The proposed Brad Moody Memorial Underpass was supposed to start construction this summer, but the State of California Department of Finance has pulled the plug on the $40 million project, causing the City to lose $34 million in matching funds, eliminating hundreds of construction jobs, putting the Richmond ferry terminal in jeopardy and making life both miserable and more expensive for people who routinely move between the Richmond southern waterfront and I-580 or the rest of the City.

This grade separation was intended to solve the problem of mile-long BNSF trains from the Port of Oakland cutting off access to the southern waterfront, and it was seen as a vital link for the proposed ferry terminal.

How did this happen?

When AB 1X 26 was upheld by the Supreme Court, all redevelopment agencies statewide were dissolved.  Successor Agencies to the redevelopment agencies are only permitted to expend funds to pay down what the law terms “enforceable obligations”.  These are projects, loans, etc. for which the agency had an agreement or contract in place prior to the enactment of AB 1x26.

We included the underpass on our “Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule” (ROPS), for $6.2m in property tax trust funds (formerly called “tax increment”).  The Oversight Board approved the ROPS. Per the requirements of AB 1X 26, the ROPS was forwarded to the Department of Finance, which had three days to review and question any items they feel are not enforceable obligations.

Even after we provided DOF with the backup to show the underpass is an obligation, they made the determination the underpass is not an enforceable obligation. Our position is that we do in fact have an enforceable obligation, created by the TCIF Baseline Agreement with Caltrans which states the Agency is required to complete the funding plan and implement the project.

The cost implications: as noted above we require $6.2m in agency funding (property tax), to match the $18.975m TCIF grant (Caltrans), the $9.1m Measure J grant (CCTA), the Pulte settlement funds ($2.75m) and the 10% required railroad contribution ($1.7m) to create a complete funding plan for construction.  Also, we have already spent $2.7m on design and engineering and $81,250 on easements, while the utility companies have spent approximately $1.5m on relocation work.  All of this will have been for naught if we cannot get the DOF to recognize the underpass as an enforceable obligation.

The bottom line is that this is a short-sighted and illogical approach to capture $6.2m of our funding, because in so doing, DOF will sacrifice a $39m+ construction project that is sorely needed by the community.

The City has written to Senator Loni Hancock asking help in making clarifying changes to AB 1x26 to enable the Brad Moody Memorial Underpass to proceed.