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34 1 Commissioner Greene said the need still exists, and for right now she is just sad. She 2 said this is a fast growing area, and Orange County needs to share the responsibility for 3 keeping up with the growth. 4 Commissioner Bedford said she thought that this evening's PowerPoint laid out a good 5 plan, and it would be very helpful for her and others to have an information session on how all 6 of the transportation entities work, and if any changes need to be made. She said she has 7 seen a lot of confusion amongst the public, and some clarity would be helpful regarding the 8 taxes, as well as future transportation plan timelines. 9 Commissioner McKee said he has been involved with this project for about 9 years, and 10 Duke, the railroads and the federal government did causes problems, but there is a lot of blame 11 to go around on this project, including GoTriangle and the Durham and Orange counties' 12 BOCCs. He said GoTriangle repeatedly provided a rosy picture that was false, and the county 13 boards should have pushed back harder on GoTriangle. He said this project failed under its 14 own weight, and has continued to reduce services and increase costs since 2010. He said he 15 is not concerned about what developers want, but rather is concerned about Orange County 16 residents who do not have a car. He said LRT is an alternative option for those who also have 17 cars, and the County needs transportation for those who have absolutely none. 18 Commissioner McKee said Chatham County must be part of these discussions going 19 forward, as the area south of Orange County is only going to keep growing. 20 Commissioner McKee said the challenge for him is to address transportation going 21 forward in a way that gives Orange County control over any plan, not Go Triangle. He said 22 there should no longer be weighted voting, and changes need to occur, not only with the 23 service, but also the governance and decision making processes. 24 Commissioner Dorosin said going forward it is important to keep in mind that the Board 25 is developing a regional system, which is different from addressing the needs of rural residents 26 of Orange County. He said it must be clear that it is not a one size that fits all plan, but the 27 regional plans are the most critical. He said he takes issue with blaming the counties, and 28 should recognize that the partners in Durham stepped up to the plate financially when Orange 29 County could not. He said Duke made representations that everyone believed, and if Duke had 30 remained supportive, he believes this project would have gone forward. He said a regional 31 system is not going to serve every person in the County, and everyone should go into the next 32 phase with this understanding. 33 Commissioner Marcoplos said in the spring of 2017, when they created the cost sharing 34 agreement, he saw the communication problems with Go Triangle. He said he saw a positive 35 difference in the communication when John Talmadge became involved. 36 Commissioner Marcoplos said GoTriangle was asked if it could cut costs, and it said 37 three cars will not be needed until 2040, and could reduce to 2 cars. He said the question of 38 two lanes was in the area of the New Hope Creek, and the bridge across it was to be one lane, 39 not the entire track. He said the trains could be timed to not need to cross the bridge at the 40 same time. He said these examples of creativity should earn GoTriangle credit, not criticism. 41 He said the weighted voting did not impede the purchase of buses, or the BRT funding. He said 42 the weighted voting was based on population. 43 Commissioner Price said she will not blame anyone, and it is important to review what 44 happened, but also be ready to move ahead with a regional transportation plan. She said it is 45 also important to take seriously the needs of local Orange County residents. She said she took 46 issue with the LRT plan focusing so greatly on getting to Durham, and lacking focus on Chapel 47 Hill and other Orange County locations. 48 Commissioner McKee agreed with the need for regional transit planning, and believes 49 there is enough funding to create regional and local service. He said those residents lacking 50 any transportation options cannot be left behind, and the LRT would have done exactly that.