Published Wednesday, October 10, 2001, in the Contra Costa Times

Santa Clara, BART pact is key

Nov. 19 deadline set to commit to the extension so it can get federal
funds

By Lisa Vorderbrueggen
Contra Costa Times

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has given BART and Santa
Clara County a deadline to reach an extension deal or be left out of
the region's rail expansion plan.

Officials consider a Track 1 slot on the 2001 Regional Transportation
Plan critical to a successful campaign for $530 million in federal
dollars to help pay for a $3.9 billion, 21-mile extension from
Fremont to San Jose.

But with no deal yet between the rail system and Santa Clara County
despite months of talks, the transportation commission warns that it
cannot back an undefined project.

"It's important that both parties understand the nature of the
project and the terms of their relationship before we or anyone
advocates for funds," said commission spokesman Randy
Rentschler. "When we go to Washington, we have to have every 'I'
dotted and every 'T' crossed."

Commission chairwoman Sharon Brown advised BART and the Santa Clara
Valley Transportation Authority by letter this week that a deal must
be in place by Nov. 19 or the agency cannot list the extension as a
priority project in the transportation spending plan.

The commission has postponed a vote on the plan until Dec. 19, but
needs at least a month to review and analyze the extension agreement.

The plan could be amended later, but advocates fear an indefinite
postponement could open up the project to further controversy and
hurt its ability to compete for federal funds.

The commission's action is intended to "provide additional time for
the BART-VTA talks to bear fruit, wrote Brown, also a San Pablo city
councilwoman.

The deadline is "entirely appropriate," agreed BART Director Dan
Richard of Walnut Creek, a member of the agency's negotiating
team. "The issues, which are primarily equity issues, need to be
resolved before there can be political legitimacy to including the
extension in the regional plan."

The parties have made what Richard called "considerable progress."

"I think it's possible to reach a deal that supports building the
project in a way that is equitable for the existing BART counties,"
he said. "I hope we can do it in time."

A Santa Clara County representative could not be reached for comment.

But BART and Santa Clara County are under considerable political
pressure to hammer out a deal quickly.

Gov. Gray Davis gave the extension $760 million. San Jose Mayor Ron
Gonzales has put the extension center stage in his administration.
Voters in Alameda and Santa Clara counties overwhelmingly passed tax
measures in 2000 that will raise more than $2 billion for the project.

But officials in Contra Costa, Alameda and San Francisco counties --
the three BART counties -- insist Santa Clara County must do more.

They want Santa Clara to pay for impacts that added passengers will
have on the aging core system, impacts which could be considerable
since BART already suffers from overcrowding.

They also want permanent financial contributions. Residents in the
three BART counties pay an average of $67 per person per year in
sales and property taxes to support the train.

"What I've seen of Santa Clara's approach so far is that they want to
own, manage and control the 16 miles of track in their county and
take no responsibility for the rest of the system," said Robert
McCleary, executive director of the Contra Costa Transportation
Authority.

"That doesn't cut it. We need a solid agreement that protects the
taxpayers of the BART counties from the potential financial impacts
of this extension."

Lisa Vorderbrueggen covers transportation and land-use issues. Reach
her at 925-945-4773 or lvorderbrueggen@cctimes.com.