Minutes 04-18-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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22 since 2005. He said he grew up in northern Virginia, and watched the building of metro system, which faced as many critics as the LRT project. He asked if the financial plan is a reasonable approach for the future, and he said yes it is. He encouraged the BOCC to vote in favor of LRT. Alex Cabanes reviewed the following comments: In November 2016, Jeff Mann was asking Orange and Durham County Commissioners for more funding to close the DOLRT gap before the end of 2016. In Orange County, specifically for - $40 million over 10 years. Then in January 2017, GoTriangle came back with the "Christmas Surprise" and said GoTriangle was able to fund the now $2.5 BILLION DOLRT project Then we discovered that there was an additional $1 BILLION in interest payments that GoTriangle had failed to disclose earlier.... and that 'omission' was only discovered by the independent Davenport consultants retained by the Orange County Commissioners. Thank you for doing some additional due diligence on the financials (but it does raise the question as to what other 'omissions' or assumptions on ridership, etc we are not seeing). That is $1 BILLION that would go to bankers to finance this project (not for actual public transit). So here we sit, staring at a project cost of$3.3 BILLION (including interest payments out to 2062) ... and GoTriangle has yet to break ground! Let's put that in perspective: Orange County will pay approximately $325 million what was expected from the state of North Carolina in 2011 ... and that assumes all goes according to 'plan' (which the last 5 years have demonstrated that the costs seem to only go in one direction, UP). Unfortunately the DO-LRT math just doesn't add up, despite what many last night may wish. Never has, never will. The cash flow analysis by Davenport under the Moody's 'pessimistic' scenario @ 3.59% shows negative cash flows for Orange County starting in 2027 in perpetuity (even with the renegotiated 18/82 cost sharing split between Orange & Durham). And that Moody's 'pessimistic' scenario is projecting growth faster than the national 2% GDP. And that Moody's 'pessimistic' scenario has no recession for the next 45 years. Recessions typically happen - 7 years on average where the growth actually goes NEGATIVE for multiple quarters (and we are long overdue). You remember Moody's Investment, right? The same Wall Street firm that rated junk mortgages as 'investment grade' that precipitated the whole financial crisis. The same firm that predicted Hillary Clinton's landslide Presidential win. Yeah, those guys! So, let's PLEASE move beyond the DO-LRT propaganda. The issue before you is NOT about the LRT technology. It's about the emerging fiscal realities and unsustainable finances of the ever increasing costs of this project ... and all of the other options that we will be sacrificed by committing to this single, multi-decade project. We need cost-effective and affordable public transit suitable for our region. We need an Affordable Transit Plan for ALL. Thank you for your patience, stamina and continued service