Meeting Notice and Agenda
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MEETING NOTICE AND AGENDA LOSSAN RAIL CORRIDOR AGENCY JOINT POWERS BOARD The Board may take action on any item appearing on this agenda. Wednesday, May 7, 2008 11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. – Meeting (Lunch Provided) 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. -- Tour of SPRINTER light rail line North County Transit District (NCTD) 311 S. Tremont St. Oceanside, CA 92054 SANDAG Staff Contact: Linda Culp (619) 699-6957 [email protected] AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS • LOSSAN QUICK IMPROVEMENTS STUDY • COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT FOR THE LOSSAN CORRIDOR • LOSSAN CORRIDOR ON-TIME PERFORMANCE ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS www.lossan.org MEETING LOCATION NCTD 311 S. Tremont St. Oceanside, CA 92054 The LOSSAN Board of Directors meeting will be held at the Tremont offices of North County Transit District (NCTD) in Oceanside, CA. The Tremont office is a short walk across the parking lot from the Oceanside Transit Center, which is served by Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink, COASTER, and SPRINTER rail lines. For specific schedules, see www.amtrak.com or www.metrolinktrains.com. From Interstate 5 – Take the Mission Avenue exit, proceed west and make a left turn on South Coast Highway. Make a right on Michigan and the next left onto Tremont. There is visitor parking next to the building. Oceanside Transit Center 2 LOSSAN RAIL CORRIDOR AGENCY JOINT POWERS BOARD Wednesday, May 7, 2008 ITEM # TAC RECOMMENDATION 1. CHAIR’S REPORT Welcome and Introductions 2. PUBLIC COMMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS Speakers are limited to three minutes each. +3. FEBRUARY 8, 2008, MEETING SUMMARY APPROVE The meeting summary is included for approval. +4. LOSSAN CORRIDOR QUICK IMPROVEMENTS STUDY REVIEW AND (Abbe McClenahan, OCTA) COMMENT OCTA and Caltrans released a draft report on potential improvements for rail services in the LOSSAN corridor that could: (1) enhance the customer experience, and (2) be implemented within a year and at minimal expense. The LOSSAN Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) reviewed the report and has provided comments for the Board’s consideration. 5. COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT FOR THE LOSSAN DISCUSSION CORRIDOR (Abbe McClenahan, OCTA; Bill Bronte, Caltrans) Caltrans and OCTA continue to lead efforts to better integrate corridor passenger rail services and will provide an update to the Board at the meeting. A Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued by OCTA, which is in the process of selecting a qualified consultant for the 12-month study. Project partners in addition to Caltrans and OCTA are Metro, Metrolink, NCTD, and SANDAG. Major milestones will be reviewed by the Board of Directors. +6. LOSSAN CORRIDOR ON-TIME PERFORMANCE ISSUES AND ACCEPT FOR RECOMMENDATIONS (Jacki Bacharach, Metro) DISTRIBUTION In September 2006, the Board created an ad hoc committee to develop strategies to improve the corridor’s on-time performance. The Committee last met April 15th and recommends the Board accept the final OTP issues paper for distribution to corridor agencies. 3 ITEM # TAC RECOMMENDATION 7. UPDATE ON STATE BUDGET AND CORRIDOR PROJECTS; DISCUSSION INTERCITY RAIL DAY WRAP-UP (Bill Bronte, Caltrans) Caltrans will provide an update on the funding status of corridor projects and the Governor’s proposed May Revisions to the state budget due on May 14. A summary of Intercity Rail Day, held in Sacramento in February, and the intercity rail video will be provided at the meeting. +8. RELEVANT STATE LEGISLATION (Linda Culp, SANDAG) DISCUSSION/ POSSIBLE ACTION There are a number of state bills that warrant the Board’s attention at this time. +9. RECENT VISIT WITH FEDERAL DELEGATION DISCUSSION (Julianne Nygaard, NCTD) A summary of LOSSAN’s recent visit to Washington, DC, will be provided at the meeting. Staff will update the Board on recent federal efforts on the Amtrak appropriation and reauthorization and the status of a potential federal rail matching funding program. The LOSSAN Corridor definition correction continues to be stalled in the Senate. 10. VENTURA – SANTA BARBARA INTERREGIONAL RAIL INFORMATION ANALYSIS (Bob Huddy, SCAG) SCAG, VCTC, AND SBCAG have been working cooperatively on an analysis of proposed interregional rail service between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and will review the major findings from the final report at the meeting. 11. BOARD MEMBER UPDATES INFORMATION 12. NEXT MEETING INFORMATION The next meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled for Wednesday, September 3, 2008, in Santa Barbara, 10:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. + Next to an item indicates an attachment 4 Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency JOINT POWERS BOARD May 7, 2008 AGENDA ITEM NO.: 3 Action Requested: APPROVE FEBRUARY 6, 2008, MEETING SUMMARY File Number 4000100 Attendance The LOSSAN Board of Directors met on February 6, 2008, in Los Angeles, CA. In attendance were: Art Brown, OCTA, Chair Jerry Rindone, MTS Jacki Bacharach, Metro, Vice Chair Bill Bronte, Caltrans Julianne Nygaard, NCTD via teleconference Lou Bone, SCAG Joe Kellejian, SANDAG Bea Proo, Metro Meeting Summary CHAIR’S REPORT Art Brown (OCTA) reported that he and other board members and staff from OCTA, Metro, NCTD and SANDAG held a rail tour on February 1, 2008 between Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. The tour group was assembled to raise awareness of the LOSSAN corridor and to discuss the improvements needed throughout the corridor. PUBLIC COMMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS None. DECEMBER 12, 2007 MEETING SUMMARY The meeting summary was approved with no changes. FY 2009 DRAFT LOSSAN OVERALL WORK PROGRAM Linda Culp (SANDAG) discussed the FY 2009 Draft LOSSAN Overall Work Program (OWP). The member allocations methodology that has been used in previous years is based on the number of votes for each member agency. The FY 2009 Draft LOSSAN OWP includes a $1,000 increase per vote, which is about a 20 percent increase over the FY 08 member assessments. The LOSSAN Technical Advisory Committee recommended approval of the FY 2009 Draft LOSSAN OWP at the January 29, 2008, meeting. Mr. Brown wanted clarification on what the increases will pay for. Ms. Culp explained that there have been many additional conference calls with the LOSSAN TAC as well as 5 weekly conference calls with the other California State Rail Committees. In addition to the increased calls, LOSSAN has the opportunity to receive grants in the upcoming year that would require a local match and project administration. Jacki Bacharach (Metro) acknowledged Ms. Culp for the growth in work that LOSSAN has undertaken over the past few years. The Board approved the FY 2009 Draft LOSSAN OWP. UPDATE ON STATE ITEMS: STATE BUDGET, LOSSAN CORRIDOR PROJECTS, AND JOINT AGENCY EFFORTS Bill Bronte (Caltrans) indicated the State of California is anticipating a $14.5 billion deficit for the upcomming fiscal year. In terms of the intercity rail program, Caltrans has requested $79 million for operations. However, this does not include potential additional costs as a result of the new Amtrak labor agreement, which includes a retroactive pay adjustment of approximately 35 percent, which would be spread over two lump-sum payments. Caltrans has estimated that California’s impact would be between $6.5 million to $7.5 million in order to maintain the existing service level. Caltrans is working on finding and securing additional funding, however, service cuts may become an option. The Trade Corridor Infrastructure Fund (TCIF) is one component of Proposition 1B, the $19 billion statewide transportation bond measure passed by voters in 2006. TCIF project applications have been submitted to the California Transportation Commission (CTC), which will approve a list of projects on April 10, 2008. The legislature would then be responsible for allocating the funds for each project. The State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) projects that were previously funded under the Public Transportation Account (PTA) will now be backfilled using Proposition 1B intercity rail funds. The list of Proposition 1B intercity rail projectsthat was submitted to the CTC by the Division of Rail was discussed. Mr. Brown asked about the $70 million requested for the triple track project. Mr. Bronte said that the cost would cover the seven-mile triple-track construction but not the required grade seperations. Joe Kellejian (SANDAG) asked for clarification on the funding that listed $30 million for Sorrento-Miramar or San Onofre-Pulgas track projects in San Diego County. Mr. Bronte indicated that the $30 million requested would cover the cost of Phase I Sorrento- Miramar or the complete cost of the entire San Onofre-Pulgas project. The project that will offer the biggest bang for the buck will be chosen. Both of the projects are also listed on SANDAG’s TCIF list that was also submitted to the CTC. John Hoegemeier (BNSF Consultant) stated that of the San Diego LOSSAN project submissions, the Sorrento-Miramar Phase I project would offer the biggest advantage for freight because it would allow for increased train lengths. Ms. Culp added that local TransNet funds would be used for the local match for the San Diego County project selected from the TCIF application. The state department of finance has been conducting an audit of the Caltrans Division of Rail. The Department of Finance believes that no additional rail equipment is necessary. The bond money that was allocated for intercity rail has been frozen during the audit process, which has caused delays in the process of ordering new rail equipment. Ms. Bacharach inquired if there were any actions the LOSSAN Board can do to support Caltrans Division of Rail during the audit. Mr. Bronte stated that after the audit report is completed on April 20, 2008, the LOSSAN Board could then contact legislatures. The LOSSAN Board voted to write a letter to the Department of Finance in support of the Division of Rail and urging release of these funds. 6 STATUS OF FEDERAL LEGISLATION Ms. Culp provided an update on several federal legislative issues related to the LOSSAN Corridor.