Item Number: 22
City Council / Board of Directors
Written Communications
Meeting of: July 15, 2025
Submitted By:
Doug Mathews, Director of Public Works and Water
Subject:
Interagency Agreement with Victor Valley Transit Authority for Bus Shelter Maintenance Recommendation:
That the Honorable City Council:
(1) Adopt Resolution No. 25-058, approving a budget amendment for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 to include additional revenue in the amount of $207,480.70 for the Interagency Agreement with the Victor Valley Transit Authority (VVTA) for bus shelter maintenance;
(2) Approve the Interagency Agreement by and between the City of Victorville and VVTA for maintenance, repair, and cleaning of bus shelters and amenities within the City, with an initial ten-year term and an option to renew in five-year increments; (3) Authorize the Mayor to sign the Agreement on behalf of the City; (4) Authorize City staff to invoice VVTA quarterly for reimbursement, based on actual costs incurred, in an amount not to exceed $207,480.70 for the first year, with a 3% increase annually thereafter; and
(5) Accept revenue from VVTA as reimbursement for services performed under the terms of the Agreement.
Fiscal Impact:
Execution of this Agreement with the VVTA, along with the adoption of Resolution No. 25-058, will result in additional revenue to the City of up to $207,480.70 for Fiscal Year 2025–2026, reimbursed by VVTA for the maintenance, repair, and cleaning of bus shelters and related amenities. Actual reimbursement will be based on the City’s documented costs and may be less than the not-to-exceed amount. The Agreement includes a 3% annual increase and may result in additional reimbursements if new shelters or amenities are added in the future.
Revenue will be deposited into the General Fund, Account 1005402-47230 – Bus Shelter Maintenance – Reimbursement-Other, and corresponding expenditures will be tracked 4 2
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under the Bus Shelter Maintenance budget (1005402), which currently has an adopted expenditure budget of $175,406. The difference between the revenue and expenditure amounts is due to capital replacement items included in the agreement, specifically a replacement truck and pressure washer. These items are reimbursable but are not currently budgeted. Staff will monitor expenditures and determine if additional appropriations are needed during the midyear budget review.
Strategic Plan Goal:
This item aligns with Strategic Goal A: Financial Sustainability by ensuring full cost recovery through a long-term interagency agreement, reducing reliance on the General Fund while continuing to deliver essential services. Additionally, it supports Strategic Goal E: Invest in Infrastructure by preserving and maintaining transit-related amenities that contribute to a clean, safe, and accessible public environment.
Background:
The City of Victorville’s Public Works Department is responsible for maintaining the cleanliness and functionality of bus shelters and related amenities within the City’s jurisdiction. These tasks include daily inspections, trash collection and removal, pressure washing, graffiti removal, and clean-up of debris left by individuals. City staff also respond to citizen complaints, conduct necessary repairs, and, at the request of VVTA, relocate or install new bus shelters and amenities. These efforts ensure that public transit users have access to clean, safe, and accessible transit infrastructure throughout Victorville.
To help pay for these services, the City traditionally relied on Local Transportation Funds (LTF) provided through Article 8 of the Transportation Development Act (TDA). LTF is funded through a portion of statewide sales tax and is administered locally by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA). Under Article 8, cities that do not operate their own transit systems, like Victorville, were allowed to use these funds for maintaining local streets, roads, and bus shelters, as long as all regional transit needs were considered reasonably met.
This funding provided a steady and dedicated revenue source for the City’s bus shelter maintenance efforts. With support from LTF, the City was able to carry out regular cleaning, remove graffiti, collect trash, and make minor repairs. These services helped keep transit facilities clean, safe, and functional for the community.
In April 2022, the SBCTA Board of Directors approved a regional policy change that modified how LTF and other transportation funds may be used. Under this new policy, all LTF apportionments in the Victor Valley and North Desert subareas must now be used only for public transit operations. This change aligned with broader efforts to prioritize funding for regional transit providers.
As a result of this change, the City of Victorville became ineligible to receive LTF funds for services such as bus shelter maintenance, as all LTF funds were reallocated to the Victor Valley Transit Authority (VVTA) – the high desert region’s transit authority. The City received a final, one-time apportionment of Article 8 funds in September 2022. Thus, 4 2
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fiscal year 2022–2023 was the last year the City received LTF revenue. In that year, bus shelter maintenance costs were transitioned from Fund 230 (LTF) to the General Fund (Fund 100).
Discussion:
With the recent reallocation of LTF funds, the City can no longer rely on its previous funding source to support bus shelter maintenance. The City began discussions with VVTA on how to fund bus shelter maintenance operations to ensure the same level of service for our community.
These discussions were centered on the most fiscally responsible mechanism to ensure adequate service levels for bus shelter maintenance. VVTA fully recognized and agreed that maintaining high standards of cleanliness, safety, and visual appeal is essential to meet the expectations of transit riders and residents.
To support both agencies' goals of delivering a high level of service to the community, VVTA has agreed that the City should continue its bus shelter maintenance program.
Under the proposed agreement, VVTA will reimburse the City for the actual costs incurred in providing these services. Additionally, responsibility for managing the bus shelter advertising program will shift to VVTA. If approved, the agreement will result in VVTA assuming full financial responsibility for the maintenance of all bus shelters within the City, while allowing the City to continue performing the maintenance work.
There are currently 346 bus stops within the City of Victorville’s jurisdiction. Of these, 103 stops are improved with amenities such as benches, trash receptacles, and shelters.
These enhanced locations require routine maintenance to ensure they remain safe, clean, and accessible to the public. To meet these needs, the City’s Public Works Department operates a dedicated maintenance team that performs the following tasks annually:
• Conducts over 20,000 inspections;
• Washes bus shelters more than 6,300 times;
• Removes over 1,600 bags of trash;
• Abates graffiti at approximately 270 locations, totaling 1,650 square feet; and • Responds to citizen complaints and after-hours shelter-related incidents To continue delivering these service levels while adhering to current LTF policy requirements, the City has prepared an Interagency Agreement with VVTA. This agreement allows the City to continue performing bus shelter maintenance while receiving reimbursement from VVTA for the actual cost of services.
Key terms of the proposed agreement include:
• Initial Term: A ten-year agreement, with the option to renew in five-year increments.
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• Reimbursement: VVTA will reimburse the City for the actual costs of maintaining, cleaning, and repairing the 103 improved shelters.
• Annual Funding Cap: For Fiscal Year 2025–2026, reimbursement will not exceed $207,480.70, with a 3% annual increase each year to account for inflation and rising service costs.
• Expense Coverage: The agreement covers both operational costs and periodic capital expenses for equipment replacement, such as a shelter-cleaning vehicle and a 200-gallon pressure washer.
• Invoicing: The City will submit quarterly invoices to VVTA, accompanied by supporting documentation.
• Shelter Ownership: VVTA will retain ownership of the shelters and remain responsible for providing replacement parts and procuring new shelters as needed.
The City will continue to provide bus shelter maintenance services, including graffiti removal, trash collection, pressure washing, emergency response, and ADA-compliant shelter installations or relocations as requested by VVTA. This agreement provides a stable and long-term funding structure that supports uninterrupted maintenance of transit infrastructure within the City of Victorville. It also ensures transit stops remain clean, functional, and accessible for all riders, while complying with SBCTA’s revised LTF funding policies.
The VVTA Board of Directors already received the details of this agreement during the Fiscal Year 2025–2026 budget process. If Council moves forward with staff's recommendation, the agreement will be executed under the signing authority of VVTA CEO, Nancie Goff.
Therefore, staff are requesting the Honorable City Council adopt Resolution No. 25-058 and approve the Interagency Agreement with the Victor Valley Transit Authority to ensure continued maintenance, cleaning, and repair of the City’s improved bus shelters, with full cost reimbursement for services rendered.
Staff is available for any questions the council may have.
Prepared By:
Juan Robinson, Assistant Director of Public Works
Summer Burgess, Management Technician
Mel Krejckant, Public Works & Water Administrative Manager Attachments: A. Resolution No. 25-058
B. Interagency Agreement with VVTA
C. City of Victorville Bus Shelter Maintenance List