Minutes 04-02-2019 Regular Meeting

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33 remain committed to a regional transit plan while continuing to strengthen the local in-County systems. He said the ongoing collaboration between Orange County partners must continue. Commissioner Greene said, from her perspective, the following has been lost: • DOLRT was part of a larger vision for the region to shape development and expand mobility • Connection of the three universities and various hospital systems • Downtown Durham — employment destination for Orange County residents and vice versa • Expansion of realistic job opportunities • Affordable housing strategies around rail stations • Economic benefits for all of Orange County Commissioner Greene said she is sorry for the classes that students will not be able to take due to the lack of light rail. Commissioner Greene said the need still exists, and for right now she is just sad. She said this is a fast growing area, and Orange County needs to share the responsibility for keeping up with the growth. Commissioner Bedford said she thought that this evening's PowerPoint laid out a good plan, and it would be very helpful for her and others to have an information session on how all of the transportation entities work, and if any changes need to be made. She said she has seen a lot of confusion amongst the public, and some clarity would be helpful regarding the taxes, as well as future transportation plan timelines. Commissioner McKee said he has been involved with this project for about 9 years, and Duke, the railroads and the federal government did causes problems, but there is a lot of blame to go around on this project, including GoTriangle and the Durham and Orange counties' BOCCs. He said GoTriangle repeatedly provided a rosy picture that was false, and the county boards should have pushed back harder on GoTriangle. He said this project failed under its own weight, and has continued to reduce services and increase costs since 2010. He said he is not concerned about what developers want, but rather is concerned about Orange County residents who do not have a car. He said LRT is an alternative option for those who also have cars, and the County needs transportation for those who have absolutely none. Commissioner McKee said Chatham County must be part of these discussions going forward, as the area south of Orange County is only going to keep growing. Commissioner McKee said the challenge for him is to address transportation going forward in a way that gives Orange County control over any plan, not Go Triangle. He said there should no longer be weighted voting, and changes need to occur, not only with the service, but also the governance and decision making processes. Commissioner Dorosin said going forward it is important to keep in mind that the Board is developing a regional system, which is different from addressing the needs of rural residents of Orange County. He said it must be clear that it is not a one size that fits all plan, but the regional plans are the most critical. He said he takes issue with blaming the counties, and should recognize that the partners in Durham stepped up to the plate financially when Orange County could not. He said Duke made representations that everyone believed, and if Duke had remained supportive, he believes this project would have gone forward. He said a regional system is not going to serve every person in the County, and everyone should go into the next phase with this understanding. Commissioner Marcoplos said in the spring of 2017, when they created the cost sharing agreement, he saw the communication problems with Go Triangle. He said he saw a positive difference in the communication when John Talmadge became involved. Commissioner Marcoplos said GoTriangle was asked if it could cut costs, and it said three cars will not be needed until 2040, and could reduce to 2 cars. He said the question of