(The following story by James Miller appeared on the Daytona News-Journal website on December 19.)
DELAND, Fla. — The proposed Central Florida commuter rail system got a renewed go-ahead from the Volusia County Council on Thursday, when the council revoked a month-old protective amendment opposed by state transportation officials.
With a 6-1 vote, the council undid the amendment it adopted Nov. 13 in response to county attorneys’ concerns that taxpayers could get stuck with millions of dollars in debt even if the proposed commuter system never begins operations.
The county, subsequently, received written assurances meant to alleviate those concerns.
While repealing the amendment, the council also affirmed a one-year extension of another agreement with its partners in the proposed 61.5-mile system, which eventually would connect DeLand with metropolitan Orlando.
The extension was needed to give the state Legislature time to hammer out a controversial deal that would apportion financial responsibility for accidents. The Legislature declined to sign off on that agreement this spring but is expected to take another crack during its 2009 regular session, which starts in March.
“It is something that I think we do have to risk and be willing to take that risk to make it happen,” Councilwoman Joie Alexander said of the more than $1 billion project, which has been projected to cost Volusia County more than $140 million over 30 years. “I don’t believe it is done foolishly.”
Councilman Jack Hayman cast the dissenting vote, saying he had too many unanswered questions about the long-term operating costs of the system.
Indeed, much discussion Thursday involved the merits of the system, rather than the legal language the council repealed.
The language would have prohibited the Florida Department of Transportation from issuing $173 million in bonds to buy the rail corridor without first having legislative approval of the financial liability arrangement.
The commuter rail project requires the state to buy the rail corridor from Jacksonville-based CSX Transportation.
But CSX plans to lease the tracks part time for freight after the sale. And, in the agreement negotiated between DOT and CSX, the Legislature has to adopt language to shield CSX from much liability for accidents involving commuters before a commuter system can operate.
Volusia County attorneys had sought to explicitly prevent DOT and CSX from advancing the corridor sale without the guarantee the train could go on the tracks.
State transportation officials had said they did not intend to buy a corridor that couldn’t be used. None of the other partners had adopted the language, either, and the mutual agreement has to be identical.
With help from U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, the county secured letters from DOT and CSX intended to alleviate those concerns by committing to not prematurely closing on the sale.
Apparently, they worked.
The council also got a political push from a cadre of rail boosters that included Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and representatives from the Central Florida Partnership, an Orlando-based business group, and Mica’s office. Mica was in Tallahassee on Thursday, in part, to urge Gov. Charlie Crist’s support of the required liability arrangement.
The local push drew something of a rebuke from Volusia Councilman Carl Persis, who voted with the majority but raised serious questions about the commuter system’s ridership and long-term funding prospects.
Persis said he expects Volusia officials eventually will face raising taxes to subsidize the system.
“I’m going to bring everybody back to this day, to this day right now, when everybody was here waving the flag for commuter rail. You better be raising that flag to raise your taxes. OK?” Persis said. “Let’s be serious about it, because this isn’t going to be cheap. It’s going to be more than what it’s projected to be. You can bank on that.”