December 5, 2018
Dear Mayor Hemminger and Chapel Hill Town Council Members:
Thank you all for taking the important step of asking the Town Manager and Town Attorney to continue negotiating the Cooperative Agreement with GoTriangle.
The modified agreement before you tonight is an improvement over what you saw last week but needs more work in several key areas.
The importance of working out a strong agreement for the Town and its constituents is underscored by the significant concerns that have been raised about GoTriangle’s management of the project and the many uncertainties that remain concerning the availability of local, state, and federal funding for the project. In addition, you’ve heard the concerns raised by Durham business interests, Duke University, neighbors of the proposed ROMF, including Chapel Hill citizens about noise, at-grade crossings, flooding, and the lack of answers to your questions.
At the same time, neither the Town Council nor the Chapel Hill public have been provided with the same level of information the groups mentioned above have used to assess the types and levels of impact and risk that this agreement is meant to address. This can be readily seen when reading the Supplemental EIS, where noise and congestion impacts are carefully analyzed for the City of Durham. That same level of analysis is absent for the impacts of the ROMF (on the edge of Durham County) or for impacts on Chapel Hill schools and residences.
For these reasons, we request that you consider the following before voting to allow the manager to sign the agreement:
1. Adjust the date in the terms of the agreement by tying It to the project timeline as follows: This Agreement shall become effective on the last date executed below and shall continue in force until terminated by written agreement between the Parties. If GoTriangle has not obtained a Full-funding Grant Agreement (“FFGA”) from FTA for the Project by November 30, 2019, the Greement shall terminate as of that date. Any extension of this Agreement beyond this date will require a written revision of this Agreement as stipulated in Section C below.
State law requires that to be eligible for state funding, the project must have a full funding federal grant agreement by November 30, 2019. If federal funds are approved by that date, the agreement should continue. If federal funding is not approved, no state funds will be provided and the project will not proceed. In this case, the agreement should terminate to give Chapel Hill and other participants an opportunity to evaluate the best path forward for effective regional transit. Chapel Hill should not be bound in an agreement with GoTriangle for two more years. If state law is changed to do away with the November 30, 2019 deadline, the agreement can be amended and remain in effect.
- Strengthen wording to better protect Town and constituent interests. The stronger the standards you set, the better the outcome for the Town and its taxpayers. We urge council to look closely at the document to make certain that language around meeting Town standards is strong and clear.In several instances, the agreement says Town standards “may” apply, not that they “will” or “shall” apply. Here is one example from the section on Applicability of Town Requirements:- “traction power substations (TSPS) “may be subject to Town zoning”. Certificates of Appropriateness “may be required…”
In this and similar instances in the Agreement, the wording should be changed from “may” to “will” or “shall.”
In other cases, the wording sets aside determination to a later evaluation or discussion:
– “During final design, the parties will evaluate the applicability of the Town’s noise ordinance”. (Section on Applicability of Town Requirements)
– “The Town agrees to assist GoTriangle in resolving any conflicting state or town stormwater design requirements” should be changed to “follow Town standards”. (Stormwater Design)
When can we expect those evaluations and determinations to be made? Will the Council as well as the Manager review them?
- Council and the public must understand what the Town is agreeing to in the section entitled “Facility Maintenance Post Construction”.This section of the agreement begins with a lengthy list of costly maintenance items and ends with a statement that Town staff and GoTriangle are still negotiating “the procedures that will need to be followed in order for some facilities constructed by GoTriangle to be formally accepted by the Town.”It has been our understanding that maintenance costs for the light rail system would be covered by the dedicated transit tax and fare revenues, not by the Town. The Town should not accept an ongoing, costly maintenance responsibility for the DOLRT facilities..
Is it clear what is agreed to here? How will it affect the town’s tight budget?4. Add milestones and a public engagement component to the 90% design process rather than waiting to look at 90% plans. We suggest this wording: Due to significant changes in design since Spring of 2018, both the public and the Town shall be given access to 50%, 75% and 90% design plans which include drawings, special provisions, supplemental technical specifications, and updated quantity take-offs. The 90% design plans shall be essentially complete……
GoTriangle scheduled an information session on the Cooperative Agreement on the same day they are asking for approval from you. Realistically, we don’t see how any public input could be taken into consideration. The Council needs more time to consider this agreement to give GoTriangle real opportunity to reflect the concerns of Chapel Hill.
- The Funding Agreement caps expenses at $75,000. Is this sufficient? How does it compare to Durham’s agreement(s)? Also, the following wording leaves Chapel Hill on the hook for consultant costs and should be changed to ensure that the Town will be reimbursed.
“The parties shall cooperate as necessary to amend the Final Design Review Reimbursement Agreement… to reimburse the Town for all expenses…..” (Section on Interim Design Review
- Change wording to reflect the full cost of the system. The projected cost in Section C of the Recitals (DOLRT) of the agreement should include interest and loan repayment costs in the budget figure. This brings the total to about $3.4 billion (not 2.47 billion for the ‘official’ portion filed with the FTA) because it includes $900 million that GoTriangle has already cited in public reports. The interest and repayments costs are to be paid by Orange and Durham Counties.
As these changes are substantive in nature, we request that the agreement come back before the Council and the public before approval is given to the manager to sign. There is plenty of time to meet the Town’s obligations if this review occurs in January.
Finally, the Manager can ensure a framework of accountability and steps for the public to participate at key points by adopting a protocol or a resolution that will describe how the public and the council can give input during the planning and construction phases. Separate suggestions will be shared this evening.
We appreciate your careful consideration and action on these items so as to better protect and represent the interests of Chapel Hill and to lay the groundwork for a more effective working relationship with GoTriangle.
Sincerely,
These signers:
Julie McClintock, Charles Berlin, Tony and Deb Blake, Christy Bowman, Ann and Bill Brashear, Linda Brown, Alex Cabanes, Christy Bowman, Maria De Bruyn, Julie Dickson, Glen H. Elder, Jr., Silvia Clements, Tamra Finn, Debbie Finn, Lindsay Garrison, Karen B. Green, Joan Guilkey, Cheri Hardman, Bonnie Hauser, Tom Henkel, Bruce Henschel, Charles Humble, Rudy Juliano, Fred Lampe, Ken Larsen, Scott and Sarah Madry, Brenda McCall, Molly McConnell, John Morris, Jeff Prather, David Schwartz, Alan N. Snavely, Del Snow, Dimitri Trembath, Sandy Turbeville, James Valentine, Diane Willis, Neva Whybark , Laura Zuger and additional signers as they come in.
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