Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Closed Board of Directors Meeting
San Bernardino Community College District
114 S. Del Rosa Drive San Bernardino, CA 92408
Minutes
Present: Dimitrios Alexiou, Don Averill, Deborah Barmack, Carole Beswick, Tom Brickley, Ken Coate, Bill Easley, Dick Hart, Mark Kaenel, Ed Lasak, Bill Lemann, Temetry Lindsay, John Mirau, Charlie Ng, Tom Nightingale, John Prentice, Kristine Scott, Steve von Rajcs, and Ray Wolfe.
Announcements: 1) The CTC Reception was very successful and well attended with 14 Inland Action members in attendance. Much appreciation was expressed to Kip Sturgeon for providing the buses needed. Photos of area traffic bottlenecks and SANBAG projects were given to the Commissioners on portable computer drives. 2) A “Sneek-Peek”tour of the soon-to-be-completed UCR Medical Education Building is offered to Inland Action members. Details will be e-mailed. 3) AQMP workshops are being held in our area. Please go to their web site at: www.aqmd.gov/aqmp/2012/index.htm for more information. 4) A new member lunch and breakfast are planned for July 26th and July 31st.
M/S/P: Minutes of the June 26, 2012 meeting
Transportation Bill
The new 2 year federal Transportation Bill that recently passed, was summarized by Ray Wolfe. The Transportation Bill is really another extension of the 2005-2009 SAFETEA-LU bill. This transportation legislation has extended federal highway and transit programs for 27 mounths. This 2-year bill however does not allow for future planning, as most projects require much more time. It also adds another layer of federal governemnt oversight requiring “performance monitoring”.
The bill has authorized $120 billion in spending, financed by the existing 18.4 cents-a-gallon gasoline tax and the 24.4 cents-a-gallon diesel tax, as well as about $19 billion in transfers from the Treasury. Unfortunately the measure did not address the diminishing fuel tax revenues that are used for transportation construction and repair. As cars and trucks grow more efficient and infrastructure ages, those tax revenues are not keeping up with demand.
The measure extends the NEPA Delegation Pilot Program that gives Caltrans the FHWA’s responsibilities under NEPA and other environmental laws. This will continue to allow California to streamline the environmental process by using the more stringent CEQA requirements rather than each project needing both NEPA and CEQA.
The passage of the bill also retains the 3.4% rate on subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduates preventing that rate from doubling.
Other topics
There will not be a meeting on September 4, 2012.
The members present suggested and discussed potential speakers for the remainder of the year.
Inland Action’s 50 year anniversary is on October 16, 2012. Discussions regarding a celebration were exchanged. Suggestions are welcome. The executive Committee will further explore ideas.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 a.m.