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25 <br /> 1 are only three to four stops in all. He asked the BOCC to reject the plan as he now sees it, and <br /> 2 asked that they consider if they want GoTriangle to be the financial manager of this plan. He <br /> 3 encouraged the BOCC to establish a separate line of communication with the FTA. He thanked <br /> 4 the BOCC for its openness. <br /> 5 Paul Rockwell said the light rail is a beautiful dream that becomes a nightmare with the <br /> 6 project costs and financial responsibility. He said these costs will be pushed onto the <br /> 7 taxpayers. He said he is a strong supporter of public transportation, but not a supporter of light <br /> 8 rail, and he asked the BOCC to follow Wake County's lead and to find other solutions that are <br /> 9 more beneficial to Orange County. <br /> 10 Maria Palmer asked the BOCC to support Light Rail, and highlighted some of the <br /> 11 reasons why. <br /> 12 Ken Larson said he came up with a graph to examine the probability of success for this <br /> 13 project: receiving federal money- low; state funding at 10%- low; cost overruns- low; improved <br /> 14 bus service across all of Orange County— low; reduce traffic- low; route will serve most transit <br /> 15 dependent— low; improve environment- low. He said he does not support the project, and <br /> 16 playing the funds on the slot machines in Vegas would give a better return. <br /> 17 John Morris thanked the BOCC for commissioning the Davenport analysis. He said this <br /> 18 plan is based on a lot of assumptions and risks, and all must go perfectly for things to work out <br /> 19 for Orange County. He said any one of the risks could derail the financing plan. He said a <br /> 20 great deal of money is being borrowed, resulting in huge amounts of interest. He said <br /> 21 GoTriangle has not earned the trust of the County. <br /> 22 Brenda McCall said she has lived in this area for a long time, and is a strong supporter <br /> 23 of mass transit for Orange County. She said she is here representing organizations that serve <br /> 24 seniors in rural Orange County. She said she voted for the transit tax, but this light rail should <br /> 25 not be built on the backs of Orange County residents. She said the LRT will cannibalize transit <br /> 26 dollars for decades to come. She said Orange County cannot afford LRT, and she does not <br /> 27 support light rail. She encouraged the BOCC to say yes to a comprehensive transit system for <br /> 28 all of Orange County. <br /> 29 Bonnie Hauser said she is speaking on behalf of herself and Dr. Eric Ghysels, <br /> 30 Economics professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC). She said they are pleased to <br /> 31 see Davenport's report, but the scope of the work did not include the economic forecasting or <br /> 32 simulation modeling. She said the Moody numbers were accepted at face value and plugged <br /> 33 into the financial models. She said the veracity of the sales tax forecast was not tested. She <br /> 34 said economists in the area believe that Moody's forecast used in scenario C is overly <br /> 35 aggressive and unrealistic. She said it assumes that Orange County sales tax will grow by <br /> 36 8.5% this year, and by 3-6% annually for the next 45 years. She said numbers from recent <br /> 37 years simply do not show this. She said the sales tax numbers should be evaluated and <br /> 38 publically validated before moving forward in any way. <br /> 39 Julie McClintock thanked the BOCC for delving into the details and commissioning the <br /> 40 analysis. She said there are two bottom line questions: does the GoTriangle plan deliver the <br /> 41 best transit plan for Orange County, and can the County afford it. She said the only way this <br /> 42 plan will work is if there are no complications, and every assumption works as anticipated. She <br /> 43 said she sees the potential for economic growth for Durham County, but not for Orange. <br /> 44 She requested that all the work papers of Moody's and Davenport be released to the public, <br /> 45 including all the risk scenarios; Moody staff be available to answer question by local <br /> 46 economists; staff to arrange with an open discussion with Moody and Davenport. <br /> 47 Tom Farmer said he is a GoTriangle commuter who wants to age in place, which <br /> 48 requires a good transit system. He reviewed experiences living in other regions that installed <br /> 49 light rail, noting that these areas understood the investment. He said this region is failing to <br />