Proposal would commit $2 to $3 million a year in flexible funds to mass transit corridors, Milwaukie line
Scrambling to fill a hole in the budget for the region’s next MAX line, TriMet and Metro staff are asking regional leaders to spend additional money on the Milwaukie light rail project and planning for two more public transit corridors.
The Metro and TriMet proposal would borrow against an expected $2 million to $3 million a year in Regional Flexible Funds to generate $27.4 million for the Milwaukie project, $6 million for planning mass transit between Portland and Lake Oswego and $6 million for planning a project along the Oregon 99W/Barbur Boulevard corridor. That adds to $72.5 million already allocated to the Milwaukie project from the flexible funds program.
The proposal appears to be the most controversial item on the agenda at Thursday’s meeting of the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation, or JPACT, a panel of policymakers that controls spending of federal transportation money in the region. The committee has already planned to call an emergency meeting Sept. 16 to continue the discussion in case it can’t come to an agreement on Thursday.
The idea divided transportation policy advisers and citizens on the Transportation Policy Alternatives Committee, which advises JPACT. In an 8-to-9 vote, the panel on Friday rejected an effort led by Multnomah County to approve money for the Milwaukie project, without the money for the corridors.
Later, in a 13-4 vote, TPAC endorsed the funding plan with the Milwaukie line and the corridors. Four who voted with Multnomah County in the first vote voted for the larger package in the second vote.
Members representing Multnomah County, small cities in the county and some citizen members said they were worried that borrowing the money would commit too much of the region’s resources to light rail expansion. Some raised concerns about light rail expansion at a time of service cuts to all public transit. They voted to endorse the proposal – but only for the Milwaukie line funding, not the corridor planning.
“Multnomah County continues to support light rail,” said Jane McFarland, the county’s alternate member on TPAC. “But we need to think about whether we’re going to be able to continue to be as aggressive as we have been.”
Members of TPAC from Portland, Clackamas and Washington counties said they support the staff proposal.
“It’s a regional system and it’s a regional benefit,” said Nancy Kraushaar, with the City of Oregon City. “We’re all in this together.”
Paul Smith, a planner with the City of Portland, said the real issue is the need for a dedicated funding source for mass transit projects such as light rail.
The federal money, known as Regional Flexible Funds, is already contributing to the Milwaukie project and has often been used for planning new public transit corridors across the Portland area. On July 8, JPACT committed $2 million a year in 2014 and 2015 to planning future mass transit corridors, and both the Lake Oswego and Oregon 99W/Barbur corridors were called out as high priorities in a 2035 Regional Transportation Plan approved earlier this year.
But the $2 million a year commitment was only approved for those two years. The TriMet and Metro proposal would borrow against that money through 2027, essentially locking up that money each year to pay off the debt for 16 years. It would also boost the annual contribution to $3 million a year starting in 2016.
Metro’s Andy Cotugno and TriMet’s David Unsworth said their proposal meets an urgent need for money to help the Milwaukie project and offers a smart way to speed planning for two corridors the region has identified as high priority.
The $1.4 billion Milwaukie project is short $137 million, since the Federal Transit Administration decided it would only pay for 50 percent of the project’s cost, rather than the 60 percent share it has paid for other Portland-area light rail lines. To fill the budget gap, TriMet and project partners have identified $90 million in potential cuts from the project’s budget and raise another $90 million from Metro and local agencies. Two dollars of project costs must be cut for every dollar of local revenue not raised toward the shortfall to account for the 50 percent federal match formula.
Action on the Milwaukie line’s budget is urgently needed, Unsworth said. Planners have to show the transit administration how they will meet the new budget constraints, including changes to the project, by Sept. 30, identify local financial commitments by Sept. 20. Drawing up plans that quickly is necessary so TriMet can hire construction crews and get them started building a light rail bridge over the Willamette River July 1- Oct. 31. Those are the only four months of the year when construction is allowed in the river, to reduce the risk of harming endangered salmon.
“We’re on the precipice of missing a year,” Unsworth said. “That’s why time is money and moving quickly is important.”
Delaying bridge construction by a year could raise the cost of the project by $20 million to $30 million – costs that would need to be covered without federal help, Unsworth said. It would also mean a MAX line opening in 2016 rather than 2015. The additional costs could come from more interest payments on construction bonds. The cost of labor and materials – currently low because of the recession – may also rise in later years.
TriMet proposes a variety of cuts to the project to reduce costs. It is considering building surface parking lots at Tacoma Street and Park Avenue instead of parking garages; not installing switch heaters that keep the line operational during heavy winter storms; building the bridge without pedestrian overlooks and other elements that a design advisory group had recommended.
Issuing bonds to pay for planning the Lake Oswego and Oregon 99W corridors is not as urgent as the money needed for the Milwaukie project, Cotugno said. But it would help prepare those projects to receive federal money for construction years earlier than they would otherwise. Issuing bonds with the larger Milwaukie construction bond would also save financing costs, Unsworth said.
JPACT meets Thursday from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Metro Council Chambers, 600 NE Grand Ave. in Portland.