And they want us to bail out this loser transit agency?
Merc says: "A Santa Clara County civil grand jury report sharply criticized the VTA’s handling of the nearly $13 billion San Jose BART extension." Below, the latest list of VTA costly flubs.
The blunder gallery
VTA did not follow the recommendation of a 2019 civil grand jury report to reform its governance structure, leading to a “weakening” of the board’s oversight of the project.
"No realistic plan to deal with foreseeable financial risks.”
Insufficient funding: The $5.1 billion promised by the Federal Transit Administration was less than what VTA had hoped for, creating a $1.2 billion funding gap.
Lengthy timelines expose VTA to financial risks, including the rising cost of labor and materials.
--SJ Mercury News
Who sits on that Board, anyway?
“The VTA Board has failed in its responsibility to provide effective management, oversight and financial control of the BSVII Project,” the Civil Grand Jury report said, referring in shorthand to the BART to Silicon Valley project’s second phase.
--SJM
Here are the current VTA board members, according to the VTA website:
Sergio Lopez Chairperson (Campbell)
Matt Mahan Vice Chairperson (San Jose)
Margaret Abe-Koga Board Member (Santa Clara County)
Sylvia Arenas Board Member (Santa Clara County)
Greg Bozzo Alternate Board Member (Gilroy)
Domingo Candelas Board Member (San Jose)
David Cohen Board Member (San Jose)
Betty Duong Alternate Board Member (Santa Clara County)
Pam Foley Board Member (San Jose)
Sudhanshu "Suds" Jain Board Member (Santa Clara)
Rosemary Kamei Board Member (San Jose)
John McAlister Alternate Board Member (Mountain View)
Carmen Montano Alternate Board Member (Milpitas)
Rob Moore Alternate Board Member (Los Gatos)
Michael Mulcahy Alternate Board Member (San Jose)
Linda Sell Board Member (Sunnyvale)
Mark Turner Board Member (Morgan Hill)
Jonathan Weinberg Board Member (Los Altos)
Pat Burt Ex-Officio Member (MTC)