HRT’s Missing Money: Board’s Fault, Not Townes’s

There has been much talk recently about the performance of HRT President & CEO Michael Townes. While I do think that he should share responsibility for the Tide-related cost overruns, I do not believe that he should be held responsible for not informing the board about the $80,000 allegedly stolen from the fare boxes over a six-month period in 2009. The missing money was uncovered during an independent audit of HRT. This audit was paid for and authorized by the board. In other words, the auditors worked for the board, not for Mr. Townes. If the auditors failed to inform the board of the missing money during their presentation, it is the fault of the auditor for failing to make a complete report and it is the failure of the board to make sure that the auditor gave a complete report. Mr. Townes does not fit into that equation. After Mr. Townes was made aware and an investigation was complete, the responsible employees were terminated. No charges were filed because the HRT lawyer did not think that there was sufficient evidence. No civil suit was filed because the associated costs outweighed the benefits. This means that HRT, after learning of the issue, fixed the problem and decided not to waste more money than they would have recovered (i.e. responsibility).

I believe that no matter what, you should always give credit where credit is due. The cities of Hampton Roads should change their board representation if they have failed to properly oversee HRT. They want to fire Mr. Townes because he failed to give timely notification of cost overruns. Now, fire the board for failing to take responsibility for their share of the problems. The board is not just there for sh*ts and giggles. They have a purpose. They have a duty to the residents of their respective cities to make sure that money is spent wisely.

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The Tide is IN (Technically)

The first of the Tide LRT vehicles has arrived in Norfolk. It has respectfully been numbered 407 to commemorate the last trolley that ran through Norfolk’s streets.

Photo by Hyunsoo Leo Kim (c) The Virginian-Pilot

Light Rail for VB: Critics Wrong Again

Today, in the Virginian-Pilot’s “Sunday Forum,” the topic was Light Rail. The ‘pro-light-rail’ piece was written by a VP editorial staff writer named Candy Hatcher, who recently visited Phoenix, Arizona and their new light rail system. The ‘anti-light-rail’ piece was written by a retired teacher in Virginia Beach named Jerry Carter. I found Ms. Hatcher’s piece to be well-thought out and thorough. Mr. Carter’s piece, however, seemed to be the same old propaganda that has been thrown around since in inception on Hampton Roads’ Light Rail potential. As you all know, since I am not one to let blatantly incorrect information go unnoticed, I have decided to respond to Mr. Carter on 757HR and in an email direct to him. Here is my response:

Mr. Carter,

I recently read your guest-column in the Virginian-Pilot’s “Sunday Forum.” While I commend your effort to hold an opinion on the matter of Light Rail in Virginia Beach, I think that your article relies heavily on misguided information. I refuse to simply tell anybody that they are wrong but rather believe that every person should have the right to hear a well-thought-out rebuttal on their own arguments and in turn have the right to respond to such a rebuttal. That said, I would like to address each of your points individually.

1. As with every anti-light rail article, you start out mentioning cost-overruns. Not all of the additional $56 million dollars should be considered a cost-overrun. Approximately $10 million can be attributed to inflation, using the CPI from 2007 – 2008. There is also the costs of doing construction in Downtown Norfolk. Over 400 years, the city has accumulated vast networks of abandoned infrastructure. To give you an example, in a recent project crews pulled a wooden water pipe out of the ground. In addition to all the abandoned infrastructure, the city also has to work with the old trolley/railroad tracks that crisscross through Downtown, as well as nearly a dozen layers of roadway materials. The typical Downtown street has multiple layers of asphalt on top of concrete on top of trolley/railroad tracks on top of more concrete on top of cobblestone on top of trash. The majority of Downtown used to be river and has since been filled in with debris. Also, if the city wants to, say, upgrade aesthetics of certain LRT facilities, those costs are factored into the budget. On top of all of the city-mandated improvements, the state has added $6.9 million of additional costs regarding communications systems to enhance safety and security. The National Academy of Science once reported that the cost overruns on large transportation projects such as light rail frequently fit between 50% and 100%. Considering that range, I think our 24% cost increase is acceptable. The project’s $38 million per mile cost is far less than the projected $100 million per mile cost of the proposed Southeastern Parkway. Finally, the Norfolk project’s costs are higher in the Downtown area. Virginia Beach needs to focus on the lower costs of the project east of NSU.
2. You mention that “it ultimately boils down to what best benefits each locality.” This was a good philosophy back in 1963, when Virginia Beach and Chesapeake were formed to keep separated from the ‘inner city’ of Norfolk due to reasons which may or may not have been motivated by fear of the poor and of minorities, but that is for a different conversation. In today’s Hampton Roads, each ‘locality’ is but an organ in a larger bodily system. This ‘body’ of Hampton Roads needs all of its organs to survive. Cut out the heart and both die. Cut out the lungs and both die. Cut Virginia Beach off from the rest of the region and both suffer. Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Newport News are all looking for ways to bring Light Rail to their cities. If Virginia Beach fails to connect to the region, both will suffer.
3. You mention how the light rail does not connect to Lynnhaven Mall or to the Virginia Marine Science Museum but it connects to all of the Downtown attractions. This is due largely to the fact the Virginia Beach is more concerned with keeping costs down that with connecting what should be connected. If they truly want it to work, Virginia Beach will use bus connections to connect key places to the light rail just as Norfolk is rerouting buses to make connection with other key places. The lack of LRT connections to Virginia Beach attractions is not some Norfolk conspiracy, but rather a product of Virginia Beach’s Planning.
4. I’m not sure what you were getting at in your violence paragraph. I seems that you are afraid tourists might flee the violence of the Oceanfront for the relative safety of anywhere else. I cannot imagine that this interpretation is wrong because you said the crime was an advantage to Norfolk. Perhaps direct this concern to the Virginia Beach Police and City Hall.
5. Next, you address traffic. You think that instead of making the LRT go to the Oceanfront, it should go to the Naval Station. It will go to the Naval Station. In fact, the Naval Station extension is the next on the list right behind the Oceanfront. You acknowledge that a Naval Station line would “make a reasonable difference.” Where would the riders come from? Virginia Beach. How do you expect the riders of the Naval Station line to get there if there is no line going through the Beach. The Oceanfront is not its only stop.

If Virginia Beach votes to abstain from Light Rail, everybody loses, especially Virginia Beach. In today’s times of increasing energy costs, consolidated living spaces and increased density is the way to go. Currently, Virginia Beach’s 400,000 residents take a toll on I-264. Just wait until they have 500,000 or 600,000. How will they get around? We have to consider this now. It has taken 20 years to get Norfolk’s LRT project started. We cannot wait until gridlock to think about alternatives.

For the sake of Hampton Roads’ future, my future, and the future of my children, I hope that Virginia Beach makes the forward-thinking decision to include light rail in their plans.

Thank You,
Russell Manning
http://www.757hamptonroads.com