Foothill Gold Line Board Welcomes New Member

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Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority

Oct 12, 2022, 18:50 ET

La Verne Mayor Tim Hepburn is sworn in for a four-year term

MONROVIA, Calif., Oct. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- At their October meeting today, the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority (Construction Authority) Board of Directors welcomed its newest member – La Verne Mayor Tim Hepburn. Appointed by the city of Pasadena for a four-year term, Mayor Hepburn joined the nine-member board as its newest member following his swearing in at the beginning of the monthly board meeting. Montclair Mayor Pro Tem Bill Ruh was appointed as the Alternate member.

"We are happy to welcome Mayor Hepburn to our board," said Construction Authority Board Chair and Claremont Mayor Pro Tem Ed Reece. "While we are more than halfway through with construction on the nine-mile extension of the project to Pomona, there is still a lot of work ahead, including securing the funding needed to complete the project to Claremont and Montclair. Mayor Hepburn brings years of local and regional leadership experience to the board, which will be helpful as he gets quickly up to speed on the project during this very busy period."

Major construction activities are now underway throughout the 9.1-mile project segment from Glendora to Pomona that will add four new stations to the Metro rail system (one in each of the following cities: Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, and Pomona). The fully funded four-station project segment is nearly 60% complete and is on schedule to be turned over to LA Metro for pre-revenue operations in early-January 2025. The Construction Authority continues to seek $748 million to fund completion of the project, which includes two more stations - Claremont and Montclair.

"I am honored to be serving on this board with such an accomplished group of leaders," stated Mayor Tim Hepburn about his swearing in. "Completing the project to not only Pomona, but to Claremont and Montclair, is a critical step to improving mobility and the quality of life for all of our corridor cities and the region. I look forward to helping support that effort and being part of this important project in the coming years."

The Foothill Gold Line board is made up of elected and appointed representatives from throughout the project corridor. The board is currently made up of Claremont Mayor Pro Tem Ed Reece (Chair), Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval, Glendora Council Member Mendell Thompson, Los Angeles City representative Melchor Ilomin, Ontario Council Member Alan Wapner (non-voting), Pasadena Council Member Gene Masuda (non-voting), and South Pasadena representative Dan Evans (non-voting). The governor's appointee is currently vacant.

About the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority – The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority is an independent transportation planning and construction agency created in 1998 by the California State Legislature to plan, design and build the Metro Gold Line (currently called the L Line) light rail system from Union Station to Montclair. The agency completed the first segment from Union Station to Pasadena in 2003 and the Pasadena to Azusa segment in 2015; both on time and under budget. The agency began work on the Glendora to Montclair segment in 2003. When completed, the extension will add new light rail stations in the cities of Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair. The project will be built in phases, due to funding constraints. The current 9.1-mile construction segment is funded mostly by Measure M, along with residual funds from Measure R not used to complete the Pasadena to Azusa segment. The project is also utilizing a State of California TIRCP (greenhouse gas reduction) grant.

SOURCE Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority