Kern COG Board of Directors

Each city in Kern County has one elected representative on the Kern Council of Governments (Kern COG) Board. The County of Kern Board of Supervisors has two members who serve on the Kern COG Board. There are also two ex-officio members who represent Caltrans and Golden Empire Transit District.

Following Board direction, staff coordinates between local, state, and federal agencies to avoid overlap or duplication of programs. This intergovernmental coordination enables staff to work with many public agencies to ensure that planning and implementation of programs proceed in a coordinated manner.

 

Members

Arvin: Susana Reyes
Bakersfield: Bob Smith, Chair
California City: Jim Creighton
Delano: Veronica Vasquez
Maricopa: John Crump
McFarland: Saul Ayon
Ridgecrest: John “Skip” Gorman
Shafter: Cathy Prout
Taft: Orchel Krier
Tehachapi: Philip A. Smith
Wasco: Gilberto Reyna
Kern County: Jeff Flores and David Couch

Ex-Officio Members

Caltrans District 6: Michael Navarro
Caltrans District 9: Kirsten Helton
Golden Empire Transit: Cindy Parra
Joint Planning Policy Board: Malcolm Warney

 

COG Board of Directors

 

The Kern COG Board of Directors is comprised of one elected official from each of the 11 incorporated cities in Kern County, two Kern County Supervisors and ex-officio members representing Caltrans and Golden Empire Transit District. Monthly board meetings provide the public forum for discussion and collaborative decision-making on significant issues of regional transportation and mobility. Meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month.

Kern Government Television (K-GOV) rebroadcasts Kern COG’s regular Transportation Planning Policy Committee and COG Board meeting every Monday at 7PM. In addition, K-GOV features Kern COG Presents, the Annual Regional Awards, and educational programming on important issues in the region.

K-GOV program guide is available online at: https://www.kerncounty.com/gsd/kgov/

COG & TPPC Agendas & Minutes

 

Elected Representatives

 

Each city in Kern County has one elected representative on the Kern Council of Governments (Kern COG) Board. The County of Kern Board of Supervisors has two members who serve on the Kern COG Board. There are also two ex-officio members who represent Caltrans and Golden Empire Transit District.

Following Board direction, staff coordinates between local, state, and federal agencies to avoid overlap or duplication of programs. This intergovernmental coordination enables staff to work with many public agencies to ensure that planning and implementation of programs proceed in a coordinated manner.

 

Kern Council of Governments Overview

Kern Council of Governments, better known as Kern COG, is an association of city and county governments created to address regional transportation issues. Its Member Agencies include the County of Kern and the 11 incorporated cities within Kern County.

The Kern COG Board of Directors is comprised of one elected official from each of the 11 incorporated cities in Kern County, two Kern County Supervisors and ex-officio members representing Caltrans and Golden Empire Transit District. Monthly board meetings provide the public forum for discussion and collaborative decision-making on significant issues of regional transportation and mobility. Meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month.

Transportation Planning & Policy Committee

 

The TPPC makes technical funding decisions about how Kern COG transportation dollars are spent. The committee is made up of one representative from each of Kern’s 11 incorporated cities, two county supervisors, and a representative each from Caltrans, Golden Empire Transit District and the Joint Planning Policy Board (military). Meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month, immediately preceding the Kern COG board meeting.

Kern Government Television (K-GOV) rebroadcasts Kern COG’s regular Transportation Planning Policy Committee and COG Board meeting every Monday at 7PM. In addition, K-GOV features Kern COG Presents, the Annual Regional Awards, and educational programming on important issues in the region.

K-GOV program guide is available online at: https://www.kerncounty.com/gsd/kgov/

COG & TPPC Agendas & Minutes

 

COG Executive Committee

 

The Executive Committee reviews the annual operating budget, future agenda items, and provides guidance to the Executive Director on financial and personnel matters. The committee consists of a board member from the County of Kern, a member from the City of Bakersfield , and a member from one of the ten smaller cities.

 

Regional Transportation Plan

 

At the center of the transportation planning process is the Regional Transportation Plan. The RTP is a long-term (20-year) general plan for the region’s transportation network, and encompasses projects for all types of travel, including aviation and freight movement. The plan assesses environmental impacts of proposed projects, and establishes air quality conformity as required by federal regulations. The document also discusses inter-modal and multi-modal transportation activities.

Transportation Forecasting

 

Kern COG maintains and runs a regional travel demand forecast model or transportation model for the Kern County region.  The model is used to forecast the demand for future transportation infrastructure by predicting future travel patterns based on a variety of factors including locally approved general plan land use entitlements, input from local planning departments on socio-economic growth areas, and state and federal data sources.  Some of the forecast input variables include populations, households, employment, school enrollment, income, traffic counts, speeds, intersection configuration, existing and planned transportation networks.

Members

 

Arvin: Susana Reyes
Bakersfield: Bob Smith
California City: Jim Creighton
Delano: Veronica Vasquez
Maricopa: John Crump
McFarland: Saul Ayon
Ridgecrest: John “Skip” Gorman
Shafter: Cathy Prout
Taft: Orchel Krier
Tehachapi: Philip A. Smith
Wasco: Gilberto Reyna
Kern County: Jeff Flores and David Couch

What We Do

As the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization and the state-designated Regional Transportation Planning Agency for Kern County, Kern COG is responsible for developing and updating a variety of transportation plans and for allocating the federal and state funds to implement them.

Although regional transportation planning is its primary role, Kern COG also functions as the state-designated Census Data Center Affiliate for the Kern Region and the Kern Motorist Aid Authority, which operates emergency call boxes on county highways and Kern 511; and provides leadership in the development of Geographic Information Systems in local government.

Following Board direction, staff coordinates between local, state, and federal agencies to avoid overlap or duplication of programs. This intergovernmental coordination enables staff to work with many public agencies to ensure that planning and implementation of programs proceed in a coordinated manner.

A description of tasks to be performed by Kern COG and the costs associated with them can be found in our Overall Work Program (OWP) and Annual Financial Plan.

 

Transportation Planning Background Information

The following documents contain high level background information on the regional planning process from a variety of sources.  For the latest version of these documents, perform a web search of the website for the organization that originally prepared each document.

  1. Federal Aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies (topical videos)
  2. A Guide to Transportation Decision Making 2015, FHWA (24 pages)
  3. Transportation Funding in California 2018, Caltrans (40 pages)
  4. California Mobility Investment Opportunities 2017, CTC (82 pages)
  5. Transportation/Air Quality Conformity—A Basic Guide for State and Local Officials 2017, FHWA (24 pages)
  6. Regional Planning & Climate Change – Understanding SB 375, (8 pages)
  7. A Guide to Performance Based Planning, 2014 (188 pages)
  8. The Transportation Planning Process Briefing Book for Transportation Decision Makers, Officials and Staff, 2019 (90 pages)
  9. Kern COG 101 Presentation, 2021 (24 pages)

 

Ex-Officio Members

Caltrans District 6: Michael Navarro
Caltrans District 9: Kirsten Helton
Golden Empire Transit: Cindy Parra
Joint Planning Policy Board: Malcolm Warney
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