I don’t really expect Austin Sen. Kirk Watson’s SB 2015 – which would re-shape Capital Metro’s board of directors and give the organization greater flexibility in extending and operating rail services – to encounter too much trouble working its way through the Lege, but it did draw an opponent at this morning’s House Transportation Committee meeting.
And unlike too many of Cap Metro’s critics, I was actually willing to give him a listen for a good reason: “I … am probably the only person who took a bus to this committee hearing and takes one to work daily,” said local resident Lee Hill, representing himself. (He was wrong, actually – I rode the No. 5 in to the Capitol, as I do most days – but knowing chuckles around the room told me his estimation wasn’t far off.)
He raised some reasonable concerns – he prefers that the board continue to remain composed primarily of elected officials, whereas Watson’s bill would revert to more appointees. “The current board is responsive,” Hill said. “When I have a problem, I can contact that board member’s staff.”
Ten years ago, a completely dysfunctional Cap Metro board was dismantled by the Legislature and replaced with a board composed mostly of local elected officials, but with some appointments as well. Watson argues that those reforms improved the agency, but have now outlived their usefulness and also shortchange Austin on board representation.
“It was an appointed bureaucracy that had the problems before, and it’s moving back that direction with this bill,” Hill said.
Hill also argued against the provision allowing Cap Met to extend a rail system by less than one mile without holding an election – given that Cap Met’s sole rail line is the soon-to-be operational (we hope) commuter rail from Leander to Downtown, such an extension would be from the Convention Center to City Hall. Hill worried about both the aesthetic and practical effect of sending a rail line across Congress, the centerpiece avenue of our city. “This bill is not as transparent as it looks,” he said.
The bill would also authorize Cap Met to contract with other entities to operate a rail system without holding an election.
“Let’s wait two years,” Hill said. “Let’s make sure Cap Metro is running a rail system before go and give them the ability to run one for the city of Austin or the city of Manor.”
The bill was left pending, but Austin Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, who is shepherding the bill through the House, wasn’t worried and speculated that SB 2015 would get voted out of committee soon, “possibly later today or on the House floor.”
This article appears in May 1 • 2009.