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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: April 20, 2017 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 1 <br /> SUBJECT: Discussion Regarding the Draft Durham — Orange Light Rail Cost Sharing <br /> Agreement and Draft Orange County Transit Plan <br /> DEPARTMENT: County Manager's Office and <br /> County Attorney's Office <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> A. April 18, 2017 Draft Cost Share Agreement Travis Myren, Deputy County Manager, <br /> B. Cost Share Scenario Options 919-245-2308 <br /> C. Recommended Changes to the Draft Orange Ted Cole, Davenport & Company, 804- <br /> County Transit Plan 347-9690 <br /> D. Bus Expansion Memorandum John Roberts, County Attorney, 919- <br /> 245-2318 <br /> PURPOSE: To discuss a final draft of the Durham-Orange Light Rail Cost Sharing Agreement. <br /> The final draft Agreement will be integrated into both the Orange County Transit Plan and the <br /> Durham County Transit Plan. The Durham County Board of Commissioners will consider the <br /> Durham County Plan on April 24th. The Board of Orange County Commissioners will consider <br /> the Orange County Transit Plan on April 27th <br /> BACKGROUND: In February, GoTriangle received direction from the Federal Transit <br /> Administration that prescribed an April 30 deadline for updating the Orange County Transit Plan <br /> and the Cost Sharing Agreement between Orange and Durham counties for the light rail project. <br /> Since March, two Orange County Commissioners and two Durham County Commissioners have <br /> met to negotiate the cost sharing percentages and other provisions of the agreement. They <br /> have also discussed other non-financial changes to the Transit Plans. <br /> The Draft Cost Share Agreement (Attachment A) specifies the amount of funding each County <br /> will contribute to the project. It also contains provisions to manage future project uncertainties. <br /> The negotiating committee reviewed a variety of different scenarios that adjusted the cost share <br /> attributable to each County. One important output of those scenarios is the cash balance <br /> available to each County after funding all of the elements of the Transit Plan. The cash balance <br /> represents the amount of unallocated funds available to mitigate project cost overruns and <br /> revenue shortages in any given year, but it is also the source of funds that would be available <br /> for other projects. In Orange County, this is the source of funds that could be used to expand <br /> bus service while in Durham County the cash balance could be applied to the commuter rail <br /> project with Wake County. <br />