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VRE WELCOMES SPOTSY
VRE agrees to Spotsylvania's conditions for membership; Operations Board approves membership agreement
Date published: 8/22/2009
By KELLY HANNON WOODBRIDGE --The Virginia Railway Express Operations Board has agreed to Spotsylvania's conditions to join the train system.VRE's Chief Executive Officer Dale Zehner said, "Everything they wanted, they got." Spotsylvania will have a passenger train station in two years, and a third track extended to the station. VRE will try to keep Spotsylvania's subsidy at a rate not exceeding proceeds collected through a 2 percent gasoline tax at the county's gas stations. And it will let Spotsylvania defer payments to VRE and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission the first three years it belongs to the organizations. "I think we've got an agreement we can live with," said Matt Kelly, a Fredericksburg councilman and Operations Board member. Stafford supervisor Paul Milde said most of the board's closed-session debate Friday morning was about legal requirements, not the policy substance of the county's conditions. With about 1,000 Spotsylvania residents riding VRE already, the county has been a user of the system for a long time, Milde said. "We're just trying to make it official," he said. Spotsylvania's joining VRE involves three legal documents: A membership agreement between VRE and Spotsylvania, an amendment to VRE's master agreement governing the entire system and an amendment to a Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission agreement. All of the approved agreements are effective Feb. 15. That date was chosen after the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors voted 4-3 Tuesday night to make its membership with VRE effective that day. Two county supervisors that voted to join VRE are up for re-election in November, and are facing opponents who oppose membership. D.J. McGuire, a Republican who opposes joining VRE, is challenging Spotsylvania board member Gary Skinner, who was instrumental in getting the agreement approved on a 4-3 vote.
Another Perspective
(posted by
MattKelly
, Aug. 23, 2009 8:50 pm)
GRice74-We do have a regional comprehensive transportation plan called the 2035CLRP. And VRE is part of this plan. On the issue of subsidies Corey Stewart of the Prince William County Supervisors recently made an interesting point to consider, "We are subsidizing people in the rural areas, too," he said. "The cost of constructing and maintaining a rural road in comparison to the number of people who live on it is enormous."
Blitzburg
(posted by
winwood
, Aug. 23, 2009 9:02 am)
Sorry Blitzburg, I can't resist....did you consider "Cash for Clunkering" that 34 gallon beast of yours? Seriously though, I believe the vast majority of vehicles have half the gas tank you have and twice the mileage efficiency.
Don't be fooled by liberal's like jamestkirk
(posted by
blitzburgh
, Aug. 22, 2009 7:06 pm)
When they defend raising taxes, one of the liberal elitist tactics is to talk down to you. "You're already paying it, you just don't know it because you're ignorant".
'
My Silverado has a 34 gallon tank winwood
(posted by
blitzburgh
, Aug. 22, 2009 6:42 pm)
$2.50 x 2% = .05 x 34gal = $1.70 right now. At $3.50per gal = $2.38 per tank full. At $4.00 per gal. = $2.72 per tank full (Almost $3.00) and we all know gas is going up.
$2-3$ per tank full is a hefty tax don't you think.
They say there's a sucker born every minute . . .
(posted by
GRice74
, Aug. 22, 2009 10:37 am)
In this case, it's a whole county. Four members of our BoS have seriously let us down, & voters aren't likely to forget that. Its really too bad since those members have done some good also. But this issue may well turn out to be the key one - despite the good they've done. In the least, it'll cost all county residents millions of dollars (to build the station) & possibly a lot more - all to support a few hundred residents, & to the detriment of a truly comprehensive regional transportation solution.
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