In final days, Miami-Dade commission taking up $12M rail payment to Brightline

An outgoing Miami-Dade commission may instruct the incoming county mayor to continue pursuing a commuter-rail deal with a track access fee of $12 million a year.

The nonbinding Brightline resolution would establish a framework for a final deal that could come months later if the new administration agrees. It’s part of the Monday agenda for the commission’s final scheduled meeting before five newly elected commissioners and Mayor-elect Daniella Levine Cava take office.

At stake is a long-sought agreement with the for-profit companies that control the private tracks to launch a commuter rail system between Miami and Aventura, and then on to Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Brightline launched express rail service on the tracks in 2018, with stops in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The commuter-rail agreement would be for a separate set of trains stopping in Miami-Dade neighborhoods, including potential stations in Wynwood, Midtown, North Miami, Little Haiti and El Portal.

Not a deal, but instructions to keep talking

Launching a tax-funded rail system on the tracks requires a far more complicated agreement than the five-page resolution set for a vote Monday. Brightline has been in talks with the administration of outgoing Mayor Carlos Gimenez for years over a commuter-rail package, and in May pitched a plan to have Miami-Dade spend $350 million developing the new system and as much as $50 million a year to operate it.

The proposal shown county commissioners in May also required a yearly fee just to use the tracks. The proposal pegged that cost at $29 million a year.

The Gimenez administration called the proposed fees too high and told commissioners talks would continue with the for-profit company.

As the Gimenez administration comes to an end, no deal has been reached. But Brightline has agreed to take far less for the track-access fee: The proposal in Monday’s resolution calls for Miami-Dade paying $12 million a year, plus one upfront payment of $50 million.

The agenda item doesn’t have details on the payment because the specifics would come in an actual agreement that the commission would need to approve. Miami-Dade would fund the payment at least in part with its half-percent transportation sales tax, revenue that’s down during the economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Benjamin Porritt, senior vice president for corporate affairs, said in a statement the current commission has subjected the project to “thorough analysis” as it prepares to endorse a fee framework for the tracks.

“This is a well-studied project that will create thousands of jobs and ultimately help our community’s transportation network function better,” he said. “This commission has overseen the entire process. ... It only makes sense for this commission to set the framework for the deal.”

Brightline could offer a quick rail option for Miami-Dade

Talks on the commuter rail come during a stressed time for Brightline, which suspended South Florida service in March as government orders shut down businesses for the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, the company parted ways with Virgin as its branding partner.

Brightline also had to tamp down grumbling from the company that owns the tracks, Florida East Coast Railway, which sent a letter to commissioners in September warning it wasn’t ready to sign off on the usage agreement needed to build a commuter-rail system, which may need a costly new set of tracks.

Even with complications, the commuter-line option presents an enticing target for county leaders because it would let them launch a new train service without having to acquire land or buy tracks. One option would involve Tri-Rail, the government-run commuter rail that operates west of Interstate 95, expanding its service east under a deal with Miami-Dade and Brightline. Or Brightline could launch a service independently under a county contract.

Business and community groups have been clamoring for station locations, and the economic opportunity that would come to property within walking distance of a commuter rail running parallel to U.S. 1.

A return downtown for Miami-Dade commissioners

Monday’s meeting will bring commissioners back to their downtown chambers after nine months of virtual meetings during the COVID-19 crisis. As of Thursday, the Monday agenda hasn’t been made public. The Miami Herald obtained a copy of the resolution expected to be submitted to commissioners for a vote.

Brightline allies on the commission — including outgoing Chairwoman Audrey Edmonson and Rebeca Sosa, who keeps her seat until 2022 — have pressed Gimenez to submit a proposal before the new commission takes office Nov. 17. Gimenez, elected Tuesday to Florida’s 26th Congressional District, said he didn’t think he could reach a deal before leaving office.

“We have hit a snag,” Gimenez told commissioners Oct. 20. He said Brightline was asking “too much” from the county at the time, and added, “I will not be rushed” to get a deal.

Once passed, the resolution instructs the mayor — in this case, whoever holds that office — to continue the talks and report back to the commission within 120 days. As an outgoing commissioner herself, Levine Cava will have the chance to vote on the resolution Monday.

This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 6:31 PM.