director brewer is absent director budge here director dickinson director hume director kennedy

here director maple is that director maple is here director rober here director schaefer here

director cerna here director singh allen here and chair jennings here with that we have a quorum of

10 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 U-verse cable systems. The recording will also

be video streamed at metro14live.saccounty.gov. Today's meeting replays Thursday, February 12th

at 2 p.m. and Tuesday, February 17th at 2 p.m. on Metro Cable Channel 14. Once posted, the recording

of 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 were two written public comments received on the streetcar project from Linda McKenna and

cameo rockwell and rick hodgkins provided comments on items 2.2 3 4.3 4.4 and 4.5

and all comments have been provided to the board

okay thank you very much director cerner would you lead us in the pledge of allegiance please

honored

okay we will move to our consent calendar items 2.1 to 2.8

and I'm looking for any questions, comments from my colleagues and from the public.

There are two speakers.

I have one speaker on the consent calendar.

Let's hear them now.

Okay.

Item 2.7, James Passarella.

Yes, hi.

I'm James Passarella.

I live at 500 N Street.

this is about the light rail extension that you want to put up.

I've been living there for about five years.

I've seen the traffic on that street,

especially when mall events occur

or there are events that occur at Staples,

not Staples, at...

Thank you.

I'm from LA.

And so one of the things that I think

really needs to be taking into account is the impact that's going to have on traffic in that

area. The second thing that I think is going to be important to realize is we're putting,

you're going to be cutting down a lot of trees and really kind of depressing that area. It says,

you're going to only cut down six trees and trim a few others, but when you get into the event,

I'm sure that more trees are going to disappear.

I have a picture of what I thought was a good idea for a train to go down the Capitol with fence on both sides for the train,

and you can still have the fence and whatnot on it.

I think we need to celebrate transportation, not stick it in some backwater area that doesn't look good and is not attractive.

I'm happy to obviously not have that going down my street, but one of the things too that's going to be very important is we have handicapped people that live in our building, blind individuals as well as those that are not mobile and that are on wheelchairs.

And we're going to be reducing that to 100%.

Is that it?

Oh.

So we're going to be reducing all of that space.

There's not going to be any parking or any temporary parking in front of our building because of the way the trains are going to go.

There's going to be two trains going in one direction, opposite directions, and then there's going to be a train or cars that are going in one direction.

I really think that the traffic and the mess that that's going to create is kind of not a very good idea.

Thank you very much for your thoughts on this.

Thank you.

You'd like to leave that?

Chair Cerner?

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I just wanted to make sure I understood your comments clearly.

You started by referencing a light rail extension.

Did you mean the streetcar?

Well, it's not a streetcar, because really isn't it the train?

Well, there's a distinction that we're making here in terms of the two types of rail systems

that will be under the rubric of regional transit.

but I just want to understand, because you mentioned light rail extension.

I think you meant the streetcar project.

Is that what it's called?

Because it looks like it's the same trains as what we have currently rolling on the tracks.

It'll be similar.

But if it's going to merge on the same tracks, okay.

Is it the one that you believe comes across the river?

It's going to be coming across.

Okay, that's the streetcar.

Okay.

Thank you.

thank you very much any additional comments

he's right here but isn't it going to call

not on the consent calendar to my colleagues any additional comments or questions or thoughts

if not i would entertain a motion second moved and seconded

without further conversation all in favor say aye aye opposed nay and abstain let the record show we

are unanimous okay let's move to item three public addresses the board on matters not on the agenda

okay first we have maddie parfit

Hello, my name is Maddie Parfit, and I'm a member of Strong Sack Town's transit team,

and I've been a regional transit rider for 40 years, not more. I appreciate the recent Goldline

upgrade project, but I was surprised by the poor performance of the bus bridges,

which I used several times. I saw no transit ambassadors or signs at 65th Street Station

to point out the location of the bus bridge stop. I waited near the 26th Bay, where I could see in

all directions. And when I saw the bus bridge and walked to it, the driver actually yelled at me for

not waiting at that unmarked stop that I didn't know was the stop for the bus bridge. Another

time, I used the bus bridge after dark. It was impossible to identify stations from inside the

bus at nighttime, and the driver barely announced them. I saw passenger after passenger start to

disembark and then realize that they were at the wrong stop. I have to ask why the bus bridges were

so confusing and inefficient since this was a planned project. Drivers were clearly frustrated.

Passengers were confused.

And apparently, no one took into consideration the fact that heavy traffic would impact the bus bridges.

I hope RT will do better in the future.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Barbara Stanton.

And then Tori Wilkinson and then Michael Bevins.

Hello, Barbara Stanton, Ridership for the Masses.

We'd like to talk today about the current one meeting a month situation.

And the meeting that was canceled in January, so it's a long time before we come before you.

The meeting dates are all over the place.

January, February, and March, they're at the end of the month.

April, May, and June, they're going to be held in the middle of the month.

and July, August, and September will be held near the end of the month again.

And October, November, and December are kind of a mix of end of month, middle of the month,

at the beginning of the month. Hard to put on a calendar. We were used to two meetings a month,

second meeting, you know, second week, last week, and it's very kind of confusing.

So Writership for the Masses is writing a proposal.

And then we didn't have meetings, you know, because the board couldn't get it together.

So Writership for the Masses is writing a proposal stating that if people cannot show up at meetings,

maybe you can put it on boards and commissions and open it up to the public.

So maybe the public's calendar is not as busy as you are.

We love you all, but sometimes you can't make it to the meetings.

We did this many, many years ago, but it didn't work very well.

But I'd like for you to consider doing it again.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Troy Wilkinson.

Hello.

My name is Troy Wilkinson, also part of the Strong Sacktown Transit team.

And I wanted to say a few things.

One, I appreciate some folks from SACRT met with us and sort of chatted through just generally SACRT's side of things and also the Streetcar Project.

We always appreciate that kind of relationship and really enjoyed our chat.

Something like, you know, 16 people in total chatting with two of y'all.

Really helpful in sort of clearing things up and just having direct communication.

Additionally, I want to echo Busbridge sort of qualms that I saw popping up from members of our group as well as, you know, forums online about, yeah, just sort of lack of understanding as to why things didn't like float together as nicely if it's a planned project with time to coordinate that kind of stuff.

and then lastly I was on a bus the 51 and saw zip pass you know

you know imagery on the top parts of the bus advertising zip pass I feel like it sends

confusing messages if we're moving on to the connect app but I could be wrong maybe people

still should be using the zip pass for certain things so maybe better communication about the

transit connect app because some folks are still kind of confused as to when to use what but thank

you thank you and michael bevins and then melissa damiano and then karen vakeri

hello board michael bevins i'm a occasional transit user i'd use it more if it went to my

workplace i want to talk today there's rumors out in the ethernet i guess that there might be a

community ballot measure to raise taxes raise uh well raise taxes to get more service for the city

the transportation, get more funding for transportation, a ballot measure. And I would

like to see if maybe no one in advance, if it does actually come through, that you would have

a wish list like you do already for the whole system, but maybe because this measure might be

from the Sacramento city only, that you have a wish list for Sacramento city residents who might

actually pass this measure. Not that the whole system isn't needed, but maybe you can reward

the citizens of city of Sacramento if they pass this thing to show them, here's what we're going

to do for the city. We're going to, there are a lot of dead spots in the city currently, even,

you know, dense midtown, downtown, you want to get across town. It's a long walk to the bus stop

that's currently there or a long walk to the light rail. What if we had more minor buses,

network areas, neighborhood areas, neighborhood transit, sorry, that connects these gaps that you

don't have to walk so far to get to a bus, a neighborhood route. We have examples of this.

We have our flex program.

It's somewhat similar.

We have what's going on in Rancho Cordova with the Rancho Cordovan.

What if we had something like that to capture tourists and more riders from downtown, take it over to Midtown, just have a loop where you catch many federal buildings, state capitol, state buildings for work-related efforts, and for tourists to come down downtown.

The new waterfront that might be going in.

You have a train, a bus, a shuttle bus that just collects and goes around.

so you can maybe make that trip to the next bus that you want to go out of town.

Make it a little shorter.

Just hop on this little 15-minute loop train that goes to your bus stop.

Anyway, time's up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Melissa Damiano.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Thank you for your time.

I am speaking on behalf of the members and residents at 500 N Street regarding the streetcar, although when Director Adams came to speak at our building, he said point blank, let's be real, we're talking about light rail, so it is the light rail.

We want to express concerns regarding the approved light rail expansion project proposing dual tracks along N Street, including directly in front of our residential frontage.

This project would remove the only loading and access zones serving residents of our building, many of whom live with disabilities, including blindness, limited mobility, and reliance on wheelchairs or accessible transportation services.

This loading area is also essential for food, medication, fire, ambulance, medical transportation, ADA paratransit, mobility assistance vehicles, mail trucks, move-ins and move-outs, and contractor access to our building.

We have no alternative site for these reasons.

We don't have a side street.

We don't have an alleyway.

We have nothing but this frontage along our building for these services.

This is the only place where ADA-assisted residents can be picked up, and eliminating this zone would create unsafe conditions, significantly impair our residents' mobility and independence, and based on ADA standards, appears to violate accessibility obligations under both federal and state laws.

Accessible passenger and loading requirements, ADA standards 209 and 503 under the Disabilities Act require these types of places in front of residential buildings. Thank you.

Thank you.

Karen Vaicary and then L.R. Roberts.

Hi, thank you. Karen Vaicary, I'm an owner and resident at 500 N Street.

and Melissa just said it so well, I'm not even going to waste your time. I'm just going to say

that we have grave concerns about what's going to happen because the light rail with the bike lanes

takes out any parking on the whole street, any parking anywhere for cars to pull over.

There will be nothing for our building. There will be no way for us to get emergency services,

moving vans, paratransit, anything at all. So I'm going to second Melissa's comments

and thank you for your time. Thank you.

And L.R. Roberts.

So L.R. Roberts, two things. I just went to see Jeff in the hospital. You know, he got hit by a

car in November and he's been hospitalized four times. So that's why he's not here.

The other thing is Barbara Stanton talked about the idea of a community member being on the board

and we're going to present it at our dogfight meeting on Thursday.

So we may be supporting that position too.

Oh, and somebody's phone is lost.

Did I hear you say dogfight meeting?

Yeah.

Am I being too literal?

D-O-G-F-I-T-E.

Let's see, disability organization.

Anyway, it's a disability rights group that works out of RIL.

And we come here almost every time.

Usually Helen, but Helen's just got out of the hospital too.

Thank you so much.

Anybody else?

There's no more public comment.

Okay.

Is there a motion on the floor for the consent calendar?

I think we did the consent calendar.

This was items not on agenda.

I'm sorry.

So we'll go to item three.

and it's a new business, and I think that will be presented by our chair, Mel Kerk.

So item 4.1, motion chair and vice chair for Sacramento Regional Transit Board of Directors for 2026.

On December 8, 2025, the SacRT Board of Directors adopted an intent motion to nominate vice chair

Bobby Singh Allen as chair and director Pat Hume as vice chair of the Sacramento Board of Directors for calendar year 2026.

And at this time, the board is being asked to formally nominate and elect the chair and vice chair of the SacRT Board of Directors for the calendar year 2026.

And then once the motion is finalized, Chair Jennings can hand the gavel over to Chair Singh Allen, who will finish tonight's meeting as the chair.

Move approval.

Looking for a motion.

I hear move approval.

Okay.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Third.

Second and a fourth.

Okay.

Who was the second?

Barbara?

The table.

Okay.

The whole table.

The entire of this past.

Yeah.

The left wing here.

Yeah.

Any further discussion on this item?

Hearing none, seeing none.

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

Abstain?

Okay.

That motion is now moved.

It is now my honor to first, thank you for the opportunity to be your chair for 25.

I've enjoyed it tremendously and enjoyed working with every single one in this room, whether you are someone that comes in and speaks to us, whether you're a part of the staff, whether you're a part of the board here.

I have enjoyed it tremendously, and I know we are in great hands as I pass on this gavel.

So I'm going to stop talking, and I'm going to turn it over, and I'm going to be obedient.

It is next.

Yes, sir.

We may go around and go.

If you don't mind a little indulgence before we do the formal passing of the gavel there, I'd just like to commend you. I think during your tenure as chair, you've done two things that stood out to me. One is you've been very cognizant of the work that staff does and making sure that they get recognized and that from the folks that sit in this room to the folks that are out on the front lines every day, you know, to make sure that they know that they are valued. And I think that's important in an organization.

And the second thing that I think you've done amazingly well that maybe we haven't done as well in the past is you've really opened up the transparency for the folks that want to come and address this board and make sure that they know that they have opportunities not just to be heard, but then to have a response put on the record, which I think is an important closing of the loop.

So I just want to thank you for doing that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I echo the exact same comment, so I would say ditto, but you know I that procedurally having that report out as an agenda item for items brought up from the public that happened under your watch and I think you know when it comes to transparency and leadership.

you've done an amazing job so i have big shoes to follow i think literally and figuratively

but i thank you for your your leadership and um you know balancing the act of wearing many hats

not only as a representative from the city of sacramento but a number of other boards and

commissions you've done an amazing job representing sac rt so thank you for your leadership thank you

thank you good right we agree all right it is now officially the time for me to pass the gavel

so i get to hit it one more time

pass and we will change seats no we can stay we'll do that next time we don't need to do that

i'll take the gavel though just in case we need it six inches off my chair but thank you everyone

for the honor um with that we are on our sac rt board and commission appointments item 4.2

tabitha so at this time we have four items that require chair appointments uh the first item a

chair appointment appointing one board member or board or management staff member to all retirement

boards atu ibew oe3 mseg and ask me and at this time the sac rt board chair needs to reappoint

shelley valentin or appoint either a new management staff member or board member for a term of four

years to assume the seat of shelley valentin's expired term without any objections i would like

to reappoint um shelley to this position second or is that just it's just yeah i just if there's

any uh objections all right next item the next uh appointment okay so for the next three chair

appointments b c and d the sac uh secretary board chair needs to appoint board member representatives

for each item and then establish a time frame for up to 12 months for the duties to be performed so

So the B, we have chair appointment appointing board members to the ad hoc real estate committee.

Last year, directors Brewer, Budge, Kennedy, Maple, Rorba, and Schaefer were appointed to this committee with Chair Jennings or Vice Chair Sing Allen to attend his leadership.

So without objection from any of the presiding directors, I would like to reappoint the same representatives.

Anybody want out?

Otherwise, the same group.

All right.

We'll move forward.

Okay.

and then we have c chair appointment appointing board members to the ad hoc committee on new

transportation funding and last year directors brewer budge maple rorba and cerna were

representatives on this committee and director maple served as chair same thing uh without any

objections reappointment are we good all right thank you okay and then d chair appointment

appointing board members to the sac rt funding task force last year directors brewer budge worba

were representatives on the funding task force so without any um changes if everyone's up for

reappointment all right we will move forward i do have one other request um it's not agendized

but it's under appointment uh director schaefer would like to step down from the capital corridor

can we take that now under this bigger umbrella or bring that back we'll bring it back okay so

know that that will be up for appointment thank you and then for the time frame did you just want

to do 12 months okay thank you all right with that we will move on to our next item item 4.3

there is no presentation for this the information is included in staff report

laura ham is available for any questions did you want to read the item

i can read the item so 4.3 information report regarding contract change order number 27 to

the contract for construction of the dos rios light rail station with dmz builders there is

no presentation for this item the information is included in the staff report laura ham is available

if anyone has questions any questions seeing no hands raised thank you we will move on to our

next item 4.4 if you want to read that out 4.4 resolution 202602003 amending and restating title

nine of the sacramento regional transit district travel authorization procedures and olga sanchez

zecho will present this item thank you hi good evening um congratulations oh thank you new chair

um board chair vice chair and directors um this evening staff has brought proposed amendments to

Title IX of the SACRT Administrative Code. Among other provisions that we are proposing to change,

Title IX governs how travel requests by directors are processed and approved. Title IX has not been

amended in more than 25 years and is out of date. And based on direction received from incoming

board chair Singh Allen, Title IX is in need of modifications related to director travel at

SECRT's expense. Specifically, the relevant provisions of Title IX do not place any restrictions

on the number of directors that can travel at SECRT's expense per event conference,

or the number of times directors can travel at SECRT's expense in any given year. So staff is

asking that the board establish guidelines to incorporate into Title IX regarding the number

of directors who can travel to each specific conference annually and how many conferences

each director may travel on a yearly basis at SACRT's expense and to establish those

guidelines both for domestic and international travel, which are both addressed in Title

IX.

And with that, I'd hand it back to Chair Singh Allen to lead discussion on that.

All right.

Thank you for that presentation.

It is in your packet.

Since we don't really have specific guidelines, the idea was to bring it up for discussion so that we had some guardrails.

Since this is public money, we want to be cognizant of that.

So I would love to hear from any of you if you have any suggestions on this.

We just wanted to really bring it back for discussion and then provide guidance of what that could look like.

Director Cerna.

Thank you, Chair.

Yeah, I totally get it and understand that what we're considering tonight is beginning the process of establishing a policy.

One of the things or opportunities that I would encourage staff and other board members here to consider is maybe look at the rotation of the chair and vice chair as the two individuals that would be presented with the opportunity to represent the district at conferences using, as you mentioned, public funds to travel.

and to have accommodations at the destination.

And then if either the chair or the vice chair have conflicts

and cannot represent the district,

then maybe it begins to open up the opportunities for other directors.

But I think that might be a worthwhile tradition

to kind of codify in policy.

And I think that's, I think it's appropriate since we've put our confidence in those two members each year to kind of be the face of the district.

That's what I have. Thanks.

Thank you. Excellent comments. Are there others?

Yes, Director Dickinson.

Thanks. My question in reading this, is this an issue? I mean, do we have?

We just don't have any guardrails.

Well, do we have occasions where more than two or three board members, if that many, want to go to a conference?

I'm raising the question because, frankly, not that all would either have time or interest perhaps,

but if we had multiple members of this board who wanted to go to the APTA annual or to the rail conference or virtually anything else,

I don't think that's a bad thing. I think that's a good thing. And so unless there's some indication that there's some form of abuse of the travel allowances currently, or there's some compelling financial reason, it's unclear to me why we need to...

Yeah. So so part of the discussion was really to limit the number because there isn't an, you know, an infinite number of resources.

I don't believe it's been abused, but I think that having some parameters, it could be a good problem to have.

But part of this is I know a number of us from other cities pay our own way for certain events that it doesn't come back to SACRT to pay for.

So we just want to have protections in place. I think it's just good governance that it's not an open-end ticket. So I do appreciate the comments from Director Serna, Chair, Vice Chair, and if one of the representatives isn't available, it opens up to other directors. It might be a good policy.

I do appreciate that, but I don't think it's been abused, but I think the goal was to have some guardrails and have a process so that we didn't have to come back on an as-needed basis to approve it.

Because I get requests to approve travel, and I don't feel comfortable personally approving without a policy.

Well, I guess I'm still at a little bit of a loss here. I mean, if we had five people who wanted to go to the rail, APTA Rail, which I don't know has ever happened, wouldn't that be a good thing?

I mean, and well, I certainly understand and think it makes sense to ask the chair and vice chair first if they want to go.

We wouldn't. If both of you said yes, you'd like to go to APTA annual.

Do we want to say then that no other board member could go?

So then that for APTA. So then maybe we can if you wanted to maybe itemize conferences.

What about cap to cap? Would you feel the same about that?

No, I would think that it would make sense to try to align because a number of agencies will help cover expenses.

for that. So to me, it's just almost a rule of reason. Let's take cap to cap. If we had

seven people on this board who said, I want to go to cap to cap and I want RT, well, can you

ask that agency you sit on or that commission that you sit on and work through that? I don't see

that as that difficult an issue, quite honestly. That's-

Director Butch.

Let's just be arbitrary.

Say the chair and the vice chair and two other members could be covered.

For any conference?

For anything.

Because a lot of times Henry and his staff will ask us, you know, this and that and the other coming up, do we want to go?

or there are times when, I mean, I can't imagine an instance, but perhaps people would not sign up

for cap to cap unless they specifically thought they could help out on the RT team.

Yeah, not every city perhaps pays. You have to go into your own fund. So we, you know, and so

not applying what one city does for another, you just want to have some guardrail, not because of

abuse, but just to have, when you get the approval for signing off on the check, I need to know that

there was a policy that would allow it. We have it in our city for how many, how much, so we don't

want a blank check. So it would be, so is your, go ahead, Director Hume, Vice Chair Hume.

Thank you, Chair. If I may, in the staff report, the recommendation was in alignment with what

direct to CERNA had put forward. And then they were asking for additional clarification up to

how many number of events could anyone who's authorized to go attend in an annual on an

annual basis. So I think there's two questions. Should there be paid travel, who that should

apply for, and then how many times a year should it apply? Can I make a comment? Yes, please.

I don't have it. Yeah. I know cap to cap last year, I think we had six. I don't know if

Sakharad, he paid for all six, but we had six in the meeting, those two meetings that were very

vital to us getting some federal funding. So I would hate to see a limitation of those that want

to be at an event helping to advocate in a situation like that. In our city, what we do

is we have a budget per council member, and then we can kind of play with that within reason. So if

someone else can't travel, then maybe we can tap into some of their funds as well. So that's one

other option we could do. I would hate to see it limited to, as Roger said, obviously, I think

having the chair and vice chair always being given the option to go to whatever events the staff

thinks is relevant. I think that could be unlimited in that sense. And then I would say up to five or

six total people, I could see kind of doing a restriction like that five or six, you know,

if those that many people want to go to one of these other regional events, that would

be a limitation that I'd be comfortable with as well.

Okay.

And for the record, I paid my own way for cap to cap, not saccharity.

I just want since it was brought up.

Director Budge.

Yeah, just, just an additional comment.

We don't have a policy.

No.

Okay.

We don't, period.

But when we have been, when the city is going to get an award at a specific event, there have been times when we have to send a lot of people to staff information booths or to be there to make a good representation.

So doing something hard and fast should figure out how to leave them room to say, we're going to get an award for this and that.

We'd like to put on a good show.

Does that require travel?

Well, it depends on where the award is.

So, I mean, I'm hearing comments from all over the place.

So are you good with no policy?

No.

We can move forward with that too if that's the case.

Director Jennings.

Thank you.

So I think I've heard a lot of great ideas and some ideas that I think we need to really

look at.

And maybe there's some things that we haven't talked about as well.

I'd be more than happy to work with a subgroup that could take a look at all the things that

we've talked about already and the things that we haven't talked about, come back to

this board and present that to you so that we could then make an informed decision as

what's in the best interest of RT and us as a as a as board members so just another idea I want to

put on the table so that we don't spend so much time on it tonight um but I would be good with

that one another subcommittee yeah well yeah all right I was just gonna say one other option is

is there a budgeted line item and then I apologize I didn't ask that question before but I'm sure

there's probably a budgeted line item for a board director's travel um and so maybe it could be at

every year in January or whatever point of the year is the most ideal, the board requests what

events they'd like to go to. And then if it falls within that budget, there's the policy, right?

Our budget is our policy. And then if we ever need to go over it, maybe it's formalizing that

in some way. So there's some- You're getting sort of a feel. I do. I like what you're suggesting.

um yes director brewer i concur with um with director jennings assessment i mean 72 hours

is not enough time for us to hammer out a policy or set down the number of events for

this for something like this this needs a little bit more breathing time probably like a month

then come back next month with something that is more concrete that everyone can live with

because Director Ruribaut and Director Budge do have a point.

Once you have first right of refusal to the chair and vice chair,

if neither of them are available,

then you want to open it up to the other members,

but which members will want to go?

Because some of us may want to participate,

and it's going to be more than just two or three.

And that's whether it's the APTA convention or regional trail,

or rail convention, if it's in St. Louis or in Omaha or Chicago, you want to have the people in

the room that can go given the first right of refusal, but if there's more than two,

then you want to have that option open, especially if Sacramento Regional Transit's budget is going

to cover those costs. So if I can summarize, what I'm hearing is we want to get more information

from staff on the numbers and then maybe take a revisit this in a month or so with the comments

that you've heard is that good okay so there's no active motion where um i need a motion to at

least continue this so moved but are you going to um are you going to put rick and rod together to

to talk i don't know that we need a subcommittee i think they you you have some good feedback

to come back?

I don't know that it warrants the subcommittee.

We heard several possibilities.

I'm comfortable in staff

in trying to get one more committee up and running.

I have some one-on-ones with some board members.

And you can get?

I will get information in March meeting.

Yeah.

So just to, can I give just a little bit more direction?

I'd love to see what our line item is,

what our budget is,

and then maybe the last couple of years

and actuals or a handful of years.

Yeah, perfect.

If I could just add one more thing that I went to APTA in Boston last year, and I was looking for a specific thing when I went there.

I didn't put that in an application, but certainly APTA would be if the opportunity presented itself.

I'm still looking for that information that I didn't find at that particular conference.

But there's a specific reason I wanted to go.

so I think that's kind of important if somebody has takes the initiative

and makes that motion that they would like to go I think they should have the opportunity

agreed

we have clarity yeah okay thank you I don't know that we need to open it up for public comment

since there's really no action we're going to continue this there's no public comment on the

item but did you want to continue the item let's continue the item with the proper information

brought back from staff that'll be the motion okay okay so but yeah budge moved okay okay

perfect thank you all those in favor thank you all right with that we will go on to item 4.5

Okay, Item 4.5, Resolution 2026-02013, declaring backbone fiber optic cable damage at the American River Bridge in emergency, authorizing the suspension of competitive bidding to complete repairs and delegating authority to the general manager, CEO to execute a contract or contracts over $150,000 if necessary to complete the repairs.

And this item does need a four-fifths vote.

There's no presentation.

Sandy Bobeck is available to answer any questions.

Thank you for that.

Are there any questions from directors?

I do have a question.

Director Dickinson.

Thanks.

My question simply is whether there are additional measures you anticipate taking to protect

the cable from being vandalized again, if there are protective measures further that

can be taken.

I do have a report on my GM report about, you know.

Okay.

Okay.

You want to talk about them?

That's fine.

Okay.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Chair. I just have a quick question because this has come up in recent months. Even though this is an emergency authorization because it's past the $50,000 threshold for the Levine Act, how do we get security up here on this board that we shouldn't have recused ourselves for a campaign contribution?

if we don't know who the bidder is but we're suspending competitive bidding that's a really

really good question um which i don't think we had considered um yeah because we don't know well

about that we just is it is it well that's what i was just going to ask is because we're not

we're not determining who the award goes you're not you're just declaring it can't be conflicted

right you're just declaring it an emergency to suspend competitive bidding and then we're

we'll go through the process and and award it to whomever this action gives the general manager

the authority to award gotcha to whoever i'll move the item then i can all right before that uh

public comments there's no public comment motion in a second were there any other questions

All right. Seeing none. All those in favor, please say aye. It has to be roll call. It has to be roll call. All right. Who's taking it? I'll take it. Thank you. Director Brewer. Aye. Director Budge. Yes. Director Dickinson. Aye. Director Hume. Aye. Director Kennedy. Director Maple. Director Rorba. Aye. Director Schaefer. Aye. Director Cerna. Aye. Director Jennings. Aye. And Chair Singh Allen. Aye. Okay. Resolution passes with 11 votes.

All right. Thank you. Next item, please.

Next item is the general manager's report.

First, on behalf of 1,500 SACART employees, I just wanted to thank Chair Rick Jennings' strong leadership last year.

And just remember one thing, if we have to remember.

In the psychiatrist's 51-year history, you are the first board chair who led a very powerful delegation to have the White House meeting.

We never had a White House meeting.

And that meeting brought a huge positive impact to us, including tens of million dollars.

We're going to have next month meeting, we're going to have a recognition, whatever, and

everybody can share their thought.

But today I just want to say that.

Thank you.

And also congrats to our Chair St. Allen and Vice Chair Hume.

And good evening, board and the public.

Thank you for joining us today.

First, I just want to share with the board, at the beginning of January,

January, you know, South County transitioned our police services department team

through an expanded partnership with the South County Sheriff's Department.

The transition has been very smooth and very effective.

And SAAC-RT's enhanced safety team will include over two dozens of police officers and a total

over 150 personnel now dedicated to safety and security on our system.

And thank City of SAAC's police service support in the past, and really appreciate the partnership

with the county sheriff's department.

Next slide, please.

This relates to Director Dixon's question.

Our partnership with the sheriff actually paid off.

In January, sheriff deputies arrested a man and two other women suspected of stealing large

amounts of copper wire along our library system.

And a couple of while, theft, part of increasing problem nationwide affecting infrastructure,

construction, and other transit and other transportation projects.

This has been a huge issue for many agencies.

To count on this, last year we partnered with California Transit Association on an assembly

bill that seeks to combat the theft of copper wire by requiring junk dealers and recyclers

to connect more detailed transaction records.

So police can quickly get the loss table for your information and make arrests.

And we have also increased patrols and added more surveillance cameras in high-risk areas

after a rise in transit-related crime, including this one.

Then also, we just got approval from FAA to allow us to use AI-powered drone technology,

drones.

We will be the first in the transit industry to employ the drones, to oversee those infrastructure

on the sky, and that will help us to quickly monitor and capture the perpetrators.

And since the arrest last month, we have not had any couple incidents along our line, and

we're going to be more alert for and spend more effort on this.

So that is that.

Next slide.

Also in January, psychiatry was very proud to stand with local partners in the fight

against helm trafficking.

In recognition of Helm Trafficking Awareness Month,

Sarkati is collaborating with the county DA office,

county sheriff office, Wave, and

Slooptim International of Elk Grove

to launch a very powerful public awareness campaign.

We hosted a press conference earlier last year,

and I really want to thank Chair Senghain

and immediate passenger genius for leading this effort.

And helmet trafficking is a serious and open hidden crime

that affects communities across the country,

including right here in Sacramento.

And public transit systems can play a vital role

in identifying and preventing trafficking,

and we are committed to being a vital part of the solution, we are actually the eyes

and the hairs, the eyes and the ears of the regional system.

The press conference and the other effort generated huge social media exposures.

And our marketing department gave me statistics, and they said, you know, if we buy these type

of exposures, that worth $58 million to just buy this.

Also earlier, I had the privilege of attending the LGROV MLK Community Breakfast.

I really want to thank Director Brewer for hosting the event for multiple years and extending

an invitation to us.

The fantastic breakfast, celebrated life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It's always great to say civic leaders, business groups, community members, and more come together

in unity.

Next slide, please.

And on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the SACCAD team, led by our chair, you see, that's our

chair walking in front, was proud to march with thousands of other Sacramentans, from

Sacramento City College to the Convention Center.

We partnered with MLK 365 as part of the 44th annual Work With Me March for the Dream.

We provide the courtesy bus for those people who have trouble working any part of the march.

And lots of people give us some good compliments.

We also provide shuttle bus services and free ride flyers for marchers to return to the

start.

And that helps a lot.

From bus boycotts to freedom rides, public transit has been at the forefront of the civil

rights movement, and highlighting how transportation access is so crucial for economic and social

equity.

So at the very end of January, as part of a nationwide movement, hundreds of or thousands

of students wrote SAC-RD to the state capital to make their voice heard peacefully.

And well over those 1,000 students descended on the capital, and as you can see in the

picture, many of them using SAC-RD.

This picture is historical.

We never saw so many students in a moment.

So it's not AI.

This is truly a true picture.

And really, thanks to our Ride Free RT program,

students can ride buses and die wheel,

feel free marketing,

making it easier to get to school

and participate in savvy events

and connect with their community.

and it was great to see our youth

taking advantage of the program.

I really want to give a shout out

to our operational team and the legal team,

Blanca and Nisa.

That whole day, just from beginning to the end,

we were constantly on the phones,

try to find any potential risk area

to make sure all these wonderful students

will be 100% safe.

And we did very well.

I don't want to say perfect,

but probably 99% perfect.

Nobody got hurt.

That is the most important thing.

We were so worried.

Because it happened.

You know, just like that moment,

we did not know a day before.

Okay, next slide.

Every year on February 4th, we recognize Transit Equity Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the life and legacy of civil rights leader Rosa Parks.

Her courageous refusal to give up her seat on the Montgomery bus in 1955 helped spark a movement for social justice and greater fairness in public transportation.

In recognition of her heroic act,

Sarcati fixed route bus service was free on the 4th.

And in her honor, every Sarcati bus featured a reserve

in honor of Rosa Parks' seat,

reminding us that equity, dignity, and access belong to everyone.

That concludes my report.

Thank you.

Thank you, Henry, for your excellent report. Any questions or comments from directors looking to the right? Yes, Director Dickinson.

Thanks. Henry, I was still curious whether there's any physical improvements that can be made or would be made to protect the fiber optic.

We did. We did.

I heard about the drones and the security and the rest, but are there, I'm just curious. Okay, Lisa.

Yes, we did, yeah.

Sure. One of the things that our light rail maintenance staff did is as we had copper theft, they're replacing it with stainless steel. So it's worth pennies on the dollar. And so the attractiveness for thieves is pretty much zero. So we're changing that out throughout our system.

Oh, okay. Okay. I appreciate that answer. And I think that's what a lot of folks are doing these days with things like backflow devices and the like. Okay, thanks.

We actually exhaust all the possible ways.

Not all.

We tried our best to say hi.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Director Maple.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

And congratulations.

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the updates.

One of the things I was particularly interested in was the drones and that we'll be the first to use them.

I think that's really interesting to me.

Last year, I went on a study mission to Amsterdam and focused on smart mobility.

and drones is a very, very big part of that,

especially how local governments and agencies can use them

to not only make things more efficient and safer,

but to do things like inspections as well, right?

And so I think I'm really excited by this,

and I'd love any level of detail that you can provide,

maybe at the next meeting or even by email,

just so I can understand the program.

Thanks.

Definitely.

Well, just a reminder,

we have a wonderful partnership with City of Sac

and two other private partners.

We had the best bus forward-looking camera, AI camera, to capture the violators on our bus stops and on the bike lines.

As a result of that, the incidence reduced by 85%.

people did not

park in our

bus stops. There were

thousands of incidents

in the past, and now

we reduced by 85%.

Yeah.

Director Jennings?

Thank you. Henry, I just want

to thank you and the staff at Regional Transit

for all of your efforts

as it relates to the Dr. Martin Luther King

Day. The

transportation is not

only for those who can't walk the eight miles from Sac City College to the convention center,

it's for those who can't walk back as well. And it's for all the kids that are still

getting their walking legs under them. But it's just a wonderful thing. And I get so many people

who say to me, I saw you at the RIT board and I want to thank you for making this happen. So

they give me credit and the credit belongs to all of our employees and all of our general manager

and all those who were involved in the decision to support it and sponsor it and financially

sponsor it, not just with the buses and the equipment. So I just want to thank you personally

because it makes a difference in the city of Sacramento to see RT getting involved in this

type of endeavor. So thank you. Thank you, Director Jennings. Any other directors from my left?

Thank you. And I will provide just some brief, wanted to really thank you for coming to Elk Grove, Henry, of course, and then also you, Director Jennings, for the MLK Breakfast.

And then just kudos on SACRT highlighting the students.

For those of you who were paying attention, it was not a political post.

It was highlighting students using public transportation, gathering peacefully, using the ride-free, and just highlighting the students without a political statement.

And unfortunately, some of the comments weren't, you know, did not showcase that.

So I just wanted to kudos to SACRT for showcasing the strength of the students, their voice, and bottom line, using public transportation, gathering peacefully, and using our free Kids Ride Free app.

So thank you for all of that.

Are there any comments from the public on the general report?

There's no public comment.

All right.

Well, that, we'll move on to our next item.

so next item under reports ideas and questions from directors and communication we have 6.1

san joaquin joint powers authority meeting summary of january 23rd 2026 and director huma attended

that meeting i did and i'll just say and i don't believe i've reported this out yet but we faced a

pretty difficult conundrum with the san joaquin jpa uh that due to escalating construction costs

and difficult negotiations with the commercial railroad operator,

we essentially had to pick whether to go south or to go north.

We couldn't do everything that we had previously promised,

and so it was not an easy decision, and I don't take any credit for it,

but we did decide to prioritize the stations to the north

as being the first to be delivered.

So that's good news for us, but it's unfortunate news

for our folks down in Modesto and Turlock and beyond.

Mr. Vice Chair, I just want to let you know the new executive director of your agency is

you the chair. You hired that gentleman. We had a wonderful meeting two weeks ago,

and he's fantastic. We will work together seamlessly.

Thank you. Were there any questions for Director Hume on this?

seeing none were there any questions from the public no public comment okay very good we'll

move on to our next item okay so the next item we have is closed session there is a correction on

10.1 i left out of code section inadvertently on the second line so we have 10.1 conference

with legal counsel pursuant to government code section 54956.9 d anticipated litigation

one case and then we have 10.2 conference with real estate negotiator pursuant to government

code section 54956.8 the property is franklin light rail station and park and ride lot and

the apns 119-008-0046 and then four zeros 119-008-0041 and four zeros and the agency negotiator

Christopher Flores, Chief of Staff, VP Real Estate, and Negotiating Party, City of Sacramento.

Under negotiation is the lease price in terms.

And those are the two items.

Okay.

Before I read my announcement, were there any director questions on our items?

Were there any comments from the public?

No public comment.

All right.

So there will be no report out from closed session.

The closed session will be held in this room.

If all attendees could please leave the room right after we adjourn.

The next Sacramento Regional Transit Board meeting is scheduled for February the 23rd, 2026 at 4 p.m.

With that, we will officially adjourn.

Thank you, everyone, for your participation.

Thank you.

Thank you.