Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG)

Good morning, everybody. Welcome and thank you for joining us for today's. We'll go ahead and see if there is an audio situation. I'll try again. Okay that's sounding good there, I think. Well as good as mine is going to sound. Welcome thank you for joining us for today's May 21st SB CAG board meeting. For the record my name is David Silva and I am the vice chair of SB CAG. Board Madam Clerk please facilitate roll call.

There are any members of the public on the zoom webinar who wish to speak would you please use the raise hand feature and I will call upon you. And there are no responses.

Okay next up we'll move to the consent calendar is there any public comment or if any public comments provided in advance for this item?

There was no public comment provided in advance and if there are any members of the public on the Zoom webinar who wish to speak, would you please use the raise hand feature and I will call upon you. And there are no responses. All right,

I will now look to any of our directors if there's anyone who'd like to pull an item from our consent calendar and if not, if there's anyone who'd like to make a motion at this time?

Hartman moves approval of the consent calendar. Patino second.

Great, if we could please have a roll call vote for that

And motion passes.

Thank you very much we will now move on to item 5A, Madam Clerk will you please read the item into the record?

Item 5A 2026 Transit Needs Assessment adopt resolution 26-next in order approving that 2026 transit needs assessment including findings that for fiscal year 2026 27 there are no unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet

Good morning, everyone. So this is a process that we do annually to see if there are any unmet transit needs. We hold public hearings, get comments and then we see if any of those comments are unmet transit needs that are reasonable to meet and then we bring our findings here for approval along with the resolution This process determines whether or not agencies can use the transit portion of Transportation Development Act funding for non-transit purposes, so for example streets and roads.

So for the public outreach process, SPCAG held two public hearings. One in Santa Barbara and one in Buelton And then Lompoc and Santa Maria also have their own public hearings for this process We also got comments from our emails and from our online What is it called? Our online forum And then to get the word out, we noticed through classified ads, email, social media and then we also worked with schools, nonprofits, transit agencies and also social service agencies.

We got a total of 95 comments mostly from the survey but we did have a lot of public comments during our public hearings Out of the 95 comments, we found 14 that were potentially unmet transit needs. And these are the ones that we analyzed in our report. This is a summary of all those specific comments. I can go through any of them specifically if you want but I wasn't planning on doing that.

This is the reasonable to meet criteria that we use to analyze our comments. This was adopted by your board in October of 2025. I'll go through these really quickly, the first one is if it's consistent with our regional priorities so included in our regional transportation plan as well as like specific transit plans The second one is if it can be implemented safely.

The third one is making sure that it wouldn't result in the system failing to meet performance standards. Number four, is would it cause the agency to incur expenses above the maximum TD allocation that they get? And the last one is would the proposed service reach their required fare box ratio? So from this process, we did not find any unmet transit needs this year. So agencies will be able to use their transit funding for non-transit purposes and I also want to mention that even though we didn't find any unmet transit needs it's the comments that we get don't just get thrown in the trash, we really take them to heart and a lot of changes have come from this process even if we haven't found unmet needs. This process is specifically to see if they can use their that portion of TDA funds towards non-transit purposes so like I said we had no unmet transit needs this year but if you want me to go through any specific needs specific comments I can do that as well And that's yeah, that's all I have if you have any questions.

Okay thank you very much we'll bring it back to the board for any questions of staff at this time anyone here in Santa Barbara with questions for our staff? Anyone in Santa Maria?

None here.

My only question I had is that knowing and I also have to check actually first before I go Chair Nelson joining remotely did you have any questions for staff at this time?

No questions for staff, I'm willing to support the motion.

Perfect my only question before going to that part was is there any um is this the only time that public comment can be submitted for unmet crime? Is there a means like annually that it's always ongoing that if the public wanted to identify needs is there a means to do so?

Yeah this is like the formal process but we do get comments via email or just through Lauren throughout the year that we make sure to include in the process each year that we do annually.

Thank you very much Is there any public comment on this item at this time?

There was no written comment received, however if there are any attendees on the line who wish to speak on Zoom would you please use the raise hand feature and I will call upon you. And there are no responses.

Okay we'll then bring it back to the board for possible discussion or motion at this time.

Move staff recommendation.

I'll second I think if we can have a roll call vote.

Motion passes.

Thank you very much for the presentation, we'll now move on to item 5B. Madam Clerk will you please read the item into the record?

Item 5B draft measure A program of projects fiscal year 26-27 recommended action hold a public hearing to review and comment on the draft measure A program of projects for fiscal years 2026-27 to 2030-31. And we have

our staff presented by Jackie Mata thank you.

Good morning, Directors. My name is Jackie Mata, Senior Transportation Planner at SBCAD in the Programming Division and today I'll be presenting the draft Measure A program of projects for fiscal year 26-27. So the Measure A Program of Projects is a programming document that identifies all transportation projects to be funded with Measure A for the next five years.

And so this POP or program of projects, this five year period is between 26-27 through 30-31 And so when is this done? This is done every year as required by voter-approved Measure A ordinance to show just how Measure A funds are going to be spent in our county. So the Measure A program or projects, or the POP as I'll be referring to it in this presentation, it's made up of the local POP There you go, and the regional pop.

So the local pop is developed by our local jurisdictions and consists of street bikeway and transit improvements. And this is something that all of your councils have already approved so you've already taken a look at them. So this is just a compilation of all the local pops And then the regional POP, this is developed by SBCAG staff and Santa Barbara MTD. And consists of named regional projects that are identified in our investment plan.

So it is estimated that Measure A will generate approximately $50 million in fiscal year 26-27 and overall in that five year period it'll generate $270 million With 59% of those funds going to local programs, so it goes as local pass through to all your jurisdictions. And then 41% goes to the regional programs and projects. So for the local program of projects, we did an analysis of how local jurisdictions will be using their funds and approximately 61% will be spent on street maintenance.

And then the next highest category is the alternative transportation and that's at 21%. And for this category specifically each jurisdiction must spend a minimum percentage of their local funds on eligible alternative transportation expenditures And so those percentages are identified in the measuring investment plan. And then you see the remaining categories being smaller percentages, that's safety improvements, traffic signal coordination and urban forestry street tree maintenance program.

So these next few slides will just show you examples of projects and programs in the regional POP So Measure A also has separate bicycle and pedestrian and safe routes to school programs in the North County and in the South Coast. So here you can see an example of the South Coast Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, this is the county's MODOC multi-use path so this was recently opened and open this month and some of you may have written on it already And this slide shows a project from the North County Safe Routes to School program. This is MOVES Youth Bicycle Education Program, and there's also a similar program in the South Coast.

And this slide is an example of a regional project, a regionally named project that's included in the POP. This is the 101-135 Interchange Improvements Project. So you can see in the image it shows the two design alternatives being considered. This project is currently in the design phase but it does have construction funds programs in this five year period so it has Measure A funds programmed in construction and fiscal year 2930 And then lastly, I will go over the schedule for approval. So we presented the draft to TTAC this month and we received no comments from them and then following that will present the final program of projects to TTAC and also to your board in June and then that'll follow with allocations in July.

And I'd be happy to take any questions now.

Thank you so much. Is there any questions from the board for our staff at this time? We'll start in Santa Maria, any questions?

None here.

Any questions here in Santa Barbara? Director Brown?

Your alternative transportation what will all that include?

Yeah it includes bicycle and pedestrian projects but it also can include transit projects from the local agencies Transit, yeah sorry.

Any other questions here in Santa Barbara? Any questions from Chair Nelson? No questions here thank you. All right is there any public comment on this item?

There are any members of the public on the zoom webinar who wish to speak would you please use the raise hand feature and I will call upon you I did not receive any written comment and there are no attendees on zoom who wish to speak.

All

right,

we can bring it back to the board for further discussion if there's anyone who'd like to talk about this further and just as a reminder for this if there was a motion to approve the motion would be to accept comments on the draft measure a program of projects so this is just to be clear we're looking to just accept the comments on the on the projects

This is a public hearing for the program. It's a draft and so we'll bring it back to the board next month for approval, so again you don't necessarily have to have an action and I'll refer to legal counsel but it's just information only at this time to receive public comment yes.

Chair and directors if there's no public comment that needs to be accepted then a motion doesn't need to be made at this time The hearing would be concluded. If there is public comment that is on the record that needs to be accepted, that would be the motion.

Okay great so we can pause for discussion but it sounds like we may not even need a motion at this time so any further comments? We're having an efficient meeting today okay well thank you very much for your time Now we move on to the executive director report with our Director Kern.

Yes, good morning everyone thank you I want to thank everyone who participated in our mayor's ride this is a record-breaking mayor's ride that we had a couple weeks ago maybe it was just last week and it was the biggest attendance we had over 50 to 60 people attend some people road away along the ride because it was quite a long ride as well. It was our longest ride ever so it was 10 miles round trip, five miles one way so most people made it the one-way but a lot of people didn't make it on the return trip but it was a lot of fun I really appreciate the joy that happens on those rides and and I encourage more participation in the future because it's a great photo op I mean it's the whole garage Thank you again for attending that.

Another great event is happening at the end of the month, it's our finale for cycle mania and this is another fun event we have a it will happen on May 31st which is a Sunday from 2 to 4 PM it will be at the Goleta Beach there's a community ride from two to three I haven't mapped it out yet, but it's a fun ride through UCSB and Isla Vista just to get a feel for what a lot of the students are doing every single day. And then the ceremony will begin at 3 o'clock at Goleta Beach and we're basically celebrating all the participation that we had all month. And this is also the time where we give away the e-bike so it's very popular and also food is provided so that's another incentive I think last year when we did the ride before we did it in Santa Barbara, I was telling people along the way there's free tacos and we got like more people joining the ride and enjoying the tacos at the end.

So again it's another fun event so you are all invited to that. If you want to participate, let me know and I'll give you even more details. And then the last but not least we heard from the group, the SBCAG board that they wanted more social opportunities to chit chat and talk with each other. So I got together with the Air District Executive Director and we were planning a lunch for you all between your meetings in June. So SPCAG will meet in the morning and you have air district in the afternoon, and we're going to be providing lunch in between. So I encourage you all to participate in person for this opportunity. It will be in Santa Maria, so and you'll get a free lunch out of the deal. So I just want to plug that and get it on your calendars and then you can participate in both meetings without having to worry about what you're going to do for lunch.

So with that, I'll pass it back over to the chair and if anybody has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Thank you.

Any questions for our director at this time? Any questions in Santa Maria? No sir. Okay we'll move on now to our Caltrans director report from Aaron Henkel, Deputy District Director of Traffic and Maintenance on behalf of District 5 Director Scott Eades.

Good morning thank you for having me at the meeting I really appreciate it. At this time Caltrans began its annual mowing operation which hopefully you've started I know I've noticed it on 246 and 101 in areas earlier than usual this year to better address rapid vegetation growth and prioritize areas with the greatest fire risk. Mowing will also focus on maintaining clear site distances for drivers and residents can report concerns by submitting a Caltrans customer service request.

And selecting landscape weeds, trees and brushes that will help our maintenance people be able to prioritize high areas of concern and be able to get out there quicker so that would help us. A little something that I don't know if you all know FIFA is coming And in Santa Barbara, there's actually going to be two practice areas. One at UCSB and the other will be at Westmont College.

So during FIFA you might see a little bit more activity in those areas. It'd be pretty good for the community I think but that's all I've got this time.

All right thank you very much sir any questions for our Caltrans representative today? Santa Barbara? Santa Maria?

Yes.

Please go ahead. I've

got a question. I've got a question.

Yes,

director. It the Robinson Bridge Highway 246 bridge they're doing some drilling or something on the bridge is there something going on that they could share?

That more than likely will be our geotech department to be able to help for the design of the new bridge as it's being developed It's all in the end.

Another thing is they left one of the straw waddles on the side of the bridge, it's about 20 foot long and there's only about 12 inches for pedestrians to walk or bicycles so currently they're having to walk out in the middle of the bridge so to say. So as of last night it was still there I didn't check this morning but just giving you a heads up.

I can have somebody take a look at that thank you sir

Chair Nielsen any questions for our Caltrans representative at this time? No questions from me. I only had one that I just wanted to bring to your attention. So over the last few days, week or so we've had some issues with some light signal coordination and timing on the 246 McMurray Road which often is a bit of an issue when it gets around moving through the valley at this time. And I think you had some of your representatives out there working on it but just yesterday one of the light poles was ripped out of it by a semi truck we believe. So in case you did a lot of great work to make that work It might need to be replaced again because all of the technology is now on the ground. So I just wanted to bring that to your attention, that there might be some more light synchronization that could be looked at in that area if you have a chance to pass it along to your staff.

And that was 246 and McMurray Road? Correct. I'll pass that along thank you sir.

Thank you. All right well we will now move on to our committee meeting updates. Chair Nelson would you do you have an update for CalVans at this time?

Yes yes i have a short update So, so Cal Bounds is wrapping up. Our busy time of year is obviously the spring into summer as harvest increases throughout the state of California. So we're getting a lot of our vans online some of you may know that we've had some turnover with our executive director. We have a new executive director. So, we're kind of working through some financial issues that we had from our previous executive leadership but we are managing those okay.

CalVans was a recipient of some of the Prop 4 funding, so we've been advocating for at least a partial allocation of those Prop 4 funds in this year's budget. We weren't in last year's budget obviously with the budget woes at the state level there are some concerns about that although these funds are earmarked specifically for CalVan and their operations for rural van transportation especially for farm workers. So we're hoping to be able to pull those down this year The other thing that is a bit of a challenge for Caltrans right now is the gas prices.

Part of our rate includes, as always included fuel so we've actually had to make a fuel sear surcharge for a lot of our van users to accommodate the rising fuel costs. So hopefully it's a temporary measure and as gas prices potentially come back down we'll be able to adjust accordingly, but right now to ride this ship we've had to implement a small fuel charge and we're trying to make sure that that has as least impact on our users as possible so that's what's going on in Caltrans I'll be back next month with hopefully more.

Thank you very much Next up we have Director Rouse to provide an update on the Coast Rail Coordinating Council.

Okay, thank you Mr. Chair. I'm going to ask Mr. Bonfilio to come up and maybe back me up on a few things here. We met the CCRC met on May 15th. I participated remotely and the main point of discussion was the service that exists now plus the service potential for enhancing the Olympic transit between here in the Bay Area there are some There we go.

Good morning Mr. Chair, yes as Mayor Rouse alluded to the CRCC met recently and one of the primary topics was discussing how to expand rail services in advance of the Olympics to try and provide proof of concept that there is a market for additional demand along the coastline There is effort underway to seek an earmark for that service both at the state and federal level.

This board will likely see a resolution in the coming weeks or months regarding that in support of that effort, but as Mayor Rouse pointed out we are Thank you both very much.

Thank you chair. Our Losan meeting was held on Monday, May 18th. It was a pretty short meeting it wasn't very long. One of the items that I think I'd like to bring to your attention was the agreement with Union Pacific for corridor hardening. Losan staff will coordinate with Union Pacific to identify a program of projects. The cost is $19 million. The funding will come through transit and inner city rail capital program, and also state rail assistance funding. And the five identified projects that they've come up with for bluff stabilization is Rincon Point, Ortega Hill, El Capitan, Tejigas and Cojo. Am I saying that right?

I'm not quite sure where that is so I have to look that up. So each of these areas are in the Santa Barbara County and within the same region that experienced the week-long track closure north of Goleta from the storm in January. I believe that was 2026 They also did discuss the World Cup transportation on rail and getting that services all lined up with extra trains and buses, and then also the Olympics. So a lot more advertisements will be done. You might see some of the rail Pacific surf liners with what they call wraps And highlighting these different events. So that was pretty much it, it was a pretty short meeting.

Thank you very much. Oh yes Director

Clark. Thank you I'd just like to add a note. Coho is on Hollister Ranch along the coast and so that's likely erosion problems with the creek or whatever there.

Thank you for that.

There we go. Next up, we'll move to one-minute reports if any director would like to share a report from the area? Do we have anyone in Santa Maria who'd like to share anything?

None here.

Bring back into Santa Barbara. Anyone who'd like to share anything at this time? Director Parodi?

I had the opportunity to greet all the Cyclomania riders that rode into and tried out our roundabouts. And they ended up at Old Town Coffee, so I greeted them there and I was very curious how did it go with the roundabouts? One gentleman said well when you have 50 bikes riding there's no problem. We just took over the lanes, but they said it was great. So it was nice to see all of them there and all that they're doing and then I know this isn't transportation related but I do want to say long-awaited Johnny D Wallace splash pad that the kids have been waiting for for years will open today. They'll have a ribbon cutting so A lot of kids squealing with delight, I'm sure.

That's all I have. Thank you.

Director Brown? I'm quite curious why Mayor Patino didn't make a plug for the Elk Rodeo but she'll have that opportunity. In Solvang we're going to have a memorial service for the VFW On Memorial Day at noon, appreciate those that want to come out and I want to thank all veterans and Gold Star families. And then also we're planning a huge event for the 4th of July.

The Quincentennial with fireworks and parades and it'll be an All-American event so hope to see them there.

And the only one I want to give is, I wanted to thank SBCAC staff who attended the State of the City address in Buelton and how much sharing about the River Trail gets everyone very excited. And I also wanted to say thank you to both Director Lee and Director Hartman and Director Brown who came and attended as well. The biggest feedback I get from all of this is how much our residents love seeing that collaboration and when other agencies invest in partner with other ones. So, I just want to thank you all for the partnership with that and it's I think it's a great sign of the collaboration available in this county so thank you all for everything and looking forward to working with y'all in the future.

Director Silva?

Yes

Thank you Director Brown for reminding me. I'll blame it on jet lag, I just got back to the state of California. Anyway the Elks Rodeo will be not this weekend but the following weekend and the parade is on the 27th, the 29th which is Saturday but this week, this weekend Memorial Day weekend will be the West Coast Custom Car Show which is one of the biggest attractions in Santa Maria And that'll be starting Friday night. We'll have a cruise down Broadway and people start putting out their chairs Friday morning for that so come on over and see all these, all these beautiful cars and all day Saturday at the Fair Park they will be there but come on up for the rodeo it'll be a good time thank you and thank you Director Brown

All right, seeing no other one-minute reports we'll go ahead and move to adjourn this meeting. The next meeting will be June 25th 2026 in Santa Maria is encouraged that board members attend in person the Santa Maria location since there is a lunch opportunity there and we'll see you all there have a great day