Agenda - 04-27-2017 - 1 - Consideration of the Final Draft Durham – Orange Light Rail Cost Sharing Agreement and Final Draft Orange County Transit Plan

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47 Orange County Transit Plan April 25, 2017 system for rating projects for funding. In 2014, the N-S BRT the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit (D-O LRT) Project at a 50 Project was submitted for evaluation and did not score well percent share of total costs. Though changes have been made enough to receive state funding. Since that time, changes have to the federal transportation funding law,federal law continues been made to the state evaluation criteria which may result in to authorize funding through 2020 for the Capital Improvement a better score. However, this Plan does not assume any state Grant program, which is assumed to be an essential funding funding for the N-S BRT Project. source for the light rail and bus rapid transit projects. This Plan assumes that the D-O LRT project will receive 50 percent of its The updated assumptions, 70 percent federal funding and zero funding from the federal government. percent state funding, mean that other sources must make up the 30 percent difference. The 2017 Plan maintains the Tax Another key assumption about federal funding that has District Revenue share of the project at the dollar amount changed from the original Plan is that the 2017 Plan assumes specified in the original Plan, $6.125 million YOE. This amount an annual cap on the disbursement of federal funds for the can be considered a minimum and will be revisited in the future project. The original Plan assumed the federal government if Tax District Revenues are available. would reimburse 50 percent of project costs annually as funds were spent.The 2017 Plan clarifies that the federal government As the project progresses through the Project Development is expected to reimburse a maximum of $100 million YOE per phase, Chapel Hill Transit will refine cost estimates, continue to year, for as many years as it takes for the full federal share to apply for State funding and explore other funding be reimbursed. This means that it will take longer to receive opportunities. federal funds than originally assumed, which increases the need to finance a portion of the project. The original Plan also assumed the State would be a significant The D-O LRT Project is planned to be funded primarily through funding partner for the D-O LRT Project at a 25 percent share of a combination of Tax District Revenues, state funds, federal the total costs, which is equal to the level of state funding for funds. the light rail projects in Charlotte. As mentioned above, in 2013 the Strategic Transportation Investments law created a 10 percent cap on the use of "regional tier" funding for transit The original Plan assumed the federal government would be a projects in any State Transportation Improvement Program, significant funding partner for the major capital investments in limiting the availability of state revenues to an amount lower than assumed in the original Plan. In 2016, the General Final Page 23 of 65