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Record of Proceedings

Sacramento Regional Transit District Board Meeting - April 11, 2022

Sacramento Regional Transit Board Meetings — Monday, April 11, 2022
BodySacramento County, California
SessionSacramento Regional Transit Board Meetings
DateMonday, April 11, 2022
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Ready to go.

0:03

I'm ready.

0:04

Oh, good evening, everyone, and welcome to the April 11th, 2022 meeting of the Sacramento Regional Transit District.

0:12

And our board of directors.

0:14

This is a virtual meeting and all speakers, the board and staff, please announce your name when you begin to speak.

0:20

This meeting is being live streamed, and the slide on the screen shows you the information on how to join our webinar via Zoom.

0:28

You can also call into the meeting.

0:31

The numbers on the screen.

0:34

And if you can't see the screen, it's 253-215-8782.

0:39

And the webinar access code is 816-91864.

0:46

If you're participating by phone, please press star nine to indicate a desired to comment.

0:52

And if you are joining us online through Zoom, please push the raise hand button.

0:56

Be sure to unmute yourself when it's your turn to speak and voluntarily state your name for the record.

1:01

Now I'd like to ask our clerk to call the roll.

1:05

Director Budge.

1:06

Here Director Harris.

1:09

Here.

1:12

Here Director Hume.

1:15

Here.

1:16

Director Jennings.

1:19

And Director Kennedy is absent.

1:21

Director Natoly.

1:23

Here.

1:26

Here.

1:26

Director Cerna.

1:28

Here.

1:29

Director Valenzuela.

1:31

Here.

1:32

And Chair Miller.

1:34

Here.

1:35

And with that, we have a quorum at nine votes.

1:37

And this meeting of the Sacramento Regional Transit District will be cable cast on Metro Cable 14, the local government affairs channel on Comcast Consolidated Communications and ATT Uverse.

1:49

Today's meeting will air on Saturday, April 16th at 2 p.m.

1:52

and Sunday, April 17th at 9 a.m.

1:54

on channel 14 and webcast at Metro 14 Live.sackCounty.net and is closed caption.

2:00

This meeting can also be viewed at YouTube.com forward slash metro cable 14.

2:10

Thank you.

2:18

Sure.

2:18

Please adjust the flag.

2:20

I pledge allegiance.

2:22

Allegiance to the flag of the United States of the America.

2:26

And then the public.

2:30

One nation.

2:31

Undergone.

2:33

Indivisible with liberty for all.

2:38

That's pretty good for a Zoom meeting.

2:42

All right.

2:43

Tabitha, would you please uh announce the first item?

2:47

Okay, the first item is the consent calendar, items 2.1 to 2.8.

2:52

Do I have any questions or items wishing to be pulled by directors?

2:58

I'll move consent.

3:00

Motion motion and a second to approve consent before we vote.

3:04

Is there any public comment?

3:09

Tabitha.

3:10

I am trying to get back to the screen.

3:16

Okay.

3:20

It's not working.

3:26

Just when it was going so great.

3:39

There you go.

3:40

Okay.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Homelessness████████████████████████████████32%
Public Transit█████████████████████21%
Public Safety██████████████14%
Public Comment███████████11%
Procedural█████████9%
General Manager Report██████6%
Economic Development████4%
Transit-Oriented Development███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Sacramento Regional Transit District Board of Directors Meeting - April 11, 2022

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) Board of Directors met virtually on April 11, 2022, at 5:31 PM. The board approved the consent calendar, received an informational update on the Roseville Road Light Rail Station Safe Parking Proposal, heard public comments, and received the General Manager's report.

Consent Calendar

  • Items 2.1 to 2.8 were approved unanimously with 9 votes (later corrected to 10 votes after Director Jennings arrived). No items were pulled for discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jeffrey Tarnevia expressed concerns about the growing homeless population and the effectiveness of the safe parking program, urging the board to coordinate with other agencies and address the broader encampment crisis.
  • Glenn Mandelcarn suggested involving homeless individuals in cleaning up encampments, citing a past program where people in community service cleaned transit stations.
  • Ronnie Miranda complained about inconsistent service and no-shows on the Smart Ride paratransit service, requesting board action rather than customer service follow-up.
  • Jeffrey Tarnevia later commented on the General Manager's report, asking about federal transportation representation and the Cap-to-Cap trip.

Discussion Items

  • Roseville Road Light Rail Station Safe Parking Proposal (Item 4.1) – Presented as an informational item. Staff reported progress on a three-party lease agreement (SacRT, City of Sacramento, Caltrans) for a temporary safe parking program using 90 parking stalls. Key unresolved issues include:
    • The City of Sacramento will only enforce within the public safety zone for specific behaviors (urinating, defecating, blocking right-of-way), not for general encampment removal, citing the Martin v. Boise decision.
    • SacRT expressed concerns about encampments appearing outside the safe zone, as occurred at other city shelters. A fire under the Roseville Road bridge caused an estimated $13 million in damage to a bridge SacRT is responsible for maintaining.
    • The City has asked SacRT to enforce encampment removal on its own property outside the critical infrastructure zone, which SacRT argues would shift liability, divert resources from transit operations, and overburden its 24-officer police force.
    • The City previously committed to providing security inside the safe parking site but now says it will not. Customer complaints would be routed to 311, which staff fear will not be timely.
    • Board members (Harris, Hume, Valenzuela, Shane, Cerna) expressed support for the program but emphasized the need for a legally defensible perimeter and clear enforcement roles. Director Valenzuela suggested that an agreement with Caltrans on enforcement under the bridge may be needed. Director Shane noted the lack of city staff at the meeting.
  • General Manager's Report (Item 8.1) – Henry Li reported:
    • Recent hiring events attracted 162 attendees, 86 applied, 69 in process. Bus cancellation rate was under 1% last week.
    • Service restored to 97% of pre-pandemic levels; planning for 100% by September 2022.
    • Paratransit improvements: partnership with a private phone app to begin April 19.
    • 30 new Gillig low-floor buses being delivered.
    • Surplus property sales and transit-oriented development (TOD) updates: 65th Street Station project (230 units, 750 beds) opening this year; Ardenway affordable housing (120 units); rail yards TOD; Mirasol Village; and a new light rail station planned for Mather Field.
    • Legislative updates: Assembly Bill 2015 passed first committee; federal funding: $58.5 million in FY22 formula funds, $50 million in President's FY23 budget for light rail extension.
    • Received a $500,000 sustainable transportation planning grant for the American River crossing bridge and future Green Line to the airport.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar: Approved (9-0, later 10-0).
  • Safe Parking Proposal: No vote taken; staff will return with additional information and legal analysis on liability and enforcement options. Board directed staff to seek enforceable agreements with Caltrans and the City.
  • Public Comments: Referred to customer service for the Smart Ride complaint.
  • General Manager's Report: Received without formal action. Several board members commended progress on TOD and hiring.
  • Next Steps: The board will discuss the safe parking proposal at a future meeting. Service adjustments will be finalized in September 2022.

Meeting Transcript

Ready to go. I'm ready. Oh, good evening, everyone, and welcome to the April 11th, 2022 meeting of the Sacramento Regional Transit District. And our board of directors. This is a virtual meeting and all speakers, the board and staff, please announce your name when you begin to speak. This meeting is being live streamed, and the slide on the screen shows you the information on how to join our webinar via Zoom. You can also call into the meeting. The numbers on the screen. And if you can't see the screen, it's 253-215-8782. And the webinar access code is 816-91864. If you're participating by phone, please press star nine to indicate a desired to comment. And if you are joining us online through Zoom, please push the raise hand button. Be sure to unmute yourself when it's your turn to speak and voluntarily state your name for the record. Now I'd like to ask our clerk to call the roll. Director Budge. Here Director Harris. Here. Here Director Hume. Here. Director Jennings. And Director Kennedy is absent. Director Natoly. Here. Here. Director Cerna. Here. Director Valenzuela. Here. And Chair Miller. Here. And with that, we have a quorum at nine votes. And this meeting of the Sacramento Regional Transit District will be cable cast on Metro Cable 14, the local government affairs channel on Comcast Consolidated Communications and ATT Uverse. Today's meeting will air on Saturday, April 16th at 2 p.m. and Sunday, April 17th at 9 a.m. on channel 14 and webcast at Metro 14 Live.sackCounty.net and is closed caption. This meeting can also be viewed at YouTube.com forward slash metro cable 14. Thank you. Sure. Please adjust the flag. I pledge allegiance. Allegiance to the flag of the United States of the America. And then the public. One nation. Undergone. Indivisible with liberty for all. That's pretty good for a Zoom meeting. All right. Tabitha, would you please uh announce the first item? Okay, the first item is the consent calendar, items 2.1 to 2.8. Do I have any questions or items wishing to be pulled by directors?

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