She probably oh, there we go.

Madden Clerk, are we prepared to start the meeting?

I don't know what to do with that.

Okay, sound the gavel.

It's okay.

Good evening, everyone.

I am honored to call to order the November 5th meeting of the City of West Sacramento City Council Redevelopment Successor Agency and Finance Authority.

Whether you're here in person or you're streaming us live online, uh thank you for being here tonight.

Uh we've got quite a few important topics to discuss, and I will do my best to get us out before midnight.

That was a joke.

If it's a joke, um, let's start with our land acknowledgement.

We would like to acknowledge that the land in which we live, work, learn, and commune is the original homelands of indigenous people of West Sacramento who have stewarded this land throughout generations.

We acknowledge and we thank the original inhabitants who have occupied, maintained, and secured this place, and who still exist on this land.

We respect and celebrate the many diverse indigenous people still connected to this land on which we gather.

Thank you.

We would like to invite our guests to join our council in the Pledge of Allegiance, and I would like to bring our VFW commander Leo Allatore to the podium to lead us in the pledge this evening.

So we will move on to our agenda.

Presentations by the public on matters not on the agenda within the jurisdiction of the council.

Also, in front of the clerk is an analog flip charge which indicates which agenda item the council is currently considering.

Once the staff report has been read and the council questions and public testimony have begun, we do not accept any further speaking requests on that particular agenda item.

If you're addressing a specific agenda item, please turn in your cards as soon as possible, but definitely before the conclusion of the staff report for that particular agenda item.

Furthermore, so that we can maintain a civil discourse here in the chambers, we ask that those in attendance and those who address the city council abide by the code of conduct posted by the request to speak cards and the on the podium and just not speak in loud, threatening, offensive, abusive, or other disrespectful language that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of this meeting.

Uh city clerk, do we have any um requests to speak under item one?

We have one public comment from Guy Stevenson.

Mr.

Stevenson, please join us.

If I'm wrong, I'll take ownership and say that I apologize, and I and I mean that sincerely.

I agree with her that it's not right to specifically go after any city, because I know you guys know a little bit about VIA.

Do I agree with the way they operate?

Absolutely not.

Uh and believe me, if I had a choice or I could do something about it, they wouldn't be driving any of those vans over here in West Sack.

And that's truly how I feel.

They're dangerous, they're aggressive, and they're gonna hurt somebody, and then the city will get sued.

Uh and I do have a pet peeve about VIA, and I'm not gonna lighten up off of it.

I just don't like stupid drivers.

And uh I had an experience the other day where I rode into VA and this person decided they wanted to drive through because they wanted the exit down on Enterprise, and they wanted to drive through the construction site.

That's a definite no-no.

So I reported her and I told them I was gonna take them to court, so I don't know.

But anyway, um you guys really and the people like Stephanie Chan and and the people that run that department, they really need to come out of their office.

If they're gonna speak about it and they're gonna put their uh what they think is best for a via, they need to go out and ride in these vans, check out the people that are driving them, check out the general looks of these vans, because you people have West Sacramento on your doors, so they think that those people are employees for the city.

So I have a I like I said, I have a real big pet peeve about it, but I'm asking you, city council members and you, mayor, you guys really need to uh some time ride in one of these vans, talk to the drivers because the data that they're getting, I don't have any idea where they're getting that data because it's not true.

I think they try to do it to uh to their benefit.

You know, they don't want to admit that there's problems with via, but there is and I absolutely don't like them.

They're worse in Sacramento, they're great over there, via because they have via over there, but they're also maintained by regional transit, and they have a shop, they have uh truck wars, they have all that.

They don't over here.

So I'm just asking you to please check into it and try to straighten it out.

If you guys don't want to do anything about it, that's totally up to you.

But I'm telling you, if one of these people end up getting somebody killed or hit, then it's gonna come back on the city and bite them.

So that's all I'm saying.

And again, I apologize, all right.

Ladies, have a good thank you, Mr.

Stevenson.

Oh, great, thank you.

Rich Mill.

Mr.

Mill.

Good evening.

My name is Richard Miller from Stash West Sacramento, and I stand before you tonight.

Not just as a social equity applicant recipient, but as someone who has served this community and other communities throughout the state of California for 34 years, advocating for fairness, inclusion, safe access within the medical cannabis industry.

After going through a year-long RFP process for the city's social equity cannabis Dispensary Program, following every rule, meeting every requirement with the highest scores in passing the interview process.

Ultimately winning the RFP process, being awarded the opportunity in August 2025.

Then I was just told five weeks later in September 2025.

The entire program would be shut down, moving forward with a new direction and a new cannabis ordinance.

I'm here tonight to ask why.

Why was a program designed to help uplift those historically excluded, arrested, or those affected by the war on drugs suddenly halted after applicants invested tens of thousands of dollars, time and trust.

And where does this decision leave us and where will we already awarded the RFP process in good faith?

As the city develops a new cannabis ordinance with the applicants who have already been vested, I'm sorry, vetted, selected, approved under the previous program by guaranteed the opportunity to move forward, or are we being asked to start all over again?

Risking even more financial hardship for the very people this equity initiative was meant to support.

We need assurance that the new process will not be abandoned like the last one, and that the city of West Sacramento stands by its commitment to equity, accountability, and integrity, protecting small business and operators.

Thank you for your time and for considering not just policy, but the people and the promises behind it.

Thank you.

And Miss Dort, I am your um constituent, thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Miller.

As you know we can't discuss this item, but we can make staff available to speak with you tonight if you'd like.

Does that conclude our public comment?

Wonderful.

Thank you.

Let's move on to presentations.

Uh, our first we have a two proclamations tonight.

Our first one is a presentation of a proclamation recognizing November 11th as Veterans Day, and my colleague, Councilmember Dante Early will be presenting that today.

Thank you so much, Mayor Pro Temps, Basio Hall.

Um, can I have uh Commander Leo Alatori come up?

Thank you so much.

Welcome and thank you for being here for us.

We are presenting this um proclamation from the whole city council to you, and I'm gonna start by reading it, and then we'd love for you to say some words if you would like.

Okay.

So, uh, City of West Sacramento recognizing November 11th, 2025 as Veterans Day, whereas America's veterans have bravely defended our country, its values, and its interests since our nation's founding, safeguarding freedom at home and abroad, and whereas soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coast guardsmen have placed the lives and security of others above their own, allowing us to enjoy the peace and freedoms we have today.

And whereas on Veterans Day, we honor all who have worn our nation's uniform with pride and our community owes an endearing debt of gratitude to them.

And whereas through their dedication and sacrifice, America's veterans have endured hardship and loss out of love for their country and duty to serve, and whereas declared by the U.S.

Department of Veteran Affairs, the 2025 theme, service to our nation, visually unites all uniform services under one flag and one purpose.

And whereas in West Sacramento, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, BFW Post 8762 fosters camaraderie among US veterans of overseas conflicts and advocates on behalf of all veterans, and whereas the vision of VFW post-8762 is to ensure veterans are recognized for the sacrifices they and their families have made on behalf of our nation.

And whereas VFW post-8762 has proudly served the West Sacramento community for 79 years and continues to do so with dedication.

Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the city, that the city council of West Sacramento recognizes November 11th, 2025 as Veterans Day, expresses its gratitude to VFW post 8762 and support the 2025 West Sacramento Veterans Day Parade, urging all residents to join in honoring our vet our veterans.

Proclaimed this fifth day of November 2025.

Thank you so much.

All right.

First off, I'd like to thank you guys, the city council and um Mayor Pro Tem Mayor Martha, I know she's not here, but she's they've always been a very big advocate for us and always been there for us.

Um when we're getting close to losing our building or or shutting down, the community itself comes to us and with open arms.

Um just last week, longshoremen came and cleaned up our whole VFW, and they we're just as indebted to you guys as you guys are appreciative of us.

So all I can say is thank you.

Um I would love everybody to go to the BFW or not to be well, go to the VFW too, but um go to the parade.

Um it's it's a really nice gesture to see the the Vietnam vets that didn't get that kind of support when they came back.

I know when I came back, I was in Fort Worth, Texas, and these doors opened up, and there's hundreds of people just cheering us on.

And I know for the Vietnam vets, they never got that.

So I think it's our turn to repay back to them as much as we can.

Um I think it's I the whole community would have shown up and be fantastic, and then we're having a free luncheon for the community too after the after the parade.

So would love to see everybody just come down to support our small little building that's just there for the vets, but there for the community as well.

Thank you so much.

Um and then you have a comment?

Real quick comment.

Leo, thank you for your service and all the veterans that are out there and those that are watching.

Thank you for your service.

Leo, um, you've done a great job along with your wife Ashley also of bringing people together at the um VFW.

There's been a resurgence of energy in there and people coming in.

I've seen the difference.

Um, and thank you for opening the doors um to so many of the community events.

It's great to see people um you know having a great time there and also learning, you know, about the veterans and you know what many stories that have been shared.

So thank you again.

I'm happy to go.

Um uh thank you for being here tonight.

Um I have uh family members in the military, and it's not just you serving, it's your family serving.

Um, and so thank you for your service, thank you for your family service, and thank you for creating community and a space for veterans to come to.

I didn't realize that the VFW Hall has been here 79 years.

That's incredible for our community.

And the like you not only create a space for veterans, but as my colleague mentioned, uh, it's a building that other folks in the community get to use, whether it's a birthday party, um, holiday party.

I've attended a funeral there recently, but creating space for West Sacramento has been really powerful.

And so thank you for that.

Thank you for the Veterans Day Parade.

Um, I'm out there with my kids every year.

It's just a wonderful community gathering.

So thank you very much.

Um, so both of my parents served in the military, uh the Air Force.

Um, my dad did 20 years and uh my mom 13.

And um I traveled the world with them, uh, including being uh born out of country.

And there's so much that your family sacrifices as well as you.

My father served in Iraq um and did two tours, and and I just remember being a kid and just hoping for for him to come back.

And so thank you so much for your service.

Thank you to your family, because they serve right along with you and make sure that you have a home to come back to.

Um, and thank you for having a place for veterans to feel safe, have a place where they can talk and um and and really be seen.

Um my dad loves the parade, and so does my mom.

Um we have walked every year for the past few years there, and I was reminding him uh the chair was like, You're coming down for the parade.

He's like, Yeah, I love it.

So I know that he's not the only veteran um that really appreciates uh just being recognized and and seeing because it really is uh a sacrifice that you make for us.

So thank you.

So let's take a picture.

Um, we're not gonna be a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a And next item on the agenda is a proclamation recognizing October 28th as National First Responders Day.

I would like to invite members of the police department, fire department, and public works department to come to the podium.

That's everybody.

So who are we nominating to come to the microphone?

Somebody's got to step up.

I'm the last one that should be up here.

I love this.

Well, I would love to know everybody who's standing in front of us.

Can we do introductions?

Yes.

How about I start with fire?

Yes, please.

So we have Captain Joe Lugo.

He's been here since like 2003-ish.

Um where does the rest of his team go?

There's engineer DePay, Python in the back.

He's been here for 20 years also.

And then uh probationary firefighter Cardenas, he's been here for 11 months, so he's doing everything with experience tonight.

And then my fire marshal is here he is right here.

Brian Johnson.

And then I know we have police chief strange standing right here.

I saw Winger, Lieutenant Winger.

We know we have Deputy Chief Meeks.

Here we have our public works department.

Oh, we've got officers everywhere.

How about somebody from coming over here?

You're surrounded.

I want to help you out here, Steve.

Officer Adams Torres Moro, and you can't see him because he's off screen to the uh the rest of folks.

But Sergeant Schwartz, our sergeant at arms tonight is also here.

And uh several folks here from public work.

Rebecca, do you want to introduce public works?

That'd be wonderful.

So from Public Works, we have Robert Santos, our utilities maintenance superintendent.

We have Chris Kanya, our water treatment superintendent, and we have Rick Bravo, acting water um lead worker.

Wonderful.

Thank you all for being here tonight.

I'm going to read the proclamation and then um give you an opportunity to speak, and then our my colleagues as well, and then we'll take a picture like we did before.

So proclamation of the city council, City of West Sacramento recognizing October 28th as National First Responders Day.

Whereas the City of West Sacramento honors and celebrates first responders everywhere as the first line of defense who serve and protect the public, including firefighters, paramedics, police officers, 911 dispatchers, public works and park park maintenance workers and other organizations that support during emergencies.

And whereas the West Sacramento Fire Department maintains five fire stations and operates around the clock to protect life property and the environment by also assisting neighborhood jurisdictions in Yolo County and the city of Sacramento through automatic and mutual aid agreements.

And whereas the West Sacramento Police Department's officers, dispatchers, and community service staff uphold public safety and emergency response, strengthen neighborhoods, and coordinate during major incidents.

And whereas the West Sacramento participates in the California Master Mutual Aid System, ensuring that our police fire and emergency personnel can assist other cities and counties during large-scale emergencies, such as wildfires, floods, and disaster recovery operations.

Whereas the city of Pu City's public works and parks and recreation departments also play a vital role in responding to emergencies by supporting public safety emergency response partners, helping protect essential services and restoring those services following an emergency.

And whereas the City of West Sacramento expresses deep gratitude to all first responders who demonstrate commitment, professionalism, and compassion in the face of danger, serving as the foundation of our community's safety and resilience.

Now, therefore, it be proclaimed by the City Council of West Sacramento, recognizes October 28th as National First Responders Day.

Thank you.

Who would like to speak?

I can just pick somebody out if somebody doesn't want to come to the mic.

I'd like to volunteer before I get picked.

Volunteers tribute.

Thank you, sir.

Um, so I would just like to recognize that that um the the move that you all make when you make statements like this is really really important.

And I think it also highlights part of the reason that I love working here, which is that we act around our values.

So we act by one year ago, passing a tax measure to actually fund a lot of the services that are represented by the people that stand behind me.

So thank you for not just speaking words that you say are values, but acting them as well and leading that way.

Uh, we hope I think in all of our departments that we honor that by working that way with our values leading us.

Um and I also I think it's also important to note that it's the diversity of this group and those that are actually represented here tonight.

You've mentioned you know, dispatchers and our paramedic partners, they're critical to daily work that we do, and the partnerships of everyone that stands behind me, they show up the most in the most critical times.

Every storm season, every fire season, every major anything.

It takes all of us coming together to do this.

So thank you for recognizing that with this proclamation and with that all.

Thank you, Rob.

Yeah, I just like to add thank you.

Thank you for your time.

I like to also thank the citizens of this community for recognizing all the hard work that all these teams here tonight um put into taking care of the community 24/7 365.

So thank you very much.

I appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

And then colleagues, would you like to sign in?

Yeah, I can I can start us off.

Um, I want to um it's interesting.

I got a chance to see um one of you guys last yesterday evening, and I had seen him recently, just when I was at the gym working out at 5 a.m.

And I remember it's dark, and I'm walking, I'm like, Miguel, is that you?

And he was out because he had gotten a call, gotten, you know, woke up and because someone was out, you know, doing things they weren't supposed to be doing.

And it just continues to remind me how much all of you are out there, even when we don't realize it, even in the dead of night, um, protecting our community, protecting all of us, every single one of you.

And I just want to say thank you.

We appreciate you, and although this um isn't much us recognizing you here.

I I hope you see it as as uh Chief Strange said as a representation of how much we truly do appreciate you, and we will do everything we can to make sure you not only know that but have the support that you need.

So thank you.

I will be brief.

Thank you so much for keeping us all safe up.

But I've spoken with uh people in our community, and they have concerns.

I've heard many of them say, I just had my Michael Madre um that lives over in Garnet tell me that she was so um overwhelmed by how quickly our fire department responded.

And when we've had emergencies, our police are there and of course our public works people also.

So I just want to say thank you so much.

Big tremendous thank you.

Uh I'll say the same thing, thank you for all you do.

When I was first elected uh in January 2023, we had a terrible storm that took out a lot of power in West Sacramento, and I remember talking to Aaron um about everything that was going on.

One of the things that he he brought to my attention, and I hadn't thought of it at the time, was that we still had clean water, um, which is something really important for a community that doesn't have power, and so I'm so happy that we have our public works here team too that keeps the water clean, um, and we're not on boil orders when power goes out in our community, and so I'm glad we expanded the first responders to include our public works.

So, Rebecca, thank you for making that happen.

Um you guys are on call 24 hours a day.

Um, I don't know how it happens sometimes, but somebody is always there to pick up the phone to answer.

Uh, you guys are the ones, guys and gals are at the ones at the community events, making contacts um with the residents and developing the relationships, and so we are just so honored and proud.

And like Chief Strange said, you know, um Measure O, we la last night with election night, we celebrated one year of measure O, and I'm so proud to see how far our cities come.

Um and that shows our commitment to everybody in this room.

So thank you for being here tonight.

Let's take a picture.

Okay, so we're going to swoop a little bit in this direction.

Yeah, we're going to go on.

Okay, I think it's a good second.

Okay.

Okay, here we go.

Okay.

Keep this moving, Berna.

Consent agenda items four through 10.

Do we have any uh requests to pull an item or any questions on four through ten?

We are good.

May I get a motion to approve?

So moved.

And a second, early seconds.

Uh we have a motion from council member Alcalan, a second from uh council member early.

Uh and then I need to call the roll.

Okay, so council member Alcala.

Aye.

Councilmember Early.

Aye.

Mayor Pro Temsol Pizio Hall.

Aye.

Great, and that covers our consent agenda.

We have no public hearings, and then we'll move to the regular agenda, item eleven.

Uh we have the Yolo County Transportation District's presentation on recommendations in the short range transit plan.

And we have Stephanie Chan who's going to be visiting us tonight.

And you are not Stephanie.

Surprise.

Good evening, Jason McCoy, supervising transportation planner filling in for Stephanie Chan.

The item before you tonight is the YOLO TD short range transit plan.

We have been working as city staff with YOLO TD in anticipation of this presentation.

Here this evening are Lola Torney, who is a uh senior transportation planner as well as Brian Abenat, who is a planning uh manager for YOLO TD.

Uh I'll be here to answer any questions you might have.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I apologize.

I didn't see she was here.

Autumn Bernstein, the director of Yellow T D is here as well, who can also answer any questions.

Great.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Thank you so much for having me.

I am Lola Torney, senior transportation planner with Yolo TD and a former resident of West Sacramento.

So I lived here about 15 years ago.

So it's always fun to be back.

Um so this evening I'm here to talk to you tonight about our draft recommendations for our short range transit plan.

Make sure I get this.

No.

Hold on.

No.

Yes.

Aha.

Never would have figured it out.

So this evening I will be discussing the what is a short range transit plan or what we call an SRTP.

Give a short project overview, go over transit planning 101, sort of the basics of what we'll be presenting tonight, the goals of the short range transit plan, go over the public engagement we've received so far, and go over the existing additions, the overall plan for the county, as well as the draft recommendations specific for West Sacramento.

So what is an SRTP?

It is a detailed roadmap, pun intended, for YOLO TD's operations, investments, and service improvements within about a five to seven year time frame.

It is subject to periodic updates and required by the FTA.

So an overview for this evening, for the this specific SRTP, the time frame is between 2024 and 2031.

And what we've done is analyze market demographics, travel demand trends, ridership and current transit service efficiencies, and used input from community surveys to develop the recommendations that would best serve YOLO County.

So at the bottom here is a schedule that you can see.

Right now we're towards the end where we're making draft changes based on input from phase two, and then we will be presenting the final recommendations to our board next month.

So a basic overview of transit planning.

For those of you who haven't read the book on it, the biggest struggle that transit operators have is the decision between providing frequent or coverage routes.

And so frequent routes are or high ridership routes are ones that based on the name are frequent, so they come more often, they are often all day and usually more condensed into major roadways and provide destination and provide direct access to major destinations.

Or coverage routes are those routes that are based on the name, of course, provide geographic coverage.

They're more considered equity routes in that they provide critical access to critical community destinations, should those destinations not be located on those in those major destinations, this key destinations that may otherwise be for frequent routes.

So here are our goals for the short range transit plan.

I'm not going to go over all of these, but basically we aim to provide a high-quality transit service that is sustainable both economically as well as environmentally.

So how did we do?

So some key themes we heard from phase one.

The request was to focus on frequency routes over coverage routes, to maintain fixed route service as the primary service model, and to improve on-time performance and reliability was seen as the highest priority for improvement for our service.

Some key West Sacramento themes specific for West Sacramento from phase one was we heard to continue to provide service to the Bright Broadrock neighborhoods, that we need a better connection between the north and south parts of the city, need better service to the high school, and asked to maintain access between Southport, between the south side of the city and downtown Sacramento.

So phase two outreach just concluded.

Uh during our national transit database sample surveying, which we were already doing as part of our operations, required operations for federal government.

So some high level things, as I mentioned from phase two that we've heard, what is your level of support for the recommended changes in West Sacramento?

You can see here the majority either strongly support or somewhat support the recommended changes.

The ones that are against or somewhat against in some way, we're noticing, I was trying to pull some quotes from them, mostly just want to actually expand service down on the South River Road and Village Parkway.

So still in Southport, but over closer on the east side of the city, which we are currently not recommending in this plan.

And then another question: does this proposal change how you reach your regular destinations in West Sacramento?

The majority said it would either be more convenient or have no impact.

So setting the stage, here are the existing routes that we currently offer in West Sacramento.

We have four local routes, that's routes 40, 41, 240, and 37, as well as our intercity route, Route 42, and that travels all circumnavigates basically the entire county in two different directions 42A and B.

Some brief demographics for those who may not be familiar, but just to say that we have we're serving a large population along the various routes here, and the some of this information, some of the routes do travel into Sacramento.

So this is a route wide look at within a quarter mile of each proposed route or existing or proposed route, and as some of these routes travel into Sacramento, that may be impacting the data, or it does impact some of the data.

Wanted to show some existing ridership.

There's a lot going on on this table, so I'll just say that the productivity in the Southport area has remained consistent between 2020 and 2024.

And but the productivity in the northern part of the city, specifically the Bright Broadway neighborhoods, have declined between 2020 and 2024, between 37 and 57%.

So for the overview for our recommendations countywide, we are presenting today what we're calling the base case scenario.

So this means that all the recommendations that are being presented are would be allowed within the same miles and hours that we are currently offering for the services within the entire county and in each individual city.

And we are recommending to increase the frequency of service from hourly service or worse to 30 minute frequency in Woodland, Davis, and West Sacramento for those local routes.

We're hoping that we'll also create more one seat rides.

Basically, you would require fewer transfers to reach your key destinations.

But then also because we're switching from a coverage model for fixed route services to a frequent model, we are relying on microtransit to still provide that coverage service where fixed route no longer makes sense with the recommendations.

And then I'm not going to go over the table at the bottom, but it's just to say that with our recommended routes in the 30-minute service that increase access for jobs and population.

Now diving in specifically for West Sacramento, as I mentioned before, we are aiming to simplify the routes and then consolidate routes 40, 41, and 240 into a new route called the Route 38, and that route would run every 30 minutes and connect the north and south sides of the city.

Route 37 would largely remain the same as it is now, except it would only travel into downtown Sacramento during peak times.

So if someone were need uh wanted to travel into downtown, say midday, um, we would still time the routes.

They'll be able to make a transfer to Route 42 and still be able to get into downtown Sacramento quickly.

And then again, um being able to leverage via service for the coverage for those areas that are no longer served by fixed routes.

Wanted to provide some um access changes maps um to be able to to better show uh how people would be able to travel uh how fast people would be able to travel to different destinations here in West Sacramento.

Um there's a lot going on here, but down here, there's a small little icon of a a girl named Jane who is at the River City High School and um with the existing routes uh on existing fixed routes, she would not be able to travel up into the Bright Broderick neighborhood or say IKEA Walmart shopping center um within an hour, but with the proposed routes, she would be able to um travel to to the northern part of the city within 45 minutes and get over to Walmart or IKEA if needed um within an hour.

And then same thing too down at for Walmart.

So if someone were saying buying ice cream um in at the Walmart and wanted to get back down into the Southport area right now, they would not be able to do that within an hour, and they'd have to make several transfers in order to do that to get back home before their ice cream melts, but luckily um with the proposed routes they'll be able to get down to the Southport area um within 45 minutes or an hour, depending on where they are located.

And so um there's a lot happening on this this table, so I I want to try to explain and repeat what I had said earlier.

So the the aim for our short range transit plan base case scenario is essentially to show that we can have uh offer the same or better service with the um same miles and hours uh that we are currently offering for existing service.

So miles and hours are important to us because that is how our transit service operator currently transdev bills us for our our um service, and so this is just to show oh, looks like the the bottom part was cut off a little bit, but it it's just to show that the we could still offer the same uh better service, excuse me, with the same number of buses, um, but more frequently.

And we know that um nationwide and internationally um we know that higher frequency leads to higher ridership.

And also wanted to touch too on um what we are proposing for downtown Sacramento.

Um so for Route 42 and for the um express routes that travel there, we are intending to shift um and realign the Sacramento routes to avoid um detours that happen around Golden One during all the events, which are off very often.

There's also a farmers market on Capitol Mall, and so we have to detour for that.

So being able to shift a away from Golden One Center um slightly will allow us to be more predictable for our riders, as well as we would be able to serve the new May Lee State Office Complex up in the rail yards area shown in the um by the arrow.

And then also by rerouting, we're able to uh adjust our bus stop locations for um uh and being able to have our stops uh within a block of other transit service providers who provide service in downtown Sacramento.

So say one of our riders wants to trans transfer to SAC RT, they can make that transfer within a block or two as opposed to walking several blocks right now, which they would need to do.

So with that, we'll take any questions.

You uh so let me check real quick.

Do we have any um requests to speak on this item, Madam Clerk?

We do not.

Okay.

Um questions, comments from my colleagues.

Um first of all, I want to thank you for the outreach.

That was very, very good outreach.

Um 240 online.

Um then I believe you said you did four tabling events.

Did you also do them on the bus?

I think.

Yes, yes.

So we we um we had uh we were on our bus for um already, and so we we had printed copies of the of the surveys.

So if someone doesn't have a smartphone or anything like that, we were able to um for routes 40, 41, and 240 that's great.

Um you did mention 37 to 57 percent reduction in ridership in the project project.

Um between uh between um the two 2024 and 20, I'm sorry, 2020 and 2024, yes.

Do you have any idea why the ridership bell?

Is it because maybe more people are using via?

That is our our best, uh to our best understanding, yes, that is why.

Okay, all right.

All the questions, yeah.

Thank you.

John, do you want to go?

I have a couple questions and I'll probably follow up after you.

Um just and it's more of a follow-up to Councilmember Aquala's um question, uh, because I was I actually had the same question.

What happened in Brighton Broderick?

Um I figured it was via, and and I guess my question would be as we're thinking about these reroutes, and one of the things you noted, particularly in the morning, is having a route because I think some of this was based on via data, right?

Where are you seeing high ridership and in some of the route changes?

Um I guess I would be curious what why would someone take Yellow T D when you to your point if you have like ice cream or something across the city and and not via.

Um so what what we've heard from from conversations uh during the outreach events and and surveys and and anecdotally as well, is that um generally people prefer fixed route, not just in West Sacramento, but in general, um, because it's more reliable, they they can walk to the stop and expect a bus to show.

They don't need to have a working phone um to call uh a microtransit provider and um and then also hope that that provider um comes on time or so when it says it will.

Um and so that is part of the some of it.

But in this case, if I if I'm tracking right, um particularly in Broadwick and Bright, you would with the Route 38, you'd have to walk farther to get to the fixed route location, right?

In some instances, yes, but based on the the surveys done in phase one, more people are willing to walk farther in order to get to a uh service that is more frequent and more reliable.

Okay, I just um I I feel like I'm I'm I'm gonna trust you.

Uh it only because I have to admit the data doesn't seem to support that per se, right?

Because we've gone from, I mean, it's part of why it's being proposed that you would cut um the routes uh 40 and 41 because of the dropped in right drops in ridership, right?

So we're we're consolidating routes 40, 41, and 240 into one.

And we we worked with staff to make sure that the bright broderick neighborhood was still served, and um that was that they said that is the main priority, and so we want to make sure that that um they are still being served, but at the same time with via they're not losing service, they're getting a new more frequent service, so right as long as we continue via.

And right now it's on our uh routes are only coming hourly, but instead this one would come um every half hour.

Okay.

So I just want to make sure I'm tracking.

So in 2020, ridership in in Broderick and Bright was around annual 41,000.

I'm gonna round up to 42,000.

Um, and I'm gonna round up again to 34,000.

Um I think what we're seeing is via happened in 2018.

In 2018.

Well, so that doesn't feel like that would actually explain that.

Um the drop.

Um, there were also I want to go with it, but I'm like, nope, that doesn't make sense.

There were also um several um promotions that the city did in the Bright Broadway neighborhood specifically to pro to promote via, which competed directly with um with fixed route specifically offering free free fares for folks who live in the Bright Broderick neighborhood.

So why would someone take a bus that only comes hourly and pay money when they need to uh I totally understand.

I I think where I'm gonna be challenged even more though is at least and we've had this conversation here, is that via continues to be cheaper than so I appreciate the fact that you're like free is better than charged, but but it's still actually cheaper um to to take via that's not on you, by the way.

But I'm I'm just highlighting, I don't necessarily know if I I agree that one, it was a via issue because we just said it started in 2018 and you had really high ridership still in 2020.

Um and then we're we're saying they're also gonna potentially have to walk farther, even though it's gonna be more frequent, it's still you're gonna have to walk further to get there versus you'll still have via access.

Um I think I'm just challenged with the premise of of this.

Um, and that's that's what I that's what I would say for now.

I think the other question I'm so happy that you're up here, um Director Bernstein, would just be I think right now what we're talking about here is if everything were to stay the same, right?

So if we if we keep the same budget, um then this is what we could afford um considering it being neutral, I think is what we would say.

Uh, but we know that there is the potential that when we get a um a new transit service, that it might be more expensive.

I'm I'm actually gonna lean in and say we're almost positive it's gonna be more expensive significantly more.

And so what I would also be interested in, and hopefully you can speak to this, is I know we were doing a if things stay neutral and it potentially if we have to reduce.

I'm curious what reduction looks like, knowing that there's a good chance we might have to reduce.

So those those would be my questions.

Yeah, so we are currently working on that, and that is something that the board of directors will be able to look at and vote on uh for all funding scenarios that are presented in our December meeting.

And so um what director Early is referring to is that um part of the the short range transit plan recommendations from our consultant will be a series of funding scenarios, and so should funding um magically come from the sky somewhere, that would be wonderful.

We call that um a miracle.

Exactly, exactly.

An aspirational funding scenario, and so we are figuring out based on survey responses, what other services we could try to provide.

Um, and then also um opposite, um, what in the very likely in the very likelihood um what what uh cuts would need to be made.

What would our routes look like should a um funding shortfall occur in the future?

What when that happens, and so all of those funding scenarios will be presented and adopted by our board of directors in December, and then as the plan um moves for towards implementation and as we get closer to um a new contract for our transit surface operator, which will happen in the spring, then the board will make a decision on which of those funding scenarios to move forward with for implementation.

If I may, thank you, Lola.

Um a couple of comments on that.

I also wanted to go back to the kind of the whole qu the relationship between via and and fixed route service as well.

But Lola did a great job of explaining that the three different scenarios that we're doing, which we'll be presenting to the board in December.

Um when it comes to what does that look like?

I mean, I think that was your question.

We're you know, we haven't presented that yet.

We're still working on it internally, but I can say some of the things that we play around with, right?

We have here in our on our this baseline scenario 30 minute headways, we've talked about how important that is.

It could be that if we have to reduce service, maybe it's 30 minute headways during when we've known peak hours, but it goes back to hourly headways at other times.

We can play with the span of service.

How how late in the evening does it go?

How, you know, what time in the morning does it start?

So I think those are the kinds of things we'd be looking at.

Um if if uh we do need to reduce service in the future, um, as opposed to kind of wholesale elimination of routes, if you will.

Um going back to the via thing, I just want to speak to a bit of this because I did a little bit of you know, uh of looking at the numbers and you know, so via was introduced in 2018.

It was around 15 months or so, I want to say before the pandemic hit.

Um and so what we saw actually, if you look at the the numbers of our ridership pre 2018, it was significantly higher than in 2020.

So we started to see that steady decline.

Uh actually pretty dramatic decline, actually, um, after VIA was introduced as more and more people were using it.

And then of course COVID hit, right?

And sort of pressed a reset on everything.

And so um we have uh we have seen it continue to decline over time.

Um in terms of the the why we why from my perspective, having looked at the data, what we see to it and Lola mentioned some of this, some of this is just is it as a cost issue.

The monthly pass for YOLO bus is more expensive than four weekly passes for via.

That is a factor.

I think the the free rides in and out of the Broadwick Bright, which was for I don't know, a year or year and a half.

I mean, that's an encouragement for people to take that service.

And so some people may have changed their travel behavior, you know, based on that.

Um, and then finally, you know, I would just say I think we've we've all been watching and waiting and seeing what's happening with demographic change with people's commute patterns after the pandemic.

Um we know that there's been shifts in sort of who's living in different neighborhoods, right?

Um, and so to the extent that we have seen some demographic change that's happening in the city and also changes in terms of how people work.

So I think there's a there's it's I don't want to say we know that it's this, it's that.

I don't want to exclusively point fingers at VIA and say that is the reason that this is happening.

Is it a factor?

Probably, but I think there's also a lot of other changes that we're seeing in our communities, and that's that's no, you all are no stranger uh to strangers to that information.

So hope that's helpful.

That is, I I think thank you, um Director Bernstein.

I think um what I would say is the likelihood of our budget um changing and a windfall coming is small, uh, particularly uh with everything that's happening at the federal level, state level, right?

Um, obviously we we have lots of hopes and aspirations.

There could be a county bond or you know, some sort of tax measure, right?

Like who who knows?

Um, but uh the reality is we know that the contract that we currently have with our transit operator is from 2018.

We know that it is significantly less, the current contract that we have, then we are gonna have to pay.

And what I I think would be helpful to actually see, uh particularly if we're saying, hey, we want to increase um the the ridership by offering more frequency, is if in 12 months or nine months when we change to another transit operator or have to again pay 2026 rates, if we're then gonna potentially have to then go back to it being longer, right?

And more wait times, and we would have changed the route and we are saying, well, because we're increasing the frequency, then the longer walk isn't gonna matter, right?

Or the or along these lines when we know the likelihood is that it's gonna cost more money and we're gonna have to have that facing that challenge.

I think that conversation would be more helpful for us at this point in time than seeing if everything remained neutral because we know that there's a really, really, really good chance that we're not gonna be able to afford for everything to remain neutral, is what I would the feedback I would provide.

You might as well stay up here, girl.

Keep an eye on some of the parents passes bedtime, but um, you're right.

I should uh just just quickly in uh in in terms of um in terms of that you know what we can what can provide, you're absolutely right that we would be looking at cutting service.

Well, we would have to be looking at cutting service with our current routing.

Now we're talking about consolidating three routes into one, and with that one route having higher quality service that could become lower quality service.

If we were to try to maintain three, we there's no way we could maintain three hourly routes.

Those one of those would have to go away.

Um the 40 and 41 are a pair.

They are one way, it's essentially the same route going two directions.

And the 240, there's there's a lot of overlap between those routes.

Um, and so I think when we what we would if we would try to propose kind of looking at cuts to those current services as they stand, we'd be talking about a very difficult scenario to put it if if if that's helpful.

Um whereas if we have one high quality route, then we have the flexibility to you know expand service if we can and to reduce reduce service again, as I talked about in terms of less frequency and span of service, but three routes to one route is does give us more flexibility to still make sure we're consistently serving those areas, um, even if it's at a lower quality service as to post as opposed to having to completely eliminate one of those routes.

That's helpful, and I think it's helpful for my colleagues to hear that as well, as far as like what the alternatives would be.

Um, again, because the likelihood of us facing a reduction is very, very real.

And so I I like to not actually operate on miracles or hope management, uh, but what is the what's the likely reality?

Um, and what I would also urge, knowing to your point that via was introduced in 2018, that there um there were free rides offered.

I I will take credit for that, by the way.

I I thought it was a brilliant idea.

I really did.

It was before I said on YTD.

I was like, people need to get to the community center, right?

Like, let's do this during summertime.

It sounded brilliant.

Um, and I and I think it did quite frankly, I did I do think it it met a need, but what I have urged on this dice and my colleagues have have heard me say this, is that our transportation, particularly because dollars are being that are supposed to go to West Sacramento or are going right for paying for services in West Sacramento as they should.

We have VA that is being paid by public dollars that again are West Sacramento dollars, that these should be working together and not um potentially sometimes against each other because they're both public tax dollars that West Sacramento is supposed to be receiving these services, and I don't think that we are being strategic about them.

Um, and my concern is that even with uh reducing down to one high quality that you we are gonna continue to see this tension, this push and pull um for our residents of convenience and again cheaper right now, and we've had this conversation than what we are gonna get with YTD.

And ultimately, I I don't know.

Um, we cannot guarantee you that we will always be able to pay for via.

That is just a reality.

Um, and we talked about, you know, the preschool, the what was it, the mile um Q talked about the last time we were here.

Yes, the learning ladder that again we used to fund.

Our city used to fund it for years.

Um, and it was an amazing um child care service, and we got to point where we couldn't afford to fund it anymore.

And so my concern as we continue to cut from an area, Broader and Bright, who desperately needs public transportation on the reliance that the city is always gonna be able to fund via that we are potentially betting on something that we can't guarantee, and ultimately it'll be uh residents of Broaddock and Bright that feel that pain.

Thank you.

So thank you for this presentation.

Um, we're lucky to have um council member early sit on the YTD board, and she is very thorough in her council member updates on what is happening and its routes and fiscal cliff and numbers, and I'm like, I don't know what we're talking about, and I'm trying to process and trying to gather all this information.

So I will just I want to start from the point where I am right now that this is a lot of information to take in in a very short period of time.

Um, as I was preparing for this item, something that I am going to be challenging myself, and I'm saying it publicly because I'm gonna do it.

Um I am going to try to get around West Sacramento on public transportation for a day.

And we get together.

Let's do it and see what it looks like.

Um, because from my perspective, um I don't think it's very easy to get where we need to go in a reasonable amount of time.

And any time I travel to another city and there's a robust public public transportation system, which recently just in Boston, I had my Charlie card, you could get anywhere in the city in a very quick time, and you it's what is actually quicker to walk and take the tram than get in a car or even get on a bus, just based on how that system was the c the city was built.

And so I know West Sacramento looks a little different, uh, but in the end, the goal is to get more people out of their cars and in public transportation.

Um, in a perfect world, if I never had to touch a car again, I would love that.

Um I live in the suburbs, and I don't know if that's ever an option.

Uh when you mentioned uh the ride from River City High School to Walmart being an hour ride, that seemed like a very long time to me.

Why does it take an hour?

And we're gonna find out, because we're gonna do the ride, but why why does it take that long with ice cream?

You can't with ice that that will melt.

You can't do that.

You can't do that ride right now.

That does there's not a service that exists that will take you there.

So all of our routes right now, it's Southport to downtown Sacramento or kind of the northern neighborhoods to downtown Sacramento, there is really not a north-south connection.

So anytime currently, if you want to go from anywhere in Southport to anywhere north of West Capitol, you have to transfer.

And these are these buses come once an hour.

So when you think about that, you're like you're spending more time waiting.

Waiting, okay.

Um, and that is that is what happens when you have hourly bus service, right?

If you have to transfer, and if the buses only come once an hour, um and this is not just true for us at YOLO bus, it's true throughout the Sacramento region that we spend an ordinary amount of time.

On average, it takes five to seven times longer to get somewhere on public transit than it does in a car, and that's even true in like midtown Sacramento, where you have the highest quality transit, and it is because of the frequencies and because the amount of time that people spend transferring from one bus to another.

And so that is, you know, part of the reason that we are saying, hey, we want to transition from this more of a coverage model where we have lots of routes that go in frequently and go a lot of places to having fewer routes that come more frequently, in part because there are other options out there, not just microtransit, but we now have bike share programs and scooter share programs, and uh you know there's been an improvement in in terms of our bicycle bike lane network, and a lot of more people are out there biking.

So people have more options for going taking those shorter trips than they did historically.

And so we're not just proposing this in West Sacramento, we're doing a similar, we have a similar proposal in Woodland where we operate the microtransit, where we're talking about scaling back the amount of microtransit service we have and the number of routes that we have to have to provide again 30-minute headways on or a core route that kind of serves the main destinations in the city, um, to really try to get more people um to make the bus service more useful for people while recognizing that they have other choices for making those shorter trips if they're not trying to get from one end of town to the other.

Um, and so I think that that I just I want to emphasize that we're not just proposing this approach for West Sacramento, we're proposing it everywhere um because it reflects the shift that we've some of the shifts that we're seeing in terms of people's preferences and also people's choices options that they have for getting around.

Um in our staff report, we have a table that had the service, the annual ridership, revenue hours, and productivity.

What is productivity mean?

Productivity is the number of passengers per um the hour number of hours that that route operates in a day.

Say that one more time for me.

The number of passengers that ride one route, um, divided by maybe the math, um, based compared to the number of hours that that route runs throughout the day span.

It's interesting because I when I think about public transportation and I I visualize a bus, I'm like, how many people are on the bus?

And that's I don't see that number in here.

So productivity is okay.

Yeah, productivity is a measure of how many people are riding per hour of service.

And so based on this, a lot of our buses are very empty.

So is that what I'm seeing?

Yes, absolutely, especially for the no time being a mommy.

We get it, um, and I I guess my question is uh the surveys and the outreach, um, making it more efficient for the folks that are riding, like where's the question on like how we increase ridership?

So that's where the frequency comes in.

So in international studies have done and and the book, the books on transit service planning, which Director Early has one you could borrow, um says the higher ride the higher ridership comes from higher frequency.

If someone can walk outside, um say they're in in London, someone can walk outside and expect a bus within five minutes, they're going to take that rather than walk to their destination.

Um, and so it that that is the main driver, um, no pun intended there.

That is the main driver behind um higher ridership is just higher frequency that that comes that serves key destinations.

We appreciate you being punny, so thank you very much.

Um so uh I believe in our staff reporter mentioned there was gonna be like a rollout and we would we would tell me a little bit about what that process is gonna look like and how we're gonna measure success.

Yeah, good question.

So we're still uh once the the board has um adopted the funding scenarios and um once the transit operator contract we start getting more understanding of what that could look like we'll start developing the implementation plan and so that's developing the schedules seeing if um if with rerouting we'll need to work with individual cities to make sure that we have bus stops in the new locations all right what is needed at those bus stops that type of thing and then we can work toward the rollout for implementation so we there's two different options where it's like we can start with um the the rollout for winters first for example and then we will do the implementation for the the new SRTP in West Sacramento and then Davis and then and then um or we can choose a specific date say January 5th 2027 to uh have a a complete overhaul and re and and launch the new transit service and so it would require again all the things that we just talked about with this the scheduling with the bus stop improvements and and moving bus stops and things but also making sure that the the entire public is aware okay today you got on the bus over here in two days you're gonna need to get on the bus stop bus over here.

Okay.

There's a lot that goes into it.

So we need a lot of time um in order to to plan that I feel like there there is a lot and there's a lot of very smart people working on this and so I appreciate this and just my colleague investing so much time in this because I this is like a monthly meeting with a lot of information you become a transit expert and you didn't you didn't think so that was ever gonna happen.

My next question is about the combination of routes and the reduction in Brighton Broderick.

That's something that you have flagged for us.

And then in the staff report and I believe you mentioned it as well that it would create a little bit more walking for folks.

I mean I heard the my concern was that walking but what I believe I heard from you and I just want to confirm that people are fine with walking more if we have a higher frequency in Brighton Broadway.

That is what this the survey results specific for this plan have indicated and that's just also what we see um for transit everywhere.

Okay yeah recently had some feedback about some bus stops in Brighton Broderick that didn't have a bus seat they were well lit and I just heard again that that's all going to be looked at in this process.

For the most part so there's a lot that goes into bus stop planning as well.

I can imagine if you want to start talking about speed bumps like we've been here all night so we know we can understand.

Exactly so any existing bus stops um if if we are able to increase the amenities the the number the this the shelters etc that we can where it fit and still allow this bus stop to be ADA compliant we will if by adding those things the stop can no longer be ADA compliant we cannot and in several locations specifically right brojeck but other areas around the county we do have bus stops that are currently not ADA compliant but we're grandfathered in because there were no other option so it is absolutely something that we we constantly look at.

So if people complain and say hey I I this is my bus stop and I you know it's raining can I get a shelter then we will do our best to accommodate that with the funding that we have and the space allocated and so yes absolutely as part of the implementation plan we'll be looking at that.

Okay and then my last question is uh in our staff report it talked about the budget cost impact uh being revenue neutral can you share a little bit more about how that works out with everything changing how it's how how we're just gonna remain flat it just seems a little too perfect yeah so the um the revenue neutral term is misleading for this case uh for the SRTP again it's the miles and hours which is how our our current transit service provider transdev bills us for providing the service.

So what we are presenting here is the same number of miles and hours, and so therefore equivalent um to what is existing.

And so that's that's the revenue neutral is the is in quotations, and it's yeah.

Does the city's commitment um for our portion of this funding change at all?

This is not a funding plan, so I'm I'm back.

I heard that.

Uh so yes, the the way that we currently develop our budget every year, we look at our Transportation Development Act or TDA funding, which is the state funding that is prioritized for transit, but can also be utilized for other transportation needs.

So what we have done is historically we have split that funding essentially 50-50 with the jurisdictions.

Um every year we look at that and we say, okay, if we have half of it, what do we do?

What can we afford to do with that funding?

Um and that's a commitment we have we in our five-year forecast, we assume that we are gonna continue to split that funding 50-50 with each of our jurisdictions.

And um, of course, we don't know how much money the state is going to give us, right?

So that funding comes from gas tax, diesel tax, there's sales taxes involved.

We don't we don't have any control.

We don't really have much of an ability to predict that other than based on what we hear from the state.

So, but we are committed to continuing that agreement that we have with the cities to split whatever the money is 50-50.

Um, and the city does use that your share, you use it to fund via service.

So it's a is a major component of what you do with those funds, and so we recognize the importance of that.

Um, in terms of other funding revenue sources, we also receive of course federal funding.

Um, and some of those funding sources are shared with like SACRT, Unitrans, and Davis, and we're currently in the process of actually renegotiating the agreement for how the Sacramento region funding is allocated.

So there is some kind of question mark about how that funding could change in the future, as well as uh with Unitrans in Davis.

And then lastly, the other piece that I want to identify is it was mentioned here.

Well, there's two things with our new YOLO 80 managed lanes, there's toll revenue, part of the the environmental impact report for that project committed us to as funding is available, make uh provide it for increasing transit service.

So we do have a commitment.

Now there's a question about how much revenue, particularly in the early years of the YOLO 80 toll lanes will be available for that, but that's one of the the funding sources that we're looking at.

The other funding sources we're looking at is a transportation sales tax measure.

We are the agency here in YOLO County that is authorized to do a transportation sales tax measure, not just for transit, but for streets and roads, county roads, highway improvements.

We have the we have the ability to look at doing that um in partnership with with your with the cities in YOLO County.

And so that's something that we are um actively exploring right now, what that would look like and what kind of revenue that would generate again, not just for transit service, but for transportation priorities more broadly in Yolo County.

This is a long answer to a short question.

I hope that's all.

This is a lot of information.

Um, and I know a lot of work has gone into this, uh, and I I appreciate trying to catch me up as much as we can.

Um, you know, at the end of the day, um having a robust public transportation city system in any cities incredibly powerful.

Um, and I want to see it be efficient.

I want it to see it be safe, and I want people to be able to use it and get where they need to go, um, whether it's work or to get your ice cream, um, or you're the high school who can't get home.

Um that's what some of the feedback we've got uh when we were talking about via not too long ago is that the buses stopped at a certain time and the football games got out and we couldn't get kids from the high school back to Brighton Broderick, and you know, making the the transport public transportation system actually work for the community.

Um so I look forward to uh I guess I don't know, will it be another presentation?

We come back with you know, kind of once this gets rolled out and we'll hear kind of the successes and hopefully we see these productivity numbers go up significantly.

Oh yeah, I do have a question.

Thank you.

Are you through?

Yeah, please, okay.

I want to make sure.

Um I did have a question about the the new route, uh the proposed 38.

Um, when Dr.

Early spoke with me, shared concern about people having to walk more.

How did you create this route?

It if you could give me an idea.

Yeah.

What do we use to create this route?

Uh we have a software called remix.

Most transit agencies utilize this, and we actually just had a like a virtual meeting with city staff and said, okay, what are your priorities?

What would you like to see?

And so we were able to make sure we have that little jog um up to Anna and the the school uh schools up there and the um park improvements and everything, and then back down to Sacramento Ave to be able to utilize the um proposed changes along Sacramento Avenue that was adopted by the.

I said you did great outreach.

Um your riders, what primarily are they?

Are they seniors?

Are they young people?

Are they people muting to work?

I I wish um I brought the demographic.

I wish I knew that off the top of my head.

Um we're still diving into that.

We did ask demographic questions, but um it in the in the online survey, and so I don't have that information yet, but it will be presented to our board of directors um at our November board meeting.

Um and so yeah, I will have that information for you soon.

Okay, thank you.

Transportation expectations Mayor Pro Tim, you're gonna put a a bow on it.

I just my my my last request because I um uh Mayor Pro Tim mentioned hey, you know, we want you guys to come back with the metrics.

I I would actually maybe go one step before that and and ask that um after the short-range transit plan is voted on by the board of directors for YTD, that um either you guys could come back and talk about what reduction looks like.

Uh, because I I really do think that's the reality we're gonna be operating in.

And my preference would be that we have some ability to provide feedback about that, um, particularly because ridership happening on 37 out of Southport, right?

Ridership, potentially if the 38 were to go through, board hasn't voted on it yet.

So I'll say potentially um that reduction might look like a reduction in, you know, that 38 and those, you know, headwinds.

Um, I think coming here and and hearing from us, because many of us have our you know our our ears to the ground, I think would be helpful.

And I also think it would be important that the council hear from you directly so you could also hear from them um feedback of what that could look like.

I think that's really really important.

Well, thank you very much for the presentation.

You know, recently we had a conversation about VIA, and um I left that meeting feeling like we weren't, as you mentioned earlier, it was we were operating in an asilo.

And so now here in this presentation, it's another piece of the puzzle.

And you know, I'm looking at Jason, and I know staff is uh what is going to make this a priority, having the conversation that these are working together and not in competition, um, so that we can have a robust public transit.

And Jason, if you have any comments on that, you're welcome to speak.

Yes, I wanted to add just um going back to the bus stops uh and some uh concerns from the community about uh low lighting, uh not as much accessibility.

There are other things the city is doing.

Uh we have applied for funding through SACOG for a Michigan glide bright pilot mobility hub area where we're uh specifically reached out to Courtney over YOLO TD uh and we're working to uh put together a full application uh with SACOG to look at transit stops in particular and what improvements that we can do, as well as also potentially funding uh neighborhood traffic calming in that area as part of our citywide neighborhood traffic calming efforts.

Uh in addition, we were successful in grant funding of nearly half a million dollars uh through Caltrans sustainable communities grant matched with uh city funds of another uh roughly half million, so a full million dollars to actually study the West Sac forward transit priority plan.

That is a label where partners with YOLO TD in that partners with SACRT as well as uh receive support from VIA.

The purpose of that whole plan is integration to look at all of our different transit modes, including streetcar, which we recently uh were awarded 38 million from the Trump administration, uh and hopefully another nine million dollars in AHSC grant funding.

That means we have all of our full funding for light rail to come over Tower Bridge uh and start construction as early as uh May 2027.

But we're talking about multiple modes that have to be looked at ride share, bus, uh as well as light rail.

And what do we do to optimize that for the city of West Sacramento?

So that study we just signed uh the grant agreement with Caltrans this week.

So you're gonna see an RFP get released for that.

There are a number of consultant firms that are very, very interested in helping the city with that.

Uh and we again are going to be partnered with the transit agencies to make sure that we do what's best for the city of West Art.

That's wonderful.

Thank you for that update.

Um, and I guess that concludes that item.

Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you for being here tonight.

Thank you.

Have a good evening.

Moving on to the agenda, item twelve, uh economic development housing, public meeting to receive information regarding formation of the West Sacramento Tourism Marketing District.

Megan Styles, please come to the podium.

Good evening, Council.

Um so good evening, Mayor Pro Tem and Council, excuse me.

Um so at the October 15th council meeting, resolution number 25-107 was passed, which allowed the council to initiate proceedings for the West Sacramento Tourism Marketing District formation.

Following adoption of resolution 25-107, the city mailed written notices to the owners of all lodging establishments to be assessed within the WSTMD and began the forty-five-day period in which assessed business owners may protest the WSTMD formation tonight.

At this meeting, the council shall allow public testimony regarding the district formation.

No action regarding formation of the district shall take place at this public meeting.

Following this meeting, a public hearing will be held on December 3rd, at which time the council will take any act any additional testimony.

Opportunity for written protest is currently being provided.

If at the time of the public hearing a majority written protest does not exist, the district may be formed.

So now we're opening the public meeting.

I don't have a script for this, so do you need a gamble?

Yeah.

Public meeting has been opened.

Do we have any members of the public that would like to speak?

We have no request to speak, but we did receive one public comment via email that was provided to the council members this evening and is available for the public to review.

It's also available on the city website.

Wonderful.

And then we close the public meeting.

Public meeting closed.

Great.

Thank you.

Thank you, Megan.

I'll be back December third.

We look forward to it.

And that wraps up our regular agenda.

Moving on to general administration function part two.

Do we have any council communication assignments that anybody would like to report back on?

I have okay.

I just have one um uh the city school district two by two met Monday night.

Great meeting, a lot of information was shared.

Um, one wanted to share that.

Um we're doing some um very active updates to the safety around Westmore Oak School, um signage, uh there's some immediate things that are gonna be happening, but staff is going to be put uh probably coming back to us uh for a budget request for to do a formal assessment of that entire area.

Uh we had an update on the SRO.

Uh the MOU workshop will be likely coming to council uh before the end of the year.

We'll be discussing that as well.

Um and so um our next meeting will be in February.

So that's the update.

I have no other updates from council members.

Great.

And then moving on to part two, council calendar.

Good evening, Amanda.

Just a couple of announcements.

Next Tuesday is Veterans Day.

So our offices will be closed, and then next Thursday is the fire department's annual awards banquet.

That's at the Spring Spring Hill Suites, and that starts at six o'clock.

Thank you very much.

And the city managers report.

Thank you, sir.

And then city attorney report.

No report.

Thank you.

I'm not gonna keep this meeting until midnight.

We're just moving along.

I'm so proud of everybody.

Uh and then D, staff direction from city council remembers.

I have nothing here.

Do we have any staff direction?

And then there are no items, future agenda items um request by council.

And so before we adjourn, I just want to thank everybody for being here tonight.

I know there's a lot of things you could be doing on a Wednesday evening, and I appreciate you being here with us in the room for the people who come back weekly or every other week.

So thank you for being here tonight.

And then I would love to entertain a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Second.

Uh moved by councilmember early and seconded by council member Alcala.

And can we please call the roll?

Councilmember Alcala.

Aye.

Councilmember Early.

Aye.

Mayor Pro Tim Sulpeezio Hall.

Aye.

Thank you.

Meetings adjourned.

If I can, I'll meet you.

My daughter has been polling me up.

So I'm