Board of Directors Meeting   12/8/2023

Good morning.

Mr. McLaughlin, can I ask you to make an introduction, please?

So we're very excited to have Amara on and he's going to give a safety brief.

Thank you.

I'm going to have Mary Estelle call the roll just to affirm that we have a quorum.

Ms. Bushu?

Here.

Mr. Maestri?

Yes.

Mr. Spore?

Here.

Thank you, Mary Stock.

So I'm looking forward, we got a lot of work to do between now and July 1st, right, DJ?

No doubt.

Hearing none, Mary Estelle, can you call the roll, please?

Mr. Delandro?

Aye.

Ms. Rhinehart?

Aye.

Mr. Spore?

Aye.

Motion carries.

So I'm going to turn it over to you for the Executive Director's Report.

Yes, ma'am.

So are there going to be updates or information available to us as you move forward with this to know what they're looking at for this design?

So what's going to happen is...

It really could impact us if we're not careful.

And as we've talked about before, this is really the critical step because it takes us from a good idea and a good opportunity to 30% design that tells us exactly what the real schedule is to do, what our options are and what the cost is.

Absolutely.

Sure.

There's a big fear in our region that it will impact our number of trains or people getting stuck in Petersburg or Staples Mill or North Carolina.

Mike, did you raise your hand?

Do you want to let you know that we've been working with North Carolina Service Planning and it will be in a very clear and style negotiable that the Northville trainings

There will be a back and forth.

And how about any future ones then?

Burke on that at the time.

Future wants still, of course.

And Newport News wants to.

We'll continue on to Northeast Florida.

Thank you.

In fact, let me say that even more strongly, this board will know before we back away from that because we wouldn't do that without your knowledge of it.

And so that is, you know, we have the ongoing dialogue, certainly at the staff level, but that is also happening at the legislative level.

But we've been very, very clear.

Absolutely.

I know it was brief, but if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them.

So moved.

No discussion.

That's a good thing.

Mary Sue, could you call the roll, please?

Mr. Delandro.

Aye.

Drake, Mr. Hall, Ms. Moses-Nedd, Ms. Rhinehart, Mr. Spore.

Mr. Kostenuk, Mr. Konstantine, welcome.

I will turn the conversation now over to Mr. Kostenuk to summarize our procurement activities.

Don't know if there's any questions about the whole procurement process, but please ask them if you have any questions.

So the Notice to Award, is that where we are today?

We need board approval, and then we've just given a Notice of Intent, and we've been in negotiation with Skanska Flatiron, and that's where we've provided the progressive design-building agreement that we hope to provide a Notice of Award if we get approved.

But now I see that October 11 was an interview with the firms.

And I think around that time of that conference, we were sending regrets and people know who was playing, even though we don't release it, they all know.

So anyway, just FYI.

And full disclosure, I don't know how it got out too many, you know, but I was not happy that it got out.

So anyway, just FYI.

So I completely agree with you.

It is a challenge in such a case.

Thank you.

Thank you.

This is good feedback because it helps us to understand how we need to step up and probably implement better controls because we have kept everything within the TL.

Yeah, I just thought maybe the letters of intent had gone out, so that would make sense to me, but then I just saw the date October 11th in an interview, so I'm thinking, wait a minute, so anyway, yeah, thank you.

I will hand over to John now to just kind of talk through some of his additional group as he measures.

If we sign that agreement, then we'll be able to give a notice to proceed as soon as possibly early June.

Because there's a lot of interest in that.

Thank you.

Questions.

Walk me through that.

We're just really excited that we'll be able to inject a fair amount of capital into the SWAM community here with Long Bridge North.

Number one, isn't federal money being used, or would it be SWAM or DBE?

We do not have the FTA, so we're going to follow the state's procurement, the state's model, and it's going to be SWAM.

I think that would really be helpful.

John, is it fair to say that the contract was provided in the package for the board meeting?

Is that material in the contract or is it- No, I don't think it's- We haven't seen the full, any of these teams, we haven't seen the list of, and that would help you

It was phase one, five was mentioned, and we have 12.2% percentage.

What is the goal?

Okay.

Any other discussion or questions for the team?

Madam Chairman, just a comment.

So I'm assuming the motion will pass.

All right, hearing none, Mary Estelle, could you call the roll, please?

Ms. Bulova?

Aye.

Mr. Cardwell?

Aye.

Mr. Delandro?

Aye.

Mr. Spore?

Aye.

You've done a fantastic job.

That's good feedback.

It's a lot we could potentially do in the board to make sure that it's a number that we're all proud of.

and a running dialogue.

That's just great suggestions.

Welcome back.

I think John might hand it to you.

And I don't know if any word got out on this one.

Good job, Flatiron.

There's just a lot of people and when we do send regrets it gets around.

This VPRA, do you all determine that?

In fact, just last week, we had a meeting with Supervisor Lusk from Fairfax County, and we're planning to do...

I'm talking to the actual citizens, public servants.

CMJC will lose that CM designator and will essentially become a general contractor like any other project with VPRA providing construction oversight and Parsons providing some design services during construction.

and we are just going to have an open book reconciliation when we are getting the GMP.

Sounds like he's not there yet.

They're going to need to be here within at the time when they submit their OPCC in 90 days.

Thank you.

later in 2024 with substantial completion in 2026.

Any questions?

Please.

We would love to pack any halls that we have and see several hundred firms show up for those of 30.

Of no goal.

So it gets real complicated real fast.

So why no project-specific goal?

We do not have a history of any sort of discriminatory practices that would trigger project-specific goals.

I'm more so on the air side.

I don't know if you have plans for that.

The regulation of Part 26.05 on that circumstance, the same would be triggered with swabs with women.

It's never within your procurement.

or any skill like FAA's AIP, but anyway, no, I appreciate that.

But you, yeah, but you've made reference.

You have to have that telling reason, one, to even use it for a DBE, FTA, FHWA, or FAA funding.

You don't have to.

If you can get that on these, that's very good.

Mr. Stadler, that's something that you can report to the board on a regular basis in your executive director's report.

Thank you.

Do I have a motion based on the staff recommendation to do that?

So moved.

Any further discussion?

Thank you.

And Mary Stell.

Mr. Cardwell?

Aye.

Mr. Delandro?

Aye.

Ms. Moses-Nedd?

Aye.

And Mr. Spore?

Aye.

Alright, motion carries.

Come sit back here.

So just want to make that.

So thank you.

And so while we're focused on the passenger side and the things that we do as a body to help advance passenger rail, it is a monumental shift for the freight side and what we can do to help move more freight by rail out of the Port of Virginia into the Northeast corridor so incredibly significant day.

So you can expect an interruption.

So you feel free.

But we are making sure there are protections in place throughout this whole process, so it's minimizing the risk to BPRA.

We met with them twice, once with the manager of the Voluntary Remediation Program, we'll explain that in a minute, and one with the director of the Northern Virginia Office of DEQ.

Straightforward, they're positive about this proposal.

And if somehow there is something that is extremely harmful found on that land, we will probably put it back in place, cover it, and nothing else will happen unless some agreement is reached with the developer and or other artists.

We're taking ownership of this land as currently owned by the residential real estate developer.

So the land where the station is, is going to be our land.

Is the whole corridor ours?

is not, it's contiguous to the right of way that we're going to be acquiring, but it's not our right of way.

Who owns that?

The developer owns it now.

Or are we buying it because the stuff we're digging out for the VRE, that he's digging out for the VRE station may be contaminated and he has to go somewhere with it and we say dump it on our land?

Does that make sense?

When someone wants to give me some free land, I'm always a little bit skeptical.

So they can do their station development.

Right, because the DEQ standards are different or something?

If we talk a little bit about site history, that may give you different questions or may answer some of your questions.

Their portion will also be restricted.

And there will be a number of controls that we'll also get into in a later slide.

confuse you more?

I just don't want to be an albatross that we're taking on that becomes even more of a liability when we have nice families all moved in here.

Absolutely agree and that's what Mr. Westermann called quote our worst day as we have these conversations we bring that up all the time what happens on our first day and that's really why we're doing a lot of this homework ahead of time getting DEQ to to agree that yes we have done we the developer has done everything necessary to ensure that with that cap that this land is good given the restrictions that there's no schools no no residential that kind of stuff so that that's the process we're going through now.

He just continued to own it because it's contiguous and have it polluted?

AJ, I'll speak to that a little bit.

That's how we end up interested in this four and a half acre site as a destination for the soils excavated for the station.

So we won't be able to get an opportunity to test it until it turns to us.

It will, once we own it, obviously, it can be passed.

It's only a question of the dirt we're adding to it, whether that's even different level or degree of, we're taking ownership of a dump.

A dump that has been remediated with the cabinet and actually to make, it may help.

In our view, a particularly high degree of risk.

Because it's in CSX?

As the fill dirt is moved, if we go forward with this process, we will have folks on site ensuring that everything is clean.

If it's not, then we mitigate?

Well actually, I have two questions.

Potential ridership?

Not post-COVID?

We're doing some updated information now to your point about post-COVID and stuff, but...

Right.

What's the next step?

That would permit us to go forward.

And is that then not within VPRA's hands and strictly between the developer and VRE?

That would be hands off.

It is the developer constructing the station.

This is, this is just a briefing.

No action.

No action taken.

This is really complicated.

And folks want another way to get into DC and get where they want to go.

If we had to build the station, Rich, what

So there's a lot of reasons why this becomes not just a station for the developer or for the development there, but this is really for that part of the region is very important from an accessibility standpoint.

I mean, it is an infill and it is meeting a different type of travel and commuting need than maybe historically what VRE has done.

So it's not like you all are creating a new playbook for this.

But those are the requirements for the land once the certificate of completion is completed.

which goes back under the cap, the likelihood of discovering something is very low and this site has been studied, test pitted, groundwater monitoring wells since 1989 for the most of the right-of-way that we're acquiring.

Is that where we are?

When the developer went through the certificate completion program, they had a public meeting at which they announced that their plans for the use

were to construct a marina and have a park with trails.

In other words, no invasive use at the perhaps of the marina and some utilities to get there.

And the question which we, which the developers councils passed of DEQ and

We are all waiting for the answer is, do we need to have another public meeting if part of the use will be the BTRA to accept four and a half acres for a railroad board?

Or to potentially move that dirt from where the developer is putting it in the base?

the moving dirt from one part of it to another, it's not related to the police jet, but we would certainly have no problem stating at that meeting that that's what we intended to do.

Okay, so the only way in our change of use, we couldn't make it as polluted as we wanted if it's still for railroad use.

This is ideal use for a VRP site.

What's VRP?

We're not going to come back and say, oh, but now we plan to build 40,000 on the strap in our swimming pool.

That's what we're focused on as we decide what we perform.

Is the cost of the station VPRA?

No, it's the local developer.

It's all private.

Thank you.

Just to follow up on that, effectively the developer will hand it over to Prince William County and then VRE be responsible to maintain it.

Okay, so that's how it will work.

Again, just an update, wanted to let folks know where we were.

Yes.

Okay.

Ron, the railroad goes right by the Potomac Bridge.

Thank you.

It's closed.

What's that place?

You need life insurance, Paul.

I'm going to show that it's not me.

Any questions about this?

If you could spend all day with us, show you the entire system.

So just in closing, I just wanted to say a quick word of thanks to Mr. Pittard, Mr. Costenot, Mr. Pelletier, Mr. Constantine for finishing a half hour early so I could take a half hour too long and finish right on time.

A few pictures of the board, but we will stand in recess and reconvene at one o'clock.

you

That is it.

We do receive... Well, no, we're just excited for interest.

What?

I didn't even get trouble yet.

Not going to let you.

Hopefully they will keep their

And at that point, we will have that same confidentiality conversation with them.

Happy to go back if you have any questions to answer.

Remaining in place.

So we'll be able to, their bridge will stay up and running just fine, and we'll be building a bridge right next to it.

The Old Bridge, it's an old bridge.

Yeah, we're excited about that.

Okay.

So they continue to do their maintenance on it.

Did you say, excuse me, did you say DCDOT will do the maintenance of the bike bridge?

They'll own it and maintain it.

And so they'll fund it.

They have over $15 million in their budget for the pet bike bridge.

So they'll fund it though after it's filled?

The maintenance as well, yes.

That would be their responsibility to...

The agreements aren't finalized yet?

I just want to make sure, let's...

So it's a good thing to do, but it's also part of your medication.

Okay, okay.

So the sand, the river's up.

I didn't realize that.

Did I hear that?

And most everything we design, we do think about maintenance as well.

that actually like, you know, provide something more than just a benefit, but also reduces like the effort.

It will definitely be a feature that tourists will be able to marvel if it's done right.

And not just the long bridge rail bridge.

Just for the board members to know, I've been to a couple of public hearings on Long Bridge, and actually all the citizens who are there, with all due respect, Rich and DJ, they could care less about the rail, it was about the bike patrons.

They're all there for that.

It's very, very popular.

We're here in Spingler.

That's exactly what they want.

For being people.

And I lived in the house and he took it every day to work.

So it is a good multimodal addition to this rail project to continue to move people efficiently and environmentally friendly.

It's not linked to any, okay.

Greater Vulnerability Assessment dictated that it be a completely separate bridge.

So it's part federally funded, part by on the Virginia side?

That's right, $20 million.

Okay, and that's a lot of the costs?

Federal Government as well.

That's not a bridge.

What would be nice about having a separate structure, having a separate structure would feel much more comfortable taking the Penn bike bridge.

Especially if it's beautiful.

Even before our time when he was at CSX, he's working on his quote.

Welcome.

So that is largely the story of our interview with the PREA.

Where are we on the acquisition of the trainsets that are doing these land?

The schedule is still holding, but we've seen probably one or two trains 90 days after approaching the Northeast.

Questions?

Does VPRA have anything to do with it?

Let me just say that it's a collaborative effort and VPRA is included.

So having said that, is that a role for VPRA to take?

Yes, that's correct.

That's going to be across the street.

Rich probably should say something, but it is, that collaboration is happening to make sure that that does.

Well, it needs to happen, and you may say that, but the people in the area don't think that, because they're very, very concerned.

And again, the people in the area might think that, but the people that are working on it know what's happening.

Balls and Strikes, to make sure that both projects are done on time and within some sort of budget, whatever that budget is.

It's very complicated.