Group meets with legislators about local issues of transportation, education, commerce.

Local officials concerned with the issues of education, transportation, commerce and the environment met with representatives and their staffs in Washington D.C. this week on a trip organized by the SCV Chamber of Commerce.

Charles Gill, the Chamber president, said that the 15 people who went along were busy for the three days they were in the Capitol, talking about funding and opportunities available to the Santa Clarita Valley.

“We met with officials from the Departments of Commerce and Department of Labor to discuss funding for the SmallBusiness Development Center at COC and also with some people from the Small  Business Administration,” Gill said. He added that one of the accomplishments of the visit was garnering a speaker for next year’s entrepreneurial conference from the Department of Commerce.

Other issues of importance were the perchlorate cleanup at the Bermite site and additional funding for the Cross Valley Connector as well as additional carpool and truck lanes for the I-5 corridor.

“Of course, we met with Congressman McKeon about Cemex,” Gill said, referring to the recently-proposed bill that would eliminate the possibility of mining in Soledad Canyon. “Overall, we were very happy with the meetings, we were warmly received by everyone, but the truth is the story you read in the news. Money’s tight and with the upcoming elections, it’s hard to tell which directions appropriations are going to go. The budget bill has not passed and there is talk of waiting until after the elections. There wasn’t a whole lot of positive news to bring back, but our goal was to increase awareness of the Santa Clarita Valley to the legislators, making us front and center in their discussions.”