Shawn Vestal: Despite delay, price hike, Central City Line holds great potential in itself and as a model

The people overseeing the Central City Line say the sharp recent increase in the project’s estimated budget is not a red flag marking an emerging boondoggle.

In fact, they argue it’s the opposite: an attempt to produce a realistic budget before work begins, driven in large part by a federal requirement that the agency set aside a big pot of money to defray unforeseen costs.

It’s not out-of-control spending, as someone who just grazed the recent budgetary news might fear. It’s fiscal responsibility, they argue, from an agency with a recent track record of conservatism and solid project management.

“We have a track record of projects coming in on time and under budget,” said STA’s chief executive officer, Susan Meyer.

That is important, because the Central City Line has great potential for the city, not just in and of itself but as a model for improved, modernized transit throughout Spokane. I thought that even back when people were huffing and puffing over whether it should be called a “trolley” a couple of years back.

We should hope that in a few years, when electric buses are ferrying people around a 6-mile downtown loop from Browne’s Addition to Spokane Community College, we won’t remember the budgetary machinations of 2019 any more than the semantic trolley battles of 2016.

Still, it was initially dismaying to see the project’s estimated budget rise 28 percent recently, and its completion date pushed back to 2022. That’s an increase of about $20 million over 2017 estimates, to a total of $92.2 million. It’s the kind of change that critics could seize on as an example of out-of-control spending.

County Commissioner Al French, a longtime STA board member and no free-spending liberal, says that would be just wrong. At this stage, nearing the end of the project’s design phase and before bids have even gone out, it’s natural for early estimates to change. Forecasts of construction and labor costs, in a growing economy, have risen, he said.

A significant part of the increase is tied to a requirement from the Federal Transit Administration, which is putting $53.4 million into the project, that the STA have a 20 percent contingency fund in place. For comparison, that’s double the contingency required on county projects, French said.

“It’s a contingency – it’s not a cost increase,” he said. “Does it mean we’re going to spend $92 million? Absolutely not.”

And if that is the final price tag? Even then, it’s a great deal for Spokane, he said, given that the federal government will finance the lion’s share of it.

The Central City Line will be a high-frequency electric bus route, with more stops and faster loading and unloading options than the current system. It is expected to provide 1 million rides a year, greatly expanding the ability of residents to quickly move around the downtown core by bus, and serve a growing population that includes many younger people inclined to use public transit. It’s a model that is already the norm in many cities.

French and Meyer say the agency has a strong recent track record of fiscal conservatism. STA has significant reserves, and is one of the only transit agencies in the country without any debt, French said.

Meyer points to several recent capital projects that STA has completed on time and under budget. The 2017 renovation of the downtown plaza came in at 98 percent of the budgeted $4.95 million, and finished about a week early. The West Plains Transit Center was completed in 2017 at 85 percent of its $9.6 million budget, and completed three days later than projected. And the Boone Northwest Garage was finished this year on time, at 80 percent of its $11.5 million budget.

Though it’s been in the news a lot, it’s important to realize that it’s early days for the Central City Line. STA is still finalizing its agreement with the feds to pay for most of the project – that should be in place by the year’s end. The changes in the budget at this point are changes in estimates and forecasts; the actual bids for the work are not likely to line up precisely with those.

Given its high-profile nature, it’s important that the Central City project be fiscally well-run. STA views it not as the final project of its kind, but as the first of its kind to be replicated in other parts of the city.

The public will only support such efforts if they can feel confident in the agency’s performance on this one. This is, after all, a town where the 24-year-old memory of the “Taj Mahal” renovations of the downtown plaza remains strong, and where a committed core of folks who seemingly oppose any and all public transit projects speak up regularly and loudly.

Because these estimates have changed and will change again, the ability to see the agency as good stewards is crucial.

Meanwhile, the heart of the Central City Line – its promise – remains unchanged.

“This is a transformative project for the region,” Meyer said. “There has never been a project like this in Spokane.”