Directs Maintenance and Operation : 7-Member Trolley Board Set to Roll

The consolidation of the Metropolitan Transit Development Board was completed Thursday with the first meeting of the new San Diego Trolley Board, which is empowered to maintain and operate the trolley system.

County Supervisor Brian Bilbray was elected chairman of the seven-member board Thursday. Other members include Judy McCarty, Mike Gotch and Abbe Wolfsheimer from the San Diego City Council, Chula Vista Councilman Frank Scott, representing the south suburban areas served by the trolley, and La Mesa Councilman Ernest Ewen, representing the eastern suburban areas. MTDB President James Mills also has a seat on the board, which will meet monthly.

As in the past, the members of the Metropolitan Transit Development Board will continue to set priorities for trolley construction and funding. The trolley board is responsible for maintenance, labor relations and other operating issues. The San Diego Transit Board has operated in a similar fashion in overseeing operations of the city’s bus system since the bus line was taken over by MTDB on July 1.

“In the past, the MTDB had met as the trolley board as well, but we saw the need to separate the two groups when San Diego Transit was acquired,” said MTDB general counsel Jack Limber. “This system allows us to better define our separate roles on planning and construction, maintenance and operations. We felt it was best under the reorganization to separate the policy-making functions from the regional policy-making.”