Another earthquake story for the Uptown crowd. Just as the transit tax repeal idea was not real until the Uptown paper of record reported on it in March, so the possibility that Huntersville may kill the North line commuter rail project was not real until today. But real it is.
As we’ve tried to explain for months — and The Rhino Times documented a couple weeks back — the financing plans for the North line are speculative in the extreme. There is simply no way you can look at the development assumptions, and hence the property tax revenue assumptions, around the North line and feel good. Hell, there is good chance many of the folks reading today’s front page, above-the-fold story are finding out for the first time that local property tax dollars are even going into the project. Meck Deck readers, of course, have known that for six months.
Town commissioners Charles Jeter, Ken Lucas, and Brian Sisson have an obligation not to crater Huntersville’s budget for years to come just to pay for CATS’ train dreams — or any one project. They correctly see that signing on to the current North line financing plan could lead, even probably will lead, to property tax hikes for the town.
Even with this financial reality on their side, they will now feel the full impact of the Uptown crowd on their necks. They should expect to be called “obstructionists” and “cavemen” who would set Huntersville back decades if they do not relent and bow to the “mandate” for unlimited train-building. Aside: Funny, I thought before Tuesday we were voting on saving the bus system and against property tax hikes. Guess not.
Anyway, the Pineville comparison cuts both ways. Just as Huntersville could drop out of CATS’ plans as Pineville did with the South Blvd. line in 2002, CATS and the train-building clique could route around that loss and still build a compromise train line. With Pineville that was easy — just stop the line inside 485. On the North line the compromise won’t be on location, but on money in order to save the train.
In theory, the other towns and Charlotte could step up to take on a share of the cost of putting the line through Huntersville, reducing the town’s cost and exposure while increasing their own. It all boils down to just how badly does CATS and crew really want the North line. But this option then runs smack into the pre-election promise to build a streetcar for the West side of Charlotte sooner rather than later. Decisions, decisions.
That’s why I think the first option will be to beat on the Huntersville Three to try to get a pro-train majority on the panel and keep the train-building momentum going.
Correction: Turns out the official term is now Neanderthals instead of cavemen, so says the meltdown now in progress over at the Uptown paper of record comment area. Absolutely hysterical.
