Gov. Hogan, the Purple Line & the Silver Spring Transit Center

Maryland Gov Larry Hogan Plays Chicken With Purple Line Funding | Streetsblog USA

Newly elected MD Governor Larry Hogan has it right. He had it right in his platform--"Don't build the Purple Line"--and he has it right now--even if his stated reason--"MD can't afford it"--isn't the main reason for not building the Purple Line.

The main reason for not building the Purple Line is the Silver Spring Transit Center--more specifically, the public-private partnership Silver Spring Transit Center.

Montgomery County councilman Phil Andrews called the public-private partnership SSTC "a monumental debacle". Councilman Andrews has it right--the PPP SSTC is a monumental debacle--just read the conclusions on page 99 of KCE Engineers' structural evaluation report: 
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-BDC/Resources/Files/SS/509974/SSTC-Report-March-15-2013.pdf

The "monumental debacle" PPP SSTC is approximately $50 million over-budget and 5 years over schedule. For the past 2 years it's been undergoing repairs; and, it's not even open to the public yet! Recently, the Montgomery County Council approved $16+ million in general obligation bonds and $5 million "borrowed" from other well-constructed and well-designed public works projects for "repairs" to the LEMON, "monumental debacle", PPP, SSTC! 
Another $21M approved for Silver Spring Transit Center

We, the paying public, don't know why the 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long Silver Spring Transit Center doesn't have any expansion joints. WMATA requires expansion joints be spaced no more than 100 feet apart. 

We don't know why some concrete in elevated floors was poured without reinforcement.

Images from KCE & WMATA reports

We don't know why elevated slabs in some locations are more than an inch thinner that the 10 inches thick that they're supposed to be. 

We don't know why so much water was added to concrete that it is under strength. We don't know why curing concrete wasn't protected from freezing temperatures.

We don't know why test reports for different concrete samples show exactly the same test results.

Until we know why Montgomery County non-competitively selected Foulger Pratt to build the PPP SSTC, Parsons Brinkerhoff to provide the engineering design and Balter Co. to inspect and test concrete, when most private companies are selected competitively for public works projects, the public-private partnership Purple Line should be put on hold indefinitely.

Yes, Governor Hogan, putting off bids for the Purple Line is the right thing to do--not so much "to cut costs" as to be true to the platform that you were elected on and to taxpayers, inside and outside Maryland, who are paying, and will continue to pay, for the "monumental debacle", public-private partnership, LEMON, Silver Spring Transit Center.     

Write Gov. Hogan and tell him how you feel about wasting more of your tax money on the public-private partnership Purple Line: Governor Contact Form

Silver Spring Transit Center
Botched Jobs Hall of Shame
Lemon Award

The bully pulpit

from the bully pulpit: Silver Spring Transit Center finally on the move

"County Executive Ike Leggett has said he intends to recover the additional taxpayer money from the contractors who he plans to hold legally responsible for the mistakes made with the transit center.

'There’s always some risk, certainly there is, but I think we have a very strong case for the problems associated with the center and the fault and responsibilities for that and we intend to pursue every legal option available to us to recover the money,' Leggett said in December."

The bully pulpit is available to politicians, assisted by news media and search engines, to expound their views to a large audience. The blog pulpit is available to ordinary people, who, without the aid of news media and search engines, express their views to a small audience. 

from the blog pulpit:

1. The public should never have to pay for contractors' mistakes. Any person who orders a brand new car won't pay for repairs to their brand new car before they've even driven it! 

Why should the public pay for repairs to the brand new Silver Spring Transit Center before it's even open? Answer: they shouldn't. 

Images from the KCE & WMATA reports 

www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-BDC/Resources/Files/SS/509974/SSTC-Report-March-15-2013.pdf

2. Taxpayers from outside Montgomery County are also paying for the Silver Spring Transit Center. Montgomery County is responsible to them too for wasting their taxes. 

3. When Montgomery County fails to use normal competitive practices for selecting a builder, engineer and inspector/tester for a public works project, and non-competitively selects their friends instead, and the project turns out to be a "monumental debacle" (as Councilman Phil Andrews puts it), then Montgomery County must answer to all taxpayers for their cronyism. 

These principles not only apply to contractors' mistakes ("Five years behind schedule and about $50 million over budget"); but also to the entire 140+ million public dollars spent to date on the LEMON Silver Spring Transit Center. 

Silver Spring Transit Center
Botched Jobs Hall of Shame
Lemon Award

Failure to connect the dots

Failure to connect the dots

SILVER SPRING TRANSIT CENTER

Montgomery County, MD

Failure to connect the dots = wasted public funds = a public lemon 
Valerie Ervin on Silver Spring Transit Center and Election 2014 - YouTube

Images from the KCE & WMATA reports

www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-BDC/Resources/Files/SS/509974/SSTC-Report-March-15-2013.pdf

Another $21M approved for Silver Spring Transit Center

Silver Spring Transit Center
Botched Jobs Hall of Shame
Lemon Award

The Great American Ripoff

It began as an estimated $20 million replacement for a facility considered to be old and dysfunctional. Its current reported cost is $141+ million; however, the Silver Spring Transit Center is currently undergoing "repairs"--and it hasn't even been opened to the public yet! 

When will the "repairs" be finished? What will the "repairs" have cost the public when they're done? Will WMATA approve the "repaired" SSTC? If so, when will the SSTC finally be open to the public? 

How will the lawsuits be resolved? How much will the SSTC ultimately cost taxpayers? It's unlikely that we'll ever know the real cost for the Silver Spring Transit Center, given the unaccounted time that government employees have spent and will spend on the SSTC and its legal aftermath.

A March 2013 structural evaluation report documents the SSTC's widespread concrete cracking and other design, construction and inspection flaws. The report blames the SSTC's many flaws on "errors and omissions" committed by the SSTC's private builder Foulger Pratt, private engineer Parsons Brinkerhoff and private inspection/testing firm Balter Co.
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-BDC/Resources/Files/SS/509974/SSTC-Report-March-15-2013.pdf

Montgomery County executive Isiah Leggett, Montgomery County council president George Leventhal, Montgomery County councilman and transportation committee chairman Roger Berliner, Montgomery County director of the Department of General Services David Dise, other public officials and public employees and paid experts say that "repairing" the SSTC is "the right thing to do". Montgomery County recently approved an additional $16+ million in general obligation bonds (and $5 million "borrowed" from other well-designed and well-constructed public works projects) to pay for "repairs" to the SSTC. Another $21M approved for Silver Spring Transit Center

Montgomery County councilman Phil Andrews called the SSTC "a monumental debacle". Former council member Valerie Ervin says that "it was a mistake for the county executive to tell taxpayers that the SSTC won't cost them another dime--it's going to cost taxpayers a LOT of money before it's resolved" and "people have MANY reasons NOT to believe what they've been told". 
Valerie Ervin on Silver Spring Transit Center (Video) | Montgomery Community Media

The facts are that the Silver Spring Transit Center is a severely flawed, costly, LEMON; and, that ALL of us (local, state and federal tax and user fee payers) have been and are being fleeced. 

It's worth noting that we, the paying public, don't know why Montgomery County non-competitvely selected private builder Foulger Pratt, private engineer Parsons Brinkerhoff and private inspector Balter Co. to build, design and inspect the SSTC, when private companies are selected competitively for most public works projects. We don't know because Montgomery County hasn't told us why; and, the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) haven't bothered to ask.

Which brings us to the Purple Line. We've been ripped off once by the public-private partnership Silver Spring Transit Center. Why on earth would we ever allow ourselves to be ripped off again by the public-private partnership Purple Line?

The Great American Ripoff

Silver Spring Transit Center
Botched Jobs Hall of Shame
Lemon Award

Purple Line? No thanks.

Maryland focused on cutting cost of Purple Line, rather than killing it - The Washington Post

Given the "monumental debacle" (as Montgomery County councilman Phil Andrews aptly put it) Silver Spring Transit Center, why should the public (local, state and federal--from "sea to shining sea"--taxpayers) contribute to another MD public-private partnership? So that local politicians can non-competitively select another private builder, engineer and inspector, and end up with another severely flawed, over budget, overdue, lemon? No thanks.

Silver Spring Transit Center
Botched Jobs Hall of Shame
Lemon Award

The public has a right to know

The public has a right to know what's going on with the streetcar - Greater Greater Washington

"...the public knows what the problems are with the long-delayed Silver Spring Transit Center" is somewhat misleading. True, the public has KCE Structural Engineers' report that documents the extensive design, construction and inspection "errors and omissions" that resulted in a structure that can only be described as a severely flawed lemon; but, the public doesn't know WHY and HOW the 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC doesn't have any expansion joints, even though WMATA requires them at least every 100 ft. The public also doesn't know HOW and WHY concrete got poured with no reinforcement or HOW and WHY so much water was added that the concrete is under strength. We also don't know why the private builder, engineer and inspector were selected non-competitively, when most private companies are selected competitively for public works projects. The list goes on and on. Bottom line is that the public deserves to know the hows and whys when a public works project is funded by 53% federal, 11% state and 36% local taxes and user fees. We're all stakeholders in these failed projects and we deserve to know why they failed.

Silver Spring Transit Center
Botched Jobs Hall of Shame
Lemon Award

the smell test

How's your sense of smell? Can you tell if something smells "fishy"?

In March 2013 KCE's structural evaluation report for the Silver Spring Transit Center documented severe concrete cracking and other design, construction, inspection and management flaws. 

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-BDC/Resources/Files/SS/509974/SSTC-Report-March-15-2013.pdf

The report blames the numerous flaws on "errors and omissions" by the SSTC's builder Foulger Pratt, design engineer Parsons Brinkerhoff and concrete inspector/tester and special quality inspector Balter Co.

Without holding public meetings to answer the public's questions, Montgomery County proceeded with "repairs" to the yet unopened SSTC, using public money to make said "repairs".

What? The public paid more-than-retail for a brand new state-of-the-art transit center. Despite the fact that the SSTC hasn't opened, Montgomery County rushes ahead to make "repairs" using public money--without first holding public meetings to explain to the public why the County is using the public's money to "fix" the design, construction and inspection flaws. Does this sound "kosher" to you? Would you pay for "repairs" to a brand new automobile that you paid more than retail for before it had even been delivered to you? And, would you be comfortable with the same companies making "repairs" that are responsible for the severe flaws in the first place? I think not.

Of the SSTC's many design, construction and inspection flaws, one that I find particularly troubling is the fact that the 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC doesn't have any expansion joints--despite the fact that WMATA design and construction standards require expansion joints to be located no more than 100 ft. apart. This total lack of expansion joints (along with under-strength and over-stressed concrete) may explain the cracking. (The SSTC hasn't seen its first fully loaded bus.) As a stakeholder in the SSTC, I want to know why WMATA's design and construction standards weren't followed. I also want to know why none of the so-called "repairs" to the SSTC address its complete lack of expansion joints. Don't you want to know too?

For the past two years there's been much from the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) about the Silver Spring Transit Center. But, there are still many unanswered questions. For example, how and why did Montgomery County non-competitively select Foulger Pratt, Parsons Brinkerhoff and Balter Co. to build, design and inspect the SSTC, when private companies for most public works projects are selected competitively? What's up with that?

Since March 2013 MC Department of General Services Director David Dise, MC Executive Isiah Leggett and MC Council member and Transportation Committee chairman Roger Berliner have steadfastly insisted that Montgomery County bears no responsibility for the LEMON SSTC, despite the fact that Montgomery County 

• conceived the project
• is owner of record 
• is construction manager with a team of full-time County employees on site during construction
• is responsible for approving and issuing permits for all construction in the county
• non-competitively selected the SSTC's builder, engineer and inspector

Yet, Montgomery County bears no responsibility for the outcome? Are you buying this? Center for Working Families Director and former MC Council member Valerie Ervin isn't. Here's what she had to say in early 2014:
Valerie Ervin on Silver Spring Transit Center (Video) | Montgomery Community Media

Last, but not least, are you OK with a Purple Line public-private partnership in light of the "monumental debacle" SSTC public-private partnership? Because if you are, then you need to get your nose checked.

duh! ... C'mon man!

Silver Spring Transit Center
Botched Jobs Hall of Shame
Lemon Award

Question: What's new with the Silver Spring Transit Center? Answer: nothing.

Do a "past 24 hours" search for the Silver Spring Transit Center, and this is what you get:

This is MCMedia's (Montgomery County MD cable TV) cheap ploy to get its name out. Hit after "Silver Spring Transit Center" hit with absolutely nothing new about the Silver Spring Transit Center.

So it is with the local Washington DC news media--reporting absolutely nothing new on one of the BIGGEST ($141+ million LEMON) news stories in the region, when there are still BIG questions to be answered, namely:

• How and why did Montgomery County MD noncompetitively select private builder Foulger Pratt to build the SSTC, private engineer Parsons Brinkerhoff to design it, and private concrete inspector Balter Co. to inspect it, when most private companies are selected competitively for public works projects?

• Why did Montgomery County rush ahead with "repairs" to the LEMON SSTC in March 2013 without holding public meetings first to answer the public's questions and comments? After all, the public is paying for the LEMON SSTC.

• How and why does the 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC not have a single expansion joint, when WMATA design and construction standards call for expansion joints to be located no farther apart than every 100 ft.?

How about reporting some real news, MCMedia and the rest of the local Washington DC news media (print, TV, radio, internet)? How about reporting answers to these questions? After all, is there a bigger story in Montgomery County than the severely flawed, grossly overbudget, grossly overdue, $141+ million,  LEMON Silver Spring Transit Center? The answer is: NO.

Silver Spring Transit Center

Conspiracy to obfuscate?

Are Montgomery County and the news media conspiring to withhold the truth about the Silver Spring Transit Center (aka Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center) from the public?

That's the way that it appears to me.

One only has to look at KCE's March 2013 structural evaluation report to realize that the SSTC is a LEMON. 
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-BDC/Resources/Files/SS/509974/SSTC-Report-March-15-2013.pdf

• widespread cracking
• slabs more than an inch thinner than what they're supposed to be
• under-strength and over-stressed concrete
• exposed reinforcement
• missing reinforcement
• construction errors
• design errors
• complete lack of expansion joints
• inspection errors
• management (construction and project) errors and omissions
• etc.

Further evidence of a conspiracy to obfuscate:

• Montgomery County's refusal to hold public meetings in March 2013 to explain to the public why the county was rushing ahead with "repairs" to the LEMON SSTC (on the public's "dime") BEFORE explaining to the public what the county is doing, and why, and BEFORE answering the public's questions and responding to their comments.
• Montgomery County * blaming everybody but themselves--WMATA, the private builder, the private design engineer, the private inspector--even though Montgomery County is the SSTC's owner of record and construction manager, and further, Montgomery County is responsible for issuing permits and for inspecting ALL construction, both private and public, within its boundaries.   

        *  MC Director of the Department of General Services David Dise
           MC Executive Isaih Leggett
           MC Councilman & Transportation Committee Chairman Roger Berliner
           et al

           Urban Dictionary: thou doth protest too much

• the news media's failure to look into how and why Montgomery County non-competitively chose the SSTC's private contractor, engineer and inspector, even though private contractors, engineers and inspectors for most public works projects are selected competitively.
• Montgomery County's failure to address, and the news media's failure to report, why the 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC doesn't have a single expansion joint, even though WMATA design and construction standards require expansion joints be spaced no farther than every 100 ft. apart.

You can also make the argument that the Federal Transit Administration and the Maryland Transit Administration are part of the conspiracy, since 53% and 11% of the funds for the SSTC are federal and state respectively.

It sure looks like a conspiracy to me.

Silver Spring Transit Center

Wake up & smell the coffee

What more proof is needed that the Silver Spring Transit Center (aka Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center) is a LEMON?

• widespread cracking
• other design, construction, inspection and management flaws
• KCE's report:  https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-BDC/Resources/Files/SS/509974/SSTC-Report-March-15-2013.pdf 
• testimony from WMATA engineers:  Discord Plagues Maryland's Flawed Silver Spring Transit Center - WNYC 
• woefully over budget
• woefully overdue

"...basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter..."

Silver Spring Transit Center

Wake up!   and smell the coffee.

Natural Selection

Natural selection is the process where only the best (smartest) survive--those who are best able to figure out how to navigate around dangers in the world.

Beware of the Silver Spring Transit Center!

(aka Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center)

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-BDC/Resources/Files/SS/509974/SSTC-Report-March-15-2013.pdf

BEWARE!

We deserve better

If records were kept for this sort of thing, then, by size, the Silver Spring Transit Center (aka Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center) could very well be:

• the most expensive
• the longest time to build
• the most flawed design, construction, inspection and management 

for all time in all of the world--needless to say, a dubious distinction. 

We deserve better--"we" being those of us who will use it and those of us who paid for it. "Those who will use it" is a MUCH smaller group than "those who paid for it".  Basically, ALL of us (everyone who pays federal taxes and user fees) paid for it. We paid retail, and then some, for a brand new state-of-the-art transit center, and we got damaged goods. It's like paying more-than-retail for a brand new, top-of-the-line, custom sports car, and getting this:

We deserve better.

But, WAIT! The dealer says "I'm going to 'fix' it. Give me the money for the repairs." 

And, we do! 

Another $21M approved for Silver Spring Transit Center

More good news! The dealer says that it's safe! (despite the way that it looks)

Congratulations! We've now got the most expensive, longest time to build, most flawed, "repaired"-even-before-it-opened, transit center in the history of the world.

We deserve better.

However...  When the people who are paying the most for the LEMON Silver Spring Transit Center--federal, state and local taxes, including $16+ million in county general obligation bonds, and another $5 million "shifted" from other well-designed and well-constructed public works projects, to pay for "repairs" to the yet-to-be-opened LEMON SSTC--stand by silently while their own county council approves another $21+ million for "repairs", before it even opens, then what else is there to do? 

Jonathan Gruber is right! ("Grubergate")

"...basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter..."

Silver Spring Transit Center

Silver Spring Transit Center deja vu?

Anyone old enough to remember, in 1973, when the US Attorney for the District of Maryland investigated then Vice President (under Nixon) Spiro Agnew on charges of extortion, tax fraud, bribery, and conspiracy, while Agnew was Baltimore County Executive and Governor of Maryland, can't help but wonder if it's deja vu with the Silver Spring Transit Center.

But then, if nobody (news media, US Attorney, etc.) looks into how and why Montgomery County non-competitively (public-private partnership) selected private engineer Parsons Brinkerhoff, private builder Foulger Pratt and private concrete inspector Balter Co. for the publicly funded Silver Spring Transit Center, when most private companies are selected competitively for publicly funded projects, then I guess that we'll never know.

Where are you, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein?

Where are you, Archibald Cox, Elliot Richardson and William Ruckelshaus?

Silver Spring Transit Center "monumental" taxpayer abuse

According to Montgomery County MD councilman Phil Andrews, the Silver Spring Transit Center (aka Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center) is a "monumental debacle". I suspect that Councilman Andrews is referring to the SSTC's "monumental" delays, "monumental" cost overruns and "monumental" structural flaws. However, Montgomery County's abuse of county, state and federal taxpayers is also "monumental".

The Silver Spring Transit Center is funded by Federal (53%), State (11%) and County (36%) funds.

Montgomery County's poor decisions in continuing to pour millions into the severely flawed, overdue, over-budget SSTC not only effects Montgomery County taxpayers; but also, the council's poor decisions effect taxpayers all over the United States. Taxpayers from faraway states, and even those from far reaches in Maryland, who will never use METRO or the Silver Spring Transit Center, are paying for Montgomery County's poor decisions.

However, let's not forget the roles of the Federal Transit Administration and the Maryland Transit Administration in this "monumental debacle". These agencies are also charged with protecting the public's money. Where have they been throughout this "monumental debacle"? Out to lunch?

Worst of all, we're headed down that same road again. 

The Silver Spring Transit Center is a public-private partnership, in which Montgomery County selected engineer Parsons Brinkerhoff, builder Foulger Pratt and concrete inspector Balter Co. non-competitively. Private companies for most public works projects are selected competitively. 

We don't know how much that the non-competitive selection of Parsons Brinkerhoff, Foulger Pratt and Balter Co. had to do with their "errors and omissions" that, according to KCE's structural report, caused this "monumental debacle"; but, one would think that we should find out BEFORE we go down that road again with the public-private partnership Purple Line.

"Monumental Debacle"

Silver Spring Transit Center

"...basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter..."