By KELLY HANNON
The Virginia General Assembly's transportation package is getting a lukewarm reception among some Fredericksburg-area leaders.
Their chief complaint?
There's no pool of sustainable money to spend on projects year after year because the initiative taps a portion of projected state revenue surpluses.
"I certainly would have looked to have seen funding that was going to be there in the years ahead, for the future," said Mary Lee Carter, a Spotsylvania County resident and Fredericksburg District representative on the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
"I'm disappointed. I don't think it shows any real solution. It's a quick fix and what we really need is a dedicated source of revenue," said John J. "Butch" Davies III, the Culpeper District representative on the transportation board.
Matt Kelly, chairman of the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, and a Fredericksburg councilman, said it's not a long-term solution.
"After the governor gets to it, it'll be a compromise of a compromise of a compromise," Kelly said. "That doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy."
Cord Sterling, a Stafford County resident and member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, said he is withholding judgment until he has a chance to review the entire piece of legislation. He's requested more information from the General Assembly and the Virginia Department of Transportation.
The compromise plan was put forward by the Republican majority in the House of Delegates and some Senate Republicans. It narrowly passed the Senate before the assembly adjourned Saturday. Gov. Tim Kaine is expected to amend the plan
It allows Virginia to borrow $2.5 billion in bonds for transportation projects, and money to pay the debt off will come from recordation taxes, fees charged on real estate transactions that now go into the state's general fund.
There would be a $10 increase in vehicle registration fees, which falls short of the $15 to $20 increases, the governor suggested. The legislature also imposed harsher fines on bad drivers. There is no increase in the state gas tax.
Davies wanted the General Assembly to find a way to devote $500 million to $800 million a year to transportation.
"What they have really done is to saddle the taxpayer with debt payments for $2.5 billion and those payments will come from the general fund," Davies said.
He did praise the bonds, to a degree.
"We have watched the price of concrete and steel come up, and we really need to jump-start a number of projects," Davies said.
Lloyd Robinson, director of transportation planning for the region's Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the $2.5 billion could accelerate some Fredericksburg-area projects in the Six-Year Improvement Plan, although to what degree, and which projects, no one knows yet.
Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors Chairman Chris Yakabouski called the plan "a good start."
"I'm encouraged by them passing a plan, as opposed to not passing a plan and just bickering back and forth," he said yesterday.
The Virginia Railway Express fared well in the transportation package. It would get $25 million a year.
"We certainly are pleased with the level of funding that we got, because $25 million annually is certainly going to go a long way to heighten the level of VRE service on the Fredericksburg and Manassas lines," said Mark Roeber, VRE manager of government relations and public affairs.
VRE will use the money to buy new locomotives and pay for track leasing, insurance and storage fees.
The only snag was the bill's phrasing. VRE asked the funding to be allocated for capital and operational expenses, and the legislation left out the word "operational." That means VRE could have a hard time using the money for insurance, track leasing and storage. Roeber's working to change the wording.
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com