The Transportation Agency for Monterey County, as the local lead agency, grantee agency and owner of the Salinas Rail Extension project, proposes to extend passenger rail service from Santa Clara County south to Salinas. The project provides an alternative to the highly congested US 101 corridor to access to jobs, education, and health care, and improves interregional transportation and air quality. It also promotes mixed-use, transit-oriented development, affordable housing, livable communities and economic growth around stations.

For the Kick Start phase of the Salinas Rail Extension project, the Agency requires acquisition of nine parcels near the Salinas Rail Station in order to construct an extension of Lincoln Avenue, improve parking and access to the rail station, and to build a train layover facility. It is critical that all the acquisition proceed according to all applicable state and federal laws. The project area primarily covers the properties along West Market Street and Station Place that will be needed for additional parking once rail service begins. The Transportation Agency's right-of-way acquisition consultant, Overland, Pacific & Cutler, has continued to work with the affected property owners on negotiated settlements for the purchase of the properties and has also continued to provide relocation assistance, as required by law, to the property owners and tenants of properties the Agency has already acquired or provided offers of fair-market value.

With the proposed contract amendment #3, Agency staff is seeking authority to shift funds between tasks in the budget that was previously approved by the Board.  The shift in funds would come from cost-savings from completed tasks to cover on-going work on other tasks, such as relocation assistance, that have or will exceed the initial budget allocation.  The overall not-to-exceed amount for the agreement that was approved by the Board of $353,100 would remain unchanged.