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4 55 Heidi Perry: The transit tax was not only dedicated for light rail; it was for all transit. 56 57 David Laudicina: Light rail was the largest component. I think people voted for that money with the thought that the light rail 58 is going to be coming along. 59 60 Jenn Sykes: I think part of your point is that during those light rail discussions Hillsborough was not incorporated into that 61 commute and for it to hit Mebane, Hillsborough is a logical stop on that commuter line. 62 63 David Laudicina: We have this money that we voted for, and it would be nice if we could get a commuter rail stop extension 64 out to Hillsborough. 65 66 Erik Broo: There is a spur, I think, UNC uses to bring coal down to its power plant. Has there been a discussion or can 67 there be a discussion about using that as a commuter-rail line for anyone who wants to get to the UNC campus from 68 Raleigh, Durham, Cary, or Hillsborough? I would be interested to learn how this goes and when incorporating Chapel Hill 69 into this. 70 71 Theo Letman: That's a good point and we will bring that up. There were discussions in the meeting and we have ongoing 72 meetings with staff and GoTriangle. We have discussed spurs and different lines that could feed into the main line, but 73 there are a lot of issues with railroads. CSX and Norfolk Southern are at the meetings and have agreements with Amtrak 74 and the North Carolina Railroad to run across their track. 75 76 Nish Trivedi: Theo, please, correct me when I speak about this. Capital Area Metropolitan Planning (CAMPO)and Durham 77 ECAC-MPO has conducted a major investment study,the MIS study regarding commuter rail. The study was completed 78 earlier regarding Wake and Durham, and is being revisited to include Orange,Alamance, and Johnston Counties regarding 79 the Mebane to Selma extension. There's a lot of work that needs to be done in conducting and improving upon the already 80 conducted major investment study that has been done between Campo and Durham for the commuter rail project. As work 81 continues in the region that would be incorporated into the new transit planning. Wake, Orange, and Durham are all 82 updating their transit plans while the major investment study is being done; commuter rail is just one component of all of 83 that. 84 85 Theo Letman: This study is just beginning. Getting all the partners and entities together is a vital first step. 86 87 David Laudicina: Will this project be a new start if they are going for federal money? 88 89 Theo Letman: I think that's one of the funding streams they will look at. 90 91 David Laudicina: That's 50 percent, and the length of time to get that is unbelievable. What will the legislature going to do 92 to this project? Are they going to nail it like they did the light rail? 93 94 Theo Letman: There are lots of issues and concerns, but in my observation everyone is at the table. We are all open to 95 ideas and expressing our concerns for our advocacy. So far so good. 96 97 Erik Broo: Are there any public access meetings concerning the new transit plan and the commuter rail discussion? 98 99 Theo Letman: I don't think we have discussed that initial meeting yet. 100 101 Tom Altieri: We will be embarking on a 1 to 2 year process to develop that transit plan and anticipate consulting services to 102 assist. The meetings that were originally conducted and the outreach we anticipate to be of the same magnitude as part of 103 this plan. Although not a new plan, it is a review of the plans that have been done and then building on services in the plans 104 to address what would be done and how to integrate services in the absence of light rail. Part of the outreach will include 105 educating the community on the finances. The light rail was financed to a significant degree and was cost shared with 106 Durham. Durham collects more money from the sales tax revenue so it will be able to do more with what it has left over in 107 the absence of light rail. Orange County is different and we also have the Chapel Hill transit BRT project that we will have to 108 fund in addition to services provided by the previous plans. We anticipate additional services as part of the effort.