All politics is local, I hear. I\u2019m wondering.<\/p>\n
Sometime way back when it was suggested that a portion of Fresno County\u2019s Measure C\u2019s half-cent sales-tax monies be put up to help lure a high-speed rail Heavy Maintenance Facility (to be the only one of its kind in the state of California to be placed along the high-speed rail line) to a southwest Fresno County site in an industrial setting. At least this is what my understanding was at the time.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s interesting, because someone or some body (Fresno County?) suggested (to say \u201cstrongly suggested\u201d would not be a stretch in my view) that a portion of Measure C\u2019s tax-raised monies be used to lure this facility to Fresno with, I believe, virtually no opposition coming from county voters. The amount proposed at the time was $25 million and, if I recall correctly, that money was to come from the funding that was supposed to be set aside for advanced-transit-alternatives usage. The money given to advanced-transit-alternatives-usage total was $36 million. So, effectively, 70 percent of that would be turned over to the state to put towards siting and building the HSR HMF on a Fresno County parcel in an area zoned for industrial development that just so happens to be situated along the high-speed rail line. The choices for possible location for this facility (where high-speed trains would undergo final assembly before being approved for service and where routine heavy maintenance on the trains would be performed and where there would also be located a train-storage yard) were many, Fresno County one among them.<\/p>\n
Now there is nothing sinister about wanting one\u2019s home county to be the future home of the high-speed rail Heavy Maintenance Facility. After all, it\u2019s a facility that could possibly have as many 1,500 permanent positions. And, those jobs are sure to help the local economy, if not help lower the ranks of the county\u2019s unemployed.<\/p>\n
What I\u2019m calling into question, though, is using County taxpayer dollars to help pay for this facility \u2014 which is part of a statewide program. Especially since there was nary any mention of this prospect when Measure C came up for renewal in 2006. The Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century (California Proposition 1A) was not put to the state electorate for a vote until November 2008 which, by the way, had almost 53 percent of state voter support.<\/p>\n
Okay, so here it is, 2026. High-speed-rail infrastructure is being built on 171 miles of environmentally cleared right of way between Bakersfield and Merced in the Golden State\u2019s Central Valley Region. The line high-speed-train-connecting the two cities is estimated to cost $36 billion at full build-out and is expected to be taking on paying passengers in 2033. Meanwhile, work is being advanced currently on 119 miles of right of way between Poplar Avenue in Shafter and a location in Madera County just north of the city. So far, sixty structures in that section have already been built and high-speed rail track (track that will support train speeds in excess of 220 miles per hour) coupled with its supporting overhead power supply structure is to start being installed later this year. This is all outstanding news!<\/p>\n
But the question is: do I want taxpayer money taken from the County\u2019s Measure C to be used to try to in any way, shape or form influence an outcome as to which County will be chosen as the new home of the California high-speed rail system\u2019s Heavy Maintenance Facility? I want to be abundantly clear here! No I don\u2019t!<\/p>\n
As I understand it, this proposal has come up in discussion once more. If only because the California High-Speed Rail Authority has whittled down the selection of the HMF to two locations: Fresno County and another site along the HSR line near the city of Hanford, located to the city Fresno\u2019s southwest.<\/p>\n
I just don\u2019t have a good feeling about a suggestion along these lines.<\/p>\n
What I\u2019m wondering is what your take on all of this is.<\/p>\n
\tWe’ll get straight to the point: The financial hardships that Daily Kos is facing this year are tough.<\/p>\n
We continue to be paywall-free. We continue to be supported by our readers, not billionaires or corporations. But we need to bring in more revenue. We are leaning on our community more than ever to help make ends meet.<\/p>\n
\t\tPower matters.<\/p>\n