11:55am - We are finishing preparations for the big budget hearing on Caltrans spending! Executive Producer Dave Manoucheri and photographer Peter Roney are getting all the videotape together that we need. We have our full team for "On the Money" and also have Koula Gianulias, who does a lot of our political coverage covering the story with us.
You might have seen our report last night showing that the conference that Caltrans attended in Palm Desert's latest numbers showed more than $40,000 in tax dollars spent. This while the state's projected budget deficit is supposed to be close to 14 billion in the next year or so. In today's hearing, we should get the salary figures, which will bump the cost up even higher! Watch for that tonight at 6.
We have a full day planned! Keep your eyes here around 1pm, we'll be blogging from inside the hearing room live! Dave Manoucheri, On the Money's Executive Producer will also be giving live Twitter updates (tweets!) from inside as well. He is @13producer. Mike Luery will be live inside handling the blog, and of course, Sam Shane live at 6 and 10 with the full report!
1:05 pm hearing has started
Caltrans Director Randell Iwasaki on the hot seat now at the Capitol, answering tough questions from Assembly Subcommittee, starting first with problems over repairs to Bay Bridge. Initial repair $1.5 million, $6 million for second repair, and $14 million for permanent repairs. What went wrong?
Director says first repairs occurred Sept. 3rd, his birthday.
After first Bay Bridge repair, Caltrans opened the bridge and there was a wind event, causing the bars to vibrate, says Director. Caltrans shut the bridge down following the incident.
Why did the first fix fail, lawmakers want to know? Director says Caltrans did not anticipate rod would vibrate as much as it did.
"They noticed that the rods were moving" prior to Bay Bridge shut down, Iwasaki says, referring to Caltrans engineers.
Should we be considered about other 54 bridges that have similar Eye bar, Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield wants to know.
Director says Caltrans inspects bridges every two years. How do we know this wouldn't happen to another bridge, Assemblyman Anthony Adams wants to know.
Assemlyman Anthony Adams demanded to know why Caltrans had to hire a consultant when the department has 12,000 engineers.
Have we sped up inspections on other bridges, or still on a 2 year cycle? Blumenfield wants to know. Director says it's still a 2 year cycle.
Is furlough schedule impacting ability to inspect bridges? Caltrans applied for exemption on bridge inspections. Inspectors do not take Fridays off, they are self-directed days off, taking time when the workload permits, according to Caltrans Director Randell Iwasaki.
Why are we paying for people to take time off when federal government, not state govt is paying for it, Assemblyman Anthony Adams wants to know.
Caltrans says furloughs are not impacting safety. Inspections are continuing, they say, despite furloughs.
On Labor Day, Caltrans installed an S Curve on Bay Bridge. There were accidents, including a fatality. Was it handled properly, Blumenfield demands to know. Caltrans Director Iwasaki responds that S Curve acts as a detour. It's designed for 45mph, tops. Speed limit is 35 mph. But Caltrans noted a large number of accidents, most of them speed related. Caltrans worked with CHP to slow traffic down. Now there are radar feedback signs.
Over 50 accidents prior to aggressive actions, including CHP lane on Bridge, now there have been just 7 accidents.
Now it's open to public comment on Bay Bridge. SEIU rep testifies that even if state workers get federal funds, they are still getting a 15% paycut.
End of public commentson repair..now onto Palm Desert conference, which CBS 13 first reported on in October 2009. How does staying at a 4 star resort jibe with state's poor fiscal climate, Blumenfield wants to know? Live Life Large at Desert Springs, says the Web ad. It really rubs taxpayers the wrong way, Blumenfield says.
Timing was bad too, because Eye beam problems had surfaced, Blumenfield says. Caltrans Director responds saying, department applied three years ago to go to the conference, with California as host. Says he was concerned about large number of people needed to staff the conference.
Says 52 people went to the event. 11 were delegates including the director. Plus a mobility showcase to show some of California's technology. 17 people did that. 24 staffed the conference. State employees got an $84 room rate. Says it generated $1.1 million for state economy. Blumenfield interrupts him and says let's focus on Caltrans role.
Our employees were there to experience new technology...good training opp says Iwasaki.
Victor Mendez, federal highway transportation administrator was there too, says Iwasaki. Caltrans hoped to get more federal funds for next transportation surface bill in Congress. Blumenfield wants to know why high paid Caltrans people were shuttling delegates around?
Would we do it again? Maybe not, Iwasaki says. Definitely we'd have less people there.
Blumenfield says it's the perception issue. $82,000 in Caltrans may not be that much, but could provide a lot of support for Californians in need, he says. Glad to hear Caltrans wouldn't do it again, Blumenfield says.
How will you revise procedures in the future? Blumenfield says, then asks about Caltrans policy banning non-essential travel. What about the Go Kart issue? The public sees that they are livid. How do you assure the public that sensitivity will be greater in future. Iwasaki says we're looking at future commitments with more scrutiny. "Doing every we can, to apply a different look to conferences we've attended in the past, you have my word on that."
Bruce Blanning, of Professional Engineers in California Govt testifies in support of the Caltrans Director, saying Palm Desert conference was worthwhile. Wants to make sure California is a player in future funding opps from feds.
Done with Palm Desert conference, now moving on to fleet management. 2600 new vehicles purchased over last 2 years. "It sometimes seem like we're in auto consumption mode", Blumenfield says. Majority of existing fleet used for maintenance purposes, Iwasaki says.
Caltrans says it is leasing more, buying fewer new vehicles. Blumenfield wonders about some vehicles sitting around for months before use. Iwasaki says Caltrans trying to meet clean air requirements, building up run of trucks.
No public input on issue...now moving on to fourth and final issue, dealing with federal funds.
$3.7 billion coming in federal stimulus funds. $270 million needs to be committed by February or else money may go elsewhere, Blumenfield says. Iwasaki lists a number of projects around the state that qualify. Says local agencies got $1.6 billion, so we don't lose a dime of federal dollars, the Director says.
Due date is March 2, 2010 to move all the money, Iwasaki says.
Call for public input on federal transportation funding. Environmental Defense Fund testifies California has a lot of clout in Congress, wit House Speaker Pelosi coming from California. State taking the lead on reducing carbon emissions. Says transportation funding will be critical to California.
Closing comments now.
Hearing now adjourned. CBS 13 reports at six p.m.
