After allies shellacked at polls, I77 HOT lanes contractor makes surprise announcement

In a surprise move, Cintra/I77 Mobility Partners announced Thursday that construction would begin this coming Monday on the I77 HOT lanes project.  The surprise announcement comes just over a week after pro-toll politicians took a shellacking at the polls.

The announcement also comes on the eve of a press conference called by members of the local delegation to the General Assembly.  The meeting will be Friday morning at the LKN Chamber.  The Chamber has been fighting the toll project alongside local activists.

This all sets an interesting stage for a supposed "summit" on the issue sometime next week with Governor McCrory.

This move could be seen as a sign of confidence by the company they will prevail in their January showdown in court with WidenI77.org, or it could be seen as a sign of panic at the recent change in the politics on the ground here in North Mecklenburg.

Either way, it amps up the pressure on the state level politicians to do everything they can to stop the project, or their own political tenures could end the same way as those in Huntersville did last week.

Press release below from I77 Mobility Partners PR flack, Jean Leier (pronounced liar).


Charlotte, N.C. (November 12, 2015) – I-77 Mobility Partners today announced that construction of the I-77 Express Lanes in the Charlotte and Lake Norman region will begin this Monday, November 16, 2015. A public-private partnership is providing a $648 million investment for a 26-mile expansion that will alleviate traffic congestion in one of North Carolina’s most important corridors.

Construction of the I-77 Express Lanes will occur in the median of I-77 with minimal disruption to commuters. Occasional lane shifts and closures will only take place in overnight hours. However, with day and night activity in the work zone, motorists should drive safely and stay alert at all times.

“I-77 Mobility Partners is excited to begin construction. The project will bring reduced traffic congestion, spur economic development through the hiring of 50-100 local firms and deliver a choice 
for North Carolina drivers at little cost to taxpayers,” said Jean Leier, Director of Corporate Affairs at I-77 Mobility Partners. “We are committed to regular and ongoing communications with residents, commuters and businesses in the area to ensure a successful and safe project.”

Construction will start in the area south of Exit 23 Gilead Road to north of Exit 28 Catawba Avenue. Traffic control measures include restriping the roadway and shifting the lanes, installing a concrete safety barrier near the median and placing road markers along the project area. Initial construction work involves clearing the land and grading of the area. In 2016 drivers will see construction work along most of the 26-mile project.

Once the project is complete, dedicated express lanes will run adjacent to the existing general purpose lanes. The number of general purpose lanes will remain the same as today. Drivers will have the choice of using the express lanes to avoid travel delays, the general purpose lanes or a 
combination of both. Carpoolers with three or more occupants (including the driver) may use the express lanes for free. The full 26-mile project is slated to be completed in 2018. 

“We believe this project will provide a benefit to I-77 users as an improvement to their daily quality of life,” Leier added. “With less congestion, drivers will have more time with their families or at the office, be able to make more service calls, and have greater access to goods and services.”

Area residents are encouraged to sign up for email updates by visiting I-77 Mobility Partners’ website: http://www.i77express.com/newsroom/newsletter-e-alerts/

Updates also will be posted to our social media channels:

•  I-77 Mobility Partners Facebook page
•  I-77 Mobility Partners Twitter page

I77 Toll Issue finally makes appearance in looming NC Governor's race

Well, it didn't take long for the political ramifications of last week's shellacking of toll road supporting politicians to make an impact on the upcoming 2016 NC Governor's race.

From Tuesday's CharlotteObserver.com story by Jim Morrill.

"I asked North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper about the tolls when he came to Charlotte on Tuesday. A Democrat running for governor, he said a statewide bond referendum offered “the perfect opportunity” to include money to widen I-77.

McCrory proposed a road bond measure, though it didn’t include money for I-77. But when the General Assembly put a $2 billion bond package on next year’s ballot, no road projects were in it.

“Strong governors can get things like that done,” Cooper said.

So expect the toll issue to continue to fester, at least as long as an I-77 traffic jam.
 “It’s going to be a huge thing in the governor’s race,” Phillips says. “If they don’t do something to stop this thing, I’d sure hate to be running for their office.”" So, how should McCrory respond?  He has a golden opportunity with the upcoming "summit" called by Rep Charles Jeter to turn this thing into a political positive for himself, but he has to take bold action. McCrory could show up in person at the summit, declare the State will cancel the contract based on the information handed to him personally by Diane Gilroy outlining the legal issues of the firms involved in the project.  We told you about that here.  The letter gives the Governor the political cover he needs to blow away one of the main reasons toll supporting politicians have been hiding behind,  That "reason" is other companies won't want to deal with NC on P3 contracts if the state walks away without cause.  Gilroy's letter gives the state "cause". McCrory should go on to demand the state fight any legal challenges from Ferrovial/Cintra/I77 Mobility to levy any penalties for canceling the contract.  IF the contract is invalid due to the points in Gilroy's letter, the State owes nothing! Finally, he could score a few cheap political points by throwing this back at Roy Cooper and saying the AG's office should have done a better job assisting NCDOT in vetting the application by Cintra. With Mecklenburg County having nearly 10% of the registered Republicans in the state, Governor McCrory will lose in 2016 if he loses a considerable portion of voters in this key county, his home county. The Governor should think long and hard about what his next step will be.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article44176308.html#storylink=c

Thoughts on I77 activism...

With well over 400 blog posts and newspaper columns under my belt, having run for office once, and attended more public meetings than I can count, I've had the opportunity to see and learn a lot about the local politics scene in North Mecklenburg  - some of it not nice and some of it is absolutely great!

What has happened in local politics with the rise in citizen activism around the I77 HOT lanes issue falls into the latter category.

Has it been messy?  Yes.  Has it always been nice and polite?  No.  No, it has not.

But really, what exactly do those in positions of authority really expect when people finally wake up, get off the couch, and get involved?

If you take the most docile dog, put it in a cage, feed it garbage, and only let it out every so often just to give it a swift kick, when it eventually gets off the leash that dog will bite.  Not only will it bite, it will grab ahold tightly and shake as hard as possible.

Admittedly, that's an overly colorful comparison, but that's essentially what happened in Huntersville this past election.  The same likely would have happened in Cornelius and Davidson as well - particularly in the Mayors' races - if those had been contested.

So, while there is still considerably much to be done when it comes to the I77 toll issue, the activist groups involved have done a lot of things right to get to this point.  So far, the anti-toll movement has done a great job avoiding three major pitfalls that often kill activist driven movements  - too much ego, too many ideas, and too little enthusiasm.

When it comes to leadership, there is not a single leader of the anti-toll movement or even a real leadership structure.  Are there people who are more prominent than others?  Certainly, but they are dispersed enough to make it difficult for the pro-toll politicians and their allies in the media and the toll industry to specifically target them effectively.

The multiple activist groups that have grown out of the movement all cover different niches and leadership has been dispersed in ways that minimize the opportunity for conflict.  Between Exit 28 Ridiculousness, Lake Norman Conservatives, WidenI77.org, and I77 Business Plan there are at least a dozen "leaders".  That does not include the many other individuals doing things on their own and those who step up for specific efforts.

This dispersal also broadens the movement's appeal by providing different options for more people to be involved in ways they feel comfortable.  In this movement you will find people of all income and education levels.  You'll find people most comfortable in bathing suits on the lake to people most comfortable in business suits in boardrooms.  You'll find Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives, Progressives and most importantly, people who would describe themselves as "none of the above".

That diversity is a real strength, but it can also be a weakness if not handled correctly.  Here again, the movement has done things well by remaining focused.

Two of the groups, WidenI77.org and I77 Business plan are solely focused on the issue, so that is relatively easy.  LKN Conservatives started out of the desire of some Republicans who wanted to speak out more forcefully on the issue breaking away from the more establishment local GOP group, the North Mecklenburg Republican Women.  Even though the LKN Conservatives does have speakers covering other topics they do a good job of keeping the conversation about tolls when crossing paths with activists of different stripes within the anti-toll movement.

The group most at risk of other topics dividing the effort is E28R simply because it is an effort based on Facebook.  It is really easy to get off track in cyberspace.  However, the group has done a really good job of moderating and when things have periodically veered off on other issues it is quickly brought back to focus.

Finally, there has been no lack of enthusiasm.

For an effort that has been this long - three years running for many people - that is simply amazing.  When looking at the number of hours put into this effort it is simply hard to believe that so many
people have remained committed for so long.  That also tells you how important this issue is for the community.

The victories at the polls this past election should be a real shot in the arm - particularly for those people new to the political process.

If this activist driven momentum continues and does not fall prey to a letdown, there will likely be repercussions felt for years to come.  So many more people are watching and are now aware how local government works, it will be hard to go back to how things were when only a few were paying attention.

Mayor Jill Swain's Mythical Popularity

The wailing and gnashing of teeth has been intense over at Jill Swain's Facebook page since Election Day.

One would think that Huntersville was about to fall into the abyss after Tuesday's drubbing at the polls.  One also would likely think the relentless mocking of other electeds and the future mayor shows a staggering amount of "sore loserism".

Reading it, gives the impression a supremely popular politician had just been bushwhacked by some unruly upstarts and the town would hardly be able to limp along without her.

However, a quick look at the historical numbers tells a somewhat different and more realistic story.  The below chart compiled from data available at MeckBOE.org shows Swains numbers in each of her mayoral campaigns.

In her first successful campaign in 2007, Swain won with less than half of the vote in a 4-way contest.  2009 was a very tight contest.  In 2011, she won big but turnout was way down.   In 2013, she barely squeaked out the win against Commissioner Jim Puckett.  In 2015 she lost big as her support collapsed.

Here is what one sees in the numbers.

Based on her vote total in the lowest turnout election, it looks like Swain had roughly 2150 loyal voters through her first 4 mayoral contests.  As turnout went up from that floor she got a few more votes, but she never really gained a larger loyal following.  Her relative popularity among actual voters never really increased.

All things being equal, in 2015 she should have gotten about 2450 votes based on turnout instead if the 1947 she received.  Not only did she not get the extra votes based on the higher turnout from the 2011 floor, but she saw significant erosion in her 2150 voter base.

Mayor Swain lost in 2015 not because she was bushwhacked.  She lost because she was not overwhelmingly popular among the actual voting public to begin with and a significant chunk of even her most loyal base abandoned her.

Post Election Finger Pointing Begins in Huntersville

Well, it hasn't taken long for some in the Team Swain camp to express their dismay and disappointment at their candidate's defeat at the polls on Tuesday.

This post from Huntersville Commissioner, Ron Julian, has been making the rounds on Facebook.  It exemplifies the extent of that disappointment.

Some in the media have also joined in to start subtly spinning a meme to explain away what happened to Mayor Jill Swain.  That would be the idea that Swain was not strongly pro-toll and that she was unfairly targeted by non-Huntersville residents.

The Charlotte Observer had this gem in its recent coverage...

"Swain has not been a vocal supporter of the I-77 project but has previously apologized for anti-toll rhetoric by others on the town board."

The Observer totally minimizes how Swain handled this so-called "apology".  You can see the rest of that story here.

As for Swain not being a "vocal supporter" of the HOT lanes project, well, just because she hasn't been out their saying "tolls are great" doesn't mean she has not been consistently working behind the scenes to push this project forward.

If Swain did not support the HOT plan, then how does one explain this move after the 2013 election where she sidelined the anti-toll commissioners as much as possible while sending Sarah McAulay back to the CRTPO where McAulay did everything she could to push the project forward.

If Swain did not support the HOT plan, then how does one explain her efforts as part of the HOT Lanes Bucket Brigade to stop area commissioners from asking Gov McCrory to delay the original contract signing.

And finally, if Mayor Swain was not a HOT lanes project supporter, then why did she send the below email just this past June attempting to coordinate an information campaign between I77 Mobility Partners, NCDOT and the Lake Norman Citizen?

As interestingly as Mayor Swain sending this email, why did she think the Citizen would be open to the idea?  For some reason she did.

The Citizen has made multiple references in recent coverage furthering the second part of the post election meme that is was non-Huntersvillians who were out to get the Mayor and caused the her defeat.  In its post election coverage the Citizen says "Swain and McAulay were unable, or unwilling, to counter a robust campaign mounted against them in no small part by a group of activists comprised largely of non-Huntersville residents."

How the Citizen knows the detailed breakdown of activists and members of Facebook pages focused on the toll issue is unclear.  However, they sure seem focused on the fact that there are members of these groups who don't live in Huntersville.  They also clearly ignore the fact that these groups have thousands of members and very likely have more than enough from Huntersville to easily cover Tuesday's margin of victory and probably much more than that.

Then again, the Citizen has a long history of this kind of coverage on this issue.

One of the first pieces on the I77 HOT lanes saga at aShortChronicle was a critique of local media way back in January of 2013.

"Media Watch: Is LKN Media in the Tank for the HOT Lanes?"

Word got back a few days later, that the folks at the Citizen didn't like it very much.

Doubt they will like this one any better.

The truth is this.

The incumbents in Huntersville who lost on Tuesday night lost because they were on the wrong side of the biggest issue in the Lake Norman region since the creation of Lake Norman itself.

It really is as simple as that.

How much for your soul, Davidson?

There's a great line in the the movie,”The Usual Suspects”, where the con man Verbal tells the interrogator interviewing him, “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.”

As the Town of Davidson works its way through the planning process of the controversial Downtown Catalyst Project, the true costs for its consulting services falls in the same category as the line from that movie.

Consultants from the Development Finance Initiative at the UNC School of Government have been working with the Town since the middle of 2014 to come up with a plan to develop 3.5 acres of land around the current town hall site.  One of the early selling points of the study has been the relatively modest cost of the consulting work.  In multiple presentations and news articles the cost of these services has been stated as being only $50,000.

In the grand scheme of things the “cost” for this work “doesn't exist.”  However, that also is not entirely true.

The “Letter of Agreement” between the town and DFI lays out the services DFI will provide including the work already completed, any revisions certain to come after the recent round of negative public feedback, and the bidding process with developers.

There is also a section about how DFI is paid.

The first portion of the payment is the $50,000 paid when the contract started.  However, there is a second portion.  This portion could be considerably more lucrative.

From the contract...

“The second portion of the fee (the ‘Contingent Fee’) shall be contingent on the execution of an agreement (the ‘Development Services Agreement’) between the town and a third party (the ‘Developer’) regarding the responsibilities of either the Town or the Developer regarding any aspect of the development of the Project or any portion thereof.  The Contingent Fee shall be an amount equal to 1% of the total costs of the development of the Project, as further described below.  The 1% fee shall be paid from the Developer to DFI.”

The contract goes on to provide language that must be included in any agreement between the Town and developers to ensure the DFI gets paid “no later than 30 days following execution of the Development Services Agreement” – well before the actual project is completed.

According to the town’s Economic Development manger, Kim Fleming, this 1% fee is paid on the private development portion of any project.  Any public funding is not subject to the fee.

For a project like the Catalyst Project, that 1% fee could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Look at examples at both extremes of what has been discussed to date to see what that could mean to DFI’s payday.

The project idea recently floated including the Hotel and a full buildout to the property’s “highest and best use” was presented as up to a $60 million effort – almost entirely private investment.  Compare that to the roughly $7.6 million it would cost to build a parking deck and expand the existing town hall which would likely be entirely public funding.

1% of $60 million is $600,000.  0% of $7.6 million is $0.00.

Regardless what the actual numbers turn out to be, DFI clearly has real incentive to propose and push for the biggest project possible while at the same time looking to build at least something with the private sector to cover their costs.

One can also see any consulting fees paid by a future developer being passed through to the Town in various ways.  The simplest way would be for the developer to offer that much less for the property if the Town sells it for any project.  They could also offer the Town less space or ask for higher rents for the Town portion of the project.  Regardless how it happens, Davidson taxpayers will likely be the ones who “pay”.

Davidson has been down this road before listening to consultants on big decisions.  It was possibly the biggest mistake on the road to forming Mi-Connection.

The town can not afford to let that kind of mistake happen again.

This post first appeared in the Herald Weekly at HuntersvilleHerald.com

Anti-Toll Candidates Achieve Crushing Victory in Huntersville, make gains in other North Meck Towns

In what will likely be one of the more memorable and important victories in North Mecklenburg local politics for a long, long time, anti-toll candidates swept to victory across North Mecklenburg towns Tuesday night.

Ground zero for the blitz was Huntersville's campaign for Mayor.  In the end, Mayor Jill Swain was unseated by challenger John Aneralla in a crushing victory.  Based on the unofficial totals, Aneralla won every single precinct in the town while cruising to the finish line with nearly 59% of the vote.

However, this victory was matched in its thoroughness by the victory of anti-toll candidates in the race for Town Board.  The top three vote getters were long-time anti toll incumbents Danny Phillips and Rob Kidwell coming in 1st and 3rd along with newcomer Mark Gibbons who came in 2nd.

In addition to Swain's loss, toll supporters and incumbents Sarah McAulay and Jeff Neely also lost reelection.  Melissa Bales who had been the top vote getter last time around fell to sixth place.

To give a sense of how ferocious the anti toll zeal was, between Swain and McAulay nearly four decades of combined electoral experience was cast aside.

These two officials became the focus of the anti toll movement due to their support of the I77 HOT lanes over the past three years with Mayor Swain working with the other local mayors to save the project on a number of occasions and McAulay serving as the Chair of the CRTPO as that body relentlessly pushed the project forward.

But the success of anti-toll candidates was not confined to Huntersville.

In Cornelius, Dr Mike Miltich gained the fifth seat on the Cornelius Board by a comfortable margin after missing in a close contest in 2013.  Also, in Davidson where all incumbents were reelected, the two who had been the most supportive of the HOT lanes project, Rodney Graham and Brian Jenest, came in fourth and fifth this time.

While all of the candidates from the anti-toll camp ran good solid campaigns, it was in Huntersville where the power of the grassroots activism behind the larger movement was really seen.  Activists from across the region focused on the Huntersville races putting in time, money, and effort to get candidates elected.

Over the course of this campaign, it became as much about seeking transparent and responsive government as much as it was about tolls.  If that effort and organization can remain in in tact it could have a lasting impact on politics in North Mecklenburg for years to come.

In the end, those efforts resulted in a resounding set of victories.