Transit authority opens new facility on wild, windy day

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Saturday, May 29, 2004.

By JULIE DRAKE
Valley Press Staff Writer

LANCASTER - A wailing wind whipped up a wild welcome for dignitaries to the formal grand opening ceremony for the Antelope Valley Transit Authority's new headquarters on Friday.

U.S. Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon and L.A. County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich joined Lancaster and Palmdale mayors and AVTA board members Frank Roberts and Jim Ledford, respectively, and Lancaster Vice Mayor Henry Hearns, chairman of the board of directors, for the ceremony.

Board members Larry Levin and Robert Keys, representing Los Angeles County, also were present, as were Ray Tellis of the Federal Transportation Administration and Kevin Michel of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Ex-AVTA executive director Bill Budlong and former board member Ron Carter also were present for the ceremony.

Lew Stults, McKeon's field representative, served as host.

"This is a great community," McKeon said. "And to have facilities like this just shows what value this community has for the county, for the state and for the federal government and I'm happy to be a part of it."

"Today, the Antelope Valley has a first-rate, first-class transportation center," Antonovich said. "And it goes to complement the first- class, first-rate community that resides in all of the unincorporated communities and Lancaster and Palmdale.

"This is your gift for a better community and better service," he said.

Antonovich also remembered the contributions of late state Sen. William J. "Pete" Knight, who attended the center's ground-breaking ceremony in November 2002.

The $21 million was funded in part through $3.5 million from FTA secured by McKeon. The MTA, on whose board sit Antonovich and Roberts, the latter as first vice chairman, also contributed $5.5 million and another $1.6 million in Proposition C revenue.

The agency also received $7.6 million in federal grant money and $2.8 million from Lancaster, Palmdale and the county. The AVTA is operated under a joint powers agreement among the three.

Hearns offered a hearty "thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you" to all of those responsible for helping to get the facility built.

"I just want to say to all parties involved, 'good job', this is really a great cooperative effort," Ledford said.

Roberts praised the partnership agreement among Lancaster, Palmdale and the county, which he said contributes to the AVTA's being among the most cost-effective municipal transportation agencies.

While most transportation agencies spend between $105 and $110 per operating hour, the AVTA spends $56 per operating hour, Roberts said.

Budlong worked for the AVTA for nearly 12 years before he retired to take a job in Arizona. He said planning began on the AVTA's new facility more than a decade ago.

"I wanted to see the finished product," he said.

The new headquarters is more than four times the size of the transit agency's former leased facility on Avenue L-12 and will be able to accommodate up to 200 buses. The AVTA currently has 77 buses in its fleet.

The ceremonies were held beneath the facility's solar canopy. The canopy's 405 panels provide shade for up to 70 buses during the day. That, in turn, reduces environmental impacts and cost by minimizing the time needed to cool the buses with air conditioning.

Employees began work in the sprawling 14-acre, $21 million facility, at 42210 Sixth St. West, two blocks north of Avenue M, about a month ago.

The site includes administration, operations and maintenance buildings plus fueling and drive-through bus-washing capabilities that can wash and dry a bus in about two minutes.

The bus wash reclaims and recycles part of the water and is capable of handling all types of buses.

Jeffery O'Keefe, who was named to replace Budlong as the AVTA's executive director, was supposed to have been introduced at the ceremony, but O'Keefe resigned before he ever started work due to what were described as health issues.

jdrake@avpress.com