THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 16, 1996 TAG: 9608160533
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 77 lines
The retired executive officer of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority was hired as interim executive director of Tidewater Regional Transit.
L.A. ``Kim'' Kimball replaces James C. Echols, 62, who will retire next month after 22 years with the transit agency.
Kimball will lead TRT through the agency's largest undertakings - a merger with PENTRAN, the Peninsula's transit agency; and the development of a proposed light rail system.
Once the merger is complete, in 12 to 18 months, Michael S. Townes, PENTRAN's executive director, will head the consolidated organization.
Kimball, 67, was hired for one year, at $90,000, for the transitional period. He begins work Sept. 3.
Echols delayed his retirement one year to promote the merger.
``Mr. Kimball will be a big addition to what we're trying to do at the present time,'' said John W. Butt, chairman of TRT's Tidewater Transportation District Commission and a Chesapeake City Councilman. ``He has expertise in light rail and in the merger process.''
Kimball said Thursday from his Granada Hills, Calif., home, that he was attracted to the position because of its short duration as well as its challenges.
``I can be helpful to the commission in guiding them through (the merger) so the interests of the South Hampton Roads area are maintained throughout the process,'' he said.
He also said he looks forward to ``doing all the important things that need to be done to continue high levels of performance when people have anxiety about what will happen.''
Kimball most recently assisted in merging the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission and Southern California Rapid Transit District.
The new bus and rail system employs 8,000 people, services 1.1 million daily riders and a combined operating and capital budget of more than $3 billion.
He was executive officer and deputy chief executive officer of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority from April 1993 to May 1996.
Additionally, Kimball has been responsible for planning, constructing and operating rail systems, including light rail, in Los Angeles, Baltimore and the San Francisco Bay area.
His other experience includes general manager of the Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority on Long Island, chief transportation officer of the New York City Transit Authority, general manager of the Alameda Contra Costa Transit District in Oakland, Calif., executive director of the Regional Transportation District in Denver, Colo., administrator of the Mass Transit Administration in Baltimore, Md., and assistant general manager of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District in Oakland, Calif.
He was also city manager of Walnut Creek, Calif.
``Having a senior, experienced person is going to be a big benefit,'' Echols said.
``I think he will do well leading TRT's interests into the new organization.''
The merger between TRT and PENTRAN will create the state's largest public transit agency outside of Northern Virginia.
TRT, the larger of the two agencies, had a $21.6 million operating budget in 1995 and employs 525 people.
PENTRAN employs 315 people with an operating budget of $11.1 million.
Regional transportation officials believe that the proposed merger will help the area compete for increasingly scarce federal and state funding. A larger system would have a stronger voice in dealing with local, state and federal governments, said TRT and PENTRAN officials.
The merger, they said, will also help unite the region and promote economic development in South Hampton Roads and on the Peninsula. ILLUSTRATION: L.A. "KIM" KIMBALL
- AGE: 67
- TERM: One year
- SALARY: $90,000
- EXPERIENCE: Planned and managed transit agencies in Los Angeles,
Baltimore and San Francisco by CNB