MWAA: There is a Better Way

Wouldn't it be crazy if your community was threatened by an approaching storm, but local authorities did

little to help citizens avoid the pending danger? That is about where Northern Virginia stands with the

perfect storm of Dulles Toll Road tolls, traffic and taxes that is bearing down on us. There is a lot of talking among 

politicians, but meaningful action is scarce.  

Some elected leaders are speaking out against the "ethically challenged" Airports Authority (MWAA) board,

and for good reason. But, this talk is not enough when they can do so much more. Here's

how.

MWAA bashing for Sport and Political Points

Stupid Dead Horse!

We've all heard this before:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein

The question this brings to mind is whether MWAA's behavior is an unintended consequence or a calculated liability. Consider that Dulles Rail never was a bonafide transportation project , but for years land developers have smelled the profit potential of all the artificially induced development that local governments would release if the project went through, kinda like the sub-prime mortgage boom. These monied interests also learned how easy it is to manipulate inexperienced and ambitious politicians with campaign donations and to guide public opinion through the media.

However, in order to move a bad project like extending Metro westward into Loudoun, there were a few pesky problems that will not be easy to brush under the rug. Problems such as dealing with the "Who pays"  and "Why is Traffic Worse" questions, and how to deal with all the ticked off folks who are affected by this scheme. No worries.  Our political leaders have sharp instincts when it comes to dodging blame, so they decided to bring in a surrogate to manage the dirty work.

That is where MWAA comes in. By handing over the job of building the Dulles Rail and equipping them with the Dulles Toll Road as the cash cow, all that was left to do is step back and complain about how MWAA was spending too much and raising tolls too high. 

Now, because of these shrewd maneuvers, politicians are picking up bonus leadership points by demanding accountability from MWAA instead of being held responsible for MWAA's gross mismanagement of our dollars. Oh, the game of politics. It allows the politicians to fail and then to take credit for the fix. With MWAA however,  the fix is not happening. Follow these articles and decide for yourself if anything is really improving for the taxpayers.

IG Report Highlights MWAA Board Conflicts
read more here

Posted on May 15, 2012 In a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Rep. Frank Wolf, R-10, declared that he was “deeply troubled” by the findings, honing in on MWAA’s contracting practices, conflict-of-interest policies and recusal practices. Wrote Wolf:
Most egregious are the IG’s findings about MWAA’s contracting practices. … Particularly concerning are the number of sole source contracts issued. As you know, MWAA is required by law to fully compete any contract over $200,000, with limited exceptions. Yet the IG’s report states that “[d]uring the period of our review, MWAA awarded five sole source contracts that were over $200,000, but did not fall under any of MWAA’s categorical exemptions. These contract awards, which amount to $6 million, did not have Board approval.” Not only did MWAA abuse the exemptions permitted under federal law, they issued numerous contracts that failed to meet even these basic standards.

Airports board takes care of its own, including Jeffrey Thompson 
July 30, 2012

"The day after Mame Reiley resigned for health reasons from the airports authority, overseeing the $6 billion Dulles Rail project, the authority quietly created a full-time job for her as a "senior adviser" to authority CEO Jack Potter and agreed to pay her $180,000 a year..." read more here

2007 Letter to MWAA from William T. Coleman Jr. Senior Partner and Senior Counselor of O'Melveny & Myers LLP

 Read the entire Coleman letter here.


2012 Dulles rail project needs better FTA oversight, audit finds

  read more here

The Federal Transit Administration’s oversight of the Silver Line rail project must be more responsive to safety issues and more aggressive in its monitoring of costs and scheduling, according to a federal audit released last week .
The 44-page report by the Department of Transportation’s inspector general focuses on what actions the FTA has taken to address safety concerns first raised in 2009. It also recommends that the agency use its oversight role to ensure that costs are more closely monitored.

Contracting Practices Do Not Always Comply with Airport Lease Requirements
GAO-02-36, Mar 1, 2002

read more

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986 transferred operating responsibility for Dulles and Reagan National Airports from the federal government to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), an independent, nonfederal, public entity. MWAA, which has a 50-year lease to run the two airports, has entered into a wide range of contracts for supplies, construction, and other services. Although MWAA issued guidance in 1993 for the awarding of contracts and concession franchises, GAO found that the guidance does not adequately reflect competitive contracting principles and is out of date in many respects. Moreover, MWAA does not use its guidance to award contracts for non-concession goods and services. MWAA did not obtain full and open competition for 15 of the 35 contracts GAO reviewed, raising concerns about whether MWAA obtained the best value for the goods and services provided. The failure to obtain full and open competition also raises concerns about whether MWAA has (1) deprived prospective contractors of the chance to compete for contracts and (2) fairly evaluated all of the contractors that have competed for procurements. Finally, by not following recognized competitive principles, MWAA could be giving the appearance of favoritism in its contracting decisions. 

 

Dulles Rail board denounced as 'dysfunctional'

read more here

August 1, 2012

At practically every turn, a majority of the MWAA board seems determined to undermining the public's trust and confidence in the integrity of the authority and its decision-making," Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton said. "It may be time to begin a serious dialogue about the future of MWAA and its current governance structure."

The range of behavior that seems to be typical of MWAA makes it cleat they do not derserve to be entrusted with managing huge public assets such as the Dulles Toll Road. It will be very interesting to see if anything is done to correct that.


David LaRock

NOVA is strangled by traffic congestion

Northern Virginia is being strangled by traffic congestion and some of the highest taxes in America. In 2007, Governor Tim Kaine gave away your Dulles Toll Road (DTR) so it could be the cash cow for Dulles Rail. If DTR tolls start soaring to pay for the Dulles Rail Bailout, beginning January 1, 2013, 35,000 more cars per day will be forced onto already-congested local roads, causing increased gridlock to the region. Can you afford another $1,125 in tolls per year? Do you want to spend more time idling in traffic, wasting $4.00/gal. gas? Say No Toll Increase!"

Dulles Rail triggers more, not less, traffic congestion

Read the full article here

Dulles Rail doesn’t remedy traffic congestion and, indeed, triggers more development that, in turn, increases traffic congestion and causes a need for more road and non-rail transit improvements that will cost taxpayers billions of dollars more.
The Final Environmental Impact Statement for Phase 1, which was prepared by former Gov. Mark Warner’s administration in its waning days, shows (Table 6-2.2) that with the single exception of the Dulles Airport Access Road, no major travel route studied experiences an improvement in Level of Service because of Dulles Rail.
The additional traffic occurs despite the arrival of Dulles Rail; the construction of high-quality, mixed-use development at the four Tysons rail stations; the imposition of extremely aggressive Traffic Demand Management measures by the county and Tysons landowners to reduce volumes; and the availability of substantially more bus service serving Tysons. Yet, after 2030, the road network serving Tysons fails because of more automobiles and trucks. Therefore, between 2030 and 2051 — the end of the planning horizon — every new automobile trip to Tysons must be canceled by a new transit or pedestrian trip.

Comment from Reston Patch:

The Analyst2:26 pm on Saturday, July 28, 2012CC Mojo Wrote:
"We get better jobs, better commute, better living "
This comment epitomizes absolutely everything that's wrong with this Country. A collection of special interests, primarily developers and commercial realtors, presents a collection of unassociated prospects, ties them all together, presents them to the public, and the public believes them - not because there's a basis in fact, but rather because it's nice to believe it's true.
Rail has ->nothing<- to do with jobs. Companies are not going to spend millions of dollars relocating an office within the county to be near a rail station. Out of state companies will not relocate here at a cost of perhaps 10's of millions of dollars just because there's rail.
We heard similar arguments in the dot-com boom. "If we build it, they will come, because N.Va. is the self declared head of the dot-com industry." They built it - no one came, except some companies that were so poorly managed (stupid) they all went bankrupt. Many of the buildings are **still** empty.
I'm afraid we need some new leaders, and leaders that represent the people, not special interests. If you look into the backgrounds of  the board of supervisors members, I think you will come to realize that some, if not most of them, have no business or even qualifications for making decisions of such scope. Special interests must surely find these people an easy target.
If the jobs don't happen, or worse yet they start leaving, don't say I didn't warn you. 

“Nickled and dimed to death at the toll booth,”

                                                       

AAA: Dulles Tolls Are “Reverse Robin Hood Syndrome”

Northern Virginia motorists are being “nickled and dimed to death at the toll booth,” Mid-Atlantic AAA charged today, calling the $6 billion construction of Metro’s Silver Line and the tolls that are financing it, a “silver bullet” aimed at the heart of motorists and consumers.

Read More Here

How to Pay For Metro -- "..install large vacuum cleaners"

If you don't think anybody gets what is going on with the Dulles Toll Road/Silverline scam, reading some of these comments to the article might convince you otherwise.

Keep in mind VDOT could retake control of the Dulles Toll Road and restore order by cutting MWAA out of the process. That would require that leaders exert the political will and act on behalf of the people instead of the many special interests who would resist that action.

How? Go here to see the operating permit

The MWAA waste factor, read it and weep:

click on the title to go to the article

Dulles toll could double by 2015

We should install large vacuum cleaners to automatically suck out our wallets as we pass notable raodway landmarks, then ticket people for not having their wallets. When will this nonsense end!


This is one of the  most avoidable premeditated mistakes of all time


You're not "in" traffic. You are traffic.


A good road ruined by a government boondoggle. The silver line is correctly named. It will line the pockets of lots of inside the beltway thugs with silver.


This is really just a revenue grab wrapped in whatever rationalization makes you feel better. At the end of the day, $4.50 for tolls will probably be less than the fare card for the same trip. Someone did the math and realized that without the toll increase, there would be a disincentive to use the Metro line to Dulles.

Insider Politics and Unions are Taking Our Tolls

Overview
History of Urban Transit
Six Problems with Rail Transit
Six Myths of Rail Transit
Private Transit Solutions

"The Government Accountability Office has shown, for example, that buses can provide service as fast and frequently as light rail at a lower operating cost and for about two percent of the capital cost."    Randall O'Toole

...............................................................

How Insider Politics Saved California's Train to Nowhere

The high-speed rail line may never be built, but it will save a few Democratic seats.

The more people read and heard about the train, the more they disliked it. A string of Field and Los Angeles Times polls this year have shown that voters would block the train by a two-to-one margin if it were put up for a referendum. In 2008, 55% of voters approved the rail bond.

Loudoun's Metro Future is Certain

Now that the votes have been cast there are some people who just won't let it go. What is their problem? It is over folks! Let it go!

Well no, it really has just begun for Loudoun. But we have a window to the future called Fairfax County, if we just look across the border. However keep one thing in mind. While Loudoun may be able to brag about a high average income, Fairfax County's economic base dwarfs Loudoun County's economic base. Note that much of the economic development in Fairfax and Loudoun came before they were shackled to the Metro, go figure.

For Loudoun, the Metro is like the Titanic 2 and it just set sail headed for a terrible fate. Kenedict Reid untied the rope and pushed it off. He and a few have lifeboats reserved but not us.

What's Not to Love About Metro?

According to WaPo:

Rebellion on the Green Line: Passengers flee stalled Metro train

 By Miranda S. Spivack, Published: July 4

It was getting to be stifling hot in the Metrorail cars stuck between Prince George’s Plaza and College Park on Tuesday night. With no power on the Green Line train, there was no air conditioning.

And even more upsetting, there seemed to be no plan to get passengers off the train.

METRO - THE AMOEBA - WHAT TO WATCH

Before

I believe we at Opt Out had the pro-Metro people scrambling right down to the wire and that whatever they had to offer Ken Reid was huge. A year ago their expectation was that this BAILOUT would sail through, and with a little flim flamery most of the questions would never be asked, the taxpayers would be appointed the cash cows, and the business community would keep buying the cooperation they need with campaign donations.

Well people are not thrilled with what they are seeing even before the cold Metro reality hits. Here are a few things to watch for. Knowing a little allows you to spot the tricks. We will keep updating the list. 

Costs will escalate 

No to Metro Say Ashburn Broadlands Leesburg Sterling

 

These are just two of many people who live in the areas that will be most affected if Metro... Metro taxes, Metro crime, Metro toll increases, Metro gridlock come. 

Their voices are being ignored. 

Dear Mr. Reid and Ms. Volpe:

Not now, not ever...please don't bankrupt Loudoun w/the Silver Line.  We are counting on you to do the right thing for the citizens...not the big businesses.  Exactly who stands to benefit from a mile or two of rail, at how much, for how many years to come, with maintenance ongoing till the cows come home?  Not our citizens. 

Please don't be blinded by the talk, the smoke and mirrors...check it out for yourself... is Metro a boon, or a boondoggle?  Having used it on and off for years...I've hated it!  Hated the bums at the entrances, urinating on walls, turning people into animals as they push and shove to enter trains that are hot, dangerous, and poorly maintained.  Do we want to buy into a system that has a PROVEN Track Record of mismanagement, accidents, insufficient budgets, operators that fall asleep at the helm, text and chat while on the job?  Nope.  No thanks. 

Loudoun has always been the kinder/gentler County.  Why ask for the rif-raff that comes with Metro.  Why fund a problem that has been festering for years?  They grew it...let them lift it.  Please do the right thing for those of us who have long been part of the heritage of this great County.  Take a pass on Metro...OPT OUT for our good, and the good of our grandchildren.

Sincere Thanks,

-------------------

Ken-

Just to throw in my two cents on the Metro Project, there really is no funding option which appeals to me, because I don't favor Metro in Loudoun at all.  I like and want to maintain the bedroom community which Loudoun is.  I moved from just down the street of a Metro station out to Leesburg to get away from exactly what could be happening here now. 

Study after study shows the Metro out to Ashburn will be severely underutilized by the population it's trying to serve.  I could see a potential usefulness in going out to Dulles and could compromise there, however beyond Dulles seems ridiculous.  As a Loudouner I don't want to be part of the metro area.  What I experienced in Sprigfield, I don't want to see again. 

For those in favor of Metro, I would suggest they seek a good real estate agent, and uproot themselves to a Metro stop, the same uprooting I did to get away from it.  In the letter below you state Metro out to Loudoun would not alleviate congestion nor would it be utilized by more than 10% of Loudouners.  Adding insult to injury, Leesburg would be losing $1 million from the gas revenue, even with this special class of tax payers the Board is considering.  

I would hope under NO circumstances would the Metro out to Ashburn be built, and under NO circumstances would you support it. 

Name removed

Leesburg, VA  20176

Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2012 9:12 AM

To: Clarke, Janet; Volpe, Suzanne; Buona, Ralph; York, Scott; Williams, Shawn; Higgins, Geary; Letourneau, Matt; Reid, Ken; Delgaudio, Eugene

Subject: Silver line view from the center left

Sent: Friday, June 29, 2012 10:05:26 AM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
To: BOS
Subject: Your Election Year Campaign Pledge to Lower Taxes

Dear Board of Supervisors,
It is now known that four supervisors will break their election year campaign pledge to be fisically responsible and LOWER TAXES on July 3, 2012.
Which of the five remaining supervisors will join in breaking their commitment to lower taxes during their election year campaigning?
Don't Fairfax Loudoun. If you or the people you represent like Fairfax so much -- MOVE THERE.
Don't be known as the supervisor who promised lower taxes but gave Loudoun its biggest tax increase in the history of the county.
Vote NO to Metro. We don't need more housing, more crime, and more cars on the road. We don't need to pay for West Virginia's Metro stations anymore than Fairfax wants to pay for Loudoun's.
Now, we have supervisors who don't want to tax those closest to the stations even though their home values may increase and they are more likly to use Metro.  How is this fair to residents of Leesburg, Western Loudoun, Northern Loudoun, Sterling?
Mike Hudak
   -- anyone of you can call me. I would enjoy the conversation. Afterall, I am just a dumb finance executive who does not "get it."
Loudoun Resident since 1992.  I moved to Loudoun to escape Fairfax. Don't Fairfax Loudoun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear members of the Board; 
   Duty will again have me out of the country during next week’s meeting on the extension of the Silver Line, so I thought to provide my thoughts via e-mail.   Initially, I did not pay much attention to this issue, as I see little impact to my family’s commuting arrangements (we carpool and/or use the Loudoun County bus service.)  However after listening to my neighbors, I sought to learn more about this extension. Let me add that on no other issue have I heard such anger expressed by those in my neighborhood (Broadlands).
I agree Dulles IAD could benefit from a rail line, but that would not be used by most of the people in Loudoun, many who live in close driving distance to the airport anyhow.  The anti-rail group has circulated a flyer stating the two-mile Rail District proposed tax rate of .09 to .21 would increase our taxes (I believe my Broadlands residence falls into this proposed tax zone) by $450-$1050. My family cannot afford this.  (Has the board provided home-owners any information on funding this project to the contrary? )  To push this ahead without identifying how the Country is to pay for it is reckless; business and development will benefit and should pay, if there is to be a tax levied it needs to be universal for the County, and not targeted to an handful of the unwilling. 
I have to agree on this point; to hear my neighbors, the imposition of a tax burden unduly leveled on a selected geographic area from which questionable benefit will accrue will in all likelihood generate a class action suit against the Board and possible individual suits.  The irony is of course, that our present tax dollars will go towards defending the Board members as well as challenging this decision.  Tax-payer losses either way amid the cost and legal gridlock.
There must come a point where this Board stops viewing constituent taxation as an bottomless well.  Many of you were in fact elected to curb the excesses of the previous Board to include some of the current incumbents.  Please stand by those principles.  We are so upside down on our mortgage to market value that we cannot afford to move out of Loudoun County, much less pay forward for a questionable project of which we will never see the benefit.  My realtor advised me that the additional tax burden may further negatively impact our ability to sell our Broadlands residence while the benefit of metro proximity will not be realized until the installation is complete in the coming years.  This is of key concern for already distressed homeowners. 
Please be sage and transparent with our money. 

name deleted
Broadlands VA
20148

_______________________________________________

Board of Supervisors, As a homeowner and taxpayer in Loudoun County and as an Ashburn resident I ask that you VOTE DOWN THE METRO COMING TO LOUDOUN.  The costs far outweigh the benefits of this proposed Metro expansion for Loudoun County. Stop the Metro at Dulles and build some commuter lots - done! Why would you want to put the Metro into a beautiful suburban area such as Ashburn. No one moves to Ashburn saying "I want to move there for the Metro". People move to Ashburn to get away from the congestion the Metro will bring, they move to Ashburn to raise a family in a safe and quiet environment. If we wanted to live near a Metro we would be living in Fairfax, Arlington or Montgomery Counties. Leave Loudoun the way it is and leave the Metro at Dulles Airport! Those of you on the BOS in favor of the Metro speak how it will bring profit and make Loudoun more appealing to businesses. How does that work for the whole county when the metro will only go to part of Ashburn?  Not Leesburg, not Aldie, not Purceville, etc... It is clear that those BOS members in favor of the Metro are looking out more for their best interests in the political arena, not those of who you represent. Who will be paying for this project - the taxpayers!  Raised taxes, higher tolls, more contruction, more traffic - why not use these funds to work towards lowering the tolls to take traffic off such roads as Rt. 28, Rt. 7 and Waxpool. That would be met with great acceptance county wide. Let the residents make the decision on this particular issue - WE VOTE NO TO THE METRO EXPANSION INTO LOUDOUN! Sincerely,name deleted

Four Supervisors Expose Metro's Serious Problems

Four Supervisors Disclose Rail's Serious Problems and Possible Solutions  Last night Supervisors Clarke, Higgins, and Reid presented a summary of some major problems with the Dulles Rail Project, which would need to be fixed before they could support the project. The letter was clearly intended to fix many of the serious problems with the project, and provide Loudoun with some leverage to prevent taxpayers’ hard-earned money from going to a project that would make taxes, tolls and traffic worse. The project could be made more workable if the items the document are resolved as requested. Supervisors Buona, Letourneau, and Williams berated the others for bringing their concerns forward, and thus exposing Dulles Rail’s problems. Supervisor Delgaudio indicated he was in agreement with the points made in the letter, but would still vote against Metro even if the qualifications were met. Supervisor Higgins, the primary author of the resolution, is a professional negotiator, and understands that if Loudoun opt into the rail project without these conditions being met, Loudoun will lose any leverage to fix the project for taxpayers and commuters from Loudoun and the rest of the region. Loudoun’s vote to Opt In or Out is the only opportunity we have remaining to ensure the toll increases are prevented or reduced, WMATA and MWAA are made more transparent and accountable, taxpayer liability is limited, and traffic reduction is maximized. Please read the document, and encourage all nine supervisors to join in pushing for these common-sense changes in the agreement, before it is too late. Loudoun County’s motto is I Byde My Time, and rather than vote for the project before they can figure out how to fund it, Loudoun’s Supervisors should request the additional 5 months to Dec 1, 2102. This is the biggest financial commitment in Loudoun County history, and if we can’t do this right, we shouldn’t do it at all. The Supervisors are under intense lobbying pressure to vote for this project. The handful of speculative developers who would profit from it are working them hard, and taxpayers have been hearing much more about the benefits than the costs. The Board will hold a Public Input session tonight. We, as taxpayers, need to encourage our Supervisors to vote the right way. Please join us to publicly support those Supervisors who want to Opt Out. Ashburn and Broadlands Don't Want to Pay for Metro Hello Friends, This is the voice of people from Ashburn, where the interest is waning. The disgust will continue to grow. Last night Supervisor Bouna presented a poll that was a new version of the "do you like shiny trains" survey. Wow, it has come to this. Experts conclude unanimously this Metro/Business Bailout project that FAILS to relieve traffic, make traffic far worse, will cripple the businesses and citizens in the county with taxation AND will drive new business away... but Supervisors still trumpet rail as the people’s choice. The simple, obvious facts of this disaster-in-the-making are of no interest to Bouna, Williams, Letourneau, and York. That is very bad news and a strong reminder of how important a rigid vetting process is and will be in the future. Start thinking about that folks. Our work is cut out for us. With just a little information which for the most part has NOT been provided to residents by the County, these people get it and they reject it. Instead of saying yes to a fluff survey question about rail and transportation as your survey people did, these people who comment, as Mr. Reid points out, have knowledge of cost, and so they reject the shiny train. For them it is a simple no-brainer to discern the lack of merit.  If this proposition was presented to a corporate Board of Directors with all its uncertainty, extreme costs, and lack of any basis for expectation of providing a return, it's presenters would be laughed out of the room and dismissed for wasting the time of the board, yet some of our Loudoun Board still hold tight to the shiny train.  Please listen to the people who elected you, they are few now, but in the months and years ahead, if you pass this, they will look to you with disgust as they realize their trust has been betrayed.  Jennifer Nolan While Metro Rail to Dulles Airport would be nice, there is absolutely no - repeat, no - justification for the monumental taxes and fees being proposed to pay for it.  The Silver Line should have been built 10, 20 or 30 years ago. That the powers that were at the time were too short-sighted to see the need for the rail line then is not the fault of the people who live in the area now.  We are getting along fine without the Silver Line and have been for years. If it is so unaffordable that it cannot be paid for without imposing crippling property tax increases (and toll hikes, for that matter), then we don't need it.  In case you haven't noticed, dear Board of Supervisors, this economy is not yet back on its feet. There are still people in Loudoun County who are unemployed or under-employed and struggling to keep their homes as it is. How do you propose they pay for this tax hike?  Until Metro, the State of Virginia and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors can find a fair, affordable way to pay for the Silver Line, then forget it! Diane Greene Completely against the special tax district. I thought I was pro-metro but it is clear we need more answers before BOS decides on 7/4. What are the additional costs to our residents, who will pay, how long, potential increases, and how this will affect local traffic & roads, further widening of roads between Rt 7 & 50, & east/west crossroads,and how the increased development around the stations will impact the funding to our schools & class size. Keith Hyde Metro doesn't have enough riders now to support itself and has to be subsidized. Metro is a waste, only a few want it or use it. Most do not so why should the minority dictate what we pay for and use??  IF you lived in a Special Tax District, where you'd pay an additional $1200 per year, (let's round that to $100 per month) effective Jan. 2013, FIVE full years before a single train arrives....WOULD YOU STILL BE telling everyone to shut up and pay for your new toy? $6000, and not a single ride....Wow, just how MUCH money do you make? When it's coming out of YOUR pocket, you may feel a bit differently.