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33 1 Commissioner McKee said there is no limitation on the types of transit options the 2 County can pursue. He said there are any number of combinations, and also sees the need for 3 services to the rural/underserved areas of the County. He said he is excited to see what can be 4 accomplished. 5 Travis Myren said the only limits are imagination and resources. 6 Commissioner Marcoplos said the transportation challenge has not gone away. He said 7 there are future unmet needs, and this transit tax money will be utilized for the good. 8 Chair Rich referred to Pittsboro in Chatham County, where the bus service is a non- 9 profit and the Orange Chatham Work group has been talking about this going public. 10 Chair Rich said she talked with John Roberts about the original partners of the transit 11 plan, and said all were at the discussion table, which will continue. 12 Chair Rich said the meeting yesterday with the partners was yesterday afternoon, with 13 some present and some called in; and they talked about having the public involved in every 14 step going forward. 15 Commissioner Marcoplos ran down the 5 major hurdles that nixed the light rail project: 16 17 • Duke University— in 2017 Trask sent a letter of support, but at the last 18 minute they sent a letter that said they never supported the plan. This made 19 Duke a disingenuous partner. 20 • NC Railroad —they made them jump through hoops (money to be paid to 21 them to be in the ROWs) 22 • State legislature- did everything they could to knee cap the project- 23 Rising costs due to voluntary effort - unexpected FTA contingency 24 requirements 25 Federal shutdown 26 27 Commissioner Marcoplos said the Board has a lot to think about to fill the void that this 28 project leaves: economic development (developers prefer light rail over BRT); jobs; issues of 29 environment and health; housing and social equity around station areas; less parking, etc. 30 Commissioner Marcoplos said the most effective rapid transit that can be relied upon to 31 provide fixed duration trips must be located outside the general road traffic. He questioned 32 whether BRT solutions can be designed that minimizes BRT creep. He said the UNC hospital 33 area is busiest transit node on the route, with Duke Hospital being similar. He said fitting in new 34 modes of transit into these already very busy areas will be a challenge. He said connecting the 35 three universities was a key accomplishment of the LRT route design, and the Board must 36 remain committed to a regional transit plan while continuing to strengthen the local in-County 37 systems. He said the ongoing collaboration between Orange County partners must continue. 38 Commissioner Greene said, from her perspective, the following has been lost: 39 • DOLRT was part of a larger vision for the region to shape development and expand 40 mobility 41 0 Connection of the three universities and various hospital systems 42 • Downtown Durham —employment destination for Orange County residents and vice 43 versa 44 • Expansion of realistic job opportunities 45 • Affordable housing strategies around rail stations 46 • Economic benefits for all of Orange County 47 48 Commissioner Greene said she is sorry for the classes that students will not be able to 49 take due to the lack of light rail.