11 Staff Report - Santa Clara Valley Transportation AuthoritytpW H
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cos abtos COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DATE: MAY 1, 2008
MEETING DATE: 5/5/2008
ITEM NO: 11
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: GREG LARSON, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: SUPPORT THE CONTINUATION OF PAST PRACTICES FOR THE
APPOINTMENT OF WEST VALLEY CITY REPRESENTATIVES TO THE SANTA
CLARA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that Council support the continuation of past practices for the appointment of West
Valley City representatives to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
BACKGROUND:
At the Town Council meeting on April 22, 2008, Council Member Steve Glickman requested discussion
and consideration of this matter at the next Council meeting. At that time, staff and Council Members
believed that this subject would be considered by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
(VTA) Board of Directors later in the Spring,
However, the issue has since been scheduled for discussion and action by the VTA Board on the evening
of Thursday, May 1, 2008, potentially making any Town consideration of changes moot. Staff will
provide an oral update on the status of VTA action at the Council meeting on May 5.
DISCUSSION:
As described in detail in the attached VTA staff report to the VTA Board of Directors, the VTA has
been considering changes to the VTA governance structure largely as it affects other regions of the
County. Most significant have been proposals to: 1) create a new city representation group for southern
Santa Clara County (Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin), 2) to lengthen the terms of appointed
representatives, and 3) to encourage appointments based on appropriate qualifications and experience.
The last two factors reflect what has largely been the historical practice for the appointment of West
Valley representatives to the VTA Board.
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NAMGR\AdininWorkFi1es12008 Council Reportsl5-5-08 VTA Govemance.doc
Reviewed by: Assistant Town Manager -akfown Attorney
Clerk Administrator Finance Community Development
Date: April 18, 2008
Committee Meeting Date: April 17, 2008
Board Meeting Date: _ May _1, 2008
BOARD MEMORANDUM ACTION ITEM
TO: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Board of Directors
THROUGH: Michael T. Burns
General Manager
FROM: Jim Lawson
Senior Policy Advisor
SUBJECT: VTA Governance
Policy-Related Action: Yes Government Code Section 84308 Applies: No
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommend that the VTA Board of Directors amend the VTA Administrative Code to make the
following changes to VTA's governance structure:
Eliminate the concept of city groupings selecting their representative(s) through a rotation
process. Each of the city groups will "select" their representative(s) to serve as a Director
on the VTA Board.
2. VTA Directors will still serve two-year terms. However, the appointing authorities will
be encouraged to reappoint representatives to consecutive terms.
3. Include a process for selecting VTA Directors within the city groupings. VTA Directors
should have the required experience and qualifications in transportation.
Furthermore, recommend that the VTA Board of Directors consider amending the VTA
Administrative Code at the August 7, 2008 Board of Directors Meeting (time certain) as follows:
4. Reconfigure the small city groupings to include a new group comprised of Santa Clara,
Sunnyvale and Milpitas, and move Los Altos Hills to the West Valley City Group.
BACKGROUND:
VTA previously engaged the Hay Group to conduct a comprehensive Organization and Financial
Assessment (Assessment). As a result of that Assessment, VTA received a set of
recommendations designed to strengthen VTA's governance, financial management and
organizational effectiveness. The Board has made a number of decisions to implement the
recommendations resulting from the Assessment, and VTA is beginning to realize the intended
benefits.
ATTACHMENT 1
In the area of governance, the Assessment identified Board turnover as a critical challenge to the
governance structure at VTA. Turnover is particularly high for the small city groupings. The
Assessment recommended that the VTA Board look at alternatives to lengthen the term of office
for Directors and also work with appointing authorities to ensure that eligibility for selection to
serve on the VTA Board include appropriate qualifications and experience, as well as the time left
in the elected officials term of office so that they do not "term out" during their tenure as a VTA
Director.
To further address these issues, as well as concerns regarding the geographical configuration of
the small city groupings, Director Greg Sellers was asked to work with VTA staff and consultants
to develop recommendations regarding VTA's governance for the Board's consideration,
At the February 7th Board of Directors meeting, Director Sellers provided a brief update to the
Board on his activities and his initial recommendations. In addition, Director Sellers sent letters
on February 15, 2009, to every Santa Clara County Mayor, VTA Board member and VTA Policy
Advisory Committee member with a summary of the governance recommendations. In his letter,
Director Sellers explained the purpose for the recommendations and offered to meet with each
city council to answer questions and obtain input.
This item was previously presented for consideration by the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC)
and the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) at their March meetings. Because several PAC
members expressed that they had not had opportunity to discuss this item with their city councils
and receive direction, they specifically requested that consideration of this item be deferred until
PAC's April 10th meeting. Due to this, consideration of this item by the Administration &
Finance Committee was deferred from its March to its April meeting and consideration by the
Board of Directors was deferred from the April to May meeting.
DISCUSSION:
The current small city group configuration was based primarily on population and secondarily on
geography. VTA's history and Directors' experience have shown that cities that are
geographically proximate have very similar issues, challenges and opportunities. The following
recommendations organize cities based on geographic proximity first and population second. The
population analysis is based on current data, and also contemplates areas of new and planned
growth in the county.
The proposed recommendations will reconfigure the existing small city groupings and add one
new group based on geographic proximity and population size to create "regions" within the
county. A fourth region would be added in recognition that San Martin is seeking to incorporate
as a city and that South County region is the fastest growing region in Santa Clara County. The
regions would be comprised as follows:
North West - 1 Seat Comprised of Los Altos, Mountain View and Palo Alto. The
population of the region is 163,295.
North East - 2 Seats Comprised of Milpitas, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. The
population of the region is 309,575.
Page 2 of 2
South County -1 Seat Comprised of Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin. The
population of the region is 90,618.
• West Valley 1 Seat Comprised of Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos Hills, Los
Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga. The population of the region is 163,749.
The groupings for the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County would not be changed.
Applying to all groups would be the requirement that the representative(s) be chosen "on the basis
of the appointees' expertise, experience or knowledge relative to transportation issues."' Such
expertise should be gained primarily through prior service on the VTA Policy Advisory
Committee (PAC). Other appropriate experience would be membership on VTA's Citizens
Advisory Committee, Committee for Transit Accessibility or other VTA advisory committees.
Experience can also be gained through membership on the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission and its advisory committees, Caltrain and its advisory committees, and the League
of California Cities and its committees pertaining to transportation. These are illustrative of areas
where the necessary experience and expertise can be gained. They are not intended to limit the
evaluation of a perspective appointee's expertise, experience or knowledge.
Directors would be encouraged to serve consecutive terms based upon their performance
representing their region and the best interests of the VTA. Directors must be selected to serve on
the VTA Board based on qualifications and time left in their term in office as an elected official.
These recommendations would raise the level of expertise among all VTA Board members while
providing a new level of consistency for all city groups. If approved, staff will return to the
Board with specific modifications to the VTA Administrative Code, and a recommended
amendment to the Joint Powers Agreement for the Administration of the Santa Clara County
Congestion Management Program dated December 1, 1994, which Agreement established the
current city groupings. If enacted, the new governance structure would begin in January 2010 to
coincide with the start of new Board terms.
ALTERNATWE8:
The Board could modify the current recommendation, direct staff to investigate a different
proposed governance structure or not make any modifications to VTA's governance at this time.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact with the proposed changes to VTA's governance.
STANDING COMMITTEE DISCUSSION/RECOMMENDATION:
On April 17, 2008, VTA staff presented the staff report to the Administration & Finance
Committee. The committee recommended that the Board of Directors approve the follawing
elements of the recommendation:
' Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Administrative Code, Article 2, Sec. 2-11, p.4
Page 3 of 3
• Eliminate the concept of city groupings selecting their representative(s) through a rotation
process. Each of the city groups will "select" their representative(s) to serve as a Director
on the VTA Board.
VTA Directors will still serve two-year terms. However, the appointing authorities will
be encouraged to reappoint representatives to consecutive terms.
• Include a process for selecting VTA Directors within the city groupings. VTA Directors
should have the required experience and qualifications in transportation.
Director Casas noted that due to scheduling conflicts, he had not had the opportunity to meet with
Director Sellers to discuss his concerns regarding the final element (reconfiguration of the city
groupings) of the recommendation, and requested that the Board of Directors defer this item to a
later date. The committee recommended that the Board of Directors consider the final element of
the recommendation at the August 7, 2008, Board of Directors meeting - time certain. This would
provide Director Casas and Director Sellers the time to meet and discuss the recommendation in
detail.
Prepared by: Scott Haywood, Policy & Community Relations Manager
Page 4 of 4
MEMORANDUM
TO:. West Valley Mayors and Managers
FROM: Dolly Sandoval
DATE: March 7, 2008
SUBJECT: VTA Governance
The West Valley Mayors and Managers met on February 28, 2008 and discussed the VTA
Governance Proposal submitted by VTA Board Director Greg Sellers. Generally, the group
agrees in principle with many elements in the proposal and offers the following comments for
consideration:
We agree that each city grouping should have the authority to select their own
representative rather than the current rotation process. Furthermore, we agree that
representatives should have the necessary background in transportation, such as serving
on the VTA Policy Advisory Committee or other transportation-related committees, prior
to serving on the VTA Board. Representatives should also have a genuine interest in the
field of transportation planning. These changes will add stability to the Board and
increase the experience and knowledge of Board Members.
• We believe that representatives should serve as long as the city group chooses, however
the terms of directors should remain for two years only. Two years is an appropriate
amount of time for each city group to assess the performance of their representative and
to determine whether to reappoint their representative or select someone new.
Finally, we believe that the current composition of the West Valley City Group should
remain. The West Valley Mayors and Managers have been meeting on a monthly basis
for many years to address issues of mutual interest and to seek collaborative solutions to
issues unique to the west valley area. Los Altos Hills does not have a connection to our
city grouping nor is the town geographically connected to the west valley. While we
appreciate Director Sellers' efforts to have similar population totals within each city
group, Los Altos Hill's population will not significantly alter the population difference
between the west valley and north county city groupings. For these reasons we believe
that Los Altos Hills is better served as part of the North County City Group.
The West Valley Mayors and Managers look forward to continuing this dialogue to improve the
governance at VTA.
ATTACHMENT 2