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No formal opinion issued on I-485 plan (News and Observer)

Attorney General Roy Cooper said his office never issued a formal opinion on whether the Department of Transportation can use a new financing plan to pay for finishing I-485 in Charlotte.

Both Gov. Bev Perdue and transportation officials indicated a few days after the plan was announced that Cooper’s office signed off on it. The plan involves the contractor financing $50 million of the $340 million project and the state paying the company back over ten years.

“Prior to announcing the plan, we worked with the (Attorney General)’s office as we developed the design-build-finance program for completing I-485,” Perdue said in a prepared statement on Nov. 24, two weeks after announcing the plan. “During this process, the Attorney General’s office indicated that our plan was legal.”

Cooper said his office “provided advice as this process went along” to both DOT and the office of State Treasurer Janet Cowell, who has questioned whether the transportation department has authority to add to the state’s debt. Cooper won’t disclose what advice his lawyers provided. But he made clear his office was never asked for a formal opinion on a plan for 485.

“If we are given a specific plan for a written legal opinion,” Cooper said, “then obviously we will do it and that opinion will be made public.”

Perdue, Cooper and Cowell are all Democrats. Cooper said agencies can present ideas and get advice about those ideas and routinely do so.

“Our mission is to make sure that any financing plan be done within the law,” Cooper said.

So does the DOT plan fit within the law? “We are giving advice,” he said.

Comments (0)
Submitted by markjohnson on December 8, 2009 – 11:39am.

DOT shifts approach on loan for I-485 (News and Observer)

North Carolina won’t be on the hook for any money that a private contractor borrows to finish I-485, a Department of Transportation spokesman said.

That’s a shift from how Transportation Secretary Gene Conti described the plan when it was announced last month in Charlotte. The plan calls for the state to finance most of the $340 million needed to finish Charlotte’s long-unfinished loop. But a private contractor would finance $50 million, which the state would pay back over 10 years. The contractor will have to get that money somewhere.

When Gov. Bev Perdue and Conti announced the plan, Conti said contractors would be able to get financing if the loan were backed by the government.

On Friday, DOT spokesman Ted Vaden adjusted that position, saying the state would not be guaranteeing anybody’s loan.

The idea of a state agency independently adding to the debt load has been at the center of a dispute between Perdue’s administration and State Treasurer Janet Cowell over the financing plan.

Published Tue, Dec 08, 2009 02:00 AM
Modified Tue, Dec 08, 2009 09:30 AM

Stimulus put 5,510 to work on road projects in N.C. in October, says NCDOT (Triangle Business Journal)

Transportation stimulus payroll dolled out in North Carolina in October rose by 23 percent compared to the previous month, according to data compiled by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Contractors paid $5.3 million to 5,510 employees who worked 301,757 hours in October. That compares to the September payroll of $4.3 million, which went to 4,961 employees who worked 249,361 hours.

The data comes from a monthly employment report the department prepares to show the impact that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is having in the state.

Stimulus payroll spending has grown steadily since April, when just $22,751 was paid out to 74 workers.

NCDOT has received a total of $838 million in federal stimulus funds, including $735 million for road and bridge projects.

Thursday, December 3, 2009
– by Chris Baysden

Highway money on states’ radar (Stateline.org)

States are hoping that a job-creating initiative to be outlined by President Obama on Tuesday (Dec. 8) will include billions of dollars for infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, recession-worn Michigan may be ineligible for $475 million in federal highway money next year because it can’t find $84 million in matching state funds.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has identified 9,500 “ready-to-go” infrastructure projects around the nation and wants Congress and the Obama administration to provide states with as much as $69 billion to pay for them, The Washington Times reports. The push by the association underscores criticism that the federal government’s $787 federal stimulus plan “gave short shrift to job-creating highway and transit construction,” the paper says.

“Critics from both sides of the aisle said the first stimulus added to the heap of public debt and did not spur enough job growth,” The Times reports. “Mr. Obama is expected to respond Tuesday by announcing infrastructure projects as a chief component of (new) stimulus measures. He will make the speech at the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning think tank in Washington.”

In Michigan, the state may lose out on nearly half a billion dollars in federal highway money next year — and as much as $2.1 billion through fiscal 2014 — because it can’t match all the federal funds it is eligible to receive, Crain’s Detroit Business reports.

“The lowered (state) investment would, in fiscal 2011 alone, lead to an estimated 47 percent drop in highway program-related jobs, from 17,070 in the current year to 8,988,” according to Crain’s, which reports that Michigan lawmakers have overlooked highway funding as they have dealt with a host of other budget problems.

By Stateline.org Staff Reports
Monday, December 07, 2009

Foxx takes handoff from McCrory (Charlotte Observer)

A crowd of hundreds watched as Anthony Foxx was sworn in as Charlotte’s new Mayor Monday night, after which Foxx gave a solemn speech noting the city’s tough economic climate and the need to create jobs.

Foxx mentioned some of the city’s struggles, such as the region’s 12 percent unemployment and “even higher levels of unemployment.” He talked about the region’s declining home values and high rate of foreclosures.

Foxx listed a number of proposals he wants the Charlotte City Council to enact, such as changing a small business loan program to target new businesses in fields such as finance and green energy.

He also issued a call to help the city’s homeless population.

“Charlotte has always had a conscience,” Foxx said during a speech after he took the oath of office. “We have to address housing … in particular, homelessness. We live in a city in which, in any given night, 3,000 young people wake up not knowing where they will go to sleep at night.”

Foxx is the city’s first Democratic mayor in 22 years. He takes office with a council dominated by Democrats, who hold an 8-3 majority – the biggest advantage one party has had on the council since the late 1970s.

Democrats Patrick Cannon and David Howard also became new at-large council members Monday night.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center was flooded with an estimated 700 onlookers, who not only filled the council’s chambers, but the lobby and at least three conference rooms, where they watched the ceremony on television.

Much of the night was introspective – as former Mayor Pat McCrory and council member John Lassiter were honored for their service.

McCrory served as mayor for 14 years, and was first elected to the council in 1989. Lassiter, who lost the mayoral election to Foxx, served six years on the council. He also served on the Board of Education.

Democrat Susan Burgess, who was unanimously chosen by her colleagues as Mayor Pro Tem, thanked McCrory for his service, and then gave him a collection of DVDs from the television show “24” – a joke about McCrory noting during Monday night council meetings that he was missing the show.

McCrory, who occasionally choked up, told a story about President George W. Bush visiting the city earlier this decade.

McCrory said the Secret Service had mistakenly taken him for U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, and asked if he needed a ride to the airport. Not wanting to turn down a ride in the presidential limo, McCrory said yes.

When they arrived at the airport, McCrory remembers the president walking up the stairs to Air Force One and Burr leaving in another car to his plane.

“I get out, and the stairs pull away and the limo drives off,” McCrory said. “I’m stranded on the runway by myself. You are in the arena, you are in the car … and then you are out of the car.”

McCrory later said he’s proud that Charlotte isn’t confused any more with Charleston and that people don’t have to refer to it as Charlotte, North Carolina.

“We’re known as Charlotte throughout the world,” McCrory said.

Lassiter, a fellow Republican who has known McCrory for more than two decades, said:

“He has a knack for complicated issues and long-term issues. His legacy will be in transportation and hospitality and tourism.”

McCrory presented Lassiter with an award named for former Mayor Richard Vinroot, which honors people who have given years of public service to the city.

By Steve Harrison
[email protected]
Posted: Tuesday, Dec. 08, 2009

Perdue picks Greensboro lawyer for Board of Transportation (News and Observer)

Gov. Bev Perdue has picked Greensboro lawyer Michael S. Fox to succeed J. Douglas Galyon in the Division 7 seat on the state Board of Transportation.

Fox, a former member of the Greensboro Planning Board, contributed $2,500 to Perdue’s campaign in 2007 and 2008. He also backed Perdue’s predecessor, Mike Easley, with contributions totaling $5,500 between 1996 and 2004.

Once his name is reviewed by members of a legislative oversight committee, Fox is expected to join 10 other Perdue appointees on the 19-member board. One seat is vacant, an at-large position dedicated to rural transportation needs previously held by Louis W. Sewell Jr. of Jacksonville, who resigned in 2008.

Fox will succeed the board’s chairman, Galyon, 79. Galyon was first named to the board in 1993 to represent Division 7, which includes Alamance, Caswell, Guilford, Orange and Rockingham counties.
Submitted by BruceSiceloff on 12/02/2009 – 14:55

States Press Congress for Transport Jobs (The Journal of Commerce)

AASHTO presents list of 9,500 ‘shovel-ready’ projects

If Congress produces a jobs bill after Thursday’s White House jobs summit, state officials have 9,500 reasons why transportation infrastructure should get a major piece of the action.

At a press conference Wednesday, John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials presented Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., a list of 9,500 projects that his members say can be started within 120 days.

“It’s a good deal for the American people,” Horsley said. “We’ll create hundreds of thousands of jobs all over the country at a good price, and create long-lasting benefits for the American people.”

A jobs bill with a strong infrastructure component would benefit the building trades, which have an unemployment rate of 18 percent compared with the national average of 10.2 percent, Horsley said.

Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said that the transportation sector’s good showing under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act should be a good argument in designating a significant share of a jobs bill to transportation projects.

Of the $787 billion that Congress approved for ARRA, $48.1 billion went for transportation infrastructure. According to the Department of Transportation, 80 percent of that sum has been approved for state infrastructure projects.

AASHTO and the American Public Transit Association compiled the list at Oberstar’s request to be presented at the White House summit. Bill Millar, APTA president, said his members had identified $15 billion in shovel-ready transportation projects.

Oberstar said the AASHTO list comprised “state of good repair” projects to bring existing infrastructure up to par. If Congress provides the money, states could clear up backlogs of maintenance projects. They could then use funds from a long-term highway spending program to improve infrastructure or increase capacity.

Jim Berard, transportation committee press secretary, said Oberstar has no immediate plans to file legislation. It will be up to the House leadership whether or not they will go forward with another jobs bill or second stimulus bill.

Contact R.G. Edmonson at [email protected].
R.G. Edmonson | Dec 3, 2009 7:23PM GMT

States Offer Congress New List of “Ready-to-Go” Projects Worth $69.5 Billion

States Offer Congress New List of “Ready-to-Go” Projects Worth $69.5 Billion: Investment Will Put People to Work – Fix Roads, Bridges, and Transit (AASHTO Press Release)

State transportation departments have identified 9,500 highway, bridge, transit, port, rail, and aviation projects worth more than $69 billion that, if funded, can be used to create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country.

“State departments of transportation have proven that these ‘ready-to-go’ projects are a great way to put people back work, quickly and efficiently,” said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). “We’re dedicated to getting these projects out to bid fast, but we’re also committed to making certain that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely.”

Horsley was joined by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN), and House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) at a Capitol Hill news conference releasing the report today. AASHTO also presented the report today to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The report can be found online at http://downloads.transportation.org/Ready-to-Go.pdf.

‘Ready-to-go’ means a project that can move through the federal approval process within 120 days of enactment of authorizing legislation, thus enabling the State to proceed toward construction. Today’s report is based on responses from 50 states and the District of Columbia, and includes 7,497 in “ready-to-go” highway projects valued at more than $47 billion, and 2,091 “ready-to-go” transit, rail, port, aviation, and intermodal projects valued at more than $22 billion.

“We hope Congress will use this survey to make the case that investment in transportation infrastructure projects are guaranteed to create jobs,” Horsley said. “A bright spot of the economic recovery act continues to be state transportation projects that are pumping billions of dollars into households and businesses while fixing our broken transportation network.”

As of November 20, 2009, 10,600 transportation projects worth more than $30 billion have been approved for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Of the 9,300 highway construction projects authorized to date, more than half – 5,458 projects – were either under construction or had already been completed. Three-hundred fifty-five projects approved under the airport grants program and worth $1.08 billion are underway or have been completed. Of the $8.4 billion provided for transit, approval to proceed has been received for 690 grants valued at $7.19 billion. Thousands of buses and rail cars have been ordered and are being assembled, and service cutbacks and layoffs have been avoided.

“We need to keep the momentum going. The unemployment rate in the construction trades today exceeds 18 percent,” Horsley said. “There is still a need to invest more in transportation projects if that’s what it takes to create jobs and bring unemployment down. What the state DOTs have done over the past eight months to put economic recovery dollars to work shows there is no better way to create jobs and long-lasting benefits in every part of the country.”

AASHTO Press Release
Tony Dorsey
(202) 624-3690
Wednesday, December 02, 2009

NC Metro Mayors Recognize Sen. Josh Stein With Legislative Award

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NC Metro Mayors Recognize Rep. Becky Carney With Legislative Award

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