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91–865 PDF 2015

S. HRG. 113–517

BUILDING ECONOMICALLY RESILIENT COMMUNITIES: LOCAL AND REGIONAL APPROACHES

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND COMMUNITY 

DEVELOPMENT

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON 

BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

EXAMINING LOCAL, REGIONAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL EFFORTS TO 

PROMOTE STRONG AND ECONOMICALLY RESILIENT COMMUNITIES 

ACROSS THE UNITED STATES

JULY 22, 2014

Printed for the use of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

(

Available at: http://www.fdsys.gov/


BANKI-41578DSA with DISTILLER
COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS 

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota, Chairman

JACK REED, Rhode Island 

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York 

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

JON TESTER, Montana 

MARK R. WARNER, Virginia 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

KAY HAGAN, North Carolina 

JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia 

ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama 

BOB CORKER, Tennessee 

DAVID VITTER, Louisiana 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada

CHARLES YI, Staff Director 

GREGG RICHARD, Republican Staff Director

DAWN RATLIFF, Chief Clerk 

TAYLOR REED, Hearing Clerk 

SHELVIN SIMMONS, IT Director 

JIM CROWELL, Editor

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey, Chairman 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas, Ranking Republican Member 

JACK REED, Rhode Island 

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia 

ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

BOB CORKER, Tennessee 

PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada 

RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama

BRIAN CHERNOFF, Subcommittee Staff Director

WILLIAM RUDER, Republican Subcommittee Staff Director

JACKIE SCHMITZ, Legislative Assistant

(II)


BANKI-41578DSA with DISTILLER
CONTENTS

TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

Page

Opening statement of Chairman Menendez .......................................................... 1

Opening statements, comments, or prepared statements of: 

Senator Heller 

Prepared statement ................................................................................... 23

WITNESSES 

Steven M. Fulop, Mayor, Jersey City, New Jersey ............................................... 3

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 23

Joseph A. Calabrese, CEO and General Manager, Greater Cleveland Regional 

Transit Authority ................................................................................................. 4

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 26

Lee Gibson, AICP, Executive Director, Regional Transportation Commission 

of Washoe County (RTC) ..................................................................................... 6

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 27

Claire A. Collins, Supervisor, Bath County, Virginia, on behalf of the National 

Association of Counties (NACo) .......................................................................... 8

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 31

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUPPLIED FOR THE RECORD

Newspaper articles submitted by Joseph A. Calabrese ........................................ 35

RTC 2035 Regional Transportation Plan Pocket Book submitted by Lee Gibson, AICP .............................................................................................................. 42

Letter submitted by Jimi Grande, Chairman, BuildStrong Coalition ................. 140

(III)


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BANKI-41578DSA with DISTILLER
(1)

BUILDING ECONOMICALLY RESILIENT COMMUNITIES: LOCAL AND REGIONAL APPROACHES 

TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met at 3:09 p.m., in room SD–538, Dirksen 

Senate Office Building, Hon. Robert Menendez, Chairman of the 

Subcommittee, presiding. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ROBERT MENENDEZ 

Senator MENENDEZ. Good afternoon. The Subcommittee will 

come to order. Today the Subcommittee will hear from four local 

communities about the work that they are doing to improve economic resiliency, transportation, and housing options and job creation. 

We hear a lot of different phrases for this type of work, livable 

communities, smart growth, transit-oriented development. These 

terms come for some with a lot of pre-conceived notions about what 

they mean and what type of communities they work for. It can 

raise concerns that the Federal Government will dictate what our 

communities should look like or overstep local decisionmaking. And 

nothing could be further from the truth. 

Real smart growth allows local residents and stakeholders to 

build a community that works for them, one that has transportation choices that make sense for their region, a strong housing 

market, thriving businesses, and access to good jobs. These are 

goals that all of our States and communities share, but how they 

actually achieve them can look very different. There is no one-sizefits-all approach to building a strong economically resilient community, and so, we are here today to hear some of those different 

versions. 

I am pleased that Mayor Steven Fulop of Jersey City is here 

today to highlight one example of how to strengthen a community 

and to share one of the greatest success stories in my home State. 

The Hudson Bergen Light Rail System connects the north Jersey 

communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union 

City, and North Bergen. The light rail system has revitalized the 

regions, spurred new development, helped local businesses. It has 


BANKI-41578DSA with DISTILLER
2

been a catalyst for economic growth and brought new jobs to the 

neighborhoods along the line. 

Jersey City is an example of what is possible, what we can 

achieve when we invest in our infrastructure, when we invest in 

our future. This light rail system is a model for a lot of other cities 

around the country and represents just one of many choices that 

a community can make to become a truly livable community built 

on economic resilience and smart growth. 

My hope is that our witnesses will explain the diverse options 

available to communities that support smart growth policies for the 

21st century economy. It is also critical to have Federal support in 

these efforts. In 2009, HUD, the Department of Transportation, 

and the EPA launched the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, designed to incorporate livability principles into Federal policymaking and improve cooperation between agencies and with 

local communities. 

The partnership has since helped more than 1,000 urban, suburban, and rural communities throughout the Nation with grants and 

technical assistance. It has reduced barriers, provided support and 

expertise, and has led to more efficient use of taxpayer money 

through better planning and coordination. The partnership is a 

worthy example of Federal leadership and I hope to hear from our 

witnesses how we can maximize this approach in the future. 

Following this hearing, I intend to re-introduce my Livable Communities Act legislation, which had 19 cosponsors in the previous 

Congress, and provides Federal support for communities working to 

develop regionally driven solutions to their transportation, housing, 

environmental, and job creation challenges. It supports comprehensive planning, making sure that communities are working together 

to build a future that supports economic growth, provides strong 

transportation and housing options, and creates and sustains job 

growth and development. 

The goal of my legislation is to support the type of great work 

that we will hear more from our witnesses today, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to help pass it. 

With that, let me introduce our panelists. They are Mayor Steven 

Fulop of Jersey City. Mayor, thank you for coming down to Washington and bringing a good dose of New Jersey pride to the Nation’s capitol and we look forward to hearing you share the experiences that you have had in Jersey City as a resident, as a Councilman, and now as Mayor. 

We also have with us Joseph A. Calabrese, the Chief Executive 

Officer and General Manager of the Greater Cleveland Regional 

Transit Authority. Thank you for coming. Lee Gibson, who is the 

Executive Director of the Regional Transportation Commission of 

Washoe County in Nevada. Thank you. And Claire A. Collins, a Supervisor of Bath County, Virginia, on behalf of the National Association of Counties. 

Let me start off by saying that all of your statements will be 

fully included in the record without objection. We would ask you 

to summarize them in about 5 minutes or so, so that we can enter 

into a conversation with you. We will start off with you, Mayor 

Fulop. 


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STATEMENT OF STEVEN M. FULOP, MAYOR, JERSEY CITY, NEW 

JERSEY 

Mr. FULOP. Chairman Menendez, thank you. First I want to 

thank the Committee for your support of smart urban development 

policy, and especially for your help through the FTA, for the Hudson Bergen Light Rail. It has been absolutely transformational for 

our region. I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today 

because the issues on which this Subcommittee focuses are becoming increasingly important to every community in America, and especially to Jersey City and New Jersey. 

As the largest city in the most densely populated county in the 

most densely populated State in the Nation, we are seeing a shift 

in the way people live, work, travel, and interact with their communities. While much of the Nation does not look like Jersey City, 

it is, in many ways, a picture of what is to come. America becomes 

denser and more populous every year, so I think the Jersey City 

experience has national relevance. 

In general terms, I want to speak about today transit-oriented 

development, livable communities, and investment in transportation infrastructure. We, as policymakers, need to recognize the 

symbiotic relationship between dense urban centers and more open 

residential communities. As the trend of urbanization continues, 

our economic prosperity will come to depend even more heavily on 

our ability to move large numbers of people in and out of urban 

centers quickly. This means direct Federal investment in transportation infrastructure and empowering the local communities to 

make those investments. 

I am here today to offer you Jersey City, my hometown, and part 

of your home county, as proof of that. Two decades ago, Jersey 

City’s Hudson Riverfront was the picture of urban decay. It was a 

largely abandoned ex-industrial wasteland. Defunct railroad yards, 

and dilapidated warehouses dominated the streetscape. That area, 

now often referred to as the Gold Coast, has completed transformed. 

The decay has been replaced with glass and steel skyscrapers, 

shops, restaurants, and small businesses. Thousands of residential 

units and millions of square feet of retail and industrial space are 

under construction right now as we speak. The new prosperity of 

Jersey City’s waterfront was built on the foundation of pre-existing 

public transit, the PATH, a trans-Hudson Metro. Thanks to Chairman Menendez and the rest of the Subcommittee, Jersey City’s recovery accelerated significantly with the opening of the Hudson 

Bergen Light Rail System in 2000. 

Developers and public officials have quickly recognized the opportunity. As an example, the Essex Street line on the light rail has 

catalyzed the building of 3,000 residential units in 5 years. Liberty 

Harbor north, another stop, a transit-oriented development which 

will consist of 6,000 residential units and millions of square feet of 

residential space, is also clearly a result of the light rail. 

Wherever there is a light rail or a PATH station, we see recovery, growth, and ultimately prosperity. The opportunity for expansion of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail, which would bring and stimulate the local economy to five more cities and give at least 130,000 

people access to new opportunities by extension into Bergen. 


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I urge the Subcommittee to support this project, and one look at 

the effects of the current light rail proves the value of this investment. Rail transportation and transit-oriented development drive 

economic development as well. Because of the light rail, the PATH 

and the implementation of housing policies which maximize their 

benefits, Jersey City has become a regional employment center. 

Every day 100,000 people come to Jersey City from New Jersey and 

New York to work, shop, and dine. Put simply, Jersey City is flourishing because it is interconnected with surrounding communities. 

This phenomenon is not unique to Jersey City. The Center for 

Housing Policy recently completed a review of studies on housing 

prices and proximity to rail and their findings make a powerful argument for transportation infrastructure. According to dozens of 

studies from across the country over decades, a nearby rail stop 

can add 6 to 50 percent to home values. When people are linked 

to opportunities, cities prosper. 

Transit is only one way to bring people and opportunities together. Another way to connect people with cultural, social, educational, economic opportunities is to create those opportunities 

where they live. This approach, livable community developments, 

means developing housing and transportation choices near jobs, 

shopping, schools, and parks. The resulting neighborhoods are 

healthy and environmentally friendly with vibrant local economies 

and a strong sense of place and community. 

In conclusion, let me reiterate my appreciation for the Subcommittee’s continued support for smart, sustainable urban planning and development policy. As you consider how to keep our communities competitive and healthy, I urge you to empower local governments, rather than restrict them, and give them tools rather 

than mandates. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify here today and I look 

forward to participating in discussion around these issues in the future. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you, Mayor. Mr. Calabrese. 

STATEMENT OF JOSEPH A. CALABRESE, CEO AND GENERAL 

MANAGER, GREATER CLEVELAND REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY 

Mr. CALABRESE. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. Thank 

you for this opportunity. My name is Joe Calabrese. I am the General Manager of Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. We 

run heavy rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, and paratransit services. We serve about 200,000 people on a typical weekday. About 

63 percent of our customers are going to work; another 23 percent 

are going to educational opportunities, two very important functions as we know. 

As in many other cities, the use of public transit and the appreciation for what it does is growing significantly. RTA’s biggest challenge is keeping up with our aging infrastructure and state-of-goodrepair needs for which Federal dollars are crucial. USDOT estimates that nationally we have a backlog of $87 billion in state-ofgood-repair needs just for normal replacement needs. This is very, 

very important. 


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There is a tremendous resurgence going on today in Cleveland. 

In the past few weeks, there have been articles in the New York 

Times, L.A. Times, and USA Today chronicling Cleveland’s resurgence. Political, civic, and business leaders credit a visionary public 

transit project, which opened in 2008, as jump-starting that economic development. The investment was a Bus Rapid Transit 

project along Cleveland’s main street, Euclid Avenue, which we 

named the HealthLine. And as better stated by Toby Cosgrove, the 

CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, it was great for the health of the city. 

While the HealthLine shares many characteristics of a light rail 

system, except the vehicles are on rubber tires and not steel 

wheels, we were able to build it and maintain it for roughly onethird the cost. These comments are by no means anti-rail. In many 

situations, rail is the right alternative, and many bus rapid transit 

may also be a great alternative that is maybe more affordable. 

Our commitment to the community was the HealthLine would be 

fast, clean, safe, and first class. The project was very comprehensive. It included new sidewalks, new curbs, new roadway, new 

lighting, new traffic signaling, bike lanes while 108 bus stops were 

converted to 36 well-lit and well-landscaped stations. The city of 

Cleveland even took the opportunity to upgrade water lines and 

sewer lines that really were in tremendous need of upgrade. 

The net result for our customers was ridership went up 30 percent—48 percent as travel time improved by 30 percent. In the first 

5 years—we just celebrated the fifth anniversary—ridership has 

gone up 60 percent over our highest ridership bus route. The net 

result for the community was billions of dollars of economic development. 

The $168.4 million New Starts grant, 50 percent of which was 

funded through the FTA program, has now leveraged over $5 billion of development. In a front page article in the Cleveland Plain 

Dealer in February of 2008, months before it opened, and the title 

of the article was the Rebirth, the project was already credited with 

$4.3 billion in economic development throughout the corridor. 

The true success of what we did is not the money we spent, but 

really how others leveraged the money we spent to make it much, 

much more and much, much better. In a 2013 study by the Institute for Transportation Development Policy, concluded the 

HealthLine had the highest return on investment for any public 

transit project in the country at $114 invested for every one dollar 

of transit project. 

Thousands of new housing options have been built, both marketbased and subsidized, 140,000 square feet of offices have been renovated, 444,000 square feet of new construction has happened. In 

addition to the 3,360 man-months for construction, an additional 

1,940 jobs were created and land prices have doubled in the midtown area, an area traditionally suffering from very, very low occupancy. 

My champion on this project is someone known in this chamber. 

It was Mayor George Voinovich who saw the vision for this project, 

it was Governor George Voinovich who supported it with some local 

funding, and it was Senator George Voinovich who led the charge 

for Federal participation for this very, very successful endeavor. 


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I am proud of the role that public transit played in leading this 

tremendous resurgence in a city that, quite honestly, needed a lot 

of help. This could not have been done without the commitment 

from the Federal Transit Administration and the support of Congress. 

I urge a timely, long-term fix for the Highway Trust Fund and 

the Mass Transit Account which includes increased investment for 

infrastructure, state-of-good-repair efforts, workforce development, 

and for projects such as the HealthLine. Without a long-term solution with predictable dedicated funding, projects such as this simply could not happen as they take years to plan, design, and build. 

Such projects can revitalize our cities, meet the mobility needs 

of our residents, and create jobs. Thank you. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you. We are on a roll here. Neither 

of you have used your 5 minutes and that is unusual here, to be 

honest with you. Mr. Gibson. 

STATEMENT OF LEE GIBSON, AICP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION OF WASHOE 

COUNTY (RTC) 

Mr. GIBSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator MENENDEZ. And I do not want that to—no pressure. You 

use all of your time. 

Mr. GIBSON. I will do my best to imitate the Federal Express 

commercial. 

Thank you, Chairman Menendez. I want to thank you for the opportunity to be here today and tell the RTC story. I also want to 

take a moment and thank Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid and 

Senator Dean Heller from Nevada. They are both close friends and 

I know they could not be here today, but I appreciate how they 

have been very, very supportive of the RTC in the past. 

Let me talk a little bit about who the RTC is. We are the metropolitan planning organization, we are the transit authority, and we 

are the street and highway building agency for the entire area of 

Washoe County. We serve a population of 500,000 residents and we 

welcome 5 million visitors a year to our region. 

The recession was a critical event in a critical moment for my 

community. At the peak of the recession in 2008, voters in Washoe 

County approved a plan to index fuel taxes to inflation and improve the purchasing power of our local option fuel tax to make up 

for the lost projects we had not been able to fund over time. 

We coupled that with a vigorous planning program, and updated 

our regional transportation plan. We have been moving forward 

with a number of key livability projects. Now, livability is something we hear a lot about, but in my community, livability is a twoedged sword that cuts across both current challenges and the future. 

In terms of current challenges, what we attempt to do in livability is help provide for jobs, housing, and education, and consistent with the RTC’s mission, connect folks to those opportunities 

so that they continue to thrive and continue to stay and grow in 

our community. We believe in life cycle transportation. When you 

look at the question of livability and how we are going to connect 


BANKI-41578DSA with DISTILLER
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to people throughout time, that is something we try to strive for 

and provide in our highway and transit programs. 

The other thing we are doing is moving forward, and working 

very vigorously to provide opportunities in economic development, 

specifically to target projects from the freight and logistics sector. 

In Reno we are at the tip of the spear, if you will, for a lot of international trade that comes in and out of the Bay Area. We want to 

make sure our interstate system and local roads provide the 

connectivity and access to industrial areas that will allow us to 

serve those with global needs. 

At the same time, we have a very fast and emerging area of our 

town called midtown. It is close to downtown and the University 

of Nevada-Reno. We are working vigorously to connect those three 

areas with a bus rapid transit investment that is going to spur new 

technology businesses, tap into the wealth of intellectual capital at 

UNR, and tie all three of our areas, the University, downtown, and 

midtown together so that we can begin to diversify into high tech 

and into more intellectually oriented economic opportunities. 

We believe that transit is a key component. We have a blue ribbon committee that is bringing our community together to look at 

the needs of the public transportation system, but more importantly, take that forward. Seniors and millennials are two particular groups we are focusing on. We believe they are the ones 

who have significant needs today. Seniors obviously are facing key 

challenges. 

During the recession, many seniors moved to outlying areas 

where housing was cheaper because they wanted to tap into savings and equity that they had built up or they wanted to get to it 

before it was lost. As a result, we now have a situation where 

many people are outside of our paratransit service area, but are in 

want and need of transit service. 

Millennials have interesting behavior patterns. They want to 

save time. They want to use as much time as they can for intellectual activities related to either economics or entertainment. They 

view transit as a way that they can spend more time using their 

brains. The more we all know, think, act, and be creative, the more 

economic activity is created. 

We want to make sure we construct transit opportunities for the 

millennials so they can contribute their unique perspective and experiences to our economy and grow our community, but, hopefully, 

stay in our community. 

Just as my fellow members of this panel believe in a strong Federal program, we, too, believe in a strong Federal program. We believe that Congress should act to raise the fuel tax. We have done 

it at the local level. We did it without political risk. People are very 

proud of what we have done. We believe Congress should act the 

same, or move toward other innovative financing sources. 

I am not an expert in finance or tax policy, but if we can bring 

money back on shore, tax it at a lower rate, and dedicate it to infrastructure, it seems to me that is a logical opportunity to help 

move our transportation system forward and develop a globally 

competitive economy. 

Finally, I do want to say, regulatory reform and empowering 

local governments and regional bodies to work effectively is a key 


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principle that I believe in, and I would hope that the Congress, as 

it addresses re-authorization, does the same. Thank you for your 

time. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you. Supervisor Collins. 

STATEMENT OF CLAIRE A. COLLINS, SUPERVISOR, BATH 

COUNTY, VIRGINIA, ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES (NACo) 

Ms. COLLINS. Thank you, Chairman Menendez, and I want to 

also thank Ranking Member Moran. 

Senator MENENDEZ. If you would just take your microphone and 

put it there? 

Ms. COLLINS. Yes, thank you. I am a County Supervisor in Bath 

County, Virginia. I am testifying today on behalf of the National 

Association of Counties, NACo, which represents all 3,069 county 

governments in the United States, and assists counties in pursuing 

excellence in public service to produce healthy, vibrant, safe, and 

resilient counties. 

I will focus my remarks on how counties, and especially rural 

counties like Bath County, have bolstered their ability to thrive 

amid ever-shifting physical, social, and economic conditions and 

what more can be done at the Federal level to support local economies. 

First, Mr. Chairman, counties play a distinctive role in economic 

resiliency as stewards of their local communities and are an integral part of our Nation’s inter-governmental system. Counties are 

responsible for supporting and maintaining key public infrastructure, transportation and economic development assets, creating and 

sustaining a skilled workforce to meet the needs of businesses, promoting public health and public safety to protect our citizens, and 

implementing a broad portfolio of Federal, State, and local programs in a cost-effective and accountable manner. 

My county, Bath County, is located in the Allegheny Mountains 

of Virginia with a population just over 4,600. Although we face 

many challenges, we are focusing on improving our transportation 

systems, developing infrastructure, providing affordable housing 

opportunities, and building and sustaining a skilled workforce that 

can help our community be globally competitive. 

For an example of how we are working to create the partnerships 

and environment needed for economic resilience, Bath County uses 

its convening powers to engage businesses as part of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, SVP, which includes the neighboring 

counties of Augusta, Highland, Page, Rockingham, Rockbridge, and 

Shenandoah. 

SVP is not only a public-private partnership, but is the one-stop 

economic development resource for businesses seeking expansion or 

location in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. This partnership between 

the public and private sectors brings together business, government, and education leaders to promote new investment, strengthen existing business and guide labor force development to ensure 

a healthy economic future for the region. 

Second, Mr. Chairman, improving transportation systems, housing options, and job opportunities is critical to enhancing local economic development and resiliency. Counties across the country are 


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also responsible for building and maintaining 45 percent of the 

public roads, 230,690 bridges, and are involved in a third of the 

Nation’s transit and airport systems that connect residents, businesses and communities. 

Based on Federal Highway Administration data, the share of 

Federal and State funding to local governments for highways decreased by 10 percent between 1998 to 2011. While local governments own 43 percent of the Federal-aid highway systems, local 

areas receive a sub-allocation that is equal to 16 percent of the 

MAP–21 National Highway Performance Program and the Surface 

Transportation Program funding for Federal-aid highways. 

A combination of Federal budget cuts, the effect of the recession 

on State and local governments are contributing to a widening gap 

in transportation available to fund counties. Despite these challenges, counties spend $106 billion annually to build, maintain, and 

operate roads, bridges, transit, water systems, and other public facilities. 

NACo has also found that counties can facilitate economic growth 

by leveraging transportation infrastructure assets to forge private 

sector partnerships and attract new businesses. Counties across 

the Nation invest $25 billion annually in economic development. 

For example, Rutherford County, North Carolina, with a population of 67,300, used the decline of local manufacturing as an opportunity to diversify and strengthen its economic base. They did 

this by treating existing infrastructure assets, such as vacant industrial buildings and robust electric power and water network and 

broadband expansion, as marketing tools to attract data centers. In 

2010, Rutherford County successfully recruited Facebook to invest 

over $9 million in two new data centers. 

Third, Mr. Chairman, strengthening the Federal-State-local partnership is critical to local economic resiliency. The growing burden 

taken on our local and State governments is especially problematic 

for our Nation’s rural communities. For example, in Bath County, 

we are partnering with the Federal Government to develop and expand broadband accessibility through HUD’s CDBG program, and 

we also have been awarded two CDBG community improvement 

grants for housing, rehabilitation, and renovation that we are 

proud to offer for workforce and affordable housing. 

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, counties have a unique role in economic development and building resilient communities. We thank 

you today and we would like to continue the strategic partnership 

with the Federal Government. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Well, thank you all for your testimony and 

insights and the efficiency with which you delivered it. You all beat 

the clock. 

And it is interesting to listen, regardless of the size of the communities or regions that we are talking about, that there is a 

strong component of transit here, some form of transportation, at 

the core of creating whatever you call it, a livable community, a 

transit-oriented community, however we might pursue it. 

So let me start off with Mayor Fulop. You know, Jersey City 

shows how transit-oriented development can work. It has an excellent multi-modal transportation system. You have got PATH, which 

for those who may not recognize the acronym, is the line that goes 


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between New York and New Jersey under the Hudson River, ferries, bicycling, bus system, connection to the Northeast Corridor. 

We have talked about the Hudson Bergen Light Rail. 

Second, your city has zoned development to meet demand near 

transit, and its high density and mixed use creating apartments 

over retail, the street life that comes with it, many new developments do not have parking minimums and some have parking 

maximums. 

So in that context, what is a line like the light rail line done for 

residential and commercial growth in Jersey City and along the 

Hudson waterfront? And what is demand for housing, for example, 

near the line? And what do you think are some of the tangible benefits of day-to-day life for those who choose to live along those locations? 

Mr. FULOP. So we are building in Jersey City and we are building very big right now. As you know, we have constructions 

projects, 70 stories, 66 stories, 54 stories. I could comfortably say 

that in the next 4 years, more than likely the 20 largest buildings 

in the State of New Jersey will all be in Jersey City and all of our 

taken to work as the largest city in the State. Most of that is attributed to the Hudson Bergen Light Rail and the PATH system. 

So as you touched on, we have rezoned the areas and the density 

around those light rail stops and PATH stops and we have limited 

the requirements on the parking spots. And what we have seen is 

that you see people moving to Jersey City, filling those apartments 

rapidly, not using vehicles, and you have seen, obviously, restaurants and the streetscape change as a result of the density that 

has populated them. 

It is also important to note that we are filling those apartments 

as quickly as we are building them, and that speaks also to vibrancy and the development based on the investment in infrastructure and mass transportation in Jersey City. 

Senator MENENDEZ. What about the ratable base as a result of 

it? 

Mr. FULOP. In the last year, we had an increase of $118 million 

in the ratable base, so it is significant. It has allowed us to have 

a budget that reduced taxes, a modest reduction this year, and 

with some visibility into next year. So the density increase has 

really given us a lot of benefits, both invisibly and then in the 

pocketbook as well. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Let me ask all of the panelists. One of the 

key ingredients, it seems for me, for successful planning and development is to make sure that all of the relevant components, and 

each of you have talked about some of these elements, certainly 

transportation, but housing, environment, commercial, are working 

together in an integrated and coordinated way. 

That is true at the Federal level, as we see for the Partnership 

for Sustainable Communities between HUD, DOT, EPA, and the 

local and regional level. What is some of the work that your communities and agencies are doing to improve coordination across 

functional areas when it comes to planning and the implementation 

of development plans? What are some of the challenges that you 

face as you are trying to create that coordination? If you have any 

insights to share, any one of you? 


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Mr. CALABRESE. I will jump in with a shout out to Senator 

Brown. Thank you for inviting me here today. 

One thing we were doing in Cleveland, we have a great organization called Bugsy Build of Greater Cleveland—actually, Mayor 

Voinovich started it way back when—where all the public works 

agencies worked together, the city, the county, the Port Authority, 

the Transit Authority, sewer district, water district, so when major 

projects are planned, we can sit in a room and say, How can we 

leverage these investments so that I am not building a new street 

and a week later the sewer department is coming and replacing the 

sewers on that street. 

So just one great example of an organization that meets—we had 

actually our annual meeting yesterday, which was great. We meet 

really to talk about these major projects, how best we can leverage 

and work together on these cooperatively, which really, I think, 

helps us get the biggest bang for the dollar and deliver these 

projects much quicker and less expensively than otherwise. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Mr. Gibson. 

Mr. GIBSON. What we have done in Reno is we work very closely 

with a regional planning agency that is primarily charged with 

land use, and we also work with our member entities to develop 

plans and programs that really address the issue of trying to bring 

housing and transportation closer together. 

Our local governments have been champions for our mid-size 

metropolitan area in developing TOD areas and working to leverage our transit investments into their regulatory programs to help 

bring about more integration between transit, pedestrian facilities, 

bicycle facilities, and land use development. 

The example I used in my testimony, midtown is a great case in 

point, where we have been working very closely with a lot of the 

interests and stakeholders to bring about the realization of these 

investments so that we can move forward. 

Another case in point is 4th Prater. This is a corridor that links 

the old downtown of Sparks and the old downtown of Reno. This 

is another area we are targeting for BRT and trying to focus on, 

with our local government partners and businesses, specific actions 

to bring about better connectivity and a recognition, preservation, 

and leveraging of historic resources. 

This is something that it is really unique to this project. We have 

an application before the FTA—actually it is already cleared for 

project development into the FTA Small Starts Program. These investments, we think, are going to generate direct jobs that will support a special event we are all very proud of in the Reno-Sparks 

area called the Burning Man Festival. 

Senator MENENDEZ. The what? 

Mr. GIBSON. The Burning Man Festival. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Burning Man Festival? 

Mr. GIBSON. Burning Man Festival. That is correct. 

Senator MENENDEZ. I think for the record it would be good if you 

explain what that is. 

Mr. GIBSON. The Burning Man Festival is an event, in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, out in the Black Rock 

Desert. It is where a lot of creative energy is focused between, I 


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think, around 50,000 people who come to our community. They 

build a city. You can see the city in satellite imagery. 

The artwork that goes into this event is a year-round industry 

and we are seeing a lot of that artwork that used to be actually 

developed in the Oakland, California, area. It is expanding, growing, and moving into our community and it is being developed in 

the 4th Street-Prater Way corridor. 

So this is a great event. It is week-long at the end of August and 

I am running out of adjectives to describe the event. I think the 

point, though, is between our local governments, our regional agencies, and the private sector we are coming together and recognizing 

that we can work together, and through a regulatory framework 

that encourages these public-private partnerships, we are beginning to see a diversification and growth in our economy again. That 

is what we are really happy about. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Let me ask one final question, well, for the 

moment, and then I want to turn to Senator Brown. You know, as 

a former Mayor, I know that meaningful participation by all elements of a community are critical in order to succeed. It opens the 

process to important points of views and ideas, and if done effectively, allows a broad range of stakeholders to take ownership over 

the final product and committed to making it successful. 

So I am wondering, in each of your communities, how do you approach the challenge of public participation, particularly for stakeholders of communities who are too often left out or risk feeling 

marginalized, whether those be lower-income families, minority 

communities, and what steps have you taken to ensure these communities are able to participate in the development process? Is 

there any experiences across the board? 

Mr. CALABRESE. Chairman, in terms of the HealthLine, the 

major impetus behind this investment was really not the public 

transit riders on Euclid Avenue. It was really the businesses on 

Euclid Avenue who saw year after year their property values decrease and wanted to do something to really stimulate that. So it 

was really a business chamber of commerce-type driven project, but 

we saw that as an opportunity to do something really first class for 

many individuals who lived along the corridor who maybe never 

had something first class in their entire lives. So it really focused 

on that first class issue. 

But in doing that and being sure that this addressed the needs 

of those who really needed the service and those businesses as well, 

we had over 1,000 public meetings throughout the corridor. I mean, 

it was really getting involved, where to place the stations, what 

type of amenities they wanted, had the community assist us in 

terms of actually the station design. So a tremendous amount of 

input, tremendous amount of public meetings, tried to find out 

what their needs were and best address those through the process. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Anyone else? 

Ms. COLLINS. I wanted to comment that what we do is we create 

a 5-year comprehensive plan and take it—basically, it is on every 

functional area in the community, including housing, economic development, transportation, even things like senior programs, recreational programs. And what we do is we take it—we actually go 

out in the community and get feedback. So it is not just a survey. 


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So go into the neighborhoods and get the feedback. That is how 

these two community improvement projects for housing came 

about. Not only did the businesses say they needed them for the 

workforce, but the people that lived there said they needed them 

because they were living in structures that none of us would even 

want to live in. Did not even meet HUD Section 8 standards. 

But yet, they were not complaining, they were going to work 

each day, or if they were retired from the major employer, they 

were making the best they could with what they had. But when the 

community saw that as part of the comprehensive planning process, which creates the goals and objectives for the next 5 years, 

that you can put a work program to and funding to, the community 

then set out and let us make that be a capital project that can improve those two neighborhoods so that we have affordable housing 

not only for those living there now, but for the young people in the 

future that may want, as people are no longer living there, young 

people and young families can keep our community going. 

In a rural community, what happens is if the young leave, the 

community dies. So we are working very hard to make sure that 

we keep those young people there. So our focus is, even hearing 

from our younger people, teenagers and all as part of this planning 

process, to make sure that those in the high school or the tweens 

voice their opinions so that we know what they are looking for the 

future so that we are not going to be a rural community that dies. 

And rural America has to do that because if we do not do that 

and just keep the status quo, we are not going to be rural America 

in the future, and we are the bread and butter on the table. We 

are where the local food to farm started. And we also are what has 

provided a lot of the basis for the products that are made by manufacturers in the city and suburban areas. 

So without, you know, keeping rural America alive—and it is 

also where the bulk of our military come from, because if you look 

at the bulk of the military men and women, they predominantly 

come from rural America. So we believe in working with our partners at the Federal level, USDA, ARC, EDA, getting whatever we 

can from external resources as well as showing that we can do 

within as far as if it is a disaster. 

We actually take care of our own and we do not always call on 

FEMA to come in. It is nice to have them there, but if we can do 

it, we do it. We ration our food. If there was like the derecho that 

happened back two summers ago in Virginia, our community was 

hit hard. People were without power, some people for 2 weeks. 

Those of us that had food in our freezers, we took grills, went to 

the local high school in the parking lot, grilled food. Told the community to come out. Got transportation, those that did not have 

transportation. Come out and have just a barbeque so that people 

had food every day. And that was done for 2 weeks on end so that 

people did not have to go hungry, they did not have to worry about 

the food getting destroyed. It was being used. 

So the thing is, is that you learn to be resilient when you do 

without, and rural America is really a model for some of the inner 

cities and suburban areas that do not understand how you can take 

what you have got and make the best use of it. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Senator Brown. 


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Senator BROWN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks for holding this hearing. I apologize for my late arrival and early departure. The President’s nominee to be Secretary of the V.A. from the 

other end of the State from Mr. Calabrese is testifying today and 

I need to introduce him and to go back. So I appreciate Senator 

Menendez holding this hearing. 

As Mr. Calabrese knows, it has been a good couple of weeks for 

the city of Cleveland. The Republican National Convention announced they are coming to Cleveland. Lebron James announced 

he was coming back to Cleveland. And Joe Calabrese comes to this 

hearing to trumpet Cleveland, so thank you. 

Mr. CALABRESE. Do not forget about Johnny Football. 

Senator BROWN. And Johnny, oh, yeah, I got that, too. 

Mr. Calabrese has explained some of the things that have happened with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Administration 

and HealthLine and the billions of dollars in investment that have 

come from this in response to Chairman Menendez’s question. 

Something else happened there and when I heard the comments 

of Supervisor Collins saying when young people leave the community dies, we have a number of cities in my State, smaller cities 

where that has happened. There is also that sort of anxiety and 

fear, one of parents of their children leaving, of course, and not seeing the grandchildren as much, but also what happens to a town. 

There has been some fear and anxiety even in a city the size of 

Cleveland as young people have looked elsewhere, and I think what 

RTA has done in Cleveland, what has happened with the development downtown, what is happening with increasing development in 

neighborhoods—my wife and I just moved from a 30-miles-away 

suburb into the city limits of Cleveland. There is a lot more life in 

the city for a whole host of reasons. 

One of the things that made me think, from your comment, made 

me think of this, Ms. Collins, is the year I was born some 60 years 

ago, Cleveland, only 2,000 people lived in downtown Cleveland. 

Today about 13,000 do. The city is significantly smaller in population, but young people want to move downtown. Not just young 

people, but especially young people with a whole different set of 

issues, grocery stores, transit, how do we do all of that? 

So Mr. Calabrese, if you would explain. You answered Senator 

Menendez’s question well, I thought, about kind of how you did the 

HealthLine, but talk to me more about how private development—

I mean, you spend significant public dollars. You spend, obviously, 

private dollars, too, that you raised from especially UH, University 

Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic. 

But talk to me about the process of economic development and 

what we learned from the HealthLine, mistakes you might have 

made, but successes you can trumpet and how we and partnerships 

spur that kind of economic development well beyond the Euclid corridor. 

Mr. CALABRESE. Well, I think you are right, and the one big 

thing that amazes me, I think I feel very good about the future, 

is the millennials who are moving downtown. They want to be 

downtown. They want to walk, bike, and use public transit. One of the comments, they would rather spend $7 on a martini than $3.50 on a gallon of gasoline. That really is the truth. I think 


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they are the individuals who are really supportive of this, you 

know, more development downtown, more investment and smart 

growth, and I think that is going to be our future. They are certainly voters of today. They are going to be our Senators of tomorrow. I think that is very, very positive. 

You are 100 percent right. You know, we have 10 times more 

people living in downtown Cleveland now than when the population of the city itself was double what it is today, and that is 

growing. There are over 3,000 apartments being built right now 

downtown, and again, there is a waiting list on every—any—every 

finished structure that is actually spilling out from downtown 

Cleveland to places like Ohio City and Tremont because you just 

cannot get a place downtown anymore. 

And again, these people insist on public transportation, and for 

the Clevelanders, you know, these individuals are going to move to 

Cleveland, hopefully. If not, they are going to move to Chicago or 

New York. They want that corporate—they want that urban environment. 

We did an ad actually on the waterfront on one of our light rail 

lines last week for Ernst & Young who has a major facility in 

downtown Cleveland, but it is a recruiting video to try to recruit 

these young people they need as employees at E&Y to come there. 

One of the big assets is public transit. You do not need a car. You 

could be car-free in Cleveland. This is what our future generation 

wants and I think it is up to us to try to give that to them. 

Senator BROWN. Take people—if I could, Mr. Chairman, one 

more question—on the other end of the age spectrum, demographic 

trends of the country, well, obviously, it is to talk about the percentage of the population over 65 who will increase by 10 percent 

by 2030. What do we do? What does transit do to respond to that, 

understanding that people will probably want to stay where they 

are? They have different challenges with mobility, with getting 

around, particularly if they decide to stop driving. How does a system as large as Cleveland deal with that? 

Mr. CALABRESE. Quite honestly, I think that is a real challenge. 

I think, you know, a week does not go by where I get a call from 

someone saying, You know, we moved out to Parma from downtown and maybe it is I am now a widower. The husband has died 

and the kids have moved away and the question is, when is the 

transit service in Parma going to be as good as it was on Euclid 

Avenue? I say, You know, it is not going to be. You really need to 

move or be in an area of high density. 

But because of the senior growth, the demands are growing significantly for our public transit. That is why it is important to reauthorize the transportation bill with significant resources to address that demand. Not everyone is living downtown. We serve people every day on our paratransit service, which is critical for those 

people who do not have the physical ability to use public transit. 

But that is at a $30 to $40 per ride cost, again very important. 

Taking many people to dialysis. But there is a cost associated with 

that. 

Unless the transportation budget addresses those, these people 

are not going to be served, which is very critical and very imporVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:49 Apr 02, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\91865.TXT SHERYL

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tant and something I know you think is very important for us to 

do. 

Senator BROWN. Thank you, Mr. Calabrese. Mr. Chairman, 

thank you. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Thank you, Senator Brown. Good questions. 

I want to continue on this millennial question, not because I am 

a part of that universe, but as I would aspire to be. 

Mr. Gibson, your testimony—and you have talked about it a little 

bit in your oral testimony—cites a study that finds that a significant portion of the millennial generation is looking for diverse 

transportation options when deciding where to live, which is a 

much different attitude than previous generations when everything 

was driven by—or centered on a car. 

I know, Mayor, that Jersey City might very well be called Millennial City when we look at the population that has changed. The 

question for both of you, and for others as well, is how you are preparing for that new generation with different transportation preferences, and how do you balance that with the needs of other generations who may be focused on more traditional modes of transportation? Mr. Gibson. 

Mr. GIBSON. My first crack at that answer is going to be through 

our complete street program. What we find with the millennials is 

they do have a predilection to use bicycles, public transportation, 

and walking. They like to live in close proximity to activity centers. 

But in our complete street program, what we aim to do is to 

come back into our centralized areas and provide for treatments 

that slow traffic down. We have had a tremendous benefit in our 

complete street design toolbox when we implement a complete 

street, we see speeds come back down to the speed limit and crash 

rates decline and we see, as a result of that, in our community, I 

think our insurance rates are starting to decline. 

For seniors, what does that mean? Well, a lot of seniors, including my 85-year-old mother, still drive. They prefer to drive on slower streets. They prefer to drive on streets where the different users 

are separated into their own areas. So I think there is an example 

of where a service, a planning program, or a design philosophy 

helps meet both the needs of the millennials as well as the needs 

of the seniors. 

It also makes it easier for us, when we do come back in and improve transit service, to provide for key features such as station 

areas. An interesting thing I saw the other day about our community is we are looking at the question of roundabouts, and we 

looked at where roundabouts are located in our community. 

What we discovered was they are located in the newly emerging 

suburban areas. Roundabouts are a key feature in new subdivision 

design and development, and to me, that reflects a preference on 

the part of people who are buying new homes to have many of 

these complete street-type treatments provided for in these new developments. 

We are hearing from our stakeholders and our communities that 

they want to see those same type of design treatments developed 

in the older communities. Well, who lives in the older communities? 

Millennials and seniors. Millennials because, again, they like to be 


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closer to downtown activities. They like to be closer to the university. They like to be closer to midtown. 

But seniors, because they want to stay in age and stay in place 

in their residences, and they like having those types of complete 

street treatments to improve their safety and that ultimately 

brings transit. 

So what we have experienced is that the complete street design 

toolkit that we see as part of smart growth is a toolkit that can 

meet, at the same time, the needs of seniors and at the same time 

meet the needs of the millennials. 

Finally, coming back and answering your question from earlier, 

is to address what do we do in our public involvement. One of the 

things we strive to do when we are working with neighborhoods 

and communities is to ask them to give us a design solution to consider. We want them to come to us and say, this is what we would 

like to see you do when you are reconstructing a street or planning 

a transit route or developing something new for a community. 

And if we can, we will incorporate that design concept into our 

project, and if we cannot, we will go back out in a workshop and 

explain to them that we cannot do it and why we cannot do it. It 

is important that when we are working with stakeholders, when we 

are working with folks who may be economically challenged at the 

moment, or they are looking at changing their life or they are perhaps millennials moving into an urban area, is to try to bring their 

views on the design of streets, bicycle and pedestrian facilities and 

transit systems, and bring those ideas into the design concept and 

scope, and build and operate that. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Mayor, any perceptions from Jersey City? 

Mr. FULOP. I would just echo some of the same sentiments on 

this concept of complete streets and really thinking about the pedestrian experience on those streets and trying to encourage the 

pedestrian friendly environment instead of vehicles. It is something 

that definitely caters toward the younger generation as well as the 

older generation that may not be so inclined to drive. 

On the challenge front, I would say that, as you are familiar with 

Jersey City, we have density pockets around the light rail and the 

PATH system which does not extend necessarily toward the entire 

city. So one aspect on the west side of Jersey City, for example, 

does not have as much mass transportation infrastructure other 

than the bus system, and as pockets of density has changed over 

time, I think it is consistently a challenge for us to kind of revisiting how that mass transportation and bus moves some of the 

older people around the city historically. So that is how we look at 

it. 

Senator MENENDEZ. I think one of the challenges we have is creating a quilt that brings the whole community together as certain 

centers of a community rise, but making sure that the result of 

that success does not leave others behind. I think that is a great 

observation. 

Supervisor Collins, let me ask you, your testimony notes that 

Bath County is part of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, and we 

talk about the challenges for rural areas that are different than 

urban or metropolitan areas, but they are just as important. 


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How do you think that you ultimately can make a rural area be 

able to compete, particularly in a global economy? You talked about 

getting those young people to stay, not leave. They are probably 

going to be a lot more digital than some of their parents or grandparents. So how do you do that and how does that come into play 

with infrastructure and other planning issues even for a rural 

area? 

Ms. COLLINS. Well, the chief way to do that is, of course, in rural 

America, the need for broadband improvements, either—many 

rural localities like ours have DSL, but we do not have the high 

speed, you know, broadband. That is what we are working toward 

in the region, too. In fact, the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, 

many of those localities do not have the high speed broadband. 

And yet, they have had growth and we have had growth because 

the business base there is pretty strong. There is a strong work 

ethic. So the existing businesses band together and work together 

along with the health care industry. But now, the push is for how 

can we create broadband that will then tie into growing entrepreneurship. Many home-based businesses exist that actually—can actually make a living, a very good living, better than being underemployed in some of the jobs that currently exist. 

And also, to look at how we could take that and create marketplaces through Internet marketplaces and have front-office effect, 

but have the back-office effect of it being where the true money 

comes from worldwide versus just in the community. But yet, the 

local community can access those services and products, and that 

is something that we are working toward with the Shenandoah 

Valley Partnership. 

We are taking old structures and revitalizing them, historic 

structures, and turning them into office buildings that are being 

fully integrated with technology for purposes of use so that young 

people will get excited about wanting to work there. But without 

the broadband improvements, our area will not be able to continue 

to, you know, grow. 

But our businesses, what they are doing, too, in partnership with 

the governments, are working toward recruiting young employees, 

because we have a base of a lot of universities and colleges in the 

region with James Madison University being one of them, Washington and Lee University, Mary Baldwin, other colleges, many 

community colleges that are—we are looking at workforce training 

and what the businesses need but how they can grow. 

Our largest employer in our community employees 1,200 people. 

Now they are recruiting outside the community bringing young 

people in. Their recruitment tactic is, we can provide you with lodging, which they do, a place to live for a low amount of money. You 

can work for us. You get opportunity for training. Everything is 

walkable where the employer is because it is in the main business 

district of the county. 

So we are seeing younger people that are moving in because they 

are only having to pay $80 a week and they are making money and 

they can actually learn and grow. And yes, they may not stay 

there, but at least they are getting an opportunity that they might 

not get somewhere else if they move because the cost of living 

might be higher and they might not be able to make a living. 


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So some of them are like, they do not have cars. I mean, these 

young people do not have cars. They are being brought in. Eighty 

dollars a week for having a small little apartment that they share 

with somebody that—a total stranger that they are working with 

when they first meet them. And they get the opportunity through 

the employer to be able to access the employee cafeteria during the 

day. 

They also take them through transportation, if they want to go 

30 miles away to do major shopping. They have transportation that 

takes them there. So that they are able to get out and about and 

have special activities like a Music on Main on Friday nights for 

the whole community, but that is a partnership with the businesses. So that these young people, when they get off work, they 

can actually integrate into the community. And maybe they will decide to stay there. So that is very positive for our community. 

So we are looking at every type of strategy and action that we 

can work together and make sure that we are targeting the right 

industry. One of the things we are seeing is that the food industry 

is a prime industry for our region because of all the farms in the 

Shenandoah Valley, that there are opportunities for those products 

to be marketed and produced right there and then marketed and 

manufactured there and growing that economy. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Two final questions. One, Mr. Gibson, in 

2008, the height of the recession, your region’s voters approved a 

plan to index their fuel tax to inflation in order to have more resources for transportation projects. That is obviously a vote that 

voters do not take lightly. What led the residents of your community to make that decision in trying economic times? Because 

maybe we can, you know, create some light here in the Senate 

about how we should deal with some of these issues. 

Mr. GIBSON. I think it was several factors. One, we did go 

through in the Reno-Sparks-Truckee Meadows area a dramatic 

transformation in the run-up to the great recession. A lot of new 

folks moved into the community, a lot of housing units were built. 

It was a boom time. As a result of the boom time, we developed 

a $3 billion backlog in infrastructure. So voters were still experiencing the frustration of not seeing infrastructure keep up with 

growth. 

I think the second thing, though, was an interesting transformation in the community and the recognition that this was a 

way the community could take control of its own destiny; that it 

could, through its own political processes, say, We will create a 

stimulus program here for ourselves now and these investments 

will help us create jobs and begin developing the regional advantages and comparative advantages that the region would need longterm to grow and diversify economically. Those were the real driving factors that folks experienced. 

The third just sort of anecdotal piece—I lived in Nevada for 25 

years, but I, like a lot of Nevadans, came from somewhere else, and 

I think what is happening, especially in the Reno-Sparks area, is 

people do not want to see their children leave. So they saw this as 

an opportunity, by increasing their taxes, to invest in their community and, again, create a life cycle opportunity through infrastrucVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:49 Apr 02, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\91865.TXT SHERYL

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ture for the economy to grow and prosper and help keep families 

together. 

I think that was something that I hear a lot about throughout 

town, throughout our urban area, that folks want to stay in the 

area. They enjoy the quality of life. They enjoy the Sierras, so they 

wanted to make sure the infrastructure will be able to support that 

long-term growth. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Mr. Calabrese. 

Mr. CALABRESE. Yes, just if I can, you know, recent studies said 

over 70 percent of the transit, public transit referendums are approved. So people will vote more money for better public transit. I 

think that is a trend that has been around for a while and I think 

it is a great trend that I think will continue. 

Senator MENENDEZ. One final question for all of you, anyone who 

wants to offer any ideas. As we move toward—as I announced legislation and we are in the midst of trying to get some degree of a 

re-authorization on the Federal Highway and Mass Transit Bill, if 

you had one or two things that do not exist or that exist that you 

think do not work well, or could work better, and you had the opportunity to right it and we could pass it, what would that be? 

Are there any incentives, any disincentives? Is there something 

that we have that does not work well, something that you would 

contemplate that we do not have that would be valuable on the 

issues that we have talked about in terms of livable communities? 

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. Chairman, I wanted to comment on the 

broadband accessibility. There are many programs that communities can tap into for funding for broadband through USDA and, 

of course, NTIA has had funding in the BTOP program. 

The experience in our region with that has been that it is very 

difficult to bring the private sector businesses to the table when 

you have that funding stream that ties the hands of what you have 

to do to address the broadband, to not make it be—to have the 

tools and flexibility in place from a standpoint of being able to work 

with the private sector, because many of the telecommunication 

and utility companies have specific methodologies and business 

plans for broadband. 

They often are not—they do not gel with what the community 

broadband does. And so, therefore, when a public sector entity such 

as a county government or a county government regionally working 

with city governments, which is what my experience has been with 

broadband, receives a significant amount of funding for middle mile 

projects such as $10 million. 

The private sector is not there at the table because they see it 

as government giving a handout to government. So what needs to 

be done is a re-fashioning of how that is looked at from a governmental perspective, to bring in the private sector to the table. I 

know that the FCC is working on funding right now and it has, you 

know, a call for proposals was out, and a lot of the telecommunication firms and utility companies have provided proposals. 

But yet, there needs to be some kind of partnership established 

so that it truly is a public/private partnership. It is very difficult 

because they are in that industry and government is really not in 

that industry. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Mayor? 


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Mr. FULOP. I was just going to say, on the infrastructure 

projects, if there is something that we could continue. Obviously, 

you have been an advocate in Hudson County and New Jersey, 

speaking to the importance of both the State and Federal Transportation Trust Fund. You know, the expansion of that Hudson Bergen 

Light Rail is paramount to Jersey City, as well as to Bergen County, as well as to Hudson County, and in the expansion of the PATH 

system. And those are two infrastructure projects. 

The PATH system on the west side, there is an opportunity 

which you are familiar with, and then the Hudson Bergen Light 

Rail which you were the champion of when you were in the House 

of Representatives in 2000. It has really transformed the Jersey 

City waterfront and most of the city, and I think that is really 

where the opportunities, if there is anything that we can be investing in from a Jersey City, Hudson County standpoint. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Mr. Calabrese. 

Mr. CALABRESE. Yeah, a couple things. One is, certainly, it is 

great to build new projects, but we have got to be sure there is 

enough money to maintain the projects we have. I think that is 

really, really important. I see that every system, including my own, 

there are tremendous needs. Our light rail system turned 100 

years last December 17th. Some of the parts are original. It is also 

great to talk about expansion, but really the state-of-good-repair 

issues are important. 

Second, which does not take a lot of money, but one thing that 

keeps me up at night is workforce development. We spend some 

money at Rutgers, it is a great job, and NTI in training the managers of the future. My big problem is finding the mechanics of the 

future. 

You know, the Federal Government is spending money by helping us buy buses, but I think more money has to be invested in 

training, developing, apprenticeship training programs for the people who fix our buses, fix our trains, fix our signaling system. They 

are not coming out of high school the way they did when you and 

I were at school in that vein. 

So we need to set up some programs and I think that with a 

modest amount of money and encouragement by the Federal Government, that would be important. If you can develop a training 

program to fix a bus that can be applicable to 1,500 different transit systems instead of everyone developing their own. 

So it is a project, and in discussion with the FTA, they certainly 

understand the issue. Eighty percent of the mechanics in our industry will be retiring in the next 10 years. So we have got to address that. And it is not just a good job, but it is a job that helps 

other people get to work. 

So if we can combine the Department of Transportation, the Department of Labor, Department of Education in some kind of a program to help train the transit workers of the future, I think it 

would be a great thing for the re-authorization. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Mr. Gibson. 

Mr. GIBSON. Mr. Chairman, I think several things. One, I am a 

big believer in the MPO process. We are the MPO, but we are also 

the implementing agency as well. Anything that can be done to 


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help integrate metropolitan planning and project implementation, 

to me, is always a good thing. 

Second, I think there needs to be consideration given to how Federal investments are coordinated through the MPO process. When 

Federal investments are being planned in what I call a customer 

service level, be it a Veteran’s Administration facility, a Social Security Administration facility, IRS, Court, let us make sure that 

there is every effort made to coordinate with the MPO and make 

sure that these facilities are on transit routes and are available 

and can be served by public transit. 

Third, to Mr. Calabrese’s point, fully funding the bus and bus 

maintenance facilities program and making that a key piece of reauthorization is important. Mid-size America has a lot of challenges. We carry 52 percent of the transit passengers in this country, but we need new facilities and new buses. 

I like Joe’s workforce development idea. Let us move forward 

with that, but let us also make sure the new buses and new technologies are there for them to work on. So those would be my three 

wishes. 

Senator MENENDEZ. Great. Well, thank you all for some valuable 

testimony. It seems to me that we believe that we can build communities that can support jobs, that improve our economic competitiveness at home and around the world, and I hope to advance legislation in a bipartisan manner through the Committee and 

through the Congress, and looking to incorporate some of your 

ideas along the way. 

This record will remain open until a week from today if any Senators wish to submit questions for the record. We would ask all of 

our witnesses, if you do receive questions, to please respond to 

them as expeditiously as possible. And with the thanks of the Committee, this hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 4:14 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

[Prepared statements and additional material supplied for the 

record follow:] 


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR DEAN HELLER 

Chairman Menendez and Ranking Member Moran, I want to thank you for inviting Mr. Lee Gibson, the Executive Director of the Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC), to be an expert witness on local and regional community development. 

Mr. Gibson has made great progress in the vitality of Nevada’s transportation infrastructure. Focusing on Northern Nevada’s communities’ present and future 

needs, Mr. Gibson’s leadership has steered the Washoe RTC down a path toward 

long-term sustainability. 

Under Mr. Gibson’s leadership, the Washoe RTC focuses on effective planning and 

implementation of the surface transportation programs that serve the citizens of 

Reno and Sparks, along with areas of Washoe County. 

The Washoe RTC has achieved LEED certification for a number of their newly 

completed, recently opened transit centers and proudly unveiled four new, all-electric buses that produce zero emissions in April of this year. The agency has also 

developed the SouthEast Connector, a major roadway recently recognized by the 

Federal Highway Administration as an exemplary project worthy of demonstrating 

sustainable design practices. 

I welcome Mr. Gibson to testify before this Subcommittee, as his policies have contributed to building economically resilient communities in Nevada. Mr. Gibson’s perspective and knowledge will undoubtedly help Members of this Subcommittee and 

the Senate as a whole as we develop Federal transportation policies. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF STEVEN M. FULOP

MAYOR, JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY

JULY 22, 2014

Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Moran, and Members of the Committee, 

My name is Steve Fulop, and I’m the Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey. First, I 

want to thank the Committee for your support of smart urban development policy, 

and especially for your help, through the FTA, with the Hudson Bergen Light Rail. 

It has been transformational for our region. 

I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today, because the issues on 

which this Subcommittee focuses are becoming increasingly important to every community in America, and especially to Jersey City and New Jersey. As the largest 

city in the most densely populated county in the most densely populated State in 

the Nation, we are seeing a shift in the way people live, work, travel and interact 

with their communities. 

While much of the Nation doesn’t look like Jersey City, it is in many ways a picture of what’s to come. America becomes denser and more populous every year, so 

I think the Jersey City experience has national relevance. 

In general terms, I want to speak today about, transit-oriented development livable communities, and investment in transportation infrastructure. 

Growing importance of inter-accessibility between communities 

We as policymakers need to recognize the symbiotic relationship between dense 

urban centers and more open residential communities. This relationship will be of 

increased importance in the years to come, because the balance of the United States’ 

population is shifting toward urban areas. The Nation’s urban population increased 

by 12.1 percent from 2000 to 2010, exceeding the overall growth rate of 9.7 percent 

for the same period. 

But this doesn’t mean we should focus our efforts on cities exclusively, because 

cities, suburbs and rural communities all support one another. Suburban and rural 

communities need the economic dynamism of cities, and cities need the workforce 

of suburbs and residential communities. 

As the trend of urbanization continues, our economic prosperity will come to depend even more heavily our ability to move large numbers of people in and out of 

urban centers quickly. This means direct Federal investment in transportation infrastructure, and empowering the local communities to make those investments. Investment, however, is only half the equation; policymakers on Federal, State and 

local need to reimagine the way we plan our cities and how we catalyze their 

growth, both in terms of population and economic activity. 

I’m here to suggest something really very simple: by connecting people to opportunities, we unlock powerful cultural and economic synergies. 

I know infrastructure investment is a tall order both financially and politically—

capital projects in an era of growing government debt is never easy—but if it’s 


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paired with smart urban planning and development policy, it also holds tremendous 

opportunities and more than pays for itself. 

Jersey City: A Case Study 

I’m here today to offer you Jersey City, my hometown, as proof of that. Two decades ago, Jersey City’s Hudson Riverfront was the picture of urban decay. It was 

a largely abandoned, ex-industrial wasteland. Defunct railroad yards and dilapidated warehouses dominated the streetscape. That area, now often referred to as 

the Golden Coast, has completely transformed. The decay has been replaced with 

glass and steel skyscrapers, shops, restaurants, and small businesses. Thousands of 

residential units and millions of square feet of retail and industrial space are under 

construction right now. 

The new prosperity of Jersey City’s waterfront was built on the foundation of a 

pre-existing public transit, the PATH, a trans-Hudson metro. Thanks to Chairman 

Menendez, and the rest of the Subcommittee, Jersey City’s recovery accelerated with 

the opening of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail system in 2000. Developers and public 

officials quickly recognized the opportunity. And the results were immediate and 

dramatic. 

The Essex Street line on the light rail has catalyzed the building of 3,000 residential units in 5 years. Liberty Harbor north, a transit-oriented development which 

will consist of 6,000 residential units and millions of square feet of residential space, 

is also clearly a result of the light rail. Wherever there is a light rail or PATH station, we see recovery, growth, and ultimately prosperity. 

We need to press this advantage. Along with the Mayor of Englewood Frank 

Huttle, I’m cochairing a commission of Hudson and Bergen Mayors to make the 

northern branch extension, which would bring stimulate the local economies to five 

more cities and give at least 130,000 people access to new opportunities. I urge the 

Subcommittee to support this project—one look at the effects of the current light 

rail proves the value of this investment. 

Rail transportation and transit-oriented development drive economic development 

as well. Because of the light rail, the PATH, and the implementation of housing 

policies which maximize their benefits, Jersey City become has a regional employment center. Every day, 100,000 people come to Jersey City from New Jersey and 

New York to work, shop and dine. Put simply, Jersey City is flourishing because 

it is interconnected with surrounding communities. 

This phenomenon isn’t unique to Jersey City—The Center for Housing Policy recently completed a review of studies on housing prices and proximity to rail, and 

their findings make a powerful argument for transportation infrastructure: According to dozens of studies from across the country over decades, a nearby rail stop 

can add 6 to 50 percent to home values. When people are linked to opportunities, 

cities prosper. 

Transit is only one way to bring people and opportunities together; another way 

to connect people with cultural, social, educational, or economic opportunities is to 

create those opportunities where they live. This approach, livable community development, means developing housing and transportation choices near jobs, shopping, 

schools and parks. The resulting neighborhoods are healthy, and environmentally 

friendly with vibrant local economies and a strong sense of place and community. 

Lessons learned from Jersey City: Importance of long-term cross jurisdictional planning 

Both transit-oriented development and livable communities cannot happen without proactive planning on the local and regional level. This is where local policymakers need support from the Federal Government. I’m here to urge you to 

incentivize planning and lend financial support for these kinds of projects. Unfortunately, many local governments operate reactively, putting out fires, and thinking 

months instead of years ahead. 

When plans are made, implementation funding must be cobbled together haphazardly and projects lose momentum. As a result, communities develop without a 

strategic vision guiding them, and tremendous opportunities are missed. On the 

other hand, if local leaders are equipped with the tools and resources to truly plan, 

to coordinate their approach to future growth across jurisdictions and over longer 

periods, then livable communities and transit-oriented development are within 

reach. 

Specific Recommendations 

• Expand the Hudson Bergen Light rail along the Northern Corridor 

Branch—Hudson and Bergen counties are two of the most densely populated 

in the State, and both have diverse, mature economies. However, New Jersey 

is still struggling to completely rebound from the recession and trails behind 


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New York and Pennsylvania in job recovery. To catch up, we need to expand 

our transportation infrastructure to create jobs in New Jersey and improve the 

quality of life for residents. Light rail will do just that. We have seen the success the Light Rail has had in stimulating residential and commercial development in Jersey City and Hudson County, and so we can be certain that a full 

expansion will transform economies around the new stations as well as benefit 

the cities which already have light rail service.

• Increase trans-Hudson capacity—The most important thing we can do for 

the entire northeast region is provide greater access the New York City, a major 

regional economic driver. Currently, all trans-Hudson thoroughfares are operating at or near capacity. A commuter rail project to increase rail capacity 

under the Hudson was a great idea when it was proposed in the form of ARC 

in 1995. Now it is more than a great idea, it is critical to the long term competitiveness of the region; our lack of sufficient rail capacity under the Hudson 

holds our regional economy back.

Whether it’s ARC, the Gateway Project, an extension of the 7-train, trans-Hudson capacity is about much more than New York and New Jersey, the mile and 

a half under the Hudson river is the single most significant bottleneck in the 

entire Eastern Corridor. It’s an expensive and difficult proposition, but the increases in home values near transit will easily offset costs: According to a study 

by the Regional Planning Association, ARC could increase home values within 

two miles of train stations by a cumulative $18 billion.

• Extend PATH system to Newark Airport—The PATH system is crucial to 

the region’s economic health. Extending the network as well as expanding capacity is a worthwhile investment. More specifically, the planned PATH expansion to Newark airport will help downtown Manhattan as well as Jersey City, 

Harrison and Newark. It puts our region in a unique class with a single seat 

ride to an airport. Even more significantly, the switchyard at Newark airport 

will allow trains to run more frequently, reducing head times at peak hours 

form four and a half minutes to 2 minutes.

• Renew commuter tax credit program—Hundreds of thousands of New 

Jerseyans rely on this tax break to help them afford the ever rising cost of commuting. Our region’s economy as a whole depends on transit and we must make 

sure it’s not only reliable, but affordable. This benefit incentivizes public transit, which reduces congestion and carbon emissions, as well as supports the 

economy. I urge you to make it permanent.

• Continue to advocate for New Starts—As the primary source of Federal 

funding for major transit capital investments, including rapid rail, light rail, 

bus rapid transit, commuter rail, and ferries, our Nation’s ability to meet demand for transit rises or falls with New Starts. One of the most pressing challenges of the next half century will be to reduce our Nation’s dependence on fossil fuels for transportation, and public transit is one of the few fully realized, 

cost-competitive alternatives.

• Revisit the Livable Communities Act—The Livable Communities Act, proposed by Senator Menendez in 2011, has the potential to improve all communities by supporting their efforts to proactively plan for the future and chart 

a course for getting there, rather than allowing it to play out haphazardly, and 

reacting.

The legislation would actually save taxpayer dollars because investments in facilities, infrastructure and services would be coordinated and proactive. As a 

local leader, I know that top-down mandates often fail to address the challenges 

unique to each community. This bill recognizes that local leaders need support 

from the Federal Government, not orders. It promoted strategic thinking by 

incentivizing cross jurisdictional partnerships to develop solutions that are 

mindful of local assets, and needs. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, let me reiterate my appreciation for the subcommittees’ continued 

support for smart, sustainable urban planning and development policy. As you consider how to keep our communities competitive and healthy, I urge you to empower 

local governments rather than restrict them, and give them tools rather than mandates. Thank you for the opportunity to testify here today and I look forward to participating in the discussion around these issues in the future. 


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF JOSEPH A. CALABRESE

CEO AND GENERAL MANAGER, GREATER CLEVELAND REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY

JULY 22, 2014

My name is Joe Calabrese and I am the General Manager of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA). I have worked in the Public Transit Industry for over 30 years and have been in my current position for more than 14 years. 

The Greater Cleveland RTA is a multi-modal transit system consisting of heavy 

rail, light rail, BRT, buses and paratransit, serving approximately 200,000 customers on the typical weekday. 

Approximately 63 percent of our customers use our services to get to work, with 

an additional 23 percent using our services to get to schools and universities. 

As in many other cities, the use of public transit, and the appreciation for the important role transit plays, is growing. No city can function effectively without an effective public transit system. In Greater Cleveland, RTA ‘‘Connects the Dots’’. 

RTA’s biggest challenge is keeping up with our aging infrastructure’s ‘‘state-ofgood-repair’’ needs, for which Federal Capital dollars are crucial. The USDOT estimates that, nationally, we have a backlog of $87 billion in capital repairs, just to 

bring the Nation’s transit systems into a state-of-good-repair; not including normal 

bus and facility replacements, nor the cost of any service expansions. 

There is a tremendous resurgence underway in Cleveland, Ohio. In just the past 

few months we have signed ‘‘Johnny Football’’, been a finalist for both the RNC and 

DNC 2016 national conventions, and welcomed home Lebron James. 

In the past few weeks, there have been articles in the New York Times, the Los 

Angeles Times and USA Today chronicling Cleveland’s resurgence. 

Political, civic and business leaders credit a visionary public transit investment, 

which opened in 2008, as jumpstarting this economic resurgence. That investment 

was a Bus Rapid Transit project along Cleveland’s ‘‘Main Street’’, Euclid Avenue, 

which we named the HealthLine . . . and it has been great for the health of the 

city. 

The HealthLine may have been the first FTA ‘‘New Starts’’ award for a project 

that was not traditionally rail. Although the HealthLine shares almost all the characteristics of a light rail system, except that the vehicles have rubber tires and not 

steel wheels, it could be constructed and operated for approximately 1⁄3 the cost of 

rail. These comments are by no means anti-rail. In many instances rail may be the 

best alternative, but I believe that in many situations, BRT done right, may be an 

even better answer. 

These ‘‘rail like’’ characteristics are exclusive travel lanes, traffic signal 

prioritization, precision docking, level boarding, off-board fare collection, real-time 

information displays at 36 branded stations, and 20, 62-foot long hybrid-electric 

rapid transit vehicles with doors on both sides. Our commitment to the community 

was that the HealthLine would be fast, clean, safe and first class. We promoted BRT 

as a new mode that was not a bus, and not a train, but the future. 

This project was very comprehensive and included new sidewalks, curbs, roadway, 

lighting, traffic signaling systems, and bike lanes. One hundred and eight (108) traditional bus stops were transformed into 36 well-lit and landscaped stations. The 

city of Cleveland even took this opportunity to upgrade water and sewer lines along 

the corridor. 

This project replaced RTA’s #6 bus route along Euclid Avenue, which was RTA’s 

highest ridership bus route. The net result of the HealthLine, for our customers, 

was a 30 percent quicker travel time and a 48 percent increase in ridership just 

in the first year of operation, with an increase in ridership of 60 percent at the 5-

year mark. 

The net result for the community was billions in related investments. The $168.4 

million New Starts grant, 50 percent of which was funded through the FTA New 

Starts program, has now leveraged well over $6 billion in development along the 

corridor. 

In a front page article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in February of 2008, months 

before the HealthLine opened titled ‘‘The Rebirth,’’ credited the project with already 

bringing $4.3 billion of new investment to the city. 

The true economic development success of this 9.3 mile project, which was completed, on-time and on-budget, was a result of others leveraging this transit investment with private investments. These private investments then encouraged others 

to likewise invest. 

A 2013 study by the Institute for Transportation Development Policy, concluded 

that the HealthLine had a return on investment at $114 for every $1 invested. 


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Beyond the 3,360 job months created by construction, the City’s Department of 

Economic Development estimates that, as a result of this project there has been:

• 540,000 square feet of renovated office space,

• 444,000 square feet of new constructed office space,

• The doubling and more of land values, and

• An additional 1,940 new jobs created.

An area that traditionally suffered from low occupancy rates has been transformed to an area that is realizing occupancy rates consistently in the area of 85 

percent and above. 

My champion on this project is a friend of many in this chamber, George 

Voinovich. Cleveland Mayor George Voinovich saw the vision, Ohio Governor George 

Voinovich was supportive and committed funding, and Senator George Voinovich led 

the charge for Federal participation. 

I am very proud of the role public transit played in leading a tremendous resurgence in a city that, quite honestly needed help. This could not have been done without the commitment from the Federal Transit Administration and the support of 

Congress. 

I urge a timely long-term fix for the Highway Trust Fund and the Mass Transit 

Account, which includes an increased investment for infrastructure state-of-good-repair efforts, workforce development and for projects such as the HealthLine. 

Without a long-term solution with predictable and dedicated funding, projects 

such as the HealthLine, which take several years to plan, design and build, simply 

cannot happen. 

Such projects can revitalize our cities, meet the mobility needs of our citizens and 

create needed jobs. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF LEE GIBSON, AICP

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

OF WASHOE COUNTY (RTC)

JULY 22, 2014

Thank you very much Chairman Robert Menendez and Ranking Member Jerry 

Moran for the opportunity to present this statement for the record and speak today 

on the importance of transportation and economic development in the Reno-Sparks 

metropolitan region in northern Nevada. I also want to thank Nevada’s Senators—

Majority Leader Harry Reid and Banking Committee Member Dean Heller who 

have both been outstanding leaders for Nevada’s interests during the Great Recession. 

It’s said that we can only be sure of death and taxes, but the historical relationship of transportation with economic development, land use, and housing is so 

strong, that I believe we can be equally sure of that. From the earliest days of our 

country, the Federal Government has furthered land and economic development 

with support for turnpikes, canals, railroads, the Federal interstate system and 

more recently, transit. Access is everything to the health of our communities. 

About the RTC 

The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County serves as the 

metropolitan planning organization, local road builder and regional transit authority 

to the nearly 500,000 residents and 5 million visitors to the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area. The RTC works closely with Federal, State and local partners on project 

and program service priorities to improve infrastructure and create jobs. The RTC 

invests over $350 million a year in regional street, highway and public transit 

projects, programs and services. Since 2009, RTC has completed a number of significant regional street and highway projects funded through a voter approved fuel tax 

indexing plan known as RTC–05. The local option motor fuels tax is indexed to the 

producer price index and since 2009 this program has generated over $500 million 

which has been invested in the local economy through the construction of regional 

roadways, preventative road maintenance, and reconstruction activities. Projects 

funded with this local source of funding include widening the freeway system, ongoing construction of a new north-south arterial known as the Southeast Connector, 

and retrofitting local arterials with bicycle lanes, improved sidewalks, traffic 

calming measures, and ITS improvements. 

The RTC recognizes the importance of investing in transit. The RTC’s public transit program includes operating over 70 fixed-route buses and 40 paratransit vehicles, and promoting vanpool services. The fixed-route and paratransit bus system 


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serves an area of approximately 58 square miles and has an annual ridership of almost 8.5 million, and the services are operated and maintained by private contractors. RTC opened a bus rapid transit (BRT) line in 2010 called RAPID, with advanced design stations, vehicles and utilizing ITS technology. The service has been 

embraced by the community—Ridership on the BRT system increased 19 percent 

since last year and has for 4 years running sustained double digit percentage increases in ridership. RTC is planning to expand the BRT system along 4th Street 

and Prater Way linking downtown Reno and Sparks, as well as extending the BRT 

system along Virginia Street to the University of Nevada Reno. The 4th Street 

Prater Way project has already been approved into the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Project Development phase of the Small Starts program. 

Planning Is Key 

While we do not claim to have all the answers, there are a number of examples 

that we can point to in our mid-sized metropolitan region that may have applicability elsewhere. One of these is our planning process to improve quality of life, promote safe and healthy communities and develop our community both economically 

and sustainably. Together with our stakeholders, the RTC has created a unifying 

vision for regional development, based on scenario planning, with broad involvement 

of the public at large, local elected officials and the business community. The results 

of the most recent effort in this educational, scenario planning and visioning exercise are incorporated in the document submitted to the Committee with this paper, 

the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan which reflects public interest in livable communities with mixed uses that permit walking or bicycling for many kinds of shopping, recreational and service needs. Key to our planning process are partnerships 

that promote efficiency, consensus, and sensitivity. 

The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County was recognized by 

the American Planning Association in 2013 for their 2035 Regional Transportation 

Plan, the region’s 20-year long range plan that followed an 18-month public participation process. The process entailed an extensive and comprehensive community engagement program to develop the transportation vision, policies and priorities for 

the Washoe County metropolitan area’s future transportation system. 

Why Livability? 

Our primary goal in Nevada is to create jobs and expand economic opportunity. 

Key to the State’s success is maintaining and improving the quality of life for our 

residents and visitors. Very important to our region is affordable housing, proximity 

to family and friends, mobility, walkability, and public transportation. Clearly transportation’s contribution is critical to creating a 21st century economy. 

What we are learning from our community is that a large majority of Millennials 

want access to better transit options and the ability to be less reliant on a car. According to a new survey of Millennials in 10 major U.S. cities, released by The 

Rockefeller Foundation and Transportation for America, more than half (54 percent) 

of Millennials surveyed say they would consider moving to another city if it had 

more and better options for getting around, and 66 percent say that access to high 

quality transportation is one of the top three criteria they would weigh when deciding where to live. Young people are the key to advancing innovation and economic 

competitiveness in mid-sized cities, like Reno and Sparks, Nevada. The RTC has to 

balance a car-centric model of mobility and consider more equitable and sustainable 

transportation options. 

While I claim no expertise in the area of affordable housing, I would point out 

that studies by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Land Institute in recent 

years have demonstrated the close relationship between transportation and housing 

costs. Families and seniors who cannot afford housing close to central city jobs frequently buy further out, with resulting increased household costs for transportation. 

This often leaves the elderly and disabled isolated from community services. Families in most American cities spend an average of 20 percent or more of their household income on transportation—the largest single expense outside of housing. 

These community members are our friends and neighbors; some of them are our 

honored service men and women; and, they rely on us to provide transportation solutions critical to their well-being and mobility. Across the country, the demand for 

more efficient and reliable connections, by seniors and individuals with disabilities, 

to doctor appointments, shopping, activities, religious services, among others, is rapidly outpacing the ability to adequately provide service. The RTC is working with 

our Federal delegation to develop a pilot program that seeks to address these issues 

by expanding the flexibility of dedicated Federal resources to include operating costs 

as eligible for formula and grant funding; to increase the Federal match for senior 

and disabled service; and to ensure that new Federal services and medical facilities 


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are sited along existing transit and transportation corridors by requiring that these 

planning documents be reviewed and approved by the local metropolitan planning 

organization. 

Livability Projects in Washoe County 

Our region values safety, access and mobility. In response the RTC has developed 

and constructed several important projects to improve quality of life; they are described here. 

Sutro Street—This project improved conditions for transit riders on three major 

bus routes in Reno. This project provides Washoe County residents access to schools, 

work and medical facilities. Most notably the routes on this section of Sutro Street 

provide access to the Senior Center, the Salvation Army, the Washoe Ability Resource Center, Renown Regional Medical Center and multiple schools including 

Charter and high schools. Seventeen bus stops were improved to benefit the quality 

of life for the substantial elderly and disabled population in this area. 

RAPID BRT service on Virginia Street—The Virginia Street Corridor is the cornerstone of RTC transit service; designated a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) 

corridor by the city of Reno, and selected by the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency as the preferred corridor for demonstrating TOD operational and development strategies, improvements along Virginia Street will attract choice riders. 

This Bus Rapid Transit line also known as RAPID operates for 7 miles along Virginia Street and includes upgraded bus stops, real-time vehicle arrival information, 

distinctive articulated buses, queue-jumping lanes, signal pre-emption or priority 

and designation of existing curb or roadway lanes. The new demonstration service 

began operation on in October 2012 and data show a 10 percent increase in ridership in the corridor. 

4th Street Station and Centennial Plaza—This project created intermodal transportation facilities in Downtown Reno and Sparks that are currently operating over 

capacity. The new transit centers were designed to meet long-term transportation 

demands as well as community needs including childcare, retail services, access to 

a shelter and new baseball park. 

Investing in the Future of Northwestern Nevada 

4th Prater Way—This project will improve safety, support local redevelopment 

plans, and improve infrastructure for walking, biking, and transit. The 4th Street/

Prater Way Complete Streets Project will reconstruct and revitalize our historic and 

aging downtown corridor by upgrading the arterial roadway that links Reno to the 

city of Sparks and the greater Washoe region. The design of this project benefited 

from extensive public involvement and reflects the community’s demand for a rapid 

transit corridor, commuter bike lanes, accessible sidewalks, enhanced bus stops, 

traffic signal coordination infrastructure and traffic calming features. 

Virginia Street RAPID Extension linking UNR/Midtown/Downtown—This year, 

the RTC will be considering an extension of the RAPID BRT from downtown to the 

University of Nevada. In addition, the RTC must retrofit an existing maintenance 

facility as well as construct a new large vehicle facility to accommodate additional 

articulated buses and clean fuels vehicles. 

Southeast Connector—This highway project is an important regional investment 

in the Truckee Meadows that addresses the long-term transportation needs to improve the safety and mobility of people, goods, and services in the Reno/Sparks area. 

The project is an ongoing effort between the RTC, partner agencies, and the community that began almost 50 years ago. Once completed, the new Southeast Connector 

roadway, which will be called Veterans Parkway, will stretch 5.5 miles from the 

intersection of Greg Street and Sparks Boulevard at the northern end, to the existing intersection of Veterans Parkway and South Meadows Parkway at the southern 

end. The Southeast Connector Project will provide many long-term benefits to the 

community and to the quality of life of Truckee Meadows residents. Utilizing valuable input received from Federal, State, and local agencies; regional environmental 

groups; and local business and community organizations, the project team has developed strategies to optimize traffic operations; enhance the environment within the 

corridor; and maximize the safety of drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians. 

Principles for Reauthorization 

Raise the gas tax—The citizens of Washoe County Nevada have increased local 

fuel taxes and so have many other communities around the country because the voters understand the importance of the need to invest in infrastructure and the link 

that has to economic development. The Federal Government should do the same. 

Congress should continue to look for other ways to expand the base of funding like 

off shore tax relief for foreign investments brought home. 


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Congress should continue to utilize the gasoline tax as a source of revenue for the 

Highway Trust Fund, and increase it to ensure adequate resources for future needs. 

The gasoline tax has not been raised in 20 years and has not kept pace with the 

increasing costs of highway and transit maintenance and construction. The history 

of the Federal gasoline tax goes back to 1932, when the Federal Government levied 

a 1-cent tax. Three presidents increased the gasoline tax to reduce deficits at the 

time. President Reagan was the first to do so in 1983 when he raised it to 9 cents 

followed by President Bush who raised it to 14.1 cents in 1990 and finally, President 

Clinton who raised it to 18.4 cents in 1993. 

By increasing the gas tax, Congress can decrease or even eliminate the reliance 

on general funds and fund infrastructure repair. Indexing the tax would help ensure 

that revenues keep pace with costs in the future. In 2009, Washoe County residents 

passed a measure that indexed the local gas tax and allotted those funds to road 

construction and repair. Indexing has been successful and is credited with creating 

opportunities for economic development, and improving transportation options for 

people to get to work, school, health care, and daily activities in Northern Nevada. 

There is growing recognition of America’s underinvestment in its infrastructure. 

It is paramount that Congress return solvency to the Highway Trust Fund and the 

mass transit account. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave our country’s 

infrastructure a D+ as many elements of our most critical systems are aging, deteriorating and severely congested. By allotting sufficient funding to the Highway 

Trust Fund, Congress can ensure that our country’s infrastructure is sustainable 

and safe for future use. 

Federal Funding for Bus and Bus Facilities—Many of the Nation’s small- and 

mid-sized transit authorities lack sufficient capital funding to construct and develop 

bus maintenance facilities and stations, and to purchase vehicles and equipment. 

MAP 21 significantly reduced the amount of bus program funds available—in effect 

cutting the longstanding bus program in half. There is a severe and inequitable imbalance between the funding available for bus capital and the needs that exist. According to The Bus Coalition, bus systems in the United States carry more than 52 

percent of all transit riders yet receive only 9.5 percent of capital program funds 

under MAP 21. Congress should restore that funding and create a competitive discretionary program that would provide FTA with the authority to fund both the development of facilities/stations and bus purchases alike. 

The RTC is considering the construction of a new vehicle maintenance facility to 

replace our current one located under the US395 viaduct. Height limitations and the 

inability to use alternative fuels make this facility outdated and inefficient. However, because the funding for the FTA bus and bus facility program was significantly cut in MAP 21 and the remaining funds formularized, it is unlikely RTC will 

be able to amass the capital necessary to develop such a facility anytime soon. This 

will limit our ability to expand public transportation service, increase our use of alternative fuels in our fleet, maintain vehicles in a state of good repair, and continue 

to support job growth in emerging sectors of the economy. 

Washoe County’s need for a new maintenance facility would qualify for funding 

under a restored bus program, and benefit many other communities across the country facing these similar funding challenges. Increased funding for this program 

would directly translate into jobs and an improved state-of-repair of our transit infrastructure. 

Federal policies should support Smart Growth and Complete Streets legislation—

Transit-oriented development should be supported with Federal tax credits, incentives to banks to lend money to TOD developers. Further, USDOT should encourage 

the development of greater responsibility by regional planning agencies and/or Metropolitan Planning Organizations for the coordination of federally supported transportation with federally supported housing and environmental decisions. 

Streamline Federal Regulatory and Permitting Process—There is a continuing 

need to reduce the regulatory burdens posed by the permitting and environmental 

processes. While we recognize the important role environmental requirements play 

in developing transportation projects, the process should be more transparent and 

streamlined. Project sponsors are hindered in their planning efforts by unnecessary 

delays in the regulatory process and inability of Federal agencies to act in a timely 

way on permit applications. Many aspects of the Federal permitting process are 

laden with uncertainty and unpredictability that hinders investment, economic 

growth, and job creation. 

Conclusion 

National goals for global competitiveness, energy security, environmental sustainability and economic vitality, all point to transportation investment. When compared 

with Europe and much of Asia, our current transportations systems struggle to comVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:49 Apr 02, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6621 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\91865.TXT SHERYL

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pete. We need efficient, multi-modal rural, suburban and urban transportation systems that will keep America’s economic engines productive and efficient. Federal 

standards should be established to promote and support the incremental development of top quality public transit systems, providing real travel choices to residents, 

in every area of our country—decisions for investments over the next 30 years that 

will affect future generations. New paradigms must include sustainability, environmental responsibility, accountability, walkability, regional planning, urban goods 

movement, and transportation and housing choices. 

Thank you again for this opportunity. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF CLAIRE COLLINS

SUPERVISOR, BATH COUNTY, VIRGINIA

ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES (NACO)

JULY 22, 2014

Thank you, Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Moran and Members of the 

Subcommittee for the opportunity to testify today on building economic resilient 

communities at the local level. 

My name is Claire Collins and I am a County Supervisor in Bath County, VA. 

Today I am testifying on behalf of the National Association of Counties (NACo) 

which represents all 3,069 county governments in the United States. 

About NACo 

Founded in 1935, NACo assists America’s counties in pursuing excellence in public service to produce healthy, vibrant, safe and resilient counties. NACo promotes 

sound public policies, fosters county solutions and innovation, promotes intergovernmental and public-private collaboration and provides value-added services to save 

counties and taxpayers money. 

This past year, NACo and counties across the country have been working on the 

‘‘Resilient Counties’’ initiative that was created to help counties bolster their ability 

to thrive amid ever-shifting physical, social and economic conditions—including unexpected events ranging from natural or man-made disasters, plant closures and declines in specific industries. Through this initiative, NACo has worked to strengthen 

county resiliency by building leadership capacity to identify and manage risk and 

enable counties to become more flexible, responsive and prepared. 

I want to thank you, Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Moran and Members 

of this Subcommittee for recognizing the importance of strengthening the economic 

resiliency of our communities, and again, for allowing me to testify on behalf of 

NACo. 

Today I will focus my remarks on the how counties, and especially rural counties, 

across the country have bolstered their ability to thrive amid ever-shifting physical, 

social and economic conditions and what more can be done at the Federal level to 

support local economies.

Specifically, I will address three key issues:

1. Rural counties play a key role in building economically resilient communities

2. Improving transportation systems, housing options and job opportunities is critical to enhancing local economic development and resiliency

3. Strengthening the Federal-State-local partnership is critical to local 

economic resiliency

Rural counties play a key role in building economically resilient communities. 

First, Mr. Chairman, counties play a distinctive role in economic resiliency as 

stewards of their local communities and are an integral part our Nation’s intergovernmental system of Federal, State and local governments. 

Counties are responsible for supporting and maintaining key public infrastructure, transportation and economic development assets; creating and sustaining a 

skilled workforce to meet the needs of business; promoting public health and public 

safety to protect our citizens and implementing a broad portfolio of Federal, State 

and local programs in a cost-effective and accountable manner. 

Counties maintain safe roads, bridges, airports and transit systems and ensure 

that we have clean water and effective wastewater systems. They maintain our 

parks and recreation programs, libraries and recycling facilities. They also provide 

access to health care, especially for the uninsured and indigent, and serve as the 


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community ‘‘safety net’’ for our children, elderly, disabled, mentally ill, and other 

vulnerable populations. 

At the leadership level, county elected officials are tasked with shaping county 

and community policies and investments that enable economic and community development and are instrumental in moving their communities forward by providing 

the business conditions, critical infrastructure and capital necessary for private industry to flourish. In an era where ‘‘doing more with less’’ has become the norm, 

counties must make certain that the investments made in building communities 

carry through the long term. 

My county, Bath County, is located in the Alleghany Mountains of Virginia with 

a population just over 4,600. Our rural county has actively engaged the local community to build an economy that is both strong and resilient. Although we face 

many challenges, we are focusing on improving our transportation systems, developing infrastructure, providing affordable housing opportunities, and building and 

sustaining a skilled workforce that can help our community be globally competitive. 

For an example of how we are working to create the partnerships and environment needed for economic resilience, Bath County uses its convening powers to engage businesses as part of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership (SVP)—which includes the neighboring counties of Augusta, Highland, Page, Rockingham, 

Rockbridge, and Shenandoah. SVP is not only a public-private-partnership, but is 

the one-stop economic development resource for businesses seeking expansion or location in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Through regional cooperation, this partnership between the public and private sectors brings together business, government, 

and education leaders to promote new investment, strengthen existing business and 

guide labor force development to ensure a healthy economic future for the region. 

Other counties across the country are also utilizing strategic partnerships to build 

and strengthen their local economies. For example, the Region Five County Development Commission in rural central Minnesota developed a plan to create a community driven-university assisted partnership around a long-term vision for the region 

that will integrate housing, transportation, natural environment (land use) and economic development (including energy and local foods). The strategies they are developing through civic engagement will provide opportunities and improve the quality 

of life of all residents. 

For homeownership, the five county region created Central Minnesota Housing 

Partnership’s (CMHP) Home Stretch classes to educate residents about home buying, including potential downpayment assistance or other programs to help homebuyers get into their home and/or receive funds for energy efficiency improvements. 

Through their Resilient Regional Transportation Plan, they are seeking to ensure 

that transportation projects are designed to serve the regions’ mobility, land use and 

economic development needs in a safe manner. Other pieces of transportation system are to maintain and improve the existing road system, increase public transportation services in the region, and expand infrastructure serving pedestrians and 

bicyclists. 

Collaboration and partnerships like these will enable rural communities to provide more opportunities for the businesses and citizens we serve. 

Second Mr. Chairman, improving transportation systems, housing options 

and job opportunities is critical to enhancing local economic development and resiliency. 

Counties across the country are also responsible for building and maintaining 45 

percent of the public roads, 230,690 bridges and are involved in a third of the Nation’s transit and airport systems that connect residents, businesses and communities. 

Federal and State highway funding for county transportation projects is increasingly not meeting local needs. Based on Federal Highway Administration (FHA) 

data, the share of Federal and State funding to local governments for highways decreased by 10 percent between 1998–2011. The latest Federal surface transportation 

law (MAP–21) further skewed the allocation of funds away from local governments. 

While local governments own 43 percent of the Federal-aid highways system, local 

areas receive a suballocation that is equal to 16 percent of the MAP–21 National 

Highway Performance Program (NHPP) and the Surface Transportation Program 

(STP) funding for Federal-aid highways. A combination of Federal budget cuts, the 

effect of the recession on State and local governments are contributing to a widening 

gap in transportation funding available to counties. 

Further, counties—and especially rural counties—face the dilemma of rising costs 

of infrastructure projects and limitations on their ability to generate revenue. The 

cost of construction and materials increased by 44 percent between 2000–2013, more 

than the 35 percent rise in the overall rate of inflation. At the same time, most 


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States limit counties’ ability to raise revenue. Forty-three (43) States have some 

type of limitation on the property taxes collected by counties, including 38 States 

that impose statutory limitations on property tax rate, property tax assessments, or 

both. Only 12 States authorize counties to collect their own local gas taxes, which 

are limited to a maximum rate in most cases and often involve additional approvals 

for implementation. Despite these challenges, counties across the Nation invest $25 billion annually in economic development efforts. They spend $106 billion annually to build, maintain and operate roads, bridges, transit, water systems and other public facilities. 

Through such investments in infrastructure, counties have facilitated private sector growth and accelerated economic development. 

NACo has also found that counties can facilitate economic growth by leveraging 

transportation and infrastructure assets to forge private sector partnerships and attract new businesses. 

For example, Rutherford County, NC (with a population of 67,300), used the decline of the local manufacturing sector as an opportunity to diversify and strengthen 

its economic base. They did this by treating existing infrastructure assets, such as 

vacant industrial buildings, a robust electric power and water network, and 

broadband expansion, as marketing tools to attract data centers to the county. In 

2010, Rutherford County successfully recruited Facebook to invest over $900 million 

in two new data centers. Because data centers require access to a massive and reliable energy source along with a supply of water to serve as a coolant, county leaders 

were able to make the case that locating to Rutherford County was the most affordable option for Facebook. 

Another example of a smaller rural county utilizing existing infrastructure assets 

to create economic development under challenging circumstances at the Federal 

level is Brookings County, South Dakota. Brookings County developed an innovative 

public-private partnership to help realize a county-wide economic development vision that targeted investments to support growth industries. Brookings County has 

a population of just over 32,000, and has experienced a 20 percent population 

growth in the past 10 years. The county has utilized its many existing amenities 

to support successful business development and entrepreneurship, including its location along a major transportation corridor in eastern South Dakota and its vicinity 

to South Dakota State University. In fact, the Vision Brookings Coalition, a partnership with Brookings Economic Development Commission, the area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Brookings, Inc., raised $4.1 million in 5 years to support 

projects like the construction of the South Dakota State University Innovation Campus. That particular site has walking, jogging and bike trails, and is accessible via 

public transportation. An analysis shows that the short-term impacts of these investments included over 1500 net new jobs created from 2006–2009, 25 new retail 

establishments, and the construction of over 700 housing units. 

Planning for economically resilient communities is by its nature a regional effort. 

Counties are unique in that they are at their core a regional form of government, 

especially in rural America. Whether acting individually, with neighboring jurisdictions or through regional councils, counties have the primary role in land-use planning and economic development decisions that impact and determine the growth, development and livability of communities. 

Third Mr. Chairman, strengthening the Federal-State-local partnership is 

critical to local economic resiliency. 

Over the past half-century, State and local governments have increasingly borne 

the cost of infrastructure and public improvements. According to the Congressional 

Budget Office, about 75 percent of public funding for transportation and water infrastructure alone is supplied by State and local governments. It goes without saying 

that the increased economic burden taken on by State and local governments decreases their economic resiliency as they strain to meet the many needs of their 

residents. 

The growing burden taken on by our local and State governments is especially 

problematic for our Nation’s rural communities, which are facing enormous pressure 

from global competitors. Our rural regions have the capability and drive to compete 

and take advantage of new opportunities, and it is therefore imperative that the 

Federal Government have the policies, program tools and flexibility to assist rural 

communities and regions with cutting-edge, asset-based regional innovation strategies and investments. 

To be successful in the modern economy, rural entrepreneurs and communities 

must be connected to global and domestic markets—digitally, institutionally, and 

physically. This requires a new level of sophistication and capacity within our rural 

regions and within our Federal agency partners. It will also mean improving FedVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:49 Apr 02, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6621 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\91865.TXT SHERYL

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eral interagency collaboration, fostering stronger public-private-nonprofit partnerships, preparing our rural workforce for new challenges and developing more modern infrastructure and community facilities. 

The importance of Federal partnerships with State and local governments is demonstrated through the positive results of existing examples of such partnerships. 

In Bath County, we are partnering with the Federal Government to develop and 

expand broadband accessibility for our local community. Through a grant from the 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development 

Block Grant program, we are working to address our region’s broadband needs and 

are in the process of determining whether to build our own system or partner with 

the private sector to expand broadband accessibility. Through the planning grant, 

our counties recognize the economic value of expanding broadband and how it is 

critical to maintaining a skilled workforce, attracting and expanding businesses, and 

ensuring the overall competitiveness of our region. 

Bath County also relies on Federal partnerships to address our communities’ 

pressing housing needs. With limited and dilapidated housing for our existing workforce and low- to moderate-income individuals, two Community Development Block 

Grants were awarded to rehabilitate and reconstruct homes and improve infrastructure, drainage and roads in two neighborhoods. One of these grant funded projects, 

Pinehurst Heights Community Improvement Project is near completion and the second project, the Thomastown Community Improvement Project, is just beginning. 

The Thomastown project will benefit at least 60 residents, of which 33 will be lowto moderate-income (LMI) residents. This project will stabilize the neighborhood, 

preserve existing housing stock and improve the overall environment and living conditions of the Thomastown area. 

These are just some of the examples of effective partnerships between Federal and 

local governments that provide much-needed assistance to local communities in 

their efforts to provide needed services to their residents. Continuing, expanding 

and strengthening these partnerships is imperative to increasing local economic resiliency across our Nation. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, counties have a unique role in economic development and building resilient communities—specifically as partners with other levels 

of government, the private sector and nonprofits. The main reason counties engage 

in economic development and resiliency initiatives is to improve the well-being of 

their communities and the people they serve. 

Counties of all sizes across the country are problem-solvers, able to adjust their 

initiatives and programs to match local assets and needs, and have a distinct ability 

to mobilize and coordinate resources for economic development. Local economic development challenges often require a regional solution and counties are best positioned to serve as conveners for such initiatives due to the legitimacy and accountability they have as formal governments covering both incorporated and unincorporated areas in a region. This enables us to exercise leadership in collaboration 

with both local public and private entities to address common economic resiliency 

challenges. 

Counties understand that strategic planning with partners at the Federal, State 

and local levels is necessary to build strong economies and to make their communities more resilient to unexpected events ranging from natural disasters to plant 

closures and long-term declines in specific industries. As both global and local challenges arise, counties are poised to lead, convene and participate in economic development efforts. 

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, for the opportunity to appear before you today. We appreciate your interest in exploring new 

opportunities to build economically resilient communities at the local level. 

We look forward to continuing the dialogue with you. I would be pleased to answer any questions. 


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ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUPPLIED FOR THE RECORD


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