Amador County – The Amador County Transportation Commission board on Wednesday postponed a decision on the status of the Sutter Hill Transportation Center, to see more information. ACTC Executive Director Charles Field said the board had seen numbers and details of the Transportation Center, which would house the Sutter Hill Visitors Center, but board member, Supervisor Richard Forster said they had seen the project in “Committee,” but “the full board has not been able to look at this in quite some time.” Consultant Matt Boyer of Dokken Engineering said they would seek final approval on the project from the board in about 4-and-a-half months. Field said all but $200,000 of the project is funded with money the agency already has available or that will be reimbursed, but it is on a “use it or lose it” basis. He said they do not have months, but instead, as far as staff is concerned, they have days. Costs in a contract amendment for which Boyer and Field were seeking approval apparently had risen from $194,000 to $344,000, but Boyer said the costs had another amount added - $149,000 in work by ANOVA Architecture, as sub-consultants to Dokken. Boyer introduced the Transportation Center including its Telecommuting Facility, which Field said would allow people to drive to the Center and use the audio and video teleconference rooms to have meetings. Forster said people had asked: “Is it the responsibility of ACTC to have meeting spaces like that?” Field said federal funding grants were awarded because of the telecommunications center, which has as its objective to reduce traffic and vehicle trips. Forster wanted to look at the project and costs because of the economic downturn, and had he known the downturn was coming, the County Administrative Building in which they were meeting might have been smaller by about one-fourth. Field said if that was the case, they might need a special meeting in the next couple of weeks. Forster said there was time to see the project at the next regular meeting. Field acknowledged and Forster agreed that what the board wanted was full power over the girth of the project and its design and budget at that next meeting. Story by Jim Reece
Thursday, 22 January 2009 23:55
Amador Transportation
Amador County – The Amador County Transportation Commission board on Wednesday postponed a decision on the status of the Sutter Hill Transportation Center, to see more information. ACTC Executive Director Charles Field said the board had seen numbers and details of the Transportation Center, which would house the Sutter Hill Visitors Center, but board member, Supervisor Richard Forster said they had seen the project in “Committee,” but “the full board has not been able to look at this in quite some time.” Consultant Matt Boyer of Dokken Engineering said they would seek final approval on the project from the board in about 4-and-a-half months. Field said all but $200,000 of the project is funded with money the agency already has available or that will be reimbursed, but it is on a “use it or lose it” basis. He said they do not have months, but instead, as far as staff is concerned, they have days. Costs in a contract amendment for which Boyer and Field were seeking approval apparently had risen from $194,000 to $344,000, but Boyer said the costs had another amount added - $149,000 in work by ANOVA Architecture, as sub-consultants to Dokken. Boyer introduced the Transportation Center including its Telecommuting Facility, which Field said would allow people to drive to the Center and use the audio and video teleconference rooms to have meetings. Forster said people had asked: “Is it the responsibility of ACTC to have meeting spaces like that?” Field said federal funding grants were awarded because of the telecommunications center, which has as its objective to reduce traffic and vehicle trips. Forster wanted to look at the project and costs because of the economic downturn, and had he known the downturn was coming, the County Administrative Building in which they were meeting might have been smaller by about one-fourth. Field said if that was the case, they might need a special meeting in the next couple of weeks. Forster said there was time to see the project at the next regular meeting. Field acknowledged and Forster agreed that what the board wanted was full power over the girth of the project and its design and budget at that next meeting. Story by Jim Reece
