[[en español]]

Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) Highway 154 Safety Committee announced they will convene a meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, September 29 via zoom webinar. The September 29 meeting will focus on the latest traffic safety and improvement efforts for Highway 154. The committee last met in December 2019. Spanish language interpretation services will be available through Bridging Voices-Uniendo Voces.
 
“As Santa Barbara County rebuilds our economy and more residents return to work, it is vital that we keep a close watch on public safety for Highway 154,” said Joan Hartmann, chair of the Highway 154 Safety Committee. “I encourage all members of the public who travel on Highway 154 to attend and participate in this committee meeting to hear the latest on regional safety initiatives and to share any comments or concerns.”   
 
The Highway 154 Safety Committee was formed in the Fall of 2019 to raise awareness on regional initiatives and projects to help reduce fatalities and injuries, promote efforts to educate the public on traffic safety, and support funding of public safety agencies to enforce traffic laws. Five SBCAG Directors are appointed to the committee: Joan Hartmann (Supervisor, Third District), Gregg Hart (Supervisor, Second District), Paula Perotte (Mayor, Goleta), Holly Sierra (Mayor, Buellton), and Charlie Uhrig (Mayor, Solvang). Ex-Officio members including Monique Limón, California’s 19th Senate District; Steve Bennett, 37th Assembly District; as well as representatives from the California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, District 5, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, and Santa Barbara County Public Works Division.
 
A committee agenda will be available on Santa Barbara County Association of Government’s website in advance of September 29. Members of the public can also sign up to be added to the Highway 154 Safety Committee agenda notification email list serv by emailing SBCAG at info@sbcag.org. The meeting will feature presentations from State and local agencies. The public will have an opportunity to meet and ask questions of representatives from Caltrans, California Highway Patrol, Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, and local/state elected officials. 
 
WHAT:              Highway 154 Safety Committee
WHEN:              6 p.m., Wednesday, September 29
WHERE:            Zoom Webinar, there are multiple options to participate in the virtual meeting
                            * one-click link; Passcode: 916453
                            * Webinar ID: 844 0520 1303; Passcode: 916453
                            * Dial by telephone: (669) 900 9128; Webinar ID: 844 0520 1303; Passcode: 916453 

Highway 154 Safety Town Hall Flyer (digitally linked to download)

Volante del Ayuntamiento sobre la seguridad de la carretera 154 (enlazado digitalmente para descargar)

Mark Bradley, Geoffrey Slaff, and Dennis Story re-appointed to four-year terms on the oversight committee responsible for the accountability of the expenditure of an estimated $1 billion of Measure A, voter-mandated, high priority transportation projects and programs. 

Mark Funkhouser (Santa Maria), Carson Link (Lompoc), and Eric Melsheimer (Orcutt) were appointed to fill three vacancies along with the re-appointment of Mark Bradley (Santa Barbara), Geoffrey Slaff (Montecito), and Dennis Story (Goleta) to serve on the Measure A Citizens Oversight Committee by the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) Board of Directors. Each appointee will serve a four-year term that will conclude September 2025.
 
“The six community leaders appointed to the Measure A Citizens Oversight Committee will continue impactful work and important accountability over the next four years,” said Holly Sierra, chair of SBCAG board of directors. “I am confident in their leadership for the oversight of voter mandates that fund more than $1 billion in regional transportation initiatives in our communities.”
 
An open, competitive recruitment process occurred in July and August to fill three vacancies for north county and “at-large” positions on the oversight committee.  
 
“I was impressed with the quality and enthusiasm of applicants who were willing to dedicate their time and talents to fill vacancies of north county and “at-large” positions on the Measure A Citizens Oversight Committee,” said Bob Nelson, chair of SBCAG north county subregional committee. “The priorities of North County residents will be well-served by the caliber of experience of Mark Funkhouser, Carson Link, and Eric Melsheimer.”    
 
Mark Funkhouser, the director of Sustainability/Custodial Services for the Chumash Casino Resort, leads the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ green initiatives. His main areas of focus throughout his 18-year career with the tribe have been eliminating waste, improving energy efficiency and reducing overall resource consumption. Mark’s proudest professional moment occurred in 2019 when the Chumash Casino Resort became the first casino in the world to earn TRUE Zero Waste certification from Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI). The resort diverts more than 90 percent of its waste stream from local landfills.
 
Carson Link, the district representative for Senator Monique Limón, is a Lompoc native and community advocate. Professionally, he is focused on transportation related issues and is often traveling from Lompoc throughout Santa Barbara County. Link previously worked for United Way coordinating outreach to the Central Coast’s homeless population.
 
Eric Melsheimer, the chief executive officer of Melfred Borzall, a Santa Maria company which designs and manufactures tools for underground construction. He is a 25-year resident of Orcutt and is active on the Orcutt Union School District Measure G Citizens Oversight Committee, community ambassador with Allan Hancock College. He is an engineer with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics and Astronautics.
 
The Measure A Investment Plan and Ordinance provides an estimated $140 million in matching funds to make local and U.S. highway 101 multimodal improvements from Santa Barbara to Mussel Shoals. The plan also provides an estimated $455 million each in North County and South Coast for transportation projects and programs to build safer walking and bike routes to schools, increase senior and disabled accessibility to public transit, increase options for carpool and vanpool programs as well as local street improvements such as pothole repairs and synchronized traffic signals.
 
The next meeting of the Measure A Citizens Oversight Committee will take place on Thursday, October 21 that will include the annual review of the Measure A audit.
 
More information about Measure A is available on the measure’s website at www.measurea.net.
 
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