A staff member with the Kern Council of Governments said the agency serves as the state-designated regional transportation planning authority and the Kern County Transportation Authority, giving it responsibility for long-range planning and spending on countywide road projects.

“That’s not you that’s somewhat unique in a lot of places. Being the transportation authority is separate from being the MPO,” the staff member said, adding that Kern’s combined authority traces to the agency’s founding. “We were created in 1970 by a joint powers agreement between the 11 cities within the County Of Kern, and the County itself also sits on our board.”

The presenter outlined recent and upcoming projects the agency coordinates, naming Thomas Road improvements, work at the Highway 58 and 99 interchange, widening of Highway 46 in multiple segments, improvements on the 395 and 14 corridor, and the start of the first segment of truck-climbing lanes on Highway 58.

“Importantly, when Bill Thomas delivered almost a billion dollars to Kern County, he made major changes to the way industry works here,” the staff member said, describing a large infusion of funds that the agency coordinated. The presenter also compared Kern’s single-agency authority to neighboring Fresno, where a separate sales-tax measure (Measure C) is managed by a different entity and can create coordination challenges between an authority and an MPO.

The presentation was informational; the transcript does not show any motions, votes or formal decisions tied to the remarks. The staff member estimated the first truck-climbing lane segment on Highway 58 will take about three years to complete and noted that many of the listed routes are important to local residents and businesses even if they do not use them daily.

No formal action was recorded in the provided transcript excerpt. The discussion content focused on the agency’s role, project examples and the history of the agency’s enabling agreement.