Rick Scott approves SunRail

[seafan]

Rick Scott approves SunRail

By Janet Zink, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Jul 01, 2011 11:11 AM

TALLAHASSEE — In an affront to his tea party base, Gov. Rick Scott on Friday announced he will allow SunRail, a commuter rail project in Central Florida, to go forward.

"This decision was made after a long, deliberative process," Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad said in a morning news conference. "All stakeholders will be held accountable."

The controversial, $1.28 billion, 61.5 mile Central Florida project has been on hold since January, when Scott started a review of $238 million worth of SunRail contracts.

.....

Prasad called SunRail a "judgment day" project. If it fails, it could stop future commuter trains from coming to Florida, he said.

.....

Here is the history of this abominable deal worked out in secret starting with Jeb Bush while he was in office.



Remember how Rick Scott flatly rejected the 2.4 Billion high speed rail for Florida?

Well, today he is set to approve a long-pushed $1.28 Billion, 61.5-mile pet rail project known as SunRail, that has, until now, failed in the Legislature because of its highly controversial nature.

This project was the brainchild of Jeb Bush while he was in office, as he manipulated the levers of state power for the benefit of his buddies at CSX, who wanted the state to buy usage of 61.5 miles of CSX railway track connecting Orlando to communities north for a commuter rail plan. CSX would get all of that nice state money to use for another controversial hub project, while transferring all liability for accidents involving SunRail traveling on CSX tracks to taxpayers.

The agreement states that the federal government will pay for 50% of the project, the state of Florida will pay 25%, and local taxpayers are on the hook for the remaining 25%. (But Rick Scott HATES federal government....)


The plan further reveals that if local governments could not cover all of the costs of this commuter rail, the rest of the money would be taken from that region's state transportation dollars, which would severely curtail funds for other infrastructure such as roads and bridges.


Coincidentally, this commuter rail proposal that would lavish hundreds of millions on CSX would also ultimately benefit two Republican legislators from the Orlando area, as they own property close to CSX tracks.

(March 14, 2008) TAMPA - Two state lawmakers could benefit from the state's multimillion-dollar plan to help CSX Transportation expand its freight operations into a major hub in Winter Haven.
State Sen. JD Alexander, R-Winter Haven, controls a warehouse and distribution business that partners with CSX to serve warehouse customers near the proposed hub. State Rep. Marty Bowen, R-Haines City, owns property a few miles away along the CSX tracks, adjacent to the proposed hub site.

Isn't THAT convenient.



This SunRail deal is also a top priority for House Speaker Dean Cannon, a Winter Park Republican.



Gov. Rick Scott faces tough decision on costly Orlando commuter rail line, June 27, 2011

.....

The governor, though, faces challenges and opportunities with SunRail he didn't with high-speed rail. And while approving it will rankle Scott's tea party base, it could also help advance parts of his agenda.

.....

• State lawmakers have budgeted and spent millions of dollars on the project. No state money was budgeted for high-speed rail.

• And the SunRail deal comes with a sweetener for Scott: $432 million in state money to move and upgrade commercial freight lines for CSX Corp., a North American freight rail operator.

It's an investment that could help Scott advance his goal of turning Florida into "the shipping capital of the East Coast, if not the nation."

In a letter sent this month to the governor, Florida Chamber of Commerce president Mark Wilson wrote: "SunRail will result directly in an increase in global trade in Florida."

One piece of that puzzle, according to a Florida Chamber Foundation report that informed Scott's decision on high-speed rail, is a state-of-the-art "intermodal" freight center for CSX in Winter Haven that's in the SunRail deal.

.....

Scott warns on SunRail as his decision nears (that residents will be on the hook when if he approves it), June 29, 2011

.....

His tea party base is trying to kill the rail line, arguing that it's costlier than the Tampa-to-Orlando high-speed rail project Scott canceled early this year.

Lined up on the other side are a cast of powerful Central Florida politicians, including House Speaker Dean Cannon and U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, who is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

.....

So, when it comes down to pressure from the tea partiers and many other people who strongly oppose this outrageous deal, or pressure from Republican politicians such as Speaker Dean Cannon, John Mica, JD Alexander, Marty Bowen, CSX, Jeb Bush and the other soft tissue-feeding vultures, Rick Scott is on the side of the politicians.

"The provisions given to CSX amount to corporate welfare," said Karen Jaroch, a tea party activist who met with Scott right before he killed high-speed rail. "I've not met one person in the movement that would be for SunRail. Seriously. We won't forget it."

SunRail tests Scott's principles, June 29, 2011

.....

Scott created this litmus test for himself. He killed the $2.4 billion high-speed rail line from Tampa to Orlando because he said he was worried about the cost, suspicious about ridership projections and skeptical of the jobs it would create. SunRail would cost the state more money, expect far fewer riders and create far fewer jobs. It would be inconsistent at best to kill a high-speed rail line that would have boosted the regional economy and allow a regional commuter line to nowhere to proceed.

SunRail was a dubious project from the start, and the federal government considers it one of the least cost-effective rail projects in the country. It would stretch 61 miles from Poinciana north through Orlando and Winter Park to DeLand. Trains would run along existing CSX track and not stop at Orlando International Airport or Disney World. In fact, trains would run only every 30 minutes during rush hour and every two hours most of the rest of the day. No wonder it is expected to serve just a few thousand riders a day at first. That is more of a theme park ride than reliable commuter service.

As Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, has argued, the SunRail project is a bad financial deal for the state. It would overpay CSX to use the company's tracks, and CSX would use most of the $432 million to upgrade other tracks and facilities for rail. The state would pay at least $585 million to build the commuter line, split construction cost overruns with local governments and cover operating losses for the first seven years. How could Scott rationalize that expense after killing a high-speed rail line that would not have cost the state a nickel to build and would not have put Florida on the hook for any construction cost overruns or operating losses?

.....

Scott killed a high-speed rail project that would have been a model for the nation and declared he was acting on principle. Let's see if he sticks with his principles on a far less defensible commuter rail line or turns out to be another deal-cutting governor protecting his backside.

I think we already know the answer.



UPDATE: 11:11 AM, July 1, 2011

Rick Scott approves SunRail

[onethatcares]

1. I do believe he (prickscott) told the central Floriduh folks that

they won't be getting any road improvement dollars due to this.

Todays' St. Pete Times had an article that included thoughts that CSX would have built its own terminal with their own money but

were waiting for snotties signature on this.

With the likes of Cannon/Hardropolus in our legislature, we can be certain there won't be many projects that benefit the peons.

[seafan]

2. Floridians have been RickRailed.

How he pulled it off

[onethatcares]

3. it goes even deeper

Savanah Georgia has a lock on shipping and all the ports in Floriduh are too shallow for large container ships. Miami and Port
Everglades will be cruise ship enhanced which will benefit no one.

Jeezus on a flatsboat, this state is prepped to get a lot worse than we ever imagined.