GILROY
– City Council wants to keep a strong local voice in the Santa
Clara Valley Transportation Authority, despite losing a board
representative at the end of 2003.
GILROY – City Council wants to keep a strong local voice in the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, despite losing a board representative at the end of 2003.
To do this, a City Council member will attempt to resurrect quarterly talks with a Milpitas representative who will represent all South County on the VTA Board in 2004 and 2005.
Past transportation meetings between Gilroy, Milpitas and Morgan Hill officials were “very successful for a time, and then it stopped happening,” Gilroy City Administrator Jay Baksa said. “It was just like a Thursday where we’d meet for coffee and talk about the issues.”
The three cities share a rotating seat on the VTA Board. Former Gilroy Mayor Tom Springer held the post for the past two years, but the seat shifted to Milpitas at the same time he stepped down as mayor. Morgan Hill will get the seat in 2006; Gilroy won’t see it again until 2008.
Gilroy still has one advocate on the VTA Board – namely, Chairman Don Gage, also a county supervisor and a Gilroy resident – but Baksa noted to Council members that Gage represents the entire county, not just Gilroy. They agreed they would prefer to channel their concerns through the Milpitas rep as well.
Milpitas’ VTA rep is
Patricia Dixon, vice mayor on that city’s council. She could not be im-ediately reached
for comment. Her alternate is Morgan Hill Mayor Dennis Kennedy. When Morgan Hill takes over the seat in two years, a Gilroy rep will be the alternate.
Councilman Paul Correa volunteered at the Council’s Jan. 16 and 17 retreat to meet with Dixon and Morgan Hill officials four times a year, if those officials are willing. The city has yet to put the question to them.
Baksa said Gilroyans have an interest in ensuring that improvements to state highways 152 and 25 are funded as soon as possible.
“In the past we have been very successful in getting our share of monies, and we just want that to continue,” Baksa said.
Correa said he would advocate to Dixon for South County road improvements and bus service, but his number-one goal would be to increase Gilroy’s voice on county transportation matters. He would support reorganizing the VTA Board to give Gilroy a permanent seat.
This reorganization is unlikely, however, according to Edwin Chan, Gage’s transportation policy aide.
“They can talk all they want about it, but San Jose would never say yes to it because they have a majority,” Chan said. “Why would they want to give that up? … This is the way it is.”
