About Us

In December 2006, the Cities of Elk Grove, Folsom, and Rancho Cordova and El Dorado and Sacramento Counties collaborated to form a joint powers authority (JPA) to proceed with planning, environmental review, engineering design, and development of the Elk Grove-Rancho Cordova-El Dorado Connector Project (the Connector). The JPA assumed responsibility for the project from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, which oversaw the project through its early stages.

JPA Powers and Responsibilities
According to the agreement among the member agencies, the JPA has a broad range of powers and responsibilities, including the following:

To secure administrative office space and furnishings;
To make and enter into contracts;
To contract for, or employ, administrative, technical and support staff, and consultants and contractors of any kind;
To acquire and maintain insurance of all types;
To lease or sublease real property;
To acquire, hold, or dispose of real property by negotiation, dedication, or eminent domain;
To lease, sublease, acquire, operate, maintain and dispose of materials, supplies, and equipment of all types;
To plan, and to conduct environmental and other analyses in connection therewith, and design buildings, facilities or transportation improvements of any kind;
To construct, operate, and maintain buildings, facilities or transportation improvements of any kind;
To accept, hold, invest, manage, and expend monies;
To obtain and secure funding from all available public and private sources including local, state, and federal government, including but not limited to, bond issuances, lease purchase agreements, public grants, private contributions, public and private loans, and other funds;
To levy, collect, or cause to be collected, or to receive and use, transportation impact fees on new residential, commercial, and industrial development;
To form a special assessment district;
To form a special tax district;
To negotiate and enter into reimbursement agreements when monies to construct project improvements are advanced;
To cause taxes, assessments, fees or charges to be levied in accordance with applicable State and Federal law, and in a manner to accomplish the purposes of the Authority;
To issue bonds;
To carry on technical and other investigations of all kinds necessary to further the purposes of the Authority;
To sue and be sued;
To amend the Functional Guidelines; and
To exercise all powers incidental to the foregoing

JPA Membership
The JPA is a collaboration of the Cities of Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, and Folsom and Sacramento and El Dorado Counties

Board of Directors
According to the agreement that formed the JPA, it shall be administered by a Board of Directors consisting of five directors appointed by each member agency from its governing body (i.e., city council or board of supervisors). Each director shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing member agency.

Linda Budge, City of Rancho Cordova
Patrick Hume, City of Elk Grove
Rusty Dupray, El Dorado County
Eric King, City of Folsom
Don Nottoli, Sacramento County

Agency Staff Advisory Committee
In addition to its Board member, each member agency is represented by members of its staff on the JPA Agency Staff Advisory Committee (ASAC). The ASAC members work with interim JPA staff in coordinating the operations of the JPA and addressing technical issues concerning the Connector Project.

Cyrus Abhar, City Engineer, City of Rancho Cordova
Dean Blank, Principal Civil Engineer, Sacramento County Department of Transportation
Cheryl Creson, Director of Public Works, City of Elk Grove
Tom Garcia, Senior Transportation Engineer, City of Folsom
Rich Lorenz, Public Works Director/City Engineer, City of Folsom
Diane Nguyen, Transportation Program Manager, City of Elk Grove
Russ Nygaard, Manager, El Dorado Hills Office, El Dorado County Department of Transportation
Richard Shepard, Director, El Dorado County Department of Transportation
Mark Thomas, Senior Transportation Engineer, City of Rancho Cordova
Tom Zlotkowski, Director, Sacramento County Department of Transportation

Interim Staff
The JPA has retained the services of two firms on an interim basis to support the Board of Directors and Agency Staff Advisory Committee in the administrative operations of the JPA.

URS Corporation, Project Management
- Bob Schaevitz, Interim Project Manager
- Bob Lagomarsino, Interim Deputy Project Manager
Miller Owen and Trost, Legal Counsel
- Kirk Trost, Interim Legal Counsel
- Jennifer Gore, Interim Deputy Legal Counsel

JPA Funding
The JPA is being funded through a combination of three sources: Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP) funds, Authority member contributions, and Sacramento County Measure A funds.