HomeMy WebLinkAbout(0010) IR 20-10494 - Trinity Metro Request for Transit ProjectsINFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
No. 20-10494
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To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
October 20, 2020
Page 1 of 1
SUBJECT: TRINITY METRO FUNDING REQUEST FOR TEXRAIL EXTENSION
AND LANCASTER BRT PROJECTS
On September 15, 2020, Trinity Metro submitted the attached letter to the City formally requesting a
total of $86.1 million in City funding to support two major transit projects. The first project is the
Lancaster Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, which is planned to extend from Central Station in
Downtown Fort Worth east along East Lancaster Avenue to Handley Drive. The specific request for this
project is $25 million. The second project is the extension of TEXRail from T&P Station south to the Near
Southside Medical District. That request is for $61.1 million in City funds. To better evaluate these
requests, we have asked for project and financial information from Trinity Metro, as described in the
second attached letter.
Please let us know if you have any questions on this information.
David Cooke
City Manager
Attachments (2)
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
September 15, 2020
David Cooke
City Manager
City of Fort Worth
200 Texas Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
david.cooke@fortworthtexas.gov
Delivered via USPS and electronic mail
Dear City Manager Cooke,
Trinity Metro is in the early stages of two projects aimed to expand public transportation in
Tarrant County.
We are designing a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route on Lancaster Ave. This route will stretch
from Fort Worth Central Station to the Handley Street/Lancaster Ave insection, covering a seven
mile route. The project cost for the BRT is currently estimated at $160MM. Local funds in the
amount of $25MM are requested to complete this corridor, assuming TXDOT contributes $50MM
for the project.
Trinity Metro is also planning to extend TEXRail south into the Near Southside/Medical district.
At this time, we have $58.9 million earmarked from TXDOT and FTA in the form of remaining
5309 funds from the original TEXRail Construction and NCTCOG CMAQ funds. A local funding
match in the amount of $61.1MM is needed, for a total of $120MM to complete this project.
Please consider this letter a formal request from Trinity Metro to the City of Fort Worth for a
combined total of $86.1MM, to be divided into $25MM for BRT and $61.1MM for the TEXRail
extension. We appreciate your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Ft�6�-L -�J / -
Bob Baulsir
President/CEO
TRINITY,, METRO'"
Burnett Plaza 1 801 Cherry Street I Suite B50 I Fort Worth, Texas 76102 1 817.215.8700 I www.RideTrinityMetro.org
FORTWORTH.
October 15, 2020
Bob Baulsir, CEO
Trinity Metro
Dear Bob:
Thank you for your letter dated September 15, 2020, requesting funding from the City for two transit projects: the
extension of TEXRail from T&P Station to the Near Southside Medical District and a new Bus Rapid Transit project
along East Lancaster Avenue connecting to Central Station. The letter requests a City contribution of $61.1M and
$25M for these two projects, respectively. To better evaluate these requests, the City respectfully requests from
Trinity Metro additional information regarding the projects, financial, and operational documents and other
details to inform our decision on how much and when such investments might be made.
TEXRail Extension
Your letter indicates that this project is being planned. Please provide engineering reports on the status of project
planning, permitting, design, and future construction completion/start-up. These schedules should be
accompanied by detailed engineer's estimates of project costs by phase.
Provide a summary of negotiations with key stakeholders including the railroads, FTA, TxDOT, NCTCOG, and
others whom you have identified as financial or regulatory participants in this project.
Provide a detailed schedule demonstrating committed and potential sources and uses of funding and the
correlated timeline in which these funds would be utilized over the remaining project life. This schedule should
include potential City funding as requested for the project as well as required match share requirements for all
non -local funding sources.
Please provide an analysis detailing the increases in costs to operate and maintain the proposed extension and
Trinity Metro's plan to cover the increased operating expenses. Among these expenses should be a capital reserve
for future capital replacements and the local matching funds anticipated to come from Trinity Metro's own
resources.
In addition, please provide the original business plan for TEXRail, any revisions to the business plan, and the
historical and current TEXRail performance compared to these plans.
East Lancaster Avenue BRT
Your letter indicates that you are in the early stages of planning this project. Please provide details on what work
has been accomplished to date.
The City has previously spoken with TxDOT about reprogramming planned work along East Lancaster Avenue for
use as part of the larger proposed transit project. Please provide a detailed schedule demonstrating other
committed and potential sources and uses of funds for this project and the timing of how and when these funds
would be utilized over the life of the project. We are specifically interested in formal commitments made by
NCTCOG and the FTA.
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
City of Fort Worth * 200 Texas Street * Fort Worth, Texas 76102
(817) 392-6111 *Fax (817) 392-6134
Please provide an analysis detailing the increases in costs to operate and maintain the proposed BRT and
associated facilities and Trinity Metro's plan to cover the increased operating expenses. Among these expenses
should be a capital reserve for future capital replacements and the locally matching funds anticipated to come
from Trinity Metro's own resources.
General Financial and Operational Issues
Finally, with Trinity Metro's recent budget request for operational and capital funding of $10M during the City's
FY 2021 budget process, Trinity Metro reported greatly reduced expectations for sales tax revenue (approximately
30% less than the sales tax projections made by the City). Fred Crosley reported to City Council that any additional
revenue received would be utilized for debt service, a major expense line item that did not appear in Trinity
Metro's operating budget. For these and other reasons, we need to better understand Trinity Metro's current and
projected financial position. Please provide copies of Trinity Metro's Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Cash
Flow Statements for FY2020 and FY2019. In addition, we would need to review your audited financials for 2018,
2019, and 2020, final budget to actuals reports for FY2020, as well as your final approved FY 2021 operating and
capital budgets. Additional documents may be requested after we review the above documents. We have
attached a summary of all Trinity Metro funding requests made and under recent or future consideration, totaling
over $99M in City funding.
The City will provide additional information to assist Trinity Metro's team with identifying and documenting the
financial and project -related details we're requesting. Our Planning and Data Analytics Assistant Director, Terry
Hanson, will be point of contact on financial documentation and requests and Chad Edwards will be the point of
contact for the requested project planning and engineering documents.
We look forward to working with the Trinity Metro team as we evaluate your request and the supporting
documentation requested above. An effective and reliable transit system is a critical component in the future
growth and economic viability of our City and we value our partnership with Trinity Metro as our transit services
provider.
Sincerely,
I
Da Cooke
Ci y Manager
Cc: Jeff Davis, Chairman, Trinity Metro Board
Fred Crosley, Trinity Metro CFO
Michael Morris, NCTCOG
Dana Burghdoff, City ACM
Reggie Zeno, City CFO
William Johnson, City TPW
Chad Edwards, City TPW
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
City of Fort Worth * 200 Texas Street * Fort Worth, Texas 76102
(817) 392-6111 * Fax (817) 392-6134
2
Bus Reorganization (year 1)
$250,000
$250,000
Mobile Phone App
$500,000
$500,000
Near Southside ZipZone (year 1)
$250,000
$250,000
DASH (year 2)
$150,000
$150,000
Easy Ride Program
$500,000
$20,000
Lancaster BRTTOD Grant Match
$100,000
$100,000
Solar Panels - Bus Shelters*
$100,000
$100,000
Updated Bus Stop Signage*
$300,000
$300,000
Total
$2,150,000
$1,670,000
McCart Ave and Crosstown Bus
$3,070,425
$0
Frequency Increases
Southeast ZipZone
$1,800,000
$0
Alliance Express Service
$1,215,680
$0
Alliance ZipZone
$800,000
$0
Amazon Route
$450,000
$0
Total
$7,336,105
$0
New Route Network
$500,000
$0
Updated Bus Stop Signage*
$890,000
$0
East Transfer Station Upgrade
$500,000
$0
Sidewalks/ADA Improvements
$650,000
$650,000
Solar Panels - Bus Shelters*
$100,000
$0
Bus Reorganization (year 2)
$250,000
$250,000
Near Southside ZipZone (year 2)
$250,000
$250,000
Transit Initiatives TBD
$350,000
$350,000
Easy Ride Program
$24,000
$24,000
DASH (year 3)
$150,000
$150,000
Total
$3,664,000
$1,674,000
TEXRail Extension Near Southside
$61,100,000
Pending
Lancaster Ave BRT
$25,000,000
Pending
Total
$86,100,000
Pending
$99,250,105
$3,344,000
*Requested for FY21 and funding
appropriated in FY20
CITY MANAGER's OFFICE
City of Fort Worth * 200 Texas Street * Fort Worth, Texas 76102
(817) 392-6111 * Fax (817) 392-6134