LAKELAND, Fla. - The failed effort to bring a commuter rail system to greater Orlando has cost Florida's taxpayers at least $44 million in contracts since 2004, the Lakeland Ledger reports.
The spending was approved by the Florida Department of Transportation for planning, engineering, public relations and other costs.
After a request for a list of contracts was made in April, the department released documents Wednesday listing the 57 contracts given by the agency since 2004 related to the halted SunRail plans for a 61.5-mile line between Poinciana and DeLand through Orlando.
While the department had agreed to buy the line from CSX Transportation in 2006, lawmakers have refused to approve a demand by CSX that the freight train company be held harmless for accidents involving its freight trains and commuter trains that would have shared the line.
Kevin Thibault, a department assistant secretary, said the money was "not a wasted effort."
Thibault said the $44 million came from local, state and federal sources.
Much of the spending was needed to get approval for nearly $700 million in federal funding to operate the system, he said.
And Thibault said the work has included environmental assessments, surveying for right-of-way and additional work that means any future efforts to bring commuter rail to Orlando along the CSX corridor will be that much further along.
He compared the spending with preliminary work done by the Florida High Speed Rail Authority earlier this decade to prepare for a train route between Orlando and Tampa, and along other routes in the state.
Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2000 requiring a high-speed rail system in the state but repealed the plan in 2004.
In between the two votes, the high speed rail authority spent millions on planning and engineering.
With the Obama administration ready to release federal funds for high-speed rail systems, Florida's plans have been dusted off and used as a blueprint.
"They spent millions of dollars already on the design and a lot of people thought it would not get anywhere," said Thibault.
"Now look where it got us: In position to draw down federal dollars."
SunRail's chief opponent, Lakeland Republican Sen. Paula Dockery, derailed the deal the past two sessions by relentlessly attacking the high cost and the high risk of putting taxpayers on the hook for CSX-caused accidents.
She blasted the spending again Wednesday.
"I don't know any businessman who would spend this much money on this many different contracts for something that was not necessarily a done deal," she said Wednesday.
"It's an outrage that FDOT would spend this much taxpayer money on a dream that many would more correctly call a nightmare while legislative approval for the CSX/commuter rail project was never certain."
At least $2.6 million was paid to lawyers for legal work on the deal.
About $24 million was spent on engineering and surveying, including more than $10 million to the lead consultant on the project, EarthTech.
And at least $1.7 million was spent on public relations and lobbying of local governments.
"There are so many employees at FDOT - including lawyers, engineers and people that do this every day," Dockery said.
"It amazes me that in addition to state employees who work for FDOT, that we had this much money paid out to this many firms to do what seems to be repetitive work."
Dockery said she was "particularly concerned" at a nearly $462,000 contract with CSX for "rail safety inspections, flagging (and) signal maintenance service," chores that Dockery said CSX "should probably be doing themselves."
Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, is the chairman of the Senate transportation appropriations committee. He said Thursday that the $44 million in contracts was about what the Transportation Department had explained as the necessary costs for planning and engineering.
He said the department was "given the green light to do this" project and he saw nothing improper with the spending.
(This item appeared June 11, 2009, in the Lakeland Ledger.)
