Santa Clara has rejected civil grand jury findings that lay blame on the city for the Valley Transit Authority (VTA) floundering in its commitments to bring more rail connectivity to the area.

At a special meeting Sept. 1, the Santa Clara City Council unanimously approved responses to a Santa Clara County civil grand jury report. That report claims the city is complacent in delays and a bloated budget for a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) expansion to Santa Clara.

The city had 90 days from the June 17 release of the report to submit its responses. When responding, the city had three options: agree, disagree or disagree in part, specifying whether the recommended changes will be put in place. 

The city can detail whether the recommended changes will be put in place, have been put in place or will not be put in place, detailing why it believes they are unnecessary. 

Aracely Azevedo, assistant city manager, told the council that the city rejects the civil grand jury’s assessment. The civil grand jury claims that the city doesn’t appoint people to the VTA with the appropriate expertise to ensure responsible oversight.

But Azevedo said the city disagrees with that finding, so it will not strive to change it, saying the city complies with state law. Lacking transportation expertise, she said, isn’t a barrier to serving on the board.

“It is not a requirement. It is just strongly encouraged,” she said. 

She said the city cannot guarantee the future makeup of the council, so it cannot guarantee future councils will have the expertise to do the work.

Council Member Suds Jain, who sits on the VTA board, said he is “80% in agreement” with the civil grand jury’s findings. There is some “real need,” he said, for the VTA governance to change.

“You have to balance longevity with commitment to the agency, and sometimes, those are competing interests,” he said. “This project really does need to have really dedicated board members … and we don’t always get that. We get people that are there to build their resumes to run for higher office.”

Since its inception, the cost of the BART extension to Santa Clara has ballooned from $4.7 billion to nearly $13.7 billion.

Jain accused city employees of “basically ignoring” previous grand jury reports on the topic.

Council Member Kelly Cox and Mayor Lisa Gillmor were absent.

Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com 

Previous Santa Clara City Council Meetings:
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Sparks Fly Over State-Protected Townhouse Development
Santa Clara Residents May no Longer Have to pay for City ADA Upgrades
Interim Supportive Housing Development in Santa Clara to Assist Families