CITY MANAGER’S UPDATE
From Track, Page 3
Why SBCTA Voted Against the Extension The SBCTA Board’s decision centered around the following issues: 1. Structural framework. Several Directors expressed frustration that construction and management of the Montclair extension rests with Los Angeles County agencies, including Metro and the Foothill Gold Line Extension Construction Authority (Construction Authority) — agencies that Director’s argued should have no primary role in relation to building and operating the A Line one-half mile into San Bernardino County without SBCTA’s direct control and oversight. In fact, the Construction Authority is a State of California entity, not a creature of LA County, charged by the State, via AB 1600, to build the light rail system in both Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. Further, AB 1600 also charges Metro with the duty and responsibility to operate and maintain each segment of the A Line as they are completed by the Construction Authority; and provides that the Construction Authority shall enter into cooperative construction and funding agreements with respective governing agencies. Extension of Southern California’s expansive rail network across political borders always requires the commitment of private companies and State and local governing agencies working together to achieve inter-agency cooperation to see projects through to completion. 2. Construction Authority Board representation. Directors objected to the lack of a voting seat for SBCTA on the Construction Authority’s Board of Directors. In fact, in 2018, Montclair sponsored a bill, AB 2417 (2018) , authored by Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez, that would introduce a change to membership on the Construction Authority Board by granting Montclair a voting seat, thus giving San Bernardino County two out of six voting seats—one voting seat is currently held by the City of Ontario. SBCTA stated opposition to the bill unless it was amended to give the agency its own voting seat. However, at that time, State legislators were unwilling to support legislation granting three voting seats to San Bernardino County when it was then unclear when the light rail system would be extended into San Bernardino County. During recent negotiations for a cooperative agreement to extent the A Line to the Montclair Transit Center, the Construction Authority agreed to support legislation granting SBCTA a voting seat on the Construction Authority Board of Directors. 3. Length of time the Project has been on the books. The light rail extension to Montclair has been an SBCTA project since at least 2004, when voters of San Bernardino County overwhelmingly approved the A Line extension to Montclair as part of Measure I’s Expenditure Plan. During the 21 years after Measure I was adopted the State, Metro, the San Gabriel Valley COG and SBCTA have been the agencies tasked with funding the light rail extension from Pasadena and, ultimately, into San Bernardino County. Concurrently, the Construction Authority has been tasked with project design and construction of the A Line extension. Over the past two decades, SBCTA had not been tasked with any work related to design or construction of the A Line extension through Los Angeles County. Now, with the Construction Authority recently completing the Glendora to Pomona Segment of the A Line, SBCTA was asked in early 2025 to become involved with various construction and funding approvals
Light rail train traveling through Glendora Avenue grade crossing in Glendora
4 | CITY OF MONTCLAIR | 2025 ANNUAL NEWSLETTER
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