[7:10] Morning

[7:15] everyone.

[7:16] Looks like we do have a quorum. I think

[7:19] there might be some traffic, but we will

[7:21] get started. So, good morning. The

[7:23] December 12th board of directors meeting

[7:24] is called to order. First, I'd like to

[7:26] ask our interpreters to explain how to

[7:28] access interpretation. Please go ahead.

[7:32] » Announcement from interpreter. To use

[7:33] the interpretation feature, please

[7:35] scroll to the bottom of the Zoom screen

[7:37] where the meeting controls are. Click on

[7:39] the interpretation icon world and select

[7:42] English as your language. If you are

[7:44] joining through the Zoom mobile app,

[7:46] cell phone, tablet, etc., please press

[7:49] the ellipsus then interpretation and

[7:51] then choose your language. Finally,

[7:54] click on mute original audio to not hear

[7:56] the original Spanish low in the

[7:58] background. Headsets are available for

[8:00] interpretation. If you are in the

[8:02] meeting room, please check out a headset

[8:04] from the receptionist in the lobby.

[8:21] Spanish.

[8:39] Mute original audio

[8:41] audio.

[8:55] Thank you.

[8:57] » Thank you. I'd like to take a moment to

[8:59] acknowledge the land that we call home.

[9:01] The tribal nations of San Diego have

[9:03] historically faced injustices. We

[9:05] acknowledge the harmony that existed

[9:07] between the land, nature, and its

[9:09] original peoples who have since endured

[9:10] displacement, persecution, and systemic

[9:12] oppression. We pay our respect to the

[9:14] unseated territory and homelands of the

[9:16] 18 tribal nations in our region, the

[9:18] most in any county in the United States,

[9:19] from our from four cultural groups, the

[9:21] Kumaya, Deno, the Luceno, the Copeno,

[9:23] and the Kawa. This land has nourished,

[9:25] healed, protected, and embraced them for

[9:27] many generations in a relationship of

[9:28] balance and harmony. As members of the

[9:31] Sanding community, we acknowledge this

[9:32] legacy. We aspire to learn from

[9:34] indigenous traditional knowledge and

[9:36] experiences in undoing the injustices of

[9:38] the past. Now, please stand and join me

[9:40] in the flag salute.

[9:42] Ready, begin.

[9:45] To the flag of the United States of

[9:47] America and to the republic for it

[9:50] stands one nation under God indivisible

[9:54] with liberty and justice for all.

[9:58] » Whoops.

[10:01] Okay, Michael, can you please double

[10:02] confirm quorum?

[10:04] » We do have a quorum chair with the

[10:05] cities of Alcohon, Escandido, La Mesa,

[10:07] National City, Oceanside, and Vista

[10:10] absent.

[10:11] » Okay, let's move on to non-aggenda

[10:13] public comment. How many do we have?

[10:15] » We have uh three in person and if you

[10:17] are online please raise your hand now

[10:19] » And three online. Okay.

[10:22] » So first we'll have uh truth followed by

[10:25] uh Perita Javier.

[10:32] » Hi Rebecca. Love the jacket. Can that be

[10:34] my Christmas gift please? All right. For

[10:36] the long-term board members who remember

[10:38] apparently there's a new mayor in town.

[10:40] » The mayor of Medita. I am the mayor of

[10:43] » Technically the mayor of Bonita.

[10:48] » I am technically the mayor.

[10:51] » If that's true, can Moa go back to the

[10:52] mayor's paycheck? Remember when I said

[10:54] it only take one board member to send

[10:56] this board into disarray? Manuela is it?

[10:59] With the scheme provided by dim chair

[11:01] William Rig Kennedy once accused of

[11:02] rape. Manuela tried to drag San

[11:04] backwards by playing the fafo game with

[11:06] 500 million in federal dollars. Racist

[11:09] equity means projects to the favored few

[11:11] at the expense of the many. Union

[11:13] grifters love to say they're for the

[11:15] minority and the underserved. Yet,

[11:16] they're the first to selfishly throw

[11:18] projects uh for them on the sacrificial

[11:21] altar of their anti-Trump games.

[11:23] Republicans and independents, your yes

[11:25] vote gave leverage to the progressives

[11:27] political theater. How stupid can you

[11:29] be? The DIE show had zero strategy and

[11:32] zero values because so-called California

[11:35] values should not consist of breaking

[11:37] the law. I want to commend Bill and

[11:39] Chris for not playing political games

[11:41] with Sanag's bylaw compliance with

[11:43] federal law that affects funding for

[11:44] SANDAG projects because here's what

[11:47] progressive union games with our transit

[11:49] tax dollars already resulted in from a

[11:51] 2022 reader article entitled when the

[11:53] Tmacula traffic hits Escanido quote.

[11:56] Santa communications director Gary

[11:58] Benelli says we hope to have a robust

[12:00] transit system in place by 2030. You're

[12:02] going to have five minute frequencies

[12:04] transit competitive with the car. Calran

[12:07] says, "We need alternate work hours

[12:09] where we're not all on the freeway at

[12:10] the same time." Two questionnaers

[12:12] solicit citizens views. The first asks,

[12:15] "What transportation improvements people

[12:16] think will work." The second asks, "What

[12:18] are they willing to do?" People will

[12:20] say, "Oh, public transportation. I'm

[12:22] willing to spend the money. Will you

[12:23] write it?" Well, no. End quote. Same

[12:26] bleep, different day. In over two

[12:28] decades, Sandak has literally achieved

[12:30] nothing but broken promises. So, colon

[12:32] stockings and Bahham bug to that. And

[12:34] you know what else bothers me is

[12:35] Fitzgerald stays silent. Thank you. Next

[12:38] is Pria Javier followed by Caesar

[12:40] Javier.

[12:56] » Good morning. I am Purita Javier, senior

[13:00] with medical condition and a victim of

[13:05] ceramic skill toxicity

[13:08] next door.

[13:10] I began residence in 1997.

[13:15] Cesar, my husband came in

[13:19] 2012.

[13:21] A divine intervention. I knew nothing

[13:24] about clean air oxygen nor about air

[13:30] pollution. I was merely good at knowing

[13:34] shopping and sales are. It was

[13:39] that made me aware of the threat of our

[13:43] health and safety. He being a teacher

[13:47] and a contractor. In his curiosity, I

[13:51] gave him the story of the business and

[13:55] about them friends

[13:58] owner, a business that began 1984

[14:03] and in trickles

[14:06] on and off storytelling.

[14:09] My late husband

[14:11] words shout at only get out of there.

[14:18] Stay away from there. Also I told and

[14:22] showed Cesar about the permanent

[14:25] fastening of windows. I told Cesar that

[14:30] the owner has not gone to hire

[14:35] higher education unless

[14:40] his wife a nurse. I also informed Cesar

[14:45] that my late husband was sailor

[14:48] um in a navy guy and treated a calm uh

[14:55] the couple like son and daughter

[15:00] a father figure of them in short.

[15:03] » Thank you. Your has expired. Next is

[15:05] Caesar Javier followed by Mike Bullick

[15:07] online.

[15:11] Her family wishes everyone

[15:14] merry Christmas.

[15:17] prayerfully after our toil for four

[15:20] years, kneeling,

[15:24] pleading, and even shouting at our

[15:27] elected

[15:29] 11 officials of the city of San Diego

[15:37] as a calling by our constitution.

[15:41] Working together.

[15:44] Perfect union. Ensure justice. A system

[15:47] fair for everyone including Habir

[15:50] family. Domestic tranquility. Defense.

[15:53] Our stance. Councelor Rivera. Sir Mario

[15:58] is defense to protect our community,

[16:03] to serve our community

[16:07] for a totality of patrimony and

[16:10] posterity for all American sons and

[16:13] daughters. We be we beg of you.

[16:17] Something is wrong and we are supposed

[16:20] to correct it. That's the tenets of what

[16:24] we call patrimony posterity. The good

[16:28] thing that we will remember and honor

[16:33] forever because this is the greatest

[16:39] country in the world and perhaps in few

[16:42] more years in the universe.

[16:46] We stand here to remind our elected

[16:50] officials that when you I mean when you

[16:54] take office, you raise your right hand,

[16:57] not your left,

[16:59] not your feet,

[17:01] but you raise your heart and mind and

[17:04] say to the Filipino, sorry, we just

[17:08] attended the Filipino meeting last

[17:10] yesterday.

[17:12] to all Americans.

[17:15] I will protect the question.

[17:16] » Thank you. Your time has expired. Next

[17:18] is Mike Bullock online followed by the

[17:20] original draw.

[17:25] » Yes, thank you. Um I am uh Mike Bullock.

[17:28] I live in Oceanside and um I when I

[17:32] retired from Lockheed Martin after 36

[17:34] years, my title was senior staff systems

[17:37] engineer. So, uh, honorable chair and,

[17:40] uh, members of the board, I'm honored

[17:41] to, uh, speak with you this morning. And

[17:44] my topic is, uh, climate change

[17:47] literacy. And, um, I'm going to follow

[17:50] along with, uh, the way that is defined

[17:54] in the California Democratic Party

[17:56] platform uh, in the education plank, and

[17:59] you'll find it there. And it says, uh,

[18:01] you have to know, um, why we have the

[18:03] problem and how bad it could get. Um and

[18:08] uh also you need to know u uh the

[18:11] difference between climate stabilization

[18:14] and uh uh climate uh destabilization.

[18:18] Uh and then also uh the requirements

[18:22] that the climate scientists have given

[18:24] us uh so we can achieve the desired

[18:27] outcome which is stabilizing the climate

[18:29] and avoiding uh destabilization.

[18:32] Um and then also the mitigation measures

[18:35] are there. Um so I don't have a lot of

[18:38] time but um it's really based on uh the

[18:43] uh Noah plots u and uh the 800,000 year

[18:47] uh plot. So there's a a ton of science

[18:49] there. That's 800,000 years going back

[18:51] in time. It shows the atmospheric CO2

[18:55] and it shows the temperature anomaly

[18:57] which is what the temperature of our

[18:58] atmosphere is relative to what it would

[19:00] should be uh without climate change. And

[19:03] you know we're very close to 1.5 degrees

[19:05] centigrade now. Uh and uh the plot the

[19:10] other plot the Noah plot is just 1,00

[19:12] years where you zero in on it and it's

[19:14] very very clear that it's the um our

[19:17] industrial revolution. That's where our

[19:19] atmospheric uh CO2 climbed from what it

[19:22] should be 280 parts per million to 420.

[19:25] And the temperature anomaly that

[19:27] corresponds to that is 15 degrees

[19:29] centigrade. So we are in a lot of

[19:31] danger.

[19:31] » Thank you. Your time has expired. Next

[19:34] is original draw followed by our last

[19:35] public comment. Casey,

[19:40] » Good morning. as you guys are here for

[19:43] the last one of these meetings for the

[19:47] year and before the holidays as you are

[19:50] going to be going and spending your

[19:52] holidays whatever holiday that is with

[19:54] your families and I bet it's going to be

[19:56] a really really beautiful time. Well, I

[20:00] would like you to think about while

[20:02] you're with your family, all of the many

[20:05] children who have been ripped apart from

[20:07] their families in the county by the

[20:09] child trafficking organization known as

[20:12] CFWB, Child Family Well-being,

[20:16] um or you know, people like to call it

[20:19] CPS. In fact, the county of San Diego

[20:21] was in a documentary that has um gone

[20:24] viral called Never in America. I suggest

[20:28] that you guys watch it. Um but it talks

[20:31] about this um business that is a

[20:34] conveyor belt to get children through

[20:36] the system after ASPA came in in 1997

[20:40] through Bill and Hillary Clinton

[20:43] to fasttrack adoptions with children and

[20:46] it's very lucrative taking title for

[20:48] funding because states used to have to

[20:50] actually pay when they took kids apart

[20:52] from their families and they did it only

[20:54] when there was actual abuse not to

[20:57] create cases because it's auc of

[20:59] business. But I want you guys to think

[21:02] about how do you think it would feel for

[21:04] your child if when they were seeing you

[21:08] and begging to go home with you, a

[21:11] social worker said, "Isn't that sweet?

[21:15] Isn't that sweet? Isn't it? Isn't that

[21:19] horrific to have to hear when you're

[21:22] begging to go home and there's no reason

[21:23] for you to be separated from your family

[21:27] except for money and all the while the

[21:30] county is covering up sexual abuse so

[21:33] you can't go home. I want you to think

[21:35] about what it's like being with your

[21:37] families and what it would be like if

[21:38] you weren't allowed to for absolutely no

[21:40] reason at all but for profit.

[21:43] Happy holidays.

[21:46] » Our last public comment is Casey. If you

[21:48] are online, please be sure to raise your

[21:49] hand at the start of an item, please.

[21:51] Last public comment, Casey, go ahead.

[21:53] » Hi, my name is Casey. I'm a high school

[21:56] student and this morning I had to ask my

[21:58] AP human geography teacher if I could

[21:59] leave class early to give this comment.

[22:01] He asked, "Why do you need to give

[22:03] public comment during class?" And I told

[22:04] him that Sandag is jeopardizing my

[22:07] future. In AP human geography, one of

[22:10] the first things you learn in the urban

[22:11] planning unit is that widening highways

[22:13] doesn't fix congestion. It creates

[22:16] induced demand. You add lanes, people

[22:18] drive more, and then traffic comes back

[22:20] and emissions increase. So what I when I

[22:23] see a plan proposing over 90 miles of

[22:25] new managed lanes costing more than $2

[22:28] billion, it feels like we're choosing to

[22:30] ignore what decades of evidence and

[22:32] frankly what we teach teenagers already

[22:34] tell us. I do want to thank everyone for

[22:36] extending the youth opportunity pass.

[22:38] And as a student who depends on transit,

[22:40] that decision genuinely matters. This

[22:42] plan still centers highway expansion

[22:44] even through SANDAG's own modeling

[22:47] labels these projects as high VMT to

[22:49] compensate the plan leaves heavily on

[22:51] rapid bus routes but we already have

[22:53] proof that rapid and name only rhinos

[22:56] don't work. Take the Rapid 215. When it

[23:00] launched in 2014 it was supposed to be

[23:01] faster and more reliable than the route

[23:03] it replaced. Today it takes 6 minutes

[23:06] longer than when it opened. On-time

[23:08] performance has dropped by about 10

[23:10] points and ridership is down 33% even

[23:13] though overall transit ridership has

[23:14] largely recovered. It's not a demand

[23:17] problem. It's a design failure. Without

[23:18] dedicated lanes and strong transit

[23:20] signal priority, buses are just stuck in

[23:22] traffic. I'm also deeply concern

[23:25] concerned with how little attention the

[23:26] purple line gets for South County is

[23:28] meant to be a transit lifeline and with

[23:30] SB79 enabling more housing near transit

[23:33] ridership potential is being

[23:34] underestimated. Also, removing

[23:36] references to NACO's safe bike

[23:38] infrastructure guidelines sends the

[23:40] wrong message to young people like me. I

[23:42] want to be really clear at the end here.

[23:44] I'm genuinely begging you for my future

[23:46] and my generation's future. You are not

[23:49] powerless. All it takes is one of you to

[23:51] step up and call a weighted vote. You

[23:54] have the power to pass a regional plan

[23:55] that works for everyone, for students,

[23:58] workers, families.

[24:00] » Thank you. Your time has expired. That

[24:02] concludes our our non-aggenda public

[24:03] comment chair. And for the record, the

[24:05] cities of National City, Oceanside, and

[24:06] Powe are present.

[24:08] » Very good. Thank you so much. We'll go

[24:09] to non-aggenda member comments and I see

[24:11] Ann Fox from CALR on the board.

[24:14] » Good morning. Um, so t the season for

[24:17] holiday wishes and retirements usually

[24:19] around this time of year. So I just

[24:22] wanted to announce that Karen Juel right

[24:25] here behind me will be retiring this

[24:28] month. um with over 36 years with CALR,

[24:32] probably a little bit more of that cuz

[24:33] she did start with us as a student

[24:35] assistant. She's been our hydraulics

[24:38] engineer, our traffic engineering and

[24:40] analysis lead, project manager in North

[24:42] County corridors, working on state

[24:44] routes 7678.

[24:47] then as a shared CALR SANDAG corridor

[24:50] director for our central corridors

[24:53] working on our routes 805 5215

[24:57] and as a good partner to many of you and

[25:00] your agencies um around this dis. So she

[25:04] was part of my lunch crew for probably

[25:06] well over a decade. Uh one of the nicest

[25:09] uh level-headed active people you'll

[25:12] ever know and someone we'll all miss in

[25:15] retirement. So, thank you Karen for

[25:17] making Calrrons and Sandad better.

[25:29] » Lovely tribute. Thank you. Sounds like

[25:31] you made your mark. All right, I have a

[25:34] few comments. Uh, this is the final

[25:36] meeting of the year. So, I want to thank

[25:37] you all so much and for sta to staff for

[25:40] your engagement and hard work throughout

[25:42] this very, very busy year. I also want

[25:45] to wish everyone a wonderful holiday

[25:46] season and I do look forward to working

[25:48] with you all next year together. Uh as a

[25:52] quick reminder, the audit committee

[25:53] chair is conducting the annual

[25:54] performance evaluation of Sandag's

[25:56] independence performance auditor. We

[25:58] received a request to fill out that

[26:00] questionnaire December 2nd which I

[26:02] somehow missed. Um got the reminder the

[26:05] other day and filled it out. So if you

[26:07] please fill it out if you haven't

[26:08] already. QR codes taped to the um desks

[26:12] in front of you and also you have an

[26:13] email in your email box. Um so please uh

[26:16] fill that out. Your feedback is

[26:18] important. Uh since our last meeting,

[26:20] Vice Chair Lava and I had the

[26:21] opportunity to meet with the leadership

[26:22] of the Southern California Tribal

[26:24] Chairman's Association. They generously

[26:27] hosted and we appreciated the chance to

[26:29] share um and discuss priorities,

[26:31] strengthen our working relationship and

[26:34] create some steps for um ongoing

[26:35] discussions. I also met with Senator

[26:38] Weber Pearson to discuss housing policy,

[26:40] including um SB79 and thanking her for

[26:44] her non support of SB79 and discussing

[26:49] um a number of other issues including

[26:52] border uh region resiliency and the

[26:55] ongoing need for SB 375 reform. That's

[26:59] it and I'll turn it over to Mario for

[27:00] his update.

[27:01] » Thank you, Chair and Karen.

[27:03] Congratulations. since we grew together

[27:05] in Calrans. So, uh I cannot envision uh

[27:10] not having you as a corridor director

[27:12] there. So, we really really uh a big hug

[27:15] and again you know we grew three decades

[27:19] together in the agency. Um we yesterday

[27:23] we had um uh city managers roundt that

[27:28] we are starting to host here. We really

[27:31] appreciate those city managers who could

[27:33] make it. Uh we had a very robust

[27:35] conversation of what's coming up next

[27:37] year as well as city managers provided

[27:40] us some recommendations of how we should

[27:42] be working with the working groups. So

[27:45] we will be bringing up uh those ideas.

[27:48] We will bring them forward to the

[27:49] executive committee. I really encourage

[27:52] all of you to encourage your city

[27:54] managers to to come to this round table.

[27:57] It's it's a good uh forum where we

[28:00] discuss ongoing issues, upcoming grants

[28:03] and we strategize uh to make uh the

[28:06] discussions here as well as in the packs

[28:09] uh more meaningful. So I really

[28:11] appreciate that. Also this week I

[28:15] participated at the California

[28:16] Infrastructure Development Conference in

[28:18] LA. Uh with me was Comey Ajitsu, the

[28:22] SCACK executive director, and we were

[28:24] together in a panel talking about what

[28:27] we'd see in the future and how we

[28:29] collaborate in Southern California.

[28:32] Between SCAK and SANDOK, we cover um all

[28:37] Southern California and the the a good

[28:40] chunk of the majority of the population

[28:42] of California. So between both

[28:45] organizations we can impact quite a bit

[28:48] as well as nationwide. Uh also earlier

[28:51] this week even so it feels way back uh

[28:54] we took a really fast trip a 23-hour

[28:58] trip to Washington DC to meet with the

[29:01] federal highway administrator Mr. Sheen

[29:03] McCaster as well as with Mexican

[29:06] ambassador in in the US Stean McDuma. um

[29:10] with federal highways. We discussed old

[29:13] time as

[29:15] understanding some regulations that

[29:17] federal highways has uh been directing

[29:20] us on it and that could open hopefully

[29:22] open the possibility of more

[29:25] partnerships. um as well as with

[29:27] Ambassador Mocktasuma, we discussed the

[29:29] project, but we also discussed the

[29:31] Tijuana River issues and how do we f

[29:34] more partner on on on improving not just

[29:37] the Tijuana issue, but all the

[29:39] environmental issues across the border.

[29:41] Uh that's why we're working on the

[29:43] sustainability

[29:45] uh um plan that we're working for that

[29:48] for the border region. On project

[29:50] updates,

[29:52] we had a huge accomplishment. The first

[29:55] climate action roadmap for San Diego

[29:58] region was completed and submitted to

[30:00] EPA. Why is it important for then your

[30:03] cities can go and take that plan and be

[30:06] eligible for funding? Because it's a

[30:08] regional plan. So you can take it as

[30:10] yours also in your cities. If you don't

[30:12] have that in your cities, it's an

[30:14] option. But that's pretty big because we

[30:18] for those smaller cities who may not

[30:20] have the bandwidth to do it, you can

[30:22] adopt the ones from from from Sanduk and

[30:25] that allows you to pursue funding for

[30:27] EPA and other related subjects. So we

[30:31] really really appreciate that. Um the

[30:34] Batikitos Lagoni MP, we're restoring the

[30:37] nesting habitat and we're really working

[30:40] on that project. We really want to thank

[30:43] uh um Santi and the mayor for uh mayor

[30:48] Mento for helping us cal and and and

[30:51] Sandak and Caltrans is leading this

[30:53] effort on the SR52

[30:56] uh operational improvements

[30:58] environmental document. So thank you for

[31:00] allowing us that this is the the one of

[31:04] what you consider beginning of

[31:05] conversations to start moving the 52

[31:08] into reality those improvements. So, you

[31:11] know, it's a journey and Mayor Mento is

[31:14] helping Calrons and ourselves on walking

[31:17] that journey. So, thank you on that. On

[31:19] the audit update, um we're really

[31:22] focusing on closing out the 2018 Trust

[31:25] recommendations

[31:27] that were submitted to IT Talk. Um it

[31:31] was very concerning to me that we were a

[31:34] decade behind in some recommendations,

[31:36] some of them from 2015. So, we needed to

[31:39] check the box out of the 2015. Now,

[31:42] we're going to try to check the box of

[31:43] the 2018 as we can get get closer to

[31:47] just have not a not not a decade, but

[31:50] hopefully months or maybe a year to get

[31:52] to some recommendations. So, we really

[31:55] appreciate that. Um, today you will be

[31:58] hearing uh the finance audit assessment.

[32:02] uh that's going to be really helpful and

[32:04] I'll talk more about that. But we're

[32:06] also doing going to be launching

[32:08] internally in the agency an HR

[32:11] department assessment and we are already

[32:13] working on a toll ops organizational

[32:16] assessment. The information has been

[32:18] very very good uh for us that will help

[32:21] us reinvent our toll operations

[32:24] department

[32:26] on the back office. We're really

[32:28] exploring on different types of

[32:29] partnerships so we can also align it

[32:33] with that reorganization of of our toll

[32:35] department. Also reorgan reorganize how

[32:38] we manage toll. So we will have more

[32:41] information on that shortly.

[32:43] Construction updates. There were some

[32:46] concerns about the Omar Bluffs uh big

[32:49] dyke that was built there. So, we're

[32:51] going to coordinate with the mayor, with

[32:53] all the department, with the uh city

[32:56] manager, and again, it's a journey. Uh

[33:00] the mitigation for the Delmare Bluffs is

[33:03] a complex mitigation that was imposed to

[33:06] us by Coastal Commission. So, we're

[33:08] going to work and try to balance what

[33:11] Coastal wants, what the city wants, what

[33:13] the transit agency wants, and we're

[33:16] going to try to get, like I said, a

[33:18] balance on all that. So, we're meeting

[33:20] also with the coastal commission

[33:22] director to try to figure that out next

[33:24] month. We have begun construction on the

[33:28] West Washington Street and Mission

[33:30] Valley bikeways. So, hopefully that will

[33:33] be moving forward. And finally, you

[33:36] know, I want to mention that our offices

[33:38] will be closed uh to the public on

[33:41] December 25th and January 1st. Our toll

[33:44] operations customer center will close at

[33:48] at noon around noon on the 24th to allow

[33:51] those employees to go home and then we

[33:53] will be closed also on the 25th and on

[33:56] the 1st and I really want to wish you uh

[33:59] happy holidays to all of you and thank

[34:01] you for all the support during this

[34:03] calendar year.

[34:05] » Thanks so much uh Mayor Gastelin.

[34:08] » Yes, thank you. Um executive director,

[34:11] thank you for mentioning the Delmare

[34:12] Bluffs. I I wanted to invite the board

[34:15] members here to come to Delmare sometime

[34:17] over the next few weeks and walk the

[34:20] beach along the bottom of the bluff. See

[34:22] the over one mile of new seaw wall

[34:23] that's in that is in between the the

[34:27] beach and the bluff. And I also wanted

[34:30] to remind us that the original cost of

[34:33] this project was 58 million in 2020.

[34:36] It's now estimated that it will wind up

[34:38] totaling 88 million with 62 million

[34:41] spent so far. So an extra 30 million has

[34:44] gone into this project in on in June of

[34:47] 2022. The Coastal Commission approved

[34:50] the project conditionally. One of the

[34:52] conditions is actively vigorously

[34:54] pursuing and accomplishing getting the

[34:57] railroad tracks off the bluff into an

[34:58] inland location. So that's one. And the

[35:02] other was beach access.

[35:04] So we're going to be asking for

[35:07] transparency and access to the

[35:09] construction plans that the coastal

[35:10] commission reviewed. The exhibits

[35:13] apparently weren't, you know, they

[35:15] showed a four foot wide culvert in the

[35:17] location at 11th Street and what was

[35:19] built was 12 feet wide, six feet deep at

[35:21] the six feet deep, six feet wide at the

[35:24] bottom. Yeah, it's a very large cement

[35:26] structure that stretches two blocks

[35:29] along the top of the bluff in Delmare.

[35:31] It was a surprise. So, let's try to be

[35:33] more transparent and have no more

[35:35] surprises.

[35:37] » Okay, we now move on to the consent

[35:39] calendar. Michael, do you have any

[35:40] public comments on consent?

[35:42] » Yes. If you are online, please raise

[35:43] your hand. Now we have two in person.

[35:47] That's truth followed by Caesar.

[35:54] Item 3.1, the remnants of a dead meeting

[35:57] should be amended to say that crybaby

[35:58] William Murders Kennedy is the chair of

[36:00] the San Diego Democratic Party for

[36:02] transparency. Item 3.2 says that the

[36:05] tribal transportation program is

[36:06] considered as amended into the R TIP.

[36:09] Does that mean the tribal projects are

[36:10] automatically given to the building

[36:12] construction trades council if they cost

[36:13] over $5 million? Item 3.3. I'd like to

[36:16] know why Loan is so concerned about form

[36:18] 700s. What corruption is going on there?

[36:21] Item 3.4. Not to $40 million to UN

[36:24] global compact partner Jacob's project

[36:26] management for the lagoon double

[36:27] tracking. Also, there's a misspelling on

[36:29] the word qualification in the second

[36:31] paragraph on the second page of this

[36:32] item. Item 3.5. I do not approve of the

[36:35] $2.5 million investment in nefarious

[36:37] Novartis. Item 3.6. If we follow the DIE

[36:41] nonsense that Lauren voted for, then I

[36:42] don't think that wealthy La Mesa should

[36:44] get a pass on their late financial

[36:46] report. And fact needs to provide a more

[36:48] detailed explanation as to why they need

[36:50] an extension.

[36:52] At 3.7, here's a public transit needs

[36:55] story. On the trolley ride from hell, an

[36:58] abusive man started arguing with a

[36:59] woman. He suddenly grabbed the dog out

[37:01] of her arms and threw it like it was

[37:03] trash. Even worse, she didn't care.

[37:06] There was zero security able to respond

[37:08] to animal abuse. And that is a prime

[37:10] traumatic example of what you all voted

[37:12] to spend $6.5 million a year for

[37:15] children to experience. For the

[37:17] millionth time, make public transit

[37:19] safety an immediate priority or shut up

[37:22] about reducing VMT and GHGs because the

[37:24] only safe mode of transportation is by

[37:27] private car. Item 3.8. Not to Escanido's

[37:31] unaffordable stack and pack trust fund

[37:33] with no required transit and likely no

[37:35] parking either. Noto bikeway for Lemon

[37:37] Grow, which doesn't even have fixed

[37:38] streets or sidewalks. And why did the LG

[37:41] only have to put up $1,000 in matching

[37:43] funds? Why did I put up zero dollars for

[37:46] the stupid cap update? And for San

[37:49] Excels, staff needs to more closely

[37:51] triple check their mistaken work before

[37:53] releasing it, especially when it deals

[37:54] with who gets funding. How long is this

[37:56] agency going to keep messing up is my

[37:58] question.

[38:01] Next is Caesar followed by Mike Bullick

[38:03] online.

[38:14] Advocacy for community life

[38:27] processes 3.1 to 3.8.

[38:31] We have to lump this because there are

[38:35] a chain

[38:39] and

[38:41] the strength of this chains is the

[38:44] weakest link in all this process.

[38:51] Did we adequately

[38:53] prepared for this

[38:57] toilome effort? for example,

[39:01] amending

[39:04] rules and laws that are vintage,

[39:07] not fitted

[39:09] to the call of times.

[39:13] I say this because

[39:16] the mission of Sandag

[39:19] to be specific is all about

[39:23] man's survivability as far as mobility

[39:27] and transportation. Without this

[39:30] you know the answer.

[39:37] The changing time

[39:39] calls for changing rules.

[39:45] The call of time state and condition

[39:48] requires us to be vigilant and watchful.

[39:52] This is all about all these processes

[39:54] here today and we share with you.

[39:58] We support this and we encourage you

[40:01] thinkers including the public. Of

[40:04] course, it's not your

[40:07] jurisdiction alone because you never

[40:10] exist without us.

[40:12] Hear from us, hear from you and we learn

[40:15] together.

[40:16] » Your time has expired. We have four

[40:18] comments online. That's Mike Bullick

[40:20] followed by the original draw.

[40:25] » Yeah, thank you very much uh Mike

[40:26] Bullock and Oceanside. I guess I

[40:28] introduced myself before and uh so

[40:31] honorable chair and members uh I would

[40:34] like to uh respectfully

[40:37] request that you consider removing uh

[40:40] 3.5 uh for discussion. Um, I really

[40:44] appreciated hearing the uh uh statement

[40:49] by uh the director and uh I think the

[40:52] director I agree with everything that

[40:53] the director is is saying in 3.5.

[40:57] However, I think we need to discuss what

[40:59] is not going on and that is that um

[41:03] Sandag is not u asking uh Sacramento,

[41:07] our legislators

[41:09] uh our governor to please implement the

[41:12] carb scoping plan. And uh the reason

[41:15] that uh scoping plan must be implemented

[41:18] as soon as possible is because it is

[41:21] California's official plan to stabilize

[41:23] the climate and achieve SP32 which is a

[41:26] state law uh and uh corresponds to uh

[41:30] what the IPC is doing and corresponds to

[41:33] what the climate scientists tell us we

[41:35] must do by 2030. We don't have a lot of

[41:38] choice about this. uh the climate

[41:40] scientists are not wrong and a climate

[41:42] uh destabilization

[41:44] uh is something we we need to avoid and

[41:48] uh so we need to ask the state of

[41:51] California to implement the mitigation

[41:53] measures which are in that plan and will

[41:57] reduce uh VMT by 25% by 2030. They

[42:03] didn't want to tell us that 25% but it's

[42:05] just math. Uh I have worked this problem

[42:07] myself and they're in the ballpark.

[42:09] They're not uh off base at all. Uh I did

[42:13] this 10 years ago and I I got 32%

[42:16] reduction by 2030. Their assumptions are

[42:19] are probably a little more updated than

[42:20] mine. Uh electric cars are a far

[42:23] superior technology and uh so they're

[42:26] probably a little closer, but 25's a

[42:28] lot. We have to get those mitigation

[42:30] measures. Thank you.

[42:32] Next is the original draw followed by

[42:34] phone number ending in 1415.

[42:39] » Until you guys can maintain um the

[42:42] infrastructure that we already have, you

[42:44] shouldn't be looking into things like

[42:46] double tracking and whatnot. I mean, you

[42:49] know, public transit is not beneficial

[42:51] to people. It's takes longer and it's

[42:54] just more of a pain in the butt. You

[42:55] actually are putting children in danger

[42:57] by not having security on there and

[42:59] having them ride for free unaccompanied.

[43:01] And when we sit here and we're talking

[43:04] about, you know, reducing GHGs and all

[43:07] of that and we don't even look into what

[43:10] Mexico uh the cars that are coming from

[43:12] there and you're, you know, penalizing

[43:14] our own communities for things and, you

[43:17] know, potentially road usage charges are

[43:19] coming in. You should be implementing

[43:21] that for people that are not having the

[43:24] same regulations that we do um to ensure

[43:27] that you're going to reduce those.

[43:28] Otherwise, you guys are just hypocrites

[43:30] because you're allowing things to happen

[43:32] from people outside of our nation to

[43:34] come in and then basically the people

[43:37] that live here are punished for it

[43:38] because we're never going to meet the

[43:40] goals that you want because all of it's

[43:41] BS anyway. But your smart growth

[43:44] incentive program and the way that you

[43:46] guys talk about projects and you know

[43:49] aligning them with growth principles and

[43:52] you know that are compact, transit

[43:55] accessible, pedestrianfriendly

[43:57] and environmentally responsible you know

[44:00] reduces traffic congestion. You

[44:02] basically are putting people in these

[44:04] densely populated areas that are going

[44:07] to be you know tra where people are

[44:09] going to be tracked and traced. you're

[44:11] going to have to walk and bike

[44:12] everywhere. I mean, if you guys want

[44:14] something to work, cuz nothing you guys

[44:15] do is really beneficial to the people,

[44:18] why don't you do it first, prove to us

[44:20] that it works and then potentially in

[44:23] ask us if we can want our money to be

[44:25] spent on that and then we'll decide.

[44:27] Instead, you guys just push the United

[44:29] Nations agenda and you don't care what

[44:32] the people in the communities have to

[44:34] say. you don't look into the fact that

[44:36] you're creating a huge fire hazard and

[44:38] potential death for a bunch of people

[44:40] the way that you're planning things out.

[44:45] Thank you. Next is phone number 1415.

[44:47] Follower at phone number 8813

[44:58] um

[45:00] on the transnet smart growth stuff. Uh

[45:04] so this climate action stuff is funded

[45:07] by the transnet extension.

[45:11] Our money going to places other than

[45:14] transnet.

[45:16] Um and I was just reminded that climate

[45:20] predictions often are based on one or

[45:24] two

[45:26] or several particular regions and are

[45:30] not applicable to all. The spread of

[45:33] divergent cap projects with different

[45:37] goals is wasted money. It is interesting

[45:41] and instructive that most of the

[45:44] initiatives listed in the appendix are

[45:47] not cap oriented and it is shameful that

[45:52] you won't fund Escandida's affordable

[45:54] housing trust when you have three

[45:57] million left to give initiative such.

[46:01] I also think it is unfair to deny

[46:04] funding completely to the Escandido

[46:07] project simply because it relies on

[46:10] existing transportation

[46:12] infrastructure

[46:14] rather than developing new

[46:16] transportation infrastructure.

[46:19] This is pressed fund which means that

[46:22] not all of the individual housing

[46:24] projects or access routes are in

[46:27] planning at this time.

[46:31] uh the um

[46:34] and the CM contract. Uh I'm glad to hear

[46:39] that there was a robust competitive

[46:41] bidding process for the construction

[46:44] management. Uh doesn't look like the

[46:47] constructability review bids were

[46:50] competitive with two biders, one of whom

[46:54] was locked out. Our reviews for Jacobs

[46:58] are mixed with good work like work life.

[47:02] » Thank you. Your time has expired. Our

[47:04] last public comment is phone number

[47:05] ending in 8813.

[47:12] » Okay, Consol here. So um because

[47:15] everything is connected and um

[47:19] because everything we're seeing at the

[47:21] local level from transportation policy

[47:23] to digital systems to financial

[47:25] restructuring

[47:27] uh is connected to a much larger

[47:29] pattern. Uh many people shrugged off uh

[47:33] or didn't think twice when the penny was

[47:35] taken out of production a month ago.

[47:39] And uh you know nothing government

[47:42] removes is ever too small to matter.

[47:44] Every disappearance is a shift in our

[47:47] human behavior. When you remove the

[47:49] lowest denomination of money, you

[47:51] normalize rising prices. You normalize

[47:54] rounding up. You normalize quiet

[47:56] inflation that nobody can track. It's a

[47:59] psychological conditioning tool, not an

[48:01] economic update. And what happens next?

[48:05] Cash slowly disappears. digital payment

[48:08] becomes default, tracking becomes

[48:11] unavoidable and control becomes

[48:14] programmable. And um it's clear in the

[48:19] very frameworks that agencies like

[48:22] SANDAG follow including the regional

[48:24] implementation

[48:26] uh for the UN 2030

[48:29] um which pushes digitalized mobility,

[48:33] digital identity, cashless systems and

[48:36] centralized data monitoring as if they

[48:39] are harmless advances.

[48:42] And the truth is simple. When everything

[48:44] is digital, everything is trackable.

[48:46] When everything is trackable, everything

[48:47] is controllable. And when everything is

[48:49] controllable, human freedom becomes

[48:51] optional. And you see this in uh

[48:55] transportation planning, the push to

[48:57] restrict car usage, increasing increase

[49:00] tolling, expand surveillance based

[49:02] mobility systems, tie transportation

[49:05] access to digital accounts. It mirrors

[49:07] the same pattern we see in the financial

[49:10] system. reduce physical freedom,

[49:12] increase digital dependency, shift power

[49:15] upward, make human behavior manageable,

[49:17] and it all has

[49:18] » Thank you. Your time has expired.

[49:21] » That concludes our public comment on

[49:22] this item. Chair,

[49:23] » Very good. Um, it's now time for the

[49:26] board to comment. Perhaps give me a

[49:29] motion.

[49:31] » Um,

[49:33] first, Vice Chair Lava.

[49:34] » Uh, I'll move the consent agenda.

[49:36] » Very good. Second by Mento. Um, Mayor

[49:39] Sanchez, did you want to speak?

[49:41] » I was just going to make the motion.

[49:42] » Okay. Thank you.

[49:43] » All right. So, please use your devices

[49:44] to speak. I mean to vote any.

[50:07] Yeah.

[50:13] Okay, that passes unanimously. Uh, thank

[50:16] you. Uh, we'll now move to the 2025

[50:18] regional plan. This is the time and

[50:20] place set for a public hearing on the

[50:21] 2025 regional plan and its final

[50:23] environmental impact report. The staff

[50:25] presentation will be heard first and

[50:27] then we will take public comment. Next,

[50:29] we'll hear comments from board members

[50:30] and then I'll close the public hearing.

[50:32] After the public hearing, we are being

[50:34] asked to certify the final EIR and adopt

[50:37] the 2025 regional plan. So, Antwanette,

[50:42] please go ahead.

[50:46] Thank you, chair. Good morning. I'm

[50:47] Anwinet Meyer, the senior director of

[50:49] regional planning here at Sandag. And

[50:51] today is a big day. Today is the day um

[50:54] when we're asking you to adopt the 2025

[50:56] regional plan that we've been working on

[50:58] together over the last several years and

[51:00] to certify the environmental impact

[51:02] report. Um developing and adopting a

[51:05] regional plan every four years is one of

[51:07] Sandag's most important

[51:09] responsibilities. You've heard me say

[51:10] this time and time again. Without a

[51:12] regional plan, the region, and that's

[51:14] every agency in the region, is not

[51:16] eligible for state and federal funding

[51:18] for transportation projects. So having a

[51:20] plan that meets all of the state and

[51:22] federal requirements is a very important

[51:25] thing for the for the region. Um in

[51:27] September I presented to you the changes

[51:30] that we were proposing to make between

[51:32] draft and final. They were relatively

[51:34] minor changes and those changes are

[51:36] reflected um in the the final plan.

[51:38] There haven't been any additional um

[51:40] changes since then. What you haven't

[51:42] heard about yet though is the

[51:43] environmental impact report. So, we're

[51:45] going to spend a little bit more time on

[51:46] on that today um before we open it up

[51:49] for the the public hearing part of the

[51:52] the plan.

[51:54] So, just a few quick reminders. Um this

[51:57] is really the culmination of years of

[52:00] technical work, coordination,

[52:02] collaboration with you um and your

[52:04] agencies and a lot of public outreach.

[52:06] We started this process back in 2021,

[52:10] collecting current travel data, um doing

[52:12] surveys, updating the modeling tools

[52:14] that we use to evaluate the plan. And

[52:17] then we really kicked this off with you

[52:19] um in 2023 at your board retreat. When I

[52:22] was doing a briefing yesterday, Mayor

[52:23] Gastlin reminded me that we kicked this

[52:25] off with the puzzle exercise at your

[52:27] your board retreat. Um and um you all

[52:30] helped us throughout the course of that

[52:31] year determine what the priorities for

[52:33] the plan were and to set the goals for

[52:35] the plan. We also started doing outreach

[52:37] really early for this plan. So getting

[52:39] input from communities about what their

[52:41] priorities were. Um and then we

[52:43] developed an initial concept for the

[52:45] plan in 2024. That was not the draft,

[52:48] but that was the pre-draft. We took that

[52:50] out. We got feedback from you from

[52:52] communities. Um and then we we

[52:54] incorporated that feedback into the

[52:55] draft plan that we released for public

[52:57] comment in May. Shortly after releasing

[53:00] that draft plan, we released the the

[53:01] draft EIR. Um and then uh the public

[53:05] comment period's closed. We've been

[53:06] addressing all of those comments. Um in

[53:08] fact, there is uh responses to the

[53:10] public comments as an appendix to um the

[53:13] the the plan. Um and now we are here

[53:16] with the final step uh today adopting

[53:19] the plan.

[53:21] This slide really summarizes all of the

[53:23] in-person outreach that we did over the

[53:26] course of the plan. You'll see there

[53:27] were quite a few board presentations and

[53:28] workshops. 20. Thank you for being

[53:30] patient and active participants in the

[53:33] process, but it it was very helpful for

[53:35] staff because it allowed you to really

[53:37] provide guidance and direction along the

[53:39] way and to have a better understanding

[53:40] of what it takes to put together a

[53:42] regional plan and all the laws and

[53:43] requirements that we have to meet and

[53:45] why we make certain decisions to include

[53:47] things in the plan. We also worked a lot

[53:50] with your staff both one-on-one and

[53:51] through our working groups and and uh we

[53:53] worked with our policy advisory

[53:54] committees. We did a lot of community

[53:56] events um and uh we worked with our

[53:59] tribes. We did consultation through our

[54:01] tribal working group but also one-on-one

[54:03] with the different tribes. Um and we

[54:05] went out and we met with groups all

[54:06] across the region and that led to a lot

[54:08] of feedback. So when we were working on

[54:11] the initial concept for the plan, we had

[54:13] both in-person and online opportunities

[54:15] to provide feedback that resulted in

[54:17] over nearly 12,000 public comments. Then

[54:20] when we released the draft, I shared

[54:22] with you in September that we got um

[54:24] over 1,300 um comments uh on the on the

[54:28] plan um and we held again in person um

[54:32] events all across the region um and took

[54:35] feedback um through email and mail every

[54:37] every mechanism and appendix J you can

[54:40] see the responses to those public

[54:42] comments.

[54:44] This is the the network. I'm not going

[54:46] to spend a lot of time on it because

[54:47] we've talked so much uh about it, but

[54:49] you know the feedback that we get on the

[54:51] plan is about as diverse as our region

[54:52] and we tried to really respond to that

[54:55] with a very balanced multimodal plan. So

[54:57] this plan has investments across all

[54:59] modes, transit, active transportation,

[55:02] roadways, safety and operation projects.

[55:04] Um it's all in the plan. It also

[55:06] includes improvements to existing

[55:08] services. So, you don't see those lines

[55:09] on the map, but all of the transit

[55:11] across the region gets upgrades, um,

[55:13] additional hours of service, better

[55:15] frequencies. Um, there's community

[55:18] shuttles. We've heard a lot from you,

[55:19] um, about the desire to have more, um,

[55:21] neighborhood, uh, shuttle services. Um,

[55:24] and we have those in both our rural and

[55:26] urban communities. And of course, safety

[55:28] and operational improvements. We've

[55:29] heard a lot from our our rural

[55:31] communities and the tribes about the

[55:32] importance of that. So, that is um,

[55:34] reflected in the plan. What you don't

[55:36] see is the programs and the projects.

[55:38] And we've received a lot of comments um

[55:40] about the youth opportunity pass

[55:42] program. I want to reassure you YOP is

[55:44] in the plan for the life of the plan. In

[55:46] October, the board approved another

[55:48] additional few years of funding um for

[55:51] that and we're working with the

[55:52] operators on a long-term sustainable

[55:54] funding source. The other project I want

[55:57] to um mention because it's been coming

[55:59] up a lot and we've got a lot of

[56:00] questions on it is the Purple Line. So,

[56:03] the Purple Line um has not been delayed.

[56:05] it is it is not removed from the plan

[56:07] but we've done a lot of planning and

[56:10] analysis work um since the 2021 plan and

[56:13] we learned a lot about where the line

[56:15] should be and how complicated and

[56:16] complex and expensive it is to construct

[56:19] and that's reflected in the plan. So the

[56:20] new timeline for the purple line um and

[56:23] the phasing for that project is is based

[56:25] on reality the cost of the project and

[56:27] how complex of a project it is to

[56:30] construct. There was also some confusion

[56:32] and public comments that came in about

[56:34] the airport and transit to the airport.

[56:37] There is no automated people mover in

[56:38] the regional plan. We assume in the

[56:40] outer years of the plan that the trolley

[56:42] light rail will connect to the airport

[56:44] and in the near term we have

[56:45] improvements to the existing shuttle and

[56:47] bus service. And then last I want to

[56:50] address Senate Bill 79 because there's

[56:52] been a lot of feedback and and comments

[56:54] and concerns about the potential impacts

[56:56] of Senate Bill 79 um based on projects

[56:58] in the plan. So Senate Bill 79 applies

[57:01] to projects that have operated in the

[57:03] last three years. So it's backward

[57:05] looking and um routes for which a

[57:07] locally preferred alternative has been

[57:09] selected. So projects that are already

[57:11] well along in the planning environmental

[57:14] um stage um and that are included in the

[57:16] RTIP. So the lines on the map in the

[57:18] regional plan aren't going to unless

[57:19] they've been really planned and gone

[57:21] through environmental trigger anything

[57:23] related to SB79.

[57:25] Also, we don't have the um what the

[57:28] state how the state defines rapid in our

[57:30] region. So, the state's definition

[57:32] around rapid is dedicated infrastructure

[57:35] only for exclusively used by the bus.

[57:38] You need to have transit signal

[57:39] priority. You need to have alldoor

[57:41] boarding. Basically, all of the bells

[57:42] and whistles and we don't have any

[57:44] qualifying rapid in our region. Nor do

[57:46] we assume that rapids in our plan uh

[57:48] will require all of those things or have

[57:50] all of those things. So, I just wanted

[57:52] to clarify that about the plan.

[57:57] The good news is is the plan achieves

[57:59] the goals that you all set early on. Um

[58:01] and the performance measures are

[58:03] included as a attachment to um the

[58:06] appendix to the the plan itself. Um so

[58:09] you all set goals around convenience,

[58:12] equity, health and um safety. And um at

[58:16] a high level uh travel times are

[58:18] decreased for all modes and that

[58:20] includes commercial vehicles. So we

[58:22] achieve the convenience. Um there's

[58:25] increased access to basic needs and

[58:27] opportunities for all populations in the

[58:29] region. Um there's an increase in

[58:31] transportation related physical activity

[58:33] and cleaner air. Um and we have more

[58:36] safe transportation projects in the plan

[58:38] than we have in prior plans.

[58:42] And very importantly, we meet all of our

[58:44] federal and state requirements. So uh

[58:46] across the top there, you see the

[58:48] federal requirements. There's more than

[58:49] this, but these are some of the big

[58:50] ones. Um, there's a title six analysis

[58:52] that's included in the plan. That's

[58:54] appendix E. And that demonstrates that

[58:56] the plan really does improve access to

[58:58] jobs, to education, to basic needs for

[59:00] our most vulnerable populations. We have

[59:03] to do the air quality conformity

[59:05] determination. Um, fortunately, we are

[59:07] no longer in a conformity lockdown. So,

[59:09] we're able to submit our air quality

[59:11] conformity determination um to the

[59:13] federal uh government for approval. And

[59:15] that's one of the things you're being

[59:16] asked to approve today. But that

[59:18] demonstrates that we comply with the

[59:20] Clean Air Act and that the projects in

[59:21] the plan don't worsen air quality. And

[59:24] then fiscal constraint. We've talked a

[59:25] lot about this. The regional plan has to

[59:27] be fiscally constrained. That means that

[59:28] the projects in the plan um we have to

[59:31] demonstrate how we could reasonably pay

[59:32] for them over the life of the plan. So

[59:34] it can't be a wish list. Um we do have

[59:36] an unconstrained uh list of projects.

[59:38] Those are projects that aren't part of

[59:40] our funding strategy. They're not lines

[59:41] on the map. Um but they're projects of

[59:43] interest to the region or that show up

[59:44] in other agencies, other entities plans.

[59:47] Um, so this plan is 125 billion. That's

[59:50] quite a bit less than the last uh couple

[59:52] of of uh plans. That does not just

[59:55] include the new projects in the plan.

[59:57] And this is not just Sandax money. This

[59:59] is um operations and maintenance

[1:00:00] projects for CALR. This is the money

[1:00:02] that we passed through to all of you for

[1:00:04] local streets and roads projects or our

[1:00:06] grant programs. Um it's uh uh the bike

[1:00:09] projects that either you're building or

[1:00:11] that we're building. Um and it um covers

[1:00:14] really everything, even paying off our

[1:00:16] our debt.

[1:00:17] Um on the bottom we have the state

[1:00:19] requirements. So for housing and land

[1:00:20] use we have to demonstrate how future

[1:00:23] job um and housing growth will occur in

[1:00:26] areas where there's planned or existing

[1:00:28] multimmoal transportation

[1:00:29] infrastructure. We achieve this 80% of

[1:00:32] the region's future growth um is in

[1:00:34] areas with planned or future

[1:00:36] transportation investments. Um it's

[1:00:38] Senate Bill 375, the one that we talk a

[1:00:40] lot about and the one that we're working

[1:00:41] on improving for future plans is the um

[1:00:44] greenhouse gas emissions reduction

[1:00:46] target. And if you recall, we have to

[1:00:48] meet that GHG target by reducing vehicle

[1:00:50] miles traveled. The target that carb set

[1:00:53] for this plan is a 19% per capita

[1:00:56] reduction by 2035 based on 2005 levels.

[1:00:59] This plan achieves a 19.35%

[1:01:03] reduction. So, we exceed um our target

[1:01:05] and that's actually higher than the

[1:01:06] amended 2021 plan which was 18.6 um%.

[1:01:11] So, we've met all of those laws. The

[1:01:13] last law that I'm going to turn over to

[1:01:14] Kirsten. Kirsten, you could tell who's

[1:01:16] joining me today is the project manager

[1:01:18] um for the EIR, the programmatic ER um

[1:01:21] for the plan, and she's going to walk

[1:01:22] you through uh the contents of the plan,

[1:01:24] the public comments that we received,

[1:01:26] and how we've addressed those.

[1:01:29] » Thank you.

[1:01:31] » My name is Kirsten

[1:01:34] Kirsten Yucatel and I'm here to give you

[1:01:36] an overview of the EIR and the other

[1:01:38] documents that are related that are in

[1:01:40] your packet. So we completed an

[1:01:43] environmental impact report for the 2025

[1:01:45] regional plan consistent with the

[1:01:47] California Environmental Quality Act or

[1:01:50] SQA which requires that we identify and

[1:01:53] analyze the environmental impacts of

[1:01:55] implementing the 2025 regional plan.

[1:01:59] This is called a programmatic or program

[1:02:01] EIR. And as it sounds, it's intended to

[1:02:04] look at an interconnected set of

[1:02:06] projects, a program of them over a

[1:02:09] longer time horizon, in this case out to

[1:02:11] 2050 consistent with the regional plan.

[1:02:14] So this EIR is not clearing individual

[1:02:18] projects. It's not completing

[1:02:20] environmental analysis for individual

[1:02:22] projects, site specific impacts or

[1:02:25] developing those related mitigation

[1:02:26] measures. It is analyzing the

[1:02:30] environmental impacts of the regional

[1:02:32] plan at the same level of detail

[1:02:34] contained in the regional plan. And the

[1:02:37] expectation is that as projects are

[1:02:39] further developed and have a stable

[1:02:42] project description, they will then go

[1:02:44] through their own individual project

[1:02:46] level SQA analysis that will look at

[1:02:48] their impacts and alternatives and

[1:02:51] mitigation.

[1:02:53] This EIR is looking at this high

[1:02:55] programmatic level at environmental

[1:02:57] impacts of the 2025 plan, cumulative

[1:03:00] impacts. It contains an alternatives

[1:03:03] analysis and it also contains

[1:03:05] programmatic mitigation measures.

[1:03:10] One of the elements of developing the

[1:03:13] EIR is to put it out for public comment.

[1:03:15] As Antonette had already mentioned, our

[1:03:18] draft EIR went out in late August and by

[1:03:22] the conclusion of the comment period, we

[1:03:24] had received 217 comments on the EIR.

[1:03:28] Consistent with SQUA, we prepared

[1:03:30] written responses to each of these

[1:03:32] comments and those are attached to your

[1:03:34] packet as attachment 4 and they are

[1:03:37] appendix N1 in the EIR.

[1:03:42] Of the 217 comments that we received,

[1:03:45] maybe 80 to 85% of them were actually

[1:03:48] comments on the regional plan. Those

[1:03:51] comments focused primarily on the purple

[1:03:53] line, on the youth opportunity pass

[1:03:55] program and on the desire for greater

[1:03:57] transit amenities.

[1:04:00] Of the comments received on the

[1:04:02] environmental impact analysis in the

[1:04:03] EIR, there were two primary themes the

[1:04:06] comments emerged around. The first was

[1:04:09] GHG and VMT impacts with most commenters

[1:04:13] opposing roadways um opposing roadway

[1:04:16] expansion, advocating for sooner

[1:04:19] implementation of transit to reduce

[1:04:21] those impacts.

[1:04:24] VMT and GHG impacts are fully analyzed

[1:04:27] in the EIR across three primary sections

[1:04:31] which are air quality is section 4.3,

[1:04:35] greenhouse gas and climate change which

[1:04:37] is section 4.8 and transportation which

[1:04:40] is section 4.16.

[1:04:43] The second primary area of comment was

[1:04:46] impacts to wildlife and habitat with

[1:04:49] many commenters expressing concern that

[1:04:52] there is not an identified regional

[1:04:54] funding source to subsidize local

[1:04:56] habitat conservation plans.

[1:04:59] Impacts to wildlife and impacts to

[1:05:02] habitat along with other resources are

[1:05:04] analyzed in section 4.4 four of the EI

[1:05:07] biological resources

[1:05:11] and comments to all responses to all of

[1:05:14] those comments as I said are in the

[1:05:15] attachment to your packet.

[1:05:18] None of the comments that we received

[1:05:20] raised significant new information that

[1:05:22] had not already been analyzed in the

[1:05:25] draft EIR. Similarly, we had some

[1:05:29] changes draft to final in the ER and

[1:05:31] none of those changes rise to the level

[1:05:33] of significant new information.

[1:05:39] In addition

[1:05:40] to the EIR, SQAR requires preparation of

[1:05:44] some additional documents that are also

[1:05:46] attached to your packet. The first one

[1:05:49] of those is the findings which discusses

[1:05:52] the alternatives analyzed in the EIR and

[1:05:55] also discusses the environmental impacts

[1:05:58] of the 2025 plan after mitigation.

[1:06:03] That's attachment 1A to your packet. The

[1:06:07] second document is a statement of

[1:06:09] overriding considerations or SOC, which

[1:06:12] is attachment 1B,

[1:06:14] and that sets out the advantages and

[1:06:17] benefits of adopting the 2025 regional

[1:06:19] plan and weighs them against the

[1:06:22] environmental impacts of the 2025 plan.

[1:06:26] The third document attachment 1C is the

[1:06:30] mitigation monitoring and reporting

[1:06:32] program

[1:06:33] which sets out the mitigation that has

[1:06:36] been identified, analyzed and committed

[1:06:38] to in the EIR at a programmatic level

[1:06:41] for the regional plan.

[1:06:44] And that concludes my presentation and

[1:06:46] I'll turn it back to Anuanette for next

[1:06:48] steps.

[1:06:52] Okay. So, next steps um we will uh have

[1:06:55] the public hearing right after the

[1:06:57] presentation and then the board will be

[1:06:59] asked to take two actions. The first

[1:07:01] will be to certify the EIR and the

[1:07:04] second will be to approve adopt the

[1:07:06] regional plan. Um once that happens um

[1:07:09] we will submit the sustainable community

[1:07:12] strategy to the state um California air

[1:07:14] resources board for acceptance and we

[1:07:17] will submit the air quality conformity

[1:07:19] determination and RTP to the US

[1:07:21] Department of Transportation and the EPA

[1:07:23] for approval. And with that I will pass

[1:07:26] it back to the chair to open the public

[1:07:28] hearing.

[1:07:29] » Very good. I've opened the public

[1:07:30] hearing and we'll now go to public

[1:07:32] comments. Michael, how many do we have?

[1:07:34] If you are online, please raise your

[1:07:36] hand. Now we have nine in person. First

[1:07:40] up is Chris Roberts, followed by Eric

[1:07:41] Rer.

[1:07:44] Hello, I'm Chris Roberts, volunteer for

[1:07:45] San Diego 350 climate action. Thank you

[1:07:48] Sande staff for all your hard work on

[1:07:50] the plan. We are very happy that funding

[1:07:53] for youth opportunity pass program has

[1:07:55] been extended. Thank you very much.

[1:07:57] Apart from this, we're very disappointed

[1:07:59] in the 2025 regional plan and we don't

[1:08:02] believe that the plan is going to

[1:08:04] achieve the goals that were stated in

[1:08:07] particular decreasing uh transit across

[1:08:09] all modes. We don't believe it. Um the

[1:08:12] plan uh will have 93 miles of new lanes

[1:08:14] added managed lanes costing more than $2

[1:08:17] billion by 2035.

[1:08:20] This will result in induced demand. And

[1:08:22] so a few years after completion, the

[1:08:24] congestion on these highs highways will

[1:08:26] be as bad as it is now. And we don't

[1:08:28] think that's an effective way to spend

[1:08:30] $2 billion over the next 10 years.

[1:08:33] Sande's own modeling characterizes these

[1:08:36] as high VMT increase. So there'll be

[1:08:37] more cars on the road, more greenhouse

[1:08:39] gas emissions. To mitigate the

[1:08:41] greenhouse gas emissions, many new rapid

[1:08:44] bus routes are added. But as Antuinet

[1:08:46] said, these aren't real rapid bus

[1:08:48] routes. they're not going to have all

[1:08:50] the the technology needed for them to be

[1:08:52] rapid to get the greenhouse gas

[1:08:54] emissions. They're going to

[1:08:55] counterbalance all of the induced demand

[1:08:57] from the highway expansions. So, I don't

[1:09:00] it's hard to believe we're going to meet

[1:09:01] our SB 375 greenhouse gas emissions in

[1:09:04] this plan.

[1:09:06] So, um and and of course as well uh a

[1:09:09] lot of the things that rapid bus routes

[1:09:11] need, for example, busonly lanes are

[1:09:14] actively opposed by many cities in the

[1:09:16] county. So the biggest disappointment in

[1:09:19] the plan is the purple line. It's barely

[1:09:21] mentioned. We feel that with the passage

[1:09:23] of SB79, the numbers of riders on the

[1:09:26] plan are going to be much greater than

[1:09:28] stated. And it's extremely disappointing

[1:09:30] that NATO safe bicycle infrastructure

[1:09:33] guidelines have been removed from the

[1:09:34] plan. That means that bike

[1:09:36] infrastructure will be built unsafe and

[1:09:39] and the community will will declare

[1:09:41] victory. So we're sorry about that and

[1:09:44] we're disappointed in the plan. Thank

[1:09:45] you very much.

[1:09:47] Next is Eric Rer followed by Truth.

[1:09:50] » Good morning. My name is Eric Rur. Good

[1:09:52] morning members of the board and

[1:09:54] everyone attending. I'm a resident of

[1:09:56] San Diego and just uh speaking as a

[1:09:59] resident, not representing anyone. I do

[1:10:02] work as a transportation engineering

[1:10:04] consultant in the San Diego region. So I

[1:10:06] work for both private and uh public uh

[1:10:09] clients. I will most likely be working

[1:10:12] on individual projects that are part of

[1:10:14] this plan. But I'm not speaking about

[1:10:16] any uh individual projects today. What

[1:10:19] my comment um is to speak in favor of

[1:10:22] adopting the plan and certifying the

[1:10:24] EIR. And um I followed the process um

[1:10:28] from the beginning and want to let you

[1:10:30] know I believe this has been a robust

[1:10:32] process that resulted in a in a balanced

[1:10:35] plan and I think you should adopt this

[1:10:37] plan. I think you should certify the EIR

[1:10:40] and thank you for allowing me to speak.

[1:10:44] Next is truth followed by Caesar Javier.

[1:10:51] » Total artificial input was 2517 people

[1:10:55] divided by a 3.3 million population

[1:10:57] equals 0.7%

[1:11:00] input. Thumbs down. All modes of

[1:11:02] transportation are faster. Yeah, right.

[1:11:05] An environmental impact report means

[1:11:07] nothing in the corrupt state of

[1:11:08] California. SQA is waved all the time

[1:11:10] for dangerous and toxic projects like

[1:11:12] battery energy storage fire facilities

[1:11:14] because whatever makes the big political

[1:11:16] unions, big NGO profiters, big green

[1:11:18] deal scammers and the big cartel

[1:11:20] campaign funders rich is what gets a

[1:11:22] fasttrack approval. And that includes

[1:11:24] projects like border crossings which

[1:11:26] should only be built by the federal

[1:11:27] government, not inep Sandag. The Otame

[1:11:30] project directly violates AQ7 because it

[1:11:33] will result in other emissions such as

[1:11:34] those leading to odors. by encouraging

[1:11:36] unregulated building in Tijuana, which

[1:11:38] violates POP 1's substantial unplanned

[1:11:41] population growth by extending roads and

[1:11:43] other infrastructure. expansion of a

[1:11:45] state route by up to 25 cargo lanes and

[1:11:47] 20 passenger lanes, encouraging up to

[1:11:49] 12,000 cars and 1500 trucks a day that

[1:11:52] are so-called fossil fuel-based and do

[1:11:54] not meet emission standards violates

[1:11:56] EN2's renewable energy, AQ1's, GHG1, 2,

[1:12:00] 3, 4, and TA's emissions reduction goals

[1:12:02] and AQ6's carbon monoxide hotspots. What

[1:12:06] is the predicted GHG and VMT inventory

[1:12:08] of the OM project? And what highways are

[1:12:10] being sacrificed for those extra GHGs?

[1:12:13] I'd rather see that 1.3 billion tax

[1:12:15] dollars go to immediate safety measures

[1:12:16] for the 67 and 78. By not doing that,

[1:12:20] San is violating has four impairing

[1:12:22] implementation resulting in inadequate

[1:12:24] emergency access. Sanax's bluff tracks

[1:12:27] move in Delmare is also vi violating POP

[1:12:29] 1 by displacing substantial numbers of

[1:12:31] people or housing units necessitating

[1:12:33] the construction of replacement housing

[1:12:35] elsewhere. The city of San Diego is

[1:12:37] violating TR4 on lack of parking supply

[1:12:39] that causes secondary environmental

[1:12:41] impacts. notice socialist welfare

[1:12:44] transit, tax road usage charges, higher

[1:12:46] parking pricing, managed lane pricing,

[1:12:48] and arterial and freeway speed

[1:12:49] reductions, which all increase VMT and

[1:12:52] emissions. And thank you for making me

[1:12:54] skim a lot of pages. I actually did it.

[1:12:56] Thank you.

[1:12:58] » Next is Caesar Javier, followed by Noel

[1:13:00] Garcia,

[1:13:04] » Cesar Purita.

[1:13:07] I solemnly swear to support the

[1:13:10] constitution. So help me God.

[1:13:14] What we are doing mam sir

[1:13:17] thank you for your presentation

[1:13:20] is good better best. I wonder in the

[1:13:24] presentation

[1:13:26] why only the air quality that is being

[1:13:28] given focus.

[1:13:31] This is the summation of the two uh

[1:13:33] presentations.

[1:13:36] Item four, why why only air quality

[1:13:40] aspect?

[1:13:42] Why not the geological aspect which is

[1:13:44] all within the sphere of the element

[1:13:48] shell as we were taught in the urban

[1:13:51] planning course.

[1:13:53] Why

[1:13:55] we won the war? Because of coded

[1:13:59] communication.

[1:14:01] We were taught how to read but we were

[1:14:04] not taught how to understand what we are

[1:14:07] reading. Is this how we

[1:14:12] swore to the constitution?

[1:14:16] But anyway, we are doing our best.

[1:14:19] And who prepares the EIR

[1:14:25] regionwide,

[1:14:27] citywide, communitywide?

[1:14:30] We the residents in the community

[1:14:33] suggest to you

[1:14:36] what is the actual front line happening

[1:14:40] as far as environment and listen to us.

[1:14:46] Is this coded?

[1:14:48] You didn't consider the underbed of our

[1:14:52] foundation the land or geology aspect.

[1:14:57] What about hydrography?

[1:15:02] where our circulation mobility passes

[1:15:06] through

[1:15:08] where the airplane in the air.

[1:15:10] » Thank you. Your time has expired. Next

[1:15:12] is Noel Garcia followed by Carelli Sono.

[1:15:27] » Good morning. I am here on behalf of Mid

[1:15:29] City CAN to actually thank Sandag for

[1:15:31] its commitment to continue funding and

[1:15:33] give another extension to the youth

[1:15:35] opportunity pass program. At Mid City

[1:15:37] CAN, we do a lot of work advocating for

[1:15:38] spreading the word about the importance

[1:15:40] of the youth access to public transit to

[1:15:42] the residents and the local community.

[1:15:44] So, it's not just I who's grateful for

[1:15:46] the continuation of this program. It is

[1:15:48] mothers, dads, brothers, sisters,

[1:15:50] elders, and many, many workers. That

[1:15:53] being said, I still strongly urge that

[1:15:55] this program eventually receive the

[1:15:56] permanent funding that San Dieans

[1:15:58] deserve.

[1:16:02] » Next is Carly Srano, followed by Anna

[1:16:04] Gman.

[1:16:06] Good morning board members. My name is

[1:16:08] Carly Serrano, the transportation

[1:16:09] organizer at Mid City. I just want to

[1:16:12] thank you all for your continued

[1:16:13] commitment to the youth opportunity pass

[1:16:15] program, um, including it in the

[1:16:16] regional plan and extending it. Your

[1:16:18] leadership in supporting free transit

[1:16:19] for youth has made a meaningful impact

[1:16:21] across the region. We really appreciate

[1:16:23] your continued dedication to supporting

[1:16:25] transit dependent communities like City

[1:16:27] Heights to create a more equitable and

[1:16:29] connected region through transit

[1:16:30] services. Thank you.

[1:16:33] » Next is Anna Gman followed by Jillian

[1:16:35] Quint.

[1:16:38] » Good morning. My name is Arya Gman and

[1:16:41] I'm the policy manager at Circulate San

[1:16:43] Diego. In 2022, Circulate published a

[1:16:46] report analyzing Sande's 2021 draft

[1:16:49] plan. The report ultimately found that

[1:16:52] the 2021 plan made billions of dollars

[1:16:54] in speculative revenue assumptions for

[1:16:57] for example um from road uses charges um

[1:17:00] and enacting multiple ballot measures in

[1:17:02] a very short span of time. Circulate is

[1:17:04] supportive of these, you know, concepts

[1:17:05] in general, but finds that they're that

[1:17:08] Sandex's 2021 draft for plan made very

[1:17:11] um speculative and high estimations for

[1:17:13] these revenues. The revenues were also

[1:17:16] set to be dedicated to extremely

[1:17:18] highcost capital projects that were

[1:17:20] simply just not going to be built as

[1:17:22] proposed. Circulate is supportive of

[1:17:24] transit capital investments, but when we

[1:17:26] prioritize unrealistic projects over

[1:17:28] near-term transit service upgrades, we

[1:17:30] end up with no improvements to transits

[1:17:33] and implementing only highway projects.

[1:17:36] The 2025 plan improves upon these

[1:17:38] concerns. The revenue estimations no

[1:17:40] longer include these unrealistic road

[1:17:42] usage charges and scales back ballot

[1:17:44] measures to a more realistic goal. It's

[1:17:47] important to note that there is still

[1:17:48] $14.7 billion in revenue estimations

[1:17:51] that SANDAG currently doesn't have the

[1:17:53] authority to implement as well as

[1:17:56] federal discretionary award projections

[1:17:58] which are based on the past 5 years

[1:18:00] which is very unrealistic as the current

[1:18:02] authorizations expire at the end of

[1:18:04] 2026.

[1:18:06] Additionally, expenditures have made

[1:18:08] progress. The large-scale capital

[1:18:10] projects are scaled back in favor of

[1:18:11] more near-term transit service

[1:18:13] enhancements. Circulate supports the new

[1:18:15] rapid routes and encourages Sande to

[1:18:18] prioritize implementing rapid upgrades

[1:18:20] as soon as possible, including the

[1:18:22] supportive infrastructure necessary to

[1:18:24] ensure that they are actually rapid. I

[1:18:26] urge Sand to continue the trends I

[1:18:28] outlined in future plans. Thank you.

[1:18:31] » Next is Jillian Quint followed by Ian

[1:18:33] Hembrey.

[1:18:36] » Good morning. My name is Jillian Quint.

[1:18:38] I represent the San Diego River Park

[1:18:40] Foundation. We are very appreciative

[1:18:43] that the San Diego River Trail and

[1:18:45] Regional Bikeway is a featured element

[1:18:48] in the 2025 regional plan. So many

[1:18:51] members of the community, including

[1:18:53] residents, regional travelers, and

[1:18:55] recreational visitors have been waiting

[1:18:57] for the completion of this vital bikeway

[1:18:59] for over 20 years. I must also express

[1:19:02] our gratitude to Sandax transportation

[1:19:05] committee uh chair ZTO and vice chair

[1:19:07] Ila Rivera for their strong and decisive

[1:19:11] support of the West Valley River

[1:19:13] crossing which is the pedestrian and

[1:19:15] bike bridge. At last week's

[1:19:17] transportation committee um the

[1:19:20] leadership urged staff to utilize the

[1:19:22] next funding cycle to ensure that this

[1:19:25] crossing is funded. The West Valley

[1:19:28] Crossing is the crucial missing link

[1:19:30] that anchors the entire river trail and

[1:19:33] bikeway network. It's a central piece of

[1:19:36] the city's natural heritage.

[1:19:39] With no known opposition and so many

[1:19:41] members of our community, using the

[1:19:43] river trail and anticipating the future

[1:19:46] enhanced safety and connectivity that

[1:19:48] this crossing will bring to unlock the

[1:19:50] entire regional bikeway all the way out

[1:19:53] to Santi. It truly is a project that

[1:19:56] will unite the county. As this West

[1:19:58] Valley Crossing project moves forward,

[1:20:00] we have one small specific request. We

[1:20:03] ask that a note be made in somewhere

[1:20:05] that when the design moves ahead for the

[1:20:07] West Valley Crossing, it must include

[1:20:09] the design eastward trail extension

[1:20:12] toward the future Riverwalk trolley

[1:20:14] station.

[1:20:15] The good news is that the prelim

[1:20:17] preliminary design for this extension is

[1:20:19] being funded through the Riverwalk

[1:20:21] development. However, the projects are

[1:20:23] currently split in the regional plan and

[1:20:25] with the eastward trail extension lumped

[1:20:28] with other projects, their union is

[1:20:29] essential because from a design

[1:20:32] perspective, you want the pieces to

[1:20:34] align. Thank you very much.

[1:20:37] » Our next public comment is Ian Henry

[1:20:39] followed by Consuel online.

[1:20:43] » Good morning, Sandag board. My name is

[1:20:45] Ian Henry with the San Diego County

[1:20:46] Bicycle Coalition. I want to begin by

[1:20:49] thanking Sandag for building some of the

[1:20:50] best bike projects in the county. These

[1:20:53] projects make biking safer and more

[1:20:54] convenient, and they also make our

[1:20:56] communities more livable and

[1:20:57] sustainable. Uh we're happy to see that

[1:20:59] more bike projects are included in this

[1:21:00] plan. Um however, there are worrying

[1:21:03] signs that present commitment to bike

[1:21:04] projects are under threat. In October,

[1:21:06] Sandai gave back $3.8 million in grant

[1:21:10] funding for the Pacific Highway project,

[1:21:12] and the project is missing a project

[1:21:13] delivery strategy. Pacific Highway is

[1:21:16] one of the most dangerous roadways in

[1:21:17] the county and the paded bike lane along

[1:21:19] Pacific Highway has earned demerits as

[1:21:21] one of the worst bike lanes in the

[1:21:22] United States. It is a vital regional

[1:21:25] connector serving as the most convenient

[1:21:27] corridor to connect many of San Diego's

[1:21:29] most dense populous neighborhoods. Last

[1:21:32] week, Eric Wood Eric Woodson Jr. was

[1:21:34] walking northbound along Pacific Highway

[1:21:36] when he was struck by a driver and

[1:21:38] killed. The northbound side of Pacific

[1:21:40] Highway doesn't have a sidewalk. Only

[1:21:43] the southbound side does.

[1:21:45] He was killed walking in the street

[1:21:46] because there is no sidewalk or he was

[1:21:48] trying to cross to the other side that

[1:21:50] does. How is Sandag's willingness to

[1:21:52] give back grant funds for the most

[1:21:54] dangerous roadways in the county

[1:21:55] represented in the regional plan? There

[1:21:58] are many assumptions about increased

[1:21:59] grant funding in this plan, but giving

[1:22:01] back grant funds for critical

[1:22:04] projects runs counter to that

[1:22:05] assumption. We need this board and this

[1:22:08] Sandag leadership to commit to

[1:22:09] delivering bike projects by building a

[1:22:12] project delivery strategy for projects

[1:22:14] funding projects that currently have a

[1:22:16] project delivery strategy and not giving

[1:22:19] back grants that build life-saving

[1:22:21] infrastructure as you develop the budget

[1:22:23] for this next year. Keep this in mind.

[1:22:25] Thank you so much and have a happy

[1:22:27] holiday season.

[1:22:29] » We have five public comments online. The

[1:22:30] first is Consuel followed by Mike

[1:22:32] Bulock.

[1:22:39] Okay. So, um

[1:22:43] 217 public commenters. Okay. So, um

[1:22:48] index using as proof of public consent.

[1:22:52] That number means nothing when the

[1:22:54] people you're questioning don't even

[1:22:56] understand the true power the true

[1:22:58] purpose of this agency. So, uh, you're

[1:23:00] gathering opinions from a public that's

[1:23:03] been kept in the dark and totally not

[1:23:06] informed. Um, you're asking questions,

[1:23:09] then using the answers to pretend people

[1:23:11] support policies they don't even realize

[1:23:14] will restrict their daily lives. And,

[1:23:17] um, Sadag exists solely to limit human

[1:23:21] mobility and not protect the

[1:23:23] environment, restrict movement. uh and

[1:23:26] you've packaged it in the nicest words

[1:23:28] possible to equity, safety,

[1:23:30] sustainability. Meanwhile, younger the

[1:23:32] younger generations,

[1:23:34] and I say this with sadness, um have

[1:23:37] been manipulated so deeply that they are

[1:23:40] now cheering their own uh restrictions

[1:23:44] and they have no idea their future uh

[1:23:47] freedom is being quietly erased under

[1:23:49] the language of carbon reduction. And

[1:23:52] here's the reality. Nobody on this board

[1:23:54] will say out loud, "We are the carbon

[1:23:57] they're trying to reduce." That's why

[1:24:00] mobility is being targeted, not because

[1:24:02] of science, but because controlling

[1:24:04] movement means controlling people. And

[1:24:07] the forced bike lanes,

[1:24:10] um, they're entirely inequitable. And

[1:24:13] everywhere I go in this county, people

[1:24:15] call them exactly what they are, those

[1:24:17] stupid bike lanes. I you not. Like,

[1:24:19] they're just known as those stupid bike

[1:24:21] lanes. Every demographic calls them

[1:24:24] those stupid bike lanes. Anyways,

[1:24:27] um yeah. So, you didn't ask the

[1:24:30] communities if they wanted them. You

[1:24:32] imposed them. You removed lanes,

[1:24:34] increase uh congestion, damaged all all

[1:24:37] by design. Uh damaged businesses, and

[1:24:40] made travel harder for working families.

[1:24:42] All to force everyone into a system that

[1:24:45] they never agreed to join.

[1:24:46] » Thank you. Your time has expired. Next

[1:24:48] is Mike Bulock followed by Rod.

[1:24:55] » Yeah, thank you very much. Uh this Mike

[1:24:57] Bulock. Uh I've introduced myself

[1:24:59] before. Uh the FIR for the 2025 RTP does

[1:25:04] not comply with SQA because SQA requires

[1:25:07] that the significant impacts of the RTP

[1:25:10] be described.

[1:25:12] The RTP fails to comply with

[1:25:15] California's official plan to achieve

[1:25:17] climate stabilization. That plan is the

[1:25:19] carb scoping plan which calls for

[1:25:21] reducing BMT by 25% with respect to 2019

[1:25:24] levels by 2030. The RTP with its SCS

[1:25:29] claims to reduce driving less than 20%

[1:25:32] by 2035, which is 5 years later than

[1:25:36] 2030. Therefore, the RTP will contribute

[1:25:39] to destabilizing the Earth's climate, an

[1:25:41] environmental impact that can be briefly

[1:25:43] described as ending life forms on Earth,

[1:25:47] except for microbiology. Um, it includes

[1:25:50] destroying our habitat, resulting in

[1:25:52] starvation, mass starvation, and human

[1:25:54] extinction. Carb was tasked with

[1:25:57] creating its scoping plan under AB32.

[1:26:01] Now, there's no excuse for Sandag for

[1:26:02] not understanding this. In the famous

[1:26:04] September 11th, 2011 letter to Sandag

[1:26:07] from the California AG, this was written

[1:26:09] in the footnote on page eight. Executive

[1:26:12] order S305 is the official policy of the

[1:26:14] state of California established by

[1:26:15] gubernatorial order in 2005 and

[1:26:18] designated to meet the environmental

[1:26:19] objective that is relevant under SQA

[1:26:21] climate stabilization. SANDAG thus

[1:26:25] cannot ignore it. The only difference

[1:26:27] now is that S305 has been replaced by

[1:26:30] SB32 which was established as a law of

[1:26:33] California. Now regarding item two

[1:26:35] regarding the second request by the SCS

[1:26:38] achieving air conformity, there are in

[1:26:40] effect two different carbs. One is law

[1:26:44] abiding. That carb created the carb

[1:26:47] scoping plan. So that's the carb that

[1:26:50] matters. The card that went for less

[1:26:53] than 20% by 2035

[1:26:57] uh is ignoring SB32 and is ignoring

[1:27:00] ignoring the common decency of

[1:27:02] » Thank you. Your time has expired. Next

[1:27:05] is Rod followed by Paul the Bold.

[1:27:11] » Hi. Uh my name is Rod Strier. I am a

[1:27:15] member of the community planning group

[1:27:18] here in Lakeside and I'm also uh

[1:27:22] president of Fixed Pepper Drive

[1:27:24] Association. I'm uh really speaking on

[1:27:28] behalf of the Fixed Pepper Drive

[1:27:30] Association and specifically as a

[1:27:32] bicyclist here in San Diego. Um our East

[1:27:36] County is not really serviced very well

[1:27:39] with bike lanes. The main thing that we

[1:27:43] had requested in the public comments, I

[1:27:45] was in uh I was one of the people that

[1:27:48] commented here when the U draft plan

[1:27:51] came by here in Elcohone was to put a

[1:27:54] bike lane along Pepper Drive which would

[1:27:58] connect two of the major routes uh going

[1:28:01] north and south and east county.

[1:28:03] Specifically, it would have uh connected

[1:28:06] Winter Gardens Boulevard with Magnolia.

[1:28:10] um it would be an on street bike way and

[1:28:14] so relatively inexpensive. So what I'd

[1:28:16] like to do is put into the public record

[1:28:19] here that uh we are requesting a bike

[1:28:22] lane to be included. Hopefully it'll be

[1:28:24] included in the next master plan, but

[1:28:26] we'd like to see if this relatively

[1:28:29] lowcost

[1:28:30] uh bike way could be uh included. It's

[1:28:33] about 2 and a half miles and shouldn't

[1:28:36] be that uh difficult to uh request. Um

[1:28:41] that is my request. So I'd like to put

[1:28:43] that on the public record, please.

[1:28:47] Next is Paul the Bold followed by the

[1:28:49] original draw.

[1:28:56] Paul, you're muted.

[1:29:07] Great. Um, sorry about that. I'm glad

[1:29:10] you answered every comment on the ENIR

[1:29:15] and did in fact attach it. One major

[1:29:19] issue NCTD brought up on page 126 is

[1:29:24] that Sandag overestimated VMT first 20

[1:29:28] years because the accuracy of data used

[1:29:33] in the EIR and the air conformity GH G

[1:29:37] declaration.

[1:29:39] As I said, uh I just was reminded that

[1:29:43] climate predictions often are based on

[1:29:46] one or several particular regions and

[1:29:49] are not applicable to all. So the spread

[1:29:52] of divergent cap projects with different

[1:29:56] goals in the the PFL is wasted money.

[1:30:01] Um the letters I know just a little

[1:30:04] about making bike lanes safe. I would do

[1:30:08] it on a city bycity basis. One set or

[1:30:12] size

[1:30:14] that are one size or set of guidelines

[1:30:17] does not fit all. Restoring the proposed

[1:30:21] purple line all the way to Sarrento

[1:30:23] Valley to its original lens makes sense.

[1:30:26] You should keep your promises and not

[1:30:29] overpromise in the first place.

[1:30:33] Uh the meeting summary is a bit

[1:30:35] disturbing. The planning team had more

[1:30:38] presentations to the board than actual

[1:30:41] workg groupoup meetings. And I suspect

[1:30:43] from my own experience, but the popups

[1:30:47] community events were skewed to what

[1:30:49] sandag wanted incomplete data and so on.

[1:30:53] The focus seems to have been on

[1:30:55] stakeholder groups and member agency 156

[1:31:00] versus 66 meetings.

[1:31:03] So again, commended input was minimized,

[1:31:06] probably severely misinformed, too. On

[1:31:10] the other hand, I'm glad you answered

[1:31:11] every comment on plan,

[1:31:14] even if you didn't attend.

[1:31:16] » Thank you. Your time has expired. Our

[1:31:17] last public comment is the original

[1:31:19] draw.

[1:31:21] » Anything anytime the government talks

[1:31:23] about our health and safety and

[1:31:26] protecting or providing it means that

[1:31:28] they're going to exploit the people for

[1:31:31] profit. That's what you guys do. And

[1:31:33] this is all about control. And it's sad

[1:31:34] that so many people are encouraging

[1:31:37] their own enslavement because they don't

[1:31:39] understand because they do buy the

[1:31:41] propaganda that you guys give them

[1:31:43] because on the surface it seems very

[1:31:45] virtuous what you're doing. And so

[1:31:47] anybody that you know would believe that

[1:31:50] would would want to help and push that.

[1:31:53] But if you pull back the curtain and you

[1:31:55] see what's really going on, it is about

[1:31:56] total control. And you guys, you know,

[1:31:59] you take our money and, you know, you

[1:32:01] engage with contractors who wind up

[1:32:03] costing us more and more money and

[1:32:05] delayed projects and things don't really

[1:32:07] ever get completed. Yet you start more

[1:32:09] and more things and you're hypocrites

[1:32:12] because you sit here on one hand and say

[1:32:14] you want to protect the health and

[1:32:15] safety or reduce greenhouse gases, but

[1:32:17] then you don't go to things like another

[1:32:20] country to say that the vehicles that

[1:32:22] don't have the same emissions as we do

[1:32:25] here are going to be polluting in our

[1:32:28] area. As you can see in the South Bay,

[1:32:30] it has more pollution that you guys say,

[1:32:33] right? So, wouldn't you think like it

[1:32:35] you could immediately fix things if that

[1:32:38] was really what you were doing, but it

[1:32:40] isn't. It's about racketeering. It's

[1:32:43] about putting people in controlled

[1:32:46] situations where you can track and trace

[1:32:48] their every movement and make sure you

[1:32:50] have them under your thumb. And it's sad

[1:32:53] because, you know, you could be doing

[1:32:55] things that are in line with what you

[1:32:58] speak, practice what you preach, but you

[1:33:01] guys don't because, you know, some of

[1:33:03] you probably do also buy into the BS

[1:33:05] that you are spewing out to the people.

[1:33:08] But it's very dangerous because at one

[1:33:10] point we're going to get to a place

[1:33:11] where we're not going to be able to

[1:33:12] leave our own area and people are going

[1:33:14] to see that when you're basically, you

[1:33:17] know, we're continuing to be giving back

[1:33:19] our own sewage. While you guys want to

[1:33:21] mine for lithium and use our fresh

[1:33:23] water, people need to open up their eyes

[1:33:25] and see and they'll see clearly what

[1:33:27] you're doing.

[1:33:29] » That concludes our public comment on

[1:33:30] this item. Chair,

[1:33:32] » Very good. Um, Antonette, would you like

[1:33:34] to make any clarifications after the

[1:33:36] public comments?

[1:33:38] » Sure, I can follow up on a on a couple.

[1:33:40] Um, first, there were comments about the

[1:33:42] scoping plan, and I want to clarify that

[1:33:43] the EI does analyze consistency with

[1:33:46] KRB's scoping plan. Um the scoping plan

[1:33:49] sets statewide goals for VMT and GHG,

[1:33:52] not regional. At the regional level, our

[1:33:55] requirement related to the scoping plan

[1:33:57] is Senate Bill 375. And as I stated in

[1:33:59] the presentation, we meet the target

[1:34:01] that Karp set for the region per Senate

[1:34:03] Bill 375. I think there were other

[1:34:06] comments related to transit and uh

[1:34:09] suggestions that there's less transit in

[1:34:10] this plan. I want to clarify that this

[1:34:12] plan has more transit than the 2021

[1:34:14] regional plan did. and particularly in

[1:34:16] the the near term more cost-effective

[1:34:19] improvements to existing transit and

[1:34:21] more bus service um in the near term

[1:34:23] which was based on a lot of feedback

[1:34:24] that we got about the desire for

[1:34:26] communities to have service now not 2530

[1:34:29] years from now. So those were two things

[1:34:31] I just wanted to clarify. Thank you for

[1:34:32] that opportunity.

[1:34:33] » Sure. Very good. We'll go to member

[1:34:35] comments now. We'll start with Miss

[1:34:36] Maxon.

[1:34:39] » Good morning. Thank you.

[1:34:42] the unincorporated area is encouraged to

[1:34:44] see the focus on rural corridors. Um,

[1:34:48] and that not only are you focusing on

[1:34:50] them, but you truly understand the

[1:34:51] importance of those rule corridors. If

[1:34:53] you're a resident, it's vital for work

[1:34:56] and school. Uh, if you're a visitor,

[1:34:58] it's important um for your recreational

[1:35:01] safety as you come out with your

[1:35:04] trailers and all of your off-road

[1:35:06] equipment.

[1:35:08] the public outreach section uh of the

[1:35:12] regional plan uh is lacking in input

[1:35:16] from the unincorporated area. So I do

[1:35:19] encourage you to come out to where the

[1:35:20] people are present. Come out to each of

[1:35:22] the 18 community planning groups. Come

[1:35:24] out to the sponsor groups. I know you've

[1:35:26] done a a little bit of coming out to the

[1:35:30] physical location, but there's a lot

[1:35:33] more to be done. And if you did, you

[1:35:34] might find that programs such as the

[1:35:36] youth opportunity pass are equally

[1:35:39] embraced both in the urban and suburban

[1:35:41] setting and in the rural setting. But

[1:35:43] you also might find that the common um

[1:35:46] themes under the squa uh the those

[1:35:49] themes might be quite different when you

[1:35:52] when you listen to the rule voice.

[1:35:55] Uh finally, uh as a reminder and for the

[1:35:59] record, as we move forward to develop

[1:36:01] this advisory seat into a voting seat in

[1:36:04] the new year, the Association of

[1:36:06] Planning Groups is comprised of all 18

[1:36:09] elected official community planning

[1:36:11] groups. Those members are elected by

[1:36:13] their community. They're on a ballot.

[1:36:16] Their membership on the association is a

[1:36:18] voting seat. the community sponsor

[1:36:21] groups who we also have invited to be

[1:36:23] part of the association because we want

[1:36:25] to hear their voice. They are not

[1:36:27] elected and they are appointed by county

[1:36:29] supervisors to be on those boards. In

[1:36:31] our association, they also have advisory

[1:36:34] board member status. They do not vote.

[1:36:37] Um the Association of Planning Groups

[1:36:39] looks forward to increased equity and

[1:36:41] representation in 2026. Thank you for

[1:36:44] presenting the regional plan.

[1:36:46] » Thank you, Council Member Molina. Thank

[1:36:49] you very much, Chair Heapner. Thank you

[1:36:51] for the presentation and um all of the

[1:36:55] comments regarding the EIR. I appreciate

[1:36:57] all of that. Uh, Miss Antuinette, I

[1:36:59] wanted to ask you some clarification

[1:37:02] about uh your comments regarding um the

[1:37:05] designation about rapid um buses and and

[1:37:09] I know that our or at least in the EIR

[1:37:11] it does state expanding bus rapid

[1:37:14] transit and um rapid bus lines, but uh

[1:37:18] can you help me understand what you your

[1:37:20] comment earlier regarding uh the the

[1:37:23] actual definition of rapid and perhaps

[1:37:26] it not quite fitting to what what we

[1:37:29] have for buses for rapid bus lines.

[1:37:31] Thank you.

[1:37:32] » And my comment was specific to Senate

[1:37:33] Bill 79 which says that a rapid bus has

[1:37:37] dedicated infrastructure exclusive for

[1:37:40] the bus service

[1:37:42] uh allo boarding and transit signal um

[1:37:45] priority all of those things. We have

[1:37:47] some of those things in some areas in

[1:37:49] the region. At the regional plan level

[1:37:51] though we don't know what types of

[1:37:53] priority measures we will have on a on a

[1:37:55] particular route. It's really a line on

[1:37:57] a on a map that gets refined as we get

[1:38:00] into the more uh detailed planning

[1:38:03] alternatives analysis and ultimately

[1:38:05] going through the environmental stage.

[1:38:07] But it is assumed that we will have some

[1:38:09] measures maybe signal priority Q jumps

[1:38:12] in some areas dedicated lanes managed

[1:38:14] lanes are um planned through out the the

[1:38:18] regional network and will help to

[1:38:20] facilitate the rapid routes. But the

[1:38:22] exact um the exact route, the exact

[1:38:25] stops and the exact priority measures

[1:38:27] are confirmed later in the the planning

[1:38:30] alongside you and the transit operators.

[1:38:34] » Good. First, vice chair Lava.

[1:38:38] » Oh, thank you, Chair. Uh I want to thank

[1:38:40] Mario onet Kirsten and all the staff who

[1:38:42] have worked so very hard to bring the

[1:38:44] regional plan the environmental document

[1:38:46] forward and all the public who have

[1:38:48] provided input a plan we do every four

[1:38:51] years that was started in earnest three

[1:38:52] years ago. Three years of relentless

[1:38:54] outreach and analysis as was documented

[1:38:56] in the presentation. The plan before us

[1:38:59] today delivers key projects across our

[1:39:01] region with more transit improvements

[1:39:03] than any prior plan. New bus routes, 36

[1:39:06] neighborhood shuttles, and so much more.

[1:39:08] reflects the priorities we hear every

[1:39:10] day in our communities. Improved

[1:39:11] mobility, affordability, climate action,

[1:39:14] and economic opportunity. It's also

[1:39:16] rooted in reality, acknowledging our

[1:39:18] funding constraints and limitations. I

[1:39:20] appreciate the plan before us today

[1:39:22] focuses on putting our dollars towards

[1:39:25] projects we can really deliver. The

[1:39:27] practical approach that will yield

[1:39:29] better, faster results for our region.

[1:39:31] We must continue to direct our focus on

[1:39:32] what we can realistically develop and

[1:39:35] deliver within this time frame. The plan

[1:39:38] also reflects past promises made in our

[1:39:40] commitment to keeping those promises.

[1:39:42] And although this plan has the smallest

[1:39:44] roadway expansion foot footprint thus

[1:39:46] far, it does reflect past promises kept

[1:39:49] to deliver some of those long-awaited

[1:39:51] projects in the pipeline. I appreciate

[1:39:53] the commitment to keeping and earning

[1:39:55] trust through the delivery of legacy

[1:39:57] projects. It is also important to note,

[1:39:59] as we've heard over and over again, that

[1:40:01] this plan is driven by the greenhouse

[1:40:02] gas reduction target set by carb. We are

[1:40:06] meeting this target by setting bold

[1:40:07] goals to focus future residential and

[1:40:09] employment growth specifically in areas

[1:40:12] with options like faster and frequent

[1:40:14] transit, complete corridors, flexible

[1:40:15] fleets, bikeways, and walkable

[1:40:17] neighborhoods. This plan aligns regional

[1:40:20] investments with our local goals,

[1:40:22] strengthening connections between where

[1:40:24] people live, work, learn, and play. And

[1:40:26] residents in our region will see

[1:40:27] tangible improvements, better transit

[1:40:29] reliability, safer corridors, and

[1:40:31] cleaner air. I also want to thank not

[1:40:34] only the staff but all the board members

[1:40:36] uh who have helped shape this plan over

[1:40:38] the past four years. And I'll close by

[1:40:40] adding my support for trying to figure

[1:40:43] out the funding solution to the West

[1:40:45] Valley Crossing as we heard from the

[1:40:47] public testimony. Thank you, mayor. If

[1:40:50] it's appropriate, I'll go ahead and move

[1:40:52] that recommendation.

[1:40:53] » Thank you very much. Um and we'll go to

[1:40:56] Deputy Mayor Chavez. And would you like

[1:40:58] to second this?

[1:41:00] » I would like to second.

[1:41:01] » Very good.

[1:41:03] Sorry, I'm still dealing with the

[1:41:05] sequels of some bronchitis. Um, so I'm

[1:41:08] I'm just going to be brief. We need more

[1:41:10] bathrooms. I can't express that enough.

[1:41:14] We need to include him. I know we have

[1:41:17] taken them away in the past. We need to

[1:41:19] find a way. Uh, we have a lot of elderly

[1:41:23] uh youth u just parents with children.

[1:41:27] We need to be mindful moving forward

[1:41:29] that we need to include more bathrooms.

[1:41:31] We need to do better. I can talk about

[1:41:33] the 125 being a necessity for the South

[1:41:35] Bay. You've heard me play this song like

[1:41:38] a broken record. I'm not going to give

[1:41:40] it up. We need this 125 to be free. And

[1:41:44] also the Purple Line since we house

[1:41:47] every single day, not house, but we have

[1:41:51] daytime visitors uh around more than

[1:41:54] 100,000 people coming from south to

[1:41:57] north to work, to study, for tourism. I

[1:42:00] would love to see a deadline in the near

[1:42:02] future for the purple line and when

[1:42:05] that's happening. Thank you so much.

[1:42:08] » Very good. Um, Council Member um, Edson

[1:42:11] from NCTD.

[1:42:14] » Thank you, Chair. NCTD's priorities for

[1:42:17] the plan include Sprinter fleet

[1:42:19] replacement, double tracking to improve

[1:42:21] system reliability and enhance transit

[1:42:23] rider experience, coaster double

[1:42:26] tracking to improve system reliability

[1:42:28] and enhance the transit rider

[1:42:30] experience. Grade separation along

[1:42:33] coaster and sprinter corridors to

[1:42:35] improve safety and reduce congestion in

[1:42:37] surrounding communities.

[1:42:39] Breeze bus increase capacity on key

[1:42:42] corridors. NCTD plus implementation in

[1:42:46] strategic settings to support access to

[1:42:49] fixed route transit service expand

[1:42:51] transit's reach and respond to transit

[1:42:54] writers desire for ondemand transit

[1:42:57] service. With regard to connections, new

[1:43:00] services in the regional plan should

[1:43:03] promote connections at key transit hubs.

[1:43:06] Additionally, NCTD offers the following

[1:43:09] feedback in response to the projects

[1:43:11] proposed in the plan. NCTD proposes

[1:43:14] including Sprinter fleet replacement as

[1:43:17] a transit project in the plan. And CTD

[1:43:22] suggests including a prioritized list of

[1:43:25] railroad grade separation projects in an

[1:43:28] appendix to the plan. And finally, NCTD

[1:43:32] strongly supports the following

[1:43:34] near-term and long-term actions

[1:43:37] identified in the plan. Identifying

[1:43:39] sustainable funding to continue YOP.

[1:43:43] Developing a strategy for implementing

[1:43:45] grade separation projects that improve

[1:43:47] safety and rail operations. Continuing

[1:43:50] to implement low sand rail corridor

[1:43:52] improvement projects to improve safety,

[1:43:55] resiliency, and reliability on the

[1:43:58] corridor.

[1:43:59] corridor, sorry. Continue seeking

[1:44:02] sustainable funding for transit

[1:44:04] operations and flexible fleets in

[1:44:06] partnership with MTS and NCTD. Thank

[1:44:10] you.

[1:44:10] » Thank you, Council Member Shin.

[1:44:14] » Thank you, Chair. Thank you, staff, uh,

[1:44:15] so much for this presentation. And I, as

[1:44:18] I was trying my best to read the whole

[1:44:19] thing, that must be quite a bit of, uh,

[1:44:22] work that you guys created. our city

[1:44:24] staff created a letter and I know we got

[1:44:25] feedback back and I just wanted a little

[1:44:27] bit more clarification in regards to um

[1:44:30] the EIR is comprehensive countywide

[1:44:33] region regionwide um but the question

[1:44:36] was asked from our staff of subreional

[1:44:39] analysis and I just wanted to get a

[1:44:41] better understanding of why we aren't

[1:44:43] able to do more sub regional analysis on

[1:44:46] um you know on our EIR and and different

[1:44:49] strategies. What we're required to do is

[1:44:52] a regional analysis. That's not to say

[1:44:54] outside of the regional plan and the EI

[1:44:56] we couldn't work with you to or your

[1:44:58] staff to look at subregional analysis.

[1:45:01] » I think it I think it should be

[1:45:02] considered um like almost across the

[1:45:04] board. You know, when I'm listening to

[1:45:06] everyone's concerns, I'm hearing about

[1:45:08] the rural areas, the urban areas. I

[1:45:11] would love to see when I hear the

[1:45:13] comments and the stress about the 67

[1:45:15] freeway and it's so far removed from me.

[1:45:18] I'd love to see the metrics of not just

[1:45:20] the fact that um the default is the

[1:45:23] regional area, but subregionally we have

[1:45:25] to take exceptions meaning that okay the

[1:45:28] 67 may alleviate some traffic but that

[1:45:31] might not be the priority of why we're

[1:45:33] doing it. It may be the public safety

[1:45:34] reason or

[1:45:37] um some folks live in the coastal area,

[1:45:39] some folks live in the inland area and

[1:45:41] those sub regions require such a

[1:45:44] dramatically you know different sense of

[1:45:46] permitting processes. what we can do.

[1:45:48] Some areas aren't built up for

[1:45:50] infrastructure. Those costs are so

[1:45:51] different. And I it would just be great

[1:45:53] to be able to kind of get a little bit

[1:45:55] more granular with these opportunities

[1:45:57] as opposed to saying what works in one

[1:45:59] area must work in another. We kind of

[1:46:01] deal with that in regards to the state

[1:46:03] housing. And I would just like to see

[1:46:04] that we're not going to be the same um

[1:46:06] curators of that philosophy, if you

[1:46:08] will. So, yield back.

[1:46:12] » Thank you very much, Mayor Gastelin.

[1:46:15] Thank you so much uh Antonette. Thank

[1:46:17] you for your time yesterday walking

[1:46:19] through this and thank you for all the

[1:46:21] time for four years that have gone into

[1:46:24] this. You know the next one's going to

[1:46:26] start next week, right?

[1:46:28] » Maybe six months.

[1:46:30] » So I wanted to say a little bit about

[1:46:32] how I approached reading the regional

[1:46:34] transportation plan and the EIR. Um, I

[1:46:39] first read the 471 pages of the

[1:46:42] appendix, which is Sandag's responses to

[1:46:45] all of the comments that came into the

[1:46:46] EIR. I found Carl'sbad's letter about

[1:46:49] the subregional analysis to be very

[1:46:51] compelling. I found the Coastal

[1:46:53] Commission's letter asking for

[1:46:55] consistency with the North County

[1:46:57] coastal cities LCPs, local coastal

[1:47:00] programs, and sea level rise compelling.

[1:47:03] And I also found the coastal

[1:47:05] commission's making it clear, asking to

[1:47:09] make it clear that planning for

[1:47:10] realignment of the tracks in Delmare,

[1:47:12] now I sound like a broken record, by

[1:47:14] 2035, be crystal clear in this plan. So

[1:47:18] that brings me to three points which are

[1:47:21] also questions. Um, one of the themes

[1:47:25] that came out was habitat and funding

[1:47:27] for habitat conservation.

[1:47:29] It mentions table 25 in the in the RTP

[1:47:34] um talks about habitat for $ 1.5 billion

[1:47:37] dollars. Could you elaborate on that a

[1:47:40] little bit?

[1:47:42] » Um so 1.5 billion is there for programs

[1:47:45] like the EMP, but this is above and

[1:47:46] beyond what we currently have in the the

[1:47:48] EMP. Um Keith or Kirsten, I don't know

[1:47:52] if you want to talk a little bit about

[1:47:53] the types of programming uh that are

[1:47:55] covered by that funding.

[1:48:01] Keith, thank you also for yesterday's

[1:48:02] briefing.

[1:48:03] » My pleasure. Good morning, board. So, a

[1:48:05] question came up about the habitat

[1:48:06] funding in the original plan. So, right

[1:48:08] now, the regional plan looks at two

[1:48:10] things. One is the mitigation. That's

[1:48:12] the requirements to offset the

[1:48:13] transportation projects and those are

[1:48:15] embedded in the cost in the regional

[1:48:16] plan. There's also look ahead of what

[1:48:19] else would be needed above and beyond

[1:48:20] that for the region. The regional plan

[1:48:23] has a figure in there of $ 1.5 billion

[1:48:25] as you mentioned that's in the habitat

[1:48:27] plans for the acquisition and completion

[1:48:28] of the regional um acquisition of lands

[1:48:32] related to the regional plan itself and

[1:48:34] you've heard today a desire for some

[1:48:36] people to push that beyond and to

[1:48:38] complete the funding for the region. So

[1:48:40] that's above and beyond the regional

[1:48:42] plan itself. That would be an additional

[1:48:43] $ 1.5 billion. But there's a commitment

[1:48:45] in the regional plan to complete an

[1:48:47] assessment of what's needed for the

[1:48:49] region to do the habitat conservation

[1:48:51] plans that many jurisdictions have

[1:48:53] approved and what it would take to

[1:48:55] finish those plans up both cost and

[1:48:57] actual implementation that will be

[1:48:58] completed as part of the regional plan's

[1:49:00] near-term implementation this fall.

[1:49:02] » Great. Thank you. This is a really

[1:49:03] important part of the plan and I wanted

[1:49:05] to make sure that we all understood that

[1:49:07] this is there. It little tiny habitat

[1:49:09] losses can be huge. For example, the

[1:49:12] 0.28 wetlands that were lost recently

[1:49:14] with the paving of basically a half a

[1:49:17] mile of wetland along the toe of the

[1:49:18] bluff up above east of the railroad

[1:49:21] tracks. The frogs aren't there anymore.

[1:49:23] They're gone. And I know I sound like a

[1:49:25] broken record on that also, but they're

[1:49:27] wonderful frogs and we don't have many

[1:49:29] frog habitats here in San Diego County.

[1:49:32] Um TL00003

[1:49:35] is Oceanside to downtown San Diego and

[1:49:38] it includes realignment in Delmare.

[1:49:40] That's a $4.3 billion item that's only

[1:49:43] in the north county part. Is that $4

[1:49:46] billion mostly going to be the cost of

[1:49:48] the actual realignment itself?

[1:49:54] TL003.

[1:50:00] » You can answer that question later if

[1:50:02] you don't have the answer immediately

[1:50:04] right now. That's okay. Yeah. So, let's

[1:50:06] let's pin that question. And the last is

[1:50:10] in reading through all the items for

[1:50:12] each of the different regions. So we

[1:50:14] have north county, east county, central

[1:50:17] county and south county. There's some

[1:50:19] elephants that appear multiple times. An

[1:50:21] example is TL00004

[1:50:24] which is 9.144 billion. And that one is

[1:50:28] Camp Pendleton to downtown San Diego

[1:50:30] grade separations curve straightening

[1:50:32] myar tunnel. And that's a 2050 visionary

[1:50:36] item, but it appears three times. So I

[1:50:39] just want to make sure that when you add

[1:50:40] it all up, that nine billion dollars is

[1:50:43] counted only once and not three times.

[1:50:46] So can you confirm that

[1:50:51] and if you don't have that right away,

[1:50:54] you can. Yeah, let's just make sure the

[1:50:55] math is right. So we have so to

[1:50:57] summarize, we have a 125 billion

[1:51:00] strategic plan. It's all in. And I think

[1:51:03] it's very important to note that this is

[1:51:05] not just SANDAG's budget. This is also

[1:51:08] Calrans. There there funds involved here

[1:51:10] that are Calrans funds, MTS funds, NCTD

[1:51:14] and housing projects and more.

[1:51:16] » So the $125 billion is more than Sandag.

[1:51:20] Sandag's at the heart of it. So I I

[1:51:22] wanted to echo that. We talked about

[1:51:24] that yesterday.

[1:51:29] » Hi, Rachel Kennedy. and um one of the

[1:51:31] planning managers here at Sandex. So we

[1:51:33] do have some projects in appendix A

[1:51:35] where we list them in multiple sub

[1:51:37] regions because they're projects that

[1:51:38] provide access and benefit to multiple

[1:51:40] multiple sub regions but we only count

[1:51:42] the cost one time. So yes,

[1:51:45] » Just making sure.

[1:51:47] » Thank you, Mayor Mento.

[1:51:51] » Well, thanks for the opportunity to

[1:51:52] speak. A lot of work. There's no doubt

[1:51:54] otherwise it wouldn't have taken three

[1:51:56] or four years. Well, unless you guys

[1:51:59] just, you know, going that slow. I don't

[1:52:02] think so.

[1:52:04] » So, I just kind of want to put some

[1:52:06] things into perspective

[1:52:09] uh for if not at least for myself, for

[1:52:12] me maybe many others and others who are

[1:52:15] uh looking on. This is I think my third

[1:52:18] maybe my fourth regional plan that I've

[1:52:21] been involved in.

[1:52:23] And one thing that I realize is that the

[1:52:26] county and the cities are all

[1:52:29] responsible for transportation and

[1:52:32] environment and whatnot within their

[1:52:34] jurisdictions.

[1:52:36] Unfortunately, many many years or I

[1:52:38] should say fortunately many many years

[1:52:40] ago it was found that we couldn't do

[1:52:43] that very well individually. The money

[1:52:46] wasn't there individually at the county

[1:52:49] level or the city level. So they created

[1:52:51] this crazy organization here to try and

[1:52:54] coordinate all that together. So when we

[1:52:57] all talk about um specific regional uh

[1:53:01] areas, that's okay because they have to

[1:53:03] be represented. And uh you know, Kevin,

[1:53:06] you you touched on it that uh we don't

[1:53:08] always speak specifically about like for

[1:53:12] instance, I don't talk about what's

[1:53:13] going on in in your neck of the woods

[1:53:15] and you don't really talk about what's

[1:53:17] going on in my area, but I think uh one

[1:53:20] thing that we realize is that we do have

[1:53:22] to help each other to make sure that

[1:53:24] things get accomplished.

[1:53:26] And so uh that's one thing that um I

[1:53:29] want to continue to encourage is

[1:53:31] everybody keep thinking regionally. It's

[1:53:33] not just about our individual um places.

[1:53:37] And then when we talk about um reducing

[1:53:39] vehicle miles traveled, one of the

[1:53:41] things that we sometimes don't talk

[1:53:44] about is the fact that in the last few

[1:53:47] years we've uh been encouraging

[1:53:49] manufacturing and businesses to uh

[1:53:51] spread out and not to be in just one

[1:53:53] area, whether it's Sereno Valley or

[1:53:56] downtown, etc. So what happens is that

[1:53:58] people don't necessarily always have to

[1:54:00] travel as far to go from maybe the east

[1:54:03] county to Seno Valley or downtown. And

[1:54:06] so that helps to reduce vehicle miles

[1:54:09] traveled. So having more um

[1:54:11] manufacturing and business spread out is

[1:54:14] something that we should also

[1:54:15] continuously talked about with with our

[1:54:18] economic development councils and our

[1:54:20] even our um community uh com chambers of

[1:54:24] commerce,

[1:54:26] excuse me.

[1:54:27] One thing I do want to also talk about

[1:54:29] is um some of the comments that were

[1:54:32] made about uh public safety as far as

[1:54:35] pedestrian and bicycle lanes and um

[1:54:42] there's every bit of work that we do to

[1:54:45] engineer bicycle lanes, pedestrian

[1:54:48] safety, and even motor vehicle safety.

[1:54:52] It can only go so far. We have to take

[1:54:54] in consideration that there are so many

[1:54:57] people out there that do not exercise

[1:55:00] personal safety when they're driving,

[1:55:02] walking, or bicycling. And as tragic as

[1:55:05] it is that there would be somebody

[1:55:07] severely injured or even killed in these

[1:55:10] areas, we have to also remember it's not

[1:55:12] necessarily always the roadway or the

[1:55:15] infrastructure that did that. Um, I have

[1:55:18] personally bicycled over 6,000 miles on

[1:55:22] the roads in East County and part of La

[1:55:25] Mesa and Lemong Grove. I' I've mentioned

[1:55:26] it many times here and I continue to see

[1:55:30] people that are riding bicycles in an

[1:55:33] unsafe manner. They ride on the wrong

[1:55:35] side of the street. I see people walking

[1:55:37] in the street and um where they

[1:55:39] shouldn't be or you would think that

[1:55:42] common sense would say you don't walk in

[1:55:44] the street if there's a sidewalk. And

[1:55:46] so, and and I don't want to say any of

[1:55:49] this to diminish, you know, the

[1:55:52] tragedies that occur. I just want us to

[1:55:54] also consider that we can't spend every

[1:55:56] dime that we have to make a street safe

[1:56:00] when people won't act safely on those

[1:56:03] streets and whatnot. So, um, so that was

[1:56:07] important for me. And then and I do want

[1:56:09] to address real quickly uh that uh the

[1:56:13] gentleman Ryan that mentioned the pepper

[1:56:15] grow uh pepper drive um uh bicycling

[1:56:20] lanes u and the fact that it would be

[1:56:23] pretty inexpensive just to you know draw

[1:56:26] some lines down there. Well, I've been

[1:56:28] on that road many times and I try not to

[1:56:31] go on that road because it's unsafe. Not

[1:56:34] just because there's not a bicycle lane,

[1:56:36] but because the road conditions there

[1:56:38] are terrible. Um, it's really old there,

[1:56:41] for instance. And so there there's not

[1:56:44] really a curb. There's not a gutter.

[1:56:46] There's no sidewalks. So, you'd have to

[1:56:48] do a complete infrastructure change

[1:56:50] there. And I know that uh our supervisor

[1:56:53] for that area would love to do that, but

[1:56:55] you know what? The county still has

[1:56:57] limited funds also. And um I know in my

[1:57:01] city we got a grant and to me it was

[1:57:03] wasted money because we put bicycle

[1:57:05] lanes on a roadway that was just unsafe

[1:57:08] for anybody to drive on because of the

[1:57:10] condition of the roadway. And so then

[1:57:12] you know 6 months a year later we come

[1:57:14] by and we re repave that road. Now we

[1:57:17] got to spend all that money again to put

[1:57:19] bicycle lanes and traffic lanes. So we

[1:57:22] also have to think about when do we put

[1:57:24] this stuff on the roadways? Are we

[1:57:27] spending money and then we're going to

[1:57:29] have to respend it? So, that's a waste

[1:57:31] of time, waste of money. And um I think

[1:57:34] we get a lot of that at our local

[1:57:36] levels. People talk about that thing all

[1:57:38] the time. Uh why did you do this? You're

[1:57:40] wasting money. Well, I think we should

[1:57:43] at this much higher level think about

[1:57:45] the same thing. What do we have to do

[1:57:47] first in order to save the greatest

[1:57:49] amount of money to make our roads as

[1:57:51] safe as possible? considering that not

[1:57:54] everybody appreciates the work that we

[1:57:56] do. And that's all I have to say.

[1:57:59] » Thank you, Mayor Jones.

[1:58:01] » Thank you so much, Chair. Uh, first I'd

[1:58:03] like to start by saying this um this

[1:58:07] plan, thank you for all of the work uh

[1:58:08] that staff put into it, but also for

[1:58:11] leadership because I I have to say after

[1:58:14] being on the board uh when the last plan

[1:58:17] came forward and then now it's a totally

[1:58:19] different experience. I actually feel

[1:58:21] heard. Um, and I know that many of us,

[1:58:24] you know, do feel feel the same way, you

[1:58:26] know. Um,

[1:58:28] the transparency that is in this and not

[1:58:32] not having to feel like you have to look

[1:58:35] and read things over and over to see if

[1:58:37] you're reading it right because things

[1:58:38] are hidden. That that to me is a is a

[1:58:41] big deal. Um, you know, so I I do have a

[1:58:44] couple of clarifying questions and then

[1:58:45] I have um some other comments. But first

[1:58:48] of all, there's no local road user

[1:58:50] charge or tax or fee or anything in this

[1:58:53] plan. Right.

[1:58:54] » Correct. Okay. I want everyone to hear

[1:58:56] that. So when we have people out there

[1:58:59] dramatizing and acting like there

[1:59:00] actually is one in here, there's not one

[1:59:02] in here that's a local road user tax or

[1:59:05] fee. Um there is however the state one

[1:59:09] which we have no control over. It it is

[1:59:11] in this plan. Um there's no federal one

[1:59:13] though, but there was at our last in the

[1:59:15] last plan it was federal, state and

[1:59:17] local. No local uh one in this one. Um

[1:59:20] there is however a 3/4 cent tax that

[1:59:23] will be predicted and this so us

[1:59:26] approving this plan does not mean that

[1:59:28] we are approving a tax. It means that we

[1:59:30] know that we're going to need some sort

[1:59:33] of uh funding mechanism that's about 3/4

[1:59:36] of a cent. You know, for me, I always

[1:59:38] talk about OPM in my city. Everyone

[1:59:40] knows exactly what I mean when I say

[1:59:41] that, but it's other people's money. Um

[1:59:44] I do know that we need to have local

[1:59:46] funds to get matching funds. So, uh

[1:59:48] that's kind of the u the more complex

[1:59:51] part of this, but um I I do want to talk

[1:59:55] specifically about Transnet.

[1:59:57] I was thinking it ended in 2040 and then

[2:00:00] I looked on chat GBT and then I and it

[2:00:03] said 2048. So, it's actually 2048.

[2:00:06] » Um and then and by the way, I never use

[2:00:08] it. I thought, you know, everyone tells

[2:00:10] me to use it. I'm I'm going to fact

[2:00:11] check things. Um, so it so this plan

[2:00:15] actually says that there will be a new

[2:00:16] tax approved, I believe, in 2038,

[2:00:19] starting in 20

[2:00:20] » I think 2036.

[2:00:21] » Is it 2039?

[2:00:25] Sorry. So this would be only if

[2:00:28] residents of the county

[2:00:31] » Vote for this.

[2:00:32] » Correct. Good morning. U Michelle Smith,

[2:00:34] manager of financial programming. Yes.

[2:00:35] So we assume one an additional transnet

[2:00:38] sales tax in 2038 for the three

[2:00:40] quarters. The other sales tax that's

[2:00:43] closer is the MTS sales tax that is

[2:00:46] assumed for 2036

[2:00:47] » And that would be just for the MTS

[2:00:49] service area.

[2:00:50] » Correct. And the 2038 is it starts in

[2:00:53] 2038 or it's approved and it needs to be

[2:00:56] approved in 2038.

[2:00:57] » It would be approved in 2038. So what we

[2:00:58] assumed is like a small like a quarter

[2:01:00] of that would be in 2038 and the rest

[2:01:02] would start later.

[2:01:04] » Correct. Okay. Um, and then um, okay,

[2:01:07] thank you on that. I just wanted to get

[2:01:09] clarification on that. You know, and you

[2:01:12] know, back to the whole transparency. I

[2:01:14] know that all of North County, we've

[2:01:16] been talking time and time again, we did

[2:01:18] not want any current lanes and that this

[2:01:20] was in the last plan, which everyone

[2:01:22] knows. Um, no current lanes on the

[2:01:26] freeways to be converted from a regular

[2:01:29] general purpose lane into a manage lane,

[2:01:32] toll road, anything like that. I just

[2:01:35] want to get clarification on that

[2:01:36] because again, you know, this is one of

[2:01:38] the things that we were running into. I

[2:01:40] think in the last plan that was so

[2:01:42] frustrating because we would ask these

[2:01:44] questions and our director at the time

[2:01:46] would say, "Well, that's not what it

[2:01:50] says." But it actually was what it said.

[2:01:52] It was just named something different.

[2:01:53] So, I just want to get clarification.

[2:01:55] There are no lanes in um in North County

[2:01:59] that are on that are highway lanes on

[2:02:01] the 15, the 78, the five that are going

[2:02:04] to be converted to um lanes that are

[2:02:07] general purpose lanes. the HOV lanes on

[2:02:10] the five, but not the general purpose

[2:02:11] lanes, and we're adding managed lanes on

[2:02:13] the 78.

[2:02:14] » Correct. Adding not, it's a new ad, not

[2:02:16] uh something that's current and

[2:02:18] existing. This is a big deal because,

[2:02:20] you know, we've talked about this time

[2:02:22] and time again. It's been very

[2:02:23] frustrating. And I did see in here

[2:02:26] finally uh the um oh, let me find it

[2:02:29] real quick. My tabs everywhere. uh the

[2:02:34] uh TL046

[2:02:36] on page A20 of appendix A, that's the um

[2:02:40] new uh bus rapid transit.

[2:02:43] So I I do want to I do want to mention

[2:02:46] that because 2035 is when it's predicted

[2:02:49] to happen. Um is that correct? No.

[2:02:52] » So we don't do year-by-year phasing in

[2:02:53] the regional plan. So that's by 2035. We

[2:02:56] kicked off planning for that now. So,

[2:02:57] the likelihood that it'll be much sooner

[2:03:00] uh than 2035, but it's in that time

[2:03:02] frame, the early years of the plan.

[2:03:03] » Perfect. I wanted to double check on

[2:03:05] that because, you know, we have the new

[2:03:06] scripts hospital that's coming to San

[2:03:08] Marco specifically and then Kaiser

[2:03:09] Permanente just opened up. Um but that's

[2:03:12] going to land at um and that's from

[2:03:14] Riverside, Tmacula area to Palomar

[2:03:17] College and then um also CSUSM. Correct.

[2:03:21] » Yes. And we're doing the route planning

[2:03:23] now. So if there are other stops that

[2:03:25] you want us to consider, we'll be

[2:03:26] working with your staff, NCTD and the

[2:03:28] other jurisdictions to identify that.

[2:03:30] » So I've specifically heard from Palomar

[2:03:32] Hospital and then also uh Kaiser

[2:03:34] Permanente. So those two um if we

[2:03:36] haven't reached out to them, I would

[2:03:38] definitely um like for that to happen.

[2:03:40] And then um let's see. I think that was

[2:03:43] it. I mean I I really I really am just

[2:03:46] loving the um uh the NCTD plus which you

[2:03:50] know I know Juwel's here today for them.

[2:03:52] We we really are um finding that that is

[2:03:56] so helpful for people in our community.

[2:03:59] Obviously, we want to expand that, but I

[2:04:01] I really like seeing that we're also

[2:04:02] bringing that to Fbrook and some of the

[2:04:05] unincorporated areas because if you

[2:04:07] don't have it yet, and I know um

[2:04:09] Escandido, uh Dane's over there, you're

[2:04:11] going to love it. It's great. It's on

[2:04:13] demand. Um our residents really find it

[2:04:15] beneficial and they can't they just

[2:04:18] can't say enough about it. So, anyway, I

[2:04:20] love it when I come into my little

[2:04:21] neighborhood and I see it. I see it

[2:04:22] there. Um, uh, stopped and and read and

[2:04:25] picking up people. So, it's really a

[2:04:27] great thing. Um, and I know that our

[2:04:29] high school students want to use it. So,

[2:04:31] I think that's one of the things that

[2:04:32] would be helpful. And other than that,

[2:04:35] um, oh, one other thing, SB 375, when do

[2:04:38] we think there might we might see some

[2:04:39] reform on that? Because there's been a

[2:04:41] lot of discussion about that. week we

[2:04:42] will be coming to the executive

[2:04:45] committee in January to bring up where

[2:04:49] we are with the discussions and ask

[2:04:52] guidance from the executive committee of

[2:04:54] where we should continue going

[2:04:56] » And might some executive committee

[2:04:58] members uh end up going to Sacramento to

[2:05:00] talk about this because I would love to

[2:05:02] be part of that. I I know Cher and I

[2:05:05] have talked about that. Um we definitely

[2:05:07] need to hear from everyone. I think

[2:05:09] that, you know, we need some reform on

[2:05:11] this and some relief.

[2:05:13] » Perfect.

[2:05:14] » Thank you.

[2:05:15] » Thank you. Um, Council Member Fischer,

[2:05:19] » Thank you, Chair. I just want to echo

[2:05:20] the sentiments from Mayor Jones. You

[2:05:22] know, I was on the board a few years

[2:05:23] back. All we talked about was the

[2:05:25] mileage tax and getting out of the plan.

[2:05:27] It really was um I felt it was laborious

[2:05:30] just hearing about I can't imagine how

[2:05:31] staff felt about having to go back and

[2:05:33] create a plan and get all the approvals.

[2:05:36] Um it's good to see a plan that doesn't

[2:05:38] involve this um big thing of five big

[2:05:41] moves and all the stuff that seems like

[2:05:43] it'd be nice but probably unrealistic

[2:05:45] and staff have to just run around and

[2:05:47] figure out how to do it. And and to

[2:05:48] Mayor Mayor Jones's comments, you know,

[2:05:50] we we heard a lot from from the seat

[2:05:52] over here um that made us think things

[2:05:55] were okay, but um it really wasn't.

[2:05:57] There wasn't a whole lot of

[2:05:58] transparency. So I appreciate the

[2:05:59] transparency. I appreciate staff

[2:06:01] bringing something to the board um

[2:06:03] that's very practical in nature. Um, you

[2:06:05] know, I can't imagine what it's like

[2:06:06] doing a plan like this. I figure it's

[2:06:08] probably aching to having a family of

[2:06:10] six going on vacation, having to pack

[2:06:12] all their clothes for two seasons and

[2:06:14] three weeks in a suitcase and hoping it

[2:06:16] fits on the airplane um is and is okay,

[2:06:19] but uh staff always does a great job

[2:06:22] with this. We've heard a lot of support

[2:06:24] for the youth opportunity pass. I'm a

[2:06:26] big believer that it has been good for

[2:06:28] our region. I mentioned it once in a

[2:06:30] board meeting probably a little bit more

[2:06:32] passively but I you know as we go

[2:06:34] forward I really want to look at

[2:06:35] something providing something for our

[2:06:36] seniors um and and something that you

[2:06:39] know be like a senior responsibility

[2:06:41] pass youth at some point turn into young

[2:06:43] adults into adults seniors don't really

[2:06:46] change from being seniors and we know

[2:06:49] that their their large population is

[2:06:50] growing for um being h unhoused and I'm

[2:06:54] sure the financial strains are very

[2:06:56] difficult on them and I think that it

[2:06:58] would be something that we should look

[2:06:59] at. Um because at some point we will

[2:07:03] have a lot of seniors who will be

[2:07:04] needing transportation and probably will

[2:07:07] be struggling unlike our youth who I've

[2:07:08] heard we we've heard from today. I'm

[2:07:10] grateful they're here in attendance and

[2:07:11] to speak up. That's that's wonderful. Uh

[2:07:14] but I think our seniors should probably

[2:07:15] have some opportunities in in the future

[2:07:17] to have access to transit for a reduced

[2:07:20] or free uh cost. Thank you.

[2:07:23] » Thank you, Supervisor Gary.

[2:07:27] » Thank you, Chair. I I want to start by

[2:07:29] thanking staff um for all of their work

[2:07:32] around this plan. I I think it's really

[2:07:35] great that it's guided by convenience,

[2:07:37] equity, health, and safety. Uh

[2:07:40] obviously, uh those are priorities for a

[2:07:42] region that we've all, including the

[2:07:44] board and staff, have been working very

[2:07:46] very hard to prioritize. I I want to

[2:07:49] center my remarks around equity. I think

[2:07:51] that it's incredibly important to ensure

[2:07:54] that um people have the same uh

[2:07:57] opportunities in all of our regions

[2:07:59] throughout the county. Uh I think it's

[2:08:01] very important to uh make sure that our

[2:08:04] uh public transit for example offers

[2:08:07] opportunities especially for uh you know

[2:08:09] young adults that are uh on their path

[2:08:12] to entering the workforce uh have the

[2:08:16] ability to uh reach uh job centers uh

[2:08:20] that are accessible by transit. So I

[2:08:22] think I really I really like that we're

[2:08:24] moving in the right direction with the

[2:08:26] purple line. I think that's incredibly

[2:08:27] important. I think it's also important

[2:08:30] to um look at uh the 24hour um and

[2:08:34] express service for the blue line, the

[2:08:36] black the backbone of our public transit

[2:08:38] system that is um so important for so

[2:08:41] many people who work and and come across

[2:08:44] the border um on a daily basis. I think

[2:08:46] that's incredibly important. Um, I think

[2:08:49] it's really important to focus on the

[2:08:52] flexible fleet microtransit because it

[2:08:54] not only brings benefits uh to reducing

[2:08:57] greenhouse gas emissions, but especially

[2:08:59] in in unincorporated areas in more of

[2:09:02] the rural areas or where there's more

[2:09:03] limited public transit like in North

[2:09:06] County, I think that first mile, last

[2:09:08] mile traveled will be um essential and

[2:09:10] and by implementing these types of

[2:09:12] fleets will be very important. So, I I

[2:09:14] appreciate that we're focusing on that.

[2:09:16] And then as it relates to uh safety, I

[2:09:19] think it's great that we're focusing on

[2:09:22] complete corridors. Um I just wanted to

[2:09:25] mention the Federal Highway

[2:09:26] Administration evaluations show that

[2:09:29] complete corridor treatment reduces

[2:09:31] crashes by 19 to 47%

[2:09:34] with strong reductions in pedestrian

[2:09:37] safety. Raise medians and pedestrian

[2:09:39] refuge islands reduce pedestrian crashes

[2:09:42] by 46%.

[2:09:44] Curb extensions uh reduce pedestrian

[2:09:47] crashes for by up to 40%. And we know

[2:09:51] that every 10 miles per hour that are

[2:09:53] reduced, the likelihood of someone

[2:09:56] surviving increases. So if you are

[2:09:59] involved in a crash, if you're a

[2:10:00] pedestrian that gets struck by a car

[2:10:03] moving at 40 miles hour, your likelihood

[2:10:06] of surviving is something close to 5%.

[2:10:08] If it's 30 miles per hour, your chances

[2:10:12] of surviving increase. Especially uh

[2:10:15] when you're talking about between 20 and

[2:10:18] 25 miles per hour, your chances of

[2:10:20] surviving exceed 85 to 90%. Now, I'm not

[2:10:24] advocating, of course, for freeways to

[2:10:25] be limited to 20 miles per hour. But

[2:10:28] it's important because as we look at the

[2:10:31] next five years, planning regionally,

[2:10:33] these complete corridors are incredibly

[2:10:35] important for especially families that

[2:10:37] are walking their kids, seniors that are

[2:10:40] um having trouble crossing a a very wide

[2:10:44] roadway and may not be fast enough to

[2:10:46] beat the red light. We are seeing an

[2:10:49] unprecedented amount of uh deaths. I'm

[2:10:52] pretty sure you've been watching it

[2:10:54] every day on the news. there's a new uh

[2:10:57] you know accident a fatal accident and

[2:11:00] um I think it's important that you know

[2:11:03] we do it planning well it may not be

[2:11:06] right for some communities as the mayor

[2:11:08] mental mentioned but for example in

[2:11:10] Imperial Beach where we have it's a

[2:11:12] bedroom comm community where we have a

[2:11:14] lot of young families with kiddos that's

[2:11:17] absolutely essential to to ensure that

[2:11:20] uh families um can can walk to and from

[2:11:24] school uh in a safe way. So, I I think

[2:11:27] that's that's really important. And I'll

[2:11:29] just close with um thanking uh staff

[2:11:32] again for all of your hard work um and

[2:11:35] um echoing my colleagues uh calls to um

[2:11:40] um address the issue with the 125 and

[2:11:43] continuing to uplift the youth

[2:11:45] opportunity passes, which is incredibly

[2:11:47] important to me, too. Thank you very

[2:11:49] much.

[2:11:50] » Thank you, Mayor Sanchez.

[2:11:55] Thank you very much. Um I want to thank

[2:11:57] staff for the presentation. Um I

[2:12:00] actually want to thank um uh staff and

[2:12:04] uh my colleagues. Um because it's my

[2:12:07] first year on Sandag and of course I had

[2:12:09] heard a few things about what had

[2:12:12] happened in the past and so I wondered

[2:12:14] what this year was going to be like. I

[2:12:16] want to say that I've I've been um uh

[2:12:20] thoroughly amazed at the level of uh

[2:12:23] cooperation, coordination, and and just

[2:12:26] being able to be heard. Um as the most

[2:12:29] northern um city in San Diego County um

[2:12:32] and certainly

[2:12:34] having different needs than say a

[2:12:37] metropolitan area, I' I've really

[2:12:39] appreciated being heard. um um it's it's

[2:12:43] uh at c certain levels at government I

[2:12:46] you know we feel like uh there are

[2:12:48] certain assumptions that are made that

[2:12:50] just don't apply and so uh for me to uh

[2:12:55] be able to see that our diverse

[2:12:57] communities in San Diego County um the

[2:13:01] needs are are being heard and are being

[2:13:03] taken into consideration um by uh

[2:13:06] regional plans and and by um I want to

[2:13:10] say our colleagues colleagues here um is

[2:13:12] truly refreshing and for me it's about

[2:13:14] unity and in trying to get uh the best

[2:13:17] for our entire um county. um in

[2:13:21] Oceanside especially

[2:13:24] um we have over 60 I think it's about

[2:13:28] 64% of our workforce um driving on five

[2:13:33] talk talking about um how we need to

[2:13:36] reduce our uh greenhouse gas um to work

[2:13:40] every day how do and that's that's a

[2:13:43] something that we need to figure out how

[2:13:45] to do um for me and and what I'm seeing

[2:13:48] it's the microtransit

[2:13:50] has really really helped and is helping

[2:13:53] us to um in terms of in planning

[2:13:56] internally to meet the needs of our

[2:13:58] community and it does sound like this

[2:14:00] year there's even more interest in

[2:14:03] microtransit I think I think um others

[2:14:05] have said this is what we need this is

[2:14:08] this is the gap this is something that

[2:14:09] we thought we were going to get 25 years

[2:14:11] ago um we're getting it now I feel that

[2:14:16] this um does build trust This is kind of

[2:14:20] like ground zero in terms of okay, this

[2:14:24] is where we're heading. If we are going

[2:14:26] to be be needing another tax, it is

[2:14:28] going to get a lot more of us at the

[2:14:30] table saying, yeah, this, you know, we

[2:14:32] can all agree these are their needs

[2:14:35] based on, you know, all the all the uh

[2:14:37] needs of the of of our diverse um

[2:14:40] geographically diverse communities. Then

[2:14:42] we can, you know, look to

[2:14:45] a a better future for our communities.

[2:14:48] Um yesterday I was a little down because

[2:14:51] I heard that six of our businesses were

[2:14:53] closing. Uh mostly restaurants, even

[2:14:56] longtime long-term ones. And I know that

[2:15:00] um you know things for us um and I'm

[2:15:02] sure in other places some of our

[2:15:04] affordable housing is being replaced by

[2:15:07] unattainable housing, high density, and

[2:15:10] we don't want to see that. We want to

[2:15:12] ensure that we can be able to survive

[2:15:15] and thrive um as communities, each one

[2:15:18] of us. So, we're looking to see how can

[2:15:22] we make things better at every level.

[2:15:24] So, thank you very much.

[2:15:26] » Thank you. Um I see Mayor Mentos back up

[2:15:28] again.

[2:15:30] » Yeah, I'm sorry about having to speak a

[2:15:32] second time, but there's something I

[2:15:33] completely forgot.

[2:15:35] » Hard to believe, right? Um Mario

[2:15:38] mentioned the um CALR and the 50 highway

[2:15:42] 52 meeting we had last night in Santi

[2:15:46] and the reason why I wanted to bring it

[2:15:48] up because it's about hope. uh you know

[2:15:50] in 2019 I came up with this crazy idea

[2:15:53] about uh doing some things to increase

[2:15:56] the flow of traffic on Highway 52

[2:15:59] because for so long almost since the day

[2:16:02] it was built all I ever heard was

[2:16:03] complaints about we can't get out of

[2:16:05] Santi people from Elcohone can't get

[2:16:07] through the bottlenecks and so um people

[2:16:11] coming southbound on the 15 coming home

[2:16:13] can't get to the transition to the 52

[2:16:17] east uh very well and so We started

[2:16:20] talking with uh Sandag of course. Uh we

[2:16:23] met with um all the leaders over at CALR

[2:16:27] uh very early on. Then started just

[2:16:29] going out you know around the

[2:16:31] communities and talking then with the

[2:16:33] state representatives, the federal

[2:16:35] representatives, even the US Chamber of

[2:16:37] Commerce saying we need help. And so um

[2:16:42] unfortunately things were uh delayed a

[2:16:45] little bit because of some pandemic

[2:16:47] thing. But um but what happened in 2019,

[2:16:50] one of the ideas was to uh take and uh

[2:16:54] create a new transition from 15 south to

[2:16:57] 52 east. And so uh even though we were

[2:17:01] raising the money, CALR saw that that

[2:17:04] was an extremely important um project to

[2:17:07] take on. And believe it or not, from the

[2:17:10] inception of that con the concept of

[2:17:12] doing that to uh the design the

[2:17:15] engineering the planning design u

[2:17:19] environmental all the stuff that

[2:17:21] normally goes into that today that

[2:17:23] actually is cons that portion of it is

[2:17:26] uh completed the transition has changed

[2:17:29] and it is actually much easier to get on

[2:17:31] the 52 east. So for a 5-year from

[2:17:34] conception to completion and I'm talking

[2:17:37] about construction that means you know

[2:17:39] pavement on the ground 5 years is

[2:17:42] absolutely almost unheard of. So, if you

[2:17:46] work hard enough and you have really uh

[2:17:49] good partners and um District 11 is one

[2:17:53] of the best partners in CALR in my

[2:17:56] opinion uh to work with because we do

[2:17:59] things that other places when I'm

[2:18:00] traveling around the state talking to

[2:18:02] other cities.

[2:18:04] They're always asking how do you get

[2:18:05] those things done? Today we're in the

[2:18:08] process of uh getting some changes on

[2:18:11] the 52 going westbound so that we can

[2:18:13] get those uh the bottlenecks that happen

[2:18:15] in Santi which cause actually some

[2:18:18] environmental harm um because of all the

[2:18:22] cars uh idling. Uh we expect now and

[2:18:25] take that from about uh it was scheduled

[2:18:28] to be done in 2050 and we expect that to

[2:18:31] be completed now I think in 2034.

[2:18:34] Uh so to you know reduce um you know

[2:18:37] that kind of um issue by 25 years uh

[2:18:43] we're going to have to still work on

[2:18:44] some of the other things the 78 the 67

[2:18:48] but uh we I think we have some good

[2:18:50] formulas to get that work done a lot

[2:18:52] sooner and a lot faster than we ever

[2:18:55] thought that could be done. So I just

[2:18:56] wanted to give that message of hope.

[2:18:58] » That's good. Thank you. Um, Council

[2:19:00] Member Edson.

[2:19:03] » Thank Thank you, Chair. Um,

[2:19:06] Mayor Jones touched uh on the mixed

[2:19:08] rapid 483, which reminded me that I

[2:19:12] neglected to mention that NCTD has

[2:19:14] expressed concerns regarding the mixed

[2:19:16] rapid 483

[2:19:18] uh commuter express from Tmacula to

[2:19:20] Palomar Airport College via I-15, SR78,

[2:19:24] CSUSM.

[2:19:26] um due to budget and operational

[2:19:28] constraints. Um we support the concept

[2:19:32] absolutely but requests that it come

[2:19:34] with a sustainable source of operations

[2:19:38] operational funding. Um also I just

[2:19:41] wanted to take a moment to acknowledge

[2:19:42] and thank staff for the work that went

[2:19:44] into creating the plan and um the robust

[2:19:49] contributions from the board and from

[2:19:52] the public are also appreciated. Thanks.

[2:19:55] Thank you, Council Member Lee.

[2:20:00] » Thank you, Chair, and um thank you to

[2:20:02] the team for your um hard work on

[2:20:04] bringing this plan to fruition. I've of

[2:20:06] course only been here for the tail end

[2:20:07] of it, or at least what feels like um

[2:20:10] that, but the efforts to really engage

[2:20:12] the public, I think, have been critical

[2:20:14] here. And and and what I always

[2:20:15] recognize is that what everyone is

[2:20:17] advocating for doesn't necessarily all

[2:20:18] make it into the plan uh for for a

[2:20:21] variety of reasons. Um, and we should be

[2:20:23] willing to acknowledge that the plan's

[2:20:25] not going to address every need that has

[2:20:26] been expressed. Uh, but it is an

[2:20:28] opportunity for us to really chart in in

[2:20:31] the realistic time frame what we believe

[2:20:33] can be accomplished. I find that same

[2:20:35] thing at the city of San Diego. We often

[2:20:38] struggle, I think, as agencies to think

[2:20:40] about what we're planning in terms of

[2:20:42] capacity and a vision and then what

[2:20:45] actually can come to fruition as well.

[2:20:47] and and we need both. You need to be

[2:20:48] able to dream and have a vision that is

[2:20:51] um long-term and bold enough that you

[2:20:53] can be shooting for something, but you

[2:20:55] also actually have to have projects that

[2:20:56] can be completed. Um and I do believe

[2:20:58] that this um RTP does accomplish a bit

[2:21:01] of that. There there are a couple things

[2:21:02] in it that I do want to note in

[2:21:04] particular. Um one is the increase of

[2:21:07] microtransit and the talk about

[2:21:09] community shuttles. Uh for me in

[2:21:11] particular, the Kurtie Mason convoy area

[2:21:13] is one that has been discussed quite a

[2:21:15] bit at least within the city of San

[2:21:16] Diego. Um being a growing uh both

[2:21:19] industrial, commercial, soon residential

[2:21:22] hub. Um tied to that though is of course

[2:21:24] the Purple Line. And I I I want to

[2:21:27] acknowledge all those who have continued

[2:21:28] to advocate and fight for ensuring that

[2:21:31] the Purple Line is not just on a back

[2:21:33] burner somewhere, but that it is part of

[2:21:35] the long-term vision of what we need to

[2:21:36] accomplish. just maybe not within the

[2:21:38] the shorter time frame that we've

[2:21:40] previously envisioned. The Purple Line I

[2:21:42] think is going to be critical for the

[2:21:44] the region especially again running up

[2:21:46] through some of the most critical uh

[2:21:48] economic corridors uh especially in that

[2:21:50] Sono Valley Serno Mesa area moving

[2:21:52] forward. Um and then one last thing I

[2:21:55] just thought I would ask about since it

[2:21:56] came from um some of the public comment

[2:21:59] uh even today. Um but as we look at

[2:22:01] designing bike infrastructure um in the

[2:22:04] region um and I know there's always

[2:22:06] going to be debate about where and what

[2:22:09] infrastructure is wanted, needed etc. um

[2:22:12] those debates will always happen but

[2:22:14] when we have put into a plan um

[2:22:16] infrastructure that we are planning on

[2:22:20] um I I think it's important that we have

[2:22:21] best practices that help us guide the

[2:22:24] design of that infrastructure. And so I

[2:22:26] I know folks have mentioned that some of

[2:22:28] the previous language around design

[2:22:30] standards specifically with NATO aren't

[2:22:33] lined out in this plan and and wanted to

[2:22:37] ask again you know the the thinking

[2:22:39] behind that and how sand plans to move

[2:22:41] forward so that as we guide bike

[2:22:43] infrastructure from a sand perspective

[2:22:45] we ensure that design guidelines are

[2:22:47] applicable across the region.

[2:22:51] » Thank you council members. So at the

[2:22:52] regional plan level we don't get into

[2:22:54] project specific design. We don't have

[2:22:55] design guidelines for any of the

[2:22:57] projects, our transit projects, the

[2:22:58] roadway projects. Um, and that is why

[2:23:01] the NACTO design guidelines were removed

[2:23:03] between draft and final because it's

[2:23:05] really not appropriate at the regional

[2:23:06] plan level. We get into that when we

[2:23:08] start designing bike projects and you

[2:23:09] all do when you start designing B bike

[2:23:12] projects.

[2:23:14] » Thank you again for sharing that as

[2:23:15] well. That concludes my comments. Thank

[2:23:16] you.

[2:23:17] » Thank you. Mayor Jones, did you have a

[2:23:18] follow-up comment?

[2:23:20] » You're on the board.

[2:23:21] » Yes. Sorry. I just It was about the

[2:23:23] funding. So, um I know that Riverside

[2:23:25] used to actually fund a part of that um

[2:23:29] uh that bus rapid from Riverside. So,

[2:23:32] maybe we check out check with them to

[2:23:33] see if they would be willing to um be

[2:23:37] participating in that.

[2:23:38] » Yeah.

[2:23:39] » Yeah. Once we implement project specific

[2:23:42] mitigations

[2:23:43] uh in in the environmental document that

[2:23:46] um hasn't yet been finalized for 1578,

[2:23:49] but it's in the process. The draft went

[2:23:51] out. it has on the on the mitigation

[2:23:54] that part of the managed lane revenues

[2:23:57] will be going to subsidize transit which

[2:24:00] is into that line. Um, you know, I have

[2:24:04] to say that like Canton has said it,

[2:24:07] it's not a project specific the regional

[2:24:10] plan. The regional plan is a snapshot of

[2:24:12] what we can achieve by 2035 or post 2035

[2:24:17] to 2050 to achieve those goals that the

[2:24:20] federal government and the state

[2:24:21] governments are asking us. Then we have

[2:24:24] to have and we have begun the

[2:24:25] conversation on funding priorities and

[2:24:28] we we began that here uh just recently

[2:24:31] and we will continue that. Um so it it

[2:24:35] is very important that we understand

[2:24:37] that this is kind of the big snapshot

[2:24:40] but we do have some challenges ahead of

[2:24:42] us how to funding specific projects and

[2:24:46] also a big challenge that the entire San

[2:24:49] Diego region northsoutheast west will

[2:24:51] have to have all of us is also dealing

[2:24:55] with the financial cliffs that our

[2:24:57] transit agencies are dealing with. So

[2:24:59] that's a big conversation. It's not

[2:25:02] within the regional plan conversation,

[2:25:05] but we are bringing it up. Uh and I

[2:25:08] think it is something that during the

[2:25:09] next coming calendar year,

[2:25:12] leadership here as well as in North

[2:25:14] County Transit and MTS boards as well as

[2:25:18] each of your individual city councils

[2:25:20] will have to have that hard discussion.

[2:25:23] » Yeah. And you know, just to follow up on

[2:25:25] that, um, so recently, well, I guess it

[2:25:28] was last week, um, I was, uh, speaking

[2:25:30] to leadership over at NCTD and I was

[2:25:33] mentioning, you know, there are a lot of

[2:25:34] beneficiaries from these specific

[2:25:37] projects. Like for instance, in in, um,

[2:25:39] my city with the microtransit, you have

[2:25:42] Pelomar, you have CSU, San Marcus, you

[2:25:44] have the school district, um, San Marcus

[2:25:46] Unified, and then also North City, which

[2:25:48] is our new downtown that's emerging. I I

[2:25:51] suggested to them that we start having

[2:25:53] um meetings to talk about what they

[2:25:55] would be willing to participate in

[2:25:57] because financing isn't all going to

[2:25:59] come from one place. Again, I'm going to

[2:26:01] say it again, OPM. Um other people's

[2:26:03] money. I mean, when we cobble money

[2:26:05] together, it's less than one person

[2:26:08] paying for it and it's, you know, kind

[2:26:09] of spread out. So, um, if we aren't

[2:26:12] having conversations with the

[2:26:14] transportation agency up in Riverside, I

[2:26:16] suggest we at least start that, um, so

[2:26:19] that we could see what their level of

[2:26:21] interest would be and then we figure out

[2:26:23] who benefits the most. And again, you

[2:26:25] know, back to the participants that

[2:26:27] actually, um, would benefit. Palomar

[2:26:29] Hospital, CSU, San Marcos, Palomar

[2:26:32] College, Scripps, Kaiser, I mean all of

[2:26:34] the different um you know if you can

[2:26:36] make it stop then but there should be

[2:26:39] some participation level financially in

[2:26:40] that

[2:26:41] » And not to deviate from the conversation

[2:26:43] of the regional plan but you brought up

[2:26:45] uh SB 375 and um setting up some trips

[2:26:49] uh to have those discussions in

[2:26:51] Sacramento

[2:26:52] um next year the the funding package for

[2:26:57] the trans transportation bill is up for

[2:27:00] discussion in Congress. So I think we

[2:27:03] will organize as a region also to

[2:27:06] advocate at the federal level all the

[2:27:08] different funding paths for the next

[2:27:10] transportation bill. So hopefully you

[2:27:13] could come with us also to Washington

[2:27:15] that advocacy.

[2:27:16] » Yes. Thanks.

[2:27:19] » Road trip. We'll all go. Um well, thank

[2:27:21] you everybody. Thank you staff so very

[2:27:23] very much. I have to say it was really

[2:27:24] gratifying to hear all of the comments.

[2:27:27] Um, there was a real intentional change

[2:27:30] in the way this particular RTP was

[2:27:32] crafted as was said. It was started

[2:27:35] three years ago. So, if you're new to

[2:27:36] this board, the person who was sitting

[2:27:37] in your seat previously was in workshops

[2:27:40] drawing lines and putting stickies on

[2:27:43] maps and really working hard to do the

[2:27:47] put on their regional hat as well as

[2:27:48] their city hat and understand that this

[2:27:51] is a required plan. we've got all these

[2:27:53] goals and uh that we have to meet,

[2:27:55] metrics that we have to meet. Um but

[2:27:58] this turns out to be a really great

[2:28:00] example of what happens when you listen

[2:28:02] to the locals. Um it would be lovely if

[2:28:05] other levels of government did the same

[2:28:07] thing. But when you listen to the

[2:28:08] locals, you can actually put together a

[2:28:11] plan that works for us all because the

[2:28:12] beauty of this re region is in our

[2:28:14] diversity. And I mean that in every

[2:28:16] every sense of that word. Each of our

[2:28:18] cities is unique in terms of the

[2:28:21] regional plan. Each of them is unique

[2:28:23] and for us to homogenize um our cities

[2:28:27] into one is just not what we want to do.

[2:28:29] We want to maintain our attributes um

[2:28:32] but also get around the region. Um the

[2:28:36] transportation plan doesn't know

[2:28:37] boundaries. So we need to work together

[2:28:39] to um make sure that how they land in

[2:28:42] each of our communities works. A

[2:28:44] reminder, as Mario said, this is a

[2:28:46] highlevel plan. It's um as he said, a

[2:28:49] snapshot, but it's a really wide lens of

[2:28:51] a of a snapshot. And each project that's

[2:28:54] in here, and again, these are, you know,

[2:28:56] visionary. They're they each have to

[2:28:58] have their own plan. They're each going

[2:29:00] to come, it's got its own path basically

[2:29:03] to conclusion and to construction. It's

[2:29:05] going to have to have a design. It's

[2:29:07] going to have to go through

[2:29:08] environmental.

[2:29:10] We're going to have the discussion about

[2:29:11] are we going to fund it or not? Is it

[2:29:13] going to be in the RTIP which is the

[2:29:14] five-year plan where we know you know

[2:29:16] that's what's getting done that's get

[2:29:18] getting funded and it will build be

[2:29:20] built and then there's construction and

[2:29:21] then there's ribbon cutting. So we do

[2:29:23] this every four years. Um I think it's

[2:29:26] uh a really great exercise to uh each of

[2:29:29] us to understand each other cities a

[2:29:31] little bit more too and recognize the

[2:29:34] continuity that we want within our

[2:29:35] region but also the um the uniqueness

[2:29:39] that we would like to maintain. So with

[2:29:41] that, I'm going to close the public

[2:29:42] hearing and let's vote on this. We have

[2:29:45] two um

[2:29:47] uh so the action is uh today to adopt

[2:29:50] resolution 2026-08

[2:29:52] and 2026-9 certifying the final EIR and

[2:29:55] adopting the 2025 regional plan.

[2:30:04] Righty passes with one no and the rest

[2:30:06] yeses. And we are now going to go on to

[2:30:10] the assessment of Sandex's finance

[2:30:12] department. The team will present items

[2:30:13] 5.1 and 5.2 followed by public comment

[2:30:16] and then member discussion.

[2:30:20] Courtney

[2:32:08] So, are you ready?

[2:32:14] » Yes, chair.

[2:32:17] » Chair

[2:32:19] chair Fischer, did you want to

[2:32:21] » Oh, I'm sorry. Let me um turn this over

[2:32:22] to council member Fischer to introduce

[2:32:24] this item as the chair of the audit

[2:32:26] committee.

[2:32:28] » Thank you, chair. Uh board members, uh

[2:32:30] last week we got the uh results from the

[2:32:33] assessment that was done by Weaver

[2:32:35] regarding the uh financial the finance

[2:32:38] department. Uh we had a good robust

[2:32:40] discussion uh lot of transparency not

[2:32:44] only from Weaver, from uh the audit side

[2:32:46] but also from staff. they were there,

[2:32:48] they were present and you really could

[2:32:49] see the collaboration and bring us

[2:32:51] forward. You know, been through a few

[2:32:53] audits this year. Uh assessment is a

[2:32:56] little bit different than an audit and

[2:32:58] some of the findings that we have were u

[2:33:02] kind of eye openening if you will. Uh

[2:33:04] but again that it helps us build up a

[2:33:06] road map of where the agency needs to be

[2:33:09] in the future. uh and it was mentioned

[2:33:11] earlier that you know there's different

[2:33:13] assessments going on that one will see

[2:33:14] in the future for HR department but it

[2:33:17] really was uh an eye openener and again

[2:33:19] nothing that we probably was surprised

[2:33:20] but overall you know the the key is that

[2:33:24] this agency still operates well still is

[2:33:26] really well regarded in the nation is

[2:33:28] very high functioning uh we continue to

[2:33:31] receive funds much more in excess of

[2:33:35] what our budget is and that continues

[2:33:37] and so some of the things that will be

[2:33:38] discussed today may be a little bit

[2:33:39] viable opening uh to the board members.

[2:33:42] But I really want to stay thank uh

[2:33:44] Courtney for getting this going, finding

[2:33:46] a fine company with Weaver and the work

[2:33:48] that they did and again the

[2:33:50] collaboration between Weaver and uh

[2:33:53] staff to to work together to get the

[2:33:55] assessment done and uh to get to the

[2:33:58] point where it could get presented to

[2:34:00] the board at this point. So, thank you.

[2:34:05] » Thank you, chair. Good morning. I'm

[2:34:07] Courtney Ruby. I'm the independent

[2:34:08] performance auditor, also known as the

[2:34:10] IPA, and as such, I am the chief audit

[2:34:13] executive at SANDAG. I'm pleased to

[2:34:15] introduce the accounting and finance

[2:34:17] independent assessment conducted by

[2:34:19] Weaver LLC. Today, I'm joined by Remma

[2:34:22] Perapilli, partner and subject matter IT

[2:34:25] advisor, and Holly Hart, director and

[2:34:28] project manager for this engagement. I'd

[2:34:31] like to give a little background as to

[2:34:33] why this report is before you today.

[2:34:35] When I first became IPA, I was

[2:34:37] immediately thrust into the

[2:34:39] investigation of SR125.

[2:34:41] The investigation found EAN's fast lane

[2:34:44] financial reporting could not be relied

[2:34:46] upon, and the accounting and finance

[2:34:48] department lacked adequate internal

[2:34:50] controls, including proper review and

[2:34:52] supervision to ensure SR125's financial

[2:34:56] information, was accurately recorded and

[2:34:59] reported. The investigation recommended

[2:35:02] an independent assessment of the

[2:35:03] accounting and finance department's

[2:35:05] policies, procedures, and practices. As

[2:35:09] a result, I wrote the scope of work that

[2:35:11] was advertised and is included in the

[2:35:13] transmittal letter that precedes the

[2:35:15] assessment. Weaver was a successfully

[2:35:18] awarded the work and has done an

[2:35:20] outstanding job. Additionally, Weaver's

[2:35:23] assessment when needed extended into the

[2:35:25] areas that would provide greater

[2:35:27] operational insight and value to

[2:35:29] Sandag's leadership.

[2:35:31] I do want to highlight this work

[2:35:34] evaluated the current state and the

[2:35:36] operational areas being assessed. It is

[2:35:38] not an audit which typically looks

[2:35:40] backwards, but instead an assessment of

[2:35:42] the current state of operations. Holly

[2:35:45] will go over this as well in her

[2:35:47] introduction as well as the chair

[2:35:49] mentioned it in his comments. I want to

[2:35:52] acknowledge Sandag's accounting and

[2:35:53] finance department and senior leadership

[2:35:55] for their patience, fortitude and

[2:35:58] commitment to this assessment in

[2:36:00] addition to budget management, project

[2:36:02] management and other senior managers who

[2:36:04] assisted in the assessment. management

[2:36:07] provided their response to the report at

[2:36:09] the same time that the office of the

[2:36:12] independent performance auditor or what

[2:36:14] we affectionately call OEPA released the

[2:36:16] report and I'm pleased to report that

[2:36:18] management has stated their agreement

[2:36:20] with all the recommendations. We will

[2:36:22] meet with management in the coming week

[2:36:24] to hash out the details to ensure we

[2:36:26] have actionable agreement that aligns

[2:36:28] with the recommendations and can be

[2:36:30] reported out during OEPA's annual and

[2:36:32] quarterly cap reporting processes. CAPS

[2:36:36] stands for corrective action plan. I

[2:36:38] will now hand the presentation over to

[2:36:40] Holly Hart from Weaver to present the

[2:36:43] report findings and recommendations and

[2:36:45] then management will present their

[2:36:46] response next. Holly,

[2:36:49] » So I'm I'm going to start but so

[2:36:52] » My apologies.

[2:36:53] » No worries. Um so we had a strong team

[2:36:57] that helped supported this and one of

[2:36:58] the team members that's not available

[2:37:00] today is Brandon Tanos. he was the

[2:37:02] overall engagement partner um along with

[2:37:04] Holly that focused more on the overall

[2:37:06] accounting and operations areas. Then

[2:37:09] kind of my team and my role is really to

[2:37:11] focus on the IT area and we really work

[2:37:13] together over those two broad subject

[2:37:16] matters. As Courtney described, we did

[2:37:19] an assessment. So separate from an audit

[2:37:22] where we are looking at the past and

[2:37:24] arriving at a conclusion, we are really

[2:37:26] doing this assessment to be able to

[2:37:28] provide recommendations over the current

[2:37:29] state of the environment and to be able

[2:37:32] to look at those results and to be able

[2:37:33] to provide kind of a state of where you

[2:37:35] are and what those recommendations can

[2:37:37] look like which management has started

[2:37:39] to think about t start to work on. We

[2:37:42] started our procedures earlier in the

[2:37:44] spring and are really reporting it out

[2:37:46] to you today, but management has been um

[2:37:48] aware of the things that they need to

[2:37:50] work on and then this kind of really

[2:37:51] solidified it and kind of gave them some

[2:37:53] direction on what what we looked at and

[2:37:56] the things that they recognized also

[2:37:57] needed some areas of improvement. And so

[2:37:59] the focus area of what we did as part of

[2:38:01] this assessment which you can see really

[2:38:02] looked at the finance and accounting

[2:38:04] department over those process areas um

[2:38:07] accounting, finance, revenue, project

[2:38:09] control, toll operations, accounting and

[2:38:11] we really focus on a number of key

[2:38:13] functions and core functions in that.

[2:38:15] And then we also looked at the state of

[2:38:18] the ERP system implementation that

[2:38:20] occurred a couple years ago to really

[2:38:21] understand how that system

[2:38:23] implementation

[2:38:25] um was performed and then how has that

[2:38:27] helped support the processes that are

[2:38:30] occurring in the uh finance and

[2:38:32] accounting departments as well. So we

[2:38:34] did a number of different items and one

[2:38:36] of the other areas that we looked at was

[2:38:37] really performing a um skills assessment

[2:38:41] which I'll have colleague go over.

[2:38:43] » Thanks Reema. Yes. So, uh we also

[2:38:47] included an organizational structure and

[2:38:49] skills assessment as part of this

[2:38:51] project and that was really to look at

[2:38:53] role clarity, responsibilities,

[2:38:56] qualifications, credentials, the three

[2:38:58] what we like to call the three pillars

[2:38:59] of um an successful uh uh competent

[2:39:04] team. And so we also looked at how the

[2:39:07] teams collaborate. And I just want to be

[2:39:09] clear as well that this was not a

[2:39:10] staffing level assessment. We didn't

[2:39:12] look at cycle times or uh do a heavy

[2:39:16] analysis of the uh various

[2:39:20] quantification of tasks that were

[2:39:22] performed. But we al but we did identify

[2:39:24] some general resource constraints within

[2:39:26] the inscope process areas as a root

[2:39:29] cause of some of the conditions that we

[2:39:32] found at a high level. Some of the

[2:39:34] procedures that we performed again as is

[2:39:36] an assessment they were done in

[2:39:38] collaboration with the management team

[2:39:40] looking at the current state as Courtney

[2:39:42] mentioned we looked at policies and

[2:39:44] procedures looking at the internal

[2:39:46] controls benchmark to globally

[2:39:48] recognized internal control frameworks

[2:39:50] and standards. We did lots of

[2:39:51] stakeholder interviews and follow-ups

[2:39:53] where needed to ensure that we had a a

[2:39:55] good understanding of the current state,

[2:39:57] validating that understanding, making

[2:39:59] sure there was clarity between us in

[2:40:02] management and to how things were

[2:40:03] operating in its current state. We

[2:40:05] looked at evidence, a lot of various uh

[2:40:08] pieces of documentation

[2:40:10] uh to validate and ensure that we had an

[2:40:12] accurate understanding uh and of course

[2:40:15] really dug into the technology and

[2:40:17] systems implementation component. as you

[2:40:19] guys are transitioning in various

[2:40:22] systems in your current state.

[2:40:24] So, as a result of our assessment, we

[2:40:26] identified what we call our core themes.

[2:40:29] We grouped these in core themes because

[2:40:31] they generally overall as you're going

[2:40:34] through the report, the results of the

[2:40:35] assessment really do kind of shine

[2:40:37] through. uh and so looking at the uh

[2:40:42] results through the lens of these core

[2:40:44] themes can help orient you in terms of

[2:40:46] what to really focus on whenever we're

[2:40:48] talking about our road map as well. We

[2:40:50] had 18 observations associated with our

[2:40:52] recommendations which we categorized

[2:40:54] into various groups as they naturally

[2:40:58] related to the process areas in which we

[2:41:00] found them. Next slide.

[2:41:06] All right.

[2:41:10] So to go a little bit more into those

[2:41:12] core themes and I'll just provide a

[2:41:14] brief overview of these. They are not

[2:41:16] necessarily in any particular order. The

[2:41:18] first one is very critical and

[2:41:20] foundational to all the others which is

[2:41:22] why it is first regarding governance and

[2:41:25] oversight. Really an overarching theme

[2:41:27] for this assessment. We definitely

[2:41:29] identified the need for uh more uh clear

[2:41:34] oversight, governance, and

[2:41:36] accountability particularly within the

[2:41:37] areas of budget management, ERP, systems

[2:41:40] implementation, and of course some of

[2:41:42] those core key accounting controls that

[2:41:44] we've identified throughout the the

[2:41:47] assessment. The second area was really

[2:41:49] policies, procedures, and internal

[2:41:51] controls. really the backbone of your

[2:41:53] control environment and how we ensure

[2:41:55] that we implement our uh risk mitigation

[2:41:58] strategy in terms of control activities

[2:42:00] consistently. So we evaluated that uh

[2:42:03] and found that there is definitely a

[2:42:04] need for some standardized

[2:42:06] standardization of key accounting

[2:42:08] controls as well as system

[2:42:09] implementation protocols to close some

[2:42:12] identified gaps that we ident uh in

[2:42:14] those controls uh especially the ones

[2:42:16] that are fundamental to ensuring

[2:42:19] accurate complete financial reporting as

[2:42:21] well as uh ensuring that the information

[2:42:24] operational information that's received

[2:42:26] by management the board and other

[2:42:27] stakeholders is also complete and

[2:42:29] accurate. We uh have a list of

[2:42:32] appendices in our report that have

[2:42:34] additional details if you're if you want

[2:42:36] to to dig into that. The third area uh

[2:42:39] core theme technology and systems

[2:42:41] integration really looking at some of

[2:42:44] the gaps in the implementation life

[2:42:46] cycle that have limited the ERP's

[2:42:49] impact. Uh not that we can't move

[2:42:52] forward and continue to work on those

[2:42:54] things, but definitely some areas where

[2:42:56] in our uh requirements as we're going

[2:42:59] through the life cycle to to better

[2:43:01] ensure that it's uh really impactful and

[2:43:05] ensure it meets our requirements as we

[2:43:07] configure our systems and work to reduce

[2:43:10] manual workarounds and improve

[2:43:12] reporting.

[2:43:14] The fourth area, performance measurement

[2:43:16] and accountability. Really we here we

[2:43:19] identified some opportunities to better

[2:43:20] define uh different various performance

[2:43:23] metrics that would give both management

[2:43:26] and the board insights into how

[2:43:27] effective our processes are in these

[2:43:29] various areas particularly in the areas

[2:43:31] of budget management as well as IT

[2:43:33] governance. There are some very

[2:43:37] wellrecoognized KPIs that we think could

[2:43:39] be used in these areas to ensure that

[2:43:42] there's always a pulse on how effective

[2:43:44] we are in these areas.

[2:43:46] The fifth core seeing training and

[2:43:48] workforce development.

[2:43:50] Here we identified a lack of some formal

[2:43:52] development that is consistent with

[2:43:54] specific job responsibilities and duties

[2:43:57] as well as a need to formalize

[2:43:59] role-based training and uh then uh look

[2:44:03] at how we emphasize and are intentional

[2:44:06] about the credentials and qualifications

[2:44:08] and experience that we expect for our

[2:44:10] workforce.

[2:44:12] The second uh the sixth one here is six

[2:44:14] core theme change management and

[2:44:15] communication. Change management is also

[2:44:18] uh fundamental and foundational to

[2:44:20] almost every ver uh evolving thing that

[2:44:23] goes on at SANDAG whether it's a new

[2:44:25] business process or a systems

[2:44:27] implementation change management is

[2:44:29] always going to be a part of that

[2:44:31] journey to ensuring that it's an

[2:44:33] effective transition. And so we did

[2:44:35] identify that there is a need for some

[2:44:37] consistency in our change management

[2:44:39] processes and both the process business

[2:44:41] process and the technology uh change um

[2:44:46] and and adoption and transition uh to

[2:44:50] ensure that we adopt and sustain our

[2:44:52] technology as well as integrate

[2:44:53] necessary updates to the business

[2:44:55] processes as we are implementing that

[2:44:57] technology. And then the seventh core

[2:44:59] theme here roles, responsibilities and

[2:45:02] collaboration. We did identify various

[2:45:04] ad hoc practices that don't have

[2:45:06] necessarily some well-defined

[2:45:09] uh areas of roles uh responsibility,

[2:45:11] accountability, who's informed, who's

[2:45:13] consulted, you know, really that

[2:45:15] foundational framework of ensuring that

[2:45:18] uh those roles and responsibilities are

[2:45:19] well defined to reduce crossep

[2:45:21] departmental um to increase crossep

[2:45:25] departmental coordination and ensure

[2:45:26] clear understanding for optimal

[2:45:28] financial management and your

[2:45:29] operational processes.

[2:45:34] Okay. So, as we talked about the core

[2:45:37] themes, we did identify out of our 48

[2:45:40] observation uh 48 recommendations uh

[2:45:42] some priority actions that we hope can

[2:45:45] help orient management into where to

[2:45:48] focus on in both the short term,

[2:45:50] medium-term, and long term.

[2:45:54] So, we will go into those a little bit.

[2:45:56] Those top 10 priority actions. The first

[2:45:59] one is really on the internal controls

[2:46:02] and compliance framework. Here we would

[2:46:06] recommend really standing up a unified

[2:46:10] internal controls and compliance

[2:46:11] framework. This is really evaluating our

[2:46:14] agencywide controls in these finance

[2:46:15] accounting processes. As we know,

[2:46:18] there's a lot of crossf functional

[2:46:21] activities and processes and controls in

[2:46:23] these areas. And so having a uh a

[2:46:27] well-recoognized framework that defines

[2:46:29] key controls, owners, frequency, the

[2:46:31] various key components of internal

[2:46:33] control and also looking at our residual

[2:46:35] risk and how are we uh comfortable with

[2:46:38] our mitigation strategy and that can

[2:46:40] also be used to ensure consistency and

[2:46:43] succession planning and just make sure

[2:46:45] that everybody's on the same page about

[2:46:46] our control framework. The second

[2:46:48] priority action is establishing that

[2:46:50] true technology and ERP governance. uh

[2:46:54] structure centralizing our IT governance

[2:46:58] which we uh recommend to be led by a

[2:47:00] qualified CIO equivalent to oversee that

[2:47:03] technology strategy decision-m and issue

[2:47:06] escalation and ensure in alignment

[2:47:07] between technology and the various

[2:47:09] business processes that that technology

[2:47:11] is is touching.

[2:47:14] And then the third priority action here

[2:47:16] is really raising expectations for

[2:47:18] management competencies that are

[2:47:20] associated with those three pillars of

[2:47:22] qualification that I mentioned which

[2:47:24] include experience, education and

[2:47:26] credentials. Uh and tracking that

[2:47:30] training centrally prioritizing

[2:47:31] highquality technical training that is

[2:47:34] very clearly tied to specific job

[2:47:36] responsibilities.

[2:47:38] The fourth one, tighten system

[2:47:40] implementation quality gates

[2:47:42] requirements such as traceability

[2:47:44] testing and go live criteria. These are

[2:47:47] the critical actions that are needed for

[2:47:48] truly any systems implementation or

[2:47:51] major update to a system. Anything that

[2:47:54] has a material or significant impact

[2:47:56] when we are transitioning our our

[2:47:59] technology. Making sure that we map

[2:48:01] requirements to our testing before we go

[2:48:04] live. formal pre-go live validations,

[2:48:06] sign offs, and documented. We document

[2:48:08] any workarounds so that it's very clear

[2:48:10] to everybody in the agency if for some

[2:48:13] reason there was something that was

[2:48:14] affected um that that's well documented

[2:48:16] and we know our strategy and how we're

[2:48:18] going to uh implement various uh or

[2:48:22] alternative methods of getting what we

[2:48:24] need from those systems.

[2:48:27] The fifth one, institutional and key

[2:48:29] accounting reconciliations,

[2:48:32] policy approved templates and executive

[2:48:33] oversight as well as the sixth one at

[2:48:35] centralization of invoice management and

[2:48:37] establishing riskbased approvals. These

[2:48:39] are specific challenges and

[2:48:41] opportunities to increase control

[2:48:43] effectiveness in key accounting

[2:48:45] controls. specifically uh making sure

[2:48:48] that there are policies and expectations

[2:48:51] around these key accounting controls and

[2:48:54] also centralizing certain areas of our

[2:48:58] our invoicing processes to help with

[2:49:01] visibility. Making sure that we are uh

[2:49:04] meeting our expectations for our

[2:49:06] stakeholders and making those payments

[2:49:08] and strengthening our vendor

[2:49:09] relationships as well as ensuring

[2:49:11] compliance.

[2:49:16] The next four priority actions here are

[2:49:17] also focused on improving controls for

[2:49:20] some key financial management processes

[2:49:22] uh including oversight of funding

[2:49:24] sources, total revenue accounting and

[2:49:26] reporting, budget management and great

[2:49:28] grant payments and reimbursements.

[2:49:31] The seventh one that centralized billing

[2:49:33] oversight across all funding sources.

[2:49:35] This is really focused on creating a

[2:49:36] single mechanism with management review

[2:49:38] for real-time visibility into billing

[2:49:41] progress across our projects and

[2:49:42] programs including our program

[2:49:44] requirements and deadlines. We all know

[2:49:46] that we have a lot of various funding

[2:49:48] sources that are critical to uh tracking

[2:49:51] and overseeing to ensure that we

[2:49:52] continue to meet our mission as an

[2:49:54] agency. Stabilizing toll revenue

[2:49:56] accounting and reporting. reducing some

[2:49:59] single point reliance that we identified

[2:50:02] uh to um ensure that those workarounds

[2:50:05] that are currently in place right now

[2:50:07] between Fast Lane and ERP are well

[2:50:09] documented, any necessary

[2:50:12] reconciliations and reviews are

[2:50:14] happening on a consistent basis and then

[2:50:17] making sure that we have a path to

[2:50:19] reducing that single point of reliance

[2:50:21] as well as an integration between our

[2:50:23] accounting systems and the backend

[2:50:25] tolling uh accounting system.

[2:50:28] Nine, clarifying budget ownership and

[2:50:30] enforcing continuous budget to actual

[2:50:32] monitoring. A ne another key area of

[2:50:35] SANDAG that's critical to ensuring from

[2:50:37] a project management perspective that

[2:50:38] we're on track. That's uh publishing

[2:50:41] agencywide budgeting roles and

[2:50:43] responsibilities as I mentioned before

[2:50:45] making sure that we're performing that

[2:50:46] monthly quarterly and um you know as as

[2:50:50] often as it's necessary even real time

[2:50:52] if if possible uh looking at budget to

[2:50:55] actual and what is those variances and

[2:50:57] why do we have those variances and

[2:50:59] implementing a mandatory midcycle review

[2:51:02] and then finally increasing grant

[2:51:04] reimbursement expectations payments

[2:51:06] controls and visibility. Uh grants are

[2:51:08] another uh critical area for the agency.

[2:51:11] Ensuring that we align our program

[2:51:12] guides to that to our 30-day payment

[2:51:15] requirements, tracking receipt day

[2:51:17] status, any delay reasons, and then

[2:51:18] reporting that compliance upwards to

[2:51:20] leadership as needed.

[2:51:26] And and just for a visual for you guys,

[2:51:28] the priority actions and recommended

[2:51:30] roadmap um you know in something like

[2:51:32] this execution matters to ensure that an

[2:51:35] assessment like this is fully realized

[2:51:37] uh to it its maximum benefit. So we did

[2:51:40] provide you a 0 to 18month roadmap that

[2:51:42] aligns each priority action with a

[2:51:44] timeline for implementation focusing on

[2:51:47] internal controls, IT governance,

[2:51:48] training, reconciliation, all the great

[2:51:50] priority actions that we talked about

[2:51:52] before. and that 0 to six month timeline

[2:51:54] uh timeline really the the internal

[2:51:57] control framework which we would say is

[2:51:59] definitely a high priority on those

[2:52:01] actions. Standing up ERP governance and

[2:52:04] initiating both the uh a a improved or

[2:52:08] enhanced credentiing and training

[2:52:10] program as well as quality gates for

[2:52:12] system implementation and proper change

[2:52:14] management. And then uh also looking at

[2:52:17] our institutionalizing all the various

[2:52:20] 50 plus reconciliations that occur in

[2:52:23] Sandag. Then within that six to 12 month

[2:52:25] timeline, some of the things that might

[2:52:28] require a little bit more effort,

[2:52:30] especially the the things that are

[2:52:31] crossunctional across multiple

[2:52:32] departments, such as centralizing

[2:52:34] invoice receipts, approval, deploying

[2:52:37] that centralized billing oversight,

[2:52:39] which requires project management

[2:52:41] involved, stabilizing the toll revenue

[2:52:43] processes that we discussed, and

[2:52:44] embedding budget budget managering

[2:52:46] cadences throughout the agency, and then

[2:52:49] some ongoing areas which will continue

[2:52:51] to evolve for Sandagen should have An

[2:52:54] intentional focus is maturing our our

[2:52:57] performance and KPI dashboards,

[2:52:59] automating and automating in

[2:53:01] integrations, completing those training

[2:53:03] pathways and then hardening governance

[2:53:05] routines so improvements sustained

[2:53:06] through future system changes which is

[2:53:08] ongoing.

[2:53:13] That's all our prepared material and so

[2:53:15] uh is I think we're going to go through

[2:53:16] management response and uh we welcome

[2:53:19] your feedback and questions. Thank you.

[2:53:22] Once

[2:53:26] our team is setting up, uh, they're

[2:53:30] going to come and give their responses

[2:53:32] here. Um, I think our I want to start

[2:53:36] with a a couple of comments here. Um,

[2:53:40] and probably go back a little bit in in

[2:53:43] uh a little bit of memory lane. And what

[2:53:47] have we done? We began um 18 months ago.

[2:53:53] The first objective was to stabilize,

[2:53:58] enhance trust inside and outside the

[2:54:01] agency

[2:54:03] and assess and implement and that's the

[2:54:06] phase where we're at assessing

[2:54:08] implementing and we we truly truly

[2:54:11] appreciate this. Now also

[2:54:15] Sandak is is I want to go back and just

[2:54:20] high level what is SANDAC?

[2:54:24] SANDAK is a very complex organization

[2:54:27] that meets multiple purposes and it's

[2:54:29] probably very unique in the state. It's

[2:54:33] an planning organization.

[2:54:36] If you go to LA, there's one huge

[2:54:39] organization called SCACK, but it only

[2:54:43] does the MO. It only does the planning.

[2:54:46] link here. Our our our responsibility as

[2:54:50] the no is we look at the transportation

[2:54:54] network as well as we provide some

[2:54:56] housing information and policy

[2:55:00] through a consolidation act that was

[2:55:03] passed around 20 2008

[2:55:06] if my memory serves right. We are also a

[2:55:10] capital delivery agency which other MPOs

[2:55:15] are not. So we are responsible to

[2:55:18] delivering the transit projects planning

[2:55:21] and delivering the transit project for

[2:55:23] San Diego County and coordinating with

[2:55:25] the state crons and the state highway

[2:55:29] system projects. So that's another side

[2:55:32] another business of Sandak. We are a

[2:55:36] toll operating agency.

[2:55:40] which we operate the SR125,

[2:55:43] we operate the I-15 manage lanes which

[2:55:47] were the very first ones in the nation

[2:55:50] with having dynamic tolling. So that

[2:55:53] that that came that idea in the nation

[2:55:56] came out of Sandok and we are in the

[2:56:00] process of implementing a substantial

[2:56:03] amount of mileage of future managed

[2:56:06] lanes.

[2:56:08] We are an agency that acts and houses

[2:56:11] criminal justice information for every

[2:56:14] single police department that your

[2:56:16] cities has either via the county

[2:56:19] sheriff's department or your individual

[2:56:21] cities.

[2:56:23] We are an information data center for

[2:56:25] both transportation housing and in

[2:56:29] addition that what houses are just

[2:56:32] houses we also do criminal justice data

[2:56:35] analysis.

[2:56:38] That's just a snapshot of what you all

[2:56:40] have as a responsibility.

[2:56:43] But that's a snapshot of what each of

[2:56:45] those leaders in front of you are

[2:56:47] responsible to manage.

[2:56:50] With more than a hundred different

[2:56:53] colors of money to be managed, all of

[2:56:56] them with different requirements

[2:56:59] that creates a humongous amount of

[2:57:01] stress in the organization of how we

[2:57:04] manage all that and keep the accounting.

[2:57:06] I truly truly appreciate this assessment

[2:57:10] because this is that turning point. Like

[2:57:13] I said, we came, we stabilized, we

[2:57:17] worked on enhancing the trust inside and

[2:57:19] outs. We still need to work on that and

[2:57:22] we are now in assessment but also

[2:57:25] implementation

[2:57:27] and all that

[2:57:30] while we're keeping an organization

[2:57:32] moving. And you just saw an awesome

[2:57:35] regional plan delivered. So, we're

[2:57:39] giving a tuneup to the car, changing the

[2:57:42] tires, and we're driving it in the

[2:57:44] freeway.

[2:57:46] That's no easy task. So, you you all

[2:57:50] have an incredible setup, more than 400

[2:57:52] employees who really are working hard.

[2:57:55] Among them, Oipa, who's really working

[2:57:57] hard on highlighting where we can get

[2:58:00] better. So, I really really appreciate

[2:58:03] this assessment. Like I said in my

[2:58:06] opening statements, we're also

[2:58:07] internally doing an assessment of the

[2:58:09] organizational structure of tools. We

[2:58:13] will be putting out a request for

[2:58:15] proposals for an assessment of our HR

[2:58:18] department. We have had discussions

[2:58:21] about how we are going to go about

[2:58:24] um our future management of our toll

[2:58:27] systems and the business structure of

[2:58:30] it. and we will be having more

[2:58:32] conversations. So I just wanted to put

[2:58:34] it out there of all what's going on, all

[2:58:38] what the team is doing and in the in the

[2:58:41] meantime there is a humongous amount of

[2:58:44] opportunities.

[2:58:46] There is a lot of places where we can

[2:58:48] work and focus and get better. No doubt

[2:58:51] about it. But I'll let the team tell you

[2:58:54] a little bit what they have identified

[2:58:57] and what they're working on because the

[2:58:59] assessment as all as well as all the

[2:59:01] other past uh audits let it be from OPA

[2:59:05] or FDA or any other group I don't know

[2:59:08] it compiles about 200 action items or

[2:59:11] whatever I can't remember I do have a

[2:59:13] meeting and keep track of them but

[2:59:16] bringing that together with the

[2:59:17] assessments is one what's going to help

[2:59:20] us make a better organization.

[2:59:22] And it's a journey. It's a journey. It's

[2:59:25] not something that's going to happen

[2:59:27] tomorrow. Team, take it over.

[2:59:30] » Thank you. Good afternoon. I am Chennai

[2:59:33] Pikney Forest, the director of internal

[2:59:36] controls. Uh with me today is Kim Traml,

[2:59:39] director of accounting and finance,

[2:59:41] Susan Huntington, director of financial

[2:59:43] planning, budgets, and grants, Grace

[2:59:46] Mino, senior director of data science

[2:59:48] and bits, and Don Vatis, our chief

[2:59:51] financial officer. We're here to provide

[2:59:53] an overview of our management response.

[2:59:57] In today's presentation, we want to

[2:59:59] acknowledge that we agree with the

[3:00:01] recommendations from the Weaver

[3:00:03] Assessment. We do thank Courtney and her

[3:00:05] team as well as Weaver for their

[3:00:07] observations.

[3:00:08] The assessment identified seven key

[3:00:11] areas where strengthened internal

[3:00:13] controls can help improve and elevate

[3:00:15] SANDAG's accounting, finance, and

[3:00:18] budgeting functions. We'll discuss how

[3:00:21] some of the core themes in the report

[3:00:23] relate to some of our existing efforts.

[3:00:26] The report provided confirmation um that

[3:00:30] we are on the correct track with the

[3:00:32] areas we prioritize and presented to you

[3:00:35] in earlier months related to policies

[3:00:37] and procedures, documentation, training,

[3:00:40] and change management. The report also

[3:00:43] provides us with insight regarding the

[3:00:46] need for specific improvements within

[3:00:48] our budgeting, accounting, and IT

[3:00:50] departments. Our team will then provide

[3:00:53] an overview of specific next steps

[3:00:55] within their respective uh purview.

[3:01:01] So as you see in this slide and as Holly

[3:01:04] discussed earlier the report summarized

[3:01:06] its observations into seven core themes.

[3:01:10] We want to highlight that three of these

[3:01:13] themes we have as an internal focus as

[3:01:16] we continue to focus on the basics and

[3:01:18] bolster our fundamental our foundational

[3:01:20] practices. So for example with policies

[3:01:23] and procedures we are in the process of

[3:01:26] finalizing our policy framework and

[3:01:28] guidance. This framework is providing

[3:01:30] guidance that will standardize the

[3:01:32] content and the structure of the various

[3:01:34] types of guidance we have within the

[3:01:36] organization.

[3:01:37] We're continuing to identify, draft,

[3:01:40] and/or revise policies as specified in

[3:01:43] other audits, other assessments, and

[3:01:46] through internal discussion.

[3:01:49] The Weaver report also identified for us

[3:01:51] specific areas um where pol specific

[3:01:54] policy and procedure areas to enhance

[3:01:56] within our accounting and budgeting

[3:01:58] practices

[3:02:00] within the training and workforce

[3:02:02] development. Uh we are currently

[3:02:04] identifying the needed content and

[3:02:06] training hours for our organizationwide

[3:02:09] training plan which has been informed by

[3:02:12] previous audits, assessments,

[3:02:14] regulations, and internal discussions.

[3:02:17] We're identifying mandatory trainings,

[3:02:19] trainings that are mandatory by

[3:02:21] legislation and required trainings,

[3:02:23] trainings that we are currently

[3:02:25] identifying internally as necessary to

[3:02:28] conduct job responsibilities.

[3:02:30] In that plan, we've also already

[3:02:33] identified anticipated training hours.

[3:02:35] So, we have training hours slated for

[3:02:37] budget budgeting and invoicing practices

[3:02:40] already and we'll use the Reaver report

[3:02:43] to inform the content for those two

[3:02:45] areas. Additionally, we're currently

[3:02:48] developing the equivalent of a

[3:02:49] procurement training series and a

[3:02:51] project management series as well. For

[3:02:54] change management, we're actively

[3:02:56] reviewing and revising our change

[3:02:58] management protocols to be in alignment

[3:03:00] with best practices. We also want to

[3:03:03] note that all seven of these themes, of

[3:03:05] course, are on our radar.

[3:03:09] The assessment also recommended that the

[3:03:11] director of internal controls develop an

[3:03:14] comprehensive internal control framework

[3:03:17] that captures accounting, budgeting and

[3:03:20] information technology uh risk and

[3:03:23] controls. With this, I have already

[3:03:25] begun developing frameworks for

[3:03:27] practices related to our policies and

[3:03:29] procedures, trainings and inventory

[3:03:32] management. These frameworks at a high

[3:03:35] level are iterative documents that are

[3:03:38] capturing risk that have been identified

[3:03:40] by previous audits, assessments, and my

[3:03:42] discretion. We're documenting best

[3:03:45] practice controls in this particular

[3:03:48] framework framework. We're assessing

[3:03:50] whether we have those controls currently

[3:03:52] in place. If we have them in place, um

[3:03:55] we're documenting what we're doing. If

[3:03:57] those controls are currently missing, it

[3:04:00] is an indicator for us to prioritize um

[3:04:02] putting those controls um in place,

[3:04:05] testing them and making sure that they

[3:04:07] are effective.

[3:04:08] Um I will continue this effort of

[3:04:10] developing these frameworks and will

[3:04:12] include accounting, budgeting and IT uh

[3:04:15] risk as well.

[3:04:17] These frameworks will provide structure

[3:04:19] for how Sandac manages it manages its

[3:04:22] risk um continuously monitors its

[3:04:25] operations and these frameworks will

[3:04:28] also serve as secession planning tools

[3:04:31] as how the organization conducts its

[3:04:34] business would be documented, accessible

[3:04:36] and easy to follow. And now I will turn

[3:04:39] it over to Kim to discuss our next steps

[3:04:42] related to accounting and finance

[3:04:44] recommendations.

[3:04:47] Good afternoon,

[3:04:49] Kimberly Traml, the director of

[3:04:51] accounting and finance. And um I just

[3:04:53] want to cover the recommendations for

[3:04:55] the accounting and finance team which

[3:04:57] fell into three general categories. The

[3:04:59] first one being vendor invoice

[3:05:00] processing. Um this area of SANDAG went

[3:05:04] through major changes with the

[3:05:05] implementation of our ERP system uh less

[3:05:08] than two years ago and since then we've

[3:05:10] been re-evaluating the process um to see

[3:05:13] what is working and what's not working.

[3:05:16] And so we had already uh been working on

[3:05:18] three of the five areas identified in

[3:05:20] the report for improvement. One of those

[3:05:22] that we've have already underway is the

[3:05:25] implementation of the vendor module that

[3:05:28] came in our ERP system. Um we are just

[3:05:31] getting ready to move forward with a

[3:05:32] pilot program and then we'll have that

[3:05:34] available for all of our vendors at a

[3:05:37] later date. Um, another area that we

[3:05:39] have been working on is our establishing

[3:05:42] a riskbased threshold for approvals of

[3:05:45] our invoices. And this has been a little

[3:05:47] complicated because Sandag is not a

[3:05:49] one-sizefits-all. So, um, your toll

[3:05:52] operations might want to review invoices

[3:05:54] at a different rest basis than your

[3:05:57] construction um, versus your

[3:05:59] engineering. So, um, we have been trying

[3:06:02] to figure out what will work best with

[3:06:03] the organization. We're moving forward

[3:06:05] with a dollar-based threshold and we'll

[3:06:07] continue to evaluate whether that's

[3:06:09] meeting our risk needs. Um so

[3:06:12] establishing that like I said has been

[3:06:14] uh in process and will be available

[3:06:16] soon. Another area that we've been

[3:06:19] looking at and working on are our

[3:06:20] invoice payment time frames and really

[3:06:22] making our staff aware of uh timeliness

[3:06:26] for processing payments um and tracking

[3:06:28] of invoice dates should the uh invoice

[3:06:31] not meet our requirements because there

[3:06:33] are a lot of requirements that come with

[3:06:35] a grant-f funed invoice. Um we often

[3:06:38] have to do a lot of back and forth with

[3:06:40] our vendors and make sure we're getting

[3:06:42] all of the appropriate documentation.

[3:06:44] And so it's on Sandag and and our staff

[3:06:47] to make sure that we're documenting that

[3:06:49] back and forth time and there's

[3:06:51] sufficient reason for why an invoice

[3:06:53] might not be paid in the appropriate

[3:06:55] time frame because it didn't have

[3:06:57] appropriate documentation.

[3:06:59] So, um we will be able to utilize our

[3:07:01] EIP system to track our receive dates

[3:07:04] and um our due dates and we have already

[3:07:08] put out guidance and um are working with

[3:07:10] our essentially our contract manager

[3:07:13] staff to make sure that they're

[3:07:14] documenting those dates and any of that

[3:07:16] back and forth that I mentioned. The

[3:07:19] last area for vendor invoice processing

[3:07:22] is a centralized invoice receipt. And um

[3:07:25] what we're proposing to do is put

[3:07:27] together a centralized invoice receipt

[3:07:29] within each department of Sandag. Um

[3:07:32] that also includes additional

[3:07:33] monitoring. We get about 150 invoices a

[3:07:36] week here at SANDAG. And so um we think

[3:07:39] the best way to make sure that those are

[3:07:41] getting to the right person for

[3:07:42] processing is to do a centralized

[3:07:45] invoice receipt within each department.

[3:07:48] The second area I want to talk about is

[3:07:50] reconciliations within the accounting

[3:07:52] department. Um we do have over 50

[3:07:54] documented reconciliations that the

[3:07:57] accounting group does right now and with

[3:07:59] other priorities and and um projects

[3:08:01] going on. Sometimes those don't get done

[3:08:03] until you're in and that's an area we

[3:08:05] want to improve on. Um so we will

[3:08:07] institutionalize the existing

[3:08:09] reconciliation tracking schedule that we

[3:08:11] have and make sure that it is being

[3:08:13] monitored to make sure that our

[3:08:14] reconciliations are happening more

[3:08:16] timely. And we'll also be going through

[3:08:19] to look and make sure that um if that

[3:08:21] list is comprehensive and includes all

[3:08:23] of the reconciliations that need to be

[3:08:25] included as an example with bringing

[3:08:27] payroll in house in the last 6 months,

[3:08:29] there's additional reconciliations that

[3:08:31] need to be added to that list and bring

[3:08:33] all of this into our policies and

[3:08:35] procedures around these areas. Um, one

[3:08:38] thing we also noted, but was not

[3:08:40] necessarily a recommendation, was that

[3:08:41] we can um, add some clarifying language

[3:08:43] to some of our quarterly reporting to

[3:08:45] make sure that it's clear what we're

[3:08:47] reporting and how that information can

[3:08:49] be used.

[3:08:51] The third area is around systems and

[3:08:53] manual processes and we're always

[3:08:55] looking for ways to automate. Um, it's

[3:08:57] been a big change for the agency to go

[3:08:59] into the ERP system and um, so we

[3:09:03] continue to learn it and learn ways we

[3:09:05] can automate. Um, one of the areas

[3:09:07] touched on in the report is our toll

[3:09:09] revenue accounting and um, that has been

[3:09:12] a difficult area the last couple years

[3:09:15] with uh, the change with limitations to

[3:09:17] the back office system. Our management

[3:09:19] team has been very hands-on in this area

[3:09:21] to build a reliable process for pulling

[3:09:24] the information we need out of the back

[3:09:26] office system and getting that into our

[3:09:28] accounting system and making sure the

[3:09:30] reporting is accurate. We had to

[3:09:32] identify a way to we had to identify

[3:09:34] what the system could do and its

[3:09:36] limitations and design a process around

[3:09:38] that that mitigated risk. So we've now

[3:09:40] designed that process. It's in place.

[3:09:42] We've been using it. It's working well

[3:09:45] with our audits. But we need to

[3:09:47] institutionalize that essentially and

[3:09:49] write up the policies and procedures

[3:09:50] that go with that and make sure we're

[3:09:52] defining and assigning roles so that

[3:09:54] there's not a single point of um in that

[3:09:57] process but that the whole team is a

[3:10:00] part of it. The staff accountants

[3:10:02] working on the appropriate pieces and

[3:10:04] the management is reviewing those

[3:10:06] pieces. So that is something that we

[3:10:08] have in place. Um, and as I said, we're

[3:10:10] looking at other ways that we can

[3:10:12] institutionalize automation and in our

[3:10:15] programs, but you have first have to

[3:10:16] kind of once you put in a new system,

[3:10:18] you first have to kind of learn that one

[3:10:20] and learn what it can do and then you

[3:10:21] learn how you can augment it. So, with

[3:10:23] that, I will turn it over to Susan

[3:10:25] Huntington. Thank you. Good afternoon.

[3:10:27] I'm Susan Huntington. I'm Sand Dag's

[3:10:29] director of financial planning, budgets,

[3:10:31] and grants. The assessment provided uh a

[3:10:34] clear path forward and many of the

[3:10:36] recommendations align with work already

[3:10:38] underway in the financial planning,

[3:10:40] budgeting, and grants department. Our

[3:10:43] top priority actions fall into two

[3:10:45] areas, the grant compliance and the

[3:10:47] budget monitoring. On the grant

[3:10:49] compliance side, we're focused on

[3:10:51] ensuring accuracy and improving the

[3:10:53] timeliness of reimbursements to our

[3:10:55] grantees. So, this will be um similar to

[3:10:59] what we've just heard from Kimberly as

[3:11:01] she was talking about the in um the

[3:11:03] vendor invoice processes. So, first

[3:11:06] we're addressing the prompt payment

[3:11:07] requirements under CFR 200 which

[3:11:10] indicates that a recipient of federal

[3:11:12] funding must make payment to a subreient

[3:11:15] within 30 days after receipt of the

[3:11:17] payment request unless the entity in

[3:11:19] this case it's SANDAG reasonably

[3:11:22] believes the request to be improper. So,

[3:11:25] the assessment noted that the invoice

[3:11:26] received dates are not consistently

[3:11:29] tracked in the ERP and some program

[3:11:31] managers maintain logs outside of the

[3:11:34] system. In addition, there's been

[3:11:36] confusion about which date should be

[3:11:38] entered, the initial submittal date or

[3:11:40] the date a complete and accurate invoice

[3:11:43] is received, which may come at a later

[3:11:45] date after issues are resolved with the

[3:11:48] grantee. To address this, we are

[3:11:51] evaluating updates to our contract

[3:11:53] language and training to our program

[3:11:55] managers to clearly define invoice

[3:11:58] requirements and to require the use of a

[3:12:00] standardized invoice form. Until now,

[3:12:03] we've strongly encouraged the use of the

[3:12:05] form, but have not required it. In the

[3:12:08] near term, we will establish a central

[3:12:10] location for invoice logging, tracking,

[3:12:12] and issue documentations that all

[3:12:14] program managers will use. This will

[3:12:17] increase transparency and accountability

[3:12:19] and better support timely

[3:12:21] reimbursements.

[3:12:23] We'll also begin regular reporting of

[3:12:25] our timely payment performance to senior

[3:12:27] leadership.

[3:12:29] This connects directly to our second

[3:12:31] priority action developing invoice and

[3:12:33] reimbursement checklists tailored to

[3:12:35] each program. So, the current agencywide

[3:12:38] checklist for our invoice uh review does

[3:12:42] not capture the programspecific

[3:12:44] requirements we must verify across our

[3:12:47] federal, state, and local funding

[3:12:49] guidelines. So, documenting the full

[3:12:51] review steps for each program will

[3:12:54] strengthen accuracy, consistency, and

[3:12:56] compliance.

[3:12:58] And then our other set of priority

[3:12:59] actions relate to the budget

[3:13:01] development, monitoring, and reporting.

[3:13:03] The assessment notes that SANDAG does

[3:13:05] not yet have a single integrated budget

[3:13:08] development and monitoring system. So

[3:13:10] while implementing the ERP was an

[3:13:12] important step, our budget still stand

[3:13:14] spans several platforms. So we use um a

[3:13:18] a tool it's called PM tools to put

[3:13:20] together our capital budgets. We use

[3:13:23] IMBm for our personnel resource

[3:13:25] allocation and we use ERP for non-

[3:13:28] capital budgets and actual expenditures.

[3:13:31] To improve oversight, we're formalizing

[3:13:33] required monthly and quarterly budget to

[3:13:35] actual reviews for project managers,

[3:13:37] department directors, and senior

[3:13:39] leadership. We have established a group

[3:13:42] of department analysts who serve as

[3:13:44] budget coordinators and provide support

[3:13:46] with annual development and ongoing

[3:13:48] monitoring. These staff are key

[3:13:50] collaborators with project managers,

[3:13:52] department directors, and central

[3:13:54] budgets and provide additional oversight

[3:13:56] and analysis of budget utilization.

[3:13:59] As part of documenting processes and

[3:14:01] procedures in a budget handbook which is

[3:14:03] currently under development, a REI

[3:14:06] matrix will be implemented to clearly

[3:14:08] define roles for each step of the

[3:14:09] budgeting and monitoring process.

[3:14:12] In addition, we're working with our

[3:14:14] technology team to create automated

[3:14:16] reports that pull data from all these

[3:14:18] various spirit systems to provide

[3:14:20] consistent real-time financial

[3:14:22] information. This will allow us to shift

[3:14:24] from reactive analysis to more proactive

[3:14:27] finan financial management and

[3:14:29] strengthen financial decision-making.

[3:14:32] And I do want to note the timing of this

[3:14:34] assessment is particularly helpful as

[3:14:37] the agency is currently developing the

[3:14:39] FY27 budget. So this work occurs in the

[3:14:43] May in the November through May time

[3:14:45] frame. The findings and recommendations

[3:14:48] from this assessment will guide our work

[3:14:50] throughout this process and will inform

[3:14:51] our lessons learned for the upcoming

[3:14:53] year. With that, I'll turn it over to

[3:14:55] Grace Mino to discuss technology

[3:14:57] implementation and change management.

[3:15:00] » Good afternoon, chair, vice chair,

[3:15:02] second vice chair, and board members. My

[3:15:04] name is Grace Mino, and I am your senior

[3:15:06] director of data science, and I oversee

[3:15:09] our IT department as well. Again, I just

[3:15:12] want to echo Mario's sentiment to both

[3:15:14] Courtney Oipa and also the Weaver team

[3:15:18] um just for presenting gaps and areas of

[3:15:20] opportunity to help us improve and also

[3:15:23] highlighting the systems development

[3:15:25] life cycle and how that is a very

[3:15:27] iterative process where we're

[3:15:29] processing, analyzing, designing,

[3:15:32] developing, testing, implementing and

[3:15:34] maintaining all the things when it comes

[3:15:36] to new software. I want to also um echo

[3:15:40] what Chené, Kimberly, and Susan have

[3:15:43] already highlighted that a lot of the

[3:15:45] processes and recommendations from

[3:15:47] Weaver are things that staff have

[3:15:49] already been working on. And so that's

[3:15:51] like formalizing our change management

[3:15:54] process, formalizing our IT governance

[3:15:56] and data governance and also moving

[3:15:59] forward that any technology or software

[3:16:02] that is being brought into the agency um

[3:16:04] is going through a needs assessment, a

[3:16:07] risk assessment, also going through

[3:16:08] systems requirements. And we also want

[3:16:11] to ensure that it can integrate with our

[3:16:13] ERP system and that we can also find

[3:16:15] ways to automate and make sure we're not

[3:16:17] doing these manual workarounds. Um,

[3:16:20] another thing that was highlighted and

[3:16:21] is continuing to be highlighted is

[3:16:23] training. We want to ensure that our

[3:16:26] staff are being trained and are

[3:16:27] comfortable with anything new that's

[3:16:29] coming into the agency. And moving

[3:16:32] forward internally in January, we'll be

[3:16:34] doing a cross-discipline deep dive

[3:16:36] workshop on our ERP system, taking the

[3:16:40] systems requirements when it was

[3:16:42] conducted as a competitive process about

[3:16:44] 3 to four years ago and aligning it to

[3:16:46] what the business needs are within the

[3:16:48] agency. what is it not meeting right

[3:16:50] now? Um, we're also looking into hiring

[3:16:53] an ERP specific systems administrator

[3:16:56] and we'll probably be doing a uh RFP for

[3:17:00] a consultant to help us bridge the gaps

[3:17:02] and also help us maximize utilizing the

[3:17:04] system and helping us implement and

[3:17:06] develop the KPIs. We've also been

[3:17:09] talking to our partner NPOS's across the

[3:17:11] uh the nation that are also doing ERP

[3:17:13] implementations and where uh we're just

[3:17:16] sharing lessons learned. Um lastly, um

[3:17:19] Mario had highlighted that we um along

[3:17:22] with the financial assessment, we're

[3:17:23] doing an assessment of our HR

[3:17:25] department. Uh we are also looking into

[3:17:27] doing an assessment of our IT

[3:17:29] department. Um and then now I will also

[3:17:32] pass it over to our CFO, Don Batist.

[3:17:35] » Hi, thank you. Uh, I

[3:17:38] wanted to just wrap this up today by

[3:17:41] acknowledging all of the work that's

[3:17:43] been going on in the agency that you've

[3:17:45] just heard about. Um, there's a

[3:17:47] significant amount of work going on as

[3:17:49] you heard Mario mentioned at the top.

[3:17:51] You know, we still have outstanding

[3:17:54] um, uh, corrective action plan items

[3:17:57] from previous audits. We've add added

[3:17:59] these in, but this uh assessment, you

[3:18:02] know, really has given us a good road

[3:18:05] map and it took items that we knew we

[3:18:08] needed to work on, things that you've

[3:18:10] heard we had already started working on

[3:18:12] and really helped us prioritize them in

[3:18:15] a more efficient manner. Um, so we

[3:18:18] really want to thank the independent

[3:18:20] audit office. We really want to thank

[3:18:21] the Weaver team. And I also want to

[3:18:24] acknowledge all the staff here at Sande

[3:18:27] who participated in this process, the

[3:18:30] interviews, the documents uh that were

[3:18:32] were provided for it. So with that, I

[3:18:35] think the audit team will come back up

[3:18:38] to the table and we will close this out

[3:18:40] and be open for questions.

[3:19:05] We're available to take questions.

[3:19:07] » Okay, we'll go to the public first and

[3:19:09] then we will um go to the board for

[3:19:11] questions. Michael?

[3:19:12] » Yes. Uh we have two in person and three

[3:19:15] online.

[3:19:16] First is truth followed by Caesar

[3:19:18] Javier.

[3:19:26] Mario, the Sandag car has racked up way

[3:19:28] too many GHS and VMTs and has refused to

[3:19:31] pay its tolls. Why does it take five

[3:19:34] people for SANDA to just say they agree?

[3:19:37] For some, the question is, what's the

[3:19:38] difference between an audit and

[3:19:40] assessment? But for me, the question is,

[3:19:41] what's the point of an assessment? Seems

[3:19:43] like a waste of tax. I don't know when

[3:19:45] this was approved or how much it cost us

[3:19:47] to do, but it feels like answers

[3:19:48] everybody should already know. I had to

[3:19:50] look up the term principle of least

[3:19:52] privilege and I like it because it's the

[3:19:53] equivalent of a need to know basis. It's

[3:19:56] right next to know your role. Hassan and

[3:19:58] the previous board did not know their

[3:20:00] roles and that's why I showed up to

[3:20:01] disrupt their systems, corrupt systems.

[3:20:04] And as I said before, Senak has not had

[3:20:06] a controls issue or a technology issue

[3:20:08] or a systems issue more than it's had a

[3:20:11] people issue. If someone wants to argue

[3:20:13] that a corporate setup with 19 plus

[3:20:15] representatives who were never elected

[3:20:17] to be on sandag deciding what happens

[3:20:19] for transportation and housing and who

[3:20:21] knows what in the future is a technology

[3:20:23] based system and control pro problem all

[3:20:26] 100% agree to that. Sandag was built

[3:20:28] with policies that were not followed.

[3:20:30] Sand had plenty of well-qualified

[3:20:32] employees in the past who chose to do

[3:20:34] the wrong thing for either greed or

[3:20:36] fear. Proven experience and proven

[3:20:38] character are the solutions that no

[3:20:40] assessment or audit can make everyone at

[3:20:42] San willing to choose. The right people

[3:20:44] in the right places will stay here when

[3:20:46] the transition and resolution to pass

[3:20:47] corruption is complete and consistent.

[3:20:50] For transparency and accountability,

[3:20:52] sometimes all it takes is one brave

[3:20:54] whistleblower or speaker or board member

[3:20:57] to make permanent changes. Don't allow

[3:20:59] SandAG to go backwards like it almost

[3:21:02] did at the last meeting. If this is a

[3:21:04] project-driven agency, then focus on

[3:21:07] projects, not check checked box

[3:21:10] politics. I'm going to repeat it again

[3:21:12] so you really hear it. Projects, not

[3:21:14] politics. It's very clear. Get the work

[3:21:17] done efficiently, timely, and ethically.

[3:21:20] And then somebody tell the county how to

[3:21:23] operate that way. We can all live much

[3:21:25] better. Thank you.

[3:21:28] » Next is Caesar Javier, followed by Paul

[3:21:30] the Bold online.

[3:21:32] Cesar and Purita in two minutes. Thank

[3:21:35] you. Sandag will be a repeater students

[3:21:39] in this great university. Thank you sir

[3:21:44] Mito. I

[3:21:47] could switch to honorable Sito.

[3:21:52] Thank you because it's educating us that

[3:21:56] the city of San Diego is an independent

[3:22:02] you know planning visioning about shell

[3:22:08] man shelter society and the specialty of

[3:22:12] sandag

[3:22:14] which includes now we heard

[3:22:18] sheltering

[3:22:20] home

[3:22:21] home or house for San Dieans. Thank you,

[3:22:25] Sand. My question is, did you include in

[3:22:29] your investigation how this

[3:22:34] members of this elite thinkers how they

[3:22:37] perform?

[3:22:39] Like a question, how did the mayor

[3:22:43] declared in his city address last year,

[3:22:47] oh, we have 252

[3:22:52] million deficit

[3:22:54] when the EVA organic element says only

[3:22:58] 85 what's happening to our city sir

[3:23:02] Lakava sirly

[3:23:06] you know it San Dieagans

[3:23:10] and we are fearful that our money is not

[3:23:16] going to where we should be enjoying

[3:23:19] life in our community.

[3:23:24] » Thank you for the investigation. That's

[3:23:25] a thesis writing. Thank you for that

[3:23:28] dissitation.

[3:23:31] We are repeater for next year and it's

[3:23:34] free. Thank you, Sandag.

[3:23:37] The city of San Diego.

[3:23:38] » Thank you. Your time has expired. Next

[3:23:41] is Paul the Bold online followed by the

[3:23:43] original draw.

[3:23:53] Hello. Although past audits highlighting

[3:23:57] deficiencies in Sandag's internal

[3:24:00] controls were bad, but this is scathing.

[3:24:05] It is shocking that Sandag still does

[3:24:08] not have a comprehensive framework to

[3:24:11] consistently assess and monitor key

[3:24:14] internal controls after years of

[3:24:18] scandals and scathing audits. The

[3:24:22] non-key deficiencies are basic areas

[3:24:25] that should have been properly

[3:24:27] controlled from the start. but instead

[3:24:30] you devise overly complex policies and

[3:24:33] procedures to weaken these. It is

[3:24:37] telling that this audit gently called an

[3:24:41] assessment

[3:24:43] specifically recommends quote using

[3:24:46] external qualified advisors unquote

[3:24:50] rather than internal processes you have

[3:24:53] relied on. So who is exactly is calling

[3:24:58] the shots at Sandag?

[3:25:00] It is time to include the SandAG inter

[3:25:04] independent auditor on the board. The

[3:25:07] continuing audit failures would be less

[3:25:10] if there were regular finance accounting

[3:25:14] or audit advice right here for you to

[3:25:17] hear before this scandal.

[3:25:20] As for the response, it it's a real

[3:25:23] tragic comedy that management agrees

[3:25:26] with all of the recommendations

[3:25:28] that it has not implemented after all

[3:25:31] the promises we've heard. We hear the

[3:25:34] excuses, but just do it. Amazing that

[3:25:39] there is still no centralized point for

[3:25:42] collecting invoices and no time frame

[3:25:45] for paying them. I wonder how many

[3:25:48] potential contractors and workers this

[3:25:50] is alienated because they want to get

[3:25:54] paid.

[3:25:55] Um, it's amazing that reconciliation.

[3:26:00] » Thank you. Your time has expired. Next

[3:26:02] is original draw followed by Mike

[3:26:04] Bulock.

[3:26:05] » Yeah. Part of the problem is that you

[3:26:06] guys never want to look at the people

[3:26:09] that are engaged in fraud, waste, and

[3:26:11] abuse because you'll sit here and you

[3:26:13] bring up these presentations and, you

[3:26:16] know, sit there and and and try and

[3:26:18] paint a pretty picture that you guys are

[3:26:20] really, you know, mitigating things, but

[3:26:22] you have your hands in way too many

[3:26:23] buckets and you are illquipped to

[3:26:26] provide the things that you are, you

[3:26:28] know, professing that you're going to

[3:26:30] provide. So when you sit here and and

[3:26:32] virtue signal like it's so great that

[3:26:34] you're doing so many things when there's

[3:26:37] so many issues with all of the things

[3:26:39] that you're doing, you know, it just

[3:26:42] shows that these things are that you

[3:26:43] this presentation is just to continue

[3:26:46] the fraud, waste, and abuse because you

[3:26:48] just want to set up all this stuff, you

[3:26:51] know, and we pay more and more money to

[3:26:53] to try and have accountability and all

[3:26:56] this stuff. But I mean, you even sit

[3:26:58] there and profess that you listen to the

[3:27:00] local community. You don't. I mean, you

[3:27:03] don't even reach out to the people in

[3:27:05] the community like you should. And you

[3:27:07] should be, you know, when you were

[3:27:09] implementing things like tolls, be

[3:27:11] getting a vote from the people because

[3:27:13] if you really did get the input from the

[3:27:16] people, you wouldn't have the support

[3:27:17] that you do. I mean, people don't even

[3:27:18] know who you are. And that helps you

[3:27:21] guys so that you can say that you're

[3:27:23] doing what the people want, you know,

[3:27:25] and it's unfortunate because the people

[3:27:28] should be, you know, having a voice, not

[3:27:31] the stakeholders, not all the people

[3:27:32] that you're going to make money from,

[3:27:34] the people that you get your money from

[3:27:36] that you sit here and waste because you

[3:27:39] engage, like I've said before, with

[3:27:40] people who, you know, cost us more and

[3:27:43] more money are engaged in the fraud,

[3:27:44] waste, and abuse when you contract with

[3:27:46] them, whether it's internally or

[3:27:48] externally. and and nothing really gets

[3:27:51] done about it. People retire with, you

[3:27:53] know, pensions and all of these great

[3:27:55] things and and the fraud, waste, and

[3:27:58] abuse continues. And the people, you

[3:28:00] know, are sitting here, you know, buying

[3:28:03] the propaganda if they do listen. And so

[3:28:06] they think you're going to do what

[3:28:07] you're going to do, but all they have to

[3:28:08] do is look at the world around us and

[3:28:09] see.

[3:28:12] Our

[3:28:12] » Next public comment is Mike Bulick,

[3:28:14] followed by our last public comment

[3:28:15] ending in 8813.

[3:28:20] Yeah, thank you uh Sande. Um what what I

[3:28:24] hear is a lot of very professional,

[3:28:27] smart, hardworking people trying their

[3:28:30] very best uh to address uh a very

[3:28:33] unfortunate sequence of events. Um it

[3:28:37] may have seemed pretty simple to just uh

[3:28:39] have a toll road and operate a toll

[3:28:41] road. Uh but it uh didn't turn out to be

[3:28:44] that simple. And uh I'm wondering

[3:28:48] listening to what is uh being described

[3:28:53] and being predicted in terms of what

[3:28:55] needs to be done in the future if it's

[3:28:56] not really time to just cut the losses.

[3:28:59] Um I hate to say that and I don't say

[3:29:01] that disrespectfully or uh but I want to

[3:29:05] talk about some things which are have no

[3:29:08] future which are going to become

[3:29:10] obsolete and the first one is the

[3:29:12] internal combustion engine vehicle all

[3:29:16] of them it's it's very bad technology as

[3:29:19] it turns out uh we didn't know that you

[3:29:21] know we thought

[3:29:23] cathode ray 2 televisions were just

[3:29:25] great didn't we until we got digital

[3:29:27] televisions

[3:29:29] Every automobile manufacturer knows that

[3:29:31] there is no future for internal

[3:29:33] combustion engines yet we're going

[3:29:35] electric. So, the other thing that

[3:29:37] there's no future for is gasoline tax.

[3:29:41] And that is actually a tax. And um

[3:29:44] because there's no future for that

[3:29:47] because we're not going to be using

[3:29:48] gasoline. Um we have to uh move to um u

[3:29:54] a road use charge. And that road charge

[3:29:57] has to replace the gasoline tax. We need

[3:29:59] to actually get rid of the California ga

[3:30:01] gasoline tax. That's the big tax. 57

[3:30:04] cents a gallon. And it's it's odd to me

[3:30:07] that so so many Republicans there are so

[3:30:09] protax. Um the road use charge.

[3:30:12] » Michael, please keep on topic. We're on

[3:30:15] » Charge. Oh, I am this. This is on topic.

[3:30:19] You need to cut your losses because

[3:30:20] there's no future in toll roads. There's

[3:30:23] no future in toll roads because we have

[3:30:25] to have the road.

[3:30:26] » Thank you. Your time has expired. Last

[3:30:28] comment is phone number ending in 8813.

[3:30:41] Consuel, go ahead.

[3:30:47] » Oops. Okay. My my device was muted. Can

[3:30:50] you hear me?

[3:30:51] » Yes. Go ahead.

[3:30:52] » Okay, great. Okay, so amen to um all the

[3:30:56] previous concerned citizens um the

[3:30:59] handful who chime in and pay attention

[3:31:01] to the corruption. um and especially

[3:31:04] Paul the Bold. Uh

[3:31:07] uh now let's talk about this so-called

[3:31:09] audit and assessment. First question is

[3:31:13] Sandex seriously still using Turboax.

[3:31:17] I remember hearing that back in the

[3:31:19] Karata days and I thought it was a joke

[3:31:22] but apparently not. This is an agency

[3:31:24] handling billions of dollars in public

[3:31:26] funds and um yeah, it it was just funny

[3:31:31] to remember back in the day that you

[3:31:32] guys used to use that software.

[3:31:36] Anyways, um let's see what else. What

[3:31:40] else? What else? And then you talk about

[3:31:41] best practices and controls. Controls is

[3:31:44] right, but in the way but not in the way

[3:31:46] you pretend because nothing about this

[3:31:48] audit looks uh like accountability.

[3:31:52] um more rubber stamping.

[3:31:54] Um

[3:31:56] and uh

[3:31:59] yeah, and then when the person mentioned

[3:32:01] how uh what's working and not working,

[3:32:05] uh let me translate that for you. What's

[3:32:07] working is your roll out toward towards

[3:32:10] the UN uh 2030 plans, your ability to

[3:32:13] push policies the public never actually

[3:32:16] agreed to, your ability to operate in

[3:32:18] the shadows while telling everyone it's

[3:32:20] for their own good. Uh what's not

[3:32:23] working, I mean that is what was

[3:32:25] working. What's not working is the fact

[3:32:27] that you keep pulling the wool over the

[3:32:29] public's eyes, especially the younger

[3:32:31] generations who have no idea how deep

[3:32:34] this manipulation runs. And then someone

[3:32:37] in the presentation said, "Sandag is not

[3:32:39] a one or is not a one-sizefits-all."

[3:32:43] And uh really because everything you're

[3:32:46] doing in this county looks exactly like

[3:32:48] a one-sizefits-all

[3:32:50] control system. Restrict mobility,

[3:32:52] impose bike lanes. Nobody wants to push.

[3:32:54] » Thank you. Your time has expired. That

[3:32:56] concludes our public comment on this

[3:32:58] item. Chair,

[3:32:58] » Thanks. Michael Mario, did you want to

[3:33:00] say a few things? Um probably just wrap

[3:33:03] it up on on on making a a point of

[3:33:06] clarification on certifications which

[3:33:08] are extremely important for the

[3:33:10] different positions but also putting

[3:33:12] that much weight on all that experience

[3:33:16] and uh that the employees have. Um it it

[3:33:20] it's to make a a well-rounded

[3:33:23] professional. It's a combination of

[3:33:26] both. uh in some cases certifications

[3:33:29] are extremely important others the the

[3:33:32] certification as well as that experience

[3:33:35] you know decades of experience and the

[3:33:38] uniquenesses of the positions like I

[3:33:41] tried to highlight uh that that is also

[3:33:45] uh something that we put in you know a

[3:33:49] lot a lot into it it's you can't put uh

[3:33:53] under just one single description

[3:33:56] uh uh for so many different specialties

[3:33:59] that we do. Um sometimes you're required

[3:34:03] to have a whole life of experience as

[3:34:07] well as certifications uh sometimes. So

[3:34:11] I I do want to highlight that because

[3:34:13] our teams are are are very dedicated,

[3:34:17] very professional, of you see and and

[3:34:19] and I I want to I want to highlight that

[3:34:22] because that's my job, highlighting the

[3:34:25] great team that I have.

[3:34:27] » Thank you. Now on to member comments.

[3:34:29] We'll start with uh Deputy Mayor Chavez.

[3:34:33] » Thank you so much. Um,

[3:34:37] first of all to our independent auditor

[3:34:39] team, but our staff and our leadership.

[3:34:42] I know we've been talking about this for

[3:34:44] over two years um since it was

[3:34:47] discovered. And unfortunately, this is

[3:34:49] impacting uh South County more than

[3:34:52] anyone South County users. and um you

[3:34:56] know Sande being uh over a billion

[3:34:59] dollar in budget uh association that we

[3:35:03] represent. One thing that worries me and

[3:35:05] I can go to the spill of what I've

[3:35:08] mentioned in many other meetings and how

[3:35:11] Chila Vista the unfairness of the South

[3:35:14] County people the community traffic

[3:35:16] impact and the day visitors that we have

[3:35:19] that are impacting the 805 and the five.

[3:35:21] But I do want to mention that in pace

[3:35:24] page 16

[3:35:26] uh 8.4 Before

[3:35:30] you mentioned um our auditor marked this

[3:35:34] as a high risk for the agency and it's

[3:35:38] the reliance on a single individual for

[3:35:40] manual tracking combined with

[3:35:42] undocumented processes and untimely

[3:35:46] reconciliations increase the risk of

[3:35:49] errors incomplete records non-compliance

[3:35:52] and operational disruption.

[3:35:54] So,

[3:35:56] are we relying on a single individual to

[3:35:59] process every single payment from the

[3:36:01] tools or am I reading it incorrectly?

[3:36:07] Because we have toll system errors to

[3:36:09] this day

[3:36:11] and why is it a high risk?

[3:36:14] » So, uh, council member, we found there's

[3:36:18] one person that is working on the

[3:36:19] reconciliation part. So there's a point

[3:36:22] a single point there and I know the team

[3:36:25] is aware and working on putting the

[3:36:27] policies and procedures and training

[3:36:29] staff. So it's not one person

[3:36:31] processing. It is a CPA at the toll ops

[3:36:36] that is mainly responsible for the

[3:36:38] reconciliation process. So that's what

[3:36:40] we're identifying in the report.

[3:36:44] » So when we talk about reconciliation,

[3:36:46] can we be more specific? Do we still

[3:36:49] have toll errors?

[3:36:52] » I am going to leave that to Kimberly.

[3:36:55] » I I certainly will. Let me clarify. Um

[3:36:58] the one person is not processing

[3:37:00] payments or individual transactions. So

[3:37:03] we um on a monthly basis will pull the

[3:37:06] information out of the back office

[3:37:08] system so that we can populate it into

[3:37:10] our accounting system. So as I said

[3:37:12] because there are some system

[3:37:13] limitations there's no direct

[3:37:15] integration and we know that there have

[3:37:17] been um issues with how the information

[3:37:20] has pulled into the reports in the past

[3:37:22] we have developed a process so that we

[3:37:25] make sure the information that we're

[3:37:26] getting is correct. So there's a couple

[3:37:28] steps that have to happen in the back

[3:37:30] office system and then we run the

[3:37:32] reports that come out of that and then

[3:37:34] the accounting entries are being booked

[3:37:36] from there. So because this has been as

[3:37:38] you said something we've been working

[3:37:40] through for two years and um we really

[3:37:43] want to make sure that it's correct and

[3:37:44] accurate. we have had a our uh manager

[3:37:47] in that area working on this um and as I

[3:37:50] said we feel that we've got a good

[3:37:52] process in place now that's reliable and

[3:37:55] so we can have we can kind of spread

[3:37:57] that to um the rest of the toll

[3:37:59] accountant area so that it's not being

[3:38:02] done by there'sn't one final person

[3:38:05] doing it but it's done by various people

[3:38:07] throughout the process

[3:38:08] » I I think I want to add a little bit

[3:38:11] again we came we stabilize device

[3:38:15] and we we we we have done the

[3:38:19] assessment. So the teams have set up a

[3:38:23] process to adequately be doing the

[3:38:27] checks and balances at the toll

[3:38:29] operation center. Now is that perfect?

[3:38:33] No. That's why we're going to be moving

[3:38:35] into a new back office system. And we

[3:38:38] have had robust discussions with this

[3:38:40] board of where this organization is

[3:38:44] pivoting from a new strategy of a back

[3:38:47] office to make it more enhanced with

[3:38:49] proven operators. So first we needed to

[3:38:53] stabilize and manage the current

[3:38:56] situation as we are also working this is

[3:38:59] a on the financial department process.

[3:39:02] I'm talking a little bit also of the

[3:39:04] operations but they all come together

[3:39:07] right um so we we we are working very

[3:39:11] hard and the people are not being

[3:39:15] mischarged I think that was your

[3:39:17] question um but we are that is that

[3:39:21] checks and balances that that has been

[3:39:23] put out there it's was to evaluate that

[3:39:28] if the system has some errors at some

[3:39:30] point identify them as soon as possible

[3:39:32] and reconcile them. Again, that system

[3:39:35] is not perfect and that's why we're

[3:39:38] pivoting to others who have done it

[3:39:41] better than us.

[3:39:43] » I I so appreciate these this

[3:39:45] transparency. Um and it's it's my job,

[3:39:48] it's our duty to represent uh who

[3:39:51] elected us to this seat. And finally, um

[3:39:55] what is the current estimate on that

[3:39:57] transition to the new system?

[3:40:01] We will be coming and providing a little

[3:40:04] bit more information probably later

[3:40:07] early in next year. We are evaluating

[3:40:10] all the options that we have in front of

[3:40:13] us. We have begun some conversations.

[3:40:16] Um if you were to ask me right now I

[3:40:20] foresee that a transition will be

[3:40:22] happening within the next 12 to 18

[3:40:24] months. It's a very sophisticated system

[3:40:28] but the first thing that we needed to do

[3:40:30] was shore up the existing system like I

[3:40:33] said stabilize I think we have achieved

[3:40:36] that is it perfect no it's not perfect

[3:40:40] and that's why the team is doing so much

[3:40:42] checking and and balancing um but I I'm

[3:40:47] very confident that we are having an

[3:40:49] appropriate operation appropriate

[3:40:50] charging but we definitely need to pivot

[3:40:54] to something more modern and more with

[3:40:57] more confidence. And we're looking into

[3:41:00] other partners, other governmental

[3:41:02] agencies who have done this and who are

[3:41:05] operating and seeing how we're going to

[3:41:07] partner with them. Uh we will be coming

[3:41:09] probably early next year with a full

[3:41:12] assessment and more than anything a

[3:41:14] proposal of where we're pivoting.

[3:41:17] » Thank you so much. And before I stop my

[3:41:21] comments, I just want to say that we

[3:41:24] need to have a better conversation and

[3:41:26] how we can return the services and all

[3:41:29] the tools that have been paid to the

[3:41:31] community eventually. That's what our

[3:41:33] main purpose, right? To make a better

[3:41:35] life to everyone who's using our our our

[3:41:38] transportation, our roads, and just

[3:41:41] living in our community. Again, thank

[3:41:43] you.

[3:41:45] Um, Council Member Molina.

[3:41:48] » Thank you very much, Chair Heedner. Uh,

[3:41:50] thank you once again to our, uh, OIPA

[3:41:54] team, our team of directors. Excellent

[3:41:58] presentation. Again, thank you for

[3:42:00] covering my questions last week, last

[3:42:02] Friday during the audit committee. Uh, I

[3:42:05] I have one additional question that

[3:42:07] didn't I I didn't quite ask, and it has

[3:42:11] to do with the um the timeline. How far

[3:42:14] back did you look in the assessment of

[3:42:17] our financial um system? Uh I don't know

[3:42:21] if uh that was part of the presentation

[3:42:24] last Friday or today.

[3:42:26] » Holly, can you go over the assessment uh

[3:42:30] how you conducted the time period?

[3:42:33] » Yes. So, as Courtney mentioned earlier

[3:42:36] in our presentation, we really worked to

[3:42:38] evaluate your processes in its most

[3:42:40] current state, when we needed to, we

[3:42:43] referred to periods as far back as

[3:42:46] necessary to fully understand the

[3:42:48] current condition. So, you know, that

[3:42:50] might have been for certain processes 6

[3:42:52] months back, that might have been for

[3:42:53] others 18 months back. So, it's a little

[3:42:56] bit dynamic, you know, in order to truly

[3:42:58] dig into and understand the current

[3:43:00] state.

[3:43:01] Like Courtney mentioned, this is a

[3:43:03] forward-looking assessment and so going

[3:43:05] back years and years, you know, and

[3:43:07] everything really doesn't make sense and

[3:43:08] so everything that we evaluated should

[3:43:11] be looked at through the lens of a

[3:43:12] current state assessment.

[3:43:14] » Thank you. Uh that is very helpful and I

[3:43:16] think that is what helps me understand

[3:43:18] the fact that this is an assessment and

[3:43:20] we are looking at the current state

[3:43:22] versus an audit which is you know

[3:43:24] looking back and and um and checking

[3:43:27] things that way. So, I I really do

[3:43:30] appreciate all of the work and I I have

[3:43:32] a a good understanding of the work

[3:43:34] that's before us and again our team of

[3:43:38] directors and our CFO um being so

[3:43:41] willing to take this bull by the horn,

[3:43:44] you know, and being unafraid and knowing

[3:43:46] that this is where we're headed and this

[3:43:48] is what we're going to do. That is the

[3:43:51] attitude that really does give me a lot

[3:43:53] of confidence moving forward. Um two

[3:43:55] other things I want to point out. One is

[3:43:59] um from our um director Pikney Forest

[3:44:02] the um internal risk assessment um that

[3:44:07] she previously mentioned. It was the

[3:44:09] chart that had the three X's on the um

[3:44:12] on the on her presentation. It

[3:44:15] identifies of the seven core themes that

[3:44:18] the Weaver assessment um uh discussed,

[3:44:22] three of them were already identified by

[3:44:24] our internal risk assessment team. Um

[3:44:28] and so I really do appreciate that. I it

[3:44:30] shows that we are on the same track. We

[3:44:32] are on the right track. So that again

[3:44:35] gives me a lot of confidence. And then

[3:44:37] one other point that was made last

[3:44:40] Friday during the audit committee by the

[3:44:42] Weaver team um as part of the executive

[3:44:45] summary in their report there was this

[3:44:48] um beautiful one-page road map that had

[3:44:53] um green lines across it. It was a

[3:44:55] timeline essentially of how to get to

[3:44:58] that what we're speaking of how to get

[3:45:00] to that next phase of sandag um which

[3:45:04] will inevitably be a better sandag. So,

[3:45:07] um, sadly it didn't get presented today,

[3:45:09] but if you do dig in, um, it's a road

[3:45:12] map and they they they went through it,

[3:45:14] uh, in detail last Friday, so you could

[3:45:16] also view the recording there. But I

[3:45:18] really did appreciate that onepage

[3:45:20] recommended road map. And my final

[3:45:22] comment just has to do with the um

[3:45:26] entire attitude um of um not just our

[3:45:30] leadership, our CEO Mario Orso um but

[3:45:34] being able to work and and I'm taking

[3:45:37] his words from last Friday work with

[3:45:39] these independent arms which is our OPA

[3:45:42] which is um the folks from Weaver. Um

[3:45:46] and it is a huge strength. uh perhaps it

[3:45:49] wasn't initially realized as a strength

[3:45:52] you know from previous leadership um and

[3:45:55] it was instead something to resist but

[3:45:58] now to see that it is in fact embraced

[3:46:01] by current leadership um this proverbial

[3:46:04] car that we keep talking about I feel

[3:46:07] not only has new tires but it also has a

[3:46:09] new engine and um you know I anticipate

[3:46:12] at some point it'll be driving on this

[3:46:15] journey on a toll-free 125 five uh or a

[3:46:18] safer 17 or 78 or or 52, you know, um or

[3:46:23] or even taking the purple line. So, I

[3:46:27] look forward to a lot of good things in

[3:46:28] Sandag. I have a lot of confidence. Um

[3:46:31] certainly, I feel good with the

[3:46:33] leadership that's in place. There's a

[3:46:34] lot of work to be done. That is for

[3:46:37] sure. Now, we know what the work is and

[3:46:40] I appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you.

[3:46:42] » Thank you, Council Member. All right,

[3:46:43] we're going to go on to Mayor Mento.

[3:46:52] Well, you know, it's interesting having

[3:46:54] sat here for a long time and hearing all

[3:46:57] about the things that uh you know, you

[3:47:00] don't know what you don't know. And I

[3:47:04] just need to know from the CEO, are we

[3:47:06] uh uh have we enhanced the um medical um

[3:47:11] you know, benefits for these folks?

[3:47:13] because I know there's got to be some

[3:47:15] traumatic brain injury from all the

[3:47:19] repeatedly because every time you get

[3:47:21] down there, tell me I'm not wrong. You

[3:47:24] get into this thing and it just go can't

[3:47:27] believe it one more time. And uh it the

[3:47:31] reason why it's frustrating for me is

[3:47:33] because I sat here for a long time and I

[3:47:35] listened to reports on the budget and

[3:47:38] the finance and this and that and

[3:47:40] everything was just perfect. we're

[3:47:42] really going along. Then we had that big

[3:47:44] debacle with Marne Cox and found out

[3:47:47] that not everything was being reported

[3:47:49] correctly and then it just kind of like

[3:47:52] a an avalanche of caving from the the

[3:47:55] glaciers and to where we got uh you know

[3:47:58] the last CEO who I think didn't get tell

[3:48:01] us anything was true and um and so

[3:48:07] I can't believe we've actually um

[3:48:10] operated so well if you want to call it

[3:48:13] so well over so many years uh with what

[3:48:16] we had you know with um you know who was

[3:48:19] the maggyver behind everything holding

[3:48:21] it together. Um, but what I see is that,

[3:48:25] you know, and we did talk about this

[3:48:26] road map, the road map is only as good

[3:48:30] as, you know, the people that are

[3:48:32] driving the car because if you don't

[3:48:34] follow the map, you get off the road.

[3:48:37] And so from this time forward, we have

[3:48:40] to make sure that every bit of it is the

[3:48:43] most best up and best and updated. Uh,

[3:48:47] we do this at our city all the time.

[3:48:48] We're always looking to say, is there a

[3:48:50] better finance program? Is there a

[3:48:52] better tracking program? And and you

[3:48:55] know what, the the days of using, you

[3:48:57] know, an abacus for one thing to, you

[3:49:00] know, figure out how much money we have

[3:49:02] is long gone. However, it seems like

[3:49:05] that's what we've kind of done in the

[3:49:06] past. And I'm not trying to disparrage

[3:49:08] anybody that's that's working here today

[3:49:11] that has been working for us in the

[3:49:12] past. But I think there were probably

[3:49:14] some great frustrations about the not

[3:49:16] ability. What I would suggest is not

[3:49:19] having the ability to do your job the

[3:49:21] best that you could do and just putting

[3:49:23] things together that you were told to

[3:49:25] put together. I don't know. I'm just

[3:49:26] kind of it's conjecture, but based on

[3:49:29] the fact that we're seeing all the

[3:49:30] problems that have along, it had to be

[3:49:31] some there somewhere. And um

[3:49:36] I I just think that uh I think we're

[3:49:38] heading in the right direction finally.

[3:49:41] And um I just want to say to this board

[3:49:44] of directors, if we if we have people

[3:49:45] that aren't doing their job, we have to

[3:49:47] get rid of them a lot sooner and make

[3:49:49] sure that people are doing their job.

[3:49:52] Not saying anything, Mario, but uh that

[3:49:55] you're not doing your job, but that's

[3:49:57] just things happen and we have to be

[3:50:01] very uh cognizant of what's going on.

[3:50:03] So, I I just wanted to vent a little bit

[3:50:05] on what I see and how I feel about

[3:50:08] things and where we've come from. And it

[3:50:11] doesn't make me feel comfortable that

[3:50:13] we've had to, you know, put these things

[3:50:15] together, paper clips and chewing gum

[3:50:17] all the way.

[3:50:18] » So, I'm going to answer your question.

[3:50:21] Who kept it together? The employees.

[3:50:23] They really are a dedicated uh group. Um

[3:50:28] and now the job that Courtney, myself,

[3:50:32] the incoming general counsel and all of

[3:50:35] us here, all of you in the board, it's

[3:50:38] to bring them together, right? And to um

[3:50:42] institute that change up culture,

[3:50:44] breaking those stoke pipes so the

[3:50:46] different groups can talk to each other

[3:50:48] as well as externally with the cities

[3:50:50] and then we can understand what are the

[3:50:52] needs. We codify the needs. We call that

[3:50:55] systems requirements for systems, but we

[3:50:58] also call systems requirements for like

[3:51:00] the gen the the regional plan, right?

[3:51:02] Understanding what you need in your

[3:51:04] city, what you need in your city, what

[3:51:05] you don't want in your city, and what

[3:51:08] Carolina wants for South Bay as well as

[3:51:10] Paloma and on and on and on. So, so we

[3:51:14] we need to bring that together and have

[3:51:16] that communications. But definitely what

[3:51:19] kept it moving and is keeping it moving

[3:51:22] and it will keep it moving is our

[3:51:24] employees. So that's where we need to

[3:51:25] invest.

[3:51:28] » Very good. Uh Mayor uh Jones, you're up.

[3:51:32] » Thank you so much, Sher. Um I just want

[3:51:35] to say thank you um for everyone uh for

[3:51:37] this report. And then um I really I I

[3:51:42] really want to understand when we're

[3:51:44] planning on having all of the

[3:51:45] infrastructure across the board. I know

[3:51:48] that's a big um but but uh Shaunie had

[3:51:50] talked a little bit about the

[3:51:51] infrastructure so that we have

[3:51:53] everything um put in place set in place

[3:51:56] maybe you called it actually framework

[3:51:58] the framework uh when that will be in

[3:52:00] place um do we have any idea when that

[3:52:03] would be

[3:52:05] » So the goal excuse me the goal currently

[3:52:08] is to at least have an iterative

[3:52:10] document within the next six months um

[3:52:13] and that document is something where

[3:52:15] there's it's foundational And then based

[3:52:18] on what we see when we start kind of

[3:52:20] diving deeper into the recommendations,

[3:52:23] we can update it accordingly. But at the

[3:52:26] very least having some sort of uh draft

[3:52:29] documentation or iterative document

[3:52:31] within the next six months. So basically

[3:52:33] summer 2026.

[3:52:35] » Great. Okay. And then um just as a

[3:52:37] followup on that and maybe you want to

[3:52:38] answer this Mario, I'm not sure. Um,

[3:52:40] when we, you know, when when we hired

[3:52:43] our internal controls person, I was,

[3:52:46] well, it's a little different, but kind

[3:52:48] of the same. Uh, we are getting a

[3:52:50] six-month check-in, um, update uh, back

[3:52:53] to the board. Do we have that scheduled?

[3:52:55] I think we talked about it, but I don't

[3:52:56] recall uh, what that was going to be.

[3:53:00] » We can current we can certainly uh,

[3:53:03] place something on the calendar for

[3:53:05] review. Uh currently right now the idea

[3:53:07] is to um try to come back to the

[3:53:10] committee um at the very earliest uh

[3:53:13] February um probably at the very latest

[3:53:15] March but to get you some updates in

[3:53:18] terms of where we are uh regarding our

[3:53:21] uh recommendation implementation

[3:53:24] um and then the frameworks would be a

[3:53:26] part of that uh review or update.

[3:53:28] » Is that going to be the audit committee

[3:53:30] or the full board or both? I'm both

[3:53:33] » Both.

[3:53:33] » Okay, perfect. Great. And we're also

[3:53:35] going to be coming with multiple

[3:53:37] assessments. Grace eventually together

[3:53:39] with the team will come in with a data

[3:53:41] governance assessment and where we are

[3:53:44] with all our different systems and where

[3:53:46] we need to do. We continue to assess.

[3:53:48] Courtney keeps helping us. I have a lot

[3:53:51] of a lot of conversations with her of

[3:53:54] where how we bring everything together.

[3:53:57] uh and we'll be reporting in as timely

[3:54:00] as we can to let you know where we are,

[3:54:02] but also uh tell us if we need to pivot,

[3:54:06] right? That's part of the new roles or

[3:54:08] the enhanced roles of the executive

[3:54:11] committee. So, you're going to be seeing

[3:54:12] us coming more and talking about how to

[3:54:15] manage the agency and asking for your

[3:54:18] your opinions and your advice and

[3:54:20] guidance on that.

[3:54:21] » Great. because this is really important

[3:54:23] work because it's building the

[3:54:24] foundation of us being trusted again. Um

[3:54:27] so um and and again thank you uh for all

[3:54:30] of your input um all of our staff. One

[3:54:33] last thing when you were talking about

[3:54:35] Mario um infrastructure as far as the

[3:54:38] toll itself goes the the toll road and

[3:54:41] then the infrastructure that other

[3:54:42] agencies public agencies have in place.

[3:54:45] I think that's a prudent step because we

[3:54:48] don't need to reinvent the wheel if if

[3:54:50] there's something that's actually

[3:54:51] working because the oneoff situation

[3:54:53] that we were in is just not um we we

[3:54:57] know I mean I don't want to beat the

[3:54:58] dead horse. We just we can't go down

[3:55:00] that road again. So anyway, thank you.

[3:55:03] » Thank you, Mayor Alers.

[3:55:05] » Yeah, thank you. Um the I really

[3:55:08] appreciate the Weaver analysis. This is

[3:55:10] as broad and comprehensive of a set of

[3:55:13] recommendations as I've seen in a long

[3:55:15] time. I really support them. I love the

[3:55:18] detail you went into. Uh I want to talk

[3:55:21] a little bit about the roles. Of course,

[3:55:22] you've got the in independent auditor

[3:55:24] and I always think of the director of

[3:55:26] controls as being the internal architect

[3:55:29] of the reporting structure, but not the

[3:55:31] operational person. The operations, the

[3:55:34] implementation of this will all fall

[3:55:36] upon the people to the right here. the

[3:55:38] actual operation. I I appreciate the

[3:55:40] fact that uh the internal uh auditor is

[3:55:43] relatively new and the internal controls

[3:55:46] director is relatively new. I that tells

[3:55:49] me the uh sheriff so to speak coming

[3:55:51] into town and the internal sheriff are

[3:55:54] are fresh eyes and then bringing Weaver

[3:55:57] in was a very good move. Uh, so I've

[3:56:00] worked on a lot of uh on several ERP

[3:56:03] implementations in my career and they're

[3:56:06] always fun. I don't know, they're

[3:56:08] they're difficult, right? I think

[3:56:10] anybody that's done them, they uh they

[3:56:12] cross over between software and IT

[3:56:16] versus the operations side, be it uh be

[3:56:19] it uh finance, accounting,

[3:56:22] toll collection, all that. And so I

[3:56:26] thought the the the one I'm going to

[3:56:27] pick on one select recommendation that

[3:56:29] was about a uh a status of a CIO. I

[3:56:34] really support getting that CIO in place

[3:56:37] and I don't know if Mario you have any

[3:56:40] comments on where we are on that.

[3:56:44] First of all, you know, and I I have had

[3:56:47] a lot of discussions even with Cornney

[3:56:49] about this and for an organization of

[3:56:53] our size, 400 people, you know, we and

[3:56:56] for all the roles and responsibilities

[3:56:58] that we have our our our CIO, it's very

[3:57:03] important, but we need somebody far

[3:57:06] beyond just a CIO. we due to the

[3:57:10] activity based model runs that we're

[3:57:12] doing the data analysis. So actually

[3:57:16] grace is fills part of that role the IT

[3:57:20] person we we had one and we lost it to

[3:57:23] private industry. Um we are putting that

[3:57:26] advertising out right now but Grace is

[3:57:30] my point person for data and

[3:57:33] intelligence and and information

[3:57:36] systems. We will be evaluating if that's

[3:57:39] working and but it's very hard to have a

[3:57:43] chief data officer, a chief

[3:57:45] informationational officer. So

[3:57:47] therefore, we have consolidated based on

[3:57:49] some new models that are coming up and

[3:57:52] seeing how that works. We are

[3:57:54] advertising for a an an it

[3:57:59] put out that hopefully we can keep them

[3:58:01] longer than what we kept the prior one.

[3:58:04] Uh industry went very hard on us. We had

[3:58:06] some very a very good person who had

[3:58:09] come from Radian and and and they they

[3:58:13] poached him back. Uh so we we will be

[3:58:17] putting that out. But definitely IT

[3:58:20] security system is an issue um that we

[3:58:24] take very serious and we've been

[3:58:26] focusing on that. our cloud security

[3:58:28] also our operations I'm seeing again

[3:58:32] highlighting all the multiple activities

[3:58:35] that we're doing a one size uh one model

[3:58:38] doesn't fit all for for the toll

[3:58:41] operations we will that's why we're

[3:58:43] looking into what others are doing and

[3:58:46] maybe rely more on operations with some

[3:58:49] of our other partner agencies I know I'm

[3:58:52] pivoting a little bit outside but but

[3:58:54] but that also affects our IT structures,

[3:58:58] right? So, we're looking in kind of

[3:59:00] combining multiple things of being

[3:59:03] strong from an IT perspective

[3:59:05] internally, but also relying with others

[3:59:09] that have done other things better so

[3:59:11] they can do those specialty items and

[3:59:13] they can also take care of that IT

[3:59:15] security and efficiency.

[3:59:17] » Okay. So um I think key in what you've

[3:59:21] said is that you're putting together an

[3:59:22] organization that will manage the ERP

[3:59:26] implementation and and the overall IT

[3:59:28] data science strategy and that requires

[3:59:31] a a very strong leader in that role with

[3:59:34] both operational experience and in IT

[3:59:38] understanding at the same time. I I and

[3:59:41] then I did hear earlier I thought I

[3:59:43] heard that you're hiring a uh ERP

[3:59:46] expert, an outside consultant.

[3:59:48] Absolutely. I I don't think I've ever

[3:59:50] done an ERP implementation without

[3:59:52] having somebody who is a nuts andbolts

[3:59:55] expert. They make all the difference in

[3:59:57] the world. I I I guess what I'm looking

[3:59:59] for is an update in the future. I think

[4:00:02] along the lines of what Mayor Jones was

[4:00:04] asking for. I would say quarterly. I

[4:00:08] would say quarterly timed with the

[4:00:10] internal auditor report. I would like to

[4:00:12] see it to the full board, but I'd like

[4:00:14] to see it go down to the level of what

[4:00:16] Weaver is is describing at the at the

[4:00:18] high level initiatives. I certainly

[4:00:20] first in the first review would like to

[4:00:22] hear about the organizational changes or

[4:00:25] updates or additions such as and status

[4:00:28] of hiring uh whatever expert, ERP

[4:00:31] expert, uh IT CIO, whatever it might be.

[4:00:35] uh because I I think it's the people as

[4:00:38] as has been correctly identified here at

[4:00:40] all times. It's always the people that

[4:00:42] make things happen and that's the first

[4:00:44] phase. Get your organization straight. I

[4:00:47] think that there are many more areas I

[4:00:50] could spend time going into, but I think

[4:00:51] the IT1 and the ERP one is key. Tyler

[4:00:54] Technologies, they've got their act

[4:00:56] together. If we get on board with that

[4:00:58] and can integrate our systems with

[4:01:00] Tyler, we you will be orders of

[4:01:02] magnitude above where you've been. The

[4:01:04] trouble is we've done too much glue by

[4:01:07] by people and spreadsheets and and that

[4:01:10] is destined to failure or

[4:01:14] potentially corruption, whatever. And I

[4:01:16] think we've been down that path. We want

[4:01:18] to stop and and get on a path to

[4:01:21] solution, which we are. I think we're

[4:01:23] headed down there. So, I'm looking

[4:01:24] forward to quarterly updates if others

[4:01:26] agree with me. Thank you.

[4:01:27] » Yeah, for sure. And we're we're also

[4:01:29] going to be bringing the updates of the

[4:01:31] different assessments HR

[4:01:34] um the one that Grace is planning for IT

[4:01:37] um the the one that we're doing for

[4:01:39] tollaps because at the end of the day

[4:01:42] everything glues together of course the

[4:01:44] same follow the money right we need to

[4:01:47] keep glue it with finance interest of

[4:01:50] time I was only picking on on it and ERP

[4:01:54] is probably one of the biggest ones but

[4:01:56] huge I could have gone into many other

[4:01:58] areas. I I won't do that today because I

[4:01:59] think others have done that.

[4:02:02] » Okay. I should have

[4:02:04] » A brief comment. Thank you very much.

[4:02:07] » So I just wanted to address um two

[4:02:10] things. So one when you talk about the

[4:02:12] role of the IPA and the role of the

[4:02:15] director of internal controls. So the

[4:02:17] model is that there's three lines of

[4:02:19] defense for governance and risk

[4:02:21] management. That's how it comes from the

[4:02:24] IIA. So for and you could even say

[4:02:27] people would consider the IPA a fourth

[4:02:29] line because of the independence. We're

[4:02:31] not an internal internal audit function.

[4:02:34] Typically internal audit is a third line

[4:02:36] of defense. So you have management who

[4:02:38] does the operations. You have the

[4:02:40] director of internal controls depending

[4:02:42] on how you address it is doing the

[4:02:44] monitoring and then you have internal

[4:02:47] audit and then you have independent or

[4:02:48] external audit. So those are your lines

[4:02:51] of defense when it comes to government

[4:02:52] and risk management. And it's really

[4:02:54] important that in order to give you all

[4:02:57] the assurance that that is occurring. We

[4:03:00] were clear in the recommendations for

[4:03:02] the internal control framework that it

[4:03:05] be done. Um we recommended because of

[4:03:08] the bandwidth from an external party and

[4:03:11] then monitored um by the internal the

[4:03:15] director of internal controls because

[4:03:17] you want that compliance you know to

[4:03:19] ensure that before so before we come in

[4:03:23] and spot issues that issues are being

[4:03:25] managed internally that is the model so

[4:03:27] I just put that out there for

[4:03:29] information purposes for the CIO and as

[4:03:33] Mario said we've had conversations and

[4:03:35] the recommendation and in the report is

[4:03:38] for executive level CIO and I know he is

[4:03:41] working to determine um how as has he

[4:03:46] expressed um but I just want to stay

[4:03:48] true to the recommendations that we put

[4:03:50] forth so thank you chair

[4:03:52] » Great thank you and thank you to all of

[4:03:54] you Courtney and Weaver it's it's

[4:03:57] excellent work I mean I can't imagine

[4:04:00] the detail and how you find out all of

[4:04:02] these things the number of questions you

[4:04:03] must ask and and our team for, you know,

[4:04:06] responding and working well with them.

[4:04:08] And thank you for looking at all of

[4:04:10] these, I guess, corrective actions.

[4:04:11] You're going to be really, really,

[4:04:13] really busy, not only creating this

[4:04:15] foundation or framework, but then doing

[4:04:17] the work that's going to go into all of

[4:04:19] that just to keep this agency running

[4:04:21] and the myriad ways that it runs as as

[4:04:23] Mario outlined. So, thank you so much

[4:04:25] for all of this. Um, there's just

[4:04:26] discussion on this. There's no action.

[4:04:28] And so we will now move to the revised

[4:04:31] position classification and salary range

[4:04:33] table with Josh.

[4:05:11] Good afternoon. Uh, my name is Joshua

[4:05:12] Goldter and I serve as SANDAG's director

[4:05:14] of human resources and I will be

[4:05:17] presenting recommendation or recommended

[4:05:19] revisions to the FY 2026 position

[4:05:22] classification and salary range table. I

[4:05:25] do want to point out this item was

[4:05:26] updated yesterday and you can see the

[4:05:28] current version online. And you will

[4:05:30] find the summary of changes in

[4:05:32] attachment one and the red line table in

[4:05:35] attachment two.

[4:05:37] At a high level, the recommended changes

[4:05:39] are relocating the associate capital

[4:05:42] project manager 2 to strengthen the

[4:05:45] mobility within the new capital delivery

[4:05:47] project management career ladder. The

[4:05:49] recommendation is to relocate the

[4:05:51] classification as the current placement

[4:05:53] limits hiring, transfer, and promotional

[4:05:55] pathways from related career tracks

[4:05:57] within the agency.

[4:06:01] Second, relocating deputy director to

[4:06:04] establish appropriate differential from

[4:06:05] director reports. And as part of a

[4:06:08] strategy to consolidate director 1 and

[4:06:10] director 2 into one classification, the

[4:06:13] agency is recommending relocating the

[4:06:15] position from class range 130 to 131.

[4:06:19] Also relocating deputy general counsel

[4:06:22] classification.

[4:06:23] The agency reviewed the deputy general

[4:06:25] counsel role and found the positions,

[4:06:26] responsibilities, complexity of work and

[4:06:29] agencywide impact are consistent with

[4:06:32] director level work. To maintain

[4:06:35] consistency across leadership roles,

[4:06:37] reclassifying the position from class

[4:06:39] range 133 to 135 is recommended.

[4:06:44] Fourth, relocating deputy independent

[4:06:46] performance auditor. This classification

[4:06:48] is recommended for a salary reallocation

[4:06:50] from class 131 to 135 to maintain

[4:06:54] current alignment with newly proposed

[4:06:56] salary relocations for similar

[4:06:57] classifications.

[4:07:00] Uh streamlining the director level

[4:07:02] structure to simplify and modernize the

[4:07:05] classification system. We recommend

[4:07:07] moving the current four tier director

[4:07:09] structure to three levels which would be

[4:07:12] deputy director, director, and senior

[4:07:14] director.

[4:07:15] The agency would no longer hire or

[4:07:17] promote into director one or director 2

[4:07:19] classifications.

[4:07:21] These and these classifications would be

[4:07:23] removed from the salary range table once

[4:07:25] uh they are vacated. Essentially no

[4:07:27] employees in that those specific

[4:07:29] classifications.

[4:07:30] A consolidated director classification

[4:07:33] is proposed for class range 135 based on

[4:07:36] scope and appropriate promotional

[4:07:37] differentials.

[4:07:40] Elimination of the chief of staff

[4:07:42] classification.

[4:07:44] This classification is recommended to be

[4:07:45] removed for elimination as it no longer

[4:07:47] aligns with the operational needs or the

[4:07:49] strategic direction of the agency. The

[4:07:52] classification has no current incumbents

[4:07:54] and is no longer part of the

[4:07:55] organizational structure.

[4:07:57] And lastly, the placement of the

[4:07:59] independent performance auditor position

[4:08:00] classification on the salary range table

[4:08:03] will be evaluated and recommendations

[4:08:05] will be presented to the audit committee

[4:08:07] and board of directors.

[4:08:09] These updates maintain the board

[4:08:11] approved FY2026 salary ranges while

[4:08:14] improving internal mobility, simplifying

[4:08:16] our structures and supporting our

[4:08:18] operational strategy. With that, I can

[4:08:20] take any questions you may have.

[4:08:22] » Thanks, Jos. We'll first take public

[4:08:24] comments and then we'll go to the board

[4:08:25] member for questions and discussions.

[4:08:26] Michael?

[4:08:28] » Yes, we have two in person. That's truth

[4:08:32] followed by Caesar.

[4:08:37] How many people actually want to be

[4:08:38] here? I don't. When do you

[4:08:41] He does because you're crazy. When do

[4:08:43] you present an item to the public about

[4:08:45] class ranges? You need a to include a

[4:08:48] clear explanation about what the

[4:08:49] differences actually are so I don't

[4:08:51] continue to fall asleep. I don't care if

[4:08:53] it's at the bottom of the page as an

[4:08:54] asterk with information just needs to be

[4:08:56] defined. I'm glad the two directors

[4:08:58] roles costing $228,000 and the chief of

[4:09:01] staff role costing $278,000 will be

[4:09:03] eliminated. Uh, it's totally wasteful

[4:09:06] for us to be paying for somebody's

[4:09:07] coffee servers, binder deliverers,

[4:09:09] speech writers, and parking validators

[4:09:11] like every county supervisor does with

[4:09:13] our money. But I'd like somebody to

[4:09:15] explain and justify why why a CEO should

[4:09:18] be paid almost $500,000 a year at the

[4:09:20] maximum. How was that an appropriate

[4:09:22] paycheck for a quasi public service

[4:09:24] role? And I'm not referring to Mario,

[4:09:27] but there have been a number of Santa

[4:09:29] staffers that have made major flubs the

[4:09:31] last few years and even this year. And

[4:09:33] yet some are making anywhere from

[4:09:34] $110,000 up to $338,000.

[4:09:38] There needs to be matching pay

[4:09:40] reductions for major mistakes. And Sand

[4:09:43] may technically be a blatant

[4:09:44] corporation, but if there's going to be

[4:09:45] an appear appearance of it being a

[4:09:47] public agency and it is funded with our

[4:09:49] tax dollars and some of you are actually

[4:09:51] elected by somebody or maybe not, uh

[4:09:54] that that means every penny of our money

[4:09:55] needs to be handled like it's gold. Take

[4:09:58] this job seriously in the quality of

[4:10:00] your work. earn your paycheck and you

[4:10:01] should be treated well and be able to

[4:10:03] have fun doing it. Uh, three great

[4:10:05] examples I've seen, uh, Michael,

[4:10:07] Francesca, and Ariana. All very helpful

[4:10:09] and reliable people at the back. Uh,

[4:10:12] even for Mario, I can say that he's able

[4:10:14] to somewhat have fun, get answers, and

[4:10:16] get the work done. Should have more fun.

[4:10:19] When people leave, you can I think

[4:10:20] you're allowed to have more fun. Uh, now

[4:10:22] somebody tell the representatives, some

[4:10:24] of them are not even here. That says a

[4:10:26] lot that they need to live up to that as

[4:10:28] well. And I don't care if you get paid

[4:10:30] pennies on the hour. You get junk sodas

[4:10:33] and old San XL, which isn't even chips.

[4:10:35] So come on, start working harder. Quit

[4:10:37] making me fall asleep. Thank you.

[4:10:39] » Next is Caesar Javier, followed by the

[4:10:41] original draw online.

[4:10:44] » Oh, next is Original Draw Online,

[4:10:48] followed by Paul the Bold.

[4:10:51] » It's funny to see you guys shift things

[4:10:53] around. It's like having a bunch of

[4:10:54] clutter and then you just like move it

[4:10:57] around to act like you cleaned it up.

[4:10:58] Um, and you know, this could potentially

[4:11:02] just be shifting things around to get

[4:11:04] people more money and more of this and

[4:11:06] more of that to not provide the things

[4:11:08] that you guys profess to provide, you

[4:11:11] know, because there'll always be

[4:11:12] something that gets in the way. But it I

[4:11:15] don't understand how you can have

[4:11:16] positions that you're saying that you're

[4:11:18] not going to need anymore, but you're

[4:11:19] going to keep them until there's no

[4:11:21] employees in there. That doesn't make

[4:11:23] any sense. Why would you do that? And

[4:11:24] then even the ones that you take out and

[4:11:26] you say you no longer need, are those in

[4:11:29] the budget that you are saying for the

[4:11:31] salaries that you need that you'll like

[4:11:33] pull that out as money that's needed

[4:11:35] just in case that position was filled?

[4:11:38] Um, and you know, if they're not and you

[4:11:41] did um, you know, take that money out,

[4:11:43] where does that go? Does it go back?

[4:11:45] Does it go into somebody else's pockets?

[4:11:46] Are you just going to reclassify

[4:11:48] somebody to, you know, kind of put it in

[4:11:50] their pocket? Um just you know

[4:11:53] interesting to see the things that are

[4:11:56] so important to you guys to do which is

[4:11:58] definitely making sure people are paid.

[4:12:00] I mean that is 100%. Which I mean on the

[4:12:04] surface that looks good because you do

[4:12:06] want to be paid but then when you don't

[4:12:08] provide the things that you know pe that

[4:12:11] are promised to the people and then you

[4:12:14] mismanage all of the money that you guys

[4:12:16] get because you do have your hands in so

[4:12:18] many buckets. It's like how many more

[4:12:20] positions are going to be I mean like

[4:12:22] 400 people to do all of this nonsense

[4:12:26] and we just keep pay paying people more

[4:12:28] money but we don't really have anything

[4:12:30] to show for the fruits of your labor. So

[4:12:33] it's like you know I mean once people

[4:12:35] start to see that you're just paying

[4:12:37] more and more for nothing. Um but total

[4:12:40] control because that's it. That's why

[4:12:42] you guys have to change behaviors right

[4:12:44] through punitive actions. Good. It's

[4:12:47] good. That's the way you treat the

[4:12:48] people. But if you're an employee, heck,

[4:12:50] you guys will make sure that you're paid

[4:12:52] a pretty penny all the time.

[4:12:56] » And our last public comment is Paul

[4:12:58] Devolt.

[4:13:06] Not much to say here, but um after that

[4:13:10] scathing assessment and name only by a

[4:13:13] truly independent outside auditor, it is

[4:13:17] clear to me that some of the people here

[4:13:20] do not deserve raises. In fact, I

[4:13:23] suggest that maybe

[4:13:26] a lot of the people here seem to want a

[4:13:31] long holiday this year. Um,

[4:13:36] class 120, associate capital project

[4:13:40] manager 2 does not need a backhanded

[4:13:43] raise by reclassifying him or her to

[4:13:47] class 121. The only raise that I see on

[4:13:51] the list. Um, capital projects cost us a

[4:13:56] lot more than it should. Um, it is a

[4:14:00] rather sneaky move. what we can I think

[4:14:05] expect from Sandag.

[4:14:08] I did not get to speak on non-aggenda by

[4:14:11] the way because there was silence on the

[4:14:13] recording while waiting for quorum. So I

[4:14:16] went to another room to see whether the

[4:14:18] meeting was on. So I suggest the

[4:14:22] background noise for

[4:14:24] um the period of silence on the call-in

[4:14:28] systems.

[4:14:30] Happy holidays

[4:14:33] uh to all. Um where are you on getting

[4:14:38] voting seats for the Native Americans in

[4:14:41] East County? Let's end taxation without

[4:14:44] a representation.

[4:14:46] Whimo driverless taxis are coming here.

[4:14:50] The MTS taxi advisory committee came out

[4:14:54] against Whimo and I hope you do too.

[4:14:57] These rolling minuses do not belong in

[4:15:00] our streets.

[4:15:02] Uh, thanks for listening.

[4:15:06] » That concludes our public comment on

[4:15:08] this item. Chair.

[4:15:08] » Okay. Very good. Um, any board member

[4:15:10] comments? If not, I'd entertain a motion

[4:15:12] to approve the recommended changes to

[4:15:14] the the Sandag position classification

[4:15:17] salary range table. Moved by Mento,

[4:15:19] second by

[4:15:20] » Gastland.

[4:15:21] » Gastland. Okay. Please vote.

[4:15:23] » There you go.

[4:15:26] But he could do that fast.

[4:15:40] » Use hers.

[4:15:51] » That was easy.

[4:15:52] » Okay, that passes unanimously. Let's

[4:15:54] move to our last item, the bond issuance

[4:15:56] refunding overview.

[4:15:59] Don, this is you.

[4:16:00] » As Don is setting up, um she's going to

[4:16:04] be talking of uh there's some bonds

[4:16:07] coming for for

[4:16:09] um Oh my god, I lose track of what we go

[4:16:12] the cold date for the bonds. So, our

[4:16:15] financial advisors evaluate if the terms

[4:16:17] that we have are good enough to continue

[4:16:21] or if we go and do a reissuance. This is

[4:16:24] not to get new money or anything like

[4:16:27] that. This is to save financing and the

[4:16:30] team will talk about it through the

[4:16:32] life. I think we're talking about $40

[4:16:33] million on potential savings, but I'll

[4:16:37] let Don take care of that.

[4:16:39] » All right. Thank you. Um so yes, I'm

[4:16:43] here with an overview of this proposed

[4:16:45] bond issuance. Um we do everything that

[4:16:48] we do related to our debt uh in

[4:16:51] association with board policy 36. Um and

[4:16:55] so we have an opportunity uh to achieve

[4:16:58] some savings here. The 2016 bond series

[4:17:01] is callable this year. They were issued

[4:17:03] as 10-year park hall bonds. Um so I'm

[4:17:06] just going to start out with an overview

[4:17:09] of um the team for this transaction. We

[4:17:13] have quite a few folks internally here

[4:17:15] at Sande working on this. Um PFM

[4:17:18] financial adviserss is our uh financial

[4:17:21] advisor uh for this and on our retainer

[4:17:24] for uh everything else that we do do.

[4:17:28] Mudra Patel from PFM is here with me

[4:17:30] today. Our bond council selected for

[4:17:33] this transaction is Norton Rose

[4:17:35] Fulbright and Stradling Yoka Carlson and

[4:17:38] Roth is our disclosure council. Uh our

[4:17:40] senior underwriting team is Wells Fargo.

[4:17:43] Uh they are joined uh with co-managers

[4:17:45] from Barkclay's uh BFA and Hilltop

[4:17:48] Securities.

[4:17:54] So we're just going to go over a few

[4:17:55] things why we're issuing the bonds. Uh

[4:17:58] some issues related to the timing,

[4:18:00] potential size and the structure, our

[4:18:03] estimated savings and cost of issuance.

[4:18:06] um some issues concerning the credit

[4:18:08] ratings and the calendar of events.

[4:18:12] So again, board policy 36 um is what we

[4:18:15] use it. It guides us in our refunding

[4:18:18] considerations. We're looking for uh net

[4:18:21] present value savings. In this case, we

[4:18:24] have an opportunity to do some blended

[4:18:26] um arbitrage yield um scenarios that

[4:18:30] will actually help us uh uh earn a

[4:18:33] little bit more in our arbitrage uh

[4:18:35] callable and non-callable bonds both

[4:18:37] will be involved in this transaction. Uh

[4:18:40] typically we would never have an

[4:18:41] opportunity on a non-callable bond. Um

[4:18:45] but in this case the numbers are

[4:18:46] penciling out to blend these uh

[4:18:49] together. that we can maintain our high

[4:18:52] credit ratings that this structure will

[4:18:54] allow us to continue the matched

[4:18:56] maturity um level debt service that we

[4:19:00] uh have on our senior lean bond.

[4:19:04] So timing the 2016s again callable uh

[4:19:07] April 1st 2026 we have some callable

[4:19:11] 2019A bonds and some callable and

[4:19:14] non-callables uh in the 2021A.

[4:19:17] Again, I mentioned this positive

[4:19:19] arbitrage opportunity. So, within 90

[4:19:23] days prior to the call date, um we can

[4:19:27] actually uh do this refunding issuance

[4:19:31] and have an escro deposit that earns a

[4:19:33] blended uh yield rate. So, it blends the

[4:19:37] the rates together and actually pushes

[4:19:39] up what we would be otherwise able to

[4:19:41] earn. Uh so, we are trying to get this

[4:19:44] transaction through in January. That'll

[4:19:46] give us a couple months of of earnings

[4:19:49] on this as well.

[4:19:51] In terms of the size and structure,

[4:19:53] we're looking at about uh 334.3

[4:19:57] million in par that we would refund. Um,

[4:20:01] you know, we're saying all of the 2016

[4:20:03] AS, but the actual 2016 that are

[4:20:06] actually um coming uh maturing uh in

[4:20:11] April uh may not be included in the

[4:20:14] actual refunding. we may let those just

[4:20:16] um mature and be paid. We're looking at

[4:20:20] right now what's penciling out about

[4:20:22] 17.4 million in the 2019 AS and 2021 AS

[4:20:27] uh about 97.6 million, but we will have

[4:20:31] parameters. You'll see them in in your

[4:20:33] documents. So, we do continue to watch

[4:20:36] this all the way from the time that we

[4:20:39] imagine doing the refunding to when we

[4:20:41] actually do it. We are looking at the

[4:20:44] market uh where things are are are

[4:20:48] lining up to achieve a minimum level of

[4:20:52] savings for the whole transaction and

[4:20:54] include the bonds that make the most

[4:20:56] sense to achieve that savings.

[4:21:00] And uh these will be issued on the

[4:21:02] senior lean. They'll be tax exempt fixed

[4:21:05] rate bonds and that match maturity

[4:21:07] struct structure with uniform debt

[4:21:09] service savings. um really uh we'll just

[4:21:14] keep things lined up the way they are

[4:21:16] now in terms of our our debt structure.

[4:21:18] I I know you see in the quarterly report

[4:21:20] the charts that show the only ascending

[4:21:23] debt level structure we have is on our

[4:21:25] TIFIA loan. Everything else we really

[4:21:28] have been maintaining as a level debt

[4:21:30] service.

[4:21:33] So again, estimated savings and cost of

[4:21:35] issuance. Right now, uh the 2016 AS are

[4:21:38] looking at nearly $40 million and

[4:21:41] another 3.4 million in net present value

[4:21:43] savings by pulling those um maturities

[4:21:47] that are penciling out in the 2019 AS

[4:21:50] and 2021 AS with a cost of issuance of

[4:21:53] about 1.1 million.

[4:21:57] In terms of the credit rating agency

[4:21:59] reviews, um we have our appointments

[4:22:02] lined up with standard and pores and

[4:22:04] fitch. Right now we're carrying AAA

[4:22:06] ratings uh on the senior lean. We don't

[4:22:08] expect anything to change with that. But

[4:22:11] what you can see here is on our

[4:22:12] subordinate lean, S&P has us at doublea

[4:22:16] and fitch has us at double A plus. And

[4:22:18] we think this is a very good opportunity

[4:22:20] to request S&P to look a little closer

[4:22:23] at this and notch us up because we feel

[4:22:25] strongly that we should be in the double

[4:22:27] A+ category. Um and again that final

[4:22:31] junior subordinate lean of the tiffy

[4:22:34] alone is an A+ rating which is pretty

[4:22:37] all of our ratings are very solid.

[4:22:41] Um, in terms of next steps, I wanted to

[4:22:44] mention first, um, what you have in your

[4:22:46] packet does include a pretty robust set

[4:22:49] of the draft documents. We are not

[4:22:52] planning to go over those with you today

[4:22:55] in detail. We will be back in January

[4:22:57] with our bond council, with our

[4:22:59] disclosure council, and we will be

[4:23:01] walking through the documents and what

[4:23:03] they contain and responsibilities for

[4:23:06] review. Um, but today we wanted to give

[4:23:08] you the overview. uh allow you to, you

[4:23:11] know, ask any questions about the

[4:23:13] overall transaction that you have and

[4:23:15] let you know uh what the process is. So,

[4:23:18] we anticipate receiving the ratings from

[4:23:20] the agencies the week of January 19th.

[4:23:24] Again, we'll come back uh January 23rd

[4:23:27] with the final bond documents. Uh we're

[4:23:30] going to post the preliminary official

[4:23:32] statement and do the marketing of bonds

[4:23:34] the following week with an anticipated

[4:23:36] pricing date uh the that first week of

[4:23:39] February and closing the second week of

[4:23:42] February. And with that, Mudra and I are

[4:23:45] available to answer any questions you

[4:23:46] might have.

[4:23:50] » Thank you very much. All right, we're

[4:23:51] going to go to p uh public comment.

[4:23:53] Please, Michael.

[4:23:55] » We have one public comment. If you are

[4:23:58] online, please raise your hand now

[4:23:59] versus truth.

[4:24:02] » I thought I'd get extra laughs because

[4:24:05] you can't have enough of that in boring

[4:24:07] meetings. No offense. No offense,

[4:24:09] financing, but I hate numbers. Uh, let's

[4:24:11] see. I can say hi to somebody. There's

[4:24:12] Bruce. Hi, Bruce. How you doing? I did

[4:24:14] already give him a shout out. Um, oh, I

[4:24:16] like Terry. Terry's great. Kevin, we're

[4:24:19] thinking about it.

[4:24:24] All right. Look how much time I wasted.

[4:24:26] Zene egg has a peak debt service of $161

[4:24:29] million a 2.2 billion in outstanding

[4:24:31] debt. Thanks Assan and Andre. You know

[4:24:34] it's uh interesting that no matter what

[4:24:37] sandagger the media says the numbers are

[4:24:38] showing that Trump policies seem to be

[4:24:40] resulting in a much more stable market

[4:24:42] than Biden policies. I just like to

[4:24:43] throw a controversy. I'm not even a

[4:24:45] Trump fan, but when you look at the egg

[4:24:47] prices $8 down to $3,

[4:24:50] what are you going to complain about?

[4:24:52] Uh, in fact, if you're outside of crazy

[4:24:53] California, you know, everything's

[4:24:55] affordable. It's amazing how that works.

[4:24:57] Um, but let's see. Let's see. Uh,

[4:25:00] indentured debt ser slavery is what

[4:25:02] bonds are. Santa needs to pay the debt

[4:25:04] off that it unjustly incurred for fake

[4:25:06] transportation solutions like toll lanes

[4:25:08] and then never implement managed toll

[4:25:10] lanes ever again. Uh, and it's actually

[4:25:12] unjust to celebrate no road tax, but

[4:25:15] then confirm two nails new two new sales

[4:25:18] taxes, which actually I say confirm, but

[4:25:20] that's not going to happen. I think

[4:25:21] that's dream world. So again, finance,

[4:25:24] you need to look at that because that's

[4:25:25] not happening. And it says something

[4:25:27] about uh there's a team that engaged the

[4:25:30] financial advisor. Uh can we get names

[4:25:32] for those people that we're paying for?

[4:25:33] I don't even know who that is. Um

[4:25:36] question when the 2026A bonds with Wells

[4:25:38] Fargo were decided, was that when Santa

[4:25:40] was located within the Wells Fargo

[4:25:42] building? I would hope not because that

[4:25:44] seems like a conflict of interest or

[4:25:45] some kind of conflict.

[4:25:47] And uh speaking of financials, uh Terry

[4:25:51] officially joined the broken record club

[4:25:53] today. Congratulations on that. And you

[4:25:55] did it with numbers. That's how it's

[4:25:56] relative. See, I put it all together. Um

[4:25:59] how everyone can stop being a broken

[4:26:01] record on every topic. Work as hard as

[4:26:04] the Santi City Council members. How

[4:26:06] about that? Merry Christmas.

[4:26:09] » Next online is the original draw

[4:26:11] followed by Paul the Bold. The item here

[4:26:13] is the proposed 2026 bond issuance.

[4:26:18] Man, talk about a perpetual state of

[4:26:20] debt just all the time. And it's it's

[4:26:23] interesting because it makes you wonder

[4:26:24] how many, you know, projects have you

[4:26:26] guys engaged in that needed this bond um

[4:26:29] to use them to get the money to, you

[4:26:32] know, complete or start or whatever and

[4:26:35] that never were. And then we're just

[4:26:37] continuing to pay on debt. And it's

[4:26:40] like, you know, you guys just continue

[4:26:42] to get more money of our I just there's

[4:26:45] nothing to show for the amounts of money

[4:26:47] that comes across any government hands.

[4:26:50] I mean, it's astronomical amounts. All

[4:26:52] while people sit here and they're

[4:26:54] suffering. They don't get to sit and be

[4:26:56] in debt like this. I mean, you'll

[4:26:57] take their house and sell it for a

[4:26:59] hundred bucks, which is what the county

[4:27:02] does because you can't pay your taxes.

[4:27:04] It's like, but you guys sit here and you

[4:27:06] rob us of our money that could be used

[4:27:09] to help people actually, you know, just

[4:27:12] survive.

[4:27:13] And instead, you go and you just create

[4:27:15] more debt for us to have to pay off. And

[4:27:18] then you want to come at us and be like,

[4:27:20] we're going to need some more money

[4:27:22] because you know what? We need to pay

[4:27:23] our employees and make sure that we can

[4:27:25] still provide all the things that you

[4:27:27] guys that we're providing for you, which

[4:27:29] is nothing. It's like you look around

[4:27:31] and you're like taking things away. Like

[4:27:33] I said before, trying to change people's

[4:27:35] behaviors, which is psychotic in itself.

[4:27:38] And it's like

[4:27:40] it's just sad because I mean, nobody

[4:27:42] should have even given up their money

[4:27:44] for gold, like their gold for IUS. But

[4:27:47] people were stupid enough to do that.

[4:27:49] And now money is worthless. And then

[4:27:51] we're going to go into some, you know,

[4:27:53] fully digital kind of currency where

[4:27:55] it's going to be even more easy to

[4:27:58] regulate people because, you know,

[4:28:00] you're going to bring in some kind of or

[4:28:01] the whatever the government will will

[4:28:03] bring in some kind of, you know, um

[4:28:05] universal basic income and then take out

[4:28:08] how much you need to pay for your rent,

[4:28:09] your transportation, and everything. And

[4:28:10] they'll be like, "Here, you have a

[4:28:12] couple pennies left, but you know what?

[4:28:13] Pennies are worthless, and we're going

[4:28:14] to take those out so you don't even have

[4:28:16] anything." It is just so sad to see how

[4:28:19] much money goes through your hands and

[4:28:21] we have nothing to show for it and you

[4:28:22] virtue signal like you're perfect.

[4:28:24] » Thank you. Our last public comment is

[4:28:26] Paul the Bold

[4:28:35] here. Um again, happy holidays. Uh, the

[4:28:40] staff report cites a $55 million savings

[4:28:44] under current market conditions.

[4:28:48] Current,

[4:28:50] that is the operative word. The market

[4:28:53] is changing fast, so you might want to

[4:28:56] proceed rather quickly on this, but I

[4:28:58] I'm not sure if it's really practical

[4:29:02] because there's another issue. I hope

[4:29:06] people snap up the new bonds otherwise

[4:29:10] uh this debt refunding won't work and um

[4:29:16] there actually are less and less people

[4:29:18] in the county or probably who want this

[4:29:24] or who want the new bonds. Um, I see by

[4:29:28] the way that the draft resolution goes

[4:29:32] from section six to section 9.

[4:29:37] What would we do without people to

[4:29:40] actually check the resolution to see if

[4:29:43] the the sequence is logical proofreading

[4:29:48] error or is this a purposeful omission?

[4:29:53] Um

[4:29:55] anyway, as I say, happy holidays uh to

[4:29:59] all um and um keeping it short. Thank

[4:30:05] you.

[4:30:08] » That concludes our public comment on the

[4:30:09] item chair.

[4:30:10] » Thank you very much. Okay, I see nobody

[4:30:12] on the board. Uh thank you so much, Don

[4:30:14] and Mudra. We'll see you early next year

[4:30:16] to do the deal um and get this done.

[4:30:19] » I I I I should be on the board.

[4:30:21] » Oh, okay. Mayor Castelin. Okay. Thanks.

[4:30:24] Um, Don, I I wanted to put three

[4:30:28] questions on the table, and I doubt that

[4:30:31] you have the answers right now, but I'd

[4:30:33] like to get the answers. So, the first

[4:30:35] one is how much of the future Transnet

[4:30:37] revenues are obligated by these bonds.

[4:30:40] You know, what portion is going to the

[4:30:42] bond service and what portion is

[4:30:44] available going forward?

[4:30:47] » I don't have it off the top of my head

[4:30:49] right now. I should have brought the

[4:30:50] last quarterly report. didn't give you

[4:30:53] these questions that I will for sure get

[4:30:54] that to you.

[4:30:55] » Great. What will the bond revenues what

[4:30:58] did the bond revenues pay for or will be

[4:31:01] paying for is my second question. And

[4:31:04] what I'll request is a table of the

[4:31:06] 2016A, 2019A, and 2021A bonds. How much

[4:31:11] each was and what they were for. I'd

[4:31:14] like to review that so that I have an

[4:31:15] understanding of what we have done with

[4:31:18] this money over the years since 2016.

[4:31:21] » Yes. So, so first let me say that the

[4:31:24] bonds that have been issued with the

[4:31:25] transnet revenue pledge have been uh

[4:31:28] transnet major corridor projects. Uh the

[4:31:31] most most of the debt was related to the

[4:31:34] early action program of projects. So

[4:31:38] that that group of projects that was

[4:31:40] identified for early action when the

[4:31:42] ordinance initially passed, things like

[4:31:45] completion of State Route 52, 76, Mid

[4:31:49] Coast, I5 North Coast corridor, the 8 uh

[4:31:53] 805 HO lanes. Uh just several projects

[4:31:57] that oh I-15 I think was also in the

[4:32:00] list. This is my capital person who who

[4:32:03] can remind me everything that was in the

[4:32:05] early action program. But the the debt

[4:32:07] is related to the transnet major

[4:32:09] corridor program predominantly the early

[4:32:11] action program. Uh it was envisioned

[4:32:15] that we would do debt financing um on

[4:32:18] the projects that were prioritized at

[4:32:20] the time the ordinance passed and then

[4:32:22] move into a pay as you go situation. Um

[4:32:26] the board policy uh on debt it indicates

[4:32:30] that so of the transnet revenues that

[4:32:33] come into the major corridor uh we are

[4:32:36] restricted to uh assuring that we have a

[4:32:39] onetoone ratio. So the debt on the major

[4:32:42] corridor program can never be more than

[4:32:45] uh that one-time coverage rate so that

[4:32:48] we have money to go into the program.

[4:32:50] So, every dollar we put into new capital

[4:32:53] projects that are currently in the

[4:32:54] program, no more than a dollar can go

[4:32:57] into the debt. Uh, if you would like the

[4:33:00] table to include the specifics of

[4:33:03] projects that it went into, uh, that may

[4:33:06] take a little bit more time to get, but

[4:33:07] the reality is that I mean, so these

[4:33:09] bond issuances, um, I think the 2021 was

[4:33:14] likely, um, small amount of new money

[4:33:18] maybe, but mostly a refunding. So, some

[4:33:20] of these have been refundings as well

[4:33:22] over time because we began issuing bonds

[4:33:25] back in 2008.

[4:33:27] Um, and so when we have the call dates

[4:33:29] come up, we've we've done several

[4:33:32] additional refundings. Um, so I I can

[4:33:35] work directly with you and and figure

[4:33:37] out what what you want that table to

[4:33:38] encompass.

[4:33:39] » That's great.

[4:33:40] » Mayor, um, if my memory serves me right,

[4:33:43] and Susan will correct me later on, we

[4:33:46] have delivered

[4:33:49] All the projects in the early action

[4:33:52] item except 52 is the only one

[4:33:55] remaining, but all the l all the ones on

[4:33:58] the early action were delivered have

[4:34:01] been delivered.

[4:34:01] » So maybe a a reminder to the board of

[4:34:03] what those early action items were

[4:34:05] because then we'll be in a position to

[4:34:07] speak to what was this money used for

[4:34:10] and we're being wise and thank you for

[4:34:12] bringing the refunding or refinancing of

[4:34:15] this forward so that we hear about it.

[4:34:17] So there's no motion to be made.

[4:34:19] Correct.

[4:34:21] Okay. Very good. This concludes our

[4:34:22] meeting. Thanks for staying for the

[4:34:24] whole time. The next board of directors

[4:34:25] meeting will be January 9th, 2026 at

[4:34:28] 9:00 a.m. This meeting is adjourned.

[4:34:30] Happy, safe, and healthy holidays.

Board of Directors

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