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9 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 a. Orange County Bus and Rail Investment Plan Updates: Durham-Orange Light Rail <br /> 3 Financial Update and Chapel Hill Bus Rapid Transit Project Update <br /> 4 The Board received updates the Board of County Commissioners on two capital projects <br /> 5 contained in the Bus and Rail Investment Plan (BRIP): <br /> 6 • A financial update on the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit project that resulted in no <br /> 7 additional local funds being needed in a base case scenario; and <br /> 8 • An update on the Chapel Hill North-South Corridor Bus Rapid Transit project and related <br /> 9 costs. <br /> 10 <br /> 11 Travis Myren said this would be the first of several updates, leading up to the approval <br /> 12 and adoption of the Bus and Rail Investment Plan. He said this plan not only establishes transit <br /> 13 services, but is also the document that formally allocates transit taxes and fees to fund these <br /> 14 projects. He said it is hoped that by February 16th there will be a draft plan to review, with a <br /> 15 final draft on March 7th, and possible approval in April. <br /> 16 Travis Myren said Davenport and Company has been retained to do the financial review, <br /> 17 and staff will also be engaging a consultant to review value-engineering options. He said the <br /> 18 Board directed the Manager to discuss with Durham County financial cost sharing, and those <br /> 19 contacts have been made. <br /> 20 <br /> 21 BACKGROUND: <br /> 22 The BRIP in Orange County governs the allocation of transit taxes and fees to various transit <br /> 23 services. Over the next three months, the Board of Commissioners along with the other parties <br /> 24 to the Plan will be asked to consider updates to the Plan. Two significant projects contained in <br /> 25 the Plan include the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit (D-O LRT) Project and the Chapel Hill <br /> 26 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. <br /> 27 <br /> 28 Update on Financial Status of the D-O LRT Project—On December 5, 2016, the Board of <br /> 29 County Commissioners adopted a non-binding memorandum of understanding to help address <br /> 30 a $250 million projected funding shortfall in the D-O LRT Project. This memorandum was <br /> 31 intended to support GoTriangle's application to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the <br /> 32 federal share of the project. Since that time, GoTriangle's financial advisor has restructured <br /> 33 project financing in a way that eliminates the need for additional local funds in a "base case" <br /> 34 scenario. The base case is a scenario where current assumptions on project costs and <br /> 35 revenues are sustained throughout the duration of the project. <br /> 36 <br /> 37 During this report, GoTriangle staff will explain how the funding gap was eliminated in the base <br /> 38 case scenario and the sensitivity analysis that was included in its application to the FTA that <br /> 39 shows the conditions under which additional local funds may be required if current assumptions <br /> 40 do not hold. <br /> 41 <br /> 42 The Board of Commissioners also directed the County Manager to engage a consultant to <br /> 43 conduct an independent review of finances and value engineering choices for this project. The <br /> 44 County has executed an agreement with its financial advisor, Davenport & Company, to review <br /> 45 the financial model. GoTriangle staff has indicated that the value engineering options will not <br /> 46 be evaluated until the agency has an engineer under contract to proceed with the future design <br /> 47 of the project. As a result, staff will identify a consultant unrelated to the project after that <br /> 48 decision has been made. The Board also directed the Manager to contact Durham to initiate <br /> 49 discussions of reevaluating the split in funding based on changes in mileage and differences in <br />