In this edition I-80/I-680/SR12 Interchange Phase 2A Construction to Begin  STA Board Adopts STA Budgets for Fiscal Years FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22 STA Board Sets SolanoExpress Operating Budget for FY 2021-22   Regional Transportation Impact Fee (RTIF) Program Continues to Leverage Funding to Deliver Local Projects STA Finance Staff Receives 4th Consecutive Certificate of Achievement Title VI Program Expands Community Access to Plans and Programs  2020 Solano Mobility Study for Older Adults and People with Disabilities Update Recommended by CTSA Advisory Committee, Approved by STA Board County of Solano Provides Federal CARES Act Funds to Expand Medical Trip Concierge Program for Older Adults and ADA Residents STA’s Local Preference Policy Invests Transportation Funds with Local Businesses Vallejo Community Selects Transportation Improvements Based on Participatory Budgeting Process Departing STA Board Member and City of Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson Recognized STA Staff Update

STATUS Newsletter The STATUS Newsletter is published every month after the STA Board meeting to inform the public and our stakeholders of what’s happening with transportation in Solano County.  Please sign up here to receive this newsletter directly in your inbox.  UPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS: None (STA Board Meeting will resume in December)

I-80/I-680/SR 12 Interchange Phase 2A Construction to Begin  October 29th at 10 am is the scheduled date for a virtual groundbreaking event co-hosted by STA and Caltrans for the start of construction for Package 2A of the I-80/I-680/SR 12 Interchange. This $67 million construction project will provide a two lane connection from SR 12 Jameson Canyon to I-80 in the East Bound direction and is scheduled to be open to traffic in two years. Concurrently, STA wishes to thank our many transportation partners for their numerous letters of support for the Caltrans and STA application for SB 1 statewide competitive funds for the construction of the new Solano I-80 Managed Lanes project. STA has been meeting with members of the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to discuss and answer questions about the project. A recommendation by the CTC is scheduled for later this year. If the statewide competitive funds are awarded, construction of this project will begin in 2021.

STA Board Adopts STA Budgets for Fiscal Years FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Solano Transportation Authority (STA) delayed the development and approval of the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Budget, the second year of the agency’s two year budget, until its October Board meeting. In June, the STA Board approved the revised fiscal year budget for the current year, FY 2020-21, and postponed the initial second year of the budget (FY 2021-22) due to the resulting economic and financial uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the October 2020 meeting, the STA Board adopted the updated FY 2020-21 Proposed Budget Revision and new FY 2021-22 Proposed Budget. The STA’s overall FY 2020-21 budget is $33.59 million, an increase of $1.53 million. Changes are due to new programs and projects, such as the Older Adult Safety Mobility Program, the expansion of the Medical Transport Program and Mobility Programs, several projects funded with a state Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grant, and the construction phase for the I-80/I-680/SR 12 Interchange Project. The FY 2021-22 Proposed Budget is balanced at $29.67 million of revenue and expenditures for the continuation of STA’s plans, programs and projects activities, and completion of the construction of the STA office building.

STA Board Sets SolanoExpress Operating Budget for FY 2021-22   Transit service within Solano County, the region, the state, and the country has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has also impacted the SolanoExpress bus service since March 2020 when state requirements limited workers to workers at essential jobs. In response, the two transit operators that STA contracts with to provide the four routes of Solano Express service, Solano County Transit (SolTrans) and Fairfield and Suisun Transit (FAST), responded by substantially reducing service from 80,000 annual hours to approximately 35,000 annual hours in March of 2020. In June 2020, the STA Board authorized the partial restoration of the SolanoExpress service to a total of approximately 45,000 hours, the restoration of fares, and a funding plan for FY 2020-21 of $9.249 million. This included $3.107 million of Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding allocated by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and provided by FAST and SolTrans to help fund the partially restored SolanoExpress service. The STA Board subsequently approved a draft SolanoExpress budget of $7.82 million for FY 2021-22 that includes $693,100 in Federal CARES Act funds to be provided by the cities of Dixon and Vacaville. This action includes both SolTrans and FAST agreeing to start reducing their cost per service hour amount back to the agreed upon performance target set previously by the STA Board prior to the COVID- 19 pandemic. For FY 2021-22, the forecast service hours are unchanged from the current schedule for the partially restored service for the Blue, Green, Red and Yellow Lines, with a total of approximately 45,000 annual SolanoExpress service hours.

Regional Transportation Impact Fee (RTIF) Program Continues to Leverage Funding to Deliver Local Projects The STA is responsible for administering the RTIF Program on behalf of the County and seven cities and provides a Regional Transportation Impact Fee (RTIF) Annual Report to the Solano County Board of Supervisors. The RTIF Annual Report includes status updates on the RTIF financials and the status of the approved projects funded by the RTIF and is included in the County’s Public Facilities Fund (PFF) Annual Report. This year marks the 7th RTIF Annual Report. A total of $2.188 million was collected for eligible RTIF projects in FY 2019-20. Since the program began, a total of $9,289,647.48 has been collected to support priority RTIF projects. In FY 2019-20, five of the seven RTIF Working Groups have completed their priority project or have a project underway: 1. Working Group 1 – Jepson Parkway – Phase 1B in Vacaville - Construction in FY 2022-23 2. Working Group 2 – SR 12 Complete Streets in Rio Vista – In Design 3. Working Group 3 – Fairgrounds/SR 37 SolanoExpress Bus Stop – Project Complete 4. Working Group 4 – Project to be determined by Nexus Study Update 5. Working Group 5 – SR113 Corridor Safety Study – Project Complete 6. Working Group 6 – Fairgrounds/SR 37 SolanoExpress Bus Stop – Project Complete 7. Working Group 7 – Project to be determined by Nexus Study Update In total, over 60% of all RTIF revenue collected has been dispersed to projects with 90% of the RTIF funds committed to RTIF eligible projects. The remaining balance is programmed to be dispersed in FY 2020-21 and future years. To view the FY 2019-20 RTIF Annual Report, click here.

STA Finance Staff Receives 4th Consecutive Certificate of Achievement STA’s Finance team consisting of Susan Furtado, Accounting/Administrative Services Manager; Debora Harris, Accountant I; and Brenda McNichols, Accounting Technician; were recently recognized by the State Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) with a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for STA’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2019. This is STA’s fourth consecutive year receiving this recognition.

Title VI Program Expands Community Access to Plans and Programs The STA Board approved the adoption of its 2020 Title VI Program Update, which will next be submitted to Caltrans. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. The Title VI Program and its associated Complaint Policy, Language Assistance Plan, and Public Participation Plan must be integrated in policy and in practice by the agency in order to ensure federal compliance. STA receives federal funds for a number of programs and activities, including the Safe Routes to School, and the Solano Mobility Management programs. The Title VI Program must be updated every three years and the 2020 Title VI Program Update represents the third Title VI Program that STA has completed. To review the STA’s 2020 Title VI Program, please click here.

2020 Solano Mobility Study for Older Adults and People with Disabilities Update Recommended by CTSA Advisory Committee, Approved by STA Board In October, the STA Board approved the 2020 Solano Mobility Study for Older Adults and People with Disabilities Report Update, which recognizes this project’s community outreach and findings (countywide and by city), as well as strategies to address priority issues since the original 2011 report. This project has been coordinated with the Paratransit Coordinating Council (PCC) and Consolidated Transportation Services Agency (CTSA) in July 2020 and used multiple strategies to solicit public input, including seven city Mobility Summits, focus groups, online and mail-in surveys, and other community outreach methods.  The top challenge identified in all seven cities was traveling to medical appointments. The second most common challenge countywide was traveling to daily activities. In 2019, the STA launched two new programs to address these two issues: First, the Solano Older Adult Medical Trip Concierge Program, which provides subsidized rides for eligible residents to in-county medical appointments. The second program, started in 2019, is the Vehicle Share Program. The STA acquired two lift-equipped vans, thanks to funding provided to Solano County by the Yoche Dehe Tribe, which are loaned to registered local non-profits for their transport of clients. In addition, other services that support older adults and/or people with disabilities have been undergoing enhancements such as the ADA Intercity Taxi Card Program and the First/Last Mile program. To view the 2020 Solano Mobility Study for Older Adults and People with Disabilities Update, click here.

County of Solano Provides Federal CARES Act Funds to Expand Medical Trip Concierge Program for Older Adults and ADA Residents To better serve the needs of older residents and residents with disabilities, the STA Board approved the expansion of Solano Mobility's Medical Trip Concierge Program, operated by GoGo Grandparent, to include ADA eligible residents and expand the eligible trips for older adults (60 plus) to include essential trips. This program was expanded thanks to Federal CARES Act funding provided by the Solano County Board of Supervisors to the STA. During the first month of the expansion of the program, 125 new program participants have registered and they have taken 440 rides utilizing the program. There are now 790 program registrants and they have taken over 6,300 trips since the start of the program.

STA’s Local Preference Policy Invests Transportation Funds with Local Businesses This year marks the tenth anniversary since the STA Board established its Local Preference Policy (LPP), which applies to the purchase of goods, services, and the solicitation of professional services. This annual report identifies the amount of transportation funding that STA expended with local vendors, businesses, and consultants. In FY 2019-20, $3.026 million was spent on local vendors (16%) and $3.158 million was spent on local consultants/professional services (93%). The STA continues to be proactive in using the guiding principles and contract goals of the LPP to solicit work from local vendors within the parameters of transportation funding being used while being fiscally responsible.

Vallejo Community Selects Transportation Improvements Based on Participatory Budgeting Process The Vallejo Community Based Transportation Plan (CBTP) with Participatory Budgeting was approved at the October STA Board Meeting. The Vallejo CBTP process began in May 2019 to identify transportation gaps and challenges along with suggested solutions for communities of concern within Vallejo. From the data collected through the surveys, focus groups, and outreach, transportation challenges were identified. Projects that addressed the challenges were developed that could be achieved within the Participatory Budgeting (PB) funding parameters, with the project specifics developed by the City of Vallejo Public Works Department and SolTrans. The participatory budgeting process was completed through public voting to prioritize the 16 identified projects at the October 2019 Transportation Expo. After the event, community voting continued on-line until November 18, 2019. About 140 individuals voted on-line and 60 at the Expo. Six projects were selected and reviewed by the project Steering Committee and a three-member STA Board CBTP Ad Hoc Review Committee, who reviewed the community selection process, list of priority projects and funding allocations, and provided a recommendation to the STA Board. To view the FY 2019-20 Vallejo Community Based Transportation Plan with Participatory Budgeting, click here.  The Vallejo Community Based Transportation Plan and Participatory Budgeting Process was funded with $95,000 provided by MTC and $100,000 of State Transit Assistance Funds (STAF) allocated by the STA Board as a match. The PB projects are funded with $400,000 of STAF Lifeline funding allocated to STA by MTC.

Departing STA Board Member and City of Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson Recognized At the October 14th STA Board Meeting, the Board presented a proclamation to thank Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson for her commitment of time, energy, collaboration, and leadership while serving as a STA Board Member for over a decade.  Mayor Elizabeth Patterson served on the STA Board from 2007 to 2020 representing the City of Benicia and served as Chair of the STA Board in 2015.

STA Staff Update Sue Violette, one of STA’s part-time and dedicated Solano Safe Routes to School coordinators, will be moving out of state and leaving the STA in the middle of November. She has been an asset to the SR2S program agency and we wish her continued success and happiness.

2020 STA Board Members

Ron Rowlett, Chair, Mayor of Vacaville Bob Sampayan, Vice-Chair, Mayor of Vallejo Harry Price, Mayor of Fairfield Thom Bogue, Mayor of Dixon Elizabeth Patterson, Mayor of Benicia Ronald Kott, Mayor of Rio Vista Jim Spering, Solano County Supervisor Lori Wilson, Mayor of Suisun City       www.sta.ca.gov 707-424-6075 info@sta.ca.gov

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