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24 <br /> <br />Commissioner McKee asked if the VA donation does not count against the cost, why <br />does the donation from UNC and NCCU count against the State donation. <br />John Tallmadge said there are different laws that regulate this. <br />Commissioner McKee asked if there are any assurances that the State will not count this <br />$15 million as part of the State’s donation. <br />John Tallmadge said under the current law, the limit to be directed to a transportation <br />project is $190 million. He said this could be changed, but the action of the two universities and <br />the Council of State are not through the same stream of revenue used by the Board of <br />Transportation. <br />Commissioner McKee said the total cost is still being referred to as $2.5 billion to build <br />the project, which does not include the long-term Transportation Infrastructure Finance and <br />Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans of $800 million plus. He said Orange County’s share is $149 <br />million, which also does not count long-term interest of the TIFIA loans. <br />John Tallmadge said the $149.5 million is the contribution towards the capital cost until <br />2032, and there are agreements in the cost sharing language that state that Orange County will <br />continue to pay a share of the debt payments on the borrowing that happens for the <br />construction. <br />Commissioner McKee said the true cost to Orange County will hit closer to $300 million <br />over the life of the project, and the $149 million does not include TIFIA. <br />John Tallmadge said he does not know the exact number. <br />Commissioner McKee said the $149 million does not include the long-term interest. <br />John Tallmadge said the $149.5 million does not include any of the debt repayment that <br />occurs after 2032, but does include debt repayment that occurs before 2032. <br />John Tallmadge said they are acting consistently with the adopted transit plan and cost <br />sharing agreement. <br />Commissioner McKee said in these documents the true cost of the project to Orange <br />County needs to be acknowledged, and the long-term interest costs are not being <br />acknowledged in the total costs. <br />Commissioner McKee said he would like to know what the exact cost of the Erwin Road <br />elevation, the Pettigrew Street elevation, and each one of these increased and decreased costs. <br />John Tallmadge said the Erwin Road elevation is a $90 million add to the project; and <br />there are other changes that are happening related to when construction costs are to occur and <br />interest rates, etc., and all of these are changing as the get closer to the project. <br /> <br />Public Comment: <br />Bonnie Hauser said her comments are intended to complement an email that we sent <br />earlier this week: <br /> <br />First – thanks for the information on sales tax collections. It helped to alleviate our <br />concerns. When the County lowered its growth projections, we wondered how you were going <br />to meet GoTriangle’s aggressive projections. Now we know. <br /> <br />We continue to have concerns about the project, which we listed in our email. We hope that you <br />will consider the full list. <br /> <br />Tonight I will focus on financial issues so that taxpayers can have a full understanding of how <br />costs, functionality and risks have changed since voters approved the transit tax in 2012. <br /> <br />First. News reports have quoted GoTriangle saying that interest costs will increase to $850- <br />$900 million. We’ve also read about cost estimates for changes to Erwin Road and unresolved <br />concerns of downtown Durham’s biggest business owners. All the while, GoTriangle and