FL Gov. Rick Scott approves SunRail

[seafan]

Source: St. Petersburg Times

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.

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/masstransit/article1178293.ece

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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

[TreasonousBastard]

1. The NY Timesd did a piece on this and blamed it mainly on Mica...

who has been pushing it for years and is in CSX's pocket.

It doesn't stop at Disney World, or anyplace else people might actually want to go, if it goes broke the local towns have to pay for track upgrades and stations, and it only recently (after much book juggling) passed the DOT test for whether it's a boondoggle because at most 2,000 or so people a day will use it.

I'd find a way to work with the teabaggers to stop this.

[FreeBillClinton]

2. What's wrong with this statement? "Feds pay for 50%, State pays for 25%, taxpayers pay the rest."

Sounds a lot like taxpayers pay 100% to me.

[madinmaryland]

3. Yeah. That seemed nonsensical to me also. All I can figure is that

50% is federal money
25% is state money
25% is either federal or state money. Is this bond money that the state will pay over time??

Confusing.

[seafan]

5. "Local" taxpayers are on the hook for the rest. Will edit, thanks.

[jimmydwight]

4. Those

Sneaky Repubs! I hope the feds deny funding those bas***s

[damntexdem]

6. But I thought Florida already lost the money.

Wasn't it reallocated to other states?

[peace frog]

7. Those funds were for high-speed rail

SunRail is a different project.

[seafan]

8. That was high speed rail money that went to other states.

This SunRail is a local commuter rail pet project cultivated for years by Jeb Bush and all of his conniving cronies.

Rick Scott just sealed the deal for them.

[1monster]

9. I'll expect another (weekly so far) robo call for Governor Voldemort beating his chest, telling

what a GREAT job he's doing and asking me to write my local newspapers to tell the what a great job he's doing. And I'll do what I did with the other two: push the delete button on my answering machine.

[Doctor_J]

10. Maybe you should write the papers and tell them he's a sleazy crook

who should be in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison for Medicare fraud instead of running FL into the ground.

[seafan]

11. Scott's top attorney advising him on SunRail previously worked for CSX. Who is surprised?

St. Petersburg Times:

.....

Some question, though, if Scott is getting the best legal advice on the SunRail issue. His top attorney, Charles Trippe, previously worked for CSX.

"The governor has former CSX employees working for him who might be CSX employees again in the future and it's difficult to determine where their loyalties lie," said Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, a longtime vocal opponent of SunRail. "Once again, the special interests take precedence over the interests of the taxpayers."

Scott spokesman Brian Hughes said Trippe has recused himself from discussions of SunRail.

.....

CSX and Jeb Bush must be chilling the champagne right now, to celebrate their shiny new SunRail deal.

[jmowreader]

12. Someone needs to show Rick Scott a map

If he wants to turn Florida into "the shipping capital of the East Coast," he might want to start by moving the state to New Jersey. In case the stupid SOB hasn't noticed, not only is it farther from Florida to anywhere else in the nation, it sticks out in the middle of the fucking ocean so it can be wiped off the map by hurricanes in two directions, not just one like the other Eastern Seaboard states. Maybe he can turn Florida into the Florida Citrus Shipping Capital of the East Coast...yeah, I know it already is, but still...

Seriously, guys, shippers are looking for the shortest transit times they can possibly get--if you're paying interest on the money you borrowed to buy a container full of frammises, the longer it takes to get the frammises from the factory's dock to the customer's hands, the more money it will cost you. Rick might not notice this, seeing as how his experience with cost controls in the business world revolved around denying customer claims and defrauding the government, but if I was shipping a load of frammises from the US to somewhere else and my origination point was east of, say, El Paso, I've got 19 options and 14 of them make more sense than shipping from Florida. And if I'm bringing the frammises in from somewhere else, I'd still be better off to not use a Florida port. Okay, if my cargo was tourists going to Jamaica or somewhere, yeah the Port of Miami is perfect. Most cargo is not that.

[Dappleganger]

14. That's not how things are rolling...

Savannah, Jacksonville and Miami are all in contention for the extra shipping business which the increased size of the Panama Canal will bring. Jax in particular is poising itself to do some major dredging to bring in a nuke carrier (almost a done deal), as well as transform the shipyards.

Yes, Prick Scott is an idiot but these things were in play before he carpet-bagged his skinny ass down here while running from his past.

[seafan]

13. Scott has a problem: SunRail was tied to High Speed Rail legislation.

According to the St. Petersburg Times:

.....

But concerns about the large payment to CSX and a requirement that the state assume all liability for any accidents that might occur on tracks shared with CSX kept Florida lawmakers from approving SunRail in two full legislative sessions.

It finally got the green light in December 2009 during a special session called by Gov. Charlie Crist to attract federal stimulus money for high-speed rail, something that had been in the planning stages for decades.

Hungry for the bullet train money, lawmakers were told it wouldn't arrive without the state also showing a commitment to passenger rail to provide connections to the federal project. So they approved plans for SunRail, along with high-speed rail and funding for Tri-Rail, a small, struggling rail line in South Florida.

"I've been a representative for three years and that's the vote I'm most uncomfortable with," said Mike Weinstein, a Jacksonville Republican and tea party leader who voted in favor of the rail bills. "We moved so quickly on a very, very complicated and potentially costly idea. I don't think we spent enough time on it. It was a package deal. We couldn't unravel the package. It was Tri-Rail, SunRail and high-speed rail."

.....

And soon after he was inaugurated, Scott rejected $2.4 billion in federal money from President Barack Obama, killing the high-speed line.




It is important to note that the high-speed rail project was legislatively tied to the small SunRail pet project.

Scott rejected high speed rail, just over a year later. So, it seems that this would null and void any forward action on SunRail without going back to the Legislature.


But Rick Scott thinks he is an emperor who can rule by decree. And today, he decreed that SunRail shall move ahead.


I fully expect a mass of lawsuits over this latest Rick Scott debacle.

[Dappleganger]

15. Flip-flopper of the highest order...

or liar (as in lying about not touching the education funds).

This deal is gonna go through because too many of the good ol' boys have sunk big $$$ into their taxpayer-funded venture capitalist project.

[madrchsod]

16. it will be faster to drive,take a bus ,or walk if they use....

the csx rail system...

i wonder if the folks in florida will ever wake up?

[seafan]

17. There was a "Reason" Rick Scott rejected high-speed rail for Florida.

Just so the proper dots are connected:



Today, Rick Scott approved a $1.28 billion politically-driven project for 61.5 miles of commuter rail that benefits the usual cast of suspects at the immense expense of the people of Central Florida.


And he also flatly rejected high-speed rail for Florida soon after he was inaugurated this year.



Real reason behind Rick Scott's decision to derail high-speed rail

By Curt Levine
March 19, 2011

Rick Scott's decision to reject federal funds to construct Florida's high-speed rail project was no surprise to observers who knew Scott's game plan. When Scott appointed Robert Poole as his transportation advisor, it sounded the death knell for any type of non-highway-based mass-transit public transportation projects in Florida during Scott's administration.

Poole is director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation, a right-wing lobby group of road-based transportation industrial interests, including petroleum, asphalt and rubber-tire manufacturers. And, not coincidentally, Reason receives substantial funding by the ultraconservative billionaire Koch brothers. David Koch serves as a Reason trustee. ..... In 2004, then-Gov. Jeb Bush also relied on Poole and the Reason Foundation as cover for overturning the voter mandate of 2000 to build the high-speed rail system.

.....

Ah, yes, Jeb "Devious Plans" Bush.


Levine continues:

There is a "Reason" for Scott cancelling the high-speed rail project, but it is not a good reason. The interests of the Koch brothers and the Reason Foundation do not dovetail with empowering the middle class, enhancing the quality of life for all Floridians, attracting new, clean business and tourism, and protecting the public from toxic emissions, polluted drinking water and dangerous working conditions.

Scott's first major official action in depriving Florida of thousands of new, high-paying construction and other blue- and white-collar jobs high-speed rail would have delivered, in favor of more asphalt, higher gas consumption and increased vehicular congestion, is a breach of the public trust.

.....

And where was Rick Scott last weekend and with whom?


With the Koch Brothers in Vail, Colorado, likely getting his marching orders on the SunRail deal he signed today, that benefits certain Republican lawmakers and Jeb Bush and his buddies at CSX, in particular, among others.



This criminal's days of squatting in the Governor's mansion are numbered.

[seafan]

18. More fallout from this thievery...

Floridians have been RickRailed.