Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission

The Commission received a presentation regarding City of Watsonville transportation projects, including recent road reconstruction, storm damage repairs, and safety initiatives funded by Measure D and various grants (e.g., Safe Streets for All, Active Transportation Program). Future Watsonville projects involving bicycle/pedestrian facilities and pavement maintenance were also discussed. A public hearing was held for the Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project's Preliminary Purpose and Need Statement. The Commission approved the Prioritization Framework for the Climate Adaptation Vulnerability Assessment and Priorities Report, which will map hazards and prioritize assets on County infrastructure and the Branch Line. An amendment to a professional engineering services agreement with Mark Thomas was approved for the Highway 1 Auxiliary Lanes and Bus-on-Shoulder Project, involving changes to bridge type and scope for the Coastal Rail Trail Segment 12. Funding totaling $150,000 in TDA funds was approved for two City of Santa Cruz active transportation projects. Finally, the Commission voted to support local ballot Measures K and L regarding sales tax increases for infrastructure maintenance in the March 2024 election.

The agenda for the meeting includes several items covering roll call, oral communications from the public, and additions/deletions to the agendas. The Consent Agenda involved approvals of draft minutes from the Regional Transportation Commission meeting on December 7, 2017, and draft minutes from the Bicycle Advisory Committee and Elderly & Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee meetings from December 2017. Policy items and Project/Planning items had no agenda entries. Budget and Expenditures items involved receiving status reports on TDA and Measure D revenues, approving a revised Fiscal Year 2017-18 TDA State Transit Assistance (STA) claim and Senate Bill 1 allocation for METRO, and approving storm damage repairs for Civil Engineering Services. Information items included accepting reports on meeting schedules, correspondence logs, and various letters from committees and staff. The Regular Agenda featured commissioner reports, the Director's Report, a Caltrans report with project updates, a Public Hearing regarding the Draft 2040 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), discussion on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line Replacement Operator, and review of items for closed session. The Closed Session addressed anticipated litigation regarding Public Employment and Real Property Negotiation concerning the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line.

The special meeting began with the appointment of Commissioner Clark to chair the meeting due to the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair. Key discussion items included consideration of AB2449 requests, public comment periods, and proceedings in closed session. The closed session involved Conference with Real Property Negotiators regarding the Santa Cruz Branch Line Railroad Right-of-Way to discuss terms for an Administration, Coordination, and License Agreement with St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, LLC. A second closed session item addressed Conference with Legal Counsel regarding anticipated litigation involving two cases. No reportable action resulted from the closed session.

The Commission agenda for the meeting addressed several critical items spanning closed and open sessions. Closed session discussions involved conference with labor negotiators and conference with real property negotiators concerning numerous Assessor's Parcel Numbers (APNs) related to price and terms for purchase of easements and fee simple acquisitions. Open session items included consideration of AB 2449 Just Cause and Emergency Circumstances Requests. The consent agenda covered approvals for draft minutes from various committee meetings (Regional Transportation Commission, Elderly & Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee, Interagency Technical Advisory Committee, and Bicycle Advisory Committee) held in May and June 2024. Regular agenda items focused on receiving updates on Caltrans cost overruns for the Highway 1 41st Avenue to Soquel Drive Project, which involved complex discussions regarding funding, amendments to cooperative agreements, and authorization of fund repurposing. Other key discussions included approval for amending the janitorial services contract for the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line, receiving status reports on Measure D and TDA revenues, budget amendments for FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25, and a public hearing regarding the Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail Project conceptual alignment and vehicle type assessment.

The agenda for the meeting included several items across different categories. Consent agenda items involved approving the draft minutes from the December 3, 2015, RTC meeting, the December 8, 2015, Elderly and Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee meeting, the December 14, 2015, Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting, and the January 14, 2016, Interagency Technical Advisory Committee meeting. Policy items involved no consent discussions. Under Projects and Planning, the Commission was set to approve a request for Fiscal Year 15/16 Cap and Trade-Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) funds, recommending designation to the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) to purchase an electric bus. Budget and Expenditures included accepting a status report on Transportation Development Act (TDA) revenues. Administration items included approving a contract for the Transportation Investment Plan Public Information Consultant and approving reappointments and appointments to the Elderly and Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee. The Regular Agenda covered commissioner and director reports, a Caltrans report, an update and contract authorizations for the City of Santa Cruz Rail Trail Project, discussion on distribution formulas for the 2016 Transportation Ballot Measure, and updates on the 2016 Legislative Program and Funding. Closed session topics included conferences with legal counsel regarding existing and anticipated litigation.