Delegation of SGV council members says "no" to sales tax plan

In a nice preview for the deluge of criticism that is going to happen at MTA's meeting on Thursday, the Gold Line Phase II Joint Powers Authority, a local board that is made up of council members, formally voted to oppose the MTA's proposed half-cent sales tax increase.

That plan, which the MTA hopes to put on the November ballot, would use money from the sales tax hike to fund transit projects. But local legislators have complained that the SGV is not getting enough funding from the list of projects to be funded with the tax (for much more read here)

The Gold Line JPA is made up of council members from Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, Azusa, Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont, and South Pasadena.

From a press release from the organization:

Though the sales tax would allocate $735 million for the Gold Line, language in the measure does not provide a date by which funding must be received over the 30-year life of the tax and does not specify the rail's eventual terminus, meaning it could be cut off in Azusa instead of extending to the county border and Ontario International Airport. It also would allocate more than is needed, $250 million, for a maintenance facility

MTA chief Roger Snoble told me last week that it would specify the county line in Claremont as the rail's terminus, so I took a look at the measure language. I'm not at all shocked to see the language is vague enough that either side can claim it fulfills a different promise. It says that the measure will extend the Gold Line east "from its current terminus in Pasadena at the Sierra Madre Villa Station toward Montclair."

So does that mean it will go ALL the way to Montclair? Not necessarily. But it is a tangible suggestion of where it is supposed to go. Ah, deliberate vagueness.

The maintenance facility project seemed like it was going to help foster opposition to the measure.... it is not something opposed by the SGV leaders, but neither do they particularly care about the project, and they don't want $250 million coming out of their funds.

The release also suggests that John Fasana, MTA's rep from the San Gabriel Valley will oppose the measure in its current form at Thursday's meeting. Michael Antonovich, another board member, has already said he will unless it is changed.

Looks to me like the MTA is going to have to schedule an emergency meeting before August 8, the county deadline to put this on the ballot, if they want to get this done.

UPDATE: Also, on MTA's agenda on Thursday is to officially move the freeway toll lane plan from the 210 Freeway to the 110 Freeway, something we discussed here a few weeks back