IMPERIAL COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

MINUTES FOR December 10, 2025

6:00 p.m.

__________________________________________________________________­­­­___________________ 

VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:

                                                            City of Brawley                                    Gil Rebollar

                                                            City of Calipatria                                  Javier Amezcua

                                                            City of Calexico                                    Lisa Tylenda

                                                            City of El Centro                                   Sonia Carter

                                                            City of Imperial                                    Robert Amparano

                                                            City of Holtville                                    Mike Goodsell

                                                            City of Westmorland                           Justina Cruz                                                    

                                                            County of Imperial                              Absent

                                                            County of Imperial                              Absent

                                                            Imperial Irrigation District                Karin Eugenio

STAFF PRESENT:              David Aguirre, Cristi Lerma, Marlene Flores, Maricela Galarza, Gustavo Gomez,

OTHERS PRESENT:           Geoffrey Holbrook: ICTC Counsel; David Salgado: SCAG; Ann Fox, Melina Pereira, John Garcia: Caltrans

PUBLIC:                              None

The following action minutes are listed as they were acted upon by the Imperial County Transportation Commission and as listed on the agenda for the meeting held on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, together with staff reports and related documents attached thereto and incorporated therein by reference.

I.                 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 

Chair Robert Amparano called the Commission meeting to order at 6:13 p.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present.

II.                EMERGENCY ITEMS

               There were none.

III.              PUBLIC COMMENTS

    There were none.

IV.             CONSENT CALENDAR

The consent calendar was reviewed and forwarded by the ICTC Management Committee.

A.               ICTC Commission Minutes:                                                       November 18, 2025

B.               Receive and file:

1.                ICTC Management Committee Minutes:                November 18, 2025

2.                ICTC TAC Minutes:                                                      October 23, 2025

3.                SSTAC Minutes                                                            October 1, 2025

A motion was made by Goodsell and seconded by Rebollar to approve the consent calendar as presented, roll call:

V.               REPORTS

A.           ICTC Executive Director

Mr. Aguirre had the following updates:

-           The ICTC/IVT team delivered a total quantity of 1,226 dry and canned food items to the Imperial Valley Foodbank on November 25, 2025, during our Stuff a Bus event. ICTC appreciates the opportunity to support our community by contributing to the effort to end food insecurity.

-           ICTC was able to provide 13 passenger trips to Veterans during our Veterans ride free in November event within the Imperial Valley many of which utilized the IVT Medtrans service to facilities in San Diego.

-           The ICTC General Assembly is scheduled for January 22, 2026, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at the Old Eucalyptus Schoolhouse. Admission for elected officials and city/county managers and distinguished guests will be complimentary. Staff are actively working to secure sponsorship opportunities to support the event. For questions or to learn more about sponsorship options, please contact Cristi Lerma.

-           ICTC has been approached by UC Davis about the potential to partner on the development of a Wildlife Crossing across westbound I-8 near the In Ko Pah Gorge. The project currently has funding to complete the initial development of the project which includes the Project Initiation Document (PID), Project Approval and Environmental Document (PAED) and some Plans, Specifications and Estimate (PSE) activities. ICTC’s potential role on the project would be to serve as a project sponsor and minor administrative support.

-           IVT Ride Service Modifications: The service began operating in its new capacity on September 2, 2025, and offered free rides to all for the first week of operation. Ridership information will be shared to the Commission periodically at the Commission meetings.

-           The Transit Comprehensive Operational Analysis is anticipated to take a year to complete. The project has kicked off, and outreach efforts have taken place. The Analysis is currently being developed. The consultant provided a presentation highlighting proposed recommendations to the commission in November 2025.

-           CTC/IVT Operations and Maintenance Facility: Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Environmental and Design Services was released on September 26, 2025, and due on December 1, 2025. Staff also submitted multiple grant applications for the anticipated construction efforts under FTA 5339 for Bus Facilities and Low No Emission Programs but were not selected under the current grant cycle. ICTC will continue to pursue construction funding opportunities.

-           CMAQ and STBG Call for Projects: The Imperial County region submitted a total of 15 applications from the cities of Calexico, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial and the County of Imperial. The scoring and ranking of projects were completed by members of the ICTC TAC in June 2025. The recommendations were presented to the Management Committee in July 2025 and to the commission in July 2025. Staff forwarded the final list of recommendations to SCAG for further evaluation in July 2025. SCAG is presenting its list of recommended projects to the SCAG Transportation Committee at its November 2025 Meeting. The final recommended list of projects were presented and approved at the December 2025 SCAG Regional Council Meeting.

-           Calexico East Port of Entry Intermodal Transportation Center: ICTC received approval to proceed with Right of Way acquisition from the California Transportation Commission (CTC) in June 2025. ICTC is working on next steps to proceed with the property acquisition and anticipates closing the transaction in January 2026.

-           Imperial County EV Charging Infrastructure Feasibility Study: ICTC has finalized the contract agreement with the selected firm, and a project kickoff meeting was completed on October 22, 2025. ICTC and Consultant team are working on existing conditions and gathering GIS data from our region.

-           The next IMBA and Strategic Planning meeting is scheduled to be held on November 13, 2025, in Imperial County.

-           State Route 86(Northbound) Border Patrol Checkpoint: ICTC’s consultant has finalized the project improvement plans and CBP will proceed with developing environmental documents and pursue funding for the construction of the facility. ICTC continues to engage in discussions with the CBP team on the next steps for the project. The project requires the finalization of the environmental documents prior to proceeding with the construction phase. CBP is currently reviewing the project with their HQ Team to attempt to secure funding.

-           A complete report is on page 22 of the agenda.

B.               Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)

               Mr. Salgado had the following updates:

-           SCAG Publishes Annual Economic Report and Presents Analysis to Joint Policy Committee The “2025 Southern California Economic Update” took place during the SCAG Joint Policy Committee Meeting on Dec. 4. This annual presentation provides a comprehensive overview of the region’s economic performance and outlook to inform decision making by Southern California’s local and regional policymakers. More information on the future leaders initiative is on the website at https://scag.ca.gov/future-leaders.

-           On December 4, 2025, SCAG’s Regional Council approved an award of $1.25 billion in Federal Fiscal Year 2026-27 and 2027-28 Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement program funding for 132 projects throughout the region. These projects, which are expected to have an economic benefit to the region, were nominated by eligible project sponsors through their respective county transportation commissions and evaluated according to the criteria outlined in the STBG/CMAQ Program Guidelines.

-           On November 6, 2025, the SCAG Regional Council approved updated guidelines and authorized the call for projects under the Regional Early Action Planning Grants (REAP 2.0) funded Programs Accelerating Transformative Housing Program (PATH).

SCAG previously suballocated $45 million through the first Lasting Affordability funding cycle to create and expand housing trusts, catalyst funds and innovative financing strategies that secure long-term affordability. This call makes an additional $20 million available to existing housing trusts and catalyst funds. The call for applications will open on November 17, 2025, and close on January 20, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.

-        A complete report is on page 29 of the agenda.

C.                California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)- District 11

                Ms. Fox had the following updates:

-        Caltrans Grant Funding Newsletter and Letters of Support: Stay in touch with Caltrans   and get updates sent directly to your inbox on current and future grant funding opportunities, including calls for Caltrans letters of support and application training webinars, by subscribing to the Caltrans Office of Strategic Investment Planning newsletter.

-        U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Grant Opportunities: The USDOT website provides a DOT Discretionary Grants Dashboard for grant opportunities in various areas such as: Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART), Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES), and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant programs.

-        Federal Update: Caltrans met with U.S Customs and Border Protection to provide an update in our most recent efforts to improve the movements of goods and pedestrians in Imperial County.  

-        State Update: Caltrans had the opportunity to attend the 2025 Binational Delegation to Mexico City in Mexico City. This Binational Delegation provides the opportunity for participants to meet with key federal officials, including members of the Sheinbaum Administration and Mexican Senate, and diverse business industry leaders to discuss major issues.  

-        A complete report is on page 31 of the agenda. 

               D.             Commission Member Reports

                              -     Updates were provided by various commissioners.

VI.             CLOSED SESSION

A.               Motioned to Adjourn to Closed Session (Carter/Tylenda)

B.           CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL – EXISTING LITIGATION, Government Code section 54956.9(d)(1) Granados v. Imperial County, et al, Imperial County Superior Court, Case No. ECU004066

C.           CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL – ANTICIPATED LITIGATION

Significant Exposure to Litigation (1 matter) Government Code section 54956.9(d)(2)

D.           PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION (Government Code § 54957)         

Title: ICTC Executive Director

               E.            CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS (Government Code § 54957.6)

                              Agency Designated Representative: ICTC Counsel

                              Unrepresented Employee: Executive Director

               F.            Announcement of Closed Session Action(s)

The Commission met in closed session to discuss Items B through E, direction was given and no reportable action was taken.

VII.            ACTION CALENDAR

A.          Employment Agreement for the Position of Executive Director

               1.            Approved the Executive Director Agreement

                            2.            Authorized the Chairman to sign the Agreement

A motion was made by Goodsell and seconded by Carter to approve Action A as presented, roll call:

                              Motion Carried.

B.                Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC) Project – Contract Change Order No. 8 and Change Order No. 9

1.                Approved Change Order No. 8 and Change Order No. 9 to Hazard Construction Engr. LLC for the Calexico ITC Project in the Not to Exceed amounts of ($268,491.88) and ($38,780.75) respectively modifying the total contract value to $13,153,858.91.

2.                Authorized the Executive Director to sign Change Order No. 8 and 9.

A motion was made by Rebollar and seconded by Amezcua to approve Action B presented, roll call:

        Motion Carried.

VIII.          DISCUSSION CALENDAR

A.             E-Bikes, Scooters and Street Racing Safety Discussion

Mr. Aguirre provided a PowerPoint presentation to the commissioners regarding regulatory matters and safety protocols. He provided examples of what other agencies have done with education campaigns.

IX.              MEETING DATE AND PLACE

A.               The next meeting will be on January 28, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at the ICTC Offices, 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104, El Centro, CA 92243, and via Zoom Meeting for the public.

IX.          ADJOURNMENT

               A.           Meeting Adjourned at 7:58 p.m.