Item:
Title
Consideration to Discontinue the Durham-Orange County Light Rail Project (10min)
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: April 8, 2019
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested consider discontinuing the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project as recommended by the Go Triangle Board of Trustees. This action will satisfy the requirements of the lnterlocal Cost Sharing Agreement for the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project by formally discontinuing the project and beginning a process to reallocate funds that had been allocated to the light rail project through an amended Durham County Transit Plan.
On March 27, 2019, the GoTriangle Board of Trustees voted unanimously to recommend that the cost-sharing partners in Durham and Orange counties and the Durham - Chapel Hill - Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization discontinue the light-rail project.
According to a statement issued by GoTriangle, the Federal Transit Administration informed GoTriangle leadership that due the continued uncertainty with Duke University, the North Carolina Railroad, and additional environmental assessment needed for the downtown Durham changes, it is no longer practical to anticipate that the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project will receive a Full Funding Grant Agreement by November 2019. This means the project would not be able to meet the November 30 deadline set by the North Carolina General Assembly and therefore would no longer be eligible for any State funding.
The lnterlocal Cost Sharing Agreement for the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project (Attachment 1) prescribes a decision-making process when funding becomes unavailable. It requires the parties to the agreement to meet within fifteen (15) business days to determine how to address the situation. One of the options available to the cost share partners is to discontinue the project. If this option is chosen, the Agreement stipulates that the Staff Working Group comprised of representatives from each County, GoTriangle, and the Durham - Chapel Hill - Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization shall convene within twenty (20) business days to begin the process of developing new Transit Plans that reallocate the dedicated transit revenue that had been allocated to the light rail project.
The legal counsels and representatives for each of the parties to the lnterlocal Cost Share Agreement have agreed that a vote by the full Board of County Commissioners will satisfy the requirements of the Cost Sharing Agreement. This action will formally discontinue the project and begin the process of amending the Durham County Transit Plan.
Alignment with Strategic Plan: This agenda item supports Goal 5: Accountable, Efficient and Visionary Government.
Resource Persons: Wendell Davis, County Manager
County Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that the Board Discontinue the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project and authorize staff to begin developing a process to amend the Durham County Transit Plan.
Signature
County Manager: ____________________________