Farmers Branch Leaving DART?

[paulsukhudallasmetroplolis]

Farmers Branch weighs vote to leave DART
12/17/2002

By HOLLY WARREN / The Dallas Morning News

Faced with a potential 2010 completion date of a light-rail expansion in northwest Dallas County, the Farmers Branch City Council will consider calling an election to pull out of DART.

Farmers Branch officials have scheduled a Dec. 30 meeting to discuss their options. They say they are frustrated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit's announcement that a 20 percent shortage in sales tax revenue could result in a two-year delay of light-rail service.

"The council has been long in support of DART. We've been supportive of that because we knew a line was going to be built in Farmers Branch," said Farmers Branch City Manager Rich Escalante. "It's only because that line has been threatened that the city has expressed concern."

DART board chairman Robert Pope said he understands the concerns of the affected suburbs but called it disappointing that one of the member cities would consider pulling out.

"We intend to continue to work with them on it and hope that something will happen to make them change their minds," Mr. Pope said.

The pullout option is being considered because cities can only schedule such elections every six years. The deadline is Dec. 31. If the City Council votes to hold the election in May 2003, it will have up to 45 days before the election to rescind the decision.

The council's scheduled hearing comes around the same time that Dallas and DART must decide how to run rail through Dallas Love Field. The same line serving the airport would serve Farmers Branch.

Debate on that issue has at times also included mention of up to two-year delays to various suburbs, including Farmers Branch, to pay for the unplanned cost of running trains into the airport.

DART board members have consistently stated that there be no delays to suburban lines in order to serve Love Field.

"What I've told DART board all along is that if it delays the northwest corridor, we don't support it. But no one has been able to tell us," Mayor Bob Phelps said. "We just can't wait another six years to sit here and do nothing."

If voters approve the pullout, the city would have to pay back sales tax revenue for improvements made by the agency.

Staff writer Tony Hartzel contributed to this report.

E-mail hwarren@dallasnews.com

[aceplace]

Highly unlikely that the people of Farmers Branch would vote to leave DART. The election threat is just a ploy on the part of a portion of their city council to influence the DART board as much as possible.

They would be unlikely to actually call an election. First, they would lose, absent any particular grievance, and second, they would not be able to call another one for six years, thus losing any potential bargaining power.

[bloodandpopcorn]

I kinda hope they do drop out. First, it'd help the Love Field station get going, and I don't know how good it is for DART to have cities it it more interested in themselves than in the good of the region.

I dont REALLY want them to drop out, obviously, but if they are going to be this petty and stupid, it might not be all bad.

[UrbanLandscape]

No, just drop dead. Do they think that dropping out is going to help somehow? Geez. Oh well, one less sprawler to be concerned with...

[mustangmonkey]

I belive that DART already owns the right-of-way so no harm there. Comuters can get to DT and Love Field that much quicker w/o the FB station. The rest of the member cities just need to offer incentives for all the furniture companies to move out of FB and into the member cites, thus collecting the sales tax revenue. A good start would be talking to the USPS and not allowing them to pretend they are Dallas anymore.

[aceplace]

the FB city council followed thru on their threat and actually did call an election?

Then, what if the voters came back with a solid majority in favor of DART... comparable to the bond issue, or to the Denton County enablement authority, say 70%...

The FB city council would be so humiliated that no other municipality would ever try it, and the Love Field delay issue would go away.

[TamTagon]

It only makes sense for the city council of Farmers Branch to be frustrated. Observing the excitement generated by station openings in other member cities is like giving a pound of refined sugar to a hyperactive child. Any delay is frustrating, but when the cause is uncontrollable, like a decline in tax revenue, the frustration grows exponentially - it's human nature. One councilman voices his perception of a threat to the line. The bureaucracy considers an election to pullout of DART. From my jaded position suspicious of many public servants, such withdrawal threats are political grandstanding for greater name recognition. After all, city councilmen who successfully lobby for withdrawal from DART will have little chance of re-election as neighboring cities benefit from the operation of a DART station. Has anyone on the FB city council stated the concern is honestly over a Love Field station rather than a delay caused by lower revenue? The city council is right to hold DART to its commitments to the suburbs but wrong to offer meaningless threats.

FB mayor Bob Phelps is right when he said, "We just can't wait another six years to sit here and do nothing." However, rather than wasting time considering a pullout, perhaps he could search for additional funding of the system to allay the delay. I don't know all the sources DART money, but there must be federal or state grants available to support one or more aspect of construction. Or, since branding sports arenas is grotesquely popular, why not brand a DART station in exchange for construction costs? Since Denton County is poised to cooperate and this line is pointing that way, maybe they can chip in. The benefit to students of UNT and TWU might secure some state funds to expedite construction. I'm just sitting here trying to keep my feet warm, but someone closer to the issue with real data must be able to think of actionable solutions. Has construction of this line begun at all? Has the Carrollton city council declared any concern (yet).

[bloodandpopcorn]

Sponsering a station might not be a bad idea. I don't know what, if any, corporations are based in Farmers Branch, but likely if one was located near a rail station, they would have many employees going through there. So it might be beneficial for them to name teh station after themselves, and (if they were retail) build some flagship store/development right at the station to promote themselves even more.

I don't know that Denton is actually going to join DART, is it? I thougt it was just creating its own transportation agency?

[UrbanLandscape]

Tom, you should get "Analogy of the Year" award!

Yeah, all of that's true. Still...irritation supreme!

[paulsukhudallasmetropolis]

Unlike FM, Rowlett seems to be a team player:


DART pushes back expansion date
Agency says sales tax shortfall to delay rail's arrival until 2011

12/20/2002

By STEPHEN TERRY / The Dallas Morning News

After a warning from DART nearly a month ago that its suburban expansion could be delayed by 18 months, a transit agency official said Tuesday that light rail's arrival in Rowlett will be delayed at least two years – until 2011.

"The delay is based on the ... collapse of the D-FW economy," said Mark Enoch, Rowlett's DART board representative.

Sales tax shortfalls of about 20 percent have left Dallas Area Rapid Transit struggling to come up with cash to extend rail service into four suburbs, including Rowlett.

The reaction among Rowlett officials was mixed. Council member Stanton Foerster expressed concern that Rowlett was affected even though its sales tax revenues have been growing.

"Rowlett increased and everyone else decreased," Mr. Foerster said, noting his city's 7 percent gain in sales tax revenue over the last year. "This presentation is good for everyone else."

Mayor Shane Johnson said the city is a partner with DART and must stay committed.

"This city has invested nearly 10 years," he said. "While we would like to have light rail as quickly as possible, the 2011 date is positive. It is still two years ahead of the original projection we were given when we started."

Even with its increased sales tax receipts, DART officials said, Rowlett's contribution to the transit agency doesn't match those of other member cities, some of which are larger and have more stores and restaurants.

DART officials have said the next two years of sales tax collections will prove crucial to whether the agency can hold to its new expansion deadlines. DART has planned for no growth in sales tax revenue in the fiscal year that started in October, and it has projected 3 percent growth in sales tax revenue in the following fiscal year.

During a meeting earlier this week with Rowlett officials, Mr. Enoch said DART is being fiscally conservative. In the last year, DART's financial forecasts have been revised downward at least three times. Originally, the agency expected $406 million in sales tax revenue this year. Now it is counting on about $325 million.

About 80 percent of DART's money comes from sales taxes, so its revenue is greatly affected by fluctuations in the economy.

The agency is positioning itself to lobby for $700 million in federal funding over the next six to seven years, but none of it would be earmarked for Rowlett. DART also plans to raise fares in March.

Mr. Enoch, a former Rowlett mayor, urged the City Council not to give up on the vision of a downtown rail station.

"It will happen," Mr. Enoch said.

Mr. Johnson said it is important for the city to continue to plan for light rail, which officials hope will spark downtown development.

"I just view this as a hurdle," Mr. Johnson said. "We will jump it and continue on pace. It is important for metroplex cities to be connected. And having DART in Rowlett will be essential to the city's growth and being connected."

[bloodandpopcorn]

Great article, thanks. It's nice to see that not all of the suburban cities are selfish and impatient...

[UrbanLandscape]

Yeah, that is a comforting feeling...wasn't Richardson the first suburb to sign on?

[CTroyMathis]

Farmers Branch council won't call vote to leave DART
12/31/2002

By KATHERINE MORALES / The Dallas Morning News


The Farmers Branch City Council voted unanimously Monday against calling a May 3 election to end the city's membership in Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

State law allows cities to call DART pullout elections every six years, and the window closes Wednesday. Tensions have run high since DART announced in October that a 20 percent shortage in sales tax revenue could result in a two-year delay of light-rail service to northwest Dallas County. For Farmers Branch, the delay could be at least 18 months from 2008 to 2010 for the station planned near Valley View Lane and Interstate 35E.

"The idea of protecting our options was good, but the council ultimately decided we didn't need that," Farmers Branch Mayor Bob Phelps said after the special meeting. "Farmers Branch has always been a team player. ... We want to be in DART, but I want them to do a little bit more than say they aren't going to extend [the line] for another two years."

DART, lacking consensus about a single plan for Dallas Love Field train service, decided this month to submit two rail construction plans for federal review.

One plan includes a $160 million rail tunnel into Love Field. The other keeps the main rail line outside airport grounds but leaves an option for direct service that doesn't need federal approval.

"We need regional transportation, but we've been riding this boat since 1983," Mr. Phelps said. "There is a little frustration, and I don't want Farmers Branch and the northwest corridor being treated like a second-class citizen."

DART board chairman Robert Pope said he was pleased with the decision not to call an election and said he sympathized with suburbs facing delays in light rail.

"We recognize that they have been concerned about the delays as the rest of our suburban members have," Mr. Pope said. "It was really their decision to make, but we're going to do our best to drive that schedule back up."

Farmers Branch contributes 1 percent of its sales tax to DART and has paid in more than $166 million since 1983, Mr. Phelps said.

Carrollton Mayor Mark Stokes said he, too, was pleased the Farmers Branch council had decided against a pullout vote.

"I think it wasn't in the region's best interest for them to do that," he said. "It would possibly be too damaging."

Carrollton's planned three rail stops north of Farmers Branch also may be delayed until 2010.

Mr. Stokes said Carrollton also opted not to call a May election giving residents the option to pull out of DART.