A great deal of last Tuesday’s Fillmore City Council meeting was talking about transportation. Both those who came to give a presentation and those who spoke during public comments addressed Fillmore's transportation needs. Other items on the agenda were a Code of Conduct document and the Mid-year Financial Report.

Ventura County Transportation Commission's (VCTC) Executive Director Darren M. Kettle gave an in-depth presentation on the transportation needs of both the County and the City of Fillmore and where their priorities must be given. Mayor Pro Tem Manuel Minjares is one of 17 members of the Commission Board. The VCTC uses Countywide polling to understand the transportation priorities of its residents, with the number one priority being completing local roads and maintaining them. Second priority is transportation connections in and out of the County; and next the capacity (congestion) and frequency of connection. Fourth is safety, and then planning for growth. Increasing bus routes was at the bottom of priorities.

Kettle explained that the Federal Highway Trust Fund cannot meet its present obligations and will spend $2.5 billion on transportation locally in the next few years. Over the next 30 years the cost is projected to be $4.9 billion with a shortfall of $1.8 billion. This shortfall is due to less tax revenue as more fuel efficient cars require less gas and therefore fewer taxes paid at the pump. To overcome this the State of California may consider one or more of the following; Raise the gas tax ten cents (estimated to raise $2.1 billion at today's consumption rate), tolling express lanes, raising vehicle registration, and/or asking for a 1/2 cent tax measure. Kettle said there is a real possibility of having a toll lane on Highway 101.

For now VCTC's main focus is on the transition of Highway 23 onto Highway 101 in Thousand Oaks. The north bound transition onto the 101 often has traffic jams. This transition is a long curve that cannot be seen by those approaching, causing a dangerous situation where drivers have to quickly slam on their brakes to avoid hitting the slowed traffic.

Kettle named five locations that are part of the process in determining the needs of areas such as Fillmore; Safety of Highway 126, Intercity Transit, Integrated Planning, Local Character and Emergency Access. Kettle informed the Council that right now Highway 126 is alright. He said he understands the concern about safety, adding that there may be a long term master plan to change the highway to seven lanes.

Kettle spoke of public transportation and said that youth account for 60% of those using the bus system with Hwy 126 the most used bus route in the County. The County has 225,000 yearly passengers and Dial-a-Ride has 205,000 riders yearly with those numbers expected to grow. According to VCTC the County population is expected to grow 30% by 2020 and so will the transportation needs. Kettle said the future plan is to have one bus in Fillmore and two in Santa Paula circulate through each town every 30 minutes. During peak hours there will be a shuttle service between Fillmore and Piru. VCTC has budgeted $2 million to buy new buses.

When asked about a bus route to Santa Clarita, Kettle responded Santa Clarita doesn't want to participate and it is not a cheap proposition. The data doesn't support the cost involved due to low participation. The largest expense is the cost of the driver which would bring the fare cost too high.

During Public Comments Taila Negrete, Justinne Lopez and Lynn Edmonds addressed the Council with their concerns regarding the County's transportation system. Edmonds recalled an incident were she took 30 students to the beach on the bus but couldn't use the transfers due to the different systems not recognizing each other. Another issue was the small size of the busses and the impact that has on those trying to board at Rancho Sespe after those from Piru have filled the bus to capacity.

Also during Public Comment, Jack Maxwell who owns land at the future Business Park addressed the Council on a business/planning issue stating he signed on to the Vision 2020 Plan but when the economy soured he put the project on hold. He said he now sees the project happening but finds it challenging due to the Development Impact Fees. Maxwell would like to pay on one or two buildings at a time adding that the previous City Manager put up some hurdles to moving forward. He said he is not getting answers to what is needed to move forward.
The Code of Conduct/Ethics which was compiled by Council Members Douglas Tucker and A. Eduardo Gonzalez will be voted on at the next Council Meeting. The Council wants the citizens of Fillmore to have a chance to read it on the City's website and come to the next meeting with any questions or opinions they have regarding the document. The Council is also looking at how to enforce it. There are guidelines, but also concern about ways to remove any problems, and a desire to give the document some "teeth." The document is a combination of numerous other city’s Codes of Conduct/Ethics. But Gonzalez stated both he and Tucker added their own language, and City Attorney Tiffany Israel added legal language. One of the main goals in producing the document in such a way was to prevent it from being used politically and to make sure it is fair. The document is to be reviewed every five years.

The Council wanted more time to review the Mid-Year Financial Report; it was moved to the next Council Meeting's agenda. The findings are not much of a surprise, Fillmore is in the same position as previously stated. Fillmore is projected to have an estimated deficit of $1.5 million and some level of additional reductions may need to be made in the upcoming fiscal year. The City must again reduce expenditures and reprioritize services to reflect the available resources, or find additional sources of revenue. The largest problems are the pool and recreational fund.

The Council made five appointments to the Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation and Film Commission. Mark Greenwell and Diane McCall will be on the Planning Commission, Robert "JR" Stump and Sara Beylik (Student) will be on the Parks and Recreation Commission, and Jose (Chano) Ibarra will be on the Film Commission.