The first meeting of the Madison Area Regional Transit Authority today will be mostly an organizational meeting that will introduce a resolution to impose a sales tax referendum, members of the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board said.

At a meeting Wednesday night, the board previewed today’s RTA meeting, saying though the agenda is thin and mostly organizational, the resolution for a sales tax referendum will still be a step toward further transit development.

Bill Schaefer, a planning advisor on the committee, said it is likely all nine RTA members will vote in favor of implementing a sales tax increase referendum. He said today’s proposed resolution will not determine the language of the upcoming referendum.

Schaefer added the referendum will not come before voters until planners have drawn up Madison area transit plans according to schedule.

The members of the committee also evaluated current proposals for the new high-speed rail line that will connect Milwaukee and Madison.

Schaefer told the committee despite the fact that the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is eager to begin the process of enhancing the rail connection and finding a site for the Madison station, the Federal Railroad Administration has not yet given approval for the funds.

Dane County Supervisor Mark Opitz, District 26, and RTA member said the idea of a station at Monona Terrace, which Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has rejected because it would be inconvenient for a connection to Minneapolis, could be rekindled.

Opitz cited the fact that the Midwest has received a disproportionate amount of federal transportation funds as a possible reason for the delay of the proposed rail connection between Madison and Minneapolis. He said this could prevent the Midwest from receiving funds until many years in the future.

Opitz also expressed his lack of support for the proposed airport stop.

“Just because there’s a parking structure there … doesn’t make it a good site,” Opitz said.

Ald. Mark Clear, District 19, said the chance of the Monona Terrace station being resurrected is slim.

He said the mayor has pretty much “taken it off the table.”

“We don’t want the feds to say ‘you guys don’t know what you’re doing, so we won’t give you funds for another five years,'” Clear said.

Clear also addressed the possibility of a high-speed rail connection eventually reaching the new Union South.

“Maybe in your lifetime, but not in mine,” he said.

The board is looking to reach out to advocates and agencies in support of both the major proposed stations, including representatives from WisDOT who support the station near the Dane County Airport.

The board also said they were optimistic about the state-specific process to develop the new high-speed rail corridor despite the lack of current federal involvement in the project. They said despite the large number of questions still left to be answered, Milwaukee is currently hiring their own team for the high-speed rail development.

Ald. Chris Schmidt, District 11, said the officials could be reviewing contract applications for the high-speed rail projects within the next year. The current tentative deadline for the project’s completion is 2013.