Welcome to the February 23rd, 2026 meeting of the Sacramento Regional Transit Board of Directors.

Today, Director Rodriguez will serve as the alternate for Director Kennedy this evening.

Tabitha, would you please do the roll call?

Director Brewer is absent.

Director Budge?

Here.

Director Dickinson.

Director Hume.

Here.

Director Jennings.

Here.

Director Rodriguez.

Here.

Director Maple.

Here.

Director Reba.

Here.

Director Schaeffer is absent.

Director Cerna.

And Chair Singh Allen.

Here.

With that, we have a quorum of nine votes, and this meeting of the Sacramento Regional Transit District is recorded with closed captioning.

The recording will be cable cast on Metro Cable Channel 14, the local government affairs channel on the Comcast and Direct TV Uverse Cable Systems.

The recording will also be video streamed at Metro14Live.sackCounty.gov.

Today's meeting replays Thursday, February 26th at 12 p.m.

and Sunday, March 1st at 2 p.m.

on Metro Cable Channel 14.

Once posted, the recording in this meeting can be viewed on demand at YouTube.com forward slash Metro Cable 14.

Members of the audience wishing to address the board should fill out a speaker card located at the rear of the room and provide it to myself or Adam.

Once the item has been called, additional speaker cards will not be accepted.

The time allowed for public comment is at the chair's discretion.

The timer will chime when you have 20 seconds and then again when your time is up.

There was written public comment received from Rick Hodgkins on items 2.3, 2.7, and 2.9 regarding the underground conduit and fiber public outreach and audible announcements and public comment received from Lisa and Don Hayward on item 2.7 regarding competitive bidding.

All comments have been provided to the board.

All right, thank you.

Next up is our Pledge of Allegiance.

And our heart.

Pledge of allegiance to the class of the United States of America.

One nation under the school with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

Alright, just a little bit of housekeeping.

Staff is requesting to change the order of the agenda based on presenter availability.

We will hear item 3.2 and then recess to close session in the executive conference room.

All right, so that means item 3.2 is up.

Okay, 3.2 information item ride-free RT update.

And Chris Flores will present this item.

Good evening, and thank you.

Yes, I'm Chris Flores.

Um, as you know, we are tremendously proud of our partnership and success of the Ride Free RT program.

Last year uh we partnered with the Nehemiah immersion leadership uh um program for their class project to evaluate and strengthen the ride free RT program.

And so tonight we have some special guests, uh Jasmine Advancla, uh Jay Shane, and Alex Tagavian to discuss the report and the implementation of some strategic recommendations.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chris.

Appreciate it.

And let me start off by saying thank you to the board for supporting this important program.

I know you know this, but I think we've gone from one million student rides to five million student rides uh since we began the program.

So it's been really important for young people and their families.

Um let me just give you a little roadmap of what we're gonna do tonight.

Uh one is Jasmine is going to talk about the NELP uh study that was done and talk about some of the recommendations that came out of it.

We have one of our moms who've been here.

We've been working on advocacy for the last six months or so.

Gone to visit a number of the school districts around who participated, and Sue is going to talk a little bit from that.

Um of the recommendations is to create a youth advisory committee.

Um I'll come back and talk about that a little bit, and then we're gonna pivot and talk about some K-16 collaboration and talk about an opportunity that RTU would have to really lead the nation in how it works with educate the education systems uh here tonight.

So thanks very much.

Let me bring up Jasmine to talk about the NELP work.

Thank you, Jay and Chris.

Uh, thank you so much.

So I'm here on behalf of uh the Nehemiah Emerging Leadership Program or NELP, and I had the opportunity to participate in the cohort last year, and so in addition to our monthly seminars that focused on developing our leadership skills.

We also had a class project, and that class project, of course, was uh to work on ride-free RT specifically in partner with Chris and the team at the RT team.

Um, and so what we focused on was really ensuring that we were taking the time to meet with community organizations, different elected local elected officials that RT serves as well as school districts and schools specifically to really understand the perspectives, the values and the benefits that ride-free RT brings to the community and specifically our youth community.

Um, and so we were able to engage through focus groups, through surveys, and through one-on-one direct conversations as well, uh, to assess the program and ultimately come up with strategic recommendations on the sustainability and the long-term vision of the program, not just from a funding perspective, but also just from a programmatic perspective as well.

Uh, next slide, please.

And I believe in your agenda packet, there's a full report of our uh NELP findings, and so some of the key findings that we found based on our conversations with again community organizations, and this focused on organizations that touched on transportation advocacy as well as youth serving organizations.

We also touched space with school districts as well as elected officials throughout the Sacramento County, and you can see the key findings that we saw here and the different themes that we saw, but I will focus on the two that really stood out to us and what we continued to hear out of those conversations, and one was again funding, right?

Which will just continue to be an evolving conversation that we have we have annually for ride-free RT, but another was also this call for some sort of regular convening for community organizations and our schools and the youth specifically to provide regular input and insight into the benefits, the value, and areas of improvement for the program.

Um, and so I'll go into the next slide here.

And so with this, between ourselves, our cohort Jay and the uh SAC RT team, we came up with this opportunity to host an advisory committee that consists of organizations, elected officials, as well as public-facing representatives from the community, and this is really to ensure that there is some standing standing regular convening for our outside organizations to be able to provide strategic recommendations and insight into the continuation of the ride-free program.

So I will pass it back over to Jay to talk a little bit more about the structure.

So we've done a couple things, and we've been doing them for the last few years of trying to meet with all the school districts.

The way the funding structure works is there was when we started the program a million dollars from the city of Sacramento, $350,000 a year from the county, and then a number of school districts, including Saks City Unified, Elk Grove, Folsom, Sam Juan, each put a certain amount of money in to raise the funds to be able to do this, and then it was highly subsidized by regional transit.

As we spoke with generally the superintendents of the school districts, one of the things that they to a person really wanted was a voice and a seat at the table when we're deciding how to run the program and what is needed for young people.

Um so what we came up with and what NEL talked about is in a youth advisory committee that uh you all would appoint that this the school districts who participate would appoint if this is in your packet.

And if uh there is a consensus that you want to do something, then we would under the auspices of RT go ahead and start to work on this.

Uh, this would be probably a quarterly meeting of a group of young people appointed again by the RT board, by the cities, some at large, and also some from uh organizations that are advocating for ride-free RT, and such as uh transits, uh transit folks.

So we want to continue working on that.

We think it's really important to give young people a voice.

Uh there are challenges of making sure that they use their cards for this, that we have the right numbers, but again, the overall number went from one million rides to five million rides, which is really just unheard of.

When we started our ride free RT, it was the only any time anywhere transportation service in the country that was free for young people wherever they needed it.

So we'd love to when we get to the end and we do questions, we'd love to hear from you to see if this uh youth advisory committee is something you'd like to pursue, and then we would take the next step in fleshing it out.

So, with that, I think.

Uh let me stop for a second and see if there are any questions about the ride-free program, and if not, we're gonna uh pivot to the K-16 work that we've been doing.

So any questions or comment to this point?

Yes, Director Dickinson.

Thanks, Chair, and thanks for the present presentation on this.

Uh I know this has been a passion project uh for you, Jay, and and I'm sure for others.

It's nice to see that original ride-free for students that we tested out a number of years ago, um, became this uh ride-free.

I had uh two things that I wanted to explore a little bit more uh of your recommendations.

The first one being to strengthen strengthen the data infrastructure to demonstrate impact, and the second was to secure long-term funding.

Um maybe these are connected because uh it seems to me the school districts, and this goes to your comments about the an advisory committee as well, but the school districts have to play a larger role in this, it seems to me.

Uh given the everybody's got financial constraints, but in uh in a significant way, it seems to me the schools are um are the biggest beneficiary uh of this because to the extent that it helps stimulate student attendance, and it does seem in the aggregate that that there's that they actually get money from that in ADA.

Um so they're the only ones who who have an opportunity, at least as I can envision it at the moment, they're the only ones who have a an opportunity to receive a financial uh return on an investment they make in this program.

I I think it's very legitimate to want to know for them and all of us to to want to know with uh greater degree of granularity, if there's such a word.

Um who's riding where not necessarily the the student by name or identity, but who's riding, where they're going, uh what schools are the greatest or districts are the greatest users.

Uh so I really support that the first recommendation of this to try to get to a better uh degree of information, greater degree of information, and maybe that's something that the RT staff and this and the school districts need to combine on.

Um, but the second thing uh with respect to long-term financing, it seems to me that um rather than counting on the general-purpose governments and regional transit to to heavily underwrite this.

That I there are always going to be participants.

It we come back to the the school districts, and so uh it seems to me these things tie together, and I'd be interested in your in your perspective on that connection.

Sure.

Uh I I answer you in two ways.

First, I agree with you.

Uh we need more granularity, if that's a word, we'll take it.

Um, on when young people go from one place to another, whether it's how many are at a specific school, what are the routes that we need to take, things like that.

Um I know that RT is working towards that goal.

We've had this discussion for many years, and they have folks who I think are getting closer and closer to getting the data that we need, and the data piece was one of the recommendations uh that came out of the NELP work.

So absolutely, you're right, we need to move towards that.

We need to know how many kids are going from school A home, what that takes, and it it should help with the routing as well of the buses that we take.

The second thing I would say is, and you know, I'm a recovering politician.

Uh if I was still doing it, I would take this program and say, look, this is like a three for a four for or five for because we have congestion that is lessened on our highways.

Uh we have kids who can uh participate in our economy by doing after school programs because now they have a way to get back.

Uh certainly it keeps our air cleaner by having less uh cars on the road.

So I think there are other pieces to the puzzle that are all good and all help.

They may not equate to actual hard dollars, but certainly it called they equate to the quality of life that we have here in Sacramento.

So I do agree with you on the data piece.

We need to get better on that, but I know that RT is working on that, and um for us volunteers, uh it's a little bit harder to get around that.

Director Budge.

Yeah.

Hello, Jay.

It's nice to see you.

Nice to see you, Linda.

Um, looking at the structure of your committee in your middle column here.

If this is a committee intended to involve the kids who are riding, that structure seems to be very heavily weighted towards adults.

Well, no, these were would be the appointments would be young people.

Um it doesn't say that, okay.

You say one appointment per RT board member, and then for per participating school district, so our school district could put their um could theoretically put their um community relations person in there.

Then one student appointment, that's the only one that's specified, three public members appointed by the chair and the vice chair, and then two-year terms.

Um, if you're really looking for students, you probably need to recognize that they may it may need to be only a one-year term because if they were seniors, then obviously they would age out.

Um quarterly meetings sounds fine.

Great.

Uh it's good advice, and if you all want to move forward with us, we'd love to work with you on these things.

Uh Director Rodriguez.

Nice to be.

Thank you for the presentation, Jay.

So I'm a big fan of uh transit light rail, and in my district, I have schools that are negatively impacted from kids driving to school, and I think a private program like this would allow kids to get in or students to get involved to share what are some of the things that that RT can do to get kids from one area of town to another area of town or to school, and so I think any time we can get feedback from the end users is a very positive thing.

So, I appreciate that.

Thank you.

Any other directors?

Um, my comments.

I I will I concur with some of uh what you said, uh Mr.

Shaneer, when it comes to the benefits as communities that it's maybe you know, while it may seem on its face, it's gonna benefit the students in the school district.

I do see the direct correlation with air quality, traffic congestion.

Um, these this is often a lifeline for many families uh having free public transportation.

So that transportation equity question that's raised here is very important, but also to Director Rodriguez's point in Out Grove, we've seen sort of the negative impact for students who are not using the ride-free program.

Often you will sometimes have households where two or three of the family members are driving to school because they're all excited about their car and driving and some of you know that the freedom that comes with that.

So they'll occupy three spaces, and it harms those that actually have to come from that actually have to drive um to the school.

So I've always been a big proponent of more advocacy, getting more students to write this.

We do so in Elk Grove with Elk Grove Unified.

I'm wearing my former school district hat as well.

Um, as a former board member, that the need for this is quite tremendous.

It also helps to build future capacity, future writership.

If you're accustomed to using public transportation at a young age, hopefully that you know that you grow up with that and you use that in your in your adulthood.

So there's I'm not ready to move on something right now, but I do appreciate what you've been presented.

Um I think this is a wonderful project that NELP undertook.

So I think there's a lot of information.

I just need to be able to digest this over the uh over time, and maybe we can work with our CEO and sort of the next best steps.

I know you still have more uh in your presentation.

So I'm not I'm not looking to move on something today, but you know, as we process this, see what staff capacity is as well.

I think those were today for you.

We just wanted to give you an update.

Yeah, I want to introduce Sue who is one of the family members that have been working on.

And one more, just one more.

Um, Director Maple.

Two more.

Two more, and then followed by Director.

Apologies.

Uh well, first I want to say thank thank you.

Thank you for especially for your advocacy for the program when on your time on this board and on the city council.

I think it's been one of the most successful programs uh that has come out of this agency.

Um, just run that tape over.

Well, it's just true, and I think you know, we all hear that from I hear that certainly from my constituents all the time.

Um, obviously your former constituents you still um and so it's been a great program.

I align myself with some of the the comments and questions of uh Director Dickinson.

I'm super interested in the data too, um, because that is one of the questions that I hear from sometimes the principals of the schools and the parents of how are we aligning with you know the data on where kids want to go, where they're coming from, when they're going, when school gets in, when it gets out, and so I think um I'd love to see more of that.

Uh and then the other th piece I wanted to just bring to your attention is that there was a petition for a ballot measure that was filed with the city of Sacramento on Friday, I believe it was.

So it's public record now, folks can take a look at that language.

I do think it mentions specific language around transit for young people and seniors, so it might be worth reaching out.

I think you might know that the former council member Steve Cohn is working on that.

Thank you.

You know Steve Cohn, right?

You may know him.

I've had the pleasure.

Uh good to see you, Jay.

And uh I'll just repeat what others have said uh in terms of um thanking you for um the uh being the brainchild of this uh very successful program, one that I think not just uh RT but uh our region could be very uh proud of in terms of its obvious priority setting for uh young people.

Uh one thing uh I'd I'd point out or one thing that jumps out at me from the committee structure recommendations is that's an awful lot of people.

Um and if we're gonna um have this advisory body, I don't I certainly don't want to have the advisory body um feel like they're occupying space quarterly and meeting quarterly uh to um do anything other than having an impact on the decisions that are expected of us that would affect the program.

So I want it to be effective, I guess is what I'm saying.

When I see um any uh whether it be advisory or um a body that is expected to make decisions that is as large as this, I get a little itchy just because I want to make sure it functions the way they want it to function, the way we need it to function to actually give us um their input.

Um and I wonder whether or not uh there was any effort to um consider the fact that you have standing youth commissions at least with the city of Sacramento and the County of Sacramento, and maybe if part of the objective here is to uh to to spread the gospel of this uh program far and wide, is there any benefit to tapping into those existing youth um advisory bodies uh to accomplish that and at the same time maybe figure out how to uh hone in on a um what I think would be a more manageable number of people for almost any uh advice giving um expectations so I don't know who's best on your team to respond to we've had this discussion some with RT about how big it should be or not.

This is like a first cut at it.

Yeah, if you all want us to proceed, we'll we'll take that into consideration on how we can cut it down and so much.

My two, you know, um issues uh or or uh elements of feedback.

Here would be, you know, take a look at standing bodies, not just for the city and county of Sacramento, but maybe all you know, all the cities that are represented here.

Um see if you can't tap into that and then maybe reconsider what the um number should be and uh and figure out how to you know where your sweet spot is.

Okay, next time I would I would personally I I very much support what uh Director Surna has just brought up.

I do know that there are like even in the city of Elk Grove, we have our youth commission.

There's also a youth board member along with um fellow school board trustees that also presides over meetings.

I think rather than try to reinvent the wheel uh we might have greater success utilizing the resources that are already there and just really connecting them and creating that space, just opinion of what I'm oh I'm sorry, go ahead.

Um Director Butch.

Have you talked to the school districts?

Yes, we have all of them.

So Sue and a number, we've done some advocacy training for a number of the families that use the program, and they have gone and visited with every school district that's involved with this.

One to say thank you for supporting it, and we still need to keep it going.

Okay, no, we we've got a two by two coming up with Folsom Cordova on Wednesday, and I just want to make sure that the superintendent knows what I'm going to bring up.

We had a very good meeting with uh Folsom who went there.

Yeah, uh a couple of weeks ago, and uh I forget which one, but one of the council members was uh very keen on getting more information on it.

So we'll continue to do that.

Thank you.

We'll let you continue your presentation and then we'll come back to either follow-up questions and comments, and then we'll open it up to the public.

Hello, my name is Sue Simonelli, and I'm here representing the SAC Act Education Committee.

Um, because we strongly support the ride free RT program for students in the Sacramento area.

Thank you for your continued support of Ride Free RT.

Unfortunately, every year the budget for this wonderful program has to be renegotiated and cobbled together between all stakeholders.

Ride free RT benefits students seven days a week.

The program provides transportation not just to and from school but also to jobs, internships, and extracurricular activities without ride-free RT, students who don't have their own means of transportation cannot participate in these additional activities that are so important for the developmental of future engaged citizens of Sacramento.

In Sacramento, we care about all of the people who live here, regardless of their socioeconomic level, their native language, or the color of their skin.

Part of living according to those values means providing our students free access to education as well as to all of the activities outside of the classroom that enrich students' lives or give them transportation to a job that earns wages to support students and their families.

Please make ride-free RT a permanent part of your budget.

Having yearly negotiations and scrambling to put together the money for the program and puts the program at risk.

Let's show that we value a free public education for all of our students, and with that, free public transportation for all of our students.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Does this conclude your presentation?

No.

Okay.

Sorry.

Um, I want to introduce Alex to Gavian.

This is around the case 16 work that is happening in our region that does connect to transportation, but it's slightly different.

So we'll we'll brief you on that.

Excellent.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Jay.

Thank you for your time.

Uh I will be brief.

Our uh firm Capital Impact, we're the managing agency of the Sacramento K16 Collaborative.

My hope in the next few minutes is to just tell you the who, what, when, where, and why it matters to Sacramento RT and how you can be a partner going forward.

So 2022, this region was successful in drawing down an 18.1 million dollar competitive grant for the purposes of designing and scaling up career pathways for K-12 and higher ed and into workforce for family sustaining careers.

The members that that organized initially back then included Los Rios Community College District, which is the fiscal agent for this program, Sierra College, Uba College, and Lake Tahoe Community College District.

SAC County Office of Education is the K 12 hub, but we have dozens of additional K 12 partners who are part of this network, including all of the districts in Sacramento County.

SAC State and UC Davis also play a prominent role in this structure, and then we have a complement of several of our prominent business partners Kaiser Permanente, SMUD, Accenture, Bosch, and so on, that comprise this effort.

For the past four years now, we're coming up toward the end.

This effort has been essentially taking those resources, that $18 million and re-granting it to the education partners to create and grow career pathway programs in concert with the business community so that the students have a clear line of sight into good jobs, family sustaining careers at the end, and that they will stay here in our community where these jobs are anchored.

So we've been working with the health systems, for example, our semiconductor partners, the IT community, and more recently with Aggie Square with an emerging group of biotech and biomanufacturing companies to help inform like what are the demand signals coming from the workforce from these anchor employers where there are real good jobs to start for students who are leaving these programs.

We've been wildly successful.

This is a this has been an effort where the Sacramento region is one of 13 other regions that uh Governor Newsom's office drew up in terms of the distribution of these grants.

Everyone received the same amount of money.

We are coming toward the end, and we have spent on time and on budget.

So we are drawing now down on the end of that funding cycle, and now is the opportunity to create something that is gonna be an enduring vehicle for this region.

It's an eight county footprint, so you probably can imagine from the districts that I named earlier.

This stretches all the way up into Sutter County on the north side, all the way to South Lake Tahoe.

So through Placer, you can see the you can see the map there, and then down through Galt on the southern end.

Elk Grove Unified has been a major player, um, Saks City Unified, Folsom Cordova, San Juan, all playing central parts in this with Los Rios as the glue in terms of the connecting post-secondary institution.

And what I will say is we're now on the cusp of moving into this like how does how does this become a permanent in endeavor rather than something that's you know a uh one-a-done cycle based on the state budget.

We are in the process now of forming a joint powers authority that will be one of a kind in California that will have a programmatic mission in education.

Most of the time, JPAs are formed around insurance pooling or procurement or some way that small districts can band together and then have better buying power.

We are now in the process of on the cusp of filing for a JPA that will be programmatically designed and mission aligned around all these career pathways so that our region has a true competitive advantage in terms of job formation, coordination with employers, and we think too, competing for future public funds as a whole rather than in uh separate education institutions.

So it's gonna diffuse competition when we when we form this organization, and uh what I'd I propose for you all to consider is for SACRTs to be one of the founding members as a non-voting member to this JPA and help us uh fund the initial um requirement to stand it up and then and then going forward, we're gonna be asking our case to the comment earlier, all of the education members, K 12, higher ed, and the employers will all have skin in the game as members where they will be contributing annual dues to keep uh the lights on and to give us enough um fiscal capacity to keep re-granting to sustain and grow these programs in response to the demand signals from the workforce.

So, my ask uh to the group would be that you would consider uh $200,000 over two years as a founding member price point.

We're having a the same conversation with the employers that I mentioned earlier, where we'll be going before their leadership for a decision.

And likewise, um I'll conclude by saying Los Rios has already approved at their trustees the formation of the JPA as a founding member.

We are very close to having another higher ed partner and two K-12 partners to join, which will allow us to file with the Secretary of State, stand this up, and then we're gonna invite many other uh education and business partners to join.

I'll see if there's any questions.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, thank you for the explanation.

I'm curious, uh you had a very specific ask financial ask.

I think I heard you say that RT would be invited to be an ex officio vote non-voting presence.

What's the thinking behind the we don't get a lot of requests for funding for an organization where uh we would be expected to be present but not um directly voting?

So I'm trying to reconcile what you just said.

Yeah, great question.

I think because we're trying to do this in stages and get that initial membership up off the ground, and then we could revisit the bylaws to amend them to allow for non-education uh members to join or convert from voting.

So that's the original threshold question is are you an education agency versus a non-education agency?

It will be an it will be initially an education agency.

So the initial members, the way that the bylaws have been drawn up and agreed to is education members are voting, and then business community nonprofit, and then any other contributors would be non-voting.

What are some examples of some of the other uh organizations that you would be asking for financial assistance to get this birthed who would also serve as exoficio presence?

Kaiser, Sutter, Dignity, UC Davis Med Center, SMUD, Accenture, Bosch, Solodyne.

Siemens.

Trying.

All right, thank you.

Welcome.

Other questions, yes, Director Hodge.

So, how does this coordinate with the CTE programs at the schools?

This is the biggest CTE initiative in this region by far.

So, for example, uh, I'll use healthcare as an example.

So, from the start, our health systems coordinated together to identify the positions that they are having the most difficulty filling over a three-year mark.

And allied health and specifically the technician programs like surgical tax, cardiology, rad tech, and so forth, there was a seven-fold gap in the number of projected hires by our four health systems versus the number of graduates coming out of them.

So, what we did is then through the K-16 collaborative, we determined what the community colleges and high schools would need from a grant to create and get approved programs throughout the region that would then fill those, those are essentially health CTE pathways that go K-12 community college and then into the health systems.

I think we ended up funding out of that 18 million, a little over three million dollars went just to that focus alone.

And now several of the community colleges that previously did not have those programs are now uh graduating their first cohorts.

So I was really focused on high school.

So the high school, all the high school districts that I mentioned have health pathway programs like full Cordova High is a great example, health Professions high school in Sacramento is another great example.

Where in some cases these are uh wall-to-wall nine through 12 health pathway programs where students are completing all of their college preparatory A to G coursework through the lens of a health career, getting exposure to health employers, culminating ideally in a paid internship where they're in the hospital setting or in a clinical setting, exposed to employers and being mentored, and then making a more informed decision if they're going to go into post-secondary to earn whatever credential they need to be employable.

So we're doing that in healthcare, engineering, IT, biotech, biomanufacturing.

Any other questions from directors?

Uh, any public comment?

There's no public comment.

All right, thank you so much.

Thank you.

This is an information item only.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

All right, um, next we have our close session.

Oh, okay, yes.

So we have a request to move item 3.1 before close session.

I'll go ahead and move the item for approval.

All right.

This is honoring and recognizing our esteemed colleague here.

Commending Director Rick Jennings the second.

Over the past year, Director Jennings has provided thoughtful and steady leadership, always keeping our writers, employees, and the communities we serve at the forefront of every decision.

By bringing vision and collaboration to the chair's role, he ensured every voice was heard and respected.

His leadership helped guide us through important decisions while always keeping our mission of moving people where they want to go when they want to go.

On behalf of the board, staff, and the writers who rely on us every day.

Thank you for your leadership and your lasting impact on our transit system.

I would now like to present you with a resolution as a token of our appreciation for your service this past year as our esteemed chair.

Congratulations, sir.

Can we come out?

Okay.

Vice Chair, would you like to join?

Sure.

Somebody should put something on the screen that is appropriate.

Director Jennings.

I wish I could share this with each and every one of you and uh let you take it home and read it.

Um this is very uh important to me, and it's very meaningful to me that my colleagues thought enough of me to put together a uh what do you call this thing?

A uh resolution.

Thank you.

A resolution uh honoring uh the work that I've done.

Um it makes me feel proud, and at the same time, I know that any one of us is worthy of this type of an award.

All of us work hard to make RT one of the best.

We work with the staff and our and the GM in order to do the very best we can for the community that we work in.

So, on behalf of all of us up here, I accept this resolution, and I thank you for coming every single meeting in order to help us to make a difference, to be a good teammate in helping us to make a difference.

So, thank my colleagues and thank each one of you for this wonderful award.

Thank you.

And on there, there are many covenants recognizing all of the great work that he has done over the last several decades, make uh making our region, the city, and regional transit better.

So thank you for all of your great work.

Um any other comments for my colleagues before we go on to our closed session.

Any comments?

Yeah, well, I have to vote on the question.

We had a motion, a second.

All right, we have a motion and a second.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Any abstentions or no?

I don't think so.

Any public comments on this item?

There's no public comment.

Okay.

So with that, we will go on to item number 12, our closed session.

Would you please read the closed session?

Madam Chair.

Since uh we don't have to change the schedule now, so we may just go with the uh original, you know, schedule.

The last one would be close session.

Okay, so we'll move now closed session to the end.

And all right, excellent.

So then we are now on.

If you're following along with all of these changes, we are now on our consent calendar items.

Are there any questions from directors on yes, sir?

2.9.

Director Dickinson, 2.9.

Yes.

Yes, let's do it now.

Okay, thanks.

Thanks, Chair.

Um I I I just wanted to uh first of all, I am very happy to see this.

Uh uh effort moving forward for real-time information on the on the trains.

Um uh and does it extend to the buses as well.

We already have it.

Okay, okay.

That uh um not aware of that, thank you.

Uh the one thing that gave gave me pause was it's two years before we see this activated.

Well, oh, sorry, thank you.

It's it's a massive project with multiple parts.

So the very first part that our CEO wants is real time on the train.

So we're chasing that first and as fast as we can.

But it also includes we have to put equipment on trains, we're gonna replace signs at stations.

So overall it's it's gonna take a little bit of time to get everything done.

Well, uh I I get that, but I'm I'm looking at the next to last paragraph, uh, which says a deployment is expected to be completed on a base quantity of of vehicles in March 2028.

So so that is everything on board, not necessarily just the piece we need for CAD AVL.

Okay, so when then is it reasonable to expect that signs at the at the light rail stops um would would be active and indicating real-time information?

We think well, we think it'll be available in apps like transit apps or third-party apps easily within 12 months, but we also are going to replace the signs at the stations.

We our goal is our hope is to have that also done in the 12-month period.

I see.

Oh, okay, okay.

So so the signage you hope will uh be within the next year.

Yes, sir.

Oh okay, alright.

Well, that's an that's encouraging.

Um I I uh I just want to say that that uh as I said at the outset, I'm delighted to to see this.

I've I've been advocating for this from before when I was on the board 15 years ago or more.

Um so I'm glad we're finally getting there.

Uh but we can't get there soon enough.

Uh I think from the uh consistently over the years.

What I've heard from writers is how do we know when the train is coming?

Now obviously information sharing has changed and and uh people use their smartphones for uh access information, but a lot of people walk up to the stop and say, when's the train coming?

Well that doesn't tell me.

So uh uh this is great, and as far as I'm concerned, um the quicker we can we can make it available for people at the stops, the better.

So I'm I hope you I I heard you say you're working as hard as you can on it.

We are our GM and our deputy GM have been chasing this uh quite aggressively, and we are going as fast as we absolutely can.

Well, I appreciate hearing hearing that, and uh it'll be it'll be great when it's uh activated and that long long long wait will be over.

So thanks.

Thanks, Chair.

Madam Chair, can I just add one comment here.

Thanks for the support.

Um, Director Dickens.

Um yes, we have been, you know, uh last decade we want to make this happen as soon as possible.

Uh one biggest hurdle is the funding, and we secured uh over one point five billion dollars in the last six years uh to get this library of modernization done because without modernization of this system, this system surely, you know, will collapse because it's 40 years old.

And uh that speaks to a lot of issues, you know.

We only get a local funding about one-fifth of one penny.

Why uh why A county right now is a two penny, which is about uh ten times well, close to ten times.

No, what do we get?

I just wanted to emphasize that.

Well, I I'm very also appreciative of that, obviously obviously, but you know, I s uh the first time I saw real time information.

It happened to be a bus stops in Columbus, Ohio in 2004 or five, so 20 years ago.

So we're we're catching, we're long long time catching up, uh, but I'm glad to see it happening and finally.

Thank you, Director Dickinson.

Any other questions or comments from colleagues here?

Any comments from the public.

We have one public comment, Glenn Mandelkern on item 2.9.

Thank you.

Yes, good afternoon.

So I'm here for 2.9, and um I want to say that uh this is very exciting news.

Uh a number of writers have been wanting this for a very long time to know the actual time when uh trains will arrive.

There's been some confusion as to why is information available real time for buses but not for light rail.

Um I'm also uh wanting to give attention to the whole notion of these uh display messaging signs, the dynamic messaging signs.

Uh I hope that you take this opportunity to make all the signs consistent because there's a different collection.

Some are four-line, some are six lines, some are red, yellow, and green, some are red, yellow, white, and blue.

Um I would like to suggest maybe by looking at some uh other systems.

I've seen the uh the um Santa Clara VTA, they have some really nice um displays, they're like monitors and they're held at an angle so that glare is not an issue during sunlight.

I also thought about one particular display I've seen inside I think at least one bus.

I think it's vehicle number 1582, and in that bus, you have a screen that shows about three different uh displays of things ongoing in Stack RT.

So I'm thinking if that can be reused at light rail stations, that would be great.

Um I think I should forewarn you that uh some people reaction to this will be well, you know what?

It's about time.

It's about time that you got this.

Well, it is about time, it's about real time.

So with that, I think you can use this as a goodwill moment to um by showing the uh actual arrival of trains um versus the schedule, then the closer you get it each time this will show uh how you reliable you are, and this will build up uh good spirit towards RT in uh in general.

And in those moments where uh a train might be delayed, then you there could be workarounds as to alternate bus routes to take.

So uh this is really exciting.

Oh, and keep us posted.

The the different phases you mentioned some of that.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Is there something wrong with our speaker over there?

I forgot.

I think it was just I think he might need to be further away.

Okay, all right.

Just want to make sure.

All right, any other public comments?

There's no other public comment.

Any other follow-up questions?

All right, uh, we have a motion a second.

All those in favor please say aye.

Aye.

All right, don't say any.

So let's see, we are now on 4.1.

Okay, so 4.1 customer service response to feedback and comments.

Lisa Heinz will present this item.

Chair Singh Allen, members of the board, I'm Lisa Heinz, Vice President of Security, Safety, and Customer Satisfaction.

Tonight I am presenting on customer satisfaction strategies and responses to public concerns and comments.

To start off, I just wanted to share a quick photo that Henry Blunt and I had a chance to meet with Helen and the MAC executive committee, and we were we wanted the chance to just catch up with them, but also to share with them that they don't have to wait to the board meetings to bring up questions and concerns that we're here every day, and we want to be available to them.

And now I'm going to pass it to my uh my peer, Chris Flores, VP of Real Estate.

Yeah, thank you, Lisa.

Um, as we've seen at our board meeting, um, members of the strong SAC Town team have had an increased presence, um, commenting and providing input on several items.

Um, in January, Laura and I had the privilege of attending the a monthly meeting for the strong SAC Town Transit team.

Um we chatted with nearly 20 um of their team members, talked about a variety of issues from service planning, local funding to the streetcar project.

And I just want to thank the strong SAC town team for their continued advocacy, and I'll turn it back to Lisa.

Okay, let's start with the first public comment and a response.

Are health and wellness benefits the same for all SAC RT employees?

They are the same for all SACRT employees that are full-time SACRT employees.

SACRT pays up to 90%, and that's consistent across the board.

The only exception is if we have a personal service contract, and those employees receive a stipend, and that's established.

Next public comment.

Can SACRT adjust the new bus bearer to make additional room for a bariatric wheelchair?

We currently have installed 77 of the bus barriers and we're waiting for funding to finish out the rest of the buses.

After we were asked this, um Blanca and her team reached out to peer agencies and found out Seattle has the same issue.

So they are testing out a bus where they move it in an inch, and so that gives the wheelchair a little bit more room.

So as soon as we get another barrier in, we're gonna test that out and make sure that our operators are still comfortable, and this is a good uh solution to the problem.

So more to come on that.

Next public comment.

How does SACRT address the gap between ADA compliance and ADA usability?

Well, ADA requirement requirements establish important accessibility standards.

They may not always fully reflect the day-to-day experiences for every writer.

We are continuously evaluating how equipment and design choices function in real operating conditions and across a wide range of mobility devices.

When we do get concerns, we engage writers, we engage our stakeholders, we engage our peers and as well as our technical partnership to determine solutions.

The next question for public comment.

What review processes were used when SACRT purchased light rail vehicles from another agency, and why didn't they catch track compatibility issues?

Over two decades ago, SACRT purchased used light rail vehicles from Santa Clara VTA, Valley Transportation Authority.

The track compatibility was not an issue.

They fit our tracks at the time that we purchased them.

The only thing that needed to happen were we needed to do some overhauls and some maintenance to make sure that they were ready to use on our system.

That's all.

There was not an issue.

All right, next public comment.

Did the emergency drill include people with disabilities?

The short answer is no.

This was an internal drill only required by the CPUC, our regulatory agency, and it was to test our readiness how to handle an emergency.

So it wasn't a drill to invite the public to uh to be involved with it.

Next public comment.

How will SACRT address the November 29th, tech service errors?

Incorrect stop data, and onboard LED display update failures to prevent future data integrity issues.

Well, we've reviewed the incident and we're taking corrective actions.

We're verifying stop information and onboard display updates, longer-term actions focus on improving data checks, system monitoring, and coordinating between scheduling, IT, and planning to reduce a similar issue happening in the future.

So basically, like we do with everything, we debrief it, we evaluate it, we set corrective actions, and we make we immediately take steps to correct those issues.

Alright, next question for public comment.

Why is there no bus service between Elkrove and Power End Station?

And is a two-tier model being considered to balance local and regional coverage?

We do have a tier two-tier model.

We have both light rail and bus service.

We have um regional service provided by our light rail and commuter service provided for light rail as well as as well as local neighborhood routes.

Well, we wish to expand coverage into more neighborhoods.

We're doing a COA, a comprehensive operational analysis, and the bottom line is more funding is needed to expand service.

Next public comment.

Why do problems with low-floor vehicles continue to occur?

And what steps are being taken to resolve them?

A few comments before the video.

Once the low-floor light rail trains are in service, passengers will be able to individually deploy the ramp at a station, allowing those in mobility devices to easily enter and exit the train without the aid of the operator.

A rider simply presses the button with a wheelchair icon on the door from the outside or on the inside to deploy the ramp.

Mac members and mobility devices were able to successfully get on and off the train using a ramp that measure 36 inches in width, which is the same size as the door opening, and six inches wider than the required 30 inches.

So I like the width of the doors and the ramp going in.

Um I had no trouble with it.

And uh the uh coloring on it was easily visible, and so it was an easy ride on and an easy ride-off.

I stood at the ramp when the uh when the ramp was deployed, and the pressure was not enough to cause any real harm.

I just stayed there for a few seconds and didn't cause any problem.

So that was good.

Learn more about the project at SACRT.com/slash modernization.

Next public comment.

Why did the planned bus bridges at 60 feet 65th Street station perform poorly?

And why is the station difficult to identify after dark?

So our operations team is again doing a corrective action plan.

They're looking at lighting, signage, and uh stop identification, and we really appreciate this feedback because even though this was a planned bus bridge, we have many impromptu bus bridges, so it gave us an opportunity to do an analysis and do things better.

So more to come on that, but um definitely some improvements are underway.

Next public comment, Route 51 zip pass, advertising is confusing, better communication if moving on to transit connect app.

The interesting part is zip pass is still effective through April 30th.

So Transit Connect, there's an overlap.

So that's why there's conflicting information.

We're in the process, we being marketing, are changing out all the uh information inside trains and buses, and um when zip pass is fully gone, it'll be very clear that Transit Connect is the only option.

But some people still have money on Zip Pass, and we don't want to take that away from them.

All right, next public comment for the community ballot measure.

Is there a wish list of service improvements for Sacramento City residents, such as a neighborhood routes connecting downtown and midtown to attract riders that could help support its passage?

Uh we've conducted significant outreach with the community to better understand their prior priorities for the COA SACRT 2050.

We're continuing our funding game so that public can continue to share their priorities with us.

Uh the COA also includes conceptual maps.

Um, as repeatedly stated, uh SACRET needs more funding at the local level to to expand our service, and now on to drones.

I have brought the drones right here for demonstration over to the board's left.

We have two drones that just came in.

One is for thermal imaging and one is for 3D mapping.

It was more cost effective to buy the two separate drones than having to have a monster drone that uh that had both.

And basically, the um we are right around ready to launch.

Then we've tried a little bit.

You can see some pictures that we um use them for.

They're gonna provide a bunch of things, such as um safety for our employees because we won't have to go out into the system and navigate that terrain.

Also, we're gonna be able to do assessments, for example, they could fly over some track and they'll use the AI technology to this is Jason.

They'll be able to fly over tracks, take measurements, use the AI technology, perhaps there's a derailment later in the day, they'll fly over the same tracks and tell us where the problem is.

So it's gonna be so much more faster and efficient.

I think the inlet uh we'll have inless usage uh use cases, and I think once we start using them, the floodlights are gonna open up.

But they're they're deemed for safety, they're under the safety department, and we're gonna leave the security drones for the SAC Sheriff's Department to use those.

And that concludes my presentation.

Excellent, thank you.

Um, there is a question from Director Rodriguez.

Thank you for the presentation, Lisa.

So in using drones for inspections, say like bridges, that and like to me, I would think that you would need a civil engineer who's at a bridge inspector that actually goes out and physically inspects the bridge.

Does the drone replace that or is it an addition to?

It's an addition to.

So we're gonna work with our engine.

It's a great question because we're gonna work with our engineering team, but usually it's by um just your eye.

You're you're this one of the drones has 3D mappings, so it's gonna be able to have a map current current time when you're out there doing your inspection, and then we have that to compare.

So the drone actually, the technology can tell us there's a problem.

So if the human eye misses it, the drone, the AI technology is gonna be the fail-safe method.

Oh, that's fantastic.

Thank you.

Yes, Director Dickinson.

Thanks.

Uh I'm just curious.

I'm just curious uh with regard to the bus route uh planning.

And I see the the bullet about the operational analysis to evaluate service expansion opportunities, but is there is there uh an exercise to to look at current route uh designations and alignments uh in this in this process?

That's a major part of that.

Okay, so it's not just service expansions, it's the it it's the entirety of uh of the bus routing.

Okay.

Um, and then is there an opportunity for uh board members if they would like to be part of of the discussion when you get to that stage?

Yes.

I know I've participated in that in years past and found it uh found it to be quite um useful from my point of view as a as a board member.

So okay, we'll look forward to those kinds of opportunities.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Any other questions for them?

Director Cerna.

Thank you.

Um, thank you, Lisa, for the um presentation.

Relative to the ramps that are coming out of the new Siemens vehicles.

Um, I assume that there is an audible alert that the ramp is being deployed.

Is that do you know whether or not that's the case?

Yes, okay.

Okay, for I'm I'm just thinking in particular because the one gentleman in the video appeared to be uh site impaired, and so uh I would think that we'd want to make sure that not just relative to the ramp deployment, but any element of our ADA compliance on all our vehicles and buses.

I think a lot of thought has to go into what alerts there are for those that are site impaired.

Yes, we have to comply with the ADA requirements.

Very good.

All those pieces are covered when we bring a new piece of equipment onto our system.

Very good.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

Thank you, sir.

All right.

We're gonna move on to our next item, item 4.2.

Okay, item 4.2 resolution 2026 02014.

Amending and restating Title IX of the Sacramento Regional Transit District Travel Authorization Procedures.

And Shelley Valentin will present this item.

Thank you.

I'm here, Madam Chair.

Hi, I'm presenting on this item and come uh bringing it back to the board.

You may all recall there was a very lively discussion about this last meeting.

So we took all of the feedback from the board from that time and we also did additional research.

We looked at travel policies of comparable transit agencies within California.

We looked at the travel policies if they're existing of the jurisdictions represented by our board, as well as our peer agencies, SACOGS MUD and Air Quality District, to make sure that we could take the pieces of there that's applicable and our best practices, and then in consultation with our board chair, we have before you a proposed revision to the travel policy based on um several guidelines.

Next slide, please.

So um the policy now highlights that board representation is encouraged and is important.

Uh we state that it is a benefit to SACRT and the public, and in fact, we are proposing that we encourage up to four transit conferences annually, including but are not limited to those sponsored by the APTA, including the annual conference, the mobility conference, and then California Transit Association also has several that they uh organize throughout the year.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, uh what we propose is that the office of the GM will do a survey to ask the board for their interest in several of these transit events so that we could include once approved by the chair, we could include them in the budget for the year.

Um there was a question last time about what do we spend now?

Do we already allocate budget?

And this is an existing line item in our budget every year.

Currently, our budget proposed as proposed is 26,000 for next fiscal year for total for board travel.

Just as a reference for last fiscal year, our travel was about 16,000 actual expenses.

We're also proposing several considerations for the board chair as she reviews um the request that will come her way that will include the budget, Brown Act limitations as far as number of uh participants for each conference.

Um, and of course, it's always subject to the board chair review and approval.

And as mentioned the last meeting, uh board chair and vice chair will be given priority in attendance.

We also would like to offer that uh opportunity to alternates who may be able to attend on behalf of a board member, as long as they have attended at least one um board meeting for SAC RD within that term that they are sitting as an alternate.

Oh, and actually, uh, this is a good plug for the upcoming um APTA mobility conference.

It's happening May 17 to 20 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

So we have the budget and we have an opportunity to still sign you up.

So if you would like to participate in that, please that is the one we'll be happy to make you a part of it.

This is one of the bigger conferences that APTA puts together.

Also, it's very close to Sacramento.

Is that the extent of your presentation?

Oh no, and there's a second slide.

If you go to the next slide.

So, in addition to transit related conferences, we also recognize that there are several other um maybe unscheduled or unplanned or not regularly scheduled conferences put together by peer agencies here or other um maybe transit related but not organized by transit association that we may not always be able to plan for.

So we would like to present um some guidelines on um parameters that we or the board chair could consider in approving some of these.

One is to advocate on SACRT's behalf in meetings with the board chair's approval, two is to receive an award on behalf of SAC RT, and three is to participate as a presenter or speaker on a transit-related topic.

And again, this is on top of the transit-related conferences that will be um up to four a year.

We're proposing some considerations, including members' past participation in conferences that are related, the diversity of the total representation of SAC RT board that's participating, and potentially the appointing jurisdiction's ability to cover the travel cost if it's something that's a locally um organized event.

Next slide.

Shall we?

When you say the appointing jurisdiction, you mean the jurisdiction from which we were appointed to thank you for clarifying exactly.

So outside travel, um, international travel is already allowed in our existing travel policy.

We're only recommending to be more specific and say it's up to three board members per event.

And again, uh the chair and the vice chair will be given priority to participate and up to two international trips for each board member each calendar year.

There's already a process in place for approving uh travel, which includes a board item being presented and approved by the board at a regular meeting when the uh the travel internationally is not within the budget at the beginning of the year.

And I think that covers, I hope it covers most of the feedback we've received last time, and I would turn it back to the chair for discussion.

Thank you.

Thank you for capturing what I see is a number of comments.

As you see, this is a lot more of a liberal policy than the one that was presented at the last meeting.

What we found is that other organizations, other agencies like SACOG and Air District, they actually have very strict policies, and ours was really not very defined, and that's sort of the background of how this came to be.

Um, Director Sarna.

Thank you, Chair.

Uh, I appreciate those uh those comments and and acknowledging uh what our sister agencies have in place in terms of their uh respect to travel policies.

I I um if I heard you correctly, shall I did you say that the budget is currently 26,000 for travel?

Yes, that's correct.

Okay, and it was but the actual expenditure last year was 10,000 less than that.

16,000.

Okay.

So um moving forward, is the expectation that you'd have a line item in our budget somewhere near 25, 26,000 dollars for travel.

And okay, so I'm seeing nodding yes.

Uh is there any um assumption that you would zero base that number each year?

So it if you don't use all 26, 25,000 in the budget this year, the balance I assume would not be able to roll over into that budget line item for the following year.

So that essentially, you know, you get to year five, and because there was not uh an interest or ability to to use uh the travel budget, there's not gonna be a hundred thousand dollars in that uh that that account that might appear to be uh by some a quote unquote slush fund.

That's what we're trying to avoid here.

So it I'm I'm seeing an affirmative reaction that uh that line item is zero zero based.

Okay, that's zero based, which is consistent with the way we do our budget anyway.

And this is really the perfect timing because we are going through our budget cycle and preparing for next year.

So that survey if the board approves will go out to the board very soon.

Very good.

And then finally, just want to uh add my thanks to um hearing us.

Um you're right.

We did have a lively uh conversation, and I think we shared a number of different perspectives, but I think this um is really adequately captured what uh we shared with you.

So thank you for that.

Thank you.

Any other questions, comments from the left?

Looking to the right, Director Dickinson.

Thanks.

Yes, I I mean, I also appreciate the modifications.

I think they make sense.

I don't know that we've run up against these limits anytime in the agencies, just the limits you've set.

So uh this to a certain extent to me is a solution in search of a problem.

But um I I had a couple questions uh just to clarify.

First of all, and I and I uh I think you spoke to this, um when you say in one uh B, in addition to transit industry conferences, uh your that that's your intention to cover beyond the the APTA and CTA conferences that you've enumerated in uh subsection A, right?

So if transform or somebody of that kind, there used to be new partners for smart growth, there were those kinds of conferences, that's what you're putting in that bucket.

Is that right?

Uh okay, and um what constitutes advocating.

This means if if you want to go to the conference and and you don't have a speaking role, you're not accepting an award, but you want to be there to take in what what you can information you can get, learn what you can that might be beneficial to to the agency, um, but you're not necessarily in a position it's not something where it's what I think at least I would think of as advocacy.

Are you are you are you trying to be more limiting here or are you just trying to find a word that fits when you don't have one of those other roles?

A good example is CAP to cap.

Like last year we had a White House meeting and the FDA meeting, and we had several board members who participated, and that was really advocating on behalf of SACRT's funding, and it really was a very worthwhile activity.

So having something that's either SACRT organized or a topic that was um brought about by SACRT or a lobbyist to talk about SACRT and represent SACRT in those meetings will be an example.

Okay, I and I get that.

I think that's clear.

And if you travel on RT's dime on cap to cap, you ought to be on the transportation team and you ought to be involved in meetings advocating for RT, absolutely.

But I'm thinking about uh conferences that are not a place where you have meetings necessarily to advocate, but you are you're simply going to learn what you can that might be useful.

The the organization lot there are lots of organizations from Ashtow to others that have conferences that are related to transit, but they're not necessarily uh uh uh a um uh environment in which you're advocating something.

So that's I'm trying to get to uh you're just trying to cover other conferences here, and you don't mean I don't want to put words in your mouth, but you don't mean by advocating that you have to go and say RT wants this to happen, we're you know, uh necessarily.

Is that is that true?

So I can come up with a perfect example.

Um National League of Cities.

Uh National League of Cities frequently invites in a variety of um people from the federal government to discuss issues of importance locally, and having had a colleague who was the chair um last year, and and he has been on this board, and so anything that had to do with public transportation that might have been in val of value, then obviously David would have brought back.

I mean, they meet with the White House, they meet with all sorts of people.

I'm just trying to get all I'm I'm really trying to get at is are you trying intentionally by using this word to place some uh limitation on the kinds of conferences or uh I mean use the word conferences or events that board members could could attend.

It's not really a limitation, also it's a flexibility for board members if there's some, you know, uh conferences or meetings, uh which, you know, if we have a board member to attend to truly advocating on behalf of SACIT, uh for SACAT's reputation and others.

Um just give a little bit of flexibility in there.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, anything you go to, uh if you're again, if RT is paying for it, then I would expect except the person to be there on RT's behalf.

But yeah, absolutely.

But advocacy is a little a bit more of an action verb.

Um, so or in this case, uh you can sample uh would it be you know uh two years ago, um director um what is his name from some hey hey hey is that you know um uh in Santiago there was a um international global infrastructure you know conference and uh they you know uh the organizer shared with us and him that you know um they really want SACA to talk to you share our best practices about TOD and the smart growth uh because we do have like a more than two thousand new house units built a lot our real stations and uh tens of thousands are going to be built just like a real yacht and uh there's an assumption we're going to have a real you know and lots of you know uh office buildings and uh you know um housing your units will build new so he you know um he asked to say if he can attend on behalf of SAC AD to share our best you know uh experience practices and then from others so you eventually you know he attracted me to go with them so just so you can have it yeah okay well I mean you use the word advocate uh I'm sorry to to take the long you could have used the word attend but you didn't and that's why I'm curious about what you had intended by using advocate that's all so if I could add to is um so that's under B of the travel that's authorized uh under A which is the transit related activities I think that one that Henry is describing is also a part of that so the the board chair will have a lot of flexibility to approve not just the ones that are already listed here as long as there's a transit related component to the activity.

Okay all right I'm gonna leave it there and if it ever becomes a problem I guess we'll find out but the other the other thing I want um to just uh make sure is reconciled is uh there's there's travel within the United States for uh APTA CTA um and then there's travel outside the United States.

APTA often has conferences in Canada.

Student vision yeah that's what international well so you want to treat that under international as opposed to under the uh apt uh conferences that you've listed in a that's correct and that's how we've done it in the past as well based on policy I see okay all right thanks thank you and what I will say is you know I think what you've captured you've indulged all of us in this thing we every city county there's travel policies that are pretty narrow in scope this is still pretty wide um I'll just read the five categories for SACOG and that's it there's it's not nuanced on any other action verb um it's metro chamber cap to cap metro chamber study mission asian chamber DC trip SACOG DC advocacy trips SACOG study tours and that is it and that is allowed for the chair and vice chair and vice chair at 50% so it's it's very narrow in scope so I don't know that we're so much in search of a problem as much as we are cleaning up best practices and best policy it's a part of good governance every other jurisdiction does it and we should have a policy as well that is tailored to our needs, but at the same time it's not just open-ended.

Yes, Director hume.

Madam chair, if there if there's not uh public comment on this item, I would move staff's recommendation for the policy.

Second.

Is there any public comment?

Okay.

No public comment.

We have a motion and a second from two, so take your pick.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any no's or abstentions?

Seeing none, the motion passes.

Thank you very much.

We will move on to our next item.

Public addresses board uh board on matters not on the agenda.

Okay, we have several speakers.

So James at Pasarella, and then Mike Andrews at Pasarella, and then Pauline Hutton.

My name is James Pasarella.

I live at 500 N Street.

Today I've heard a lot of comment about disability in public, those people that have handicaps or have difficulty with getting to and from places.

I'm wondering if the same sentiment is expressed for those people living at 500 N Street and along this street where you're going to be taking up all the parking spaces.

There's not going to be any parking in front of our building.

There's no ability for handicapped people to get to and from their uh appointments.

Also, you know, not certain about fire trucks or fire department.

We have a lot of senior citizens that live in the building, and there's quite frequently events that occur where this transportation comes up and uh is on the street.

Um it really is kind of unfortunate that it's gone this far.

I was wondering, has the environmental impact study been approved?

Is that has it been approved?

So this public comment will take your information and then we'll get back to it.

Oh, okay.

The reason I ask is because uh part of the public part of what we were told was that the auditory or sound that was created by the train was judged by the new blue cars rolling around in the yard, and it was not on the street.

So it was done before we got the new cars.

I guess I'm wondering if it is it not time to redo that study because the buildings are going to amplify and echo that sound in different ways, and I think there's going to be a difference that occurs if it's taken in the real street up and down, you know, where buildings are um occurring.

And um, I think that uh that's important for those of us that live there.

So thank you very much.

Thank you.

Um please come to our next meeting where I'm sure you will have some answers.

Thank you.

Next public comment.

Mike Andrews at Pasarella.

Hello, my name is Mike Andrews Pasarella.

I live at 500 N Street, and my concern is safety.

Within our building, we have a lot of senior citizens, and they're planning on putting a station across the street.

It's gonna be between third and fourth, so it's not directly across the street.

My concern is safety.

Now I ride the trains, and sometimes at night, 16th Street can be very scary to a senior citizen, as well as like seventh in capital, eighth in capital, because they're not maintained properly.

There's there's it seems like homeless people move in and you know, disrupt things.

And and I'm I'm concerned about my neighbors being afraid.

If you want the trains to work, you gotta keep them maintained.

And that's all I have to say.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next public comment.

Pauline Hutton and then Robert Copeland and then Nigel Hakins.

Good evening.

I am also here to speak about um the streetcar alignment on N Street and the planned removal of all parking along that alignment.

My husband and I live in the condominium high rise at 500N along with my neighbors here.

We were enamored with the walkability and accessibility of this prime location, including theater shopping and dining at DOCO, events at Golden One Arena, art at Crocker Museum, ball games at Cutter Park, strolls around Capitol Park, and soon to Sack State classrooms and facilities.

This is one of the few buildings in this area with individually owned, relatively affordable condo units.

It is a well-built 1980, probably similar to the age of your own homes.

High rise with good bones, but as with any residence, requires regular maintenance and renovation.

So my husband and I renovated our unit prior to finally moving in one and a half years ago.

This was not without many challenges.

We asked several well-qualified recommended licensed contractors who all gave the same answer.

We don't do work in high rises.

So it took me over a year, and with much pleading and begging, I was able to engage a contractor I had used previously.

Even then we had to wait several months before we could begin.

And our story is not unique.

Contractors working downtown already are severely impacted by parking and loading restrictions and allowable noise hours of Monday through Friday, 8 to 5.

And the projects take a long time, and the costs continue to mount.

Save our front loading zones.

By removing them, you are not simply adding annoying inconvenience to us.

You are cutting off a lifeline.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next public comment.

Robert Copeland.

Okay.

What is RT gonna do?

Uh reduce traffic congestion on our freeways in midtown of Sacramento, where some people cannot even park.

Also, uh, about surplus land deck.

How many properties of RT own?

And what are they going to sell them if they don't need them anymore?

And my last comment.

Uh Katie Maple mentioned the ballot measure.

I'm gonna read that when I get home.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next public comment.

Nigel Hakins.

Hello, Nigel, resident of 500N as well.

Uh grew up taking public transportation.

It's the way I got to school from elementary school through high school.

Live in a lot of major cities that are have a little robust public transportation system.

So I'm pro light rail here in Sacramento.

Um, but the plan that's been proposed, honestly, just doesn't make sense for the building in the street and the residents.

Limiting all parking and loading zones in front of a building that has a concentration of seniors, folks who rely on paratransit.

Um it just doesn't make sense.

Y'all were gracious enough to have a rep come to hold a forum at our building.

It was informative, it was good, but in the process it became very clear that they really understand the context of the building.

They refer to alternative loading zones and parking areas that don't exist anymore, especially since Fifth was converted to a two-way street.

So if this move forward, if this moves forward in its current iteration, um I just don't see the options for our senior citizens for folks who are in wheelchairs to access the building.

We don't have an alley.

There's no parking along either side.

So we ask that that is considered in the plan, and it is adjusted accordingly to not cut off.

I think somebody used the word lifeline.

It very much is those loading zones are lifeline.

Um, also, um, y'all might remember this fire fire alarm going off.

That loading zone is where emergency vehicles park.

Um, and in the current forum, or in the the plan in its current form, those loan zones and emergency zones won't be there anymore.

So um, yeah, just want some more thoughts as this plan continues to roll out.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next public comment.

That's all the public comment.

Alright, we'll close public comment and move on to our next item.

New business.

Appointing one board member to the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority.

Anyone aching to be on this?

Looking to the left.

Sure.

Yes.

What's what's the current makeup or uh who from our board is currently appointed?

Um Director Schaefer, and he came up where he's no longer able to serve.

And then also Dickinson?

Dickinson.

Yeah.

Okay, so there's an open spot for sure.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yes.

Anyone?

You're interested in Dr.

Maple.

You're interested.

Yeah, I'm interested.

I'm currently the the first alternate.

And Director Kennedy's the second alternate, so I'm more than happy to slide into that role.

Um, all right.

Well, is there a motion to appoint?

No, I can say all right.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Thank you.

Now director Brewer was an alternate.

So now he so now we need an alternate.

Yes.

Are you interested in being an alternate?

Having previously served on this board, I'm happy to be an alternate.

Okay.

I'd move that.

Second.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Thank you.

We've settled that one.

All right.

So we are now on to 6.2.

So 6.2 resolution 202602016.

Adopt the revised public transportation agency safety plan.

There's no presentation for this item.

Lisa Heinz is available for questions.

So moved.

Any questions?

What we got?

I gotta take public comment or any questions first.

Any questions?

No.

Any public comments on this item?

No public comment.

Now I'll take your motion.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Thank you.

Was that Brewer moved?

Budge.

Yeah, Dickinson.

Perfect.

Thank you.

Can I keep up with this?

I know.

All right, moving right along.

Our general manager's report.

Good evening, Madam Chair and the board and the public.

Next slide, please.

Okay, next slide.

Just want to give board uh a very quick, you know, uh review of our budget.

The first six months.

Uh we have uh actual to you know budget 1.3 million dollars.

We would like to keep in that way in the next six months.

And also, uh, we don't show that.

You know, I get um a text from the former foresome mayor Sarah Aqua.

She said, I'm riding the Lambert 10 bus.

I pick it up at I was picked up by uh at Forsam Lake Cottage, and I'm taking it to the historical district.

It is my first time riding a bus in Forza, and the Jeff was my driver.

He's very nice and helpful.

So I just want to say uh encourage you all united to write our system, and uh thanks for the uh uh good feedback.

Okay, uh back to this budget.

You know, uh do you like our ridership?

Uh our bus is 109% recovered from previous uh you know prior to COVID, and our rail is about 79 or 69 or 70 percent recovered.

And uh we're waiting for governor to uh further, you know, ask us uh state workers to come back to work in the office.

So uh ridership for the library will jump to 90% or 100%.

Uh weekend uh bus service, it's about 130% recovered.

So uh uh lots of riders write our system during the weekend days.

Weekend days, okay.

Next slide, please.

Uh we have a couple uh workshops uh scheduled for safe routes to transit, and uh this is the um workshop schedules and uh anybody you know uh if did not hear from other sources.

This is one source if somebody is looking at our you know, uh, you know, uh metro, you know, uh cable.

So please uh join this table for uh workshops to show you your voice and opinions.

Thank you.

The next one.

Uh we talk about uh comprehensive operational analysis, SACATE 2050, and then this is so important.

We will we also want to hear from you know our public, and uh uh we will incorporate you uh you know, opinions into our uh report.

Um this will really guide us for the next 25 years, uh our survey will open uh through March 15th, and uh, you know, we also have a video contest.

So please, you know, uh uh participate.

Uh this very important, you know, survey.

And next one, please.

Um so we're uh aggressively, you know, uh conducting our uh bus station, you know, modify modernization, and we're going to have a bus line in the northern area or blue line uh from March 16th to 31st uh to have uh to close and then we're going to have a bus bridge.

We're going to listen to the feedback from last board meetings.

Um, you know, uh uh customer ask us to be more you know uh pushing this information out and also you know uh pro improve our service and the last one um is our transit employee appreciation day on March 18th.

Uh please join us uh celebrating the hard working uh transit employees, 1500 employees, and you can fill out the thank you load or you know, uh stop by in our customer service center, and uh let's make March 18th a day full of gratitude and appreciation.

That concludes my report.

Thank you, Henry.

Any questions for yes?

Uh we'll start.

Comment over here.

Pardon?

Comment over here.

Oh yes, go ahead.

Thank you, Chair.

Uh I just uh pulled up the QR code as you were speaking, Henry, for the survey.

Um and I noticed that there's a drop down for uh languages, and I just wanted to thank whoever was responsible for uh making sure that uh even our survey um requests are uh in this case uh available in nine different languages, so great job, thank you.

Doctor Dickinson?

Thanks, um I was I just wanted to follow up on uh what's going to be the effect at Arden Del Paso uh the Arden del Paso station in particular, but Royal Oaks because when the work was done at Globe, the station was basically shut down.

So especially at Arden Del Paso, which is a large uh uh a large number of people get on and off there and with the connection to our several of our bus routes.

How's that gonna work?

Are the uh the trains not going to run through that section or um, or are they gonna run but not stop?

Or I mean this is two weeks, so it's not been in in considerable amount of time.

Yes, uh Laura.

Well, okay, thank you.

Speak loud.

It won't be stopping, it's gonna be similar to the other bus bridge that we had.

So the the trains will go through, but we won't not be stopping to do any to serve any passengers.

So we'll be have enough communication to ensure that the passengers are going to the other stations or to get them to the bus bridge.

So that's what we're working on right now.

Okay.

So I'm sorry, so I'm not clear.

Does that mean that those who are say outriding outbound will get off at Globe and get off on a bus and then get to Arden Del Paso and get dropped off on the bus or so actually Arden Del Paso and Royal Oaks are going to be closed at the same time.

So the bus bridge is going to be from Globe to Swanston.

And any of the in-service buses the 23 those type they'll gonna be um rerouted to Oxford and have bus stops around the corner on Oxford but for the stops for our passo and Royal Oaks they will be serviced by the bus bridge globe to Swanston.

I don't want to take more of the the entire board's time but I I think we need to talk about this because you're because if you're talking about turning left off of Arden on to onto Oxford that that can be problematic but I um I know that they turn there now but they don't stop so um let's let maybe talk about this on the uh offline okay off the meeting we're gonna wait in for you yeah okay thanks thank you any other questions comments from directors public comment uh Robert Copeland okay uh about the bus bridge it's going to go from uh it won't stop at uh passo in Royal oak right it'll go straight on by the yeah we can talk to you off a little bit of difficulty you know I was a plus and I got a question about uh RT budget is a trajectory going to go up in revenue or down or an expenses.

It's kind of like uh okay I would have said I don't know yet okay thank you.

Thank you uh Director Rodriguez.

Oh I do I have a uh comment director comment you mentioned um council member Aquino and I just realized that there is a celebrate the route that built a region um in 1856 the completion of the Sacramento Valley Railroad connected Sacramento to Folsom transforming commerce mobility and growth across the region on March 4th will be the 200th year and so there will be a celebration uh stock RT light rail will leave Sacramento Valley at 904 arriving in historic Folsom at 1004 and there will be a celebration of um that event that took place a couple hundred years ago so just want to share that information.

Thank you I think a number of us have been invited to participate you guys are going to pick me up at Mill station that's awesome yeah if you're a train rider yes all right so seeing no other questions or comments we'll move on to our next item which is a report on the Capitol Corridor joint powers authority meeting anything to report out just very quickly the uh capital corridor is still not uh quite back to pre-pandemic levels of ridership but one of the interesting challenges now because uh cap corridor get did get back to its full service levels in terms of of trips uh is um the difficulty maintaining enough locomotives to run all the all the trips and this is an issue of of debate uh uh uh hopefully on resolution with uh with Caltrans actually on on servicing enough locomotives but that's that is a real constraint on the ability to run their their trips um so uh otherwise I think the the only other thing that I think would mention is in the coming months uh CCJPA is going to uh start a process to to uh update and renew its vision for what Capitol Corridor service ought to be and I might just mention that a number of years ago when when the aforesaid Steve Cohn was on this board uh along with me um among others.

Uh, we actually had uh CCJPA do a study of what we would uh consider commuter rail from uh uh from Solano County to uh Auburn.

And so that's going to be something that comes back in the context of this of this vision vision plan study or this vision planning, I should say.

Um so there'll be some real uh relevance to to what we're doing both for our T and for the broader community in that process as well.

Thank you.

Any questions or comments for Director Dickinson on this?

Anything from the public?

No public comment.

All right.

So we are now going to our closed session items.

Um can you please read our closed session items?

Sorry, I was going back up.

Oh thanks.

Okay, closed session item 12.1, conference with legal counsel pursuant to government code section 54956.9 D anticipated litigation one case.

All right, thank you.

So at this time we will adjourn our regular meeting.

We will be in closed session, so we invite the public to exit the chambers.

Thank you.