Troy City Council to Vote on Revised Transit Center Proposal

Troy City Council is expected to vote Monday on a revised and less costly transit center design proposal for the federally funded multi-modal transit center after  not to approve a design subcontract in the amount of $8.4 million.

The revised proposal, submitted by Councilman Dane Slater, caps the transit center project at $6.27 million.

The reduced cost is meant to entice a "yes" vote from a majority of City Council members, including Councilman Wade Fleming, who voted against the project Dec. 19 but indicated he would be willing to vote for a less costly version of the project.

"I’m willing to go now to $6 million, and that’s it," Fleming said Dec. 19.

"This is the same proposal that Councilman Fleming proposed on the 19th of December," Slater said Saturday. "I’m bringing that forward thinking we’ve come to a concession, and hopefully I can get a majority vote to approve the project.”

Slater said he worked with Fleming, representatives from the , the city manager's office and project engineers from Hubbell, Roth & Clark Inc. on the new design proposal, which he said will still maintain the integrity of the previous building design.

“It’s not the project that I was hoping to move forward, but I’ve learned a long time ago that if you’re going to accomplish some things, everybody needs to compromise," Slater said. "So, I’m willing to compromise to move the project forward while still keeping the project’s integrity intact."

“We’re giving up certain elements of it," said Michele Hodges, president of the Troy Chamber of Commerce. "The footprint of the building has been reduced from 2,400 to 2,000 square feet. ... The 'green' elements are no longer part of it."

The project is supported by , many ,  and . The council's Dec. 19 decision to not award a design subcontract for the project drew at local, and national levels.

Mayor Daniels and councilmembers Tietz and Henderson, all of whom voted against the project, have indicated they do not specifically oppose the project itself, but instead oppose the federal funding for the project.

"My biggest problem is spending money that we don't have," . "I would think it would be more responsible to repair the economy. ... I'm not opposed to public transportation, I'm opposed to debt spending."

Henderson agreed. "The federal government cannot afford to keep spending money the way it's been spending," . "The money they're allowing for this project is fake money, it's not there, it's debt that our kids are going to be paying off for years and years."

Councilman Campbell, who is in favor of the project, argued that sending the funds back simply doesn't make sense.

"If we do that, we should give back all the money we give to schools, unemployment, the fire department," Campbell said, referring to a $25,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) for the that is on the agenda Monday for the council's consideration and acceptance.

"Should we give that back?" Campbell asked. "Where does it stop? It makes no sense."

Mayor Daniels said early Saturday afternoon that she had not yet been able to access the new proposal and declined to comment on the matter. Mayor Pro Tem McGinnis and Councilmen Tietz, Henderson and Fleming did not immediately return phone calls.

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