The Politics<\/strong>
\nCost isn\u2019t the only issue facing transit. Two of the County Commissioners, Paul Coble and Tony Gurley, are running for other offices.\u00a0 Three commissioners \u2014 James West, Erv Portman and Betty Lou Ward \u2014 have terms expiring at the end of this year, which may mean running for re-election amid conversations about this tax referendum.<\/p>\nHowever, whether based on visions of re-election or not, Commissioners Ward and West both expressed enthusiasm for moving forward this year.<\/p>\n
Ward called it \u201clong overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should already have rail on the way. It\u2019s not a money maker, well no, but it is a people mover,\u201d Ward said. \u201cAs our population continues to grow, we need to have additional transit,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope that as we move along, the guys on our board will agree with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Commissioner West said they need four votes to make it happen, which means there will be a lot more discussion before a decision is made. But he hopes it\u2019s in favor of transit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it will take some further discussion and some consensus as to how much we can do now and what we will do later,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel that if we\u2019re going to be competitive and stay on the cutting edge with the cost of fuel and so many other factors, that the county along with the city and municipalities must make some kind of decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coble, the Commission chair, said he is not prepared to discuss the issue, calling the plan \u201cincomplete.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have quite a ways to go before we have all the feedback we want to have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But he also questioned whether the feedback will be complete in time. He suggested the media is to blame for pushing a referendum this fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody\u2019s pushing this thing off the board,\u201d he said. \u201cThe kind of money you\u2019re talking about, it\u2019s not something you hurry through in a happenstance sort of way and that\u2019s not a way to go about having a logical and open discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commission Vice-Chair Phil Matthews refused to commit on one side of the issue or another.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now we\u2019re still at the information gathering time,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom my standpoint, I don\u2019t see rushing anything. We\u2019ll never get another chance back at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner Erv Portman gave a similar answer, saying \u201ca lot of it comes down to whether we feel like we have buy-in from municipalities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Municipal Feedback<\/strong>
\nUnder terms of the legislation, each of the counties must approve a financial plan that lists projects and the funding sources that\u2019ll be used to build and operate them.\u00a0 On their tour, Cooke and King are discussing the plan\u2019s status, what the plan covers for the particular municipality and next steps toward completing the plan before it goes to the Wake Commissioners for action.<\/p>\nThose steps include an interlocal agreement to be signed by each municipality. Although not required by law to put the half-cent tax increase on the ballot, county and Triangle Transit staff agreed it is best to take this step before the referendum is voted upon by County Commissioners.<\/p>\n
Of course, some municipality leaders like the plan and some don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Rolesville Mayor Frank Eagles said he is not very happy with the proposal so far. Eagles, who calls himself a \u201chuge railroad fan,\u201d loves the plan overall, but said he could not vote for it as is because of one thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey left out of the plan the commuter rail to Wake Forest,\u201d he said. \u201cRolesville will not vote for any transit plan that leaves the commuter rail to Wake Forest out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such a commuter rail line will help ease the clogged Capitol Boulevard corridor, he said.<\/p>\n
Cooke said those types of criticisms are expected in this round of discussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a draft plan that\u2019s on the table and that\u2019s what we\u2019re communicating to different municipalities,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to get feedback and the scrutiny, so that when we finalize the plan that\u2019s what we\u2019d take around for endorsement.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reason for the lack of commuter rail to Wake Forest is that studies indicated more people would ride commuter rail from Garner to Durham. The idea is to get ridership first and then expand out, Cooke said.<\/p>\n
The Record called all 12 mayors. Of those, seven said they approved of the plan and would likely vote in favor of it. Two said they would not vote for it. Two would not say and one could not be reached.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span> If the proposal were put before you tomorrow, would you vote for it?<\/strong><\/center>
\nApex | Keith Weatherly \u2013 No
\nCary | Harold Weinbrecht \u2013 Yes
\nGarner | Ronnie Williams \u2013 Yes
\nHolly Springs | Dick Sears \u2013 Yes
\nKnightdale | Russell Killen \u2013 Yes
\nFuquay-Varina | John Byrne \u2013 Did not say
\nMorrisville | Jackie Holcombe \u2013 Yes
\nRaleigh | Nancy McFarlane \u2013 Yes
\nRolesville | Frank Eagles – No
\nWake Forest | Vivian Jones \u2013 Yes
\nWendell | Timothy Hinnant \u2013 Did not say
\nZebulon | Robert S. Matheny \u2013 Did not return Record phone calls <\/span><\/div>\nKnightdale Mayor Russell Killen said he would vote for the plan \u2014 despite the fact that his town will see no additional transit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth is Knightdale isn\u2019t going to get too much direct benefit,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a region, we certainly need improved and increased transit options. All of us drive on I-40. It\u2019s not just transit. Part of what we need to do as a region is to recruit and retain people … to help drive our business community. Over the long term it really is a benefit for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Timing<\/strong>
\nEfforts to get area leaders on board might be moot if something holds up the plan. The idea is to put the referendum before voters this November. But to get it on the ballot, County Commissioners must take action no later than July, according to Wake County Board of Elections Director Cherie Poucher<\/p>\nCooke said this round of municipal talks will finish in April or May. He expects it will take another two or three months to get the interlocal agreements signed.<\/p>\n
Cook said he didn\u2019t know for sure if they would make the deadline to get the referendum on the ballot. \u201cIt\u2019s possible, right?\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cI think everybody understands the challenge and the difficulty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schulz said it\u2019s up the county staff, working with Triangle Transit and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization<\/a>, to decide when the issue would come back to the Commission.<\/p>\nUltimately, the future of transit is up to the voters.<\/p>\n
As Schulz put it: \u201cThe question will be: are voters willing to spend a nickel on a $10 purchase to make an investment in transit service that will have a profound impact on families and the region? Voters will get to make that choice.\u00a0 We\u2019re not deciding for them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Transit advocates are pushing for a fall referendum asking voters to approve a half-cent sales tax increase. The money would be spent to improve transit in Wake County, starting with buses and commuter rail. But getting the referendum on the ballot this fall is a delicate balance of timing and politics. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24025,"featured_media":4076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,23,14],"tags":[106,453,451,376,450,452,1865,454],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10184"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24025"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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