Trinity Uptown allows Water Board candidates to give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle

Trinity plan enlivens races

Apr. 30, 2006

By MAX B. BAKER
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006

Even after 22 years, some members of Jim Oliver's family still thinks he works for the Water Department.

As general manager of the Tarrant Regional Water District, Oliver leads a state agency that has quietly provided water to more than a million people in about 75 cities and municipal districts spread over 10 counties, overseeing seven reservoirs and miles of pipelines.

"What we do is so low profile," Oliver said recently. "I have relatives who think I work for the Fort Worth Water Department, some who think I report to Tarrant County."

Oliver and his agency's days of political obscurity are coming to an end with the sweeping Trinity Uptown project.

Thirteen candidates are seeking two seats on the water district's supervisory board in the May 13 election -- including two former Fort Worth councilmen and a local philanthropist making her first bid for public office -- focusing unprecedented attention on an organization that's been around since the early 1900s, in one form or another. Early voting begins Monday.

Drawn to the race by the controversial $435 million Trinity Uptown project proposed for the near north side of Fort Worth, many of the candidates admit they know little about the district's core mission of providing water and flood control. At a recent forum in east Fort Worth, all the candidates and the audience wanted to talk about was Trinity Uptown.

Board Vice President Hal Sparks, who is not up for election this year, said a lot of what the district does is "pretty dry and complicated."

"It is not, 'Ohhh, gosh! It's going to be fun to do Trinity Uptown.' It is a significant part of what we consider, but in time devoted to issues, it is 10 percent or less," Sparks said.

'Razzle Dazzle'

Few people disagree, though, that Trinity Uptown is a watershed event in the district's history.

"It is interesting, and the sexiest thing [the district] has done in the last 100 years and maybe for the next 100 years," said board member Gina Puente Brancato, who is seeking to keep her seat.

The Trinity Uptown project will alter the water board's profile from director of a technical agency that pumps untreated water through massive pipes to that of a general contractor for a major urban redevelopment project.

The 800-acre Trinity Uptown is billed as a flood control project that will create a development with housing for 10,000 families and 16,000 new jobs. The project calls for creation of a Town Lake and a Trinity River bypass channel that would cut through north Fort Worth, creating an island with mixed development.

The water district is providing $64 million, with the largest contribution -- $217.5 million -- expected to come from the federal government. Fort Worth is kicking in $26.6 million, Tarrant County another $11 million. A tax increment financing district, or TIF, was established by Fort Worth in 2003 to pour an expected $115.9 million into the project.

Opponents of Trinity Uptown say the flood control part of the project could be done for about $10 million, and say the overall price tag for the deal could go beyond $700 million, with local taxpayers picking up the tab. They are outraged that some of the land likely will be taken from its owners by condemnation, through the use of eminent domain.

For many, the water district board election will serve as a referendum on Trinity Uptown, offering voters their first chance to voice their opinions on the project. The controversy is credited with attracting the unprecedented number of candidates seeking the two open seats -- one held by Brancato, the other left vacant by the death of Charles Campbell, a 15-year board veteran. The two candidates with the most votes will win the seats.

Two former Fort Worth City Council members came out of retirement for the race -- Clyde Picht, who opposes the project, and Jim Lane, who supports it. And philanthropist Marty Leonard, a member of one of Fort Worth's leading families, has taken a rare step into the public arena by seeking a board seat. She also supports Trinity Uptown.

The candidates include four involved in real estate, two former military pilots, an engineer, a land surveyor, an antique books dealer and a retired religion professor. While five candidates indicated they didn't plan to spend more than $500 on their race, others plan on spending tens of thousands of dollars. Lane and Leonard have hired the Eppstein Group, the city's most prominent political consulting firm.

The race has also drawn the kind of campaign contributions usually reserved for high-profile City Council races. Leonard already has spent more than $17,000, and Brancato has spent about $8,000. Picht has taken in nearly $8,000 in contributions to add to the $5,000 he already had on hand, and Lane has raised $1,200, according to campaign finance reports.

The slate appears almost evenly divided on the Trinity Uptown project. Seven candidates largely support it, although some of them voice reservations: Lane, Leonard, Brancato, Gary Alexander, J.R. Kimball, G.J. "Marty" Martinez and Tom Waltz.

Picht is the highest-profile of the six candidates opposed to Trinity Uptown, who also include Mike Utt, Tracey Smith, Ben Boothe, Timothy Nold and Howard Stone.

Utt compared the project's lack of firm detail to a song from the musical Chicago.

"I see the downtown folks doing the Razzle Dazzle," he said.

Under the radar

For almost 100 years, the Tarrant Regional Water District and its predecessors have operated below the surface.

Board members typically served for long periods. The current president, Vic Henderson, has been on the water district board for 21 years, and Sparks was first elected 18 years ago. Brancato became the first woman board member when she was appointed in 2003. She later lost her seat but was reappointed.

For years, the district's tax rate was zero, and the board has not asked for an increase from its current 2-cent tax rate for six years. About 300,000 voters live within the district's convoluted boundaries, but in 2002, only 984 votes were cast in a board election.

"It's been an under-the-radar-screen type of board, so it's been a pleasure to not attract a lot of lightning-rod attention like we are now," Sparks said.

Part of the reason the board has not attracted a lot of attention is that its core mission is far from eye-catching.

The district's primary function over the years has been to provide water and flood control in its areas, to enhance recreational benefits for residents, and to preserve and protect the environment.

It sells raw, untreated water to the Trinity River Authority and about 40 cities including Arlington, Fort Worth and Mansfield, which in turn sell the water to other municipalities. The district owns four reservoirs -- Cedar Creek, Eagle Mountain Lake, Lake Bridgeport and Richland-Chambers -- and pumps water in and out of Lake Worth, Benbrook Lake and Lake Arlington.

The district serves 10 counties in a 5,300-square-mile area that stretches from Jack County in the northwest to Freestone County in the southeast. By 2060, its customer base is expected to exceed 4 million people.

The district is also looking for future water supplies. One option is the Toledo Bend Reservoir 175 miles away on the Texas-Louisiana border. Another possibility is the proposed $2.15 billion Marvin Nichols Reservoir that would be built near Mount Pleasant. Officials are also considering bringing water from Oklahoma.

The five-member water district board -- typically made up of engineers, lawyers and those with a personal interest in water resources -- oversees the district's business by sifting through reports at subcommittee and board meetings.

Over the years, the district has quietly done it all on modest budgets with a relatively small staff. Currently, it has an $84 million budget and 160 full-time employees. By comparison, the Fort Worth Water Department has a budget of about $269 million and about 800 employees.

"There has been a lot of light shown on Trinity Uptown lately, and it's certainly not an insignificant project, but we've had many projects larger than Trinity Uptown," said Henderson, the board president. "Our part of Trinity Uptown is a lot smaller."

Bill Meadows, a former Fort Worth councilman and member of the Texas Water Development Board, said far more is at stake than the Trinity Uptown project.

"It is going to take a very talented person to be on the board," Meadows said. "This is an extraordinarily important election, and it is extraordinarily important that this should not be a referendum on the Trinity River Vision."

"Anybody who does is incredibly shortsighted. It is about future water supply for our region."
Max B. Baker, (817) 390-7714 maxbaker@star-telegram.com


© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.dfw.com

The Rio Grande Valley wants an interstate. Perry offers a toll road.

State seeks alternatives for Valley interstate

April 28, 2006

LYNN BREZOSKY
The Associated Press
Copyright 2006

BROWNSVILLE - News of a possible Panama Canal expansion makes the Rio Grande Valley's quest for interstate highway access even more important, state Transportation Commissioner Ric Williamson told a crowd of South Texas officials pleading Thursday for the interstate.

President Martin Torrijos of Panama on Monday urged Panamanians to support a $5.25 billion expansion that could increase cargo ship traffic and the need for new or expanded ports.

Rio Grande Valley leaders see the port of Brownsville as both a key Gulf of Mexico port and a destination for goods coming across Mexico from expanded Pacific Coast ports taking traffic from clogged-up California. From Brownsville, goods could then be shipped by truck or rail across the nation.

"In light of the Panama Canal announcement, we need to be moving things very quickly," Williamson said. "We don't want companies that might help build this road moving to Biloxi, Mississippi."

With hopes dashed last year for a federally funded interstate for the Rio Grande Valley, state and local transportation officials have been looking at ways to end the Valley's distinction of being the only metropolitan region of its population - 1.2 million - to lack access to an interstate highway.

Officials haven't ruled out Gov. Rick Perry's "Trans-Texas Corridor 69," a proposal that would rely on private sector design and funding. The alignment for TTC-69 is not yet clear.

But with realization of that proposal likely years away, Perry in December asked officials to research upgrading existing roadways to interstate standards. That means no traffic slowdowns through towns and connection with an existing interstate.

Interstate 37, which now ends at Corpus Christi, could be linked with an upgraded U.S. 77 to Harlingen and Brownsville on the Valley's eastern end. U.S. 281, which links to McAllen on the Valley's western end, also connects to Interstate 37 and could be brought to interstate standards.

Texas Department of Transportation engineer Amadeo Saenz told commissioners that the U.S. 77 upgrades would cost about $640 million and the U.S. 281 upgrades between $840 million and $850 million.

He said a toll lane for overweight trucks could be a unique feature that could offset those construction costs because truckers coming from Mexico and the Valley would pay to be able to double loads.

Dennis Burleson, a financial consultant for A.G. Edwards in McAllen, said the two traffic signals along U.S. 77 and three signals along U.S. 281 could be replaced with ramps for about $250 million.

"As long as trucker doesn't have to come to a traffic signal, I don't think they care whether there's an "I" on it or not," he said.

Thursday's Texas Department of Transportation meeting was the first in the Valley since 1997. It attracted about 200 people, including mayors from Corpus Christi and Brownsville.

The officials universally want an interstate, and at least a dozen communities presented commissioners with resolutions in support. The city of Harlingen offered $2.5 million over 10 years for the project.

Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa said that the Valley's seaports, airports, population growth, and numerous international bridges with Mexico made an interstate crucial.

"Everything is set up to connect to an interstate system that will benefit Texas and the rest of the United States," he said.


© 2006 The Associated Press: www.ap.org

"I haven’t seen anything about this project done the 'right way,' from its midnight approval through discussing routes in secret."

Letters

Toll highway pitfalls

April 28, 2006

Waco Tribune-Herald
Copyright 2006

To State Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson, who says of the Trans-Texas Corridor [April 12, Page 1] “they need to do it the right way”: Well, Sir, I haven’t seen anything about this project done the “right way,” from its midnight approval through discussing routes in secret.

I want to toss at state officials just one probability that will happen with this project:

When TTC-35 is constructed and long-term managed by this foreign company, and the toll lanes are open, there will be an ongoing revenue evaluation for profitability.

Let’s suppose it will cost you $20 to $30 to travel from Waco to Austin, but you decide to travel Interstate 35 for no toll. This foreign company will complain to our elected officials until I-35 will become under its long-term management and become a toll road for profit as well.

Our great state, with the best land and highways, will become hijacked for profit because this “was just a vague concept and not something to oppose” as stated by Sen. Averitt.

Wow. Define “vague” now, Senator. How vague is it now to almost a million Texans whose residences, school districts, businesses and farms lie in the pathway of this “concept”?

© 2006 The Waco Tribune-Herald www.wacotrib.com

More circular reasoning

N. Texas pushes big loop option

4/28/06

Gordon Dixon
Fort worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2006

North Texas leaders want a giant outer loop around the Metroplex for cars, trucks and trains, rather than allowing the state to build a toll road bypassing the area.

The proposed loop could be about 200 miles long — nearly triple the length of the Capital Beltway in Washington — based upon conceptual drawings by the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Motorists who use the loop would likely pay tolls.

It’s being pitched by North Texas leaders as an alternative to the Trans-Texas Corridor, a privately funded toll road that, according to preliminary plans, would steer automobile traffic well east or west of the Metroplex. Area leaders worry that such a bypass would pull jobs away from the urban core and into the countryside.

Tarrant County politicians and business leaders, who until now have been careful not to speak too critically of Trans-Texas, say they are ready to conduct a vocal campaign against the plans unless changes are made that reflect the local preference for a mega-loop. The change came earlier this month, after state officials unveiled drawings still showing that Trans-Texas route as a Dallas-Fort Worth bypass.

“We don’t want to leapfrog undeveloped areas and create pockets of problems,” Tarrant County Commissioner Glen Whitley said. “That’s just not acceptable, and not worth it to us. We want to be organized in our growth.”

The proposed loop would wrap around Fort Worth, Dallas, Denton, Mansfield and more than 100 other cities in Tarrant, Wise, Denton, Collin and Dallas counties. It would tie into existing roads.

As for Trans-Texas, the Texas Department of Transportation will conduct more than 50 public hearings statewide this summer, so residents can learn about the plan to criss-cross the state with toll roads and high-speed rail lines. The most likely scenario is that Trans-Texas would be built east of the Metroplex, although an alternate route west of the area is still an option.

There is still time to change the Trans-Texas study area and bring the toll roads closer to the heart of the Metroplex, Transportation Department spokeswoman Gabriela Garcia said.

“Right now, the question is, how do you connect Oklahoma to Mexico,” Garcia said, adding that the first of a two-tier environmental study will continue through mid-2007. “We really want to connect to the city centers. We just can’t do it yet. Patience at this point is still key. Give us time to get through tier one and answer all those questions, and then we’ll work on ... the justification for moving it further north or south.”

An outer loop isn’t really a new idea. Plans to build a Loop 9 around the greater Dallas area go back to the 1950s and are still in the region’s long-term plans.

But until now, planners didn’t think that another circular road would be needed until the mid-21st century.

That began to change four years ago with Trans-Texas, Gov. Rick Perry’s plan to criss-cross the state with a network of superwide toll roads, rail lines and utility corridors.

The first component of Trans-Texas, a $6 billion leg from San Antonio to North Texas, is being planned by private consortium Cintra Zachry.

North Texas is no stranger to loops. In Tarrant County, there is Loop 820. In the Dallas area, there’s Loop 12, LBJ Freeway and the President George Bush Turnpike.

Each was added as the Metroplex grew outward.

Not unlike an arborist determines a tree’s age by counting the rings in its trunk, a motorist can learn about a region’s traffic history by observing its highway loops.

Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816
gdickson@star-telegram.com

© 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.dfw.com

"I'm not going to let you steal this from the Boy Scouts."

Boy Scouts in land war

4/28/06

F.A. Krift
The Beaumont Enterprise
Copyright 2006

A pipeline company's eminent domain power is testing Boy Scout law to be courteous and kind.

Springfield Pipeline LLC filed a condemnation petition Tuesday in Tyler County District Court to seize land for extending a pipeline through Camp Urland, a 715-acre Boy Scouts of America campground about two miles south of Woodville.

The lawsuit charges Three Rivers Council, the Southeast Texas governing body for Boy Scouts of America, with not agreeing to the land's fair market value price. However, Craig Sherlock, a Three Rivers Council board member, said the pipeline company offered one-fifth the typical price.

"I said, 'I'm not going to let you steal this from the Boy Scouts. You're a big, rich oil company. You can afford to pay what everybody else pays," Sherlock said.

He said Springfield offered about $27,500 for land that was worth as much as $137,900.

Springfield's lawsuit claims a "bona fide" effort was made to reach an agreement. After months of negotiations, the only option was petitioning for condemnation, said Teresa Wong, manager of public affairs for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Springfield is a subsidiary.

Wong said an offer considerably more than the appraised value was made, but Three Rivers disagreed and made an unreasonable counter-offer.

"We realize that Boys Scouts have a unique piece of land and they are not a typical landowner," Wong said. "We believe in what they are trying to do and want to work for them ... At the same time, we believe it is a good route and a safe route for the pipeline."

The nearly mile-long easement and right-of-way through Camp Urland property will seize about 3.1 acres. The 8-inch-wide pipeline, buried at a minimum of 3 feet, will run through a 30-foot-wide permanent easement taken from the Three Rivers Council, which oversees Camp Urland operations, according to the petition. Furthermore, a 50-by-50-foot temporary work area will be used to establish the pipeline.

Springfield, a wholly owned subsidiary of Woodlands-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp., is listed by the Texas Railroad Commission as a "gas utility," and it is a common carrier, transporting natural gas for a fee, said spokeswoman Ramona Nye.

Because of the status, Springfield is given eminent domain capability. That means it can negotiate with private landowners for right-of-way on which to build new pipeline.

If the company and a landowner cannot reach an agreement on fair market value, Springfield is allowed to initiate a condemnation lawsuit, which causes the commissioners court of a county - or a county court-at-law in the county - to determine appropriateness of the condemnation and the property's fair market value.

Wong said the basic goal of any pipeline company is to build the straightest route because it is the most economical. The route taken actually follows a property line instead of running right through the camp, although Sherlock claimed the company's route ran right through Camp Urland.

Deep in East Texas' Piney Woods thicket, Camp Urland provides year-round camping where Boy Scouts earn merit badges for archery, camping, basketry and crime prevention.

Sherlock said the campsite provides an outdoor retreat for about 6,000 boys from nearly 10 counties. The proposed pipeline route runs adjacent to campsites and near camp improvement projects, he said.

"They're not going to allow any trees or bushes (around the easement), and they're going to cause damage to surrounding trees," Sherlock said. "It's very pristine. We don't have any pipelines there. You've probably got parents up there that are going to be concerned about their kids being around a pipeline."

fakrift@beaumontenterprise.com

(409) 880-0728


© 2006 The Beaumont Enterprise www.southeasttexaslive.com

A primer on the corruption of eminent domain in the U.S. and the Republic of Texas

TSCRA Members Hear Background On Eminent Domain Controversy

4/27/06

By Colleen Schreiber
Livestock Weekly
Copyright 2006

SAN ANTONIO — The June 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision commonly known as the Kelo case sparked a firestorm across the country which brought the issue of eminent domain front and center.

Austin-based attorney Trey Blocker, an associate with Jackson Walker, told participants in a legal seminar held in conjunction with the annual Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers’ convention here that the Supreme Court’s Kelo decision shouldn’t really come as a surprise.

“It’s simply an affirmation of how the use of eminent domain has evolved over the years,” Blocker said.

In his overview presentation of the federal and state laws pertaining to eminent domain, he reminded TSCRA members that eminent domain is an inherent power of the government. However, how that inherent power may be used is clearly defined both in the U.S. Constitution as well as in the Texas Constitution. The state constitution in Article 1 Section 17 says, “No person’s property shall be taken, damaged or destroyed for or applied to public use without adequate compensation.”

The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution deals with eminent domain. It says, “No person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

The term “eminent domain,” Blocker noted, is derived from the Latin phrase dominum eminens, which means “supreme Lordship.”

“The residents of New London certainly got a taste of this supreme Lordship.”

On June 23, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court held in the Kelo v. City of New London that governmental entities can condemn private property and transfer it to a private interest for economic development purposes.

“Basically, what the court said was someone can take your property and give it to someone else who can generate more tax revenue than what you were generating, so long as just compensation is paid.”

The city of New London had been experiencing economic decline for decades. In 1990 a state agency declared the city to be a distressed municipality. Then in 1996 the naval base outside New London was shut down, and by 1998 the city’s unemployment rate was double that of the rest of the state.

In an effort to reverse the economic decline, the city activated the New London Development Corporation. The group was tasked with setting up a revitalization plan for the area. The ultimate plan focused on about 90 acres of the Fort Trumbull area, Blocker said. Within those 90 acres were 115 privately owned properties and another 32 acres around the former naval facility. The city authorized the NLDC to acquire property for the revitalization plan and delegated to it the power of eminent domain.

“At no point did the city allege that the area was blighted or otherwise in poor condition, which is oftentimes a prerequisite under urban renewal plans,” Blocker pointed out. “Its stated goals were to create jobs, generate tax revenues to make the city more attractive, and to create recreational and leisure areas along the waterfront.”

The vast majority of land acquired by the corporation was acquired through negotiation with landowners. Nine of the landowners, however, refused to sell. Among those nine was Susette Kelo. She objected to the taking of her property, arguing that it was not sought for a public use as required under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The case eventually made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Oral arguments were heard in February 2005 and the Supreme Court issued its decision in June of that year.

“The court, in its opinion, stated that it had long ago rejected ‘any literal requirement that condemned property be put into use for the general public.’

“In fact, in the mid-19th century the Court embraced the broader and more natural interpretation of public use as ‘public purpose.’

“The lesson I take away from this is that when the Supreme Court doesn’t like a word in the Constitution they simply change that word,” Blocker told listeners. “That’s what they’ve done here.”

Much deference, he noted, has been given to the government’s definition of what is and isn’t a “public” use. He cited a 1984 Supreme Court case, Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, as an example.

“I was shocked when I came across this case,” Blocker commented.

In the 1960s it was pointed out that the state and federal governments owned almost 50 percent of the land in Hawaii. Another 47 percent was owned by 72 private landowners. The legislature concluded that such concentrated land ownership “skewed the state’s residential fee simple market, inflated land prices, and injured the public tranquility and welfare.”

“To remedy these problems, the legislature passed a law that said if you are leasing or renting property from one of these 72 landowners, you can request that the Hawaii Housing Authority condemn the property and sell it to you,” Blocker said. “Additionally, the housing authority would lend them the money to buy the property.”

In its 1984 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court said it “would not substitute its judgment for a legislature’s judgment as to what constitutes a public use unless that use is palpably without reasonable foundation.”

The Court concluded that the Hawaiian law was constitutional. The court said the act “presumes that when a sufficiently large number of persons declare that they are willing but unable to buy lots at a fair price, the land market is malfunctioning.” Thus condemning this property “is a comprehensive and rational approach to identifying and correcting market failure.”

“I don’t think Joseph Stalin died. He just got tired of the cold weather and moved to Hawaii,” Blocker quipped.

“One thing that is abundantly clear to me is that these justices must have been absent in high school economics class when they taught the concept of a willing buyer and a willing seller.”

Dissenting in the Kelo case were Justices O’Conner, Scalia, Thomas, and Chief Justice Rehnquist. Justice O’Conner, in her dissent, noted that “the specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the state from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory.”

“What’s interesting about this quote in Justice O’Conner’s dissent is that she wrote the majority opinion in the Midkiff decision in 1984,” Blocker told listeners. “I guess we should be happy that she saw the light and decided property rights were worth protecting.”

Blocker shifted his attention from the federal level to what’s happening in Texas specific to eminent domain. He told listeners that the progression of the eminent domain law in Texas almost mirrors the federal law.

“For at least the past 25 years, cities in Texas have had the same authority that the city of New London had to condemn for economic purposes,” he told TSCRA members. “Most people weren’t aware that this existed on the books.”

It didn’t start out that way, however. For more than 50 years the state followed and enforced a strict interpretation of the laws pertaining to eminent domain. He talked about the 1905 Borden v. Trespalacious Rice & Irrigation Co. case in which the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion that property is taken for a public use “only when there results to the public some definite right or use in the business or undertaking to which the property is devoted.”

“For most of us that means projects such as roads, railroads, public buildings, city halls, jails, libraries or common carriers for transporting gas, electricity and water, etc.”

Beginning in 1957 the Texas Supreme Court seemed inclined to expand its interpretation of what constitutes public use.

“In 1957 the State took a major step closer to condemnation of private property for economic development when it passed the Texas Urban Renewal Act of 1957,” Blocker opined. “This law permits blighted and slum areas to be condemned by cities and turned over to private interests for development.”

There are those who argue that this law has led to revitalized inner cities and increased economic prosperity. Others contend that the law has only served to force out low income residents and profitable small businesses.

He pointed to an example in San Antonio where a federal housing project just south of the convention center was in very poor condition with a high crime rate. The City of San Antonio, with state and federal assistance, demolished the federal housing project and replaced it with a newer, more modern complex.

“I don’t know this for a fact, but I would suspect they could not have done that without the power of eminent domain. So the law cuts both ways. Sometimes it may be deemed a necessary evil, other times it might be used for a good purpose, and still other times it might be abused.”

In 1979 the state legislature passed the Economic Development Act, which allows cities to create economic development corporations that can exercise the power of eminent domain for economic development purposes. And, in 1994, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, he noted, upheld the city of Arlington’s condemnation of homes and businesses to build a parking lot and office complex for the Texas Rangers baseball team.

Currently the city of Freeport is condemning 50 year-old Western Seafood Company to build a multi-million-dollar arena for private use.

Blocker concluded his remarks with an overview of Texas’ Senate Bill 7, enacted in the second special session in the fall of 2005.

“The bill prohibits any entity, governmental or private, from taking property through eminent domain if the taking confers a private benefit on a particular private party, is for public use that is merely a pretext to confer a private benefit on a particular private party, or is for economic development purposes, unless the economic development is a secondary purpose resulting from an urban renewal project.

“If it makes sense to you, then I think Jackson Walker may look to hire you, because it doesn’t make any sense to me,” he told listeners.

Various exceptions were added to the bill in the form of amendments, Blocker noted. The exceptions included such things as transportation projects, water supply projects, public buildings, hospitals, parks, waste disposal projects, libraries, museums and the like. In addition, an exception was made to allow the city of Arlington to condemn property to build a new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys.

Some senators insisted that language be included which required an interim study so good law could be developed.

“One thing can be certain — come next session in 2007 several bills will be filed, and we’ll be chasing them around to make sure that good law does come forth.”

He noted that statutes can be changed by a simple majority of each chamber of the legislature, but if real reform is the goal, a constitutional amendment might be needed.

“Even at that, this subject probably won’t be settled without years and years of litigation and interpretation by the courts, which brought us here in the first place,” Blocker pointed out.

He made a plea for TSCRA members to be cognizant of who the TSCRA political action committee supports in various judicial races.

“The thought may have crossed your mind a time or two as to why this organization would want to get involved in these judicial races. The Kelo decision is a prime example of why that is important, because no matter how well you draft a statute, no matter how well you draft a constitutional amendment, it’s always going to be subject to the interpretation of the court, and because of that it’s important that we get to know our judges and that we elect qualified judges who are going to respect property rights,” he concluded.

© 2006 Livestock Weekly: www.livestockweekly.com

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"Corruption we can see from space."

Quote of the Day

Chris Bell
Democratic Candidate for Governor

Rick Perry’s idea for rural Texas is to take a half million acres off the school district tax rolls just to benefit the roadbuilders who’ve written the big campaign checks.

Did you know that in some places the Trans-Texas Corridor will be wider than the Amazon River?

This is corruption we can see from space.

The Trans-Texas Corridor isn’t New Mainstream, folks.

It’s just the same old corruption dressed up in a three-piece suit.

© 2006 Chris Bell for Governor Committee www.chrisbell.com

"This is the wrong road being built and forced on citizens for the wrong reasons."

Kudos for Chubb

Subject: Trans-Texas Corridor

April 27, 2006

The Cameron Herald
Copyright 2006

I am writing to thank staff writer Curtis Chubb for his story on the Trans-Texas Corridor regarding the release of the Environmental Impact Study last week by TxDOT. My concern is that the caption, "TTC Misses Milam" may be misleading. It's true that Milam does not fall within the preferred route shown. But, the effects of this highway as proposed will impact our entire state and should not be taken lightly.

I'm a Thorndale High School Class of '70 graduate and a resident of Davilla. I'm also a board member of the Blackland Coalition. The Coalition was formed by local residents in and around the Bell County area as a way to help educate and inform Texans about the TTC. Our continued research shows that this is the wrong road being built and forced on citizens for the wrong reasons.

When HB3588 was passed into legislation, most of us were so busy with our daily lives that we didn't realize all that was entailed in the bill. Unfortunately our legislators failed to fully understand the bill either and many didn't quite understand the sweeping powers given to the Regional Mobility Authority.

We had no idea that under camouflage of transportation needs, a deal would be made with a foreign company (Cintra) to create a plan to divide our entire state.

When the Dubai World port deal surfaced American's were outraged and it was ultimately placed on hold. Now Texas legislators have authorized turning over control of a major portion of our transportation infrastructure to a Spanish company for the next fifty years. Many residents are still standing by idly and allowing it to happen.

Residents should thank the Thorndale City Council and Milam County Commissioners for signing a resolution against the TTC. They realize that this plan is not the answer to addressing our transportation needs.

My concern is now that Milam is not in the direct path, folks will feel like they can sit back with a sigh of relief and not address the damage which will be done by the construction of this monstrous road. Those Texans in the direct path will continue to fight the battle against this huge tax burden and protect the lands our forefathers fought for.

So my plea goes out to you as editor, your staff writers and to every voting citizen in Milam County. Continue to stay informed of the progress of this wrong road. Attend the public hearings and voice your opinions, ask questions and hold our elected officials accountable.

The TTC may be Rick Perry's "dream" but unless we pull together as Texans and fight it may very well turn into our nightmare.

Cindy (Helbert) Miller

Davilla

Copyright © 2006 The Cameron Herald www.cameronherald.com

"The U.S. market has lots of potential."

Cintra 1st-Qtr Profit Climbs 79% as Traffic Increases (Update2)

April 26, 2006
Bloomberg
Copyright 2006

Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA, which operates toll roads in countries including the U.S. and Canada, said first-quarter profit jumped 79 percent as traffic increased and it posted a gain from the sale of a stake in a Spanish highway.

Net income was 5.6 million euros ($6.95 million) compared with 3.1 million euros a year earlier, Madrid-based Cintra said today. Revenue rose 24 percent to 185 million euros after it added roads in Chicago and Ireland.

Cintra, controlled by Spanish builder Grupo Ferrovial SA, is expanding in North America where it already runs the 407-ETR highway in Toronto and has projects in Chicago and Texas. The company gets about 68 percent of its revenue outside Spain.

``The U.S. market has lots of potential,'' Enrique Fuentes, Cintra's director of corporate development, said in a conference call. ``It's a market that is slowly developing.''

Shares of Cintra have gained 11 percent this year, valuing the company at 5.33 billion euros. They rose 1 cent, or 0.1 percent, to 10.86 euros as of 12:44 p.m. in Madrid.

``Cintra released a broadly positive set of results, with foreign exchange appreciation against the euro netting a significant positive effect,'' Banco BPI SA analysts Bruno Almeida da Silva and Flora Trindade said in an e-mailed statement.

407-ETR Highway

The 407-ETR highway contributed 39 percent of total sales. The appreciation of the U.S. dollar, Canadian dollar and the Chile's peso currency against the euro, as well as an increase in 407-ETR tolls, also helped lift revenue, Cintra said.

The company posted a gain of 9.7 million euros from the sale of a 1.49 percent stake in the Europistas highway in northern Spain. Cintra's debt increased to 7.74 billion euros at the end of the first quarter from 7.71 billion euros at the end of December.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 24 percent to 120 million euros in the first quarter. Sales at the car parking unit rose 17 percent to 31 million euros, the company said.

Cintra is interested in 40 projects in countries such as the U.S., representing total investment of 41 billion euros, and is under consideration for nine of those projects. The company is competing for the Ionian Road in Greece and the Malaga-Las Pedrizas road in southern Spain. It expects a winner or winners to be picked for the two projects this year.

Earlier this year, Cintra won a bid for the Indiana Toll Road after offering $3.85 billion with Macquarie Infrastructure Group. Competitors for this project included Spanish rival Abertis Infraestructuras SA, which this week agreed to buy Italy's Autostrade SpA for 12 billion euros in stock to form the world's biggest highway operator.

``I don't think this merger should change at all the competition landscape in our target market,'' Cintra's Fuentes said today.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Joao Lima in Madrid at jlima1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 26, 2006 06:48 EDT

© 2006 Bloomberg L.P. www.bloomberg.com

"TxDOT is cocking their guns."

Proposed Dallas County Toll Roads Debated

Apr 25, 2006
CBS 11 News, Dallas
Copyright 2006

When it comes to building new highways in north Texas, Dallas County Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield believes the state has the county backed into a corner.

Because the state doesn't have enough money, any new roads will have to be toll roads, and Mayfield says the state is demanding private firms build them... against the county's wishes.

"TxDOT is cocking their gun and they're saying 'you gotta maximize the revenue out of here or we're not going to approve your projects' we're not going to give you funds for that," Mayfield said.

A TxDOT spokesman agrees. The state favors private firms over the North Texas Tollway Authority because a private firm can pay the state millions of dollars up front for the right to build the toll roads.

The Tollway Authority can only pay the state back over many years.

"I'm not going to cave in," Mayfield said.

Commissioners say the problem is fairness.

While other counties in the region would receive extra money back from the private firms operating the new toll roads, Dallas County residents don't get that now from their existing toll roads.

All of the money stays with the Tollway Authority and is used to build toll roads in other counties.

Commissioner Mike Cantrell says, ""It does put our area at a disadvantage... it does form an inequity."

To be fair, commissioners want the Tollway Authority to give Dallas County back some of the toll revenues.

(CBS 11 News)

© 2006 CBS Stations Group of Texas cbs11tv.com

County Commissioners ask Transportation Commission to use every effort possible to use existing roadways for TTC-69

Use existing rights of way for I-69 route, officials urge

April 25, 2006

The Victoria Advocate
Copyright 2006

In an effort to encourage state road-builders to claim as few privately owned acres as possible for the proposed I-69 trade route through Victoria County, commissioners on Monday passed a resolution in favor of using existing rights of way for the new highway.

The resolution, which will be sent to the Texas Transportation Commission, asks that every effort be made to use the existing roadways "and not create new parallel corridors in the rural areas of Victoria County."

County Judge Don Pozzi said county and area residents attending a meeting in Victoria last month with state highway department officials delivered a clear message: "If there were to be any expansion, certainly (the residents') preference would be along the existing U.S. 59 and U.S. 77 roadways."

Pozzi said use of existing highways would "prevent the needless taking of private property" from areas other than those along the existing highways.

The judge said county officials understand that some private lands now bordering the highway routes would likely have to be taken for an expansion. "We recognize that there'd be some of that," he said.

The commissioners' resolution supports I-69 because the trade route would "help safely move people and commerce across our state and help improve economic development opportunities for our area."

The judge said he concurred with a letter sent to him by Victoria resident Bill Jones, who wrote that he sees the resolution as in no way supporting the Trans-Texas Corridor, but only as a signal to road developers and residents that the county is serious about protecting rural interests.

The I-69 project is a proposed eight-state highway and trade route that would cross Victoria County while connecting Mexico, the United States and Canada.

A version of the I-69 plan has been incorporated into the newer proposed Trans-Texas Corridor superhighway, which would feature separate truck and passenger car lanes, rail lines and various utility rights of way.

Pozzi said the I-69 concept was developed years ago and many different versions of the trade route have been promulgated - "Some good and some bad."

In other action:

• Commissioners approved a proposal from Wakefield Bridge Construction of Wharton County, which will be hired to build a new county bridge southeast of Fordtran.

Wakefield will be paid $98,500 to build the new bridge on J-2 Ranch Road at Wagner Flats to replace an often-flooded, low-lying bridge.

• Pozzi said the county's ban on open burning enacted in late December will continue. Rain during the past week reduced the drought index about a dozen points to 652, he said. But the ban is scheduled to remain in effect as long as the drought index, a gauge of dryness and fire danger in the county's fields, remains above 500.

"It's still very dangerous," Pozzi said.

• In honor of the work done by the local soil and water conservation district, a resolution proclaiming this week as Soil and Water Stewardship Week in Victoria County was approved by commissioners.

• Commissioners approved a resolution in support of a grant application seeking state funds for a "Click it or Ticket" program in Victoria County over the coming Memorial Day holiday period, May 22-June 4. The program is designed to increase seat belt use among drivers.

• This week was proclaimed as County Government Week in recognition of the leadership and services provided by county government. Monday's activities included a group of students from Memorial High School and St. Joseph High School "shadowing" elected officials and department heads to learn more about county government.

Other activities include: Today, county officials will address students in selected high school classrooms; Thursday, volunteer fire departments will visit area schools; Friday, a county employee appreciation luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. in DeLeon Plaza.

• Donald Day, Rex Easley Jr., and Ernest Zuniga were reappointed to the board of directors of Citizens Medical Center.

• Milton Greeson Jr. was reappointed as a member of the Victoria County Airport Commission.

• County commissioners voted to terminate their contract with McLemore Building Maintenance for janitorial services at the Dr. Pattie Dodson Public Health Center. The work will be done in the future by a full-time, three-person county crew. "It will save us dollars in the long run, probably about $5,000-6,000 per year," said Pozzi.

• Commissioners thanked Advocate reporter Greg Bowen for his work covering county government since 1999. Bowen has taken a position with an Austin public relations firm and will be leaving the Advocate at week's end. "He has always been accurate and fair," said Commissioner Jerry Nobles.


© 2006 The Victoria Advocate: www.thevictoriaadvocate.com

High gas prices drag down toll revenues

Fuel prices, storm blamed for toll revenue dip

N.J. Turnpike Authority reports lower revenue for its two highways

04/23/06

By Larry Higgs
Asbury Park Press
Copyright 2006

Climbing gasoline prices and a winter storm at the start of 2005 caused traffic and revenues on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike to dip last year, officials of the toll roads say.

"Toll revenues are down $5 million," said Michael Lapolla, executive director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which oversees the two highways. "Last year we had a bad snowstorm early in the year and minor traffic-diversion issues with construction at the Driscoll Bridge, and the state opened the (reconstructed) Victory Bridge."

But the sucker punch was delivered by two devastating hurricanes, Katrina and Rita.

"Since gas prices went up after Hurricane Katrina, it had a definite impact on both roads and continues to have an impact," Lapolla said. "If people have an alternative to going on toll roads, they'll take it."

Parkway toll revenues dipped by $5 million between Dec. 31, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2005, from $208 million to $203 million, according to an authority report. While 601 million passenger vehicles used the parkway in 2004, that number dropped to 496 million in 2005.

Toll revenues are sensitive to weather, and one significant storm can depress earnings by 1 percent because people are not driving, Lapolla said. Although the number of people taking the Parkway to work remains constant, the revenue drop can be attributed to reductions in discretionary driving.

Many of the drivers interviewed at the Parkway service area in Wall said they have no alternative to taking the toll road to work.

"It's the most direct route," said Stephen Holld of Spring Lake. "Using a local road is more stop and go."

James Golden of Little Silver said he uses a toll-free section of Parkway to go to work and makes the return trip home on local roads to avoid the expense.

"When I had a long commute, I had no choice. Now, I get on at (exit) 105, go five miles and get off at 100," Golden said. "On the way home I take local roads and don't pay a toll."

Christine Boyle of Stafford, who also finds herself compelled to drive on the Parkway, said she compensates for rising gasoline prices by shopping around and avoiding higher-priced brands of gas.

"I don't have a choice. I have to take toll roads," said Boyle, who commutes to Newark and Bergen County.

Even discretionary drivers, such as Dr. Lloyd Ross of Ridgewood, said the Parkway is the better choice for a direct and faster trip than local highways to his summer house in Barnegat.

"I can come down the Parkway or Route 9," he said.

With the price of some grades of gas around $3 per gallon, Lapolla said he expects traffic to be off this year. Gasoline prices will be the wild card in revenue growth from tolls.

"What you'll see this year is revenue will grow a little, but it will not grow as much," he said.

That wasn't the case on the Turnpike, where the number of passenger cars was up slightly by 514,007 vehicles from 214,095,494 in 2004. But 304,745 more tractor-trailer trucks and 170,950 more buses used the big highway in 2005.

"Trucks are the main source of revenue on the Turnpike, and truck traffic was up," Lapolla said.

Other factors also depressed earnings for the authority. They include the cost of voluntary separation agreements that offered veteran toll collectors and other workers half a year's salary for leaving, and one-time gains from refinancing debt in 2004.

Total revenues dipped from $829,255,596 in 2004 to $812,242,729 in 2005.

Several factors caused that, said Joe Orlando, Turnpike Authority spokesman.

The authority did not have a $31 million fiscal shot in the arm last year, which it got in 2004 from refinancing its debt

"We did a debt restructuring, so we don't have to pay as much," Lapolla said. "It's like refinancing your house. We got a $31 million benefit in '04, but it was a one-shot deal."

A severance package of half a year's salary offered to employees with 15 years of service or more who retired cost the authority $2.9 million, which was charged to the cost of toll collections, Orlando said. In 2005, $81.3 million was budgeted for toll collection, up from $78.3 million in 2004. That figure doesn't include E-ZPass toll collection costs.

Of the 140 workers who took the severance offer, 60 were toll collectors, and a total of 100 jobs were eliminated, Orlando said. That should bring a $6.8 million annual savings, according to the 2006 Turnpike Authority budget.

Larry Higgs: 732-643-4277 or lhiggs@app.com

© 2006 Copyright Asbury Park Press. www.app.com

"We have been extremely liberal of our grants of eminent domain authority in this state."

Senate to clarify eminent domain

April 22, 2006

By Eric Finley, Ballot Box
The San Angelo Standard-Times
Copyright 2006

AUSTIN - Texas property owners worried about eminent domain should know this - not even the state knows how many entities have been granted land-taking power by the Texas Legislature.

The State Affairs Committee in the Texas Senate, chaired by Sen. Robert Duncan, is studying eminent domain policies in the state. By the end of the year, the committee will recommend what the state should do about it beyond the legislation enacted in 2005 that limits the taking of land for economic development.

Duncan, R-Lubbock, said the State Affairs Committee asked the Legislative Council for the number of entities the state has granted eminent domain authority. It was more than the council could count, Duncan said.

''To me, that's an indication that we have been extremely liberal of our grants of eminent domain authority in this state,'' Duncan said this week following a State Affairs meeting on the topic.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing cities to use their power of eminent domain to take land for economic development in 2005 led Texas lawmakers to restrict that power.

Besides determining which state, regional or local entities have eminent domain power, the State Affairs committee is charged with monitoring the implementation of the legislation passed in 2005 and make any recommendations as to the use of eminent domain for economic development.

The committee is to recommend what constitutes adequate compensation for property taken. It also is asked to recommend whether a constitutional amendment is needed.

Duncan says he's not sure whether he would support an amendment, because he typically prefers not to change the state's constitution, nor does he like taking control out of the hands of lawmakers.

He said amendments could help clarify that the entities must prove that land taken is for the public good. An amendment also could help limit the way legislators hand out eminent domain authority, instead of simply granting the power to entities that request it.

''That's basically what we've been doing over the years,'' Duncan said. ''That's wrong, and we need to correct it.''

Copyright ©2006 - The San Angelo Standard-Times, an E.W. Scripps newspaper
www.sanangelostandardtimes.com

"This is the new paradigm. This is the way of building roads in Texas.”

Wavering support: Commissioners split on support of CDA option to toll 121

April 22, 2006

By KRYSTAL DE LOS SANTOS
McKinney Courier-Gazette
Copyright 2006

The Collin County Commissioners' Court on Friday entertained a motion to agree to back the comprehensive development agreement process for tolling S.H. 121 and “mend fences” with the Texas Department of Transportation, but was deadlocked with a split vote-two commissioners voted for backing a CDA, and two voted against it.

Pct. 3 Commissioner Joe Jaynes, who represents McKinney, made a motion to back allowing a private company to build and manage the state highway through Collin County, and Commissioner Jerry Hoagland seconded the motion. However, commissioners Phyllis Cole and Jack Hatchell voted to stick behind the county's almost certainly doomed choice to support the North Texas Tollway Authority's bid for the right to build the toll road.

“I know we need to mend some fences, but we also need to stand by what our cities are telling us,” Hatchell said. “We know McKinney is just ‘let's go for it,' and we know what Frisco has done, so let's find out what Plano and Allen want.”

The City of Frisco had drafted a resolution which supported tolling S.H. 121 if the toll rate was kept at 12 cents per mile and if NTTA would be allowed to build and operate the road, and the other four cities and Collin County later adopted the same resolution. But with recent actions by the Regional Transportation Council, Frisco decided that it's requirements for tolling support would not be met and it revoked the resolution April 4. The City of McKinney, on the other hand, has reaffirmed its support for tolling the road, hoping to get S.H. 121 built quickly and with plenty of excess funds generated to improve U.S. 75.

Still, Hatchell said that dropping support for the NTTA proposal is “premature” because there is “still a glimmer of hope,” that the RTC will accept the NTTA's bid over a private bid.

Commissioner Hoagland is not so sure, he said.

“I walked out of (a meeting with state officials) with the conclusion that one: this is going to be a toll road; two: that we need the road and three: that it needs to be done with a CDA,” he said. “We need to get with the program or we get nothing. We can object all we want to, but ultimately, it's the state's road, not Collin County's road... This is the new paradigm. This is the way of building roads in Texas.”

Commissioner Jaynes agreed that the county could end up with “a whole heap of nothing.”

However, County Judge Ron Harris said that tolling S.H. 121 through a CDA is “not right” and that other areas are experiencing the same struggles with Texas transportation officials. He added that policies could change during the next legislative session.

“It's not as dead as you believe it to be,” he said.

Other county and city officials disagree.

Last week, the RTC decided to set some requirements for S.H. 121 bidders, including an expectation that the company will pay 75 percent of the expected revenue from the road up front and that the toll rate will be 14.5 cents per mile and 17 cents at peak traffic times.

The new rules mean that private companies now have even more of an advantage than the NTTA, a non-profit, Plano-based organization.

Private bidders now, with the new toll rates, can offer $700 million to $900 million up front for the right to build the road. Earlier estimates concluded that a CDA with a private company could generate up to $575 million up front.

The North Texas Tollway Authority, on the other hand, has offered to pay $515 million over a 50-year period.

Planners are considering using tolls to pay for main-lane construction and interchanges at the Dallas North Tollway and at North Central Expressway. The cost is estimated to be $345 million.

Hatchell said that the RTC has also outlined the process for distributing excess revenue both from up front money paid by the builder and excess revenue from tolls paid by drivers on S.H. 121.

Under the RTC plan, all excess upfront revenue would be disbursed by RTC to Collin County. The excess revenue from tolls would be distributed based upon the residence of the drivers. For example, if 60 percent of the drivers on the tolled portion of S.H. 121 are from Collin County, Collin County would get 60 percent of the excess revenue.

“We've made every effort we could to change TxDOT's opinion, to change the RTC's opinion and we failed,” Hatchell said. “We need to move on with the program.”

Staff writer Amy Morenz contributed to this report.

Contact Krystal De Los Santos at krystal.delossantos@scntx.com.

Copyright © 2006 Star Community Newspapers www.allenamerican.com

"A flawed process has led to a flawed project."

Corridor watch group voices concerns:

Proposed plan environmental impact, eminent domain discussed

April 22, 2006

by Clay Coppedge
Temple Daily Telegram
Copyright 2006

ZABCIKVILLE - David and Linda Stall of corridorwatch.com aren’t sure that grassroots organizations opposed to the Trans Texas Corridor can stop the multi-billion dollar highway proposal in its tracks, but at a meeting of the Blackland Coalition on Friday night, they urged coalition members to stay involved in the process.

“You are the only thing that can change this,” Linda Stall told more than 300 coalition members early in Friday’s two-hour meeting, which also featured an Austin attorney who outlined the eminent domain process.

“You can move a gas station a couple of miles away, but you can’t take fertile topsoil and move it two miles away. Just because the land is empty doesn’t mean you have to put a subdivision on it. If we don’t stop it, they will do it,” Ms. Stall added.

David Stall called the process that has put plans for the corridor in motion a “flawed process that has led to a flawed project. No one asked us about it.”

The corridor is a multibillion, 4,000-mile plan designed to address problems with the state’s transportation systems. It comes with a price tag of $175 billion and a construction time of at least 25 years. The plan includes toll and non-toll roads of six highway lanes - three in each direction - and six high-speed freight and commuter rail lines.

The first phase of the corridor, called TTC-35, would stretch from the Red River to Laredo and roughly parallel Interstate 35. The 4,000-page Environmental Impact Study, released earlier this month, shows a preferred route and a secondary route. Both routes cut through large sections of productive agricultural land.

The Blackland Coalition is a grass roots organization dedicated to educating and informing Texas residents about the corridor.

Copyright © 2006 Temple Daily Telegram www.temple-telegram.com

TxDOT: Calvert would have to offer itself as a 'guinea pig' for a rural tollway bypass.

Calvert bypass a 'hard sell'

April 21, 2006

By HOLLY HUFFMAN
The Bryan-College Station Eagle
Copyright 2006

CALVERT - Community leaders in this small Robertson County town want a bypass directing Texas 6 traffic around the city, but funding for such a project is almost nonexistent, a state transportation official said Thursday.

Some business owners in Calvert are pushing for a bypass around downtown to help alleviate traffic problems, which they say hurt local businesses.

The 3.5-mile loop would carry a price tag of nearly $90 million, according to preliminary estimates released Thursday by the Texas Department of Transportation.

With no money in the state budget, the only way to secure funding for such a project would be through a direct appeal to the Texas Transportation Commission, TxDOT District Engineer Bryan Wood told a group of Calvert Chamber of Commerce members. The town would have to offer itself as a guinea pig of sorts for a rural tollway bypass, he said.

But even approval for a toll road is seen as a long shot, because it wouldn't generate a profit for years to come.

"This doesn't mean this is a done deal and this will never happen," Wood said Thursday during a meeting with a few chamber members. "But ... this is a hard sell."

Chamber officials have said a bypass would give 18-wheelers and other pass-through traffic an alternate route while allowing shoppers the opportunity to wander safely through downtown.

The project is backed locally by the Chamber of Commerce, the Calvert City Council and Robertson County commissioners, but at least two downtown merchants have expressed worries that a bypass would put them out of business.

Calvert has about 1,500 residents and just one main thoroughfare running through town - a four-lane, undivided section of Texas 6 that doubles as Main Street. Between 8,000 and 12,000 vehicles - about 17 percent of them 18-wheelers - travel daily along the stretch of highway, according to TxDOT estimates. Generally, four-lane highways can handle up to 40,000 cars each day, transportation officials say.

The state already is in the process of expanding Texas 6 into a four-lane, divided highway on either side of Calvert. But the town itself doesn't qualify for funding under the improvement program because the highway already is four lanes within the city limits, Wood said.

The tollway wouldn't turn a profit for at least a decade, which means the state probably wouldn't be able to borrow more than $5 million to fund the project, according to a preliminary revenue analysis. But the road could churn out more than $1 million in annual profits after about 25 years and more than $3 million after nearly 40 years, the preliminary analysis indicates.

"I think this is a great idea. I think it's needed in the future," Wood said, suggesting the chamber enlist help from state and national representatives. "But without money, things don't happen."

While pass-through traffic generally is good for a small town, Chamber of Commerce members have blamed 18-wheelers for a general decline in downtown commerce as well as building disrepair.

Vibrations from the trucks are causing Main Street buildings to crumble, and motorists often are afraid to slow down and look at the antique stores and other shops because speeding trucks are on their tails, they said. The group also has pointed to safety issues relating to children and tourists trying to cross the busy highway.

The concerns prompted the Chamber of Commerce to asked TxDOT last year to consider the feasibility of a bypass to divert 18-wheelers around the town. When it became obvious there were no funds for a standard bypass, chamber members asked the state to study the feasibility of a tollway.

Nine residents - including Calvert Mayor Marcus Greaves and Calvert Police Chief Joe Cheatham - attended the Thursday meeting. Most expressed frustration over TxDOT's funding system as they detailed the city's fruitless attempts to slow down passing traffic.

"We can sit out there all day long ... and the next day people are running red lights like we've never been there before because we get new people," Cheatham said, referring to traffic control. He asked TxDOT to consider lower speed limits through the town, a school zone for students crossing the highway and an additional stoplight on Main Street.

Other members asked whether the state weighs highway safety as heavily as traffic counts and available money when considering new routes.

"What happens if some child gets killed in the middle of the highway? Would it help us to get a bypass?" Chamber Vice President Candy Shores said, obviously irked.

A 2005 chamber survey indicated 95 percent of the organization's 43 members were in favor of the project. But not all business owners think the loop is a good idea. Removing traffic from the highway essentially removes customers from downtown businesses such as Sonny Tindle's Dairy Queen and Chrissy Daley's Daley Grind coffee shop, they said.

Tindle said that although he has loyal Calvert customers, the majority of his business comes from people who are passing through town. Giving motorists an alternate route around the city would close him down, he said.

"We're already dying on the vine," said Tindle, who is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. "I can't see what they're thinking. I don't understand it."

Daley offered similar thoughts. Roughly 95 percent of Daley's business comes from repeat pass-through traffic, she said. And most first-time customers tell her they decided to stop after spotting her shop while driving by - business she would lose with a bypass, she said.

The coffee shop owner said she isn't really worried by the idea of the bypass because she doesn't think it will come to fruition. But if it does, she likely will have to close her shop and move the business to Franklin. Society is fast-paced and, if a bypass is available, most motorists won't take the time to meander through the city just "for the heck of it," she said.

"To call Calvert a destination point? What a joke," Daley said. "That's one of their major problems. We're no longer the antique capital of the state of Texas - get a grip. Why make a square object fit into a round hole? Why not take advantage of the fact that you've got [thousands of] cars driving down Highway 6?"

• Holly Huffman's e-mail address is holly.huffman@ theeagle.com.

© 2000 - 2006 The Bryan-College Station Eagle www.theeagle.com

Too early to bet on "Big Dig" in Texas

Industrial Analysis: It's Too Early for Trans-Texas Corridor Bets

April 21, 2006
By Connie Gore
GlobeSt.com
Copyright 2006

DALLAS-With planning in its infancy for a 521-mile toll road bisecting Texas, industrial leaders in the region say the $6-billion proposal isn't impacting their land-buying strategies, as yet. Logistically, the Trans-Texas Corridor plan is viewed as a winner, but it's too far out in the future to start placing bets.

The toll road, eyed as an anti-congestion vehicle for Interstate 35, isn't slated for completion until 2015. There are years to go with environmental hurdles, public hearings and final drafts before the first spade of dirt would ever turn.

In the interim, the region's heavyweight developers are staying focused on South Dallas, looking to get their market share in a land rush to neighbor Union Pacific Railroad's intermodal yard and be part of an inland port that relies on Interstate 20 as the main link to all points north, east, south and west. Besides, it could be 2011 before the Trans-Texas Corridor's path is known. Based on a recent report, an estimated 2,400 square miles of land would have to be acquired for the highway's path.

"Most investments are being made in the intermodal facility and Interstate 20 in South Dallas. It's the best investment," says Jon Napper, Texas partner for Sacramento-based Panattoni Development Co. Should the Trans-Texas Corridor become reality, he says "it's still an eight-hour drive to Laredo," reinforcing South Dallas as the best bet from a trucking and logistics standpoint. "From an industrial perspective, no one is trying to pick up sites between here and Laredo," he tells GlobeSt.com.

As it stands, the initial map swings the proposed 10 mile-wide road to the east side of Dallas/Fort Worth. "As far as serving the highest population, which is what distribution is all about, it's going to go east," says Dan W. Cook, senior director for Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc.'s global supply chain solutions. "I think an alignment of the Trans-Texas Corridor to the east of the metroplex will improve the flow of goods through Texas. But, I can guarantee you that Tarrant County and Fort Worth are going to put their plan on the plate too."

Cook says the final route might shift the distribution channel, but it won't "draw it away entirely" from the region's interior freeways. The guarantee, he says, are the two intermodal terminals, UP's in South Dallas and Burlington Northern Santa Fe's AllianceTexas facility off Interstate 35W in northeast Tarrant.

"From an industrial, distribution and general logistics perspective, in concept, it's an excellent idea," assesses Robert Kramp, vice president and director of national client services for Grubb & Ellis Co. In the overall scheme, he says not even the toll is a deterrent. "We certainly have had a success in building toll roads in Texas," he says. "And, drivers seem willing to pay if it shaves time. If it improves mobility and at the same time increases logistics efficiency, then a fee structure seems reasonable."

Kramp says Central Texas stands to be one of the biggest winners from the plan because the route, as it's now proposed, would loop around San Antonio and Austin. "It will open up major distribution areas and position the state to be even more of a competitive force for all of North and Central America," he concludes.

Greg Fuller, managing director for Dallas-based Granite Properties, says north-south travelers will have to evaluate the cost of paying a toll versus the benefit of being able to circumvent traffic snarls. "You don't have an option to I-35 if you're going north and south," he points out. "It's a cost-benefit they'll have to weigh."

Fuller says the Granite team has been looking for land along Interstate 35, particularly since it started a hard push about two years ago to strengthen its industrial footprint. "I wouldn't say we looked for land along that path as it relates to the Trans-Texas Corridor, but we have looked for land along I-35," he says. "There are a million reasons to be located along I-35, none of which are solely related to the Trans-Texas Corridor."

History, though, has taught transportation planners that the best-laid plans can often erode existing business corridors when they are bypassed. "It's too early to tell one way or the other," Kramp says. "If it proceeds as planned, there will be some big winners, but there will be some big losers too. Like Boston's Big Dig, it was years and years in the planning but it certainly changed the Downtown. While it's not perfect, it has improved Downtown Boston."

The next step for the state and its Madrid-based private planner, Cintra-Zachry, will be to hold public meetings across the state. The first of 50 sessions were to get under way in May, but dates and locations have yet to be announced

Copyright © 2006 Real Estate Media www.globest.com

TxDOT and city officials want to fund toll road with property taxes.

Tollway planning halts for funding discussions

April 21, 2006

By Liz McGathey
The Rowlett Lakeshore Times
Copyright 2006

North Texas Tollway Authority executive director Allan Rutter officially suspended all design and other work on the Eastern Extension of the President George Bush Turnpike project because of a financing issue.

The move resulted from a recent submission by the city of Rowlett and the Texas Department of Transportation of an alternative method for funding the necessary right-of-way acquisition, according to the NTTA.

Rowlett city officials said the focus is not on the delay at this point, because the project is well ahead of schedule. Instead, the city is concentrating on shifting the burden of paying for the road from its taxpayers.

Stakeholders of the Eastern Extension, including the city of Rowlett, North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), continued to discuss and evaluate options for funding the Eastern Extension of the PGBT during the NTTA’s monthly board of directors meeting on Wednesday. Representatives from the city of Garland and the city of Sachse also were in attendance.

"We are committed to continuing this project, but the most important step at this point is to obtain a firm commitment among our partners for sharing in the cost of acquiring the right of way," Rutter said.

According to the NTTA Web site, the Eastern Extension is a six-lane, 9.9-mile, toll road that will pass through Garland, Sachse and Rowlett, including a one-mile bridge over Lake Ray Hubbard.

The NTTA’s project overview states construction is not scheduled to begin until 2007 and will be completed and opened by 2010. The estimated cost of the extension project is $782 million.

During the stakeholders’ meeting, Mayor Shane Johnson presented the interests of the city of Rowlett to NTTA’s board of directors.

“A solution presented by Rowlett based on TxDOT’s 90/10 statewide funding standard for right-of-way acquisition has the potential to save taxpayers of Rowlett up to 5-1/2 cents on the tax rate for the costs of project right of way,” Johnson said after the meeting. “We are pleased that this solution is now being explored by all parties and encouraged and excited about the potential benefits of the plan to our partner cities and taxpayers throughout the region.”

During the March 21 regular city council meeting, Rowlett also passed a resolution clarifying its position on the use of tollway funding for local infrastructure projects including the Eastern Extension.

The resolution states, “That the City of Rowlett urges that any tolling policy adopted by the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) for the region require that all elements of the design, engineering, right of way acquisition, construction operation, maintenance and perpetual care be completely funded on toll facilities before any ‘excess revenue’ as provided in RTC approval, dated September, 2004.”

The resolution also affirmed a $20 million cap agreement only allowing as much as that figure to go toward funding of the Eastern Extension n not as an exact amount to be paid by the city.

“All regional leaders in North Texas from RTC to NTTA to Collin County to Denton to Dallas County including TxDOT acknowledge that transportation funding has been undergoing a significant change over the last 12 months,” said City Manager Craig Owens. “The $20 million cap predated those regional conversations. New options are now available and that’s why we believe its important for us to look that those options; TxDOT agreed, so we’re going to take a couple of weeks now to explore those options as an alternative to the citizens of Rowlett funding it through property tax.”

Futhermore, Johnson said he thinks the idea of toll roads is for them to pay for themselves.

“Funding toll roads through property taxes should be the last resort after all other options are exhausted,” he said.

Since the city has been planning for the tollway for 15 to 20 years, the area for it to be built across has been reserved in order to avoid excess right of way acquisition. With less right-of-way acquisition, the savings on the total project amounts to about $30 million.

The city of Rowlett also continues to work with NTTA to ensure that design elements, critical to the future economic impact the Eastern Extension has on Rowlett, are included in the final plans and agreements.

“Even though more than 60 percent of the design is complete, the city has yet to see documentation of many elements in the plan, including the Merrit Road Interchange, U-turns, access points, and sound mitigation that have been on the table and verbally agreed to over the last two years,” Owens said. “I think we are very close on an agreement with NTTA, but the city council cannot approve an Inter Local Agreement (ILA) that does not document the mutually agreed terms.”

Johnson is optimistic about upcoming project stakeholder meetings, he said.

“With the potential 90/10 funding solution for right-of-way acquisition and documented inclusion by NTTA of PGBT design elements critical to Rowlett, there is no reason why an agreement between all interested parties could not be worked out in the coming weeks and the project be completed on schedule if not ahead of schedule,” he said.

The Eastern Extension has long been a significant component in Rowlett’s economic development efforts to transfer more of the tax base from residential property owners to commercial properties and sales tax revenue, a city press release states.

Updates on the project will continue to be provided by the city of Rowlett through the monthly City Hall News mailed with the utility bills, the quarterly Lakeside Citizen newsletter mailed to all households, the website at www.rowlett.com, and through media bulletins.

Representatives from NTTA and TxDOT did not return phone calls before press time Thursday.

Copyright © 2006 Star Community Newspapers www.courier-gazette.com

TxDOT: "It's not a tax. It's a user fee."

Few attend toll lanes forum

April 21, 2006

Adriana M. Chávez
El Paso Times
Copyright 2006

Texas Department of Transportation officials hosted their third open house Thursday evening on the proposed toll lanes in El Paso, aiming to further educate the community on the city's transportation needs.

However, at least one attendee said El Paso isn't ready for toll lanes, and that if constructed, tolls could have a negative snowball effect on the city's economy.

"I don't know if El Paso's economy can support" toll roads, said Eastsider Sylvia Stuckey, who was at Thursday's open house at Riverside High School, 301 Midway. "Everything is getting more expensive and gasoline is hovering close to $3 a gallon. (Toll lanes) are going to affect all areas of the economy."

Blanca Del Valle, TxDOT spokeswoman, said the three open houses TxDOT has sponsored so far have averaged about 20 to 30 attendees per night, and TxDOT will also have more public meetings in the future.

Mark C. Longenbaugh, director of transportation, planning and development for TxDOT in El Paso, said the toll lanes will be added along Interstate 10 beginning at the Texas/New Mexico state line in Anthony up to Sunland Park Drive.

Toll lanes will also be added above Paisano from the West Side into Downtown, providing the completion of Loop 375. The toll lanes will run alongside existing lanes that will remain free of charge, Longenbaugh said.

"It's not a tax. It's a user fee. No existing lanes will be tolled," Longenbaugh said. "It's a choice and a time-saving issue. People using the (toll lanes) will get to their destination faster."

Adriana M. Chávez may be reached at achavez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6117.

Copyright © 2006 El Paso Times www.borderlandnews.com

"These two transportation giants haven't come to terms on anything."

Bush Turnpike extension delayed

Rowlett: Work on hold as city, tollway agency fight over funding

April 19, 2006

By TONY HARTZEL
The Dallas Morning News
Copyright 2006

PLANO – The North Texas Tollway Authority halted work Wednesday on the Bush Turnpike's eastern extension because of a long-running dispute with Rowlett about paying for land.

Rowlett is at odds with the tollway authority over the agency's suggestion that the city contribute $20 million to help defray the $150 million needed to buy land for the road from property owners. The city has passed a resolution supporting a maximum $20 million contribution but has never come to a formal agreement with the tollway authority on exactly how much to pay, Rowlett Mayor Shane Johnson said.

Until an agreement is reached, further planning and engineering work should be halted, the tollway authority's board of directors agreed Wednesday. Many officials said they didn't expect the delay to last very long.

"We're talking about a couple of weeks," Mr. Johnson said. "If it takes this type of public forum to engage the issue, we're fine with that."

Whether the impasse affects the project schedule remains unclear. Construction on the project was to begin in 2007. The turnpike section will run from State Highway 78 to Interstate 30 through Sachse, Garlan