[0:04] Yes, we are all set. Chair Galdo. >> Wonderful. Well, good morning everyone.

[0:10] It is Thursday, March 19th, 2026 and we are gathered here for the Sacramento

[0:16] board of directors meeting. I want to welcome everyone to this beautiful

[0:19] location and thank you for being here. For those of you that took the tour, I'm

[0:24] I'm sure you enjoyed it as much as I do and we look forward to hearing a lot

[0:28] more about West Sacramento. this morning. But if we could, madam clerk,

[0:32] would you start with roll call? >> Thank you. Good morning. Director Andrea

[0:36] absent. Baines >> present.

[0:38] » Boom garden >> present.

[0:40] » Rollins for Branskum >> here.

[0:43] » Bulahan >> here.

[0:45] » Chapterene >> here.

[0:47] » Chapman >> here.

[0:48] » Clark Kretz here. >> Clarici

[0:50] » here. >> Desmond. Don Calvo.

[0:54] » Early >> here. How

[0:57] » here. Hume. >> Jennings

[1:01] absent. Jones >> here.

[1:03] » Kennedy. >> Kazowski

[1:05] » here. >> Lauren

[1:06] » here. >> Maple

[1:09] absent. McCully >> Rodriguez absent. Sander

[1:14] absent. Lopez. Taffer Schaefer >> here.

[1:18] » Soon >> here.

[1:19] » Teter >> here.

[1:21] » Beeramp >> here.

[1:22] » Vega >> here.

[1:24] » Viegas >> here.

[1:25] » Vice chair Bradford >> here. Chair Galdo

[1:28] » here. >> An exeicio member attacker for a seis

[1:31] here. >> And it sounds like most of you figured

[1:33] it out, but just in case you have u you need some more instruction for your

[1:37] mics. When you push the button, it will light green and that means your mic is

[1:41] live. You have to push it again to turn it off. Thank you.

[1:44] » Except for me. >> Except for director How to shout

[1:47] » whose light is red. >> Oh, they the Yes, you're good. The red

[1:51] works. >> We have a block. Thank you. If you could

[1:56] join me and for the pledge, please.

[2:04] » And I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[2:11] stands under indivisible

[2:15] and justice for all.

[2:21] So, >> thank you.

[2:24] Our next up on our agendum is an opportunity for public communications

[2:29] and it's an opportunity for anyone who wishes to address the board on an item

[2:33] that does not appear on the agenda. Madam clerk, do we have any speaker

[2:37] cards for public comment? >> There's no public communications.

[2:41] » All right. Thank you. Next would be our opportunity for directors if they have

[2:45] any conflict. Do we have any directors that would like to share conflict?

[2:52] All right. Well, seeing none, we're going to move on into the the heart of

[2:56] our agenda. We're so excited to be here in West Sacramento and really excited

[3:00] for the tour that we had this morning and to learn so much. I've already

[3:04] learned how large West Sacramento is that I was not aware of. Um, and so I'd

[3:08] like to introduce the mayor of Sacramento and our former SECOG board

[3:12] member, Martha Guerrero, who's going to share a little bit about West Sack with

[3:16] us.

[3:23] Good morning, Madame Chair and members of the board, directors. It is such an

[3:27] honor to be here and welcome to the beautiful West Sacramento. West

[3:32] Sacramento um is thriving. That's thanks to your leadership, thanks to the

[3:38] leadership historically that we have achieved over the many years um since

[3:43] the since the presence of our and future of our region. When you look back over

[3:47] the years um when SECOG history blended with West Sacramento, when we were

[3:53] working together, the one thing that is very clear is that this body has helped

[3:59] move the region from planning ideas to delivering real tangible results. And

[4:06] this change occurred in this beautiful community that some of us have toured

[4:11] and thanks to our city manager and wonderful team provided an excellent

[4:15] tour of some of the great things that are happening. We are proud to say we

[4:20] are living that progress every day. SEICOG has been a vital partner

[4:25] consistently making investments that reflect a bigger vision. Not just roads,

[4:32] not just housing, but a coordinated strategy that brings together

[4:38] transportation, land use, climate, and equity. One of the transportation ideas

[4:44] that had came to fruition was via our ondemand ride share program when Chris

[4:49] Leesma wanted to strike out and figure out a way to reach out to the most

[4:54] underserved area of our community. That was our initial investment in West

[4:59] Sacramento in the Bright and Broadick area. And I'm proud to say that that

[5:03] that that pilot, that experiment that we thought we needed to reach out to bridge

[5:08] where we see all these, you know, barriers in connecting people, that

[5:12] particular project demonstrated that the people in that area, our most

[5:17] disadvantaged community, the mothers, the children, the elderly, the older

[5:24] adults were able to access grocery store, medical care, getting to school,

[5:31] first and last mile to get to work. These are per these are individuals that

[5:35] have only one car. These people are living much more stronger today. Thanks

[5:40] to SECOG for believing in that opportunity.

[5:45] So year after year through your funding programs, you supported projects that

[5:51] improve safety, reduce congestion, and expand mobility options

[5:57] in West Sacramento. As you've seen in touring around, that has meant safer

[6:02] streets, pedestrian pathways over a bridge, our beautiful sign on there that

[6:08] says West Sacramento. So, we'll indulge a little bit and add our our flavor to

[6:11] it as well. And especially for working families, seniors, and young people, as

[6:17] I just described, but in so many ways. So, this has been that powerful movement

[6:24] that SEIKOG has brought. And so a shift toward integrating housing and

[6:29] transportation is what we've seen in our Grand Gateway project. That project that

[6:35] we see as a result of a $43 million affordable housing and sustainable

[6:41] community funding is going to provide affordable housing. is going to fund

[6:46] various regional um transportation connections like our light rail and

[6:51] other forms of mobility to get people connected and to get them out of their

[6:56] cars, but also putting them in a place where they're going to have access to

[7:00] jobs as we're going to create more jobs. So, it's about delivering that promise

[7:06] that growth in our region can be both sustainable and inclusive. At the same

[7:12] time, SEIKOG, all of you has continued to prioritize that regional connectivity

[7:17] and West Sacramento sits at the heart of it where we have our Clarksburg trail

[7:23] that is going to connect us much farther beyond. So these physical conditions

[7:28] that bring our region connect together, they connect all of us. They connect all

[7:33] of us in a way that make sure that we bring all of our communities together

[7:39] and help our residents and our businesses. So with that, I just want to

[7:45] say we want to think about the people. We want to think about the businesses.

[7:50] We want to think about the young persons and the older persons because when we

[7:55] invest together as a region, we just don't build infrastructure. we build

[8:01] opportunity for our future. So, thank you for all that you do and thank you

[8:05] for allowing me to share a few words here and welcoming you to West

[8:09] Sacramento.

[8:19] » Thank you. Uh thank you board members for being here in West Sacramento. I'm

[8:22] Aaron Laura. I'm the city manager and port CEO. Uh those of you that weren't

[8:26] able to join us on the tour, um want to especially uh thank you for coming to

[8:30] West Sacramento to uh spend some time with us today. I think it's very import

[8:33] uh important and and and relevant that you're here in one of the most special

[8:37] places in our region. Uh not just uh sitting with the backdrop of of Sutter

[8:41] Health Park, but also in the Legacy Club. Um this was an upgrade that went

[8:46] along with many of the other upgrades that came about last year uh with the

[8:49] stadium. But when we talk about regionalism, I think it's it's easy to

[8:51] forget that this this project was actually a result of a regional effort.

[8:55] Uh, Supervisor Viegas uh was actually on um our uh he's actually on our planning

[8:59] commission at the time this came about. Uh but Yolo County, who he represents

[9:03] now, actually had a role. Sacramento County had a role. Uh the the this is a

[9:06] privately owned stadium. Many people don't know that. They assume that we own

[9:09] it, but it's actually owned by the Sacramento Rivercats, who were gracious

[9:12] enough to host us today. Um and and the way the financing worked, it was done

[9:16] through a regional approach where the bonds were backed by our city, Sack

[9:21] County, and Yolo County. Um that was something that would not have been

[9:25] possible [snorts] without that spirit of cooperation that was present at the

[9:28] time. And it was the only reason the stadium was made possible because

[9:31] someone had to kind of back the the possibility that hey, if the the private

[9:35] uh revenue wasn't enough to to finance the stadium, um how are we going to

[9:39] backs stop it? And so, uh, it's because of that that we're sitting here today on

[9:43] on this great site, Sutter Hill Park. Uh, as you all know, uh, it's no secret

[9:48] that, you know, we have the the A's here for the next couple of seasons, but, uh,

[9:52] we are looking ahead as well, and I want to give a chance for, uh, one of our

[9:56] council members, your board member, uh, uh, Council Member Early, and Supervisor

[10:00] Vega to speak a little bit about, uh, what's next. Um, and I can't say too

[10:04] much yet, but I will say, you know, we are definitely, um, in the game when it

[10:08] comes to looking at the future. Uh, we're doing a lot of work at the city

[10:12] side, working on updates to our Bridge District Pacific plan, which you, if you

[10:15] were on the tour, you heard about earlier. Uh, working with our local

[10:18] partners on building some momentum around what the possib possibilities

[10:22] might look like for a future of Major League Baseball in our region right here

[10:26] in West Sacramento. So, uh, stay tuned on that. There'll be a lot more to come

[10:30] and and many of you will be involved if uh once that effort uh gets going. Uh

[10:35] but for now uh please enjoy the uh the baseball season that we have coming up,

[10:39] both Rivercats games and A's games. Uh and I will turn it over to Council

[10:43] Member Early and Supervisor Vegas. Thank you.

[10:45] » Thank you so much to our city manager. Thank you to our mayor

[10:52] and and I would say I I know that you have seen both the mayor of West

[10:56] Sacramento. So, our mayor, uh, Martha Guerrero, as well as the mayor of city

[11:01] of Sacramento talking about Major League Baseball. So, I know our city manager

[11:05] said, "Hey, can't say too much." I'm probably going to say more than than

[11:09] what he [laughter] said. So, we have the A's here for the next few years and we

[11:13] are excited that they are here. The reason why we are excited is not only

[11:18] because we have a major league team here, one of actually the only city in

[11:22] the country that is hosting both aa team as well as an MLB team, but also what it

[11:27] means for the future. And what it means for the future is that we will have

[11:33] Major League Baseball here, not from the A's, but from an expansion team. And we

[11:37] are excited about that because that's not just our team, West Sacramento's

[11:41] team. That's not just Sacramento's team. That is all of our team. that is

[11:46] regionally we all together will be coming to these games and so here we are

[11:51] we have this opportunity but as great as it is to have the A's here it also could

[11:57] be a liability because what we need to make sure we are doing is filling the

[12:03] seats what we need to make sure we are doing is actually having sponsorships so

[12:08] that we can show that an MLB team can be successful in this region and I know

[12:13] they I know they can because I've seen the

[12:16] Kings. How many Kings fans do we have here? Everyone should be raising their

[12:20] hands. [laughter] Pat, you too.

[12:24] The Kings is not just Sacramento's team. The Kings is all of our team. And here

[12:29] we have an opportunity to bring an expansion team here to this region to be

[12:34] all of our teams. Not the A's, but our own team. But we need all of your help.

[12:39] We need your help in getting people here and getting them excited over the next

[12:43] two seasons because when we put our proposal in and we will be putting our

[12:48] proposal in, we need to show that we got people here. We need to show that we had

[12:52] sponsorships. And so we're looking to you guys. And so one of the things that

[12:55] we need from you and true SECOG fashion is we need you to bring out get your

[13:01] your constituents and your residents excited about baseball here because

[13:05] again this isn't about the A's. This is about our future team, right? The team

[13:09] that will get the name, the team that will be ours and ours alone. They will

[13:12] start here. So, we need you guys for that. We also need you guys for the

[13:16] sponsorships. When I think about the businesses that we have here in West

[13:20] Sacramento and here in Sacramento, right, we've got business, but we have

[13:24] businesses throughout the region. I think about Rockland and I think about

[13:27] Quickquack, right? Wouldn't that be great to have that out here, right? I

[13:31] think about Pespros and Autotois. There are so many businesses when we spread

[13:35] out through the region that could be here helping sponsor, but that starts

[13:39] with us. When I toured two years ago and I was looking at all the different

[13:42] suites and the sponsorships, all I thought was, you know, there's more. If

[13:46] only we came together, as we do in true SECOG fashion, to lift up the entire

[13:50] region. And so, I'm excited about that. And so Oscar and I put our heads

[13:53] together and we started to think, well, we've got these suites and wouldn't it

[13:56] be cool if we had like a city of Rockland day here where we we had you

[14:00] guys come out with a business that would be interested in coming? And so we

[14:04] wanted to make that pitch to you guys over the next couple of years. We would

[14:08] love for you to go back to your city councils and your uh county supervisors

[14:13] and say, "Hey, I want to go see an A's game." Not only want to see an A's game,

[14:16] I want to bring someone who'd be interested in sponsoring.

[14:19] I want to feature you guys. Guys, I want you to come out, see the views, because

[14:22] this is not just Sacramento's team. It's not just West Sacramento's team. It's

[14:25] all of our team. And I'm not talking about the A's. I'm talking about the

[14:29] future. We've heard the MLB commissioner say there's going to be two expansion

[14:32] teams by 2028. Two. One on the West Coast and one on the East Coast. And

[14:36] guess what, guys? We are in the running. We are part of the top five. We are

[14:40] right there. But the only way we're going to be able to do that is together.

[14:44] Again, in true SECOG fashion. I'm going to turn it to my veteran um because he's

[14:48] been here way longer than I have. So, we can talk for [laughter]

[14:54] » I promise I'll only take 30 seconds and then you get the meeting back to to

[14:58] actually conduct the professional business. But I I wanted to just first

[15:00] of all, thank you Dante for your leadership and all the work. And I think

[15:03] if you were on the tour and you heard about all the kind of visionary

[15:06] components of the growth of West Sacramento, it didn't just happen by

[15:10] accident. It was by design, by investment, by grit, by long-term vision

[15:14] and stickuitiveness that was needed to make this stuff happen. We didn't just

[15:19] magically show up in this beautiful building. There was tremendous work that

[15:22] went into it. Jumping forward, we all know what what what Sacramento what the

[15:30] region feels like when the Kings are winning. We can rally around a

[15:33] professional team like none other. Given today's circumstances, the environment

[15:37] that we're in, we need things. We need things to pull us together rather than

[15:42] apart. Professional sports teams, the Olympics, a good example. They bring

[15:47] people together in ways that people feel really, really good about themselves.

[15:50] We're a baseball there. We're a baseball region. There's absolutely no question

[15:54] about it. We're in this weird moment right now where while we're hosting a

[15:58] professional team, the prospects the prospects of a real Major League

[16:02] Baseball expansion coming to this region and potentially West Sacramento is very

[16:07] real. Is very real. You heard Aaron give his sort of spiel around the city. Um

[16:12] he's in part part of the discussions around what can happen. But at the end

[16:18] of the day as we look around the room and in Seikk we talk about what we can

[16:21] do as a as a collective region often asking yourselves what can you do? I

[16:25] think I'll just double down on what Dante said. The city has access to a

[16:30] suite. It's really simple but you guys all have access to your corporate your

[16:34] business entities within your respective region. There's no cost to you to

[16:39] contact the city to bring some of your partners within your respective region,

[16:43] your cities, and enjoy a ball game. Enjoy a ball game hosted by the city of

[16:48] West Sacramento in their suite and expose your business um partners to what

[16:54] it can be like so that when the very near future, the opportunity presents

[16:58] itself to actually submit that application to the MLB for an expansion

[17:02] team that we're sitting in good positions. Thank you very much for your

[17:05] time.

[17:11] Thank you. And both is your end. And of course, I have one question. So, as a

[17:16] longtime Ace fan, there was that part when they first came of a little bit of

[17:20] the guilt, quite honestly, the Oakland impact. And so, I think there was that

[17:24] little bit of hesitation and then um the lack of embrace of Sacramento. It's

[17:31] the best way to put it when and so there was that for sponsors and that is like

[17:35] hey I mean I started making my hats long ago I'm not going to lie I got a couple

[17:39] Sacramento hats. Um so I think for when you're working with the MLB I'm I'm sure

[17:45] you are but that is um I think hopefully they're they realize the the slow start

[17:51] to get the embrace those factors came in. Absolutely. So I but I love your

[17:56] idea of having all of us as our cities and our counties. Heck yeah. Let's do

[18:00] it. >> I can't wait. So, you're going to be the

[18:02] first to to raise your hand. >> I absolutely I will. I' I've already got

[18:06] several games lined up. So, uh I'll add to my list. Absolutely. Thank you so

[18:11] much. I appreciate it. >> Well, it's not nearly as exciting and

[18:15] fun, but let's move on for our regular agenda

[18:18] » and we're actually going to adjourn to SECOG and convene as the Capitol Valley

[18:22] Regional Service Authority for freeways and expressways. Are CVR safe? Now,

[18:27] madam clerk, would you please note for the record, are there any changes to the

[18:30] roll call since we started? >> Thank you, Chair Galdo. We will note

[18:33] that our safe directors recommen are absent. Excuse [clears throat] me. We'll

[18:39] note for the record that director Maple and Sander are also present.

[18:43] » Thank you. Uh we'll move on to public communications for the CVR safe meeting.

[18:48] And so again, an opportunity for anyone to speak on an item that does not appear

[18:52] on the agenda. Do we have any public comment for the CVR safe?

[18:56] » There's no public comment. >> Great. Thank you. Then and again, do we

[19:00] have any uh conflicts that any directors would need to disclose for the CVR safe

[19:05] portion? >> All right. Seeing none, then I will take

[19:09] up the consent calendar. We have three items. the minutes from the January 15,

[19:14] 2026 meeting, the extension of the Capitol Valley Regional Service

[19:18] Authority for freeways and expressways operation assistance, and requests for

[19:22] proposals for Capitol Valley Regional Service Authority for freeways and

[19:26] expressways motorist aid, call answering. Um, there anyone need to pull

[19:31] anything from this consent calendar? >> Move to approved by Baines.

[19:34] » Bradford will second. >> Cenfield second. I was going to move.

[19:37] » Thank you. >> Thank you. I know they're so fast. That

[19:41] is too slow. >> Annette, you caught that. All right,

[19:44] perfect. So, I thank you. I appreciate I have a motion. Is there any public

[19:47] comment on the consent calendar? >> There's no public comment.

[19:50] » All right. All those in favor? >> I opposed abstain. Thank you.

[19:58] Well, now we get to adjourn as the CVR safe board of directors and we will

[20:02] reconvene as the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. Um, so we again we're

[20:07] starting off with the consent calendar. Is there anyone that would like to pull

[20:11] anything from the consent calendar? >> Madame Chair, I'd like to pull item 11

[20:17] from the consent calendar. Participation in the water form agreement 2015.

[20:22] » Thank you. Did you want to have a conversation about that or

[20:27] » I will leave it to the pleasure of staff whether we have time to have this

[20:30] conversation today or move it to April. >> Thank you.

[20:34] Is there any um any rush on this that has to be done this

[20:39] week or this meeting? All right. If seeing none, then we can move that on to

[20:43] our next meeting agenda. Um again, any other items anyone like to

[20:48] pull off the consent calendar? >> All right,

[20:52] » Madam Chair, I'll move the balance of the consent calendar for approval.

[20:55] » Second. >> Thank you very much. I do have a request

[20:59] to speak on item 18. Oops. Not on consent. So, any uh public comment on

[21:05] consent? >> There's no public comment.

[21:07] » Thank you very much. We've got a motion and a second. All those in favor?

[21:11] » I opposed. >> All right. We're moving.

[21:15] » Galdo, um I think you director Howell had asked uh in terms of staff

[21:20] recommendation on the item pulled off. You you are welcome to have a

[21:24] conversation on that today. There is no rush. Uh we've been talking to Director

[21:28] Howishel and Director Kaslowski as well. So, pleasure of the chair. If you'd like

[21:32] to uh try to have the conversation and move the item today, you're welcome to

[21:35] do so. >> Madam Chair, I think we can do this like

[21:38] in 90 seconds. >> Let's do it then.

[21:40] » All right. So, I saw this and uh having been an alumni of Water Form One, I

[21:47] thought, well, well, this is uh this is a different lane that than SEKOG is

[21:51] usually in. So, I reached out to James and Casey and u we had a conversation.

[21:57] So Casey, can you tell us a little bit why uh you're asking for SEIKOG to be um

[22:05] part are you a participant or a signatory? And if you know based on your

[22:11] answer, tell us why. >> Yes. Uh thank you Director Howell. Yes,

[22:15] SEIKOG uh has been invited. Seikk was first invited to participate in the

[22:20] update to that agreement. It's called the water forum successor effort because

[22:24] the current agreement expires in 2030. So the new agreement would go to 2050.

[22:28] Uh SECOG was invited a number with a number of other organizations to

[22:32] participate in the public caucus. There are four caucuses of that um uh of that

[22:37] effort and then also to become a signatory of it. And so that's what's on

[22:42] the agenda today to sign theou which is in the attachment there as well. The

[22:46] reason that uh SEIKOG uh participated in it and that staff is recommending that

[22:51] we become a signatory to it as an agency is that this is a network of both um

[22:56] water purveyors, environmental interest, business interests and also public

[23:01] interests in uh supporting the co-equal goals of this agreement, right, which is

[23:06] the environmental health of the American River as well as the um supporting

[23:11] economic growth in the region. And so those two co-equal goals we feel align

[23:17] very well with SECOG's triple bottom line goals. It also brings us into a

[23:21] network um that is focused on uh adaptation of the American River wershed

[23:27] over that time period. And so we would be part of a network that understands

[23:31] what are the regional like project priorities uh to be able to advance to

[23:35] ensure the continued growth and sustainability of the region. And then

[23:39] finally um we find that we've participated in other networks that have

[23:45] um similar uh environmental and climate focuses and when we are able to be there

[23:51] coordinated we can coordinate advocacy we can also put forth SECOG's priorities

[23:55] to get support and so we find that to be very helpful and then lastly um we were

[24:01] invited in as well as uh an expert agency that does long range planning um

[24:05] doing long range economic and demographic forecasting to be able to

[24:09] contribute that to the water forum's ongoing work.

[24:12] » And the you may have said this and yeah, I know you said this to me this morning.

[24:17] Um some of the other public members include

[24:19] » SAFEA. Yes. Um other public members include uh this SAFEA. So Sacramento

[24:24] Area Flood Control Agency, American River Flood Control, SMUD, um all of the

[24:30] cities and counties that are within the American River wershed. So that's in

[24:34] Placer, Elorado, and Sacramento counties as well as League of Women Voters and

[24:39] maybe a couple other non-governmental organizations.

[24:43] » So again, Madam Chair, I wanted to daylight this so somebody didn't see the

[24:47] agenda item and said, "Wait, I thought SAT SEIKOG was air quality and

[24:53] transportation. Are they getting outside their lane by going into the water form

[24:58] agreement?" Having that explanation, I don't think you're outside. I don't

[25:04] think SECOG's outside its lane and so I would move approval of this item.

[25:08] » Second. >> Thank you. I have a motion to second. Is

[25:11] there any other public comment on this item 11?

[25:14] » There's no public comment. >> Thank you. All those in favor?

[25:18] » I opposed and stay. Motion carries. Thank you. Next up is item 17. It's an

[25:25] action item. It's our 2026 SEIKOG federal funding cycle. and David Pap,

[25:30] our staff will do the presentation. >> Stay in your lane.

[25:36] » Good morning. >> Uh good morning. Uh David Pap, principal

[25:40] planner. Um so I'll be presenting an overview uh of SEIKOG's 2026 federal

[25:46] funding cycle. So this will include uh funding outlook, program structure and

[25:51] implementation timeline for the congestion mitigation air quality or

[25:55] CMAC and surface transportation block grant or STBG funds.

[26:02] So today we're asking the board to take three actions related to the 2026

[26:06] federal funding cycle. One is to adopt the federal funding estimate, two

[26:11] approve the program budget, and three authorize staff to open the call for

[26:16] projects. So together these three actions will formally initiate the

[26:19] funding cycle. Um before I get into the funding

[26:23] overview, I did just want to provide a little bit of context on where we

[26:27] started and and where we've come from. Um so as the region's designated MO and

[26:33] consistent with federal requirements and the corrective action, SEIKOG is

[26:36] responsible for administering CMAC and STBG funds on a regionwide basis.

[26:42] Um through a nearly two-year process, SEIKOG staff working with the multi-

[26:45] agency working group and in coordination with the board, many of which you've all

[26:50] participated in this, um completed the transition from a 4count

[26:56] to a sixcount performance-based competitive funding framework that

[27:00] defines how these funds will be administered. So since then, program

[27:04] guidelines have been adopted, funding assumptions for fiscal years 28 through

[27:08] 30 are in place, and the proposed evaluation criteria and program budgets

[27:12] are finalized. So today's action really allows staff to move from framework

[27:16] development into the implementation phase.

[27:21] So for this cycle, it's expected we're expected to program approximately 230

[27:26] million across federal fiscal years 28 through 30. So, this breaks down to

[27:31] approximately 102 million in CMAC funds and 128 million in STBG with the STBG

[27:39] funds uh split between two programs at 65 and 35% per previous board action in

[27:45] September. Um, and I do want to note that these

[27:49] figures are still estimates and assume federal reauthorization. Um, if any of

[27:53] these numbers were to change, uh, staff would return to the board with updated

[27:57] funding levels. So, in terms of how the funding will be

[28:02] used, it's really structured around three core programs that balance

[28:05] regional priorities and implement the 2025 blueprint. Um, approximately 91.9

[28:11] million of the CMAC funding will be available through what we're calling the

[28:15] next generation solutions and clean air program. And this focuses on funding

[28:19] projects that reduce emissions and explan expand clean mobility.

[28:24] Um roughly 72 million or 65% of the SDBG funds will go to the system performance

[28:30] program and that will be funding projects that at a high level improve

[28:34] safety, reliability and the overall function of the transportation system.

[28:39] And then finally roughly 38.8 million will be going to the system preservation

[28:43] program to fund projects that explicitly maintain and extend the life of key

[28:48] roadways. So in addition to the competitive

[28:52] programs approximately 9.1 million or 27.3 million over three years is

[28:57] proposed for board directed priority programs. So collectively these

[29:01] investments support regionwide services targeted programs and planning

[29:06] monitoring and implementation activities that are necessary to administer the

[29:10] federal funding and advance uh regional policy. So this includes things like the

[29:16] uh Sacramento emergency clean air for transportation program, sustainable

[29:21] milability, uh our new region regional payment management program and freeway

[29:25] service patrol.

[29:29] And then as it relates to project evaluation for these competitive

[29:33] programs, um SEIKOG will use a standardized performance-based

[29:36] evaluation framework that will support consistent and transparent funding

[29:40] decisions. So the proposed evaluation criteria is included in your packet

[29:45] today and this would be applied through a technical evaluation committee

[29:49] composed of subject matter experts from across the region. Um but ultimately the

[29:54] final funding decisions will be made by the SEIKOG board and at a high level

[29:59] projects will be evaluated based on deliverability and readiness, financial

[30:03] capacity and cost effectiveness in alignment with uh per sorry performance

[30:08] and alignment with local and regional priorities.

[30:12] Um so in terms of timing the cycle would begin uh with a system preservation call

[30:18] for projects. Uh ultimately we would be opening the call today. Um and award

[30:25] recommendations for that program would be in August. Uh the calls for system

[30:30] performance and nextg clean air would open in June and follow a unified

[30:35] schedule with applications due in September and award recommendations in

[30:39] December. Um the reason for the staggered timing is to allow ample time

[30:44] for folks to prepare their applications um and not overwhelm by doing it all at

[30:50] once. Um let's see here. And then

[30:56] yeah uh programming activities would begin um in February 27 for for all

[31:02] three programs. So just to summarize, um staff is

[31:07] recommending board approval of the 230 million in CAMAC and SDBG funding

[31:12] estimate and program budget and authorizing staff to open the 2026

[31:18] federal funding cycle call for projects. And with action today, staff can

[31:22] officially launch the first ever sixcount federal funding cycle.

[31:27] So that concludes my presentation. >> Thank you very much. I know we've had

[31:31] multiple discussions on this item in our different committees. Any other

[31:35] questions or comments?

[31:39] All right. Seeing none, is there any public comment on this item?

[31:42] » There's no public comment. >> I'll bring it back and ask for a motion.

[31:45] » I'll move approval down. Thank you. Down to Calvo and a second.

[31:51] » Thank you. All those in favor? >> I I opposed.

[31:57] » All right. Motion carries. Thank you. Next up is our action item number 18.

[32:02] It's our mobility zones early action project approval and Kathleen Aziz will

[32:07] be our presenter. >> Thank you so much, Madam Chair. It's a

[32:09] pleasure to be with you all. Always fun to get a staff presentation at an

[32:12] off-site meeting. Um, so the item before you is an action item. Staff and the

[32:16] transportation committee are requesting approval to fund six early action

[32:20] projects that have been identified through the multi-year mobility zones

[32:23] process.

[32:28] Oh, there we go. Okay, my presentation this morning is going to have three

[32:30] sections. I'll provide you a little bit of background on on the various

[32:34] presentations staff have brought to the board on mobility zones over the last

[32:37] couple of years. The bulk of the funding that is recommended for approval today

[32:42] is carbon reduction program funding. So, I'll talk a bit about where that funding

[32:45] comes from. Um, and then I'll provide an overview of the six early action

[32:49] projects that are recommended for approval. Both how those were identified

[32:53] and what the six projects are. And then we'll talk about next steps on what's

[32:57] going to happen with these six projects and with the other 27 projects that were

[33:01] identified through the process but are not recommended for funding today.

[33:07] Many board members will remember the first major action that we took on the

[33:10] mobility zones project was to adopt 10 phase 1 mobility zones. You can see them

[33:16] here in pink um on the slide. There's also a link in your staff report to an

[33:20] interactive map if you want to zoom in on any of those boundaries. Um, and so

[33:24] these 10 mobility zones represent parts of the region that have both a high

[33:28] level of demographic inequity, high proportions of low-income folks,

[33:32] non-white communities, and also a lot of transportation need places that have

[33:36] poor pavement condition, little access to transit, difficulty walking and

[33:41] biking in their communities. Following the selection of the 10

[33:46] mobility zones, staff and consultant support did a need assessment of each of

[33:51] the 10 mobility zones to really understand exactly what's going on in

[33:54] each of those places, what are their key transportation challenges, getting us

[33:58] towards, you know, what are some transportation projects that could

[34:01] actually improve quality of life for these communities. So, you'll see here

[34:04] that these are some of the themes that we heard across the 10 very different

[34:08] mobility zones in this region. Um, and the full details of those reports are

[34:12] are linked in the attachments. We last presented to the board in

[34:17] December of last year where we talked about where we were on getting to the

[34:21] final stage of this process, which is identifying the six early action

[34:24] projects that are before you for action today. And so we started with over a

[34:28] hundred projects identified by the community last summer and have been

[34:31] working through a multi-step process of winnowing that down in partnership with

[34:35] city, county, and transit operator staff. And so when we last came to you

[34:39] in December, we were at a list of 33 high priority projects. Those are also

[34:44] linked in your staff report. Um, and so really the focus of my presentation

[34:47] today has been on the progress since December to go from that list of 33 down

[34:51] to the six, one in each county that are recommended for your approval today.

[34:57] As I mentioned, the bulk of the funding that's recommended for approval is

[35:00] carbon reduction program or CRP funding. This is a federal formula type of

[35:05] transportation funding. It's a new type of funding that was created in the

[35:08] infrastructure investment and jobs act in 2021. So this is sixcount federal

[35:13] funding that comes um in a formula basis for a total of 22.6 million for the

[35:18] whole SEIKOG region over 5 years. In 2023, the board took action to direct

[35:24] how those CRP funds would be spent. And the board's um action was a sort of

[35:29] two-pronged approach with a near-term approach and a long-term approach. The

[35:33] near-term was a competitive funding round. I believe attachment C in your

[35:37] staff report lists those projects that were funded in that initial funding

[35:40] round. And then the long-term approach is to put the funds towards mobility

[35:45] zones and trails. And so this action before you today and one of your items

[35:49] coming next month really uh formalizes that long-term action and implements the

[35:53] board's direction from 2023. This is how those funds have been um

[35:58] allocated so far. just to give a reminder of sort of the spread of where

[36:02] CRP funds have been awarded throughout the region. So you can see in the blue

[36:06] column on the left the award recipients from that initial competitive CRP round

[36:11] in 2024. The pink in the middle is the recommended awards as part of this item

[36:16] and then the remaining $3.2 million will be programmed through the trails via ATP

[36:21] and that should come before the board in early 2027.

[36:25] All right, all that background aside, we'll

[36:28] talk a bit about how updates since we were last here in December on how we got

[36:31] down from those 33 high priority projects to the six before you. So,

[36:36] looking at all three of those 33 high priority projects, I want to be clear,

[36:39] there's no bad projects on this list, right? We have a limited amount of

[36:42] funding and the initial board direction in 2023 was to have one project in each

[36:46] county. So, it's been really a multi-step process to figure out what

[36:50] makes sense to go right now with the money that we have. And so all 33

[36:54] projects went through both a technical evaluation, you can find the results of

[36:57] that evaluation in attachment E, and through robust community engagement in

[37:02] partnership with our community- based organizations. We have our teammates

[37:06] here from Civic Thread in the room. So I just want to thank them for all their

[37:09] hard work to do such incredible engagement on this project. Just in our

[37:13] third round of engagement in October and November, we reached more than 2,000

[37:17] people around this region, many of them in person, as you can see. um in just

[37:21] four weeks of that engagement cycle. So the recommended projects before you

[37:25] really represent sort of a robust community identified projects that serve

[37:29] these very localized communities that were identified.

[37:33] Once we had the results from both of those two types of evaluations, we

[37:37] brought them to the project's advisory committees and task force. These are

[37:41] bodies that were appointed early on in mobility zones and meet every quarter

[37:45] and have been directing the progress of the project and developing

[37:48] recommendations that come before you at the board. So ultimately those bodies

[37:52] recommended the final list of six projects that's been before

[37:55] transportation committee and board this month.

[37:59] I'll now walk you through each of the six projects um to give you a sense of

[38:04] what they include and how much funding is recommended for approval. The project

[38:08] in Sacramento County is a Floren bus stop bundle project. This is a bundle of

[38:12] 13 bus stop improvements in SA South Sacramento on both Bruceville Road and

[38:17] Floren Road. So, this adds shelters and benches to existing bus stops in that

[38:21] area. And the recommended approval award is $1.3 million for construction.

[38:29] The recommended project in Yolo County is the Woodland Transfer Point Project.

[38:33] This relocates the existing Woodland transfer point from the county fair

[38:37] mall, which is largely vacant, to downtown Woodland, which is a a much

[38:41] better location. It's consistent with YOLO Transportation District short-range

[38:45] transit plan and really provides a better location for transit riders to be

[38:49] making those connections and getting to downtown Woodland. So, the recommended

[38:52] award is 1.07 million also for construction.

[38:58] The recommended project in Pler County is the Bowman Road sidewalk infill

[39:02] project. Bowman Road is a frontage road along Interstate 80 in North Auburn. And

[39:06] so this closes an important sidewalk gap outside of uh school to provide those

[39:11] students safer access from their school grounds into the adjacent neighborhood

[39:15] where many live and also where many families do pick up. So this is also a

[39:20] construction recommended approval of just under $3.6 million.

[39:26] The recommended project in El Elorado County is a series of crossing

[39:30] improvements in Georgetown along Main Street. So this is kind of the the core

[39:35] downtown Main Street, if you will, of Georgetown in in unincorporated Elorado

[39:39] County. And so this improves the existing crossings at three locations,

[39:43] making it safer both for local residents, but also for the economic

[39:46] development that they have when they have events in Georgetown. It's also a

[39:50] recommended project for construction with an award of $1.75 million.

[39:57] The recommended project in Sutter County is Sandborn Sidewalks and Bus Stops. So,

[40:01] this is at the southwest corner of Yuba City Limits. Um, and so this adds

[40:06] sidewalks on the eastern side of Sandborn Road as you can see in the map

[40:09] here from Nan to Bogue. Um, there's also a bus stop at this location. So, the

[40:14] project scope includes providing some upgrades to that existing bus stop.

[40:18] You'll notice in the bottom left of the map shown there that this is also where

[40:21] the Sik Temple is. And so in addition to providing access for residents in this

[40:25] neighborhood, it improves transit and walkability access to a key regional

[40:29] destination. The recommended award is $900,000 for construction.

[40:35] And last but never least, the recommended award in Yuba County is for

[40:38] a volunteer driver program study. So what this study would look at is what uh

[40:42] opportunities there are for Yuba transit to be able to work with existing rural

[40:47] communities in the Yuba foothills to provide um better transit access. So

[40:53] there are some very informal volunteer driver programs that exist in these

[40:57] communities right now. Basically neighbors loaning vans and helping each

[41:00] other get down. If you haven't been to this part of the region, it's like 45

[41:03] minutes from Mary'sville. So if you live up there, you know, you're 45 minutes

[41:06] from your major grocery store and hospital and all of that. And so looking

[41:09] at what opportunities there are to be able to formalize that um or otherwise

[41:13] improve those folks access to the major destinations in Mary'sville and Yuba

[41:17] City. And so because it's just a study um the recommended award is $100,000.

[41:21] I'll also note that this recommended award isn't for CRP. It's for the raise

[41:26] funds that we have on the mobility zones project. This just helps us use the

[41:30] funds that we have in the vest place since this is planning work and

[41:32] stretches our CRP dollars a little farther on the other projects.

[41:37] So, those are your six projects recommended for approval. On next steps,

[41:42] um should the board choose to take action and a award the six projects

[41:45] today, staff will work with the city, county, and transit operator partners to

[41:49] get those funds programmed and get them underway. It'll be a different timeline

[41:53] for each project, but SEIKOG will provide that technical assistance as

[41:56] they get through delivery over the next few years. And then really critically, I

[42:00] want to note that the other 27 projects are still on the table. And so we'll be

[42:04] developing implementation toolkits, doing more analysis to understand what

[42:07] those 27 projects need. Some of them are very construction ready and and you'll

[42:12] likely see them coming through for competitive funds through other SEIKOG

[42:16] processes. Others of them are really early in ideation and need more

[42:19] technical assistance to get developed. So we'll be doing analysis to understand

[42:23] what each of those 27 projects need and what SEIKOG can do to help over the

[42:27] coming years to get more of them under construction and funded. And so that

[42:31] concludes my presentation. I'm happy to take any questions.

[42:34] » Thank you very much. Questions? All right, seeing none, I do have u I'll

[42:40] open up for public comment. I do have one public comment card. Any others

[42:44] besides this one, Madam Clerk? >> There's no other public comment.

[42:48] » All right, then I'll call up Auburn Bernstein.

[42:53] Uh thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning. Autumn Bernstein with the Yolo

[42:56] Transportation District in Woodland, California. And I'm here today to urge

[42:59] your support for all of these phenomenal projects um in this round, but in

[43:04] particular for the down uh downtown Woodland transfer point project. This

[43:07] will fill a critical need in Woodland and in Yolo County's uh transit network

[43:11] as a whole by getting our transit hub out of a nearly abandoned mall on the

[43:15] edge of town, which is the place where we receive the most complaints about

[43:18] safety in our entire system. Um, by relocating this to downtown Woodland,

[43:22] it'll not only make things safer for our bus passengers that have to transfer

[43:26] there, but also for the first time ever have a one seat bus ride from downtown

[43:30] Woodland to other key destinations like downtown Sacramento, the airport, UC

[43:35] Davis, etc. So, I think it's going to really be a benefit for downtown

[43:38] Woodland as well in terms of increasing access to all the opportunities and

[43:42] businesses in that area. And lastly, I just want to commend SEIKOG for pursuing

[43:46] this really innovative approach um that elevates the viewpoints of community

[43:50] members. It's not often that you get to hear from bus riders. They're not a very

[43:53] politically active group and so really appreciate SEIKOG for taking this

[43:57] approach to reach out to them and hear from them along with other

[44:00] vulnerableities. Thank you. >> Thank you.

[44:04] All right, we'll close public comment and I will bring it back for action on

[44:07] this item. >> Lauren moves the item

[44:09] » second. You were so fast. And we're right next

[44:13] to each other, so it just works. Perfect. Thank you. A motion in a

[44:16] second. All those in favor. Okay. Opposed. Extensions. Motion carries.

[44:23] Thank you. I'm excited to see these projects.

[44:25] » I need I need

[44:30] » Oh, that's a lot of lot of work to come up with that list. Our last action item

[44:34] is our to approve our draft budget and overall work program and adopt the

[44:38] salary schedules for fiscal year 2627 and Loretta Sue is our presenter.

[44:44] » Thank you chair. Good morning. Um the draft budget and overall work program

[44:48] for fiscal year 2026 27 is ready for board consideration. This is um sec

[44:55] required annual planning and budget documents. So this morning I'm going to

[45:00] briefly go over the overall work program and some of the activities that will be

[45:04] carried out in fiscal year 2627. Um touch on the draft budget for fiscal

[45:10] year 2627 and then also discuss a little bit about the fund balance

[45:14] considerations and then I will close out with the um request for approval on the

[45:20] salary schedule and also the request for board actions on the draft budget item.

[45:30] So the budget and OWP or overall work program I'm just going to use OWP

[45:35] throughout this presentation here are required by state and federal mandates

[45:40] and must be prepared annually together they document our transportation

[45:45] planning activity in the secog regions. The OWP is more than just a uh more more

[45:53] detailed than a typical budget. It show how our planning work implement the

[45:58] metropolitan transportation plan and sustainable community strategies also

[46:03] known as the blueprint. The budget and OWP require board approval and then also

[46:08] approval by CALR and federal agencies for expenditures starting July 1st 2026.

[46:17] Consistent uh with prior year in February, staff submitted a draft um OWP

[46:23] and budgets for CALR and federal agencies for review and comment. And

[46:27] this morning, staff is seeking board approval to release the draft budget and

[46:31] OWP for public comment. And then in April, staff will bring back the final

[46:36] budget draft and then um for board adoption and also followed by approval

[46:42] by CALR and federal agencies.

[46:47] So I just want to highlight some of the work plan activities um in fiscal year

[46:52] 2026 27 with the adoption of the 2025 blueprint.

[46:58] Seikkok and its region's partner are moving forward with implementation of

[47:02] the plan through the overall work programs. Seikkok has identified 18 work

[47:07] programs within the five-year work plans focusing on these priorities.

[47:12] The first priority is build vibrant places and inclusive places. Um the

[47:18] major priority program in this priority is housing and some of the activities

[47:23] includes support local delivery of the green means go grants and then also

[47:28] preparations of the regional housing needs process.

[47:32] The second priority is the next generations of mobility solutions

[47:36] priority program include transit. This includes um completing completing the

[47:42] SB125 funding allocation plan and also updating to the FTA allocation process.

[47:49] And then also you just heard from Kathleen on the mobility zone. The focus

[47:53] will basically fund projects through the creation of the meaningful community

[47:58] engagement. The third priority is about modernizing

[48:03] how we pay for transportation. Priority program include the strategic quarter

[48:08] planning which includes support for Carta and then also preparations for the

[48:13] managed lanes for future grants opportunities.

[48:18] And the fourth priority is um building and maintaining a safe, equitable and

[48:23] resilient transportation system. Now, of course, you just heard from David on the

[48:28] uh federal um funding round cycle and then also um the focus is also

[48:33] implementation of the trail plan within the regions.

[48:38] Then also across all four priorities, Seikko also carry out the regional

[48:42] monitoring reports which include the publications of the AB350 monitoring

[48:47] reports and also the annual progress report. These are some of the example of

[48:52] work included in the OWP along with other requirement activities associated

[48:57] with Sikkok roles as MO regional transportation planning agency and also

[49:03] at council of governments. Before I go into the draft budget, I

[49:08] just want to point out a few thing that is maybe unique a little bit unique to

[49:12] SEIKOK budgets. So SEIKO managed two separate budget which first budget is

[49:18] the general fund budget which including all the operation activity as I just

[49:22] mentioned earlier and it also include the board and advocacy activities.

[49:27] Additionally also managed the capital rally regional service authority for

[49:32] freeway and expressway budget also known as the CVR safe. This budget is being

[49:37] appo approved by the CVR safe board.

[49:42] SECOG operation budget does include significant pass through funding and

[49:47] then um also it fluctuates yearbyear but because of these fluctuations

[49:53] sometime the actual expenditure may be lack due to those pass through cost that

[49:59] is being submitted for reimbursement by member jurisdictions and also sometime

[50:03] of the consulting costs assoc associated with some of the discretionary grants

[50:09] and also I want to point out SECO often begins the year planning for use of some

[50:14] um fund balance but with the goal of filling that gap during the fiscal year.

[50:19] This has proven successful over the last few years as I will go into a little bit

[50:24] more detail when I share the fund balance um used for this budget year.

[50:31] This is just a um quick overview of all the different revenue source that SICKOK

[50:36] receive as a metropolitan planning organizations, RTP, council of

[50:41] government and also discretionary grants.

[50:46] Now just a quick high-level overview of the draft 2026 27 budget.

[50:54] So this is the total budget makeup for fiscal year 2627.

[51:01] Total um revenue projected is 52 I'm sorry 51.2 million in revenue and also

[51:08] use of um restricted and unassigned fund balance of approximately 1.5 million.

[51:15] This represent a 6% increase over 25 26 budgets. As you can see from the chart

[51:21] here, the state and federal funds makes up majority of the revenue and this is

[51:26] mainly associated with the green beans go grant um from the federal level and

[51:31] then also from the state side. And on the expenditure side, the

[51:37] year-over-year increase is largely driven by the higher pass through cost

[51:41] as I noted earlier on the green beans go program and um and other uh

[51:47] discretionary grant like the mobility zone.

[51:52] The staff and benefits increased slightly. This is due to the cost of

[51:56] living adjustment but it was a partially offset by excluding two vacant position

[52:02] from the current fiscal year. But I want to note that seikkok budget is approved

[52:07] in tandem with the OWP and then um sikok's management exercise the

[52:12] budgetary control at the fund level. So rather than budgeting at a fixed number

[52:18] of positions, this approach offer management greater flexibility in

[52:23] managing sikco personnel resources according to the work plan needs or in

[52:28] this case is to keep position unfilled due to some budgetary consideration

[52:34] as we all heard you know obviously there's still unknown with the um the

[52:38] federal reauthorization bill so decide to put these two position on hold for

[52:44] now and then what might back later if we feel that there would be a need or

[52:49] obviously there need to carry out the work plan but then also that the

[52:53] additional funding may be secured either through discretionary grant or other

[52:58] means and then as you this also reflect the

[53:02] consulting cost that is slightly lower. This is also due to ending some of the

[53:07] discretionary grant for the fiscal year and then the near completion of the

[53:11] blueprint EIR work. For more information, comparison

[53:16] information to the current fiscal year, the staff report and the attachment

[53:20] offer further detailed analysis um regarding this draft budgets. Um

[53:26] attachment A present a summary of revenue of changes by funding source

[53:30] while the attachment B outlines the revenue and expenditure for summary for

[53:34] the fiscal year.

[53:41] As I noted earlier, the the draft budget includes the use of um some restricted

[53:49] and unassigned fund requests. So this um obviously included some one-time needs

[53:56] and then also this approach is consistent with the SIKCO policy and

[54:00] then also to maintain long-term fiscal sil

[54:04] stability and preserve flexibility for future years. As you can see from this

[54:09] slide here, this you show the total use of one approximately 1.5 million in plan

[54:16] use of fund balance across the different category which include the use of

[54:20] managed fund and restricted fund of 618,000

[54:24] for grant match and board approved program um such as the EI and also the

[54:29] match for the mobility zone grant and then it's also include a proposed use of

[54:35] 250,000 from the pension trust to smooth out Kalper's unfunded

[54:40] liability payment and then lastly included 660,000 of unassigned fund

[54:46] balance. This include both carryover of the previously approved fund balance

[54:51] where work spent multiple fiscal year and then also the prop sorry proposed

[54:56] use of 500,000 for the f first phase of the travel household travel survey which

[55:02] the board approved in March for the release of the RP.

[55:09] This is just a quick um highlight of what the estimated fund balance as of um

[55:16] fiscal year ending uh June 30th, 2026 and also um based on the proposed use of

[55:22] the fund balance for fiscal year 2027.

[55:30] Lastly, staff is requesting approval of an updated salary schedule effective

[55:34] July 1st, 2026, which reflect a 3.2% 2% cost of living cost of living adjustment

[55:42] increase based on the California consumer price index. This is consistent

[55:47] with the labor agreement SECOG has with its employees associations. The detailed

[55:52] schedule are included in attachment K. So the recommendations for the board um

[55:59] that the board the policy and innovation committee recommended that the board

[56:03] approve release of the draft budget and OWP for fiscal year 202627

[56:09] for public comment and then also adopt the salary schedule for fiscal year 2026

[56:16] 27.

[56:20] This concludes the overview of the uh my presentation. happy to answer any

[56:24] questions or any feedback from the board.

[56:27] » Thank you very much. I appreciate it. I know you've done this presentation at

[56:30] our committee, so we had an opportunity to get into detail, but there are any

[56:34] further questions for Loretta at this time.

[56:38] All right, seeing none, I will open up for public comment. Is Excuse

[56:42] [clears throat] me. Is there any public comment on this item?

[56:44] » There's no public comment. >> Bring it back.

[56:46] » I move approval. Hey, that was like if we do that together, that was chorus.

[56:54] » I literally I know. So, I'm looking and I'm going to say who was it? Who was it?

[56:59] » Yeah. Please. >> Uh I know that we are going to have

[57:03] potentially what we're seeing um is some uncertainty at the federal level and

[57:10] still

[57:14] » in which in which area? it feels like in all it.

[57:18] » Um, and I'm just curious, you referenced the the two positions. Is there any

[57:24] other concerns um in regards to the money or other dollars that we have

[57:28] already built in at the federal from the feds um that those two could potentially

[57:33] be fought back? >> Well, obviously um included in the

[57:37] budget is our uh formula fundings for the um from the federal governments for

[57:41] the planning work, right? So we basically just assuming that funding

[57:45] will be continue at the current level with a slight increases. Um so that you

[57:50] know obviously depending on what's going to happen with the reauthorization bill

[57:53] that may potentially aris >> are there any um plan B's or C's in

[57:59] regards to if if there is a world where that might change

[58:04] » a plan B in terms of uh hiring those positions or or or going the other way.

[58:11] Um, so just got back from DC, my third trip in 3 months where, um, I'm really

[58:16] glad hopefully all of you are going back in April for CAP to CAP. Um, the federal

[58:20] transportation bill expires in September, September 30th, the IIGJ. Uh,

[58:25] we will not have a bill that's nearly as big and wellunded and robust as, uh,

[58:29] going forward. There may be a new transportation bill uh certainly that is

[58:34] marked up in committee possibly passed and signed by the president this year

[58:39] but highly unlikely. Um if there is a new bill we could see anywhere from an

[58:45] increase not only in funds that come directly to SEIKOG but funds that come

[58:49] to all of you and that funding round item you just approved. We're working

[58:53] really hard. I know uh director Jones came back from Niko and talked about the

[58:57] basics act. So, we have a possibility of of putting things in the right direction

[59:02] or um probably we would likely >> the probably the most likely outcome is

[59:10] we won't get a bill this year. We'll have a continuing resolution. That is

[59:12] the most likely. The reason that and I just want to put a finer point because

[59:16] the board's been very engaged the budget the last few years. It's been great. Uh

[59:20] we basically have a balanced budget we're submitting to you because we're

[59:23] holding off those two hires. But for the 500,000 for the household travel survey,

[59:27] we feel this is a pretty conservative budget. If it if the bill comes through

[59:32] and gets done this year and it goes in the right direction, we will we will

[59:36] come back accordingly with uh budget amendments to go in the right direction.

[59:40] If not, I feel pretty confident that what you see before you is going to

[59:44] stick.

[59:47] » Thank you. Thank you for the question. I believe and just because you were

[59:50] closest, I heard a a motion from director soon. Chair, I have a quick

[59:54] question um before we go on. I'm sorry. >> Okay.

[59:57] » And Loretta, thank you for the presentation. What are the two

[1:00:00] positions? I I don't know if I missed that or could you tell me what they are?

[1:00:04] » Um one of the position is um for the transportation team and then also the

[1:00:09] other one is from our data team. Obviously, as I mentioned, um the way

[1:00:13] the budget is structured is all based at the um more fund level. So management

[1:00:19] sort of kind of determine when a a position is open to more looking at the

[1:00:24] overall agency needs. So the replacement of the open position may not you know be

[1:00:29] exactly you know replacing the existing or the you know the the open position.

[1:00:34] So >> yeah one last check. Any other

[1:00:38] questions? I have a motion. Is there a second? I'll second down and count.

[1:00:42] Thank you. Nobody wanted to say second after that

[1:00:46] motion. All right, I have a motion and a second. All those in favor? I opposed

[1:00:52] and abstensions. Motion carries. Thank you.

[1:00:56] That is the last of our action items. And so we are back up for our workshop

[1:01:00] on the city of West Sacramento. And so we will going to bring director I don't

[1:01:03] know if you wanted to introduce again or any comments, but uh we will bring Erin

[1:01:08] Thural back to do our workshop presentation.

[1:01:13] » Wonderful. >> Again, welcome. you've already heard um

[1:01:17] me be a cheerleader for our region and for West. We like to say West Bessack.

[1:01:25] Yeah. Yeah. Um we are very very fortunate to have an amazing city

[1:01:30] manager um in Aaron Laurel. He has been with us uh well he has been city manager

[1:01:35] for nearly eight years. I actually think you've been with us for 18 21 years. Um

[1:01:41] we've gotten to really see him grow up. that is um unusual to have that level of

[1:01:47] longevity and um hopefully he talks a little bit about his history here in

[1:01:53] addition to West Sacramento um because he has been foundational. Uh, Supervisor

[1:01:58] Viegas actually noted um Erin will talk about our EIFD and how we were the first

[1:02:03] city um in California to do that, but what he didn't say on the tour was he

[1:02:08] wrote that he has not only advocated for it, but he [laughter]

[1:02:12] [gasps] he is part of it. He could teach a class on this and so we're really

[1:02:16] fortunate to have him here in West Sacramento. And I'm uh very very excited

[1:02:19] to introduce uh my friend, my city manager, Aaron Laurel.

[1:02:25] Thank you, Council Member Early, very much for that was very gracious. U some

[1:02:28] of it was true. Um but no, I app I appreciate that. I will talk about uh

[1:02:33] some of the the legacy here um that I've been fortunate to uh witness a lot of.

[1:02:39] Uh we also refer to West Sacramento more recently as the baseball side of the

[1:02:42] river. Uh you'll see that branded everywhere. Uh talk about a little bit

[1:02:46] more about baseball in a minute. Um I know some of you are going to have to

[1:02:49] leave around 11:30, but um I'll just if if it entices you at all. Uh, Supervisor

[1:02:54] Pie did promise to open the bar if you'll stay till the end. So, uh, so I'm

[1:03:00] gonna get in >> the best move to adjourn

[1:03:02] » soon. Soon. >> Okay. Uh, when I when I talk about West

[1:03:05] Sacramento, I like and and those of you that are on the tour today got to see a

[1:03:09] good glimpse of sort of the present and future of our city, uh, especially

[1:03:12] around the riverfront and, uh, tried to give some historic context of how we got

[1:03:16] there. But, it's very difficult when you're looking at it today to kind of

[1:03:20] envision what it used to be like unless you were there. And so, and it's also

[1:03:24] difficult to understand West Sacramento and appreciate just how far we've come

[1:03:28] and some of the reasons it took us a while to get there uh without that

[1:03:31] historic context. And so, do the boring stuff first. Uh we uh we are a full

[1:03:36] service city here in West Sacramento. We uh uh do everything from uh police and

[1:03:41] fire to we are also the water uh purveyor. Um we are a city of I say

[1:03:46] around 60,000. I think we've been historically undercounted by the census

[1:03:49] which uh can hurt or help you in some ways. Uh we're also a major employment

[1:03:53] center um on par with some of the major uh centers out there like Rancho Cordova

[1:03:58] and downtown Sacramento uh just in terms of total employment. Um I think uh we we

[1:04:03] hopefully made it clear on the tour that you know we we were sort of formed by

[1:04:07] different communities that pre-existed the city. Uh but we're still only a city

[1:04:11] of less than 40 years old. Uh we also get confused sometimes um you know as as

[1:04:16] uh the name indicates we are not in uh Sacramento County. We are Yolo County.

[1:04:21] uh we're proud of that, but we're also proud to be uh culturally, economically,

[1:04:25] socially connected to the center of the region and and uh downtown Sacramento.

[1:04:29] So, we very much uh cross both boundaries. Um the organization, like I

[1:04:33] said, we are a full service city, so employment wise, we are a larger

[1:04:36] organization. I think the most notable thing here, two points. Uh one is we

[1:04:40] have a huge CIP. A lot of your cities do as well. Uh but when you see some of the

[1:04:45] projects we're working on, it'll make more sense. And because of that, um as

[1:04:48] as Dr. early mentioned uh we were one of the early actors when it came to what

[1:04:53] are we going to do after we lost redevelopment about you know it's been

[1:04:56] almost 15 years now um we were very quick to act in both rebuilding uh the

[1:05:01] toolbox through different tools but especially focusing on uh what became

[1:05:05] the EFD law I I didn't I wrote some portions of that of that law but there

[1:05:09] were very there are a lot of people a lot of great people that were involved

[1:05:12] in in the uh reconstitution of that uh about 10 years ago and so uh if you're

[1:05:17] not familiar what that is it's a it's a tax increment financing district using

[1:05:20] property tax growth to help finance infrastructure. Um there's more and more

[1:05:24] of these uh springing up around California. It's kind of the best thing

[1:05:27] we have. We're still working on improving it, but uh we were the first

[1:05:30] to act on it. We also just issued bonds for the first time. So hopefully that

[1:05:33] helps pave the way for other cities to be able to to do that with it not being

[1:05:37] a a strange um instrument in the debt market. Uh so we kind of overcame some

[1:05:41] of those hurdles. Um I I mentioned the growth here. You know, we started as a

[1:05:45] city of u less than 30,000 people. Um we've doubled since we incorporated. Um

[1:05:51] experiencing some major growth during u the same times when you all did. But I

[1:05:55] think what's notable about us is we still have a lot of ways to go. Um it's

[1:05:59] not just in the Southport area, which is a more suburban part of town, but most

[1:06:02] of the growth, believe it or not, is kind of where we are today. Um it's in

[1:06:05] the Bridge District, it's on the riverfront. We have a lot of highdensity

[1:06:08] housing that's yet to be built uh by design. And uh we we plan to top out

[1:06:13] around 90,000 people. So, uh, we'll never be quite as large as some of the

[1:06:16] bigger cities like Elkrove, but we'll be, uh, definitely, um, you know, a

[1:06:20] larger city in the region. But when you look at us, you know, and this is a good

[1:06:24] vantage point, I think, from a modern standard. This is looking west from

[1:06:27] downtown Sacramento. Across the river is West Sacramento. You'll notice right

[1:06:31] away, you know, there's there's a lot of um, vacant land still in the urban core.

[1:06:36] Um, there's it's sort of a underdeveloped uh, setting on that side

[1:06:40] of the river. And you can't help but ask yourself, well, why why is that? Why did

[1:06:44] West Sacramento take so long to kind of come about and and grow to where it's

[1:06:48] kind of on the same um density and trajectory as as say right across the

[1:06:52] river in downtown Sacramento. And there are good historic reasons for that. Uh

[1:06:56] this is dating back. This is probably I mean it's from a plane, so it's got to

[1:06:59] be probably at least in the 1920s, 1930s. Uh but it shows you on the left

[1:07:02] is is Sacramento. On the right is what then was East Yolo. Um, now West

[1:07:07] Sacramento, the the Broadderick neighborhood of the Washington District

[1:07:10] that we saw earlier. And you can see right there, it's it's very

[1:07:12] underdeveloped. Uh, West Sacramento was kind of the stop on the way for people

[1:07:16] that were coming up from the barrier during the gold rush. Um, as a result,

[1:07:20] there were a lot of unsavory things that happened on this side of the river. Um,

[1:07:23] you know, uh, bars, brothel, hotels that were just a stop on the way for people

[1:07:28] that were getting across the river, but no one really settled there other than

[1:07:31] that in that one little enclave. Uh part of that was because there weren't many

[1:07:34] connections back and forth and that kind of stayed true. The other reason um and

[1:07:38] this is something that's kind of a you know a reality of our history. Uh if

[1:07:43] you're familiar with redlinining um West Sacramento was actually a redline

[1:07:46] community back in the uh 19 late 1930s. That legacy really stuck with us. uh

[1:07:51] just if you're not familiar with the term, uh it was it was something that

[1:07:54] was uh really embedded in in in you know, racism and and um just sort of

[1:07:59] institutional uh racism back in the the uh pre-war days. Um this if you were a

[1:08:04] redline community, the federal government basically wouldn't back your

[1:08:07] mortgage. And so as a as a a you know, percentage of total mortgages in in uh

[1:08:13] communities back then, less than 2% of them in Redline communities were

[1:08:17] federally backed. And as a result of that, you didn't have a lot of

[1:08:19] investment. So there were other parts of Sacramento that that saw the same

[1:08:22] history. A lot of people don't know that West Sacramento was actually a Redline

[1:08:25] community. Um this is 1947. Kind of same thing. You know, you look across the

[1:08:29] river and this is on the left. Not a lot there. Um and that just sort of

[1:08:33] continued until uh we jump ahead to when the freeways were built. So this is now

[1:08:38] looking from West Sacramento over across the river. Uh this is roughly in the

[1:08:41] area where we are today uh at the foot of the the bridge there. Um this is the

[1:08:46] the kind of the first highway that was built was West Capitol Avenue. It was

[1:08:49] the Lincoln Highway. Uh if you have other people that went on the tour

[1:08:53] today, you saw it. Um at one point we had 35 motel. We had RV parks. We had

[1:08:59] very much autooriented uses. That was the East Yolo economy at the time and it

[1:09:03] was thriving around the highway back then. This is like in the 1950s. Um we

[1:09:08] had the capital in that's a real place. Uh they had the capital. We had the

[1:09:11] capital in. This is actually on the site where uh city hall is today. Uh and this

[1:09:16] was sort of that there were a lot of cool structures like this, neon signs

[1:09:19] and everything. People would drive on their way to Tahoe or points eastward

[1:09:23] and stop in West Sacramento. People didn't drive as far back then. And so

[1:09:26] that was our legacy. That's kind of how our our community started. Um but then

[1:09:30] the then the federal highways came around and and this these are the big

[1:09:33] highways, you know, building the Pioneer Bridge, building Interstate 5. Uh West

[1:09:37] Sacramento was effectively bypassed at that point. Uh this kind of shows it

[1:09:41] illustrated where if you're going to San Francisco now, you know, West Sacramento

[1:09:44] is kind of an afterthought. You can go there, but you can also just keep going.

[1:09:48] And uh I always like to use this um this comparison because people generally get

[1:09:54] the analogy. How many of you seen the movie Cars?

[1:09:57] » Yeah. >> Okay, cool. So when I'm doing this in

[1:09:59] other places, I'm I'm often presenting at conferences where like the

[1:10:02] demographic is like there's like people in their 20s. So I always have to say

[1:10:05] some of you saw it with your kids, some of you were kids. Uh but everyone

[1:10:08] generally gets the reference. So this is Radiator Springs on the map uh where it

[1:10:12] used to be part of the old, you know, sort of fictional Route 66. Then Highway

[1:10:17] 40 was built. And if you remember, the town's people were so excited because

[1:10:20] they thought, "Hey, we're like on this major interstate system. We're going to

[1:10:24] get all this business." And uh they they prepped and had this big u you know

[1:10:28] banner. They were going to welcome all the travelers. And you know what

[1:10:30] happened? You know the rest of the story. It didn't happen. Uh that they

[1:10:34] were bypassed. the economy went went to you know what and uh and they had to

[1:10:39] figure it out. The difference is and this was West Sacramento story. West

[1:10:42] Capital Avenue became Radiator Springs in a way. Uh the difference is we didn't

[1:10:47] have Lighton McQueen to come along and save us and instead our legacy was this.

[1:10:52] What happened on West Capital Avenue back in the the late 1980s

[1:10:57] um was what would happen anywhere across the country that experienced the same

[1:11:00] thing. the motel owners that were there, they no longer had those traveler

[1:11:04] businesses and and resorted to things that, you know, resulted in a lot of

[1:11:08] challenges for a young city. Um, all the things that uh the headline was right,

[1:11:13] the crime rate was crazy here in the in the late ' 80s. And I think West

[1:11:16] Sacramento's reputation really suffered because of that for many years. So, that

[1:11:20] was part of the story. The other part of the story was this. You know, this is

[1:11:22] where in the bottom right of this picture is where we're sitting today.

[1:11:26] You wouldn't have known that that was possible back then. This was a kind of a

[1:11:29] riverfront port. We had rail lines criss-crossing everywhere. We had grain

[1:11:33] warehouses. We had uh highways that were built. Uh you couldn't really come up

[1:11:37] with a worse setup to try to build a cohesive community than what we were

[1:11:40] dealt uh back then in in the 80s. And so this is the bridge district today. I'm

[1:11:45] sorry, bridges back then. Um uh today it's a very different picture and and a

[1:11:50] lot of that is due to the level of investment the city made once it

[1:11:52] incorporated into transportation uh improvements. So, um, like I said, you

[1:11:58] know, one of the reasons the city incorporated was around the idea, we

[1:12:01] have this awesome riverfront that has great potential. We have great plans for

[1:12:05] it, but we really need to, you know, double and triple down on infrastructure

[1:12:08] investment and and transform this area into um a shovel ready site where

[1:12:13] private investment can eventually come. And a lot of that was also in terms of

[1:12:16] building a community and connecting those uh desperate disperate

[1:12:19] neighborhoods that were part of the uh origin story. they were all disconnected

[1:12:24] by whether it was rail lines or highways. And so a lot of the city's

[1:12:26] early investments were on very basic things, rail crossings, undercrossings,

[1:12:31] um and and then that that legacy continues today and reconnecting uh

[1:12:35] those communities into what is today a cohesive West Sacramento. Uh so again,

[1:12:40] this was the bridge district back then. Uh we heavily invested in infrastructure

[1:12:45] and the the first big catalyst project that came along was Sutter Health Park.

[1:12:49] Today it was field back then. But even then, if you remember what Field was

[1:12:52] like back in 2000 when it opened, uh the area around it was a lot like that

[1:12:56] former picture. I think there was a hope that, hey, we build this thing, it lands

[1:13:00] here, and we're going to have all this investment. I think we learned the hard

[1:13:03] way that that's just part of the the recipe. You had to then, like I said,

[1:13:07] double down on on the infrastructure investment around it to create the

[1:13:11] environment where infill development can really happen. And thanks to a lot of uh

[1:13:15] public investment, a lot of help from SEIKOG grants and other other sources

[1:13:19] and then our private partners, we were able to really make progress. This is

[1:13:23] kind of just a aerial shot of the terraforming and all the all the big uh

[1:13:29] you know movement we had to do in the bridge district to get the basic roads

[1:13:32] in so we could actually build the first housing. Uh so this all occurred in uh

[1:13:37] probably about 2012 to 2015. Uh this is kind of what you see today.

[1:13:42] though even in this picture there are buildings the one on the right uh you

[1:13:45] saw today is is almost done uh so things are happening very quickly now uh but

[1:13:49] there were many many years where nothing happened because we had to make that

[1:13:52] investment to make it possible so the bridge district today is uh slated for

[1:13:57] up to 5,000 housing units uh 12 million ft of total development which is on par

[1:14:01] with the same kind of density that you would see across the river and downtown

[1:14:06] um today it has many amenities that uh people know well like the barn some

[1:14:11] regional draws. We have an old uh rice pier that we actually converted into one

[1:14:15] of the only places you can actually get out on the water in the river and and

[1:14:19] you know take in the view. Uh and some of these other projects you saw today.

[1:14:22] This illustration um you can laugh if you want, but um this actually

[1:14:26] represents if you built the bridge district to its total density uh in

[1:14:30] terms of what the infrastructure can support. It's not what the market can

[1:14:32] support yet, but this is what it would look like if you built it out uh to the

[1:14:36] full density. Um, I would predict that we'll see something that's sort of in

[1:14:39] the middle of of this uh this photo in reality. Uh, and it'll take a while to

[1:14:43] get there, but we're well on our way uh with the first about thousand units and

[1:14:47] a and a lot more development coming up. >> What's

[1:14:51] in the river there? >> Yeah. So, uh, if you know Mark

[1:14:53] Freriedman, he was the one that uh, paid for this and designed it. So, uh, it's

[1:14:57] kind of an aspirational project, but I think the idea was, hey, wouldn't it be

[1:15:00] great? We have the Riverwalk and then you can walk along there and and uh take

[1:15:04] in the river, but wouldn't it be great if we could actually have a floating

[1:15:07] pier where you could you could get in the water? Yes,

[1:15:11] » there's causeway like that in Austin. >> Yes, I've been on it.

[1:15:15] » Yeah. Not quite. >> Yeah. The difference there is that's

[1:15:18] that's a sort of a river and they don't have the the fluctuations in in height

[1:15:23] that we do, but but yeah, we we've actually looked at that.

[1:15:25] » A real river. >> It is. It is. But they don't have

[1:15:30] it >> is awesome though.

[1:15:31] » I'll say as a as a Sacramento representative um I might get, you know,

[1:15:36] beaten when I'm when I go back home. But I I I'll say that I often look across

[1:15:40] the river and I'm um in awe and uh inspired by the work that you guys are

[1:15:44] doing on the on the waterfront and I often go talk to our staff at the city

[1:15:48] of Sacramento and I say, "What are we doing? How come we can't build like this

[1:15:52] on the waterfront?" And there's a lot of reasons for that, including one called

[1:15:55] Union Pacific. But anyway, um but you know, it's I think it's it's a great

[1:15:59] aspiration. I think something that we should do be doing on both sides of the

[1:16:02] river because when you look at great cities all across the United States and

[1:16:06] beyond that are especially ones that are on the convergence of two rivers like we

[1:16:10] are, they build up on their waterfronts, they build housing, they build

[1:16:13] restaurants and bars and and recreation opportunities. And I think that's

[1:16:17] definitely in the future for us. And so I'm just really excited about all the

[1:16:20] work you're doing. >> And we are too uh likewise in

[1:16:22] Sacramento. So, I appreciate that comment because it does really speak to

[1:16:25] kind of the promise and and why we do a lot of what we do on our side of the

[1:16:29] river. Uh my joke about this and uh we'll talk in a minute about baseball.

[1:16:34] Uh but DOCO was the best thing that happened to West Sacramento that we

[1:16:37] didn't have to pay for, right? Uh just like everything we're doing over here,

[1:16:41] if we if we do the type of thing we're talking about here, um it will just as

[1:16:45] much benefit downtown Sacramento. And and that is the idea. We even though

[1:16:48] we're two separate counties, two separate cities, our success is their

[1:16:52] success. Everything that's happening in the rail yards is great for our city.

[1:16:54] Soccer stadium, Kaiser, you name it. Uh but we're trying to do the same thing

[1:16:58] for that exact reason. We want to be the regional draw for the whole the whole

[1:17:02] region to uh recreate and enjoy. Um you know, we go back to where people live

[1:17:08] and there's a great place in the region to live, but this is the economic and

[1:17:12] cultural center of of the region and we want to be just as much a part of that

[1:17:15] as downtown Sacramento. Um so I'm going to just highlight brief

[1:17:19] » Karen. Can I just jump in real quick? Um, so this has really brought me down

[1:17:23] memory lane because I'm from Lumis and my second job interview um at 19 was at

[1:17:30] Clark Pacific and it was Techon Pacific back then and I will never forget

[1:17:35] getting off the freeway to this huge billboard that said over a thousand1

[1:17:39] hotel rooms. Yeah. >> You know, and I was like what what is

[1:17:43] this? But I witnessed I was able to work for Clark Pacific three times over my

[1:17:47] career. My husband actually um retired from there. But watching this incredible

[1:17:54] transformation of this city has been amazing um since 1984 for me as I would

[1:17:59] come down here. And um I just want to say it's just amazing and I love how I

[1:18:04] love what you've done. I love the housing. Um it's just been a a knock out

[1:18:08] of the park. So thank you. No, >> I appreciate that. and and uh you know

[1:18:12] it it having that uh memory of the 80s is is especially profound when you when

[1:18:17] you reflect on what has happened here. I think Supervisor Viegas growing up here

[1:18:21] can >> Oh yeah.

[1:18:22] » speak uh totally to that. >> So I have to give a shout out to

[1:18:24] Whiteies. Yeah. >> And Club Feeasant

[1:18:30] Neym

[1:18:34] » Yeah. I think we just missed that. Um so uh I wanted to go back to the the motel

[1:18:39] comment. So, uh, those of you who were on the tour today, um, saw some of the

[1:18:42] work we've been doing. We did start with 35 motel and maybe at one point that

[1:18:46] billboard was accurate. They've had to change it a few times. Um, the

[1:18:50] association actually owns it, but um, we we very deliberately as part of our

[1:18:54] redevelopment efforts on West Capitol Avenue have, and some of you saw that

[1:18:58] today on the tour, um, acquired some of those motel properties, re temporarily

[1:19:02] purposed them as interim supportive housing, uh, with an eye towards

[1:19:06] redevelopment. uh you saw today our first big redevelopment project that's

[1:19:10] going to be resulting from that effort. But as we go down the boulevard um that

[1:19:14] that process is going to repeat itself uh really serves multiple purposes both

[1:19:18] uh helping the population that is frankly kind of stuck there by

[1:19:22] circumstance. Um I talked some of the the factors going into that um and

[1:19:26] helping people that otherwise you know aren't getting much help. uh but also

[1:19:30] looking to redevelop those sites into um new housing and and uh business

[1:19:34] opportunities um as we as we kind of go east down the boulevard. So um SEIKOG

[1:19:40] has been integral in in terms of um helping with those connections and the

[1:19:44] transportation infrastructure investment that has led to a lot of the success

[1:19:48] stories that we've had in West Sacramento, particularly around the

[1:19:50] bridge district. But I wanted to get into a just to highlight a few and I'm

[1:19:53] sorry if this is redundant with some of the tour uh but the I Street Bridge is

[1:19:57] one that's very prominent. Uh if you've driven across it, you know the problems

[1:20:00] with the Ice Street Bridge. Uh there's long been a plan to replace it. Uh it's

[1:20:04] very notable on our side of the river because the new bridge, which is very

[1:20:07] close to starting construction, um it actually lands in a different place. It

[1:20:10] lands on Railards Boulevard on that side of the river. The old bridge uh is going

[1:20:14] to be converted into a bicycle pedestrian bridge. Um this is the

[1:20:18] rendering of the new um whether you want to call it rails bridge, sea street

[1:20:22] bridge, or replacement bridge. We're still deciding on that, but it's a it's

[1:20:25] a multimodal uh very much wider um you know,

[1:20:29] pedestrian friendly um built for future types of transit and uh it will be a

[1:20:35] dramatic difference compared to the current bridge. Uh like I said, the old

[1:20:38] bridge will be converted into something like this. Um if you've been to the

[1:20:42] Highline in in New York, it's not going to be the Highline, but it's going to be

[1:20:45] as close as we can make it to that. U but it will be an important um

[1:20:49] transportation uh asset for us going forward. You saw

[1:20:53] this today. This is the overpass. There's a first pedestrian overpass over

[1:20:56] the US50 uh freeway that runs through West Sacramento and bisects the city. Uh

[1:21:00] the most notable thing here, if you missed it, is the the children that go

[1:21:04] to school on uh they go to school on the left side of the bridge. Um on the right

[1:21:10] side, there's neighborhoods that were so disconnected that it would cut their

[1:21:13] walk time by like 20 minutes. So, it's a dramatic difference for for children

[1:21:18] that live on that side. And that's not the only thing. I I actually live in one

[1:21:21] of these neighborhoods and just seeing the number of people out doing active,

[1:21:25] you know, whether it's transportation or just just health-wise, it's it's been a

[1:21:28] great addition for us, too. And I know many of you have these in your

[1:21:31] communities. You know what I'm talking about. Um, we have a trail system. A lot

[1:21:34] of it is a rails to trails uh conversion. This is the Clarksburg trail

[1:21:38] out in Southport. Uh, one of the early investments in the what was then the

[1:21:42] SEIKOG bike ped program um is now being built out uh with additional SEIKOG uh

[1:21:47] funding. You saw this today. This is Riverfront Street, uh the and Fifth

[1:21:51] Street, the extension that we did. This used to be a two-lane road with a

[1:21:54] freeway on ramp. And so we separated the bike path into a class one, uh trail,

[1:21:59] and that really made it much safer, much more inviting for people that were more

[1:22:03] casual bicyclists, uh getting to parts of West Sacramento that were very hard

[1:22:08] to get to places like Sutter Health Park before. Uh so this was a dramatic

[1:22:11] difference that was part funded in part by SEIKOG. uh the light rail project and

[1:22:15] and this one is one that you know I've been in West Sacramento for 21 years.

[1:22:19] I've been working on this project for 21 years. Um it's getting there. U it's a

[1:22:24] big deal for us in terms of connecting us to the regional system. Uh right now,

[1:22:28] you know, especially when you look at where we're standing today, what might

[1:22:31] be here in the future, it's it's a key connection to make. Eventually, light

[1:22:35] rail will hopefully head to the airport. Uh we want to be part of this system.

[1:22:38] And so this project is is getting there. Like I said, uh we hope that it will um

[1:22:44] you know, be under construction soon and just connect us to the 7th uh street

[1:22:48] line in Sacramento. Uh this project is a is a little out there, but it's a a new

[1:22:53] bridge that's out by the port of West Sacramento uh at the Enterprise

[1:22:56] Crossing. This is the corridor. U and the theme here is West Sacramento only

[1:22:59] has a few north south connections. It's been one of the things we suffered from

[1:23:03] uh from a long time, not just from a traffic standpoint, but let's face it,

[1:23:06] we're in a region that uh has flood risk and part of it is resiliency. We want to

[1:23:10] make sure we have ways in and out in the worst case scenario. Uh but mainly this

[1:23:14] is this is for traffic circulation. It will very much uh in a in a abstract way

[1:23:19] help the riverfront because it pushes a lot of traffic away from what otherwise

[1:23:23] would be coming through this corridor and in in doing that it allows us to

[1:23:27] build higher density on on this side where it's mostly needed. Uh you you

[1:23:31] learned today about Sacramento Avenue. This was our green means go uh project.

[1:23:34] Um, this is being completely reimagined, redesigned, uh, from kind of an old

[1:23:38] highway or underbuilt roadway configuration to something that is much

[1:23:42] more pedestrian, bicycle friendly and much more conducive to attracting uh,

[1:23:47] future development and some of the infill sites that are available there.

[1:23:50] And I know you're all familiar with Greens Means Go, but uh just to give you

[1:23:53] a sense of where our green zones are in West Sacramento, it's very much

[1:23:56] concentrated around uh the waterfront areas uh but also in our some of our

[1:24:00] lower-income neighborhoods like uh Bright and Broadick along the Sacramento

[1:24:03] Avenue corridor. U I'm going to close with this slide

[1:24:08] just to kind of restate the point uh made earlier and and I know I didn't say

[1:24:12] much about kind of the work we're doing, but I can say a little bit here. The

[1:24:15] city has been and is very much engaged on early planning work that includes a

[1:24:20] bridge district specific plan update um that looks at kind of modernizing some

[1:24:24] of our land use assumptions around it. Uh we were heavy on office development

[1:24:28] in the early days of that plan and as you know no one's building office

[1:24:32] buildings at least not much. Uh so we're really shifting the focus more towards

[1:24:36] housing, uh retail, entertainment, hotels, and that really tracks well with

[1:24:40] the the longerterm plans to say, hey, if if and if the stadium happened to triple

[1:24:45] in size, uh for Major League Baseball, that would be much more of a conducive

[1:24:50] to uh the type of development you typically see around stadiums. Uh you

[1:24:55] can go to Atlanta, you can go to uh I think it's in Arlington, the new Ranger

[1:24:58] Stadium. Uh they all have that common thread. There's there's a stadium, but

[1:25:02] it's really about the development around it. Highdensity infill uh transit orient

[1:25:06] development. Uh that's really what the bridge district is all about already,

[1:25:10] but we're we're modernizing the plan uh to make sure that it tracks with the

[1:25:14] opportunity that uh Council Member Early and Supervisor Vas talked a little bit

[1:25:17] about earlier. Um and so we're just in the beginning stages of it, but there is

[1:25:22] a really exciting regional opportunity here that that all the all the things

[1:25:26] that were said earlier are true around uh the importance of regional

[1:25:29] partnerships on it. Uh but the city is doing its part in terms of the

[1:25:32] readiness, making sure that we not only have the plans and the infrastructure in

[1:25:35] place, but also that we have the financing. The public financing side is

[1:25:39] probably the most difficult part. You as a local electives can appreciate that

[1:25:42] more than anybody. Uh but we are putting together a plan that would not come at

[1:25:45] the expense of anything like our general fund that would rely completely on

[1:25:49] revenues that would be generated by uh the development of the stadium and the

[1:25:52] surrounding area. Um and so that'll be part of whatever um comes out of uh this

[1:25:57] effort. So, um, I will I believe that's my last slide. I'll stop there and see

[1:26:01] if there's any questions and I think we might have a couple minutes for that.

[1:26:04] So, >> thank you. And I think too you'll be

[1:26:07] around after if we have some. >> Yes, I will hang out.

[1:26:10] » He's going to be around now because we've asked you guys to stay right

[1:26:12] around. >> I I I was sitting here thinking I'm like

[1:26:15] part of it is branding and identity and I'm thinking West Sacramento, how do you

[1:26:19] get your own branding? So, I was thinking of all these great river names

[1:26:22] and then I decided what was I thinking? It's Bridgertown, right? They'll be a

[1:26:26] little more spicy if you were Bridget. >> That might be trademarked, but

[1:26:31] [laughter] >> just saying.

[1:26:34] » Um, any questions that you as a group would or comments?

[1:26:38] » I'm sorry. I I blocked you, sir. [laughter]

[1:26:43] » Anyway, >> not only Whitey where P6 will be in

[1:26:48] season pretty soon. >> But, um, I think the original nugget

[1:26:53] might be Woodland. Thanks.

[1:26:56] » Dr. Howell, could you turn your mic on? Thank you.

[1:26:59] » I was using coach voice. Um, so the one of the iconic legacies of West

[1:27:06] Sacramento closed a year and a half ago. >> Yeah.

[1:27:10] » The Pheasant Club, >> rumors are it might reopen. Club

[1:27:13] Feeasant. Yep. Is that true? >> Yeah. So, when uh the pheasant club

[1:27:16] announced closure, the first call I got was actually from Dr. Early. Um and and

[1:27:22] uh it's funny sometimes, you know, things are happening in unison and and

[1:27:25] you know, she said, "Hey, they it's actually in her council district and um

[1:27:29] and she's very concerned obviously for all the reasons you just said. It's kind

[1:27:32] of the West doesn't have a ton of preserved history and that in that

[1:27:36] restaurant space is definitely one of them. Uh so the city acted very quickly

[1:27:40] because it would have been a gas station and a couple of fast food restaurants

[1:27:44] had we not. Um and we ended up actually purchasing the property uh from the from

[1:27:50] the owners. Um the council from there then approved plans to uh bring it back

[1:27:55] as a redeveloped but still preserving some of the the building uh facades and

[1:28:00] and definitely the legacy of of the pheasant club. Uh there'll be I believe

[1:28:04] there's seven restaurant spaces that are that are going to be

[1:28:07] » Erin, can I can I tag in? Sure. Um because I think this really represents

[1:28:11] the theme that we talked about this morning of West Sacramento and and you

[1:28:15] touched on it, right, which is uh your local government investing in the

[1:28:20] infrastructure or investing in systems that then allow for your whole community

[1:28:25] to thrive. And I think one of the challenges that we saw with the pheasant

[1:28:29] club was it would have turned into to your point, we were hearing, you know,

[1:28:33] either a storage or gas station or um or fast food restaurant. And we knew that

[1:28:40] short of us stepping in, the market will do what the market does. And that's

[1:28:45] really been whether it is the motel, whether it is infill and allowing in

[1:28:50] partnership with SEIKOG and others to invest in the in the streets and

[1:28:54] infrastructure. That is what has allowed us in a very short amount of time to be

[1:28:58] the community we are stepping in where we need to and then stepping back.

[1:29:02] » Yeah. And so long story short, um they're in for plan check right now and

[1:29:06] hopefully get building permits soon and a couple years from now hopefully you'll

[1:29:09] be able to eat it. Um might not be called exactly the same, but uh it'll

[1:29:13] it'll definitely be restaurants. >> Thank you. Director Sunn had a comment.

[1:29:18] » Thank you chair. I just wanted to Aaron commend you. I mean, Dante, I mean,

[1:29:24] Director Early and uh Director Viegas, just for all all the work you've done, I

[1:29:27] think you've given us all the appreciation of not just what you

[1:29:32] overcame, but the continuity of leadership and, you know, your

[1:29:37] leadership as well as the councils to get to where you are. I mean, when you

[1:29:41] say you've been here for 21 years, I mean, that what you had to overcome is

[1:29:46] is incredible how long it takes to rebuild the infrastructure, the

[1:29:50] entitlements, getting the, you know, people here. So, it really there's just

[1:29:54] a huge appreciation I have for that cuz a lot of us are dealing with at least in

[1:29:58] Elkrove, we had stuff we dealt with from the county, but a lot of it is blank

[1:30:03] slates. So, that's that's a challenge in of itself, but I think what you guys

[1:30:07] have done uh is just really amazing. >> Thank you.

[1:30:10] » Yeah. Thank you so much. I know um several

[1:30:13] folks had a hard stop, so we'll wrap it up, but I know that you will be here and

[1:30:17] appreciate it that you'll stay for some questions. Thank you so much. Um moving

[1:30:21] on quickly to just some uh reports. >> Yeah, thank you.

[1:30:30] » I was hoping that Savannah Bananas were going to be out there practicing while

[1:30:33] we were here, too. Um, a couple of things I wanted to to share some some

[1:30:38] fun and exciting news. Um, I was able to attend KCOG with some of the SEIKOG

[1:30:43] staff last week and they we have received a major award.

[1:30:52] » It's the Eureka Award for regional excellence. It was very I was very proud

[1:30:56] to accept on behalf of our team here and uh for our engage empower and implement

[1:31:01] program and it really was an award directed at um creative and innovative

[1:31:06] ideas that could serve as an example for other COGS and throughout the region. So

[1:31:10] thank you to staff so much and everyone for for doing that and making me look

[1:31:14] good when I got to accept it. Um, and I just do a reminder that uh, April 1st

[1:31:19] form 700 and Lynette is over there happily ready to receive your your forms

[1:31:24] as they come through. Um, and also I have to remind you on these placemats. I

[1:31:28] do love the place mats. Um, the information for our pure region tour is

[1:31:33] on there. And that is all that I have. James, do you have anything?

[1:31:36] » I I would just say we've gone from the confluence of two rivers in this region

[1:31:40] to at the late June the confluence of two rivers in Minneapolis St. Paul

[1:31:44] because that is the Minnesota >> dates are confusing on the placemat.

[1:31:49] » Uhoh. >> It looks as though the uh 25th and 6th

[1:31:52] have been stricken from the calendar. >> Okay. The peer region tour is June 24th

[1:31:57] leaving Bright and early uh staying through Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

[1:32:00] coming back Friday evening June 26th. So whatever it says

[1:32:05] » Thursday the 2. >> Listen to me. Uh

[1:32:09] all right. June 24 26 registration is open. I know we have a lot of interest

[1:32:13] from board members. Some of you >> I'm going to do it.

[1:32:16] » Some of you I know you want to get out of here, but you're going to have to

[1:32:20] listen to this. Uh want to bring your staff. We have a wait list. So, we have

[1:32:24] actually so much board interest and we can't go above too many right on these

[1:32:28] tours. So, it's great if you're interested in bringing your staff, but

[1:32:31] there will be a wait list and I'm not sure we'll be able to manage that. We'll

[1:32:35] do the best we can. But um got a great we have a a peer uh agency there, the

[1:32:40] Met Council, Metropolitan Council. They are very excited to host you uh and show

[1:32:46] off all the great things they've been doing and working on really hard. And

[1:32:49] that first night will just happen to be a Minnesota Twins game downtown. So, uh

[1:32:55] very transit accessible. That's my that is my report.

[1:32:59] » Tour just got a lot more popular, didn't it? I love that. Thank you very very

[1:33:03] much. Um, with that I think that's we've got everything covered. Just reminder of

[1:33:08] our next meeting which I'm sure it'll be about a beautiful 100 degrees by the

[1:33:13] time we meet again on April 16th back at our home base at SEIKOG. And with that

[1:33:18] we're adjourned.

Board of Directors - 3/19/26

Transcript