Post by article on Sept 29, 2004 15:41:31 GMT -8
Schiff offers Gold Line plan
Ten extension cities would gain building control
By Gary Scott
Staff Writer
www.sgvtribune.com/cda/article/print/0,1674,205%257E12220%257E2433087,00.html
Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - PASADENA -- Rep. Adam Schiff released a plan Tuesday that will give the 10 cities along the planned Gold Line extension route effective control over the project's construction without the trouble of changing state law.
The $1.3 billion light rail extension will run from Pasadena to Montclair through the cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, Azusa, Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Claremont and Montclair.
Schiff said he decided to intervene in the negotiations concerning the transfer of control after discussions bogged down in bickering between the construction authority and the extension cities.
"If we don't get our act together in our region, this project may never get built and it will certainly go to the back of the list' for federal funding, Schiff said.
The plan calls for allocating three of the seats on the five- member construction authority that built the first leg of the Gold Line from Los Angeles to Pasadena, to representatives chosen by the cities on the planned second leg to Montclair.
"The proposed framework I think can easily be put into legal form and serve as a basis for a deal,' said Schiff. "I think it also has the merit of keeping the board small and workable.'
While a state senator, the Pasadena Democrat authored the legislation that created the Blue Line Construction Authority.
Pasadena Councilman Paul Little, who has been at the center of the dispute and sits on the construction authority board, characterized the Schiff plan as a "complicated solution to a problem that is easily manageable.'
"The stumbling block has always been the unwillingness of the San Gabriel Valley cities to try and reach a consensus rather than dictate a solution,' Little said.
Under the plan, the 10 cities along the route plus Pasadena and South Pasadena would be split into three clusters. Each cluster would appoint a representative to sit on the construction authority board.
To work, Pasadena, South Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley City of Governments would have to agree to give up their seats to the respective designee.
"I would say Mr. Schiff's proposal is very preliminary but I think it should be looked at,' said Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard.
The advantage of Schiff's plan is that it avoids the need for a memorandum of understanding between the construction authority and the extension cities, a process that has yet to bare fruit.
It also avoids the need for new state legislation. Assemblywoman Carol Liu, D-Pasadena, attempted to get a bill passed this year to reform the construction authority, but the effort failed when Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Kevin Murray added language that served as a poison pill.
"We still have legislation to introduce again next year,' Liu said. "If Adam's group can find a non-legislative solution, I think that is great. The bottom line is we need to work together' to get the extension project completed.
Glendora Mayor Cliff Hamlow said the Schiff plan should give the extension cities what they have been asking for, and hoped the framework would also lower tensions on all sides.
"Let's be civil in what we do,' Hamlow said. "I don't want to be in a camp that has its guns loaded all the time.'
-- Gary Scott can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4458, or by e-mail at gary.scott@sgvn.com .
Ten extension cities would gain building control
By Gary Scott
Staff Writer
www.sgvtribune.com/cda/article/print/0,1674,205%257E12220%257E2433087,00.html
Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - PASADENA -- Rep. Adam Schiff released a plan Tuesday that will give the 10 cities along the planned Gold Line extension route effective control over the project's construction without the trouble of changing state law.
The $1.3 billion light rail extension will run from Pasadena to Montclair through the cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, Azusa, Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Claremont and Montclair.
Schiff said he decided to intervene in the negotiations concerning the transfer of control after discussions bogged down in bickering between the construction authority and the extension cities.
"If we don't get our act together in our region, this project may never get built and it will certainly go to the back of the list' for federal funding, Schiff said.
The plan calls for allocating three of the seats on the five- member construction authority that built the first leg of the Gold Line from Los Angeles to Pasadena, to representatives chosen by the cities on the planned second leg to Montclair.
"The proposed framework I think can easily be put into legal form and serve as a basis for a deal,' said Schiff. "I think it also has the merit of keeping the board small and workable.'
While a state senator, the Pasadena Democrat authored the legislation that created the Blue Line Construction Authority.
Pasadena Councilman Paul Little, who has been at the center of the dispute and sits on the construction authority board, characterized the Schiff plan as a "complicated solution to a problem that is easily manageable.'
"The stumbling block has always been the unwillingness of the San Gabriel Valley cities to try and reach a consensus rather than dictate a solution,' Little said.
Under the plan, the 10 cities along the route plus Pasadena and South Pasadena would be split into three clusters. Each cluster would appoint a representative to sit on the construction authority board.
To work, Pasadena, South Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley City of Governments would have to agree to give up their seats to the respective designee.
"I would say Mr. Schiff's proposal is very preliminary but I think it should be looked at,' said Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard.
The advantage of Schiff's plan is that it avoids the need for a memorandum of understanding between the construction authority and the extension cities, a process that has yet to bare fruit.
It also avoids the need for new state legislation. Assemblywoman Carol Liu, D-Pasadena, attempted to get a bill passed this year to reform the construction authority, but the effort failed when Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Kevin Murray added language that served as a poison pill.
"We still have legislation to introduce again next year,' Liu said. "If Adam's group can find a non-legislative solution, I think that is great. The bottom line is we need to work together' to get the extension project completed.
Glendora Mayor Cliff Hamlow said the Schiff plan should give the extension cities what they have been asking for, and hoped the framework would also lower tensions on all sides.
"Let's be civil in what we do,' Hamlow said. "I don't want to be in a camp that has its guns loaded all the time.'
-- Gary Scott can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4458, or by e-mail at gary.scott@sgvn.com .