Monterey County Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways Agreement with the California Highway Patrol:

1. APPROVE the use of $3,000 in Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways funds for call box program administration by the California Highway Patrol over the three-year contract period; and 
2. AUTHORIZE Executive Director to execute an agreement with the CHP for call box program administration and to make administrative changes if such changes do not increase the Agency’s net cost, subject to approval by Agency counsel.

Monterey County has a system of 190 call boxes on its highways and county roads to assist stranded motorists and enable them to contact the California Highway Patrol for assistance if necessary.  Since the California Highway Patrol incurs personnel costs in the call box program administration, the contract will allow the Agency, as Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways authority, to reimburse the California Highway Patrol for these costs.  

The funds for this contract are available from the Service Authority for Freeway and Expressways account, which derives its revenue from the $1 fee levied by the Department of Motor Vehicles on vehicle registration in Monterey County.

The Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways program provides free emergency telephone service to stranded motorists through call boxes.  There are currently 198 call boxes installed in Monterey County.  Call box calls were originally routed to and answered by the California Highway Patrol.  In January of 2005, the Agency privatized call answering services to a private call answering center to reduce costs, improve services and increase reporting.  Currently, our private call answering center only refers call box calls to the California Highway Patrol Dispatch Center when assistance from the California Highway Patrol is required.

The current contract between the Monterey County Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways and the California Highway Patrol will expire on June 30, 2018.  This new contract will be effective from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2021, a three-year period.  The Transportation Agency is in the process of modernizing the call box program to remove or relocate underutilized call boxes.  The CHP rate to participate in the TAMC call box program will not change if the number of call boxes in Monterey County’s system is modified.

Under this agreement, as in the previous contract, the Agency will reimburse California Highway Patrol for providing services for call box calls that require California Highway Patrol actions, and fund a proportional share of the Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways coordinator position at California Highway Patrol based on the number of registered motor vehicles within the County. This contract shall not exceed $3,000 over three years.