GRAPEVINE -- Six years after Grapevine voters agreed to raise the sales tax to bring a commuter rail to town, some city leaders say they're frustrated with the lack of information about funding for the project and now regret getting involved.
"I can tell you this. If I could pull Grapevine out of it or re-vote it, I would," said Mayor William D. Tate during a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission Dec. 18. "I understand that we don't have that option."Discussion of the TEX Rail/Cotton Belt project became heated as officials from the North Central Texas Council of Governments updated Grapevine officials on their recent progress in finding alternative sources of funding for the proposed rail line.The project is being developed in two, simultaneous phases. Grapevine officials have been involved in the first phase essentially from day one.In the first phase, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, also known as the T, is building a 37-mile portion of the project from southwest Fort Worth to Grapevine and the north end of DFW Airport, and is applying to the Federal Transit Administration to cover up to half of the estimated $960 million cost.Grapevine voters in 2006 agreed to raise their sales taxes by 3/8-cent to pay their share of TEX Rail. As of September, the T had collected $37.9 million from Grapevine.The second phase of funding is more complicated, and involves a project spearheaded by the council of governments, which is the region's official planning body. That phase is known as the Cotton Belt Initiative, and it involves using private developers to extend the TEX Rail line another 25 miles northeast of DFW Airport to Plano or Wylie. Under that plan, private investment in the commuter rail line would be repaid by capturing property values along the commuter rail route, which is expected to stimulate transit-oriented development.Details of the Cotton Belt initiative, which also could involve luring a rail car manufacturer to the region, have been kept largely under wraps. Elected leaders and others in the region have been required to sign confidentiality agreements to review details of the plan. Council of governments officials say they'll likely publicize those details in early to mid-January.Frustration about that secrecy spilled over during Grapevine's joint meeting, where Council of governments officials had hoped city leaders would approve a resolution supporting the Cotton Belt Initiative. Instead, Grapevine officials agreed unanimously to table any action on the interlocal agreement, which would have given the council of governments the go ahead for completing the financing."There's a lot of questions. I'm discouraged right now. This looks to me like we're changing the process," Tate said, noting that the city's sales tax money continues to pour into the project. "There's a lot of questions. We're into this thing for $50 million where we ... can't get out of it.""If we're changing the project, then maybe I want to get out right now," Tate said. "So there's a lot of questions I have and I resent the fact that this has been submitted just for a rubber stamp ..."Council of governments and T officials attempted to assuage concerns."We would not have this project if not for Grapevine," said Dick Ruddell, president of the T.Kevin Feldt, council of governments program manager, said the project was in the preliminary engineering phase and that "positive things were going on."Councilman Chris Coy asked if it was probable that "trains would be rolling in 2016" and was assured by Ruddell and Feldt that the date was realistic.But Councilwoman Darlene Freed took exception to the timeline, noting that it had been pushed back many times over the years.Councilwoman Sharron Spencer also joined the fray, saying, "We have a lot of money in this and it looks like we're getting the short end of the stick, not just on time but on some other things, and I think the mayor's exactly right."The Regional Transportation Council, an arm of the council of governments, is expected to discuss the Tex Rail/Cotton Belt project again during its next regular meeting Jan. 10.Marty Sabota, 817-431-2231Gordon Dickson, 817-390-7796
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