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9 <br /> 1 b. Authorization for the Chair to Sign a Letter Regarding Measures to Address the <br /> 2 State Funding Shortfall in the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project <br /> 3 The Board considered authorizing the Chair to sign a letter to the GoTriangle Board of <br /> 4 Trustees affirming Orange County's current funding commitment to the Durham-Orange Light <br /> 5 Rail Project ($149.5 million) and communicating a tentative agreement between Orange County <br /> 6 and Durham County to use Durham County dedicated transit revenues to supplant reduced <br /> 7 State funding. <br /> 8 Travis Myren presented the item below: <br /> 9 <br /> 10 PURPOSE: <br /> 11 To consider authorizing the Chair to sign a letter to the GoTriangle Board of Trustees affirming <br /> 12 Orange County's current funding commitment to the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project ($149.5 <br /> 13 million) and communicating a tentative agreement between Orange County and Durham <br /> 14 County to use Durham County dedicated transit revenues to supplant reduced State funding. <br /> 15 <br /> 16 BACKGROUND: <br /> 17 In April 2017, the Board of Orange County Commissioners approved an Interlocal Agreement <br /> 18 for Cost Sharing for the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project. The parties to this <br /> 19 Agreement are Orange County, Durham County, and GoTriangle. <br /> 20 <br /> 21 The Cost Sharing Agreement, along with the Orange County Transit Plan, specifies the amount <br /> 1 <br /> 22 of dedicated local transit revenue that each County will contribute to the light rail project. <br /> 23 Orange County's contribution is $149.5 million in year of expenditure dollars while Durham <br /> 24 County's contribution is $738.4 million. <br /> 25 1 Dedicated local transit revenue includes revenue produced by the Article 43 '/2 cent Transit <br /> 26 Sales Tax, Article 50 five percent (5%) vehicle rental tax, Article 51 three dollar ($3) <br /> 27 GoTriangle Regional Vehicle Registration Fee, and the Article 52 seven dollar ($7) County <br /> 28 vehicle registration fee. <br /> 29 <br /> 30 The Cost Sharing Agreement also specifies a decision making and dispute resolution process <br /> 31 for changes that may occur in either project revenues or expenditures. In the event of a material <br /> 32 change in revenue, the parties are obligated to meet within fifteen (15) business days to discuss <br /> 33 measures to address the shortfall. During the adoption of the State Budget, the North Carolina <br /> 34 General Assembly placed several limitations on the Light Rail Project. One of these limitations <br /> 35 was to limit the maximum amount of State funding to $190 million. The light rail financial model <br /> 36 that was included in the Orange County Transit Plan and the Cost Sharing Agreement assumed <br /> 37 a total State contribution of ten percent (10%) or$247.6 million. The $190 million limitation <br /> 38 created a shortfall of$57.6 million. <br /> 39 <br /> 40 Consistent with the terms of the Cost Sharing Agreement, the parties convened an initial <br /> 41 meeting on June 21, 2018 to begin discussing potential solutions to the funding shortfall. <br /> 42 Orange County was represented by BOCC Chair Mark Dorosin and Commissioner Mark <br /> 43 Marcoplos who met throughout the summer with two representatives from Durham County. <br /> 44 Using updated financial modeling, GoTriangle demonstrated that Durham County's dedicated <br /> 45 transit revenues were sufficient to compensate for the $57.6 million revenue shortfall created by <br /> 46 the State. The negotiating team agreed to present this solution to their respective governing <br /> 47 boards prior to September 7, 2018 when GoTriangle is required to submit a project progress <br /> 48 document to the Federal Transit Administration. <br /> 49 <br />