Wednesday, April 18, 2001

Atlanta officials apparently have reneged on a $16 million commitment to the state, leaving plans for a downtown train station --- already uncertain --- further in limbo, state transportation officials say.

Mayor Bill Campbell in 1997 pledged the money to the state Department of Transportation for the train terminal, according to letters between Campbell and then-DOT Commissioner Wayne Shackelford.

In exchange, the state agreed to take over the $15 million project to replace the deteriorating Spring Street bridge near the planned site of the station. Engineering work for the bridge project is complete and construction is scheduled to begin this fall. But the city money --- part of a $150 million bond referendum approved by Atlanta voters in 1994 --- is gone.

"I guess so much time has gone by they used the money for other projects," DOT Chief Engineer Frank Danchetz said.

State officials had not worried about collecting the city-pledged money until recently because there was no immediate need for it. However, when the state Legislature declined to include money for the station in the upcoming budget, the state found itself with nowhere else to turn. The Norfolk Southern railroad, which owns the land the state needs for the station, says it will sell to another buyer if the state does not come up with the money by summer.

The station is critical to plans for commuter rail service in metro Atlanta, and would serve as a transportation hub accommodating trains and regional bus service, as well as Greyhound intercity buses and Amtrak.

DOT officials said they may back out of their agreement to reconstruct the Spring Street bridge if the city does not come through with the money.

"No decision has been made," said Paul Mullins, planning and programming director for the DOT. "We're having some discussions with the city over who's going to build it."

City officials on Tuesday did not respond to questions about whether Campbell would honor his agreement. But DeWayne Martin, Campbell's chief of staff, said the city expects the state to follow through on its commitment.

"It is our current understanding, as it has been all along, that the state intends to complete the building of the Spring Street bridge," Martin said in a prepared statement. Martin also said Campbell remains committed to the downtown train station, and has directed his staff to work with state and federal agencies to find money for the project, although no specific amount has been named.

Council member Clair Muller said Tuesday that council members decided against giving the money to the state for the station because it would be an incorrect use of city bond funds, which were approved for city infrastructure improvements. "As much as we all are supportive of having a terminal, that's not the place to get the money," Muller said. However, she said she recalled that the city had agreed to pay the state for work on the Spring Street bridge. It was unclear whether the city could legally give bond money to the state for the train station.

City Planning Commissioner Michael Dobbins said the city already had contributed financially to the station development. In 1994, the city paid $1.56 million for the design work on the train station. In 1995, the city bought the old Georgia Power building on Forsyth Street for $1.26 million to preserve land for the station.

The city also recently agreed to pay for part of the appraisal on the Norfolk Southern property, Dobbins said. In addition, the city transportation committee is considering a resolution to give the state $1 million from the city's transportation impact fees.

The committee will discuss the resolution at its May meeting. "It's more important to look at what the city has done since (the agreement)," Dobbins said. "We're working hard to come up with the funding that the state has recently identified as necessary to move forward."

The agreement, documented by letters exchanged between Campbell and Shackelford, was initiated by Campbell four years ago. In a letter dated April 29, 1997, Campbell proposed giving the state as much as $16.6 million in general obligation bond money in exchange for the state rebuilding the Spring Street bridge, between Alabama Street and Marietta Street in downtown Atlanta.

"In a nutshell, we propose to pledge our general obligation bond funds set-aside for the Spring Street viaduct project ... as our local matching funds for the proposed Atlanta multi-modal passenger terminal," Campbell wrote. "In exchange, we are requesting that your department use state funds to construct the Spring Street viaduct."

Shackelford accepted the proposal in a letter dated August 14, 1997.

In a March 1,1999, letter, Shackelford told Campbell that he was moving forward on the Spring Street project and reaffirmed the agreement, writing: "I am requesting your re-commitment to fund the local match for the (multi-modal station) so that the department can keep this project on schedule." Ê