RENO — Capping six years of acrimonious debate in a 4-3 vote late Tuesday, the Reno City Council approved a $170.7 million contract to design and build a 2.1-mile railroad trench through downtown, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports.
Mayor Jeff Griffin called the vote a “historic moment.”
“We have a chance to heal a scar that has been in this community since 1863,” Griffin said. “Here we are. The debate is over.”
The crowd packing the council’s chamber erupted in cheering applause when Griffin cast the final “yes” to seal the deal. Mike Tracy, who has spent years fighting the project, sat silently shaking his head as the room full of trench supporters stood around him.
Council members Pierre Hascheff, Dave Aiazzi and Sherrie Doyle also voted in favor of awarding the design-build contract to Granite Construction. Council members Toni Harsh, Jessica Sferrazza and David Rigdon voted against the contract.
“I promised my constituency the project cost would be right around $220 million. The answer I got back, after they played around with the numbers all they wanted, they came up with $264 million,” Rigdon said. “The other parameter was that only half the money come from sales tax, that is what I represented to people, now it is 64 percent.”
Tracy, who has taken his fight for a binding public vote on the project to the Nevada Supreme Court, still hopes he will prevail. The court will hear the case Aug. 22.
“The Supreme Court will make a decision as to whether we get to vote on this,” he said.
Before her vote, Doyle announced she had received a phone message Monday threatening her 6-year-old daughter with public ridicule and embarrassment if she continued to support the trench. Doyle said she turned the message over to Reno police, who tracked the number to a local businessman’s office. Doyle said the businessman told investigators he had let a group of trench opponents use his phone on Monday.
Tracy jumped up at the accusation and shouted, “That is a patent lie.”
“I would like people to know the level of animosity that has occurred,” Doyle said. “All I can tell you who are now using my child to change my vote is she is very proud of her mom and she hates those trains because they hurt her ears. I can’t believe the level people have stooped to.”
Doyle said she supports the project because of the jobs it will create and the redevelopment it could spur.
The council vote culminates six years of planning on the $264 million project designed to remove train traffic from the center of downtown by lowering the tracks 33 feet below ground. Bridges would be built across the trench to allow vehicles and pedestrians to cross.
City officials have made six unsuccessful attempts to lower the train tracks, including a 1938 project that was halted by the start of World War II.
Supporters of the trench argue the project is the key to downtown redevelopment and survival in the face of a threatened gaming economy. Critics contend the city has not fully accounted for how much the project will cost and want residents to vote on whether it should proceed.
During two hours of public comment, 28 people spoke in favor of the trench, while 11 spoke against it. Another 24 people turned in comment cards supporting the trench, but did not speak. Two people turned in cards opposing the trench.
Labor union members, developers and downtown workers and business owners spoke in favor of the trench, arguing it will create jobs and turn an eyesore that bisects downtown into a developable corridor.
“Tonight should be a celebration,” said Harry York, president of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce. “You have the money, you have the bids. If you select a contract tonight, you can start digging tomorrow.”
When York asked for a standing ovation in favor of the project, a little more than half of the room stood up to applaud.
A labor union representative also submitted 1,500 signatures supporting the trench.
Trench critics accused the council of failing to listen to the 15,000 citizens who signed a petition to vote on the project.
“Lets not have four people override the will of the people of Reno,” said Dave Carrothers of Reno. “I want the city council to know I believe the ends do not justify the means. I know the four of you think this project is a good idea. But to do it without the vote of the citizens and without the backing of the citizens of Reno is wrong.”
Other critics fear small business owners will be driven out of business during the 3.5-year construction schedule.
Public Works Director Steve Varela had recommended the council approve the $170.7 million design-build contract, saying the city can afford the $245.6 million budget. The city has already spent $18.3 million on the project. A $114 million bond sale is complete and the city has drawn a $50.5 million federal loan to help fund the project.
That debt will be paid over 40 years, which will cost the city more than $450 million in sales and room taxes. A plan to pay off the loan and bonds within 24 years, however, would save about $94 million.
The final budget is 9 percent higher than the first estimate based on engineering specifications and includes a $26 million contingency fund.
Sferrazza and Harsh were concerned about the project’s ever-changing budget and whether the city will be able to afford unforeseen cost increases. Both also support a public vote on the project.
“The only true way we will know the way people feel about this project is to allow people to vote on it,” Sferrazza said.
With two lawsuits involving the project pending before the Nevada Supreme Court and a federal appeals court, Harsh said it would not be “prudent” to sign a construction contract.
City officials began pushing the trench project in 1996, when Union Pacific Railroad merged with Southern Pacific Railroad. The merger is still expected to significantly increase the amount of train traffic through downtown, which could cause more air pollution, traffic problems and safety problems for downtown pedestrians and motorists.
Hascheff said the council must have the “courage and foresight” to solve a problem, even if public opinion is against it.
“(If) the I-80 corridor had no community support, where would we be today if we didn’t have it?” he said. “The McCarran ring road is another example. The community said no. Do we have to wait for a catastrophe before we get community support on these projects?”
Aiazzi said he is satisfied with the project’s budget and the city’s resources to pay for it. He said it will be the council’s job to prevent it from going over budget by cracking down on change orders.
“We can afford everything,” he said. “I believe we should go forward with this and put it to bed.”
An evaluation committee of lawyers, construction experts and city staff awarded Granite Construction’s proposal the “best value” score, rejecting proposals by Bechtel Infrastructure Corp. and Silver Corridor Construction. Granite’s bid was $12 million less than Bechtel and $77 million less than Silver Corridor’s.
The best value score was based 65 percent on price and 35 percent on other design factors, such as how long construction would take and how the contractor would deal with traffic problems.
The city must give Granite a notice to proceed with construction by Sept. 13. Under Granite’s proposal, construction would be finished in 3.5 years. Before construction can begin, the city must finalize several agreements to move utilities, acquire property along the route and secure insurance.
Trench opponents, who gathered 15,000 signatures for an initiative petition prohibiting the trench, still hope Reno residents will have a chance to vote on the project. The Nevada Supreme Court will hear arguments in August on the group’s appeal of Washoe District Judge James Hardesty’s ruling that the petition is unconstitutional.
Hardesty based part of his decision on the fact the petition interferes with a contract between the city and Union Pacific Railroad to build the trench. The Nevada Constitution prohibits laws that would interfere with an existing contract.
Two hours before the city council was to begin discussing the contract with Granite Construction, the Nevada Supreme Court denied trench critics’ request to block the city from signing it until there could be public vote.
“I’m disappointed, but I am not surprised,” said Tracy, director of Citizens for a Public Train Trench Vote. “They don’t feel we gave them a substantial rationale.”
Aiazzi bristled at accusations the council had denied the public a right to vote on the project.
“Mr. Tracy is the one who did not form his petition correctly to allow a public vote,” he said.
Last September, however, Aiazzi voted with a 4-3 majority against putting the project on the November ballot.
Tracy argued that taxpayers would be responsible for the costs if the city were to cancel the construction contract after the vote. City officials could not estimate how much that would cost.
The court chastised Tracy for waiting nearly eight hours after filing the appeal to serve the city with a copy of it.
The court also denied the city’s request that the group post a $100 million bond to protect the city from financial loss due to the appeal.
If the Supreme Court rules against the petition, an advisory question on the trench will be put on the Nov. 5 ballot, but will have no binding affect on the project.