Agenda - 01-24-2017 - 6-a - Minutes

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30 1 PUBLIC COMMENT: 2 Tony Blake said he is against light rail. He urged the Board not to approve the MOU 3 until an independent cost analysis is completed, and the more hidden costs are known. He said 4 if the BOCC wants to sign the MOU, he would suggest two amendments to it: no more 5 spending on engineering of light rail until a cost benefit cost study is done. 6 Alex Castro provided a handout, and asked what is the funding gap and why is there a 7 funding gap. He said if all available funds go to the light rail, then other services will suffer such 8 as local transit, OPT, etc. He said Light Rail will not serve its first customer until 2028. 9 Ken Larsen said light rail is a giant vacuum cleaner to suck the money from all the 10 taxpayers. He said the only benefactors are UNC and the developers. He does not want the 11 Board to sign the MOU-Letter of Intent. 12 Aaron Butner said he is a resident of Hillsborough from a modest background. He is a 13 current employer in Chapel Hill, and asked the Board not to sign the Letter of Intent. 14 Ed Tiryakian asked the Board not to sign the Letter of Intent. He said the MOU would 15 put expectations on the County, and it goes against the will of the voters. He said the burden of 16 financing has shifted heavily to Orange County. 17 Sam Gharbo said the Board has a golden opportunity to be fiscally responsible. He said 18 the Board could not find enough money for schools, and had to float a bond. He said if there is 19 not enough funding for schools, where will the Board find double, if not triple that amount for 20 this project. He wondered if the Board will be putting forth a light rail bond. He said the County 21 is going to be rail poor. He said this was a bad idea four years ago, and it is a bad idea today. 22 Olivia Truax said she is in support of the Light Rail project, and its many benefits to the 23 residents of Orange County. 24 Anthony Alexander said he is in support of the Light Rail project. 25 Ramona McGee said she is an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center 26 (SELC), who urges the Board to sign the Letter of Intent. 27 Norma White said she speaks on behalf of rural Orange County (The Grange), and 28 asked the Board not to sign the Letter of Intent. 29 Gary Saunders said he has been using the bus system since 2005, and he is in support 30 of light rail. 31 Patricia Clayton said she is speaking on behalf of the Northern Orange National 32 Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), who are in support of public 33 transportation, but not light rail, since it would only benefit certain parts of the County. 34 Tom Farmer said he is a user of bus transit, and he is supportive of light rail. 35 Tanya Jisa said she strongly supports the light rail. 36 Archie Daniel said he speaking for the seniors who live in Orange County, since he 37 works a part time job providing oversight and care for seniors in northern Orange County. He 38 said the Board needs to make sure the seniors get bang for their buck. 39 Cor Radenmaker said he is in support of light rail. 40 Brenda McCall said she works with seniors in northern Orange County, and these are 41 the most vulnerable and needy residents in Orange County. She said the funds for LRT will 42 take funding from other public transportation services, and she is not in support of LRT. 43 Charles Humble said he is a long-term supporter of the SELC, and of mass transit in 44 general. He said this proposal could have made sense years ago, or if it was designed to 45 connect us with other points in the triangle, and had more financial supporters; but it was not 46 and it does not. He is persuaded that BRT is more beneficial to Orange County, and he asked 47 the Board not to sign the letter of intent. 48 Dave Laudicina said he is supportive of LRT. 49 Katy Lang said she is a car free resident, and she asked the Board to sign the Letter of 50 Intent.