Title
Consideration of Citizen Petition Regarding Light Rail Appropriations or Expenditures
Description
This report provides the City Council with information in response to a citizen petition submitted by Ms. Susan Gudino at the Jan. 23, 2019 Formal City Council meeting. Ms. Gudino submitted a petition requesting that City Council "enact within 15 days, a resolution, ordinance or measure that immediately and fully terminates the appropriation or expenditure of any public funds, derived from any source, in connection with the expansions of light rail transit described in Proposition 104 (2015), until the earlier of (1) the Aug. 27, 2019 citywide election, or (2) entry of a final court judgement (inclusive of any appeals) enjoining the qualification of initiative measure I-4-2018 for the election ballot." (Attachment A).
Report
Summary
As a result of voter approval of Proposition 104 in August 2015, the City Council has adopted ordinances, project plans and agreements with contractors to implement the Transportation 2050 (T2050) plan as shown on the ballot (Attachment B). As communicated to voters on the ballot map, the plan includes multiple light rail extensions continuing the expansion of the system. The Regional Transportation Plan, adopted by the City Council, Valley Metro Boards of Directors and Maricopa Association of Governments, outlines projected opening dates for future extensions that include regional transit sales tax funding. Based on these directives, the City of Phoenix along with Valley Metro have continued to move forward with the transportation projects outlined in local and regional plans.
The rail extension projects currently in progress have received the following approvals:
South Central Extension - Key City Council Actions:
- December 2013 - Approved light rail on S. Central Avenue (Locally Preferred Alternative).
- November 2014 - Approved S. Central lane configuration, station locations and initiation of Federal Environmental Assessment.
- April 2015 - Referred Citizen-recommended Comprehensive Transportation Plan to August 2015 Ballot (approved by voters).
- January 2016 - Approved advancing S. Central Extension completion date to 2023.
- April 2017 - Approved project funding agreement.
- September 2017 - Approved Downtown configuration and transfer hub.
- March 2018 - Denied petition to suspend project and change lane configuration.
- June 2018 - Approved motion conduct extensive outreach to discuss impacts and costs of alternative lane configuration with community.
- September 2018 - Reaffirmed lane configuration and approved Federal submittal.
Northwest Extension Phase II - Key City Council Actions:
- February 2005 - Approved light rail from Montebello to Dunlap.
- March 2007 - Approved completion of Northwest Extension in two phases (Phase I opened March 2016).
- November 2014 - Approved Phase II alignment west of I-17.
- January 2016 - Approved advancing NW Extension Phase II completion date to 2023.
- May 2018 - Approved project funding agreement.
Capitol/I-10 West Extension - Key City Council Actions:
- May 2012 - Approved light rail from downtown Phoenix to 79th Avenue.
- January 2016 - Approved construction of extension in two phases.
This petition would impact the following projects currently underway:
- 50th Street Station near Ability 360 - Construction is underway and scheduled to be completed this spring.
- South Central Extension (SCE) - Design work is beyond 60 percent complete.
- Northwest Extension Phase II (NWEII) - Design work is 40 percent complete.
- Operations & Maintenance Center (OMC) expansion - Design/Build contract was awarded in January 2019 and a limited Notice to Proceed for design has been provided to ensure added vehicle capacity is available for expanded operations.
- Capital/I-10 Extension - Final route and station location planning is in progress.
- Light Rail Vehicle Procurement - Valley Metro has a contractual commitment for additional vehicles associated with adding capacity to the existing light rail system. Vehicles are on order and are scheduled to start arriving in spring 2020.
Loss of Federal Funding Risk
The South Central and Northwest Phase II Extensions have been proceeding through the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program pipeline for federal funding. These projects rely on a substantial level of federal grant funding in addition to local and regional funds. Any slowdown or stoppage will result in the inability to meet federal milestones and deadlines that must be met in order to remain in the federal funding program. Should these milestones not be met, the SCE and NWEII projects could be removed from or deprioritized within the CIG program. Due to the competitive nature of the program and limited funds available, funding would very likely be awarded to projects in other cities if the current schedule is not maintained.
Cost Increases
Both SCE and NWEII have design and construction contracts with pricing that is time sensitive. Project delays would result in substantially higher overall costs due to remobilization, escalation, and future changes in materials costs, which continue to be impacted by tariffs and nationwide industry demands.
- Contractors would likely be reassigned while work is suspended subjecting the projects to further risks due to the unavailability of labor. Labor shortages are an issue throughout the construction industry. This would further increase costs and result in significant inefficiency.
- Completing construction activities in downtown prior to the Super Bowl in February 2023 would not be possible. With a delay, much of the work in downtown would need to be delayed until after the Super Bowl, which would push the overall schedule for completion of the South Central line out several years.
- Utility companies including APS, Southwest Gas, SRP, and CenturyLink have begun procurement of long-lead items and initiated construction activities needed for utility relocation. A stoppage will cause delays to this work and will most likely increase the cost of the materials and work.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Citizens Transportation Commission reviewed the petition on Feb. 13, 2019, and voted 8-1, with one abstention, to recommend that the Council deny the petition allowing the work on the projects to continue.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends denying this petition, and work will continue on all light rail projects as outlined in this report. If the citizen initiative is approved by the voters in August 2019, staff would come back to the City Council and present options for moving forward.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Public Transit Department.