Minutes 04-27-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

6 • Funding scheme puts Orange County at risk with its bond rating • Proposed route goes through green spaces as opposed to using existing thoroughfares and right of ways; and there is no firm data that this light rail will divert cars • She said every township will pay the transit tax but the proposed financial scheme disproportionally allots more funding to serve a small percentage of area residents who may use the LRT, and thus disproportionately allots less funding for buses to serve the residents of Cedar Grove, Little River and Bingham. • This project fails to serve transient dependent communities, and the proposed route fails to provide direct service to communities of low to moderate wealth, and/or communities of color, including Northside, Rogers Road, Efland, West Hillsborough and Fairview, and therefore continues to marginalize these constituents. Commissioner Price said, as a Commissioner, she is accountable to the Orange County constituents, and development planning should be long term, comprehensive and flexible, but she likened the newest plan proposals to shifting sand, without firm foundation and without confidence. She said County government needs to maintain control and oversight of its revenues and expenditures, and the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) must wisely steward the County resources. Commissioner Price referred to the emails received from the community, and noted hundreds of residents voted no to the LRT, and her vote will be no as well. Commissioner McKee said he has had people tell him to stand down, or burn the place down. He said he will do neither. Commissioner McKee said he has been opposed to the LRT since 2012. He said he stood down from opposition when the residents voted in favor of the transit tax. He said he started raising objections back in the fall of 2016, when he saw numerous financial models that did not make sense. He said the original proposal had this project being paid off by 2036, but this was no longer the case. He said the long-term nature of loan repayment will use up any additional funds that may have been available for bus transit. Commissioner McKee said once Orange County has spent $50 to $100 million he will be quiet, because the County will be too invested at that point to walk away and waste the money. Commissioner McKee said the Board has received emails that have an approximate ratio of 3-1 being against this plan, and, interestingly, many of these emails are from the southern part of the County. He said he is not sure anyone on the Board fully understands every aspect of this issue, and no one knows what will happen if the BOCC approves this. Commissioner McKee said he would like to make a motion after comments have been received. Commissioner Jacobs said he actually did not make up his mind until yesterday. He said he came at this issue with a set of values that he includes in all of his decision-making: a sense of environmental responsibility and social justice. He said he has had moments of disquieting and reassurance during this entire process. He said he has been involved in Orange County planning for 30 years, and he believes in channeling growth where it should be, which is why the rural buffer is important, and two and five acre zoning to protect watersheds. He said he had to consider whether the LRT was a tool to channel growth. He said the Board has seen where the LRT line will run, and it is misleading to think that it will only serve a very small area as the universities at either end of the LRT provide immense opportunities and employment in Orange County. Commissioner Jacobs said he was not challenging the route or the mode, but whether Orange County would be at risk financially. He said he does not want the BOCC to be compelled to spend money that could be used for schools, land protection, affordable housing,