Minutes 04-20-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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15 • Same responses triggered. Travis Myren said that GoTriangle has suggested an amendment that if a consensus cannot be reached, then mediation would occur. Commissioner Burroughs referred to paragraph #13, on page 8 of attachment A, and asked if this is in response if the federal or state funds are less than expected, and is it just narrowly focused on that. Travis Myren said yes, as it is currently written. Chair Dorosin said paragraph #13 is about state and federal funding, while paragraph #14 is about other cost issues. Commissioner Price asked if the full amount of state and federal funding is not received, will the FTA abort the plan. Travis Myren said, in the absence of federal funding, the project is probably not possible, and the absence of state funding makes the project very difficult. Commissioner Jacobs said this draft document appears to address these concerns adequately. He sees no reason to make the process any more complicated. Katharine Eggleston, Light Rail Engineer, said the current schedule has GoTriangle applying for the full funding grant agreement (FFGA) in mid-2019. She said the local and state funding commitments would need to be in place by that point. She said if local and state funds are not in place by this point, then a reassessment would be necessary. She said the state funds should be determined and known by December 2018, based on the typical schedule of the state funding process. Tammy Bouchelle, GoTriangle Attorney, said both Durham County and GoTriangle raised concerns about the inclusion of the unilateral termination provision, and she is not sure if the FTA will accept this inclusion on #13, as the provision is quite pessimistic. She said GoTriangle and Durham oppose the inclusion of this provision. Commissioner Jacobs clarified that paragraph 2 in provision #13 is not acceptable to GoTriangle. Tammy Bouchelle said not as currently written, given that the FTA would take a very pessimistic view of it. She said GoTriangle has proposed alternative language, which is a dispute resolution process, which she thinks will be more palatable to the FTA. John Roberts said Durham County and GoTriangle object to the unilateral withdrawal language, and he said he has no specific objection to a mediation provision if it is the will of the Board. He said Orange County is better protected by a unilateral withdrawal provision, but it would need more meat on it than how it is currently written. He agreed that the FTA would likely view such a provision pessimistically. He said he has attempted to craft a unilateral withdrawal provision, which Durham County and GoTriangle have not seen. He feels neither will be satisfied with it. He said this proposed language is at the Commissioners' places. Jill Jaworski, PFM Financial Advisor, said FTA requires this grant to have a full commitment, and if there is a withdrawal clause it is unlikely that the FTA will accept it. She said the FFGA grant program is the single largest discretionary grant program that the federal government has. She said there are high standards for this, and the FTA requires a full commitment to stay in the program. She believes that the FTA will not accept the unilateral withdrawal provision. Commissioner Marcoplos said if federal or state funds are withdrawn then no one should be legally bound to stay in this process. He asked if there is a way to allow elected officials to withdraw if the federal or state funds are withdrawn. Tammy Bouchelle said if all federal funds are withdrawn, then it is absolutely acceptable for the County to withdraw. She said if state funding ends up being lower than