Posted at 9:49 p.m. PST Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2001 
   
BART board endorses plan for South Bay extension

In a 7-2 vote, transit district directors approved the deal calling
for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to pay $48
million a year for the proposed Fremont-to-San Jose line's upkeep and
operating costs.

   BY PUTSATA REANG
   Mercury News
   
   In a vote that settles who will pay for a new BART extension to San
   Jose, the transit district's board on Tuesday endorsed a plan that
   calls for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to pick up
   the $48 million annual tab to operate the line.
   
   The VTA agreed last Wednesday to pay for operating costs after six
   days of negotiations, but the deal required final approval from the
   Bay Area Rapid Transit District before construction on the 21-mile
   extension could begin.
   
   BART directors voted 7-2 to approve the deal, with Roy Nakadegawa and
   Tom Radulovich voting against it.
   
   Under the agreement, the VTA has until 2009 to determine how it will
   fund the project, which could range from a new sales tax, an increase
   in fares or a new gas tax. If the transportation authority fails to
   meet that deadline, it will be required to use money from its
   transportation development account to pay for the line's operating
   expenses.
   
   Before the BART board approved the deal, Nakadegawa said he wanted to
   know exactly where the money would come from.
   
   ``I'm very skeptical about the financial engagement,'' Nakadegawa
   said. ``Chances are it's going to be more than $48 million.''
   
   His concern was echoed by BART rider Rebecca Kaplan.
   
   ``It should concern you that you might not even get that money,''
   Kaplan said. ``Ask where the money is going to come from.''
   
   Members confident
   
   But other BART board members appeared confident that the VTA would
   find those answers in the next several years and said they want to see
   the VTA build a much-needed extension to the South Bay.
   
   ``A lot of people drive their cars from Antioch to San Jose,'' said
   BART director Joel Keller. ``This gives them access to jobs in the
   Silicon Valley.''
   
   `Historic' pact
   
   BART director Dan Richard called the deal a historic agreement between
   two transit systems that have, until now, competed for money to fund
   projects rather than work together on the same proposal.
   
   ``This is the first time BART has allowed someone else to build and
   run a section of BART,'' Richard said. He added, ``Now it opens the
   door for the completion of the Regional Transportation Plan.''
   
   Although at least two BART board members had asked that the decision
   be delayed for a week, board president Willie Kennedy urged the board
   to vote Tuesday night so the proposal could meet the Metropolitan
   Transportation Commission's Nov. 19 deadline to be considered for
   funding.
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   Contact Putsata Reang at preang@sjmercury.com or (510) 790-7312.