Session Review of the Economy & Transportation

Meridith Thompson

Assistant Controller, The Trade Desk

The November 2021 cohort 27 session was jam-packed with regional information about transportation, housing and how the two intersect.

We started our day in Ventura, with a series of speakers that focused on leadership and housing-relates topics.  Tracylee Clarke lead us in a discussion of leadership styles, challenging us to pay attention to the strengths of North, South, East and West styles.

Next, Bruce Stenslie took us through the economics of housing and Ventura County. I was incredibly interested in Bruce’s comments around SOAR laws and the lack of affordable housing, noting that one way to address the issue but keep SOAR intact is to “build up” (multistory housing units), noting that these units do not have to be a scary thing, but are instead incredibly necessary in our county.

The third speaker group was Alex Nguyen, Oxnard City Manager, and Haider Alawami, Thousand Oaks  Economic Development. Alex and Haider gave us an in-depth overview and comparison of their cities, noting the challenges and opportunities that come with managing each unique city.

The last morning session was from Denise Wise, CEO Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura. Her passion for housing was infectious and is being put to good use at her organization. She explained house they are or the average housing authority, offering care for the full person, including everything from housing needs to financial planning to Girl Scouts groups. My favorite take away was her comment that their latest project included electric vehicle charging stations, so they are ready for the day when EVs are the standard mode of transport.

The second half of the day focused on transportation. We were given a fantastic overview of transportation in Ventura County by Vanessa Rauschenberger, Gold Coast Transit, and Amanda Fagan, VC Transport Commission, followed by a tour of the new Gold Coast Transit facility. I loved learning that the building planners solicited feedback from the GCT employees for the building. Some of the employee feedback that was built into the new facility includes a social area with a grill and bocce back court, and a walking tract to get some steps in after a long day driving buses.

The day ended with a discussion lead by Tim Gallagher, 20/20 Network, about the Ventura County transportation tax initiative. The major focus of the talk was that Ventura County is one of the very few that does not have a portion of our sales tax dedicated to transportation. As a result of this “missing” tax, the county is behind in forward-thinking transportation initiatives, which has a bigger impact on the struggling sectors of our community that rely on public transportation to get to work, school, health care and shopping.

True to VCLA fashion, session three was jam-packed with thoughtful and informative information, that inspires us all to dig deeper into our wonderful community.