Minutes 03-12-2019 Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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15 BRT and Hillsborough train station from the 2017 adopted transit plan. He said the capital dollar commitment of$149.5 million, of Orange County transit tax to the light rail project, remains the same. He said the financing costs associated with the $149.5 million would be at or below the levels that are in the 2017 transit plan levels. John Talmadge said the changes would reflect the new cost of the LRT project, and the changes to the other sources of revenue: the state funding, and the other local funding (Durham share and private capital campaign share). John Talmadge said the private capital campaign only has $15 million currently, and there would have to be a backstop committed at this point in time, which has been part of the conversation with the cost-sharing partners and the City of Durham. John Talmadge said the conversations have reiterated that there will be no changes to the $149.5 million Orange County commitment, and that the financing costs would be at, or below, the 2017 transit plan levels. John Talmadge said the final work on this, due to the April 301" state deadline for the non-state/non-federal funds, requires all entities to come together and finish these transit plans, release them for public comment, and come back to the elected boards for presentations, details, and a vote. Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the backstop funding could be explained. John Talmadge said the private fundraising does not have a clock on it, and it can continue throughout the project. He said GoTransit Partners (non-profit organization) was set up to do the private fundraising, and has a consultant working for it to conduct outreach and fundraising. He said the consultant has heard a lot of positive interest from corporations that will sponsor the project once it is definitely going to move forward. He said at this point in time, the financial plan must be finalized, and a commitment shown to the FTA that the money is secure, even if the private fundraising is not as successful as expected. He said the backstop is the commitment that the money will be there, but it gets reduced with every private dollar that comes in. Commissioner Price said Orange County's costs will be the same, but the finance charges will be lower. John Talmadge said the financing charges would be at, or below, the 2017 levels because the long term borrowing uses the federal loan program that has very favorable terms for transportation projects. He said the estimated rate that was used was very conservative (5%), and as the time has come closer and closer, it seems the rates will be lower than estimated, and the federal rate is currently 3%. Commissioner Price asked if options to move forward without cooperative agreement with Duke could be identified. She asked if the routes would be altered. John Talmadge said the options do not include changing the alignment because of the timeline and costs associated with making those changes. He said the station location in between the Duke and VA medical centers is the second highest ridership projection, due to the proximity of jobs in this area. He said all other mechanisms to proceed without a cooperative agreement are being explored, and it is unclear how this will all work out. Commissioner Price asked if it will be same with the railroads should they say no. John Talmadge said they are much more confident of reaching an agreement with the railroads, and timing is the bigger issue. Commissioner Price referred to the additional monies that are needed, and asked if Durham County will pick that up. John Talmadge said his staff is talking with Durham about this, but Durham has made no commitments at this time. Commissioner Dorosin said there are deadlines in April and November, and asked if the specifics for each of these deadlines could be clarified.