Agenda Item 6.3 on the Consent Calendar is “ACTION ITEM 1) Adopt a Resolution , establishing the 2016 Measure B Program; and 2) adopt the 2016 Measure B Program Category Guidelines.” These guidelines are on pages 40-41 of the packet for the meeting. These guidelines will control the distribution of the funds collected from 2016 Measure B for grade separations for the Caltrain crossings.

To complete all eight projects, VTA would allocate 2016 Measure B funding to the most cost-effective grade separation alternatives possible.

This means that funds would be allocated between Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto on a first-come, first-served basis to the cheapest way to get the , regardless of the complexity of the projects required.

We recommend that the sentence highlighted above be replaced by the following language:

To complete all eight projects, VTA shall divide the 2016 Measure B funding equally in 2017 dollars among the eight projects listed in the Caltrain Grade Separation Program Category. Designs higher than baseline costs will require additional local and other funding. VTA will work collectively with the cities to secure funds from outside sources to complete the program.

What can YOU do?

1. Write to the VTA Board at board.secretary@vta.org, with a copy to the Palo Alto City Council at city.council@cityofpaloalto.org. Ask them to remove Item 6.3 from the Consent Calendar and change the language for Caltrain Grade Separations to divide the available funds equally among all of the affected grade crossings.
2. Attend and SPEAK at the VTA Board meeting. The meeting starts at 5:30PM at the location below. Fill out a comment card and you will have two (2) minutes to speak.