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Executive Director's Report

Report to the Commission and the ABAG Executive Board: November 15, 2017

SVO Retreat

November 1, Monterey

Carl Guardino of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and I spoke on transportation and housing topics at a workshop sponsored by the Silicon Valley Organization, formerly the San Jose Chamber of Commerce.

EU Delegation Visit

November 2, San Francisco

From time to time, we host international delegations of visitors seeking to learn more about how we do regional governmental business in the Bay Area and California. Earlier this month, we hosted an especially high-ranking group of members of the European Parliament from across the political spectrum. We avoided talking about Brexit.

Restoration Authority Meeting

November 3, San Francisco

The San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority held its regular meeting and was notified that it should soon receive its first installment of parcel tax revenue that will be used to make grants to fund projects that improve the vitality of San Francisco Bay. The regional parcel tax was authorized by the passage of Measure AA in June 2016. The authority is jointly staffed by the California Coastal Conservancy and the consolidated staff here at the Bay Area Metro Center.

Future Interstate Committee

November 7-8, Washington DC

I attended the regular meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) committee overseeing a major study of the Interstate Highway System and its role in meeting the mobility needs of the nation for the next 50 years.

Solano Transportation Authority Awards Ceremony

Suisun City, November 8

MTC was presented the partner of the year award by the Solano Transportation Authority at its 20th Annual Awards program.

Competing Tax Bills Released

November 9, Washington DC

The Republican leadership in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have now released detailed legislative proposals to reform the federal corporate and individual tax codes, with a self-imposed deadline of trying to pass a single compromise measure by the end of 2017. The bills that have been introduced would have far-reaching effects throughout the U.S. economy, including in the transportation and housing sectors. Our legislative staff has prepared a side-by-side comparison of the two bills.

Bay Bridge Demolition

November 11, Oakland

On the 81st anniversary of the grand opening of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Caltrans imploded the last two pier foundations for the old east span which will be removed by that method. Still to be determined is whether to remove the remaining four pier foundations at the Oakland shore by mechanical means, or to retain them for conversion into a public area walkway. A similar walkway is likely to be constructed at Pier E2 adjacent to Yerba Buena Island.

North Bay Fire Recovery

We have continued to consult with our public sector colleagues in Sonoma and Napa counties about how ABAG and MTC can assist in the recovery and reconstruction efforts that are now underway. We have focused on the hardest hit areas of the City of Santa Rosa. Former ABAG executive director Henry Gardner is under contract to provide peer-to-peer assistance to officials in Santa Rosa given Henry’s experience as city manager during the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire. We have offered to dedicate staff resources from our resiliency team for the next several months as reconstruction efforts ramp up. We are also exploring with our Sonoma partners various grant opportunities – both public and private, both for planning and capital construction – that MTC could provide from its own portfolio of funding programs or from various near-term state discretionary funding opportunities.

Map of the Month

2017 North Bay Wild Fire Affected Areas

On Sunday October 8th, the first of four devastating wildfires ignited in Napa County near tiny Tubbs Lane just north of Calistoga fueled by parched grass and tinder-dry trees. That same evening, dry, hurricane speed winds swept through the area with gusts over 80 miles per hour at times. Within the first five hours of ignition, the Tubbs fire would be just one of four blazes burning across the Northern Bay area.  In total, the North Bay wildfires claimed the lives of 43 people, burning over 161,000 acres across Sonoma and Napa Counties. Some 8,200 structures were either damaged or completely destroyed in the North Bay, the majority of which were located within Sonoma County. Santa Rosa lost about 3,110 structures to the Tubbs Fire. This map charts the damage from these fires in graphic form.