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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2200A Resolution ~~~~ ENDORSING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NORTH TEXAS TOLLWAY AUTHORITY WHEREAS, the Sunset Advisory Commission is reviewing the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Texas Turnpike Authority (TTA) and there is legislative intent to consolidate the two agencies and WHEREAS, North Texas mobility would be best served by the North Texas assets and operations of the TTA remaining in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, and WHEREAS, continued efficient toll road development is an integral component of the regional mobility plan for North Texas and WHEREAS, maintaining mobility m the Dallas-Fort Worth area is unportant to the economic vitality of the state and the region, and WHEREAS, a tollway authority in Austin within or closely associated with TxDOT can be established to serve the tollway needs of Texas outside of Harris County and the Dallas-Fort Worth region. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, ~ ____ - -------._. _ 1 That the City of Fort Worth endorses the efforts of the North Texas Tollway Coalition which is a coalition of public and private officials and leaders in Collin, Dallas Denton, and Tarrant Counties and hereby supports the effort of the Coalition to work together to establish a North Texas Tollway Authority 2 That the Sunset Advisory Commission, TxDOT TTA and the Texas Legislature be and hereby are urged to support the establishment of a North Texas Tollway Authority which incorporates the assets liabilities and operations of the existing TTA relating to existing and future North Texas toll facilities 3 That copies of this resolution be furnished to the Sunset Advisory Commission, the leaders and district representatives of the Texas House and Texas Senate TxDOT TTA and the North Texas Tollway Coalition. Adopted this 30th day of July 1996 Mayor Kenneth Barr ATTEST City Secretary 0 APP~ROVE~ CITY CO~V~~~ ~ 19~ CITY OF F08T 11/ORTS c~~ir~r~ w~~,~s A coalition of public and private officials and leaders in Collin, Dallas, Oenton and Tarrant Counties formed to support the establishment of a North Texas Tollway Authority Co-Chairmen: The Honorable Ron Harris, Collin County The Honorable Lee Jackson, Dallas County The Honorable Jeff Moseley, Denton County The Honorable TomVandergriff, ~he ~~® osal ~o~ 11 Tarrant County North Texas Tollway Authority • Issues and Answers 7th Edition P.O. Box 610246 OFW Airport Texas 75261 Metro (214] 621-0400 Fax (214] 929-0916 RECEIVED .tui 0 5 NORTH TEXAS COMMISSION TO• NTC Board and Friends Metroplex City Managers Metroplex Chamber Exeeuhves FROM. Dan S Petty DATE July 3 1996 SUBJECT North Texas Tollway Coalition Since being formed, the NTTC has been active on a number of fronts and it was felt that providing you with an update would be useful. The North Texas Tollway Coalition is a coalition of public and private officials and leaders in Collor, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant Counties formed to support the establishment of a North Texas Tollway Authority The proposal for a North Texas Tollway Authority (copy attached) has been developed by the Coalition and is being distributed to and discussed by interested parties in the region and throughout the state. Presentations of the proposal have been made to the Sunset Advisory Commission, the Transportation Committee of theTexas House of Representatives, and various state officials. A not-for-profit corporation, Tollways for North Texas, Inc., has been organized to raise funds to support the efforts of the North Texas Tollway Coalition to establish a regional tollway authority in the 1997 session of the Texas Legislature. For more information about the Coalition or how you might support its efforts, please contact Vic Suhm or me at 214/621-0400 Thank you. • Enclosure :.!" 1 of 6 The Current Situation There are presently two tollway authorities operating. in Texas The Texas Turnpike Authority (TTA) and the Harris County Toll Road Authority TTA is a state agency based in Dallas, established by the Legislature in 1953 tts first project was the Dal{as-Fort Worth Turnpike, which is now 1H-30 TTA currently operates two projects the Mountain Creek Lake Bridge and the Dallas North Tolwway (DNT) The President George Bush Turnpike (SH 190T) and the Addison Airport Tunnel are being built now as extensions of the DNT The TTA has 235 employees and a S 14 million annual budget, funded exclusively from toll revenues Harris County formed its toll authority in 1983 as a means of responding directly and quickly to its rising roadway congestion problem Since then the Harris County Toll Road Authority has built 50 miles of tollways in the Houston metropolitan area and plans to construct an additional 32 miles TTA has studied the feasibility of toll roads outside of the Dallas Fort Worth region but has built none except for the Houston Ship Channel Bridge which was transferred to the Harris County Toll Authority in 1994 TTA currently is considering or performing feasibility studies for 12 potential tollway projects 6 within and 6 outside the DFW metropolitan area What s wrong with the status quo wh y consider TTA changes now? TTA has been very effective over the past 43 years in responding to the needs of North Texas communities and in building and operating successful projects but there is now growing pressure to broaden the TTA focus beyond North Texas and to merge TTA with TxDOT • Increased interest in looking to toll revenues to finance all or part of feasible roadway projects arises from the declining ability of traditional funding sources (motor vehicle fuel tax and registration fee) to meet the State s transportation needs TxDOT is now able to fund only about 40% of its project development needs • When a major tollway project in Austin San Antonio or elsewhere in Texas is initiated in the near future there will be even greater pressure for an Austin- based tollway development authority within or closely aligned with TxDOT • The Legislature in 1991 declared its intention to consolidate TTA within TxDOT • on September 1 1997 • Both TTA and TxDOT are currently undergoing Sunset review 2of6 The Sunset Advisory Commission staff issued a report in April, 1996 stating that a separate agency to develop toll roads is not needed and recommending that the Legislature consolidate the functions of TTA within TxDOT The Commission itself has not yet stated a position on the issue--it should do so the last week of August, 1996 . TxDOT wants authority for bonding and tolling as a means of meeting Texas transportation needs and sees a merger with TTA as the method to obtain this additional authority What are the probab/e imp/ications of TTA merging with TxDOT? A TTA merger with TxDOT without a simultaneous creation of a North Texas Tollway Authority to operate the existing TTA projects and to develop additional North Texas toll roads has several probable implications which have negative consequences for the Dallas Fort Worth metropolitan area • toll road decision-making moving from Dallas to Austin reduced access to key officials • decreased responsiveness to North Texas mobility needs longer project development time periods and possibly higher project costs • increased likelihood of efforts to divert revenues from tolls paid by North Texas motorists to develop toll roads outside the Dallas Fort Worth region /s the main objection to TTA conso/idation within TxDOT that Da//as North To//way reserve funds wi// be redistributed around Texas? No The proposed TTA TxDOT merger would mean a loss of regional influence as the final authority for North Texas toll projects would be moved from Dallas to Austin but it would not necessarily change the use of bond funds which are committed to each toll project by the bond covenants Although the use of funds might not be changed initially it would open the door for future pressures to change the laws or future bond agreements to allow transfer of funds Why create a North Texas To//way Authority in 1997? In light of the current Sunset review of TTA and TxDOT and TxDOT's desire to obtain bonding/tolling authority the 1997 legislative session may be the opportune time to negotiate a permanent resolution of the issue that will protect the independence of the North Texas projects while transferring to Austin the toll project development role for the rest of the State 3of6 Like Houston the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area needs a toll authority which can focus exclusively on its roadway needs Toll roads account for over $1 billion of the 20-year regional transportation plan for North Texas They are an essential component of regiona{ mobility and must be able to be analyzed far feasibility designed and constructed as efficiently as possible What is the North Texas proposa/ to create a regional tollway authority? . a proposal sponsored by Collin Dallas Denton and Tarrant counties and endorsed by numerous cities chambers of commerce and other organizations in the Dallas Fort Worth metropolitan area a governing board of North Texas residents appointed sponsored by Collin Dallas Denton and Tarrant counties with details of the administrative structure to be established by statute in the 1997 session of the Texas Legislature transfer of all assets and liabilities of the existing TTA to the new North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) including all TTA staff equipment, facilities the Mountain Creek Lake Bridge project and the Dallas North Tollway project (which includes the Addison Airport Tunnel and President George Bush Turnpike projects) assumption and continuation of all current TTA construction and professional services contracts so that no delay occurs in any project currently under feasibility study design or construction • transfer of TTA feasibility study funds to its successor agency in Austin in sufficient amount to continue studies of pending tollway projects outside North Texas retirement or assumption of all existing TTA debt • continued utilization of all TTA assets and revenues exclusively to operate maintain and develop existing and future tollway facilities What are the advantages to the Dallas Fort Worth area of transitioning from the TTA to the NTTA? • more aggressive local support for new tollroad projects due to a board of local leaders who will share responsibility with local governments to find solutions to transportation funding shortages ability of professional staff to focus exclusively on development of local projects without additional responsibility for travel and development of projects in other parts of Texas • dedication of regional tollway user fees to regional tollway needs resolving political struggles over diversion of current and future .North Texas transportation revenues 4 of 6 ~ potential for increased flexibility and interest-rate savings by adding new regional projects as part of a tollway system in North Texas rather than financing separate projects How might the NTTA benefit TxDOT and the State of Texas? more aggressive leveraging of potential NTTA revenues to assist TxDOT in meeting some of the billions of dollars of unmet highway needs in North Texas which are beyond current and projected TxDOT funding abilities with legislative approval new tollway development and revenue bond capabilities in Austin to focus exclusively on Texas tollway projects outside of the Houston and Dallas Fort Worth areas • NTTA would have operational responsibilities for the existing TTA projects freeing TxDOT of the distraction of administering these operating projects from Austin The toll projects are very different from highway construction and maintenance Dallas Fort Worth continues to have most of the feasibility studies of future tollway projects and will continue to dominate the staff attention of a single statewide toll agency if the NTTA is not established Are there any other regional to/lway authorities in Texas? • Yes, the Harris County Toll Road Authority serves the Houston metropolitan area • The Harris County Toll Road Authority was established in 1983 and has functioned very effectively having built 50 miles of tollways with plans to build another 32 miles • The Houston Ship Channel Bridge was developed by the TTA In 1994 it was transferred to the Harris County Toll Authority just as the North Texas proposal now suggests that the Mountain Creek Lake Bridge and Dallas North Tollway be transferred to a new NTTA in 1997 Why should Da//as Fort Worth and Houston have their own toll authorities? Their roadways are the most congested in Texas only DFW and Houston have a Roadway Congestion Index above 1 0 . The level of roadway congestion in DFW and Houston is among the ten highest in the U S and continues to rise • . To ether DFW and Houston com rise over 50% of the Texas economy and 9 p Dallas Fort Worth produces more population and job growth than any other Texas region which further increases its roadway congestion 5of6 How cou/d the proposed North Texas To//way Authority serve the to// road needs in counties adjacent to Co//in, Da//as, Denton and Tarrant? The future may bring a need for toll roads in the adjacent counties For example the Southwest Parkway in Fort Worth may be built as a toll road and at some point could extend to Cleburne in Johnson County? The North Texas Tollway Authority will have the legal authority to operate in any county and therefore could accommodate this extension by way of an interlocal service agreement with Johnson County This has happened in Houston where the Harris County Toll Road Authority has extended tollways into Montgomery and Fort Bend counties Shou/d the North Texas area pay the State of Texas some calculation of fair market value for TTA assets? Local governments believe it is not logical for the motorists in North Texas to purchase any TTA assets from the State because • All existing TTA assets were acquired ~or developed with revenues derived solely from tolls paid by North Texas motorists i e North Texans have already paid for the TTA assets • County governments are an arm of the state government and have a responsibility to assist the State in developing the surface transportation system The assets will be transferred from one public agency to another public agency and used exclusively for the sole purposes for which they were initially acquired or developed • No state tax revenue has been appropriated to TTA or invested in TTA assets except the recent investment in the 190/Bush Tollway which was a significant reduction from its cost as a state highway • The Dallas Fort Worth area has a backlog of 56 billion of unfunded highway protects which TxDOT is requested to fund Aggressive development of tollroads will help address this state responsibility and there is no logic in requiring the diversion of any of these dedicated North Texas transportation resources Why doesn t North Texas just create a to/l authority and put its own money into to// roads like Houston did? Since the TTA has an existing staff in place in North Texas there has been no reason to duplicate these administrative costs Harris County did have a bond election in which voters approved a property tax levy to build toll roads but it has never had to use this tax authority because toll revenues have been sufficient to cover the debt service on its revenue bonds While an ad valorem tax was approved in Houston the • tax was never actually levied and collected North Texas counties have the same option available They can seek voter approval of a tax to supplement toll road revenues if there should ever be a need to do so if some future project should require local funding above and beyond estimated toll revenues 6 of 6 What are the arguments against creating a North Texas To//way Authority? The TxDOT Argument • Full consolidation of TTA and TxDOT without an NTTA would give TxDOT direct and ultimate control when developing toll projects -an optimum concentration of responsibility for toll road development in one agency TxDOT would not have to work with a separate toll authority eliminating unnecessary duplication and non-essential coordination Response • There will always be a need to coordinate highway planning with local governments NTTA can perform this coordination function better than TxDOT because it is closer to and more involved with the local governments in North Texas Many toll projects just like the President George Bush Turnpike involve multiple local governments TxDOT would be better off coordinating with one agency the NTTA than with several local governments This coordination has worked in a satisfactory manner in Harris County and TxDOT does not propose to consolidate the Harris County Toll Road Authority The Sunset Commission Staff Argument • Partial consolidation of TTA s toll authority with TxDOT would not provide the same benefits as a full merger and the state as a whole would be better served by having one agency responsible for planning and construction for both toll and traditional highway projects Response • Neither the benefits of a single statewide toll authority or the drawbacks of a partial merger were specifically itemized by the Sunset staff but North Texas local officials do not accept the implication that a single agency would be inherently better for Texas or for North Texas The Reduced Bureaucracy Argument • Mergers generally have the benefit of reducing overhead costs Response • In the case of TTA administrative costs are minimal making any cost reduction from full consolidation with TxDOT negligible • Jul-03-96 16 41 J McCarley/D Griffin 214-404-9721 P 02 C • RESOLUTIONS AND LETTERS SU>'PORTING REGIONAL TOLL AUTHORITY qty oraaai~n City of Allen City of Carrdkoa City of Cedar SW City of Coppd! Collin County City of Dallas Dallas County Dallas Regions! Mobility Coalition Denton County City of Desoto City of DuueanvWe $l!i!{ County Clty of Farmers Branch Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce City ort Zzrisco City of Garland City of Grand Prairie Town of Highland Park City of Irving City of McKinney City of Mesq~ilte City of No~rtli liicliland HWs North Te:as Commission N. Texas Regional Transportation Task Forco NTC/COG Regional Transportation Council City of Plano City of Richardson City of Rowlett City of Saebee Tarrant County City of University Park Colleyville Area Chamber of Commerce Deltas Cltlzens Council Greater Daiias Chamber of Commerce North Deltas Chamber d Commerce N.E. Tarrant County Chamber of Commerce Piano Chamber of Cot+amerce Rowlett Chamber of Commerce Whice gettlement Area Chamber of Commerce ~+las Mor~oiaQ.News EditoriaUArtick Richardson Dally News Editorial ~,g Garland L+I~s Editorial Wt7/46 s:@loov~r. Seaatoe John Carona 8enetor Jane Nelson Senator Florence Shsplrn Representative Ray Alley Represe~atatlve Joe Driver Representative Harryette Ehrhardt Itepreeentative Helen Giddings Representative Wql Hartnett Representative Jerry Madden Representative Brian McCall Rept~eeentative Ehdra Reyna laegresentative Burt Solomons Representative Dale Tklery Representative Steven Wokns • Jul-03-96 16 42 J McCarley/D Griffin 214-404-9721 P 03 0618/1996 08 14 2146636686 LEE F JACK80N PAGE 02 F.0. ornt taou Li CAVROL,\UILDMCi A46~ea4 T~lUI~ 781f 1 J,~7J `~+~ 1 ~ ~O3 ~ b17f~i30~0i rA7L'wE+~61-0016 STAT$ $gNAToit t00;07t1~-bi706 esaTe~ or~~oe i7oQ PO OpeaE n wou a naa F~(414~ ~0 3u~e x3, 1996 TF~ i3oaa~bl~ Lsyeon 8leide Chat~aan Suet AQvieOry Coavntssbu SUioe A2.002, C~uDibot B~ttea~ton t'.~. Bo4 (.3066 ,~, ~ ~$r~l-so66 ~0ar Chatrenan v`~~ ' _ ~' e3Mnril~: Vlot{ e~eytw, te;~uth ~tdD 1tUWN ~cavx~.ea eOUeSaT10N N0611H~TIOMO 8TAT6 QfFA1Ri ~~ C~3t,i~(rv .lt.~~~ JUN ~ 7 Zgys TIMppEIiy~~ ~4l1~11l SrLrs rtiJ ~"'^~.~ 7~ xls0 nuiatlic~, ad Pdo~h Tasaa ass vaac s~ evec a8. A toarl~y reapoaetvo M11 adhaQity in ~ ~voota >a~ ~. ~ e~ ~ rro~m ~ mesa a~ aaesat:~ly.tia aa.e. ~ ~ 14Y w~ou16 ~ soltavm ties etat0 of aome of 9~0 ~i yea In Norm Taxae. rsees. ma waetl~YaCd. t of acn>d ~ iiecoa oa ttva teur~y OeeAs of ali .paRa of'te3~, aod,not bs avawhobaeed by f8a eve ea~gr da:itaatde of ~ Dmtlabt?art 1Yorlh s~esa. As you mow me I'1a~ CoiwLj Told ~ ~ a'aoetlo tom ecral~h' atjo~r wtdCb ~ euooe~tf~r v~eaal~ ali tail fn ttse Haaaloa a~a. 1 aef~ you a oar I~h'ibaae ~ogatton L serel~g 630 ~aa®e apQoel~b- 6da local Nat Ham Cban~t- bas baett ~it~0. i'lease salt •art ena i! ~ !a atg 3 04+u Ob ~ isalp yon wf th the- of A Noah 'f~axm zTdl Anoiuoelgr ar ~ suit ~ ~~ ~ tines Notes o~ A~amb~a, Stint Ce~lse~ Zbe Fide !et[ b~t~- C9o+~+entior t9earga sash Tbes gioaarable 1b3~ V Covosaar Bob Bul]4Clc Spoakar PoOn LanOY The Hoooebbie ~ T~ia ~ 'ides Idanoeablo Does Jac~ou • Jul-03-96 16 43 J McCarley/p Grif-f'in 214-404-9721 m DALLAS AREA LE018LAT1YE DELEGATION June 1996 Mr David Laney, Chairman Texas Transportation Commlasion Dewitt C. Greer State Highway Building 12b East 11th Street Austin, YX 78701-2483 Mr .1ere W Thompavn, Jr Chairman Texas Turnpike Authority Board of Directors 3015 Raleigh Street R O. Box '190365 Dallas, TX 75219 Dear Chairman Laney and Chairman Thompson: P 04 We feel strongly that North Texas and the State of Texss will be served best by estabtlshing a separais ,North Texas Regional Toll Authority .enabling TxDOT and TTA to provido for an appropriate statewide toll authority in Austin Wa urye the Texas Departm®nt of Transportation and Texas Turnplko Authority to rscognizQ the benefit of a North Texas entity that will assume the same flnanCial reaponslblllty and Isadorahip in North Texas provided by the Harris County Toll Road Authority in the Houston area. We will be supporting this proposal In the Sunset review process and in the 1997 legislative ses$ion _ and w6 hope to be able to work cooperatively with your agencies to continue to improve the transportation system aorvlny North Toxas and the entire State of Texas. Sincerely ~~ ~ b ~~.~~ , ~~