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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 06201995 - SD2 Contra TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Costa FROM: TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE Coup DATE: June 5, 1995 SUBJECT: Report on At-Large Citizen and Alternate Appointment as Contra Costa County Representative on Steering Committee of Caltrans' Rail Task Force SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS Accept recommendation on the following two (2) year appointments to the Steering Committee of Caltrans Rail Task Force (San Joaquin Rail Task Force) : • At-Large Citizen Representative James Kennedy, City of Martinez • Alternate, At-Large Citizen Representative Howard Abelson, City of E1 Cerrito FISCAL IMPACT None. Proposed appointments are voluntary, unpaid positions. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS For a number of years Contra Costa County has been a member on the Steering Committee of Caltrans' San Joaquin Rail Task Force. This advisory body was formed in 1987 by counties in the San Joaquin Valley and the Bay Area to provide a forum for improving the intercity rail service known as the San Joaquin route. This body has been mainly focused on establishing a direct rail connection to Sacramento on all San Joaquin trains and eventually extending service from Bakersfield to Los Angeles. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X_ YES SIGNATURE RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X_ RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) : J f it Tom Torlakson ACTION OF BOARD ON f _ APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED _L OTHER As recommended above,the Board APPOINTED James Kennedy and Howard Abelson to two year terms on the Steering Committee of Caltrans Rail Task Force. The Board further DIRECTED that the other applicants for the Committee appointments be invited to meet with the two official representatives at least twice a year for discussion on rail passenger potential increase in ridership and service. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A UNANIMOUS (ABSENT TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORSS�� ON THE DATE SHOWN. Orig Dept: Community Development ATTESTED vZ D / y y S Contact: Patrick Roche, 646-2835 PHIL BAT ELOR, CLERK OF cc: Supervisor Doug Vagim, Fresno Co. THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Sue Horn, Caltrans AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY - DEPUTY Caltrans Task Force Appointment 6/5/95 Page Two BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS (continued) The San Joaquin route extends 312 miles between Bakersfield and Oakland with 13 intermediate stops, including Antioch, Martinez, and Richmond. The San Joaquins, operated by AMTRAK under a subsidy from the State of California, currently provides four daily trips between Bakersfield and Oakland. On April 11, 1995 the Board of Supervisors authorized the Transportation Committee to solicit Statements of Qualifications from interested County residents, develop a candidate list, interview prospective candidates, and then recommend an appointee and alternate to the Board of Supervisors for approval. An April 24, 1995 announcement from the Transportation Committee was circulated throughout Contra Costa County inviting interested residents to submit a Statement of Qualifications. Eight letters of qualifications were received in response to this announcement and interviews with prospective candidates were conducted on June .5, 1995 by the Transportation Committee. Based upon the Letter of Qualifications submitted and the subsequent the interviews on June 5th, members of the Transportation Committee have identified the top two candidates to be forwarded to the full Board for a two (2) year term appointment to serve as the County's At-Large Representative and Alternate on the San Joaquin Rail Task Force. The Transportation Committee hereby recommends the following two year appointments, beginning on July 1, 1995 and ending June 30, 1997, to the San Joaquin Rail Task Force: • At-Large Citizen Representative - James Kennedy, City of Martinez • Alternate, At-Large Citizen Representative Howard Abelson, City of E1 Cerrito Attached for information are the Letters of Qualifications submitted by each recommended candidate (marked as Exhibits "A" and "B") . attachments (2) Exhibit"A" 532 Eagle Nest Drive Martinez, CA 94553 May 23, 1995 x Patrick Roche, Senior Transportation Planner , Contra Costa County Community Development Department 651 Pine Street, 4th Floor, North Wing Martinez, CA 94553 - Dear Mr. che: n' p Re: Steering Committee of the Caltrans Rail Task Force Please accept this as my letter of interest to serve as Contra Costa . County's citizen representative for the Steering Committee of the Caltrans Rail Task Force. In my capacity as Redevelopment Director for Contra Costa County I have witnessed first hand the tremendously positive effect rail transit has, both as a mode of transportation & as a land use planning tool. The Pleasant Hill BART Station Area Red- evelopment Project Area in the County is one of the best existing mod- els of transit based development in the United States . Our Bay Point Redevelopment Project has similar transit based development potential that will soon be realized. As personal background: * Employed by Contra Costa County for 19 years; * Redevelopment Director for past 8 years; * Also manage housing, public finance, community development and economic development programs for the County; * On Board of Directors of Kennedy-King Memorial Scholarship Fund, and Martinez Education Foundation; * United Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations "Honorary Hispanic" , 1986; * Recipient of Bay Area Council Annual Award for achievement in affordable housing finance; * BA/MA in Economics from San Diego State University; * Married. with one son, 19 year County resident. I look forward to hearing from you. I may be reached at 646-4076 {w} or 228-4253 (h) . Sincerely, J res Ke nedy ~ Exhibit "B" LAW OFFICE OF HOWARD P. ABELSON 3150 HILLTOP MALL ROAD, SUITE 34 RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA 94806 TELEPHONE (510) 223-5910 FACSIMILE (510) 223-6332 May 18, 1995 Jeff Smith, Chairman, Transportation Committee Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors 651 Pine Street Martinez, CA 94553-0095 RE: San Joaquin Rail Task Force Dear Supervisor Smith: I would be willing to serve as the representative of Contra Costa County on the San Joaquin Rail Task Force. I believe my experience in government and familiarity with rail passenger transportation will allow me to make a significant contribution to this task force and represent the interests of Contra Costa County. Since 1976 I have maintained a private civil law practice in Richmond. Prior to entering private practice, I was employed as a Deputy City Attorney by the City of Oakland from 1973 to 1976 and as a Deputy District Attorney in San Bernardino County from 1969 to 1972 . My community involvement includes serving on the E1 Cerrito City Council from 1980 to 1988, including terms as Mayor and Vice-Mayor. I also served as a BART Director in 1988 . I served on other city and county committees, including the E1 Cerrito Planning Commission, the Contra Costa County Criminal Justice Agency, and the Contra Costa County Economic Plan Commit- tee. I was the chairman of the Economic Plan Committee in 1978 and 1979. I serve as the pro-bono legal counsel for the Western Rail- wav Museun in Solano County. I was a director of the museum from 1989 to 1995 and chairman of the board from 1993 to 1995. I have been interested in rail transportation for many years. I 've traveled by train extensively in the United States and Japan. My experience with rail travel in the San Joaquin corridor dates back to 1963 when I was a student at U.C. Berke- ley. In 1964 I organized a rooter train to a Cal-USC football game in Los Angeles using a Santa Fe Railway train from Richmond to Bakersfield. I us=e the San Joauqin service from Richmond to Martinez for early morning court appearances and occasionally take the train to Los Angeles. Finally, I have worked with Arthur Lloyd, the task force facilitator, on other projects. Sincerely, interoffice M E M O R A N D U M to: Supervisor Jeff Smith and Supervisor Tom Torlakson from: Patrick Roche subject: Approve and Sign Transportation Committee Recommendation on Rail Task Force Appt. date: June 13, 1995 Attached for your approval and signature is the BOS Transportation Committee report recommending appointment of At-Large Citizen and Alternate as Contra Costa Co. Representatives on the San Joaquin Rail Task Force. Please return signed copy to Patrick Roche, Comm. Dev. Dept. (ext. 6-2835). Thank you for your cooperation. r