made-to-measure appointments A citizen monitoring committee | Local News

Mark Funkhouser of Santa Maria, Carson Link of Lompoc and Eric Melsheimer of Orcutt have been appointed to fill three vacancies, as well as the reappointment of Mark Bradley of Santa Barbara, Geoffrey Slaff of Montecito and Dennis Story of Goleta, to serve on the committee. Citizen Oversight of Measure A by the Board of Directors of the Association of County Governments of Santa Barbara (SBCAG).

Each will serve a four-year term that will end in September 2025.

“The six community leaders appointed to the Measure A Citizen Oversight Committee will continue an impactful job and important responsibility over the next four years,” said Holly Sierra, SBCAG Board Chair.

“I am confident in their leadership in overseeing the mandates of voters who fund more than $ 1 billion in regional transportation initiatives in our communities,” she said.

An open and competitive recruitment process took place in July and August to fill vacancies for North County and general positions on the Oversight Committee.

“I was impressed with the quality and enthusiasm of the candidates who were willing to devote their time and talents to fill the vacancies in the North County and the general positions on the Citizens Oversight Committee of the measure. A, ”said Bob Nelson, SBCAG North County Sub-Regional Chairman. Committee.

“The priorities of North County residents will be well served by the caliber of experience of Mark Funkhouser, Carson Link and Eric Melsheimer,” he said.

Funkhouser, the Director of Sustainability / Custodial Services for the Chumash Casino Resort, leads the Green Initiatives for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. His main areas of interest throughout his 18-year career with the tribe have been waste disposal, improving energy efficiency, and reducing overall resource consumption.

Its proudest professional moment was in 2019 when Chumash Casino Resort became the first casino in the world to achieve TRUE Zero Waste certification from Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI). The complex diverts more than 90 percent of its waste stream from local landfills.

Link, Senator Monique Limón’s district representative, is a native of Lompoc and a community advocate. Professionally, he focuses on transit issues and often travels throughout the county. Link previously worked for United Way coordinating homeless outreach on the Central Coast.

Melsheimer, is the CEO of Melfred Borzall, a Santa Maria company that designs and manufactures tools for underground construction. He has resided in Orcutt for 25 years and is active on the Orcutt Union School District G-Measure Citizen Watch Committee, Community Ambassador to Allan Hancock College.

Melsheimer is a graduate engineer in mechanical engineering and in aeronautics and astronautics.

The Measure A investment plan and ordinance provide an estimated $ 140 million in matching funds to make local and US multimodal improvements to Highway 101 from Santa Barbara to Mussel Shoals.

The plan also includes an estimated $ 455 million each in North County and the South Coast for transportation projects and programs aimed at building safer walking and cycling routes to schools, increasing accessibility to schools. elderly and disabled people to public transit, to increase options for carpooling and carpooling programs, as well as local street improvements such as pothole repairs and synchronized traffic lights.

The next meeting of the Measure A Citizen Oversight Committee will take place on Thursday, October 21 and will include the annual review of the Measure A audit.

More information on measure A is available at www.measurea.net. Administered by the SBCAG, Measure A is expected to provide more than $ 1 billion in local investments in transport projects and programs through 2040.

The ordinance on measure A, approved by the voters, created the citizens’ monitoring committee of measure A “… [SBCAG Board of Directors] ensuring that all provisions, requirements and voter mandates specified in the investment plan and ordinance are properly executed.