Montgomery County Council members expressed sticker shock Tuesday at the possibility the county may have to pony up nearly $14 million more than expected for the Purple Line.
But County Executive Ike Leggett responded to their concerns by saying the deal isn’t done yet.
The county has budgeted $204 million to build three projects—the south entrance elevators to the Bethesda Metro Station, a rebuilt Capital Crescent Trail along the line and the Silver Spring Green Trail. That figure also includes $40 million in overall construction costs for the 16.2-mile light rail line the county has agreed to pay.
Under a new agreement with Purple Line Transit Partners—the team chosen to construct, finance and operate the light rail—the estimate of the county’s share for the south entrance elevators rose to $113.2 million, more than double the $55 million initially estimated by the state, according to The Washington Post. The plan for the south entrance elevators calls for six high-speed elevators to transport passengers to and from the Bethesda Red Line station, more than 120 feet below the surface.
The county’s cost to rebuild the Capital Crescent Trail into a 12-foot wide hard surface path extending from Elm Street Park in Bethesda to Silver Spring decreased in the new agreement to $59.4 million from an initial state estimate of $96 million.
Despite that decrease, the county faces a $13.8 million net increase in Purple Line spending due to the increased estimate for the elevators.
On Tuesday council members criticized state officials for the increase, especially because Gov. Larry Hogan and his staff have publicized the $550 million the state estimates it will save under the deal.
“This deal is not fair to us, from my perspective,” Roger Berliner said. “My hope is that our state delegation as well as our county executive and department of transportation will be having serious, heart to heart conversations to see if there can be a better deal cut.”
“It’s egregious that they have to come back to us for more and more additional money,” Craig Rice said.
“It seems to me [the Maryland Transit Administration] is very talented at finding savings for themselves and passing costs to us even before the shovels are in the ground,” Tom Hucker said.
George Leventhal tempered the complaints by noting the county took on these obligations. He said the south entrance to the Bethesda Metro station, which would be built at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street, will make arriving and leaving from restaurants and businesses in that area easier for transit riders. He said Leggett should take the lead on negotiating for savings.
In an interview with Bethesda Beat Tuesday, Leggett responded to concerns by saying that the county is receiving preliminary information about the costs of these projects and the negotiations are ongoing.
“We have not accepted a conclusion about what the difference is between what they say the cost is for those projects now and what they originally thought,” Leggett said.
He said council members may be “confused.” He explained that the original estimates were made before the system was designed, but the costs are now shifting as more detailed information is gathered.
“The state didn’t come and say ‘we want to charge you X amount of money’,” Leggett said. “They’re saying when the contractor is looking at the cost and getting closer to a final estimate, ‘here are the numbers.’”
He said county transportation officials are now trying to determine whether the latest estimates provided by the state are accurate.
“Part of what we will do is try to come to what the final price should be, make sure we agree with the design features and once we do that, move on from there,” Leggett said. He added that the cost to rebuild the trail was significantly less and included all the design features the county requested.
Montgomery County Transportation Director Al Roshdieh told the County Council Tuesday he is trying to set up a meeting with officials at the Maryland Transit Administration and the Maryland Department of Transportation to determine why the estimated cost for the south entrance elevators rose so significantly.
“They just provided us with those numbers in the last 10 days,” Roshdieh said. “We’re working with them to get more details.”
State transportation officials Tuesday didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the discrepancy. The Board of Public Works is scheduled to review the agreement with Purple Line Transit Partners April 6 and the deal is expected to close in June, according to the state.
The additional costs come at a time when the county is financially strapped and Leggett is proposing a property tax increase to boost education spending. However, any increase in Purple Line costs would not affect the operating budget, but could result in less funds for capital projects such as new school construction.
The county previously budgeted $57.6 million for the south entrance elevators, $95.8 million for the Capital Crescent Trail and $4.3 million for the Silver Spring Green Trail in its 2015-2020 capital improvements program.
Council member Nancy Navarro said there seems to be a misperception in Annapolis that Montgomery County can continue to handle demands for additional funds.
“We made a decision on this dais to put money up front for the south entrance in the [capital budget],” Navarro said. “That should not be misconstrued as us having to constantly step up and step up and sacrifice the priorities that are very real in Montgomery County.”