HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-05-2014 Item 3 - Written Communications
Item
3
Written
Communications
Page
1
of
1
CITY
OF
SARATOGA
Memorandum
To:
Saratoga
City
Council
From:
Crystal
Bothelio,
City
Clerk
Date:
November
5,
2014
Subject:
Item
3
Written
Communications
–
Presentation
from
Valley
Transit
Authority
on
Status
of
State
Route
85
Express
lane
Project
After
the
City
Council
packet
was
prepared,
the
City
of
Saratoga
received
the
attached
written
communications
on
City
Council
Agenda
Item
3
Written
Communications
–
Presentation
from
Valley
Transit
Authority
on
Status
of
State
Route
85
Express
lane
Project.
Wednesday,
November
5,
2014
5:58:39
PM
Pacific
Standard
Time
Page
1
of
2
Subject:FW:
SR85
Date:Wednesday,
November
5,
2014
5:38:43
PM
Pacific
Standard
Time
From:City
Council
<saratoga_cc@saratoga.ca.us>
To:Chuck
Page
<cpage@saratoga.ca.us>,
Jill
Hunter
<jhunter@saratoga.ca.us>,
Howard
Miller
<hmiller@saratoga.ca.us>,
Manny
Cappello
<mcappello@saratoga.ca.us>,
Emily
Lo
<elo@saratoga.ca.us>,
City
Clerk
[Crystal
Bothelio]
<ctclerk@saratoga.ca.us>,
James
Lindsay
<jlindsay@saratoga.ca.us>
________________________________________
From:
Gpupdates
Sent:
Wednesday,
November
05,
2014
5:38:15
PM
(UTC-‐08:00)
Pacific
Time
(US
&
Canada)
To:
City
Council
Cc:
Rishi
Kumar;
Mary-‐Lynne
Bernald
Subject:
SR85
Dear
Mayor
and
City
Council,
Thanks
for
your
many
efforts
on
the
issues
regarding
SR85.
They
are
much
appreciated.
I
am
fighting
a
bad
cold,
made
worse
by
my
long
hours
of
clerking
at
the
polls
yesterday,
so
will
not
be
able
to
attend
your
meeting
tonight.
It
is
my
understanding
that
the
City
prepared
and
provided
to
VTA
hundreds
of
pages
of
comments
and
reports
as
part
of
the
NEPA/CEQA
environmental
review.
It
is
my
understanding
that
your
comments
and
comments/questions
from
other
government
officials
and
the
public
in
general
have
not
yet
been
responded
to
by
VTA
or
CalTrans.
I
think
the
comments
and
responses
are
planned
to
be
available
when
Caltrans
releases
the
final
environmental
document
after
completing
their
review.
As
I
understand
it
this
final
document
with
their
responses
is
scheduled
for
release
in
early
Spring
2015.
Because
neither
you,
nor
the
VTA
board
will
have
the
benefit
of
reviewing
these
comments
and
responses,
I
am
requesting
that
the
City
Council
prepare
a
letter
tonight
to
transmit
to
the
VTA
board
of
directors
requesting
that
they
postpone
any
votes
on
the
SR85
express
lane
project
until
these
comments
and
responses
are
complete
and
made
available
to
the
VTA
board,
you
our
City
Council
and
the
public.
I'm
requesting
postponement
of
SR85
agenda
issues
because,
I
believe
the
omission
of
these
comments
and
responses
from
VTA
board
decisions
on
this
project
constitutes
a
lack
of
due
diligence.
I'm
surprised
that
the
VTA
staff
have
allowed
this
project
to
proceed
to
the
VTA
board
agenda
without
this
important
information
as
part
of
their
proceedings.
For
your
information,
attached
is
the
California
Transportation
Commission
presentation
and
graph
that
shows
the
bulk
of
revenue
from
these
regional
road
pricing
networks
going
towards
debt
service.
Please
exercise
your
fiduciary
duty
to
your
constituents
and
the
taxpayers
and
find
out
more
about
the
revenue
structure
of
these
road
pricing
plans.
Page
2
of
2
more
about
the
revenue
structure
of
these
road
pricing
plans.
The
issues
of
most
concern
to
me
are:
*Truck
traffic
on
SR85
as
a
safety,
noise,
added
congestion
and
pollution
issue
(accepting
federal
funding
would
require
trucks)
*Revenue
generation
by
way
of
tolls
and
a
lack
of
congestion
relief
*The
use
of
Congestion
Management
agency
to
pursue
federal
funding
for
land
acquisition
and
designation
of
priority
conservation
areas
(PCA's).
*Choke
points
that
create
back
ups
that
are
not
being
addressed
with
this
express
lane
project
*Overestimation
of
revenue
from
toll
lanes
and
debt
service
loads
associated
with
this
project
*These
express
lane
projects
do
not
appear
to
be
relieving
congestion
nor
are
they
helping
solve
our
transportation
issues
Please
let
me
know
if
there's
anything
I
can
help
with
in
this
matter.
Thanks
for
your
consideration.
All
the
best,
Trish