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Michigan City Turns Down Millions of Dollars, Saying Federal Money Is Not Free
From The New York Times:
Water flows uphill.
A city turns down $8.5 million in federal grant money.
In what could be a new high water mark of anti-Washington sentiment, the city of Troy, Mich., is rejecting a long-planned transportation center whose construction would have been fully financed with federal stimulus money.
The terminal, which would help Troy become a transportation node on an upgraded Detroit-to-Chicago Amtrak line, was hailed by supporters as a way to create jobs and to spur economic development. But federal money is federal money, so with the urging of the new mayor, who helped found the local Tea Party chapter, the City Council cast a 4-to-3 vote this week against granting a crucial contract, sending the project into limbo.
“There’s nothing free about government money,” Mayor Janice Daniels said in an interview. “It’s never free, and it’s crippling our way of life.”
Other Republican officeholders have said “Thanks, but no thanks” to federal money for high-speed rail: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin rejected an $810 million federal grant to extend passenger rail from Milwaukee to Madison; Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey killed a project to dig a new commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River. But those actions have generally involved criticism of the underlying logic of the projects, or projections of enormous costs to be borne down the line by state and local governments.
The Troy transit center’s construction, by comparison, required no local contribution, and its predicted annual maintenance cost of $31,000 was, in the context of the city’s $50 million budget, “de minimis,” said Mark Miller, the assistant city manager.
The federal government’s largess is no reason to build the transit center when the national debt stands at $15 trillion, Mayor Daniels said.
Yet if the money does not go to Troy, it will not be used to pay down the national debt; it will be redirected to other projects around the country.
Taking Tea Party reasoning to the local level has outraged supporters of the transit center, which has been in the works for a decade. Michele Hodges, the president of the Troy Chamber of Commerce, which supports the transit project, said that her organization “will be a pit bull for what’s best for this community.”
David A. Kotwicki, a local lawyer, noted that members of Congress might talk tough on spending, but that they still bring projects home to their districts. The vote against the transit center, he said, looks like “cutting off your nose to spite your face.”
Besides, he asked, “What if there’s a grant to provide 10 new police officers?”
Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, a Republican, said through a spokeswoman that he was “disappointed” in the city’s decision and would be “reviewing our options for utilizing the grant, including the potential transfer of the grant to another applicant.” Mr. Snyder had sent a letter to Mayor Daniels before the vote saying that the project would have “significant, positive economic development on your community and the state.”
The transit fight is not Mayor Daniels’s first brush with controversy. Earlier this month, it was revealed that she posted a message to her Facebook page last June, after New York State approved same-sex marriage, stating, “I think I am going to throw away my I Love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there.” In an interview, she said she regretted the online comment.
The vote on Monday, she said, is about setting an example concerning the national debt. “I want to leave a legacy for our children of managing our responsibilities — not crushing them with debt money.”
On Tuesday, an official of Magna International, a global automotive supplier based in Canada whose American headquarters are in Troy, expressed frustration with the City Council vote in a private e-mail to Ms. Hodges and others that was posted to a blog that favors the transit center.
“I am drafting a memo to all Magna group presidents and our Magna corporate executives strongly recommending that Magna International no longer consider the City of Troy for future site considerations, expansions or new job creation,” wrote Frank W. Ervin III, the company’s manager of government affairs. “I have also recommended that where ever and when ever possible we reduce our footprint and employment level in Troy” in favor of communities that act in the best interests of residents and business and that do “not simply use their public position to advance their own private agenda.”
Mr. Ervin did not respond to requests for comment, but told The Detroit News on Tuesday that the letter reflected his personal opinion and recommendation for the company, but that he had no control over the company’s decision.
Ed Myles, the president of a local manufacturing company, J.E. Myles & Co., said that the area, like the rest of the country, had been hurt by the recession and that it could use the economic boost that the transit center could provide. He said he worried about what companies like Magna would do. The council’s vote “put the kibosh on any other companies moving here.”
“It’s all politics,” he said. “In the meantime, people are suffering.”
Magna official urges halt to investments after Troy votes down transit center
From The Detroit News
Troy faced quick fallout Tuesday after scrapping plans for a federally funded transit center, as an official with a local auto supplier said he would urge the company to look elsewhere for future investment.
Frank W. Ervin III, manager of government affairs for Magna International Inc., made the comment in an email Tuesday to the president of the Troy Chamber of Commerce, Michele Hodges. In the private message to Hodges, Ervin called the city’s leaders “narrow-minded when it comes to the future of Troy and the future of Southeastern Michigan” for rejecting $8.4 million in federal aid.
In the email, Ervin thanked the chamber president for her efforts to win approval for the transit center and said he plans to draft a memo to all Magna group presidents and corporate executives “strongly recommending” that the automotive supplier “no longer consider the City of Troy for future site considerations, expansions or new job creation.”
In a telephone interview Tuesday with The Detroit News, Ervin stressed that the email to Hodges was his personal opinion. He said he will make the recommendations, but has no authority to make the decisions. Magna’s U.S. headquarters is in Troy, where the company employs about 1,000 people at several facilities.
Tracy Fuerst, director of corporate communications for Magna, said the company is taking no position on the city’s decision.
Hodges said City Council’s decision late Monday to turn down the project is leading to pushback from the business community, which was outspoken in its support for the plan to combine train, bus, taxi and future light-rail service at a 3-acre site near Maple and Coolidge.
“We are already experiencing some fallout and disinvestment in Troy, and we need to preclude that from happening,” Hodges said Tuesday in an interview. “There’s clearly disappointment on the part of the business community. Its desire, will and recommendation was not met.”
Troy Mayor Janice Daniels, who voted against the transit center, said Tuesday that she didn’t see the email from Ervin to Hodges. The mayor said she has received “nothing but congratulations and accolades” for the city’s decision.
“I think it would be counterproductive to not look for other ways to help the city of Troy continue to be a vibrant city of leadership,” she said. “I would like for Troy to be a leadership city to encourage all cities in the surrounding area to decline debt money from the federal government.
“We need to recover the economy before we take on additional debt money. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
State transportation officials have said the federal funds would be reallocated to another rail project — possibly in another state — if they were turned down by Troy.
On Tuesday, Gov. Rick Snyder’s office expressed its dismay at the city’s action in a statement provided by the state Department of Transportation.
“The governor is disappointed with the Troy City Council’s rejection of the federal grant to design and build a rail station in Troy. The station is a key destination along the new high-speed rail line and to connect with routes for regional transit,” the statement said. “We are reviewing our options for utilizing the grant, including the potential transfer of the grant to another applicant.”
U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, wrote Tuesday to Snyder and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in hopes of keeping the federal aid in Metro Detroit. Peters suggested building a transit facility in Royal Oak as a possibility.
“We’ll do what we can to make sure the federal money stays in the greater Detroit area,” he said.
The council turned down the center by a 4-3 vote after the panel listened to about 40 residents and stakeholders share their views for and against the project.
Daniels and council members Dave Henderson, Doug Tietz and Wade Fleming refused to award an architectural and engineering contract to design the facility. Mayor Pro Tem Maureen McGinnis and council members Jim Campbell and Dane Slater supported it. An approval was needed to meet deadlines to keep the funds. The center was slated to open in October 2013.
Hodges said despite the vote, the chamber isn’t ready to admit defeat. She said the group will work with its partners to see whether there are ways to keep the funds in Troy and save the project.
“This organization will be a pit bull in its quest for what will maintain an investment-worthy environment in Troy,” she said. “We will go to the stake in protecting our assets, and we will aggressively work with Magna International to preserve its stake here.”
Troy partnered with Birmingham on the transit project in 2000 when developer Grand Sakwa, under a consent judgment, donated the land to the city with the condition that it be used for the transit center. The property was to revert to Grand Sakwa if development deadlines were not met.
Birmingham, which has a free-standing bus enclosure at the Amtrak rail station, left the project in April after talks to buy land next to the CN Railway tracks failed.
The center was to be a regional transportation hub for SMART bus service, taxis and limousines.
Campbell said the outcome was a “slap in the face” to the business community and residents who backed the plan.
“I’m hoping this is not going to take a major toll on the city,” said Campbell, who was also elected in November. “I’d hate to see more vacant buildings.”
Commentary: Right decision made on Troy transit center
From The Detroit News:
By Dale Murrish
Now that the Troy City Council has decided against building a new transit center, other solutions can be considered.
Perhaps by combining our best ideas and filtering out the bad arguments we can find the best way forward. The most important thing to remember is this: the $8.4 million in federal money being offered would have simply moved the station; it wouldn’t have improved the service.
People with cars will still have other options, such as driving a half-hour to Dearborn, cutting an hour off the train trip to Chicago and $2 to $4 off the fare. They can also drive to Detroit or Ann Arbor and take a cheaper bus to Union Station. The rest of the Futures 2020 Plan will probably never happen. Part of Phase 2, a light-rail line on Woodward, fell through recently because of the required $10 million annual subsidy.
Comparing crowded cities such as New York and Shanghai to Detroit is a bad argument. Thankfully, we don’t have their traffic and parking problems. Comparing roads to rail is also apples to oranges. People and freight are two different cargoes. Amtrak has a terrible record of losing money, while some bus companies make profits with the good highway system we now have.
The most disturbing argument was the idea that the money was already spent in Congress’ mind, and that it would go to another state if we didn’t use it. We should get our fair share of federal money coming back to us, but as Ben Franklin said, we should not be “confounded by our own regional interests.”
Everything mentioned in the pro-transit center arguments can be accomplished by improving the current Birmingham station. It could be spruced up with more comfortable seats, a heated building and a covered platform.
Someone can walk a quarter-mile west, have a cup of coffee and sandwich and then catch a bus on Maple Road.
In contrast, the proposed new site in Troy was behind Kohl’s and better suited for buses and cars and difficult for bicycles. The area around the Troy site is light industrial and much less attractive.
The only drawback of the current site is the lack of parking.
The transit center arguments have been disturbingly Troy-centric. Like most metropolitan areas, the only way to tell you’ve crossed a border is the signs. It wouldn’t have been very neighborly of us to steal Birmingham’s station because it doesn’t want to spend millions of our tax money to move it a quarter mile to a less desirable location.
Finally, this government project was more expensive than necessary: $8.4 million for a 2,400-square-foot building with $30,000 in annual upkeep. More than $8 million for a 2,400-square-foot house would leave money for gold-plated fixtures and chandeliers in the bathrooms.
With some creativity, we might be able to accomplish the same goal without any government funds. That would send a strong message to Washington and other cities to follow our example.
Dale Murrish has worked in the transportation industry since 1979 at Caterpillar and GM. He’s a 26-year member of SAE, the professional society for mobility engineers and has lived in Troy for 23 years.
Peters: Keep rejected transit aid in metro Detroit
From The Chicago Tribune:
Michigan U.S. Rep. Gary Peters on Tuesday asked that the federal government redirect $8.4 million in transportation aid spurned by the Troy City Council to other projects in the Detroit area.
The request came in letters to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Gov. Rick Snyder from the Bloomfield Township Democrat.
The council voted 4-3 on Monday to reject a proposed transportation center, in the works for a decade. Neighboring Birmingham quit the project this year.
Project supporters said the center would have been key to improving mass transportation in the region.
“The transit center would have provided access to new high speed Amtrak rail along the Wolverine Corridor, as well as transfer points to SMART bus services, taxi and sedan connections, and connectivity options for patrons of the Oakland/Troy Airport,” Peters wrote to LaHood.
Mayor Janice Daniels said she and some City Council members made election pledges to block the transit center, which opponents said was a waste of tax dollars.
“The council was turned over to new council members and a new mayor because we campaigned on a pledge to stop this transit center,” Daniels said at Monday’s council meeting.
Peters said it was a shortsighted, tea party-inspired decision that hurts small businesses in Troy.
“While I am deeply disappointed,” Peters wrote LaHood, “I know that there are many cities in southeast Michigan that support regional transit and want to see it succeed,” among them Royal Oak.
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-transportationcen,0,3566859.story