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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 266-10TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM: CITY MANAGER DATE: JUNE 7,2010 REPORT TYPE: CONSENT DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT CMR: 266:10 SUBJECT: Approval of a Letter Opposing the Amendment to the Joint Powers Agreement for the Administration of the Santa Clara County Congestion , Management Program related to Governance of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City Council: 1. Not support the proposed amendment to the Joint Powers Agreement for the Administration to change the current VT A Board of Directors representation for the small city groupings. 2. Authorize the City Manager to send a letter to VTA expressing the City's position. BACKGROUND In 2007, the VTA conducted a comprehensive Financial and Organizational Assessment of VT A operations to strengthen the Board's effectiveness, governance, and financial management. The Assessment identified Board turnover and the length of board member terms in office as a critical challenge to effective governance. In particular, the report identified high turnover among the small dty groups of which Palo Alto Is a member. In 2008, the VT A Board discussed a Governance Committee proposal to change the structure and representation for the small city groupings. The proposed changes included: (a) expanding the small city groupings from 3 to 4 groups based on geographic proximity and population; (b) dropping the practice of rotating seats within each grouping; ( c) encouraging the reappointment of Board members to a term totaling 4 years instead of 2 years; and (d) developing a process of selecting VT A Directors with the required experience and qualifications. In response to item (b) above, in May 2009, the City Council approved the proposed change in the method of selecting the VTA Board Members from the six north county cities from a systematic rotation to having the VTA Policy Committee select the Board members based on a weighted voting procedure. CMR:266:10 Page 1 of4 In August 2008, the VT A Board referred the matter of the geographical composition of the small cities groups to the Administration and Finance (A&F) Committee for further consideration. In December 2009, the Board approved an A&F recommendation to reconfigure the small city groupings from 3 to 4 Groups, including a new group comprised of Sunnyvale, Milpitas, and Santa Clara and sent the attached Amendment to the member agencies for approval (Attachment A). The amendment would become effective on January 1, 2012, if approved by the County Board of Supervisors, a majority of the member agencies representing a majority of the population and the VT A. DISCUSSION Since its creation of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in 1995, VTA Board of Directors has.been composed of 12 members, all elected officials, from the following groupings. Groups 2, 3 and 4 are considered small city groupings: Current GrouQ Members Seats POQulation* POQ/Seat Group 1 San Jose 5 948;249 189,649 Group 2 Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Los Altos Hills 3 410,964 136,988 Group 3 Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos Monte Sereno, Saratoga 1 155,621 155,621 Group 4 Gilroy, Milpitas, Morgan Hill 1 155,533 155,533 Group 5 Santa Clara County 2 95,073 47,536 *2008 US Census estimates Under the amendment to the joint powers agreement, no changes in composition are proposed for Groups 1, 3 and 5. The proposed restructuring of the two remaining groupings, Groups 2 and 4, is based first on geographic proximity and common interest and second on population. The resulting small city groups would be increased from 3 to 4, but the total number of Board members representing these cities would remain at 5 members. The proposed structure for small city groupings is: GrouQ Members Seats POQulation* POQ/Seat Northwest Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View, 1 176,593 176,593 Los Altos Hills Northeast Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara 2 326,885 163,443 West Valley Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga 1 162,055 162,055 South County Gilroy, Morgan Hill 1 91,322 91,322 *Data estimates in VTA staff report The proposed configuration would align the groupings along geographic proximity better than the current structure and responds to concerns of Gilroy and Morgan Hill, in more rural South County, that they have little in common with Milpitas. Milpitas would move into a group with nearby urban cities Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. Palo Alto could benefit by being in a grouping with three other contiguous North County cities if the ratio of population/seat were lower, more consistent with the existing ratio. Under the proposed amendment, however, the North County group would be second only to San Jose in the highest per capita representation per board CMR:266:10 Page 2 of4 member. With the creation of the South County grouping without Milpitas, the concept of proportional representation on the Board is further compromised since the new South County group would have disproportionally high representation on the Board compared with the cities in the urbanized areas of the county. Staff recommends that the Council support the concept of proportional representation but not support the proposed amendment. Palo Alto would benefit by keeping the current configuration and greater representation on the VT A Board than under the proposed change. VTA Request and Status of Local Agency Actions According to the attached letter dated April 12 from the VTA (Attachment B), the threshold for approval of the change in the bylaws -support by the County Board of Supervisors, VTA Board, and by a majority of cities with a majority of the population -has been met. To date the cities of Cupertino, Campbell, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Santa Clara, San Jose, and Saratoga have approved the change. North County cities Mountain View, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, and Los Altos Hills have voted not to approve the change. Mountain View and Los Altos Hills acted on the matter after the threshold for approval had been achieved but voted in opposition nevertheless. Los Gatos and Monte Sereno have not yet taken pbsitions. While Palo Alto's position will not prevent the proposal from being enacted, staff recommends that Council go on record with a position opposing the amendment and communicate that position to the VT A Board. Next Steps VT A staff will circulate the Amendment to those agencies that approved the change. The effective date of the new Board structure is January 1,2012. RESOURCE IMPACT There are no resource impacts associated with this matter. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The City's role and interest in VTA Board structure and governance issues is consistent with Comprehensive Plan Policy T-49: "Lead and participate in initiatives to manage regional traffic." ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act. ATTACHMENTS A. December 15,2010 VTA transmittal letter B. April 12, 2010 VTA transmittal letter PREPARED BY: Management Specialist CMR:266:10 Page 3 of4 DEPARTMENT HEAD: CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: CMR:266:10 CURTIS WILLIAMS Director of Planning and Community Environment ~1O~ ~( JAMES KEENE ~ ~ City Manager Page 4 of4 ATTACHMENT A SANTA (LARA Valley Transportation Authority December 15,2009 Donna Grider, City Clerk City of Palo Alto 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 Dear Ms. Grider: At the December 10, 2009 meeting of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) . ~ Board of Directors, the Board approved Resolution No. 2009.12.35 amending the Joint Powers Agreement for the 4~ministration of the Santa Clara County Conge~tion Management Program (JP A) dated December 1 st, 1994. ",: This amendment will re'~onfigure the city groups (other than San Jose and Santa Clara County) from which representatives. to the VTA Board of Directors are selected. The reconfiguration is .. more fully described 1/ in" the attached Amendment to Joint Powers Agreement for the Administration of the Santa Clara County Congestion Management Program. The effective date of this change is for terms beginning in January of 20 12. All amendments to the JPA require the approval of the VTA Board of Directors, the County Board of Supervisors and a majority of the cities representing a majority of the population. Attached for your information is the Board Memo describing the background of this change, a copy· of the Board Resolution and the proposed Amendment. I respectfully request you submit this item to your council for their approval at your earliest convenience. Upon approval we will hand deliver the original Amendment for the authorized signature. If you have any questions or need further information on the item, VTA staff will be happy to meet with your city manager. I will be happy to answer any questions regarding the handling of the documents please contact me directly at 408.321.7046. Yours truly, s~o!~ Board Secretary 3331 North First Street· San Jose, CA 95134-1927· Administration 408.321.5555 . Customer Service 408.321.2300 I' g .. ". " ... w-m ~ Valley TransportafionAuthorify BOARD MEMORANDUM TO: THROUGH: FROM: SUBJECT: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors General Manager, Michael T. Bums Senior Policy Advisor, Jim Lawson Governance Amendment to JP A Date: November 25, 2009 Current Meeting:December 10, 2009 Board Meeting:December 10, 2009 ~CCEPTEO AD~PTEO AMENDED DEFERRED REVIEWED Snnln Clnro Volley TrnnSflorfntion Authorily /'1") Board of Directors BY ·1/ Sn~drn A. wc~mOIl:h' 80 . s.~ DA TE /;2 -('"!J .-tJ f ( Copy to: Jim Lawson 12/11/09 mmg Policy.Related Action: Yes Government Code Section 84308 Applies: No RECOMMENDATION: ACTION ITEM RESOLUTION NO:. 2009.12.35 Approve the attached resolution to amend the Joint Powers Agreement for the Administration of the Santa Clara County Congestion Management Program dated December 1, 1994 (JPA), and direct staff to forward the amendment to each member agency and the County of Santa Clara for their approval. BACKGROUND: At the November 5, 2009 Board of Directors meeting, the Board voted to reconfigure the. small city groupings to include a new city group comprised of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Milpitas. In order to make this change to VT A' s governance structure, an amendment must be made to the Joint Powers Agreement for the Administration of the Santa Clara County Congestion Management Program dated December 1, 1994 (JPA). Attached is the resolution with the proposed amendment which reflects the. direction agreed upon by the Board at its November 5 meeting. . . , . DISCUSSION: All amendments to the JPA require the approval of the VTA Board ofQirectors, the County Board of Supervisors and a majority ofthe cities representing· a majority of~he population. Once approved by the VTA Board, the amendment will be forwarded to every city and the County Board of Supervisors for their consideration. 3331 North First Street· San Jose, CA 95134-1927' Administration 408.321.5555 . Customer Service 408.321.2300 ALTERNATlVES: There are no alternatives to implementing the governance change approved by the Board of . D irect()rs. without amending the JP k FISCAL IMPACT: There are no fiscal impacts. Prepared by:· Scott Haywood Memo No. 2395 . Page 2 of2 AL TERt'lATIVES: There are no alternatives to implementing the governance change approved by the Board of D irect()r.s. without amending the JP A.· FISCAL IMPACT: There are no fiscal impacts. Prepared by:· Scott Haywood. Memo No. 2395 . Page 2 of2 Resolution No. 2009.12.35 RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY , ' APPROVING AMENDMENT TO JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT FOR ADMINISTRATION OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY" CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM ,WHEREAS, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), the fifteen'(l5) Cities ih the County of Santa Clara, and the County of Santa Clara, entered into a'iOINT POWERS AGREEMENT FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (hereinafter "Agreement")dated December 1, 1994; WHEREAS, Section 6 of the Agreement, pursuant to California Public Utiliiies'Secti'on 100060, established the groupings of the Cities within the County of Santa Clara, other than the City of San Jose, for the appointment of members to the Santa Clara County Transit District (now the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority) Board of Directors; WHEREAS, on November 5, 2009, the VTA Board of Directors approved the reconfiguration ofthe groupings of the Cities within the County of Santa Clara, other than the City of San Jose, to include a new city group comprised of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Milpitas, that would appoint two Board members and one alternate; WHEREAS, to implement such reconfiguration, the Agreement must be amended through the adoption of resolutions by VTA, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and a majority of the Member Agency parties to the Agreement (other than Santa Clara County) representing a majority of the population in Santa Clara County, pursuant to Section 15 thereof; NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Board of Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, that the attached Amendment to the Agreement, which Amendment would reconfigure'the groupings of the Cities within the County of Santa Clara, other than the City of San Jose, to include a new city group comprised of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Milpitas, that would appoint two Board members and one alternate, is hereby approved. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors on December 10,2009, by the follo~ing vote: AYES: Directors: CASAS, GAGE,~:HERRERA, KISHIMOTO,KNISS. LICCARDO, PAGE, ,PYLE, SEI..LERS NOES: Directors: NONE ABSENT: Dir~ctors: CASERTA, KALRA, REED APPROVED AS TO FORM: RESOLUTION NO. 2009.12.35 . ATTEST: SandraWeymouth, Boa Santa Clara Valley Tran APPROVED AS TO FORM: RESOLUTION NO. 2009.12.35 ATTEST: Sandra Weymouth, Boa Santa Clara Valley Tran !' AlVIENDlYIENT TO JOINT ·POWERS AGREElVIENT FOR THE ADlVIlNISTRATION OF THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM THIS AMENDMENT TO JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT (hereinafter "Amendment") dated as of December 10,2009 is made and entered into between Cities within the County of Santa Clara, the County of Santa Clarll and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (formerly known as the Santa Clara County Transit District). RECITALS WHEREAS, the parties hereto entered into a JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (hereinafter "Agreement") dated December 1, 1994; WHEREAS, Section 6 of the Agreement, pursuant to California Public Utilities Section 100060, established the groupings of the Cities within the County of Santa Clara, other than the City of San Jose, for the appointment of members to the Santa Clara COJlnty Transit District (now the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority) Board of Directors; WHEREAS, the partiesn<?w desire to amend Section 6 to reconfigure the groupings of the Cities within the County of Santa Clara, other than the City of San Jose, to include a new city group comprised of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Milpitas, that would appoint two Board members and one alternate; NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows: (1) Section 6.A.l of the Agreement is hereby amended to read as follows: The five (5) city council members and three (3) alternates to be appointed as Directors by all the cities in Santa CIani. County except the City of San Jose shall be selected according to the following groupings: City Grouping a. Los Altos Los Altos Hills Mountain View Palo Alto Representatives ·1 representative 1 alternate b. Campbell Cupertino Los Gatos Monte Sereno Saratoga c. Milpitas Santa Clara Sunnyvale . d. Gilroy . Morgan HilI 1 representative 1 alternate 2 representatives 1 alternate . 1 representative 1 alternate (2) This Amendment shall become effective on January 1,2012, if approved by resolutions adopted by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, a majority of the Member Agencies (other than Santa Clara County) representing a majority ofthe population in Santa Clara County and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, as provided in Section 15 of the Agreement. (3) As hereby amended, the terms and conditions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. . IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties have executed this Agreement on the date shown below. CITY OF CAMPBELL CITY OF CUPERTINO By: ________ _ By: --------------------Date Date CITY OF GILROY CITY OF LOS ALTOS By: __________ _ By: --------------------Date Date TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS TOWN OF LOS GAtOS By: -------------------By: ________ _ Date Date 2 CITY 0 F MILPITAS CITY OF MONTE SERENO By: ------------------By: _________ _ Date Date CITY OF MORGAN HILL CITY OF MOUNTAIN VIEW By: ____________ ~----By: ___________ _ Date Date CITY OF PALO ALTO CITY OF SAN JOSE By: ------------------By: __________ _ Date Date By: ___________ __ Date CITY OF SARATOGA CITY OF SUNNYVALE By: __________ _ By: __________ _ Date Date CITY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA By: ___ -,--_______ _ By: ________ _ Date Date SANTA CLARA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY Date 3 .. ~·r ( .:; l.J,.J -:u ~jiLL r-,lL- :·i··~~ £ •. ~ <D ._ .. ; .., -: y::, «.\·:C :.:· .... L.l :'-'.:; ;::=~ ;: .. ?- t· .. - . ' ... ~-) '.-' co U 1.0 L.""J CJ1 CJ r April 12, 2010 Donna Grider. City Clerk City ofPaio Alto 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 9430 I Dear Ms. Grider: ATTACHMENT B I'm .pleased to inform you that the Amendment to the Joint Powers Agreement for the Administration of the Santa Clara County Congestion Management Program previously submitted for your boardlcolUlcil's consideration has met the threshold for adoption. In compliance with the requirements of the Joint Powers Agreement, the amendment has been approved by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Au~hority (VTA), Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and a majority of the cities representing a majority of the population in the County. We will be circulating a single original of the Amendment to each location for execution by the appropriate party in your jurisdiction. We will be contacting you to set up an appointment for the purpose of having the document signed at your convenience. . Many thanks for your cooperation with this effort. It represents a major step forward in improving the representation on the VTA Board of Directors. If you have any questions or need further informatio~ please do not hesitate to contact Scott Haywood, Policy and Communications Manager. He can be reached by telephone, 408.321.7544 or e~mail) scott.haywood@Vta.org. Yours truly ~ s~~ Board Secretary 00: Mayor City Manager J. Lawson K.Allmand 3331 North First Street· San Jose, CA 95134-19Z7· Administration 408.32l.55SS . Customer Service 408.321.2300 AMENDMENT TO JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT FOR THE ADMINISTRATI,ON OF THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CONGESTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM THIS AMENDMENT TO JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT (hereitlafter "Amendment") dated as of December 10, 2009 is made and entered into between Cities within the County of Santa Clara, the County of Santa Clara and the Santa Clara Valier Transportation Authority (forinerly known as the Santa Clara County Transit District). ' 'RECITALS , . WHEREAS, the parties hereto entered into a JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT FOR TIlE ADMINISTRATION OF nm SANTA CLARA COUNTY CONGESTION . MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (here!paft,~r "Agreement") dated pecember 1, 1994; WHEREAS, Section 6 of the Agreement, pursuant to California Public Utilitie,s Section l00069~. establish~d the groupings ofth~ Cities within the County of Sarita Clara, other than the City of Siln Jose, for the ,appointment of members to the Santa Cla~ C',ounty transit District (now' the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority) Board of Directors; . . " , . WHEREAS, the parties now desire to amend Section 6 to reconfigure the groupings of the qitjes 'YiJhin the County of Santa Cla~a, other tha~ the City of San Jose, to ill~lude a new city group comprised of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Milpitas, that would appoint two ~oard . members and one alternate; , . NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows: (1) Section 6.A.l ofthe Agreement is hereby amended to read as follows: The five (5) city council members and three (3) alternates to be appointed as Directors by aU the cities in Santa Clam County except the City of San Jose shall be selected according to the following groupings: -; ! City Grouping a. Los Altos Los Altos Hills Mountain View Palo,Alto b. Campbell Cupertino Los Gatos Monte Sereno Saratoga c. Milpitas Santa Clara Sunnyva,l~' d. 'Gilroy Morgan Hill Representatives 1 representative 1 alterriate 1 representative 1 alternate - 2 representatives 1 alternate 1 'representative 1 alternate (2) ~hi's Amendment sha~l become 'effective on J~n~ary 1, 20 ii, if approved by r~ol~tions 'adopted by the Sant!J Clara County Board of'Supervisors, a majoritY of the Mel!lber Agencies (other than ~a~ta Clara County) representing a majority of the population in Santa Clara Co'unty 'and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, as provided in Section 15 of,the Agreement. .. .' ., , , (3) As hereby amended, the terms and conditions ofthe Agreement shall remain in full force' and effect.' . IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties have executed this Agreement on the date shown below.