PoPville » Mayor Gray Announces Streetcar Financing & Governance Task Force

Mayor Gray Announces Streetcar Financing & Governance Task Force

Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

From a press release:

Mayor Vincent C. Gray today announced he has established a Streetcar Financing and Governance Task Force to advise him on potential sources of funding and forms of governance for the District of Columbia’s emerging streetcar system.

The 14 member Task Force will be chaired by City Administrator Allen Y. Lew and will include 6 public members, appointed by the Mayor, with expertise in transportation systems design or engineering, public-private development partnerships, project financing and/or economic development.

Mayor Gray today announced he has appointed Jair K. Lynch, President and CEO of JAIR LYNCH Development Partners to serve as Vice Chair of the Task Force. The other public members include Richard H. Bradley, the Executive Director of the Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID); Charles C. “Sandy” Wilkes, Chairman of The Wilkes Company; Matthew J. Klein, President of Akridge; Robert Puentes, a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program; and Ginger Laytham, Senior Executive Officer to the President, CEO and Chairman of Clyde’s Restaurant Group.

The additional members include the Director of DDOT, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, the Director of the Office of Planning, the Chief Financial Officer for the District of Columbia, the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Budget and Finance, the Director of the Department of General Services, and the Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

The Task Force is expected to:

· Provide detailed annual cost estimates for the construction of each portion of the 22-mile priority segments of the planned 37-mile streetcar system, including separate estimates of any streetscape or ancillary improvements associated with construction of the streetcar system;

· Provide detailed annual cost estimates for the operation and maintenance of the streetcar system for at least the first eight (8) years of operation;

· Examine potential sources of funds, including District capital funds, special assessments, tax increment financing, private investments, value capture mechanisms, and federal funds, for the construction of the streetcar system;

· Examine potential financing options for the construction of the streetcar system, including options that minimize the impact of financing on the District’s debt cap;

· Examine potential sources of funds for the operation and maintenance of the streetcar system, including District operating funds, special assessments, fare box revenue, advertising revenue, regional contributions, and federal funds;

· Propose reasonable timelines for the construction of each portion of the streetcar system, based on the funding and financing models;

· Examine potential forms of governance for the construction and operation of the streetcar system, including the establishment of an independent agency; and

· Transmit to the Mayor written reports of its findings and recommendations.

The Task Force will sunset on December 31, 2013.

Category: Transit

By: Prince Of Petworth | 18 October 2012 2:30 PM | 12 Comments

SF

He should appoint a task force to get the H Street line running before charging ahead with the city-wide plan. DDOT has proven completely unable to do this on their own.

October 18, 2012 at 2:37 pm
- dcmonkey
  
  I thought Mayor Gray was not going to let the street cars on H Street as long as he’s in office. Any one else hear about this?
  
  October 19, 2012 at 7:36 am
  - SF
    
    There’s always been speculation that he ultimately wants to kill it, but he has publicly supported it and since becoming mayor the funds have remained in the budget.
    
    October 19, 2012 at 9:23 am
monkeyrotica

1. Buy streetcars, keep them in storage.
2. Start laying streetcar rails, figure out where to stick the car barn.
3. Create a task force to figure out how to pay for everything.
4. ?
5. PROFIT!

October 18, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Anonymous

Mayor Gray should announce a task force to evaluate the results of his task forces.

October 18, 2012 at 3:02 pm
ctk

I’d feel better about this if he had appointed a blue ribbon committee to come up with a list of candidates for the task force.

October 18, 2012 at 3:24 pm
- victoria
  
  Especially if the Blue-ribbon committee comes up with a White Paper.
  
  October 18, 2012 at 3:42 pm
Anonymous

I was going to say something like “the cynic in me sees this as a delaying tactic to avoid having to do anything of substance” but then I saw the comments and see that I’m not alone…

October 18, 2012 at 3:32 pm
annonny

Way to go GARY!!!! Yeah, that task force is gonna fix this street car mess once and for all! And take 14 months to do so, whoo hoo!!!!

October 18, 2012 at 3:40 pm
dave b

while the h street segment is an endless delay, at least gray seems to be trying to expedite the rest of the system which is where the true functionality lies.

the h street line by itself is kind of lack luster what with no real connection to union station. it utililty will increase ten fold once the whole system is in place. the complete system also allows for other, possibly more optimal locations for the car barn that is causing such a headache. i’ll just focus on the good news that is the 22-mile priority system

October 18, 2012 at 4:34 pm
dcmonkey

I thought Mayor Gray was not going to let the street cars on H Street as long as he’s in office. Any one else hear about this?

October 18, 2012 at 9:18 pm
seenitall

Sorry, I don’t see many transit, P3, finance (other than real estate) or similar backgrounds among that group. Not gonna hold my breath waiting for any recommendations worth a damn.

October 19, 2012 at 12:21 pm