APPROVE payment of the increased annual membership dues for the CRCC from $1,500 to $2,500 per year and APPOINT Dave Potter as the TAMC representative and Mike LeBarre as the alternate to the Coast Rail Coordinating Council (CRCC) Policy Committee.

On December 13, 2018, the Coast Rail Coordinating Council Policy Committee voted to increase annual membership dues to help with administrative costs for the Coast Daylight project from $1,500 to $2,500 per year. On January 7, 2019, the Rail Policy Committee recommended appointing Dave Potter and Mike LeBarre to the CRCC Policy Committee.

Since 2016, TAMC has been paying membership dues of $1,500 per year. At the December 13, 2018 Policy Committee meeting, members voted unanimously to increase the budget for administrative, planning, and contract services and increase the membership dues to $2,500 per year. Funding for this expense will be incorporated into the Transportation Agency’s fiscal year 2018/19 budget using Local Transportation Fund (LTF) planning funds available for staff time on this project.

Appointing representatives to the CRCC Policy Committee entails covering the cost of travel (up to the limits approved by Caltrans) to CRCC Policy Committee meetings, which generally occur three or four times per year, and to Sacramento and/or the California Passenger Rail Summit, on behalf of the CRCC, as needed.

The Coast Rail Coordinating Council (CRCC) is a multi-agency advisory and planning organization focused on improving the rail corridor between Los Angeles/ San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area along the Central Coast. Members of the CRCC include all regional transportation planning agencies along the Central Coast that have a strong interest in improving rail service and the rail infrastructure along the Coast Rail corridor. The member agencies have all adopted a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize the Council. The Policy Committee is currently chaired by Dave Potter and staffed by Pete Rodgers, Executive Director at the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG).

The project is proposed as a northward extension of the existing Pacific Surfliner trains that currently run between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The project calls for one daily round trip on the existing Union Pacific-owned tracks between Los Angeles or San Diego and San Francisco or San Jose, to complement the existing Amtrak Coast Starlight service (which has one round trip daily from Los Angeles to Seattle). The planned stops in Monterey County for this new passenger train are in Pajaro/ Watsonville, Salinas, Soledad and the City of King. The project relies on local jurisdictions to construct any stations that may be required.

SLOCOG has been the administering agency for the CRCC for 25 years. TAMC staff has also helped in the administration of the CRCC via meeting prep, Amtrak contract administration, legislative advocacy, environmental studies, and other activities. TAMC approved paying $1,500 per year in membership dues in 2016.

At the December 13, 2018 meeting, the CRCC Policy Committee approved an increase in dues to $2,500 per year starting in fiscal year 2018-19 to fund the increased administrative and planning activities due to becoming a Brown Act entity after the adoption of the five-agency Memorandum of Understanding and increased grant writing and lobbying activities. The CRCC member agencies include SLOCOG, TAMC, Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, Ventura County Transportation Commission, and Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. TAMC's dues come from state funding, so TAMC’s dues can pay for planning staff and grant-writing work, but not lobbying or advocacy. Web Attachment 1 is the CRCC Work Plan for fiscal year 2018-19.

In January 2018, the TAMC Board appointed Dave Potter as the TAMC representative to the CRCC and Mike LeBarre as his alternate to that group, for a one-year term. On January 7, 2019, the Rail Policy Committee recommended reappointing them to the CRCC for the period ending January 2020. Web Attachment 2 is the draft schedule of meetings for the CRCC Policy Committee and technical working group.

• CRCC Work Plan 2018-19
• CRCC Draft Meeting Schedule