I have never liked the way this town's "visionaries" have handled rail.
They can be heavy-handed, condescending and less than forthcoming with the facts.
They offer vague and misleading answers to legitimate questions and then seem puzzled by the fact that everyone doesn't jump on board.
They help create the very gadflies that drive them so batty.
There's also the fact that so many of them seem to have their hands in the cookie jar.
I remember last month when we got our hands on the documents that showed how much public money had been spent promoting this thing — well over $1 million on lobbying and public relations alone.
More than a quarter-million of that went to the regional civic group, Myregion.org. Taxpayers already support this well-intentioned but amorphous chamber-of-commerce outgrowth, which is bigger on feel-good talk than concrete results.
So the taxpayers help fund this group ... which then bills the taxpayers for more money ... so they can convince everyone to spend more taxpayer money on a massive project. Nice gig if you can get it.
(And by the way: Nearly $1 million for sell-jobs that failed? Maybe someone should throw a few expected-results clauses into the next contract.)
There are a lot of people who support this project. SunRail proponents should find more of them who are willing to give help — without also giving them a bill.
Even the so-called "deadline" that was miraculously extended last week was an artificial one.
It was simply a date CSX chose to try to force lawmakers to strike a deal as quickly as possible. There's a reason that CSX both set the deadline and now agreed to extend it — because the company is going to make out like a bandit.
That's something else proponents have trouble admitting. When pressed about whether CSX is getting too much from taxpayers, they resort to the well-that's-how-everyone-else-did-it response.
My mother didn't buy that excuse when I was back in grade school. Maybe I need to sic Mom on the SunRail strategists.
Maxwell also points out that among the apponents are ardent anti-public works folks (more commonly referred to as anti-tax folks) who cannot be placated, because they lack the vision necessary to help such a grand project materialize.
He continues by stating the most obvious but ofetn missed point in local media:
And then somewhere between the constant complainers and paternalistic pom-pom shakers are what I think is the majority of us — people who want more transit options but have some legitimate concerns and questions.
We are the people who understand that SunRail would simply be a first step, but a crucial one. People who understand that nothing this significant comes cheap.
But we are also people who expect those championing this project to act more like responsible stewards of the public's interest than starry-eyed cheerleaders. People who want public officials to drive a hard bargain on their behalf. And people who want civic leaders who will do that without looking to get paid for it.
The best thing proponents have going for them is the possibility of tapping even more stimulus money for the project.
A point of caution remains,........stimulus money is still tax payer monies and we should make sure be get the best deal possible so as to not make it seem like a corporate give-away at tax payer expense.
Bottom line, while it is imperative that we invest in public transportation, and while these projects are inherently expensive and rarely pay for themselves, it MUST be negotiated in a way that puts the tax-payer interest first, instead of leaning toward being a corporate give-away first and foremost. We MUST get the best deal possible, so let's get started on re-negotiating a better deal.
