This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
State legislators from Utah County are all for Salt Lake County voting again on its transportation priorities after a math error propelled rails ahead of roads.
Trouble is, if the Council of Governments' revote thwarts funding for FrontRunner commuter rail, the biggest loser could be none other than Utah County.
That would be bad, concedes Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem. His Utah County constituents are counting on commuter rail to relieve traffic pressure when an increasingly clogged Interstate 15 is rebuilt there.
But the blame, he adds, rests with Salt Lake County if the rail project gets sidetracked.
"It concerns me," Valentine said, "but I have to make sure that I am following the statute and COG is following the statute."
State law requires counties tapping the so-called "third" quarter-cent sales tax to follow a strict formula in ranking transportation needs. Part of the formula involves dividing safety benefits by the project's estimated cost. However, legislative auditors found that the Wasatch Front Regional Council instead multiplied the figure, placing the FrontĀRunner line in the No. 2 position instead of 19th, where it correctly belonged.
Salt Lake County's COG will vote again on its priority list Nov. 1.
While West Valley City Mayor Dennis Nordfelt, COG's president, doubts the group will do an about-face and scrap funding for rail transit, most county officials agree that FrontRunner from Salt Lake City to Utah County is more threatened than TRAX extensions to West Valley City and West Jordan/South Jordan.
If heavy commuter rail lost out, then the FrontRunner line planned from Provo would have no connection to Salt Lake City.
So the stakes are high for Utah County. Darrell Cook, executive director of Mountainland Association of Governments, said commuter rail would be essential to helping the county through an I-15 overhaul.
"It is timed to be in place before the reconstruction of I-15 to help with mitigation," Cook said.
The current plan calls for construction to begin on Utah County's' end of FrontĀRunner next year, with rail service to Provo operating by 2012. Cook said eventually the train would run to Payson, providing service for most of the county.
But if COG votes it down, he said Utah County would be in more than a traffic jam.
Unlike Salt Lake County, Utah County voters in 2006 approved a quarter-cent sales tax with the understanding that 85 percent of the revenue would go into building Utah County's FrontRunner leg. If there is no Salt Lake connection, there is little point in doing so, and the county would have to decide whether to put the money aside until Salt Lake County completes its part, or use it for roads.
However, that would require another referendum, Cook said, since voters earmarked the money.
Valentine acknowledges that FrontRunner is vital to Utah County's transit plan. But that's not the issue, he said. It's Salt Lake County's COG and the Wasatch Front Regional Council not heeding the law. But it does not necessarily mean Utah County's rail plans are doomed.
"The solution is to have a review of the priorities with the new ranking and articulate the reasons for allocating the money" to FrontĀRunner, Valentine said.
Valentine and Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, said the latest snag has nothing to do with the Legislature's ongoing feud with Salt Lake County over disputes such as Real Salt Lake's soccer stadium.
"They still have flexibility," Bramble said. "But they need to do the prioritization and have discussion. They need to do their work first."
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* JEREMIAH STETTLER contributed to this story.
* The Salt Lake County Council of Governments will vote again on its transportation priorities Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. at the County Government Center, 2001 S. State St. Public comment will be accepted.