Title
Parks, a division of the Chief Administrative Office, recommending the Board:
1) Approve and authorize the Chair to sign the Sacramento Placerville Transportation Corridor (SPTC) Joint Powers Authority (JPA) Revised Agreement, with changes;
2) Approve and authorize the Chair to sign the Amended and Restated SPTC JPA Continuing Agreement to Advance Funds, increasing the annual amount from $27,500 to $29,200; and
3) Approve the Excursion License Agreement between Placerville and Sacramento Valley Railroad and the SPTC JPA for the operation of an excursion rail service on limited portions of the SPTC within El Dorado County for special events only, and direct staff to return to the Board with recommendation for a special event permit fee and process.
FUNDING: General Fund.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The Sacramento Placerville Transportation Corridor (SPTC) Joint Powers Authority (JPA) was formed in October 1991 to provide for the acquisition and preservation of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company's 53-mile Placerville Branch railroad Corridor, and to provide reciprocal use agreements for transportation and transportation preservation uses. The member agencies are the County of El Dorado, the County of Sacramento, the City of Folsom, and the Sacramento Regional Transit District. Each member agency appoints one member to the Board and the Board members appoint a member at large. The SPTC JPA is funded by each Member agency contributing an equal share towards an annual operating budget. In September 1996, the SPTC JPA purchased the right-of-way from the Southern Pacific Transportation Company. El Dorado County contributed $2,770,000 for the portion of the corridor within County boundaries.
Sacramento Placerville Transportation Corridor Joint Powers Authority (SPTC JPA) Revised Agreement
Upon its creation in 1991, the JPA was to provide for acquisition of the Rail Corridor with the intent that the JPA would terminate once its purpose of acquiring the Rail Corridor has been accomplished. The JPA’s member agencies later determined the JPA should continue to be the legal owner of the Rail Corridor responsible to ensure continuity of the Rail Corridor, preserve the reciprocal rights of the member agencies, and provide a forum to resolve disputes between member agencies. This resulted in the JPA and the member agencies entering into the Reciprocal Use and Funding Agreement (RUFA) in 1996.
The RUFA governs the JPA’s powers and responsibilities with respect to the Rail Corridor, and while the JPA is the legal owner of the Rail Corridor, each member agency holds an easement covering its allocated portion of the Rail Corridor that gives the member agency broad discretion concerning its usage. (RUFA, Section 4.) The JPA has no power to use or transfer any portion of the Rail Corridor without the prior request or consent of the member agency to which that portion has been allocated. (RUFA, Section 7(a).) Conversely, any member agency may direct the JPA to permit a third-party use of its allocated portion, or to transfer part of its allocated portion, subject to the restrictions outlined in RUFA, Section 7(a). Except for the restrictions in Section 7 and reciprocal usage rights held by other JPA member agencies described in Section 8, each member agency has control over the use of its allocated portion.
In May 2000, the JPA Board revisited the ongoing role of the JPA and adopted a policy statement for the JPA’s continued role in managing the Rail Corridor. The role of the JPA, as approved by the Board, included the following:
a. Administration, including engineering and legal counsel
b. Corridor maintenance/weed abatement
c. Access and use permitting
d. Property management
e. Facilitating development of transportation uses in the corridor
f. Preserving continuity of the corridor (administering the RUFA).
Since that time, the JPA has facilitated regional uses of the right-of-way by providing a single primary point of contact for the public. The JPA also has facilitated regional uses of the right-of-way by providing a forum for staff to meet and discuss potential projects. In this context, the JPA played a significant role in facilitating the agreement between Regional Transit and the City of Folsom for the extension of light rail into the City. The JPA operating budget also annually contains funding for herbicides for use by volunteers along portions of the corridor, at a varying cost each year. Last, the JPA has funded and secured permits for completing ten miles of natural trail building between Latrobe in El Dorado County and the City of Folsom. The work is being done by volunteers with coordination by the individual agencies. While the JPA has provided significant benefits in the past, it should be noted that the uses of the corridor have largely been established and are facilitated by each member agency individually. Consequently, the number of new regional projects and, therefore, the need for inter-agency consultation, have declined significantly.
On September 24, 2012, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted to send a letter to the SPTC JPA requesting to place an item on the JPA’s Board meeting agenda for discussion and possible action to dissolve the JPA. After holding a public workshop, the JPA Board of Directors agreed to continue the JPA. For more information, see Legistar file 12-1184. In response, the JPA Board of Directors held a public workshop on February 4, 2013, to have a comprehensive discussion of that issue among the JPA Board members and staff, with public input. Following the workshop, it was the consensus of the Board that "the JPA is efficient in that it utilizes volunteer labor to achieve its ends, maintains a $14 million asset with low overhead, has utilized this forum as a regional coordinating agency, has valuable institutional knowledge, and concluded that the JPA should not be dissolved." (Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors on February 4, 2013.)
At its February 3, 2025 Meeting, the JPA Board approved changes to the JPA Agreement. The 2025 Revised Agreement (Attachment A) includes changes to Section 1, “Authority and Purpose” since the original JPA Agreement was focused on the acquisition of the Placerville Branch railroad right-of-way from Southern Pacific Railroad Company. It also updates Section 5 (Duties) and Section 6.D(5) (Contributions) to reflect the addition of the RUFA and Continuing Funding Agreement, Section 6.A (Governing Board -- Membership) due to adding the City of Ranch Cordova as a full member rather than a nonvoting director on its Board. Section 8 (Disposition of Property and Funds) was modified to reflect the fact that the ultimate disposition of the real property comprising the Placerville Branch is now governed by the RUFA, and Section 9 (Indemnification) was modified to include a reference to the indemnification provisions of the Easement Agreements between the JPA and the member agencies having allocated portions of the railroad right-of-way.
As provided by the JPA, the 2025 Revised Agreement also provides that if a member agency withdraws from the JPA, the JPA will continue to hold title to the Rail Corridor and the withdrawing member agency will continue to hold an easement covering its allocated portion of the Rail Corridor and remain subject to the provisions of the RUFA. Additionally, the agreement provides that should the JPA dissolve, each title to the portion of the corridor in each member agency jurisdiction would transfer to that city or county. In coordination with County Counsel, staff have suggested additional language to the revised agreement that clarifies that should the County withdraw from the JPA but the other member agencies choose to continue membership, the County may elect to obtain title to its allocated portion of the Placerville Branch by quitclaim deed as provided in the Reciprocal Use and Funding Agreement (Attachment B). As well, if four or more of the parties to this Agreement withdraw, the Agreement shall terminate upon expiration of the 90-day notice given by the fourth party to withdraw from the Agreement. Withdrawal from this Agreement shall not constitute withdrawal from the Reciprocal Use and Funding Agreement for the parties that are subject thereto, unless the withdrawing party elects to obtain title to its allocated portion of the Placerville Branch by quitclaim deed.
Amended and Restated SPTC JPA Continuing Agreement to Advance Funds
Since the adoption of the RUFA in 1996, the County and all member agencies have contributed an annual amount of toward the JPA operations budget. The amount has varied, and is currently $27,500. The Amended and Restated SPTC JPA Continuing Agreement to Advance Funds increases the annual amount from $27,500 to $29,200. It also reflects the addition of the City of Rancho Cordova as a member of the JPA.
Placerville and Sacramento Valley Rail Road (P&SVRR)
The JPA released a Request for Proposal for Excursion Rail in January 2008 for the operation of an excursion rail service on a 26-mile portion of the Rail Corridor between the "Folsom Wye" (approximately milepost 111) In the City of Folsom, and Shingle Springs Station (approximately milepost 137) in El Dorado County. The Request for Proposals required that the excursion rail service be operated without public subsidy and in such a manner as to preserve the excess width of the Rail Corridor for other potential uses, including natural trails, bicycle trails, and equestrian trails. On May 12, 2008, the JPA Board selected Placerville and Sacramento Valley Railroad, Inc. (P&SVRR). The License Agreement then went to each member agency for approval. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted to not approve the agreement for excursion rail in El Dorado County, and the agreement was approved by the JPA on November 5, 2012, with the segment in El Dorado County removed (Legistar file 12-0116 V1).
On May 10, 2016, the Board of Supervisors approved excursion rail use on the sections of the rail corridor from the County Line (Milepost 119.4) to Latrobe Whistle Stop (Milepost 126.4) with specific controls in place regarding the types of excursion rail use and required pre-approval by the County (Legistar file 16-0399). A renewed License Agreement was approved by the County on September 18, 2018, and the JPA on November 5, 2018, and has since expired.
The 2025 License Agreement grants to PSVRR the right to provide excursion service on the “License Property,” which is defined as the portion of the Rail Corridor from Milepost 111 (Folsom Wye) to Milepost 119.4 (Sacramento/El Dorado County Line). The license runs through December 31, 2031. P&SVRR operations will be in accordance with the Excursion Service Operating Plan, attached as Exhibit A to the License Agreement.
Exhibit A provides that PSVRR may conduct revenue operations (special events) using light equipment/motorcars within Segment 5 (Milepost 119.4 County Line to Milepost 126.4 Latrobe Whistlestop) on weekends and holidays only. Special events within Segment 5 are also governed under Section 2.1.3 of the license agreement, and a special event permit must be obtained for those events from the County of El Dorado. The departure point for these events might be Hampton Station, White Rock Station, or another location within El Dorado County previously approved by both the County of El Dorado and the JPA, per Section 2.1.4 of the License Agreement. Excursions in this segment may include offerings such as the Deer Creek Flyer, Cothrin Comet, and Latrobe Breakfast Special. The member agencies also acknowledge and approve the locations listed in Exhibit A as established boarding points. Within Segment 5, the established boarding points are: Cothrin Station (Milepost 123.1), Latrobe Station (Milepost 126.1), and Latrobe Whistlestop (Milepost 126.4).
It should be noted that portions of the track in this area are currently in disrepair due to storm damage. Although staff have applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds for repair, no funding has been awarded. No other funding has been identified. This will limit use of the tracks for excursion rail. In addition, the County has not established a special event permit process and would need to develop a permit process and fee prior to approving special events.
The following capital improvements may also be performed by P&SVRR if and only if they are authorized by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors at any point during the term of this license agreement:
a. Upgrade track and bridges to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Class 1 standard between the County Line and Latrobe.
b. Repair Shingle Lime Mine Gap to allow equipment exchange with El Dorado Western Railroad.
c. Construct Latrobe Station to El Dorado County standards.
d. Install crossing gates, signs, and markings at Latrobe Road crossing.
Should any of these improvements be proposed by P&SVRR, staff would return to the Board for authorization.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could choose to not approve the agreements, or make further amendments.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
See above.
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The general fund cost to the County is $29,200 which covers JPA operations and capital projects.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Obtain the Chair's signature and send to the Parks Division, Attention: Jessica Araiza.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Jennifer Franich, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer