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EXCLUSIVE: Private Sector Support for Downtown Streetcar Vanishes
WOAI Radio
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Downtown businesses have pulled their support for that very controversial downtown streetcar project, which means San Antonio City Council will rubber stamp the proposal on Thursday with the taxpayer picking up the entire $187 million tab, 1200 WOAI news reports.
The original streetcar proposal, which was approved by City Council in October of 2011, called for a Special Assessment District and/or private sector contributions of $15 million toward building the streetcar. That would be made up of downtown businesses which are the entities which the streetcar is being built to support, according to streetcar backers.
But documents obtained by 1200 WOAI news show that the private sector has pulled its support. In fact, wording on a city memo reads 'private sector support amongst downtown businesses does not exist at this time.'
But, unlike downtown businesses, taxpayers don't have the ability to pull their support. So the new proposal to be voted on by council on Thursday calls for the entire $187 million cost to be borne solely by the taxpayers. The City of San Antonio will now kick in $32 million in cash and $8 million in 'in-kind capital improvements associated with the 2007 bond program savings allocated to South Alamo Street improvement.' In addition, Bexar County has committed $55 million, and Via Metro Transit will also pick up some of the tab, including the $15 million in 'non city funds' which was originally going to be paid by the private sector.
The city says it would continue to attempt to get the private sector on board, but doing so would delay the timetable for the project, and the process of creating a Special Assessment District to directly tax downtown businesses 'would take several months.'
The plan is to begin planning for the streetcar this summer. The design stage is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2013 and last through 2014. Streetcar construction is expected to start in 2015 and is anticipated to be completed by 2017.
City officials know how wildly unpopular with the taxpayers who are now being forced to pay for all of it that the streetcar is. In fact, the city felt obligated to write on the home page of its web site pushing the bond issue that was approved last May, "NO 2012-2017 BOND DOLLARS OR PROJECTS RECOMMENDED FOR VIA STREETCAR PROGRAM.' City officials knew that even the hint that some of the money from the bond might go to the despised streetcar plan would be enough to sink the entire bond issue. Supporters of the bond issue repeated at every public meeting that no money would go to the streetcar plan.
Despite all this, the plan to force taxpayers, without any sort of vote or meaningful public impact, to pay $187 million for a streetcar they don't want, will be rubber stamped by City Council on Thursday.