Tri-Met's agenda -- mostly about more rail to nowhere
Here's an interesting document from Portland's insolvent transit agency. It lays out some spending plans for its federal handouts over the next fiscal year, about $185 million in all. The list appears to be required by some federal law, because the Tri-Metters seem to want it to go away quickly and quietly:
TriMet is offering an opportunity to submit comments or request a Public Hearing on the proposed Program of Projects described in this notice. If anyone requests a Public Hearing it will be at TriMet on Wednesday, April 17, 2013. If no one requests a Public Hearing, it will not be held. Please submit your comments or request a Public Hearing by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 via email to federalfunding@trimet.org.
They save the 1,000-pound gorilla for the end:
Bus & Rail Preventive Maintenance and State of Good Repair: $33,600,000 Section 5307 funds, $16,600,000 Section 5337 funds, $1,500,000 STP funds Eastside MAX Project: $1,060,400 Section 5307 funds Bus Replacement: $2,600,000 Section 5339 funds Regional Rail Debt Service: $4,000,000 STP funds, $11,000,000 CMAQ funds Bus Stop Development: $1,458,790 STP funds Regional Transportation Options Program: $367,931 CMAQ funds New Bus Shelters: $141,773 CMAQ funds Elderly and Disabled Transportation: $1,496,000 Section 5310 funds Milwaukie Light Rail Project: $100,000,000 Section 5309 New Starts funds
That's $15 million toward one's year's mortgage on past train follies, and $100 million up front on the new one.
Tri-Met needs "new starts," all right. After a cleansing bankruptcy, it needs to start with some fiscal responsibility and an orientation toward taking riders where they actually want to go. Both would be quite novel.
Comments (11)
50 million bucks on 'preventive maintenance'?
Since when? Does this mean that they have spent nothing on 'preventive maintenance' up to this point? (That would explain the current situation.) Will they be addressing the growing dilapidation of the bus rolling stock? Or, are they throwing that all away on 'preventive maintenance' on new extensions of the fixed rail system?
Or...are they just stuffing this cash in their pockets and walking away?
Someone smarter than I would need to explain it, but I understand that Tri-Met somehow leverages these capital construction projects to come up with working revenue to subsidize their money losing operations. Clearly under that model there is a day of retribution, but they manage to keep putting out further into the future.
Request the public hearing. Once requested, they will have to conduct it a pre-condition to qualifying for any portion of the federal funds they are seeking. Once a public hearing is conducted, the public can enter their comments into the record. The public needs to get on the record their collective thoughts on the run-amok mismanagement of a once-valued public asset.
The General Manager and the Tri-Met Board should probably all be indicted. Stopping their money flow is short of that, but it is a start.
By the by - I just sent an email message to the link provided in this blog post ... and got the following response:
Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:
federalfunding@trimet.org
There's a problem with the recipient's mailbox. Please try resending the message. If the problem continues, please contact your helpdesk.
Ha Ha Ha! Tri-Met does an auto reject of your request for a hearing. Nope - Don't want that do we...
I didn't see any funding to fix the lightrail tracks at the lloyd center stop. The trains have to crawl through there because the street is so messed up.
That's $15 million toward one's year's mortgage on past train follies, and $100 million up front on the new one.
Even worse, that $15 million going toward debt service is all federal funds. So, not only are federal grants paying for half of the initial construction costs, they are also paying for debt service on the bonds that are supposed to represent the "local" share.
They sure know how to shake the federal money tree.
Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:
federalfunding@trimet.org (federalfunding@trimet.org)
There's a problem with the recipient's mailbox. Please try resending the message. If the problem continues, please contact your helpdesk.
"preventive maintenance" involves clogging the streets with slow moving, empty street cars so that any traffic is prevented from moving in an expedient manner.
I swore it wouldn't happen, but I finally got caught napping on the wrong streetcar and ended up jumping off near the Coliseum rather than going up to NW 23rd. I waited 15 minutes, hoping to catch the streetcar back over the river but when my transfer ran out, I started walking. I walked all the way across the Broadway bridge and down into the Pearl without seeing one streetcar headed west, although I did see two go by in the other direction. Damn, I thought the streetcar seemed empty, but I was leaving work early and it didn't click.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (11)
50 million bucks on 'preventive maintenance'?
Since when? Does this mean that they have spent nothing on 'preventive maintenance' up to this point? (That would explain the current situation.) Will they be addressing the growing dilapidation of the bus rolling stock? Or, are they throwing that all away on 'preventive maintenance' on new extensions of the fixed rail system?
Or...are they just stuffing this cash in their pockets and walking away?
Posted by godfry | March 21, 2013 12:37 PM
Someone smarter than I would need to explain it, but I understand that Tri-Met somehow leverages these capital construction projects to come up with working revenue to subsidize their money losing operations. Clearly under that model there is a day of retribution, but they manage to keep putting out further into the future.
I'm hoping some of you smart folks can elaborate.
Posted by Dave Lister | March 21, 2013 12:39 PM
I think "preventive maintenance" refers primarily to executive and administrative salaries and benefits.
Posted by Allan L. | March 21, 2013 1:22 PM
So what happens if someone requests a public hearing?
I realize its an ant trying to stop a speeding (MAX) train.
Posted by Steve | March 21, 2013 1:48 PM
Request the public hearing. Once requested, they will have to conduct it a pre-condition to qualifying for any portion of the federal funds they are seeking. Once a public hearing is conducted, the public can enter their comments into the record. The public needs to get on the record their collective thoughts on the run-amok mismanagement of a once-valued public asset.
The General Manager and the Tri-Met Board should probably all be indicted. Stopping their money flow is short of that, but it is a start.
Posted by x-portlander | March 21, 2013 2:45 PM
By the by - I just sent an email message to the link provided in this blog post ... and got the following response:
Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:
federalfunding@trimet.org
There's a problem with the recipient's mailbox. Please try resending the message. If the problem continues, please contact your helpdesk.
Ha Ha Ha! Tri-Met does an auto reject of your request for a hearing. Nope - Don't want that do we...
Indict them all.
Posted by x-portlander | March 21, 2013 2:48 PM
I didn't see any funding to fix the lightrail tracks at the lloyd center stop. The trains have to crawl through there because the street is so messed up.
Posted by Tim | March 21, 2013 3:11 PM
That's $15 million toward one's year's mortgage on past train follies, and $100 million up front on the new one.
Even worse, that $15 million going toward debt service is all federal funds. So, not only are federal grants paying for half of the initial construction costs, they are also paying for debt service on the bonds that are supposed to represent the "local" share.
They sure know how to shake the federal money tree.
Posted by MJ | March 21, 2013 3:34 PM
Just got the same message: conspiracy much?
Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:
federalfunding@trimet.org (federalfunding@trimet.org)
There's a problem with the recipient's mailbox. Please try resending the message. If the problem continues, please contact your helpdesk.
Posted by jubei | March 21, 2013 3:48 PM
"preventive maintenance" involves clogging the streets with slow moving, empty street cars so that any traffic is prevented from moving in an expedient manner.
Posted by tankfixer | March 21, 2013 6:48 PM
I swore it wouldn't happen, but I finally got caught napping on the wrong streetcar and ended up jumping off near the Coliseum rather than going up to NW 23rd. I waited 15 minutes, hoping to catch the streetcar back over the river but when my transfer ran out, I started walking. I walked all the way across the Broadway bridge and down into the Pearl without seeing one streetcar headed west, although I did see two go by in the other direction. Damn, I thought the streetcar seemed empty, but I was leaving work early and it didn't click.
Posted by NW Portlander | March 21, 2013 7:56 PM