Train station confusion?

A Paul Dyster look-alike lies down on the railroad tracks to demonstrate the need to invest millions into a new train station; but, don’t worry, there are so few train travelers, he’ll be safe for weeks.

Fashions change and what is now obsolete may return, like the hoop skirt or train travel.

Last week a headline in the Niagara Gazette read, “Council confused on train station funding?”

It turns out the story is about Mayor Paul Dyster who submitted a change order, to be paid to Wendel Duchscherer, consultants and engineers, for $268,750, on top of the $3.5 million they’ve already been paid, to design the Niagara Falls train station, and how the council said “no” to the extra money.

This put the train station, the article reads, “in jeopardy because of (the) misunderstanding of the project's funding in city hall,” according to the City Planner Tom DeSantis.

These two men say the council majority: Chairman Sam Fruscione and council members Robert Anderson, Jr. and Glenn Choolokian, who voted no, are confused; while Charles Walker and Kristen Grandinetti (who were not confused) voted yes.

The majority on the council didn’t understand why they have to approve an extra quarter of a million for Wendel – the same engineers that ran the Lewiston Road project $5 million over budget by miscalculating the amount of hazardous waste, elevations, placement of water lines and etc, and were, happily, able, under the Dyster administration, to convert their mistakes into change orders, as they billed the city more money to correct their mistakes.

Council member Choolokian didn’t sound confused when he said the train station is beginning to look a lot like the courthouse, which started out at $12 million when it was first conceived, then jumped to $24 million as it was planned, then catapulted to $36 million by the time the city got done fighting over who would be the contractor. By the time the work began, it was $45 million and it leapt to $50 million through change orders.

"Overruns and consultants," Choolokian said. “If they say $20 million it winds up $40 million. It they say 30 it winds up 60.”
Unlike the courthouse, 90 percent of the train station construction costs are funded by federal and state money, which means it’s extracted from people all over the state and nation, in taxes – so, some feel, we can spend it freely.

Although, true, most of the money is federal and state, the city will spend local money to build the station.

"The city's share (of the project cost) currently is about $3.2 million. That will probably go up," DeSantis told the Reporter.
Then there are operating costs.

"The cost will be shared by the city and its tenants. So, while the Department of Homeland Security won't pay rent, Amtrak and anyone else in the building will pay rent," DeSantis said.

At the risk of sounding confused, the plan seems one where we take federal money and in return we get a free-loading (Homeland Security) tenant.

It’s like your father-in-law giving you $10,000 towards building an expensive house you don’t need, provided you let your brother-in-law live there rent-free, forever.

In the end, it costs you money.

The rents from Amtrak and other tenants, according to DeSantis, "will not, in all likelihood, cover the costs of operating the station. There will probably be a deficit. What that deficit is, I don't know," he said.

What a stupendous statement.

Can you imagine someone saying, "I will buy a house. But I don’t know how much the mortgage payment is?"

Now for some questions: Will the city manage the station? Will the city pay the full costs to maintain the station? Is the maintenance figured into the city’s budget? Will the city (a la courthouse) have to hire maintenance employees to work there?

Will the city have to hire more police to secure and patrol the building? Will the city assume all liability for the cost of insurance, slip and fall, rail accidents, incidents etc.?

Neither the Mayor nor DeSantis have presented a study detailing overhead of the building: the heating, cooling, maintenance, cost of repair. They admit they don’t know the cost.

Once construction commences, will there be change orders, bump ups in costs, consultants (Wendel leading the way) like there was at the courthouse and the culinary center?

The funny thing about this train station (which won’t seem funny later) is there is one area where there is no confusion. Everyone knows there will be very few riders.

Presently, there are 20,000 to 25,000 riders per year at the train station on Lockport Street. That’s about 70 per day. That number includes arrivals and departures, DeSantis said.

"Once the (new) station opens up, they project that to double. In a year or two, it will be up to around 125 per day -- that's boarding and alighting, people getting on and off," he said.

That’s 65 going and 65 coming back. If maintenance costs are $1.5 million, it will cost the city $33 per rider.

And we are not talking federal and state taxpayer’s money anymore – it will be locals. You will pay $33 to put one person on a train.

Are we better off scrapping the project and saving millions?

The majority on the council are not confused, when they put the brakes on this first of many expected change orders – until after they get a few answers to some of these questions that they have been asking, but the mayor seems too confused to answer.