CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (CAC) REPORT

• CAC Chair Larry Shaine noted the presence of fellow CAC members in the audience and reported:
1. The CAC thanked Director Ruskin for his service to the TA and his support.
2. There were discussions regarding the MTC Draft Transportation Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area for 2005-2030.
3. Corinne Goodrich, Manager of Special Projects, gave a presentation on the Grand Boulevard (El Camino Real improvement) project concept and development to date.
4. The CAC voted unanimously to endorse TA agenda item #10, request for an additional $250,000 required for the completion of the Railroad Avenue Improvements Project in the City of San Mateo.
5. There was an election of 2005 officers. Larry Shaine was re-elected chair. Rick Gomez will serve as vice-chair.
6. A subcommittee was formed, Ken Coleman will serve as chair, to work on strategic planning for 2005.

Director Ruskin thanked the board, the CAC, staff and the public for their dedication, support and friendship over the past years.

SAMTRANS LIAISON REPORT
A written report from the November 10 board meeting was included in the packet to the board.

JOINT POWERS BOARD REPORT
Michael Scanlon, Executive Director, reported on the December 2 board meeting, held in San Francisco City Hall:

• A public hearing was held for the amended conflict of interest code. The board adopted the amended code.
• Chairman McLemore reported:
1. Trains for Tots will be this weekend, December 4 and 5.
2. The Nominating Committee for the 2005 officers has been formed of Michael Burns, Jim Hartnett and John McLemore. Nominations and elections will be at the next JPB meeting in January.
3. Yesterday was World AIDS Day. The San Francisco observance was held at the National AIDS Grove in Golden Gate Park. Tom Nolan was honored with the 2005 Grove Award.
4. There is an open house at the Santa Clara train station this weekend.
5. The Westbay Model Railroad Association in Menlo Park will be having its 2004 Christmas Show December 11-12.
6. On December 4, there will be a special Trains for Tots lighting at 5:00 p.m. at the San Francisco station.
• Sue Lempert, MTC Liaison reported:
1. MTC will be holding hearings regarding its 2030 transportation plan. The final public hearing will be December 15 at 10:00 a.m. in Oakland.
2. MTC staff presented a preliminary proposal to a joint policy committee of ABAG and MTC last week. The proposal involved financial incentives for transit oriented development around corridors and train stations.
• Bob Doty, Acting Chief Operating Officer, and Michelle Bouchard, Senior Planner, gave a Powerpoint presentation on Caltrain ridership since the commencement of Baby Bullet service. The presentation highlighted the major changes due to Baby Bullet, the measures of success, count results and future opportunities.
• Key Caltrain Performance Statistics for October 2003 vs. October 2004
1. Average Weekday Ridership was up 11.9 percent, from 26,363 riders to 29,489.
2. Total Ridership was up 11.9 percent, from 701,563 to 785,069
3. Total Revenue was up 13.7 percent, from $1.63 million to $1.85 million.
4. On-Time Performance was at 95.8 percent, compared to 93.9 percent from last October.
5. Shuttle Ridership had an increase of 3.9 percent, from 4,230 to 4,393.
• In October 50 additional spots in the Mountain View overflow parking lot became available for customers. As anticipated, an additional 70 spots for Mountain View became available yesterday, December 1.
• A modified schedule ran the day after Thanksgiving.
• Regular weekday service will run on Christmas Eve. Sunday service will be operated on Christmas Day.
• Regular weekday service will run on New Year's Eve, augmented with three special trains running southbound. A Sunday service schedule will run on New Year's Day.
• The CEMOF groundbreaking was on November 8.
• Raymond Lee, DBE Officer, was recognized for his election as Chair of the California Unified Certification Program.
• The monthly Safety and Security Report was distributed. There was one fatality on November 6 in the Palo Alto area.
• Rita Haskin, Chief Communications Officer, gave an update of the exterior train advertising demonstration project.

Joe Hurley, Director of the Transportation Authority Programs, highlighted the Measure A election results on a city-by-city basis. He said the average countywide voter turnout was 79.2 percent. By comparison, in 1988 when the first Measure A passed, the voter turnout was 47 percent. The percentage of individuals who went to the ballot and cast a vote on Measure A was 84.9 percent. By comparison from 1988, 74 percent of the voters at the polls that day cast ballots on Measure A. Mr. Hurley said there was no city that supported Measure A by less than 70 percent. The average voter support for all cities was 75.3 percent.

Howard Goode, Deputy Executive Director, said Daly City voted 78.9 percent in favor of Measure A while their own revenue measure failed. Atherton, which also had a revenue measure, voted nearly 71 percent in favor of Measure A.

REQUEST FOR AN ADDITIONAL $250,000 REQUIRED FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE RAILROAD AVENUE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT IN THE CITY OF SAN MATEO
Mr. Hurley said this is a $4.3 million project in San Mateo for Railroad Avenue improvements. The TA initially agreed to contribute $920,000. During the evolution of the project, additional costs were incurred.

Shahla Yazdy, Engineer, said construction began in the summer of 2002. The success of the recently completed downtown transit center, adjacent to Railroad Avenue, has generated far greater vehicular and pedestrian traffic than was originally anticipated. Increased safety measures became necessary.

The request for an additional $250,000 was unanimously approved, by roll call, and Resolution 2004-19 was adopted.

CAPITAL PROJECTS STATUS REPORT - 1ST QUARTER FY2005

Cathi Zammit, Senior Engineer, gave an overview of the CEMOF project. This facility is intended to allow for equipment maintenance of Caltrain rolling stock and to provide a new operations center, which will replace the existing leased facility in San Jose. It will also provide for storage of train sets and materials needed for maintenance. Currently, rolling stock maintenance is performed at the Diridon yard in San Jose and also at the San Francisco yard. Other maintenance is done off-site by a contractor. The current work areas are extremely limited and the work conditions are less than desirable.

The purpose of this project is to consolidate the majority of equipment maintenance functions into a state-of-the-art facility, which will provide a desirable and efficient working environment and improve the quality of service and maintenance. The project also will provide a central control facility for train operations, including crew reporting and dispatch facilities. Some of the key activities that will take place at this facility are daily or pre-trip inspections of all trains, fueling and sanding of locomotives, interior and exterior cleaning, periodic inspections of cars and locomotives as required by the Federal Railroad Association (FRA), annual engine load testing, wheel truing and component repair and replacement. Major component repairs will still be contracted off-site.

The project site is located on the Lenzen yard parcel in San Jose. The project site includes a locomotive and car repair shop, a progressive maintenance track, a locomotive load test area, two service inspection tracks, a train washer, four storage tracks, a remote delivery and loading area, an administration building, a pedestrian and forklift tunnel and many other features. The project was designed to accommodate future electrification.

In response to the neighboring communities, a 19-foot-high sound wall was built. Additionally, landscaping will be done at all entrances and exits.

The total project budget is $139.4 million. The JPB is approximately two-thirds of the way through this project. The entire facility is planned to be operational by the end of 2006.

Director Panza asked why the amount for the project is listed as only $8.2 million.

Mr. Hurley responded the $8.2 million is the TA share, not the cost of the entire project. The other contributors are listed in the full report included in the agenda packet.

REQUESTS FROM THE AUTHORITY
Director Galligan personally thanked Director Ruskin for his work on this board.

REPORT FROM LEGAL COUNSEL
David Miller, on behalf of all who have worked with Director Ruskin, thanked him for his great work with transportation.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION TO AUTHORITY
The communication packets were distributed to the Board members.

DATE/TIME OF NEXT MEETING:
January 6, 2005 at 5:00 p.m. at the San Mateo County Transit District Administrative Building, 1250 San Carlos Avenue, San Carlos, CA 94070