that transportation brings them I thank you for the trust that you've had in me and your staff This has been a wonderful experience And that includes my director's report. Thank you so much director press Learning public comments on the director's report Krista Corwin of your staff guy, I know you don't like to be the center of attention But I just wanted to say I'm really going to miss you. It was great working under you Thanks. Thank you miss Corwin. All right seeing no other public comment. Thank you very much director presson And now we'll proceed with the caltrans report directories. I know it's a hard act to follow but As long as you don't announce your retirement. I think you'll you'll do fine And you are on mute there Sorry, I said that isn't our hard act to follow. Um, good morning, um, mr. Chair members of the commission Scott ease district five director So, uh, I just have a few things for you this morning first Just want to assure you that caltrans is working to prepare for the winter and the storms that May come this this year we've been We have been uh holding meetings throughout the district where staff review protocols consider opportunities for coordinating responses Ensure our equipment is ready And also consider lessons learned from last year. So it's a whole host of staff Including our emergency response leaders maintenance supervisors construction engineers Geo tech folks and others that are all involved in these efforts. So I just want to let you know we're already thinking about that and then There's a statewide number but pretty significant in terms of Roadside litter removal the efforts are continuing as well there Since launching clean california, which a big focus of that effort was on litter removal in in july of 2021 Caltrans and local partners have removed an estimated 1.86 million cubic yards of litter from state highways That's a trash pile that would be more than 370 times taller than mount whitney At 14,000 feet. Well, that's what mount whitney is So pretty astounding in terms of all the trash that we've picked up and just as a reminder to everyone We don't put that trash there Um, it generally comes from members of the members of the public They just decide to throw stuff out or having you know, not tarp loads on their trucks or whatever might be So please please everyone You know do what you can to try to eliminate trash that comes out of your vehicle Um to help us keep our roadsides clean A couple things i want to highlight um as well that are big feats at the statewide level California is the first inner city zero emission hydrogen passenger train in north america that will will be coming into california We signed a historic cal transides Signed an historic 80 million dollar contract with statler rail Earlier in october or mid october to deliver the first zero emission hydrogen inner city inner city passenger rail it'll be expected to operate between the merced and sacramento And it's a big it's the first of 25 additional trains that's it'll be coming to california And then also california was selected as a national hydrogen hub So we'll receive 1.2 billion from the u.s department of energy to accelerate the deployment of clean renewable hydrogen And uh projects will include power Powered public transportation heavy-duty trucks port operations and more so both of those are Pretty big feats at the larger level within california of what we're doing to forward hydrogen as a energy source for transportation and then lastly i just want to again say that Tying on to others and the last item by guy It's been a great pleasure working with guy over the last few years His mix of experience and calm confidence presence has really benefited the rtc In our world in the transportation world there's many technical realities of how transportation projects are planned and programmed and delivered and guys Mix of experience having that project delivery background And his willingness and ability to partner well with the transportation agencies and entities that need to be and resource agencies and others that Need to be part of ultimately getting through an approval process and delivering these projects has Been terrific. And so it's been an honor for us to work with guy Who really appreciate your earnest partnership and I wish you the very best in your next endeavors So thank you. Happy to take any question Thank you director eads or any comments or questions from commissioners Seeing no comments by members of the public Because there's no one online Okay, thank you very much director eads chair conig if I if I could step in just for one I realized that the commission was doing kind of a voice vote On the items and since we're under an ab 2449 meeting that's technically a teleconference meeting And so and I would ask the commission just for the record Have the have you're saying a read the role For both the consent calendar first and then secondly for the resolution for mr Preston so we can record that as a roll call vote and I apologize for not catching that earlier Thank you for the clarification. All right, we will uh clerk if you could Call a voice vote first for the consent agenda I think she could do both. Maybe it's one vote I think commissioner, uh, Hernandez Hi, mr. Eats Sandy, uh, sorry mr. Eats commissioner, uh, sandy brown. Hi commissioner johnson. Hi commissioner montecino Commissioner, um alternate shifrin. Hi commission alternate quinn Yes, commissioner conic. Hi commissioner mcpherson. Hi commission alternate pigler. Hi commissioner rodkin. All right. It's unanimous. Hey wait Oh, i'm sorry commissioner christin brun. Hi Oh commissioner Pete uh commissioner peterson. Hi Hey, everyone that passes unanimously. All right, and now um a vote on the resolution for our retiring executive director commissioner peterson Hi commissioner sandy brown I commissioner johnson. Hi commissioner montecino. Yes commissioner, hernandez Hi commission alternate shifrin. Hi commission alternate quinn. Yes. Mr. Koenig. Hi commissioner mcpherson Commissioner christin brun. Hi commission alternate pigler and commissioner rodkin That also passes unanimously. All right. Thank you. We'll now proceed with item 23, which is the public hearing on the measure d five year program of projects for regional projects and lift line and strategic implementation plan update And for our presentation on this item, we have tommy travers our transportation planner Thank you. Good morning. Koenig. Um, good morning commissioners. My name is tommy travers. I'm staff RTC this morning, um staff is going to be requesting that you consider and adopt the five year plans for measure d funds for the next five years As well as consider and adopt the update to the strategic implementation plan So i'll try to advance the slides myself here Okay So here's some measure d background information that we try to provide every year So recognizing significant transportation challenges, but not enough money to address needs A decade was spent working with the community to craft a transportation package That would likely be approved by the state required two thirds majority of voters A board coalition including RTC board members business leaders realtors medical organizations community groups Environmental groups neighborhood groups and students work together on the project list The measure passed in november 2016 and we're still sort of in the earlier years of those 30 years of measure d Yeah, it's jumping around here Okay, yeah um So the voter approved expenditure plan allocates a half cent measure d sales tax revenues by formula to five categories of projects The neighborhood streets and roads category transit and paratransit serving elderly and those with disabilities in the community highways rail and actor transportation category next slide Measure d revenues have been stronger than anticipated back in 2016 Revenues has ranged from 21 to over 27 million dollars per year Next slide please RTC works with consultants to estimate revenues for planning purposes They have estimated moderate growth of about two to three percent per year over the next five years next slide The measure d expenditure plan Describes general types of projects and programs eligible for funding over 30 years The ordinance requires recipients to annually adopt Five-year programs of projects also known as the five-year plans Showing how they propose to use revenues in the near term The RTC is responsible for programming funds for regional categories and projects The five-year plans for the regional categories provide RTC committees And the public with the opportunity to provide input on specific use of their tax dollars The 2023 five-year plans cover this fiscal year through 20 27 28 The RTC also provides the public forum for and adopts the lift line five-year plan For its share of the funds since community bridges is not a public agency next slide In each of the five-year plans measure d funds are being used to serve as match To leverage a variety of state federal and local funds and grants in order to make our tax dollars go much further than they otherwise would RTC staff presented the five-year plans and the strategic implementation plan update Or the highlights of that strategic implementation plan update to the itac The by committee and the end tack over the last month for their input And they do not recommend any changes next slide, please In addition to the five-year plans the measure d ordinance requires the RTC as the taxing authority To prepare a longer term implementation plan to be updated no less than every five years the So that long term implementation plan the strategic implementation plan or SIP considers programming needs Describes potential financing tools and models possible new revenue and debt service And i'll come back A little later to the SIP um in this presentation next slide And then next slide So our new five-year plan carries forward previously committed funds for construction of over 17 miles of the rail trail From Davenport to Aptos and in Watsonville segments 5 and 8 through 11 have secured grants to fully fund construction RTC received a presentation on trail maintenance and capital costs to complete the coastal rail trail earlier this fall And fund amounts were adjusted based on the latest cost estimates available schedules for trail openings And the assumed percentage of ongoing trail maintenance that measure d will have to cover There are ongoing funds for rail trail corridor maintenance And property encroachments including vegetation and drainage maintenance trash and graffiti removal environmental permitting and boundary surveys The current approach is to initiate pre-construction work on segments 13th through 20 from Aptos to Pajaro As part of the zero emission passenger rail and trail projects concept report Which is the first part of the environmental analysis This funding will also serve as the local match to leverage state and federal grants The rail and trail project analysis is funded by both the trail category and the rail category The RTC continues to regularly meet with and coordinate With implementing jurisdictions in this county and with regulatory bodies next slide And you can see here that almost all segments Are in some phase of development Next slide So i'll just touch on a couple of these Segment five will begin construction next year And the draft EIR I think Guy mentioned that for segment 1011 is currently accepting public comments right now We have additional new project fact sheets for each of the trail segment projects They're not in the full agenda packet today But they are included in chapter six of the strategic implementation plan Which is posted online and linked in the packet next slide The highway category will continue implementation of previously approved projects and leverage funds There is the auxiliary lanes and bus on shoulder facilities from Soquel Avenue to Freedom Boulevard And the new bike ped bridges over the highway For them which includes two rail trail bridges in Aptos We also continue funding for other traveler assistance and safety programs the fsp roving tow trucks on highways 1 and 17 The extra chp enforcement on highway 17 And the cruise 5 1 program Including go santa cruz county Which provides financial incentives for using alternative transportation and makes it easier to find carpools and bike pools next slide And here's just the location of the highway category projects in our county And then the next slide will show more detail of the highway one project specifically next slide The five year plans focus is on accelerating delivery and leveraging funds Getting people moving along our most congested corridor in our county The environmental phase for the state park to freedom segment will be completed by the end of this year 2023 Next slide, please next slide, please um So the five year plan provides funding to maintain and repair railroad infrastructure including ongoing repairs and funds To initiate the environmental analysis and preliminary engineering for the zero emission passenger rail and shell project as i mentioned Next slide, please The rtc continues to seek grant funding to fully fund the highway The rail trail and transit projects that were all recommended in the unified corridor investment study Along our three main coastal routes the combination of projects, uh, sorry the combination of various improvement projects into grant applications Makes both our trail and our highway projects more competitive The rtc and our local jurisdiction partners have been very successful in the last three years in securing grants as you know And the five year plan anticipates continued future success in additional grants next slide, please measure d is also also designates funds from the neighborhood category Uh for the san lorenzo valley highway nine corridor and for the highway 17 wildlife crossing This just shows the locations of the um the current planning and sign efforts next slide, please the plan continues to program i'm sorry the The five year plan continues to program funds as seed money to secure outside grants to fully fund The top priorities that were identified in the slv complete streets corridor plan The slv school's complex access and circulation study was completed this year And we're currently seeking grants for boulder creek sidewalk sidewalk projects next slide, please The wildlife crossing has been completed now and is successfully providing safe passage for wildlife and reducing collisions next slide, please each year There's a growing number of older people in our county that needs specialized transportation services Approximately a third of our county's population does not drive due to age income or ability Today, we're also considering the five year plan for using the four percent of the measure d funds that go for lift line paratransit next slide, please Measure d has allowed lift line to add weekend and evening service the new five year plan Continued funding for expanded services using measure d to leverage grants for new vehicles and the lift line operations facility in watsonville and it adds and another half full-time equivalent driver starting in fiscal year 24 25 And funds for vehicle operations these services are lifeline to disadvantage populations next slide, please So i've described in the staff report Staff is seeking input and approval for the 2023 update to the strategic implementation plan Keep that slide. So the rtc Got assistance from consultant k&n public finance to assess the financial status of measure d and update financing options The rtc board has had recent discussions about borrowing And took action in support of continuing to plan for such actions when the time comes The new update to the strategic implementation plan models likely borrowing in the form of bonds and estimates the the first and and it estimates that the first two The first of two bond offerings will be in probably 2025 Before that might happen staff will return to the board The current estimate is to bond for around 119 million dollars And that includes the debt payments the next slide, please The financing options have already been presented to the rtc and discussed the sip has been updated To provide the latest information on the options. Um, but i won't go in for the detail on these this information Next slide, please A current snapshot of our cash flow model is included in chapter five of the sip The model incorporates staff's latest project cost estimates and expenditure timing It helps to illustrate that a pay-as-you-go approach will not be able to fund projects in the expected timelines Which we propose in order to take advantage of grant programs To try to minimize rising construction costs And to deliver projects as soon as possible to the community Um, so as far as the not yet in the model bullet points on the lower half of this slide So since these particular costs Since these particular future costs either can't be estimated yet or are highly dependent on future rtc programming decisions We do not include them in the model We do need to consider that since the adoption of the 2020 sip The rtc has entered into several trail maintenance agreements Committing additional measure d trail funds next slide, please The model provides the anticipated capacity Of the project categories So we can work with those totals As the rtc continues to plan and make important decisions in the coming years Because of the fact that not all long-term costs were able to be fully estimated in the trail Highway categories particularly We highlight in the sip the modeled capacity For those categories For highway one we expect to conduct a planning study for the community to prioritize what comes next So just to reiterate this slide in the previous slide We're providing the remaining capacity estimates And these amounts are what is available for those future big decisions on Segments 13 through 20 getting built trail maintenance getting done And possible next steps on highway one Next slide, please So next on deck, uh, we will continue with our ambitious programming to deliver projects on an accelerated timetable We will also have audits of expenditures from the last fiscal year 2022-23 The five year the sorry the five member taxpayer oversight committee annually reviews the audits of expenditures to safeguard taxpayer revenues And prepares annual reports to the community to the to the public outlining the accomplishments of measure d ongoing information about measure d is available to the public online Next slide, please So this is what we're doing this morning written public comments have been shared in the handout So this is basically the outline of what we've done and then uh, I think we can go to the next slide Yeah, so I don't know if that's completely up to date, but we can proceed With the public hearing This concludes my presentation staff Multiple staff in addition to myself are available for any questions from the commission Um, and then we can proceed with the actual public hearing Thank you, mr. Travers. We can with questions or comments from commissioners Mr. Johnson, thank you chair so, um, it looks like we're traversing from Pays you go to borrowing And you think of a worse time to borrow money when interest rates now and probably in The futures um are about as high as they've been in the last 25 years So I'll answer that question. Um We're not proposing to borrow today Um, but we are proposing to move our projects forward Um, when I was working for the sinoma county transportation authority interest rates were similar to what they are today And we borrowed We also refinanced those. Um when we have the opportunity to Um, we're going to have to continue to monitor What, uh, the interest rates are and where they're going so we can put ourselves in the best position Um, there are other mechanisms out there that I think we may want to consider as a commission that are different than what we did at In sinoma, there's something called tiffia loans and there's also, um, an infrastructure bank that's, um, Um, been established by the federal government that would allow us to be able to borrow at a more reasonable rate And so we would be considering all of those things at the appropriate time It's really hard to predict the future But you have to consider the fact that Um, if you don't move these projects forward on the schedules they are on today That the costs of those projects are also going to go up Um inflation is kind of somewhat related to where we are with interest rates And if we wait longer those projects are going to become more expensive We also receive a significant amount of funding from grants that we would have to give back if we don't move forward And then there's the third component and that is the actual, um Benefits of the project that would be available to the public a lot sooner So I know where you're coming from I wish we were bonding back when interest rates were a lot lower And I hope that they do come down prior to us needing to bond But I think it would be more dangerous to not move forward than to To take The issue that is in front of us today and the victories that we've had and the needs that we have for our community And realize that this is a good plan and it's what we need to do to be able to deliver the projects as soon as we possibly can Okay. Thank you for that on another subject. Um, so from the perspective I I think We are when we sit up here. We're for the greater good for the whole county um, I do however have to look at, um district five and Bruce McPherson is part of this In terms of when I see our citizens paying You know their fair share of a half cent sales tax and then when I see the future plans Um, there are a lot going on on highway one And I guess highway 17 gets its fair share, but that's for a crossing for um animals um Where's the love for places like scott's valley when I see future funds? Uh being allocated. Um, we're not getting crossings for our pedestrians Um, our you know, um Mount Herman road is used by 35 000. It's a second busiest road in the whole county But I'm not seeing grants or anything along those lines coming for something that is used primarily from the first by San Lorenzo Valley resident. So um, again, I'm not trying to be um You know selfish or anything like that But at the same time, you know, our citizens pay a lot more than they get And one thing I certainly can't promise anything but you know, we have identified as I mentioned that that additional capacity that we anticipate for the highways category and so You know, it could be possible that the community sides and the board, um You know amends the the measure d expenditure plan in the next few years or so that they could include something On the highway 17 corridor in scott's valley. So that's that's not something that's not that's not possible. Um, you know, we we We have been accelerating the projects in you know from Santa Cruz to aptos along highway one And so since those have actually been delivered sooner than anticipated originally including adding the additional part from state park to freedom already There wasn't originally in the expenditure plan That you know, that's that's one part of the answer at least That we are, you know, we still have many years to go In the 30 year 30 years of measure d and so there will be additional funds anticipated within the highway category Um, the guy if you have any other comments Thank you for their questions commissioner johnson Commissioner mcpherson. Yeah on the the issue of interest and I appreciate the question But and you pretty much answered it if we were to say, okay, we'll just back off and not put these Uh projects are planned for them and explain because we're concerned about the interest rates Does that diminish the uh states do they say hey, how badly do they want this? Uh, Or I mean not to keep it in the plan would be a mistake. I think Overall, no matter what the interest rate is and I agree. It's not the greatest time to do it From uh, just cost-wise, but does the state uh, if you if you back off on any of this do they say, well, wait a minute Maybe they how serious are they they've been great to us So our projects require full funding plans to apply for grants. Um, the ctc and uh, will not award money to a partially funded project um, they also are looking for um A match um measure d represents that match So when we've applied for funding and we received funding we made a commitment to that If we can't come up with the money We we basically can't sign the agreement with the state to receive their funding we've effectively Leveraged funding at about a ratio of five to one. So when you start looking at okay I'm paying um more in interest considerably more in interest than I would have if we would have been able to bond earlier And we can't bond earlier because you have to have a Reasonable expectation of expending the fund within three years. You can't we couldn't have bonded back a year ago And and held on to the money now earning interest on it. That's not permitted um, but we we do need to Keep our commitments to it and we do need to consider continue to be able to make Match commitments for future grants so that we can move forward with it But when you consider you're getting five to one back on your investment that interest rate it Yeah, it hurts But it's um, it's well worth it. Um, considering the fact that you you've actually brought in $5 for every $1 that you're spending Okay, and secondly, I um, I agree with the mr. Johnson about addressing some scott's valley area Issues that uh, you know, how much are they getting back and so forth? But on the other hand, I want to just say, uh, I can't See how much I appreciate The bondings or the uh grant success that we've had and the cooperative effort we've had from caltrans Up in highway nine, which when you have a state highway as your main street through A highly populated rural valley It's difficult to keep up and uh, I really appreciate the efforts that have been for the wildlife crossing in the school district of the downtown felton That's going to become a reality or has become the wildlife crossing is a reality the first one in the state as I recall and So and I think that I see mr. Helmer here that's ready to come up with some concerns too about what we have And some it's more speed signs and so forth, but uh, I just uh, thank For targeting some of the uh, really big projects that we are very much needed in the center ones of valley Uh downtown felton, and then we've had the awful slides and so forth Uh, I can't say enough about caltrans and our county public works department of how they have responded As quickly as they can and that's been very frustrating for the drivers of the community up there, but uh They've done a tremendous job in getting to the projects. Uh, when they're Or the disasters when they need to be addressed Thank you Thank you. Commissioner McPherson mr. Quinn Thank you chairman I really appreciate how tangible and how comprehensible this was But i'm curious about what feels to me like something out of sync I believe the decision on interim versus ultimate trails coming here in march And yet when I look at the planning, especially the bridges and aptos and the buttressing on the trail in capitol It looks as if we're presupposing we're going with the ultimate trail And investing a lot in spending in a manner that we have not yet determined is the path forward Is that a question or it's a question And so how do we reconcile the fact that we're spending money? We don't have on a plan that we have not yet finalized so in May of 2022 We came to the commission with the concerns of the interim versus the ultimate trail in that we had a Historic round of active transportation program funding available by the state And needed to make a decision about what to apply for In order to see where where we were going to uh to go With those grant applications Um This was one of the the the more difficult meetings. I remember staying up all night before The meeting and changing my recommendation Um from what was written in the package to what I presented on that day um The commission was split and was not sure Where to go with the interim versus the ultimate trail and my revised recommendation I recommended that we ask for the higher amount and then we decide where we want to go From there um the commission accepted that recommendation and we voted on Asking for the larger amounts for the ultimate trail The california transportation commission received those applications and awarded us the funding needed to construct the ultimate trail based on the um The uh cost estimates that we had at that time Uh, we continue to move forward with those projects Based on that recommendation. However, you are correct commissioner quinn in that There were two other things that I mentioned at that meeting with regards to the recommendation that was very important One was the outcome of the vote on measured b 2022 And and where that Was going to lead us and the other was the environmental documents themselves The environmental documents have very important information about The environmental impacts and the mitigation measures Those environmental impact reports are coming out and actions are being taken on them but with the funding in place for the ultimate trail the The the agencies have been moving forward with the direction That we received from the commission and the funding that we have to build it Now there are going to be additional Decisions that the commission can make with regards to these projects as they move forward the rtc is the owner of the rail corridor and In such we have to enter into agreements with the local agencies on what we're going to actually build for these projects so I was hoping to have brought the segment eight nine cooperative agreement on fire to Me departing but the county and the city are still working through some issues on the language that they want to see in there, but um they They are moving forward with a project to build what is referred to as the ultimate trail or the rail The trail adjacent to the existing rail line And that will likely come in front of you into the future This here in front of you today is a plan and it's a funding plan That could be changed if the commission so decides to change their mind with respect to to this But I don't necessarily know that that's going to happen But you are the decision-making body and you will have various opportunities to pivot if you want to I've tried to And work with and collaborate with the county and the city and staff to maintain flexibility Because you never know exactly what is going to happen And so these projects have been developed in such a way But this financial plan needed to Consider the actions that have previously been taken by the commission and that was a vote to fully fund the ultimate trail And that's what we modeled We could model, you know, what it would be if it would be the interim trail But then I would be producing two plans to move forward with This strategic implementation plan has a series of policies associated with them as mentioned by uh planner tommy travers This plan is updated at least every five years, but there's also a policy in there that allows Amendments to the plan at any time So if ever this commission is interested in making a change You have the option of doing so and you have the flexibility in doing so But it takes a majority of the commissioners to vote on doing so for that to happen So we present this plan to you today based on the assumptions that we have made Based on decisions that have previously been made by the commission If those are to change we will pivot and we will change and act accordingly I appreciate that I appreciate that very much and I also recognize this is a prickly issue, but I'll stick on it a minute longer I do believe as a commission. We also said that should new data come to light We would consider that data and review our options And I would say to this commission that what we've learned over the last couple months Is we don't have enough money to execute what we have We'll be borrowing at an all-time high And we've told our community that we'll have a pretty darn good trail for the north half of the county The south half is going to have to wait At least 15 years before we have the coffers and the funding to go after completing that trail I don't think that's very fair to the people of aptos and south So I do think it's at least a time for reflection on whether the current plan is fair to the whole county Thank you commissioner quinn Mr. McPherson. Yeah, I just wanted on the presentation if I could suggest when We identify for the public to have a better understanding we put segments eight and nine or 10 And we say where's the starting point and where's the ending point and roads or Crossings or whatever. I I think The general public doesn't know what five is from eight or 12 or whatever So I think it'd be really good if they're going to have a look at the plan that we're proposing that We we put down it's from this point to that point in streets and roads Okay, thanks Thank you commissioner McPherson Commissioner shepard and then commissioner montecino Yes, I have a couple of questions of staff. They funding that the commission has gotten approved for segments eight and nine and 10 and 11 And even 12 is part of the highway widening project. Are they time bound? How long does the commission have to move forward with these projects? So all of these funds that we received from grant awards were they they do have time restrictions on them. They're generally You know eight and nine. I think it's scheduled to go to construction in a couple years 10 and 11 is scheduled to go to construction about a year after that Um, you know, you can sometimes get extensions on them But um, right now our designers are moving forward with designing one trail and that's the trail adjacent to the rail line Um, okay, so that's they are time bound. They are time bound and they in order to spend this almost hundred million dollars Um, the commission has to move forward with these rail trail projects Can the interim trail be built without the abandonment of the Great easement No So is there any way even if the commission Decided to ignore the 74 vote in favor of maintaining the rail if the commission voted to eliminate the the rail line Through an uh adverse abandonment could it be done in a way that would meet the timeline of of using the the Funding that's available possibly Really you think it could get through with an adverse abandonment at the surface transportation board within two or three years Yes Okay So what you're saying is should the commission decide to avoid or ignore the vote of the people on measure d Um, they could do that Maybe we should I mean if there are members of the commission who would rather have No trail or at least push forward with an interim trail I would suggest that they put a motion on the floor to initiate adverse abandonment And see if the commission really wants to do that to the public because we keep hearing Meeting after meeting that we should go forward with the interim trail The interim trail requires the commission to initiate adverse abandonment. It would we I received over a thousand emails um Opposing that we had a 74 vote opposing Eliminating the trail if the commission wants to avoid avoid that ignore that Let somebody mr. You know one of the one of the commissioners put the item on the agenda and let's vote on it Because it's just ridiculous to have this same conversation each Meeting where people say let's have the interim trail. Let's get rid of the Ultimate trail and you're saying it can be done. Well, if a majority of the commission wants to do it Let's vote on it and see whether whether they do or not because otherwise what we're faced with is this continual undermining of moving forward with almost a hundred million dollars in projects with a project that The people don't seem to want in terms of the voters and this commission hasn't as a majority supported if that's changed then I think the commission has an obligation to the public to do it and See where it goes If you're right, and I don't think you are that it can get through the surface transportation board with the kind of opposition That's out there in two years So be it let the commission make that decision and and move forward Thank you commissioner shifrin commissioner montecino Yeah, uh, you know I'm not going to go around talking about the rail and trail and because there's a funding mechanism This is investment in our community a hundred million dollars. We need to move forward on this effort We need to be aggressive. I know that I know there's um Inflation and interest rates, but it just gets more expensive We need to move forward and invest in our community You know we I can I'll say I didn't get this I didn't get that you know, but We need to put this funding mechanism and we need to work as I say I say commission to um, you know get more get more funding for all those projects and and highways have anything Excited because yeah, there are concerns over there, you know, you know all those bridges and all those overpasses, you know We need a lot of investment. I also have a highway going on mainstream We need a lot of investment there and all these concerns, but like I said right now This is what we have and this is what we need to move forward on Um all the other discussions are great, but we can bring them back, you know Um, uh, you know as some people stated, so just thank you and hopefully we can go out and get community input Thank you commission Montecino commissioner Peterson. Thank you um, I'm wondering if the if we did decide to go with an interim trail are the grants that we received eligible for that Or were the grants only for the ultimate trail designed with rail and trail? um We would have we would have to have a conversation with the ctc. Um It would not be a slam dunk. Um I was very specific to all of the agencies Based on the direction that I received from this commission at the may 2022 meeting to be silent about The rail the existence of rail and the rail line that we were essentially applying for a trail project um that we put forward and the benefits that we put forward were for A trail not for the rail line the rail line is not funded as I mentioned earlier the ctc only um considers funding for individual projects and when they look at the parameters And why they grant funds to particular projects they look at the benefits of the two projects The benefits of an interim trail versus the benefits of an ultimate trail are essentially the same There's some differences, and I'm not going to get split hairs about it um But there's a lot of people who feel as if the rail should be considered as part of their analysis But it was not um because the rail is not funded So it would have to be a conversation with them Because it is a little bit different than the way I believe some of the local agencies presented things to the ctc But I wouldn't say it was would necessarily be impossible And that's very consistent with the message that I gave the commission in may 2022 when I changed my recommendation and said let's ask for the money That we would be able to maintain that flexibility And if this commission so wanted to that we could go back and ask the question I have not asked the question because I have not received direction to do so And commissioner shifrin is correct in that if this Body wants to change direction that somebody needs to make a motion and they would need to be willing To make the hard decision to force abandonment on the rail line and then take action to rail bank And whether it could get done in that time frame or not Well, it would be tight But we've had a lot of conversations on rail banking with our attorneys That focus on Surface transportation board issues and I continued to watch what was happening in other areas and the Abandonment issue is based on freight rail service and with no freight being on the rail line north of watsonville There is a good chance that the surface transportation board even with opposition would approve rail banking and That's something that this commission could act on but it is your decision and I don't see right now that necessarily That's what's driving You know the discussion and and you know This is the first that I've heard that there is any interest in changing the direction that we might be going racer rockin Without weighing in on the the rail trail and the interim versus ultimate trail I just think we have to keep in mind how complex the transportation picture is when we think like well, well, what's watsonville getting out of the Trail part that's going to is Our point out, you know, it's going to be sometime off in the future compared to what's happening in the north part of the county I think that's accurate but the transit districts making plans that make a huge difference to people at watsonville in terms of much more rapid and extensive service and we're a big funder well, we're a Move through which funding passes and you have something to say about we're not the funder per se, but Because this is not about measure d. It's about other sources um, it's coming up in a meeting and then not just in future so None of this stuff is simple and it's you know and and so the tradeoffs are often Say well, okay If you're not going to get a train in the near future and the trail is not going to get built in the near future How willing is the commission to spend money on making the bus system really function for people that now take an hour and 15 minutes to I've just wrote it takes it. You know, everybody said 45 minutes an hour. It was an hour and 15 minutes took me to get there So There's a lot of complexity in this and just I hope we can Find a way to work through this in a way that keeps us together functioning thinking about the big picture I think that's kind of a key issue for all of us and I think it's fine. This issue came up I think these things need to be aired in public and talked about and looked at the options Um, but I I really want to keep in mind how complex this is and The decisions you know made about one thing really affects something that's made about another And the whole bus thing is not being discussed at all here, but that's a big funding question That's coming up for us and in the near future. Um Early next year, I guess we'll do that actually comes to us. Thank you Thank you commissioner ronkin commissioner quinn I could be accused of perseverating But I I I want to address this again and I think it's important If if we look at our responsibilities the commission We're charged with a billion dollar long-term decision And the fact that there's variables in the equation we've been reluctant to address I think underscores the confidence the public should have in us If the rail banking issue is out there and we played dodgeball with it for how many years Why don't we call the question? I'm fully aware that 74 of the voters want rail included in all future plans And the question is does rail banking preclude that or does it in fact? Is it a non-issue and we played dodgeball with this for the whole time I've been on the commission So, you know as a point of order if the question is should rail banking be explored by the commission to see if it's viable And precludes future rail planning. I think we should have called this question years ago We've been playing dodgeball with it and everyone has an opinion But we haven't rolled up our sleeves and really got the facts around it And I think it behooves us as an organization on the verge of a billion dollar decision To have all the facts on the table and have them in play I think it's unfair to put commissioner Preston on a could you yes or no? We should know that It doesn't bind us to any decision, but it's a factor we should know Thank you commissioner Quinn. I would let me just say that it was on the table. It was voted on by the people um, the essentially the Measure the greenway measure didn't say there couldn't be rail ever They just said it couldn't be in the plan But what it meant to the people was we're taking out the tracks and that's what they didn't support And that's what rail banking does people can have the illusion that the tracks can come back someday um, but anybody who has been um, at least from my perspective anybody who's been in the political world Any amount of time will know that they'll never come back once a trail is there. They'll never be a rail again And I should also mention that if the commission decides to go with Towards an adverse abandonment It also means that it's going to have to drop doing its rail study Because it makes no sense to do a rail study if you're going to rip out the tracks Whether you do it for one year or 50 years or forever We're pursuing a rail study to try to find out where the rail is feasibility How feasible rail is now or in the foreseeable future If if the commission decides it wants to not have The rail line and to move forward with adverse abandonment Then it's essentially saying the millions of dollars that we've that we've gotten and are Needing to spend to go through a rail study Shouldn't be done and again I think that is not what the vote is voted on in terms of measure d and I think staff recognize that Because it was right after measure d Results were in that the staff initiated the rail study That were the rail feasibility study that's going on now Which had not moved forward before then because the commission was split and the The commission unanimously supported moving forward with the Rail study after the vote and I think what we're seeing here is how soon they forget And how those who have been opposed to rail from the beginning will use any opportunity to try to get the tracks ripped up So if I can respond a little bit to that because there's some important some important things to consider with respect to this Um, I think you make a very good point and that if you remove the tracks They may never come back and I think that's the major concern But there's an important clarification regarding rail banking that I would like to make Rail banking does not require you to remove the tracks Rail banking protects the right-of-way for future reactivation of freight rail service See so you may ask well, then why would you want to rail bank? and we heard some public comment today about property rights and issues associated with the project development and you know, it has to do with the very complex nature of Rail corridors and how the rail right-of-ways were obtained for rail purposes A good portion of the rail line we own and fee But there are portions of the rail line that we only own an easement We are right now trying to Deal with one of those issues where a property owner believes that they own the The underlining property and that we only have an easement for rail purposes There are other locations on some of these projects that I am aware of That are going to require us to obtain additional rights in order to build a trail adjacent to the rail line Even if we leave the rail line in there But if we were to rail bank the line, we could choose to leave the rail in place Move forward with our concept report on the rail line and eventually build passenger rail But we would not have to obtain additional property rights to build the trail because the land land would be banked and protected for potential reactivation and the Railbanking authority which could be the RTC can build a trail in any configuration on the rail line Whether it be removing the tracks and putting them in their place Or adjacent to the rail line just as we are planning to do And that's why part of my may 2022 recommendation was that we continued to have the conversation On rail banking because rail banking would make it a lot easier to move forward with A trail on the rail line and even passenger rail on the rail line because We wouldn't have to deal with some of the issues associated with conflicting movements of freight rail and passenger rail at the same time So I do think it's a good discussion that we're having here today about rail banking I wasn't expecting to have this discussion at our last meeting But it is an important one and it could possibly be A factor in our ability to deliver some of these projects even as currently envisioned and designed If I may the I you're absolutely right and if the advocates for rail banking supported the ultimate trail I would Be more inclined to agree with you But the advocates for rail banking are the ones who want to rip up the tracks They're the ones who want to enter in trail and I think we have to recognize that that's the political reality Under a different scenario Where we had real support for moving forward with a rail and a trail It it might really make sense to consider it. Although there are implications for Roaring camp that I think have to take be taken into consideration But that's not the political reality We're in the advocates for rail banking are the advocates for ripping up the tracks and I think Call it an interim trail call a trail only call it whatever you want. It means ripping up the tracks and That's why I keep emphasizing that because I think that's what's the root of it But on the other hand, that's not be really not before us today. We're dealing with a five-year plan And I think that we should probably get on with that Please So I'll just comment if I may I wouldn't presuppose that advocates for rail banking Even have a fixed position on the ultimate Disposition I don't I want to see the data My my opinion on this has evolved significantly since I've joined the commission And I think the decision on whether we need and can afford an ultimate train is why we've commissioned all these studies I haven't prejudged anything And I think that moving towards an ultimate train without the discipline of having investigated rail banking is somewhat reckless I think we owe it to the public to investigate every tool in the box to get this done And if rail banking is indeed a tool that facilitates an ultimate trail and train We should be using it. We shouldn't have preconceptions that some tools are good or bad We should fully understand their repercussions how they can be used and how they make backfire And I I will state on the public record. I do not have an opinion as to whether or not The ultimate trail or the train is the right. That's why I'm very invested in seeing what these studies show us Thank you commissioner Quinn and I It's true that this commission makes decisions as a body And so it's perfectly possible for the commission to move forward to vote To proceed with rail banking because it's a legal process which Could save us a lot of liability and a lot of cost and at the same time In another vote vote to proceed with the ultimate trail That's perfectly possible those two separate decisions. And so it's not that one Yeah necessitates the other Of course, this question is not before today and I agree that I think there's a lot of Information pending both in the passenger rail study As well as in some of the final design work that's being done on trail segments now You know, I think one feasible question that is related to pertinent to The five-year plan today Is there any way that we could looking at the rail corridor revenues? Is there any way that as we look at bonding we could actually bond against some of the rail corridor revenues in order to Uh Fix up the rail line to the extent that we can restore service Um, you know, for example for roaring camp to get their locomotives all the way up to the boardwalk In the same way that we're advancing many forward to do projects on the highway and The trail categories we could also do the same thing for Um, the the rail category you just need to have a reasonable expectation to expend the funds within Three years you can't bond for construction without environmental clearance So you can bond for environmental clearance, but you can't bond for construction of a project that's not environmentally cleared I hope that answers your question a bit, um I'm curious sort of how much capacity there is if we could Seek five to one matches for some of the rail money in order to ultimately have enough funds to Restore the freight rail line to get a full functioning capacity anytime in the near future So I would say we probably don't have enough capacity to restore the the rail line for freight rail Uh service if we were to like focus only on that um I believe we estimated that about 60 million dollars would be needed to restore the rail line for freight rail service the rail category has About 80 million over the full lifetime That's going to be collected and doing some math in my head and considering interest rates. I'd say we would probably run short of being able to Restore freight rail service on the line if we were to dedicate every last penny towards doing so And no longer fund any more passenger rail studies Okay, thank you Any other comments or questions from commissioners? Seeing none, then this is uh public hearing and I'll open it to members of the public to comment on the five-year plan Anyone here in chambers that wishes to address the commission. Yes, please Push the podium Welcome back Thank you. Jim helmer ben loman resident Um, I presume me like you we all live on local streets And we are not burdened with uh significant traffic volumes and The noise and the congestion and the emissions and that go along with with uh high traffic volumes Speaking to measure d and the highway nine corridor Lynn arbor road Is a two mile long road That's classified as local like your neighborhood streets and mine It has served as the de facto state highway for over four months This year 24 hours a day rain or shine For almost 10 years The ben loman community has requested a two block stretch To have a walkway That's lit that keeps residents out of the rain out of the ditches as they approach the downtown village we've Recently had our fire board president submit a letter to supervisor McPherson and to you To fund a two block walkway on glenn arbor road, which by the way is the de facto highway nine much of the time now Also in ben loman It is one of three major or little communities on highway nine It's in the center Felton is a terminus point molder creek is a terminus point ben loman takes all the through traffic With in a transitory manner um the speeds are high pedestrian safety is a huge issue and i just want to make sure that um on the highway nine corridor We applaud felton and boulder creek improvements, but ben loman has not received any improvement money to date Nice to play to mr. Helmer. Thanks for the question staff commissioner ronkin Without talking about the merits of what just was suggested What's the mechanism by which if somebody from the public thinks we should spend money on something that's not in the plan What's the how does that work mechanism? Well in essence there is money in the plan for just about everything it's um a lot of times it's um our direct allocation programs um and those those funds go directly to the county and the cities and can be used on those purposes so In the case of uh glenn arbor road, which is not in our plan per se The county could certainly use this um some of the neighborhood Category funding which is 30 of the sales tax measure for those types of projects and um, I would recommend that If interested we discuss those issues with the county public works department to see if that would be something that they were Willing to prioritize with their funding. Thanks. I didn't want to open that discussion now I just wanted to get that question. Thanks for me commissioner ronkin Members of the public that wish to comment on the expenditure plan. Mr. Farrell. Welcome. Thank you Chair kona again commissioners, uh I'm speaking again commenting on this five-year plan for friends of the rail and trail We're very excited about the elements of the trail the segments that are including Included in the five-year plan. It's a watershed year for the trail the cities of Santa Cruz The neighborhoods of live oak and the city of capitolah And aptos are all touched by segments of the trail that are under your consideration today We encourage the commission to support staff in applying for Additional we also support applying for additional grant funding to help staff Move forward with preparing for the environmental review for the zero emission passenger rail project study We uh, think that given the strong support for rail in santa cruz county Which you have all discussed for some length this morning And the state's record does strong funding support for our county We believe that santa cruz is a strong competitor in future implementation funds for future implementations funds We also support continued maintenance on the branch line and we're excited about the bonding discussions You're having this morning and the potential opportunities the director brought up about the state infrastructure bank I think those are really good opportunities and worth supporting and um We also Want to encourage the commission and staff to work with our federal and state legislators To do whatever we can to uh secure and Expedite the FEMA reimbursement. It's my understanding that's now about 1.6 million dollars that The rtc is due from the federal government So thank you very much and uh I really support moving forward Thank you, mr. Farrell Any other comments from members of public hearing chambers That's please push party them Morning morning. Well, I am certainly not a professional. I'm just a homeowner in c cliff And I thought this place would be packed and I would just be sitting here learning But apparently not so I guess I'll say something So All I know, you know, I'm no expert and I don't know the true difference between the ultimate I'm assuming now the tracks stay and there's a trail next to it Okay. Well in our segment which I think is 11 Um, it's very narrow and I think originally when I looked at the plans you needed 45 feet If I'm correct to have a rail and a trail and there isn't half that So in my opinion logically, I don't think there'll ever be a trail next to a rail In our segment, which is a long popular state park marvista right there So, um I think that all that can happen is they're going to have to build all the way to the street So I'm talking Real impact for the people that live there So am I correct to assume? All the trees would be taken out I see that they're all numbered as I watch walk the dog There's a plaque on every single tree And it's a beautiful corridor So I'm talking, you know the reality of a homeowner in an area Am I to assume all those trees will be taken out and then replanted? So that's just horrifying and there's a real riparian corridor going towards new bright little further from our house and So I don't have the answers to any of that And I hope that you have a forester A credible forester involved in the removal of trees There's old oaks Eucalyptus which probably nobody wants but they're massive and beautiful and then there's it's a real dip and there's You know soil built up to where the houses are and all these oak trees along the fence line They're going to be taken out and how's that going to affect the soil erosion and whatnot. Thank you, sir So thank you I would call your attention to the fact that there will be public hearing or at least a public meeting on the draft EIR for segments 10 and 11 I believe that was mentioned as December 5th at Rio Sands Actually, the location is not yet determined on segment 10 and 11 Rio Sands is for the highway project. Oh, sorry Check our website after Monday on the location in the dates November 16th for the segment 10 11 Gotcha Thank you for the clarification Anyone else here in chambers that wishes to comment on the five-year expenditure plan for measure d But seeing none, I see we have got a number of hands online. We'll begin with brian peoples Hi, this is brian from trail now To answer the gentleman's question. Yeah, all those trees are getting cut down with ultimate trail They will not get cut down with interim trail We've submitted comments for the five-year plan. We're recommending the capitol a trestle be built as a As a trail because you're not going to have 60 trains flying on on ever you'll have to tear that Trestle down so we're hoping you add that we also talk about the need to Have the environmental report for segment 10 11 and maybe a 12 if that's the only option Looking at The rail making and pulling the rails all the way from Watsonville. We rode To santa cruz possibly to dam reports. So that can be an individual project If we have that as an individual project Our community can make a a gravel Pathway and start using it and Watsonville can we can get Watsonville connected now to address The idea of measure the vote they voted to keep it as an option and as we heard Guy press and say rail banking maintains that option for freight, right? It maintains and it makes sure we protect that property If we ever had a train in the future, you wouldn't be using those old railroad tracks They have to come out no matter what they have to come out and we're penalizing our community Not building the trail now The finally i'll comment that you haven't even gotten a response from the coastal commission You're never got even if the people want a train. You can't have one it goes within 20 feet of the coast line You're never going to have a train going through manresa Southern california is spending millions of dollars relocating their train inland So let's be realistic on our five-year plan and let's open the coast of corridor now Thank you for your time Thank you, mr. People's is gillson Wait, i'm judy gillson of Watsonville and i am one of the 74 percent that voted to keep the tracks And part of that was to not rail bank and to fund and implement rail service So that was my understanding and that's my hope my question to staff is That with the new data that came in that induced demand that the Highway widening is ineffective Is there any way that we can move some of the funding from that? Toward the eight percent to maintain and restore and repair the tracks With that new data because you guys said that now that you haven't once you get new data You can make changes and the other thing i just want to put out there is The tracks are in place the rail bed is there and Trail is very flexible and can be relocated but having tracks and the train bed in place That's where i'd like to see the money put. Thank you Thank you, miss gillson Mr. Sain, hey, thank you chair conning um Really surprised that we're still talking about this but just to give an example The measure d that lost last year Gave us a voter mandate I went over 31 emails that you got on item 23 this morning And some of the comments i'll give you just to show you where the public is at is keep the rail Uh for passenger service from watsonville to daventon port find a way to use tracks and trestle Through capital of village Widening freeway through aptos which requires destroying numerous redwoods is short-sighted Uh, how about a decentralized system of electric buses of different sizes so people can go where they live And also deliver them to where they need to go Please think outside the box Uh june's 22 22 measure d was defeated by 73 and should be considered a voter mandate To implement clean quiet electric transit along the branch line To compare that to the ox lane project I of course for seven years have been advocating against the ox lane project for cars only And all's I heard for seven years was its voter mandate We're going to do it and there's enough of the commissioners on that committee that's setting up there that don't like the ox lane project But they voted with the other commissioners out of respect and to get things moving along Now we have a commissioner or two by calling the greenway commissioners that can't Get over their trail only ideas. I think it's absurd um to be fair uh There was opposition to funding the rail project also ox lane project in highway widening And there was support for an interim trail, but that's not on the table as I would think it should be Uh, overall, I would say we're still a 50 50 split And just keep in mind measure d's defeat in june of 2022 And really quickly I'd like to add that as I mentioned earlier We need to look at more technologically advanced transportation projects Thank you. Please do not please do not limit us to 19th and 20th century transportation modes. Thank you Mr. Vanessa Okay, yes, uh benvernazza aptas I sent you a three page presentation. I'm not going to go into detail I just want to give you my opinion at others that right now the ultimate Trail is not a class one trail and it's not safe I want you to be realistic too About being able to do it It's like someone with a 38 inch waist Trying to fit into a 32 inch girdle Now the other advantage of the interim trail you can split pedestrians and bikes With their own two lanes two and front and also You can do a trail from wassenville to cabral college Because you're going to have the marvista Uh over pedestrian overpass to get there and once you get to real del mar burlvar If the freeway thing isn't settled You just go down a state park drive and then go back up the hill And you're there. So it's very easy to get to That's all I have to say. Thank you very much Thank you, mr. Vernazza Mr. Bear Scott Thank you, uh chair conic A couple of things to my See cliff neighbor 30 feet is the minimal width for a quarter to include the tracks and the trail not 45 feet And the trees that are tagged are not all tagged for removal. The tagging is an identification process Way on the measure deep funding and this was sent by a letter to I agreeing with Matt pearl. I hope we can dedicate Greater funding toward the zero mission rail transit business plan and Do everything we can to Fund repairs and see FEMA reimbursement for the repairs to that railway um I was surprised. I'm surprised to hear this talk of the interim trail come back again. I think Mr. Schifrin for laying out the the facts and I I wish director Preston Could have Agreed with with the points that were made instead of saying that we could conceivably Railbank that is pretty weak language um it seems Very likely that we'd lose the funding that we'd see nothing but delays We'd uh be scrapping the rail business plan project And we'd be neglecting to adhere to last year's measure D results Unified quarter investment study tcaa and so forth one final point director Preston you said 80 million dollars Is coming to the rail fund and 60 million dollars is needed to be spent on the rail line However With the five-to-one match, isn't it true that we only need a 16 million dollar local share So leverage the funds needed for the repairs we need I thank you for your service and wish you well director Preston and thank you commission Thank you. Mr. Scott Mr. Brian largae, this is Brian largae. Can you hear me? We can Thanks so much. Uh, thank you commissioners for the opportunity to comment on this topic I live in Felton and i'm concerned about the funding allocation for highway nine and the san lorenzo valley I am so grateful for the concerted effort by regional transportation commission And staff to advance plans for improving pedestrian safety along highway nine I'm hopeful that meaningful improvements will be built before any more young people are killed while walking home from the school campuses My concern is this for 99 percent of the measure defunding plan The allocation of the various funds to the rail trail highway one, etc Is based on a percentage of the total revenue This means that as inflation goes up sales tax revenue increases too and so do those allocations This is why revenues are above projections for each category that receives funding based on that formula But that is not the case for the highway nine funds For some reason instead of a percentage of revenue This category receives a fixed allocation of 10 million dollars over the 30 year period In the past seven years since the measure was passed that allocation has lost 20 percent of its purchasing power Two million dollars because of inflation The commission has chosen to interpret the measure to mean that the amount has to be spread out evenly over 30 years I disagree with that decision and I believe it can be changed If the allocation of 10 million dollars is spread over 30 years is planned because of inflation The spending power will end up being less than four million dollars in 2016 dollars by the time That the period is up and I don't think that's fair or what was intended by the voters I urge the commission to fast track the allocation of revenue to highway nine and invest now In the many excellent projects rtc staff have advanced in that area that are ready to go Thanks very much. Thank you, mr. Larga All right, so you know what else with their hand raised uh online they I'll return it to the commission Before I take a motion there's just a couple of questions that came up During some of the public comment that I'd like to ask staff to address And also one that just in reviewing the expenditure plan occurred to me. The first is Going back to the rail category. I see that we budgeted for the passenger rail eir concept report But not for the completion of the passenger rail eir is sort of phase two if you will Um, does that mean that we are anticipating buying four state grants to For that funding or how would we go about getting funds to complete the passenger rail eir? They good go for it senior transportation engineer sarah christensen. Yes. Thank you. Um Excuse me So, uh, the passenger rail project, um Is not fully funded obviously even the concept the concept report and the air together We've discussed many times. We just awarded the contract for hdr to get going on the concept report But we have a long road ahead to fully fund the eir. We have applied for the rtc consolidated grant funding that's available for regional projects and We're hoping to fully fund the air through that process and Just to reiterate. I think what we've talked about a lot of times is competitive grants very rarely Uh fund pre-construction And it's it's rare that there's that opportunity. We were lucky to get some terse funds the Competitive funds. We asked for 16 million. We got 3.4 or 5 million Um, if we continue to pursue fund, you know, the competitive funding that is available for pre-construction Which is feeling far between um, hopefully it's not a you know continuing pattern, but it is very challenging and a lot of the local agencies are um expected to Find a lot of the pre-construction activities and so um, just wanted to Put that on your radar and Um, we'll I'm sure talk more about it at the next commission meeting And there there is one grant that we are eyeballing It's uh state rail assistance funding for emerging corridors Like uh sarah mentioned, um, it's very unusual to be able to get funding for pre-construction Um, this account only has about 30 million dollars in it statewide and we need about 20 So we're not going to get it all from that. Um, we're going to have to leverage We're not going to leverage at five to one But if we can get some of that offset that would be a good thing That call has not gone out yet. We don't know exactly what's going to what it's going to be in there what the parameters are going to be Um, so right now, I think it makes sense to kind of hold off on measure d towards it We'll see um next month on the consolidated call for projects What the the commission wants to do it may make sense even holding off then and waiting for the call for projects and like I mentioned earlier the Um, the strategic plan and even the five-year plans can be amended at any time And so once we have that information we can certainly come back and make the best decision as to how to Capture some of that state funding That's all okay. I add one more tiny bit about um the fact that that tiny pot of money um also needs to cover any kind of uh infrastructure repairs and so um, it's wise not to completely empty out our pockets To try to deliver, you know, this Very ambitious capital project if we could help it because we are balancing a few other Issues that are uh putting strain on the capacity of measure d rail category. So just want to make sure that that's clear Thank you miss christensen. Commissioner rockin. I'm being interested in a little expansion of the discussion of that gap We're talking about um In funding the pre-construction costs um When this was before us earlier, we realized we had a gap and Unless i'm really getting We're talking like I thought three to six million dollar gap. Maybe or something now it's 20 um Could I get a little more information sort of understand what? What how come we're that Am I right that there's been some change in our estimate for how much the gap is to what we have and what we need There there has been some changes, but it hasn't been that to that extent. Um We um We estimated that the environmental cost document was going to cost about 16 million dollars originally with staff time and after Prepuring a consultant and negotiating with them about the actual costs and looking at their numbers and the scope of work The estimates have gone up to just north of 20 million We have the concept report fully funded, which is about seven and And we're going to need about 20 million dollars more to fully fund The consultants work and staff time to produce an environmental document with 15 plans That's not all the pre-construction that would give us an environmental document is centrally project approval And then at that point where we would have Fairly decent cost estimates about what the whole project is going to cost And we would have to bring additional local funds to the table to be able to Leverage all of the funding that would be needed to actually build and operate a passenger rail system. Thank you And then another question that was raised by the public about The five to one match to restore the rail line Needing, you know, approximately 60 million dollars to Restore freight service for the majority aligned Is there a reason that we can't Are there state grants that we're not pursuing or could pursue in order to match our local money and great or Pursuit more fixes on the great line faster So those grants are competitive grants and they look at performance measures when Deciding who to award those grants to so when you're applying for a grant for a federal rail bridge replacement, let's say They're going to look at how much freight traffic you have on the line to see what the benefits are We can certainly apply for it, but without any freight traffic on the line. I don't think that we would be successful And I'm Securing that funding when we're competing against projects like the port of Oakland the rail lines that go in and out of there And whatnot our best chance to restore this rail line for rail service is through passenger rail And there's a lot of money out there for passenger rail service That's why we are proceeding with the concept report and then ultimately we will move forward with an environmental impact report and if we Choose to move forward with that project replacement of those bridges and that capital infrastructure could likely be funded by the benefits associated with passenger rail service in the future and We are also taking the strategy of the remaining segments of the trail being a component of that project and and working to try and To deliver what the commission has directed us to do which is to consider both rail and trail on the line Thank you Wish much to see no. Yeah, I'd like to move staff recommendation Second All right, great. We have a motion from mission Montecino second from commissioner shiford For the staff recommendation any further discussion Mr. Johnson just kind of parenthetically um I really found it interesting and this in many ways the discussion with that this Body has is about funding about funds money that's spent where it's spent and so forth um Now a few About an hour ago. We're seeing the praises of guy pressing about how wise he was and In June of 2022 his initial recommendations about rail banking Were made evident he changed that and I I uh, honor that but we also heard just now that rail banking serves the purpose of Eliminating impediments of in terms of easements and all the future impediments that Probably could occur there be very very expensive And yet almost out of hand That analysis was rejected because certain groups want this or that or that, you know As as a representative of my city In many ways the discussion of ultimate versus temporary or whatever We don't really have a true dog in that hunt in many ways. I mean My focus is always the wise use of funds because we don't want to go In the wrong directions and all of a sudden keep having to Continually come up with subsidies and money that may it may not be well spent so You know the interpretation of measure d in the 74 percent again With without having, you know further Um study of why people voted the way they do A lot of it had to do with the fact that roaring camp came in and you know, the people of my city probably many of them Just heard that roaring camp is in danger and we're not going to support measure d. So, um, you know I just want to kind of put that out there. Um in in terms of you know, uh a perspective of being open to solutions, you know and You know open to arguments and facts and so forth and so, you know, again my I I don't have a A solid opinion on the the trail the rail or whatever just in terms of how Efficacious it would be what benefits it would be but I just want to make sure that we're spending the money wisely And thank you commissioner johnson and we have a five year plan to do that Which as has been noted could be changed at um a future time if so desired by this commission Oh, there's no further comments all those in favor Oh, correct. Thank you. Um clerk, will you please call uh a roll call about please commissioner peterson Hi commissioner sandy brown Hi commissioner johnson. Hi commissioner montecino. Yes commissioner hernanda Yes commission alternate shifrin. Hi commission alternate quinn Yes Commissioner conig. Hi Commissioner mcpherson. Hi commissioner christin brown. Hi commission alternate pigler. Hi and commissioner rothgen. Hi Passes unanimously. Thank you very much and uh Apologies for the extended discussion on that but as you can see clearly guy We just wanted to get uh all of the knowledge out of your head possible before you leave us So I'll apologize for that. I mean those are it's true But thank you for the vibrant discussion. Thanks for the correction Um, all right, then I'll move on to the item 24, which is amendments to the fiscal year 23 24 budget and work program and for a presentation on this item. We have our director budget and finance Good morning commissioners. I'm tracy new Of rtc staff here today to present an amendment to the regional transportation commissions Budget and work program and the measure d budget Earlier this year in april the commission adopted a preliminary budget based on projections available at the time from the county auditor State controller's office and hinder lighted dilemmas Our consultant in june the rtc approved an amended budget to account for carryover for work planned in fiscal year 22 23 that was extended to fiscal year 23 24 Based on updated revenue forecasts and project status The proposed budget today presented today focuses on continued implementation of previously approved projects And have been adjusted to reflect updated revenue forecasts prior expenditures updated project costs and schedules Proposed updates to the five-year plans were approved as part of the previous item Highlighted from the proposed budget amendment our two new planning grants totaling 648 $160 for the santa cruz county north coast transportation demand management Planning grant led by senior transportation planner grace blakely And the santa cruz rural highway safety plan led by transportation planner bianna goodman Also a projected 1% decrease from the 22 23 actuals for measure d revenues is incorporated into this budget and the five-year plans that were approved The budget and administration personnel committee met on october 12th to consider the proposed budget presented in the staff report The committee did not have a quorum That staff did present the budget and the committee members who participated in the committee meeting did not have any objections and express their support for the amendment Also included in this item is a student intern salary schedule The salary schedule is intended to help the rtc be competitive including student interns for planning engineer and communications Staff recommends that the santa cruz county regional transportation commission adopt the attached resolution attachment one approving the proposed fiscal year 23 24 RTC budget and work program and measure d budget as shown on exhibit a Of attachment one and approve the proposed salary schedule for student intern positions Thank you very much director new are there comments or questions from directors or commissioners Seeing none. It's any member of the public who's the comment on this item Anyone here in chambers Anyone online All right. I'll move the staff recommendation second second Motion by commissure shifrin Let's say we had a full discussion at our limited budget administration meeting and staff answered all the questions that the attendees had and I think If there had been a quorum, it would have been a recommendation from the committee to approve the staff recommendations so All right motion from commissioners shifrin second by commissioner rottkin There's no further discussion. Uh, yes commissioner santa brown I just wanted to say thank you for the very clear uh document the agenda report um, it Caused me to not have questions here for you right now. Um, because and it was it was really helpful Uh as you highlighted the key changes and I laid it out very clearly. So thanks appreciate it Thank you. Commissioner santa brown. If there are no further comments clerk if you could please uh roll call vote, please commissioner peterson I commissioner sandy brown I commissioner johnson commissioner montecino commissioner hernandez Yes commission alternate shifrin. I commission alternate quinn Commissioner conic. I mission mcpherson. I Mission or christen brown. I mission alternate pigler. I and commissioner rottkin. I that passes unanimously Thank you very much. Thank you director new The commission will now move into closed session Uh, and council will there be any reportable actions coming out of closed session? We're not anticipating any reportable actions today. Okay. Thank you. That ends the um Current public meeting and uh, commission will now move into closed session in the room to my right Thank you everybody