July VTA Board round up

Scheduled for tomorrow at noon is the July VTA Board meeting. During the closed session at the start of the meeting, the board will receive and discuss the results of the state audit. The state audit was conducted as a part of a deal in the state legislature that allowed VTA to place 1/8 cent tax increase on the ballot. While the board will receive an advanced briefing, the report will not be released to the public until July 31. Before that time, the staff nor the board will not be permitted to discuss the audit findings with anyone else.

At the same meeting, the VTA board will also consider:

- Changing its value and mission statements.
- Adopting a new countywide bicycle plan.
- Approving a consulting contract for the light rail system analysis.
- Designating AC Transit as the lead agency for the second phase of the fuel cell bus program.

For the last few years, VTA, with partial funding from SamTrans, procured and operated a small fleet of fuel cell buses to meet CARB mandates. For the second phase of the program, VTA proposes a partnership with AC Transit. Under the proposal, AC Transit will procure 12 fuel cell buses from Van Hool and VTA will operate four of them. A new fueling facility will also be added at a VTA yard. This proposal saves time and effort needed to procure experimental vehicles and still meets CARB requirements.