After reading up on high speed rail developments in the United States, Bluestem remains puzzled about the allure of the North American High Speed Rail Group to Minnesotans, since the grand claims made here about its projects in other places don't seem to be matched in those other places' media reports.
Applications for the high speed rail franchise from Los Angeles to Las Vegas are due with the Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority on Monday, October 26, according to various sources.
Hence, we thought we'd check out press coverage of high speed rail in Nevada after we read this bit in the Rochester Post Bulletin article, Rochester mayor urges governor to move rail project ahead:
Brede said he personally talked with Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Charlie Zelle and Gov. Mark Dayton about the issue nearly two weeks ago after a dedication of the U.S. Highway 14 expansion in Owatonna. He said there's concern that that the North American High Speed Rail Group may give up on their plans to build the rail line in Minnesota if it takes too long to get approval to study it. He noted the company is also in negotiations to build a high-speed rail line from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
"There is some concern that they would say, 'You guys have diddled around too long in Minnesota, you don't get anything done, so we'd better go take our ball and go home and play some other place,'" Brede said.
The Las Vegas Sun and the Las Vegas Review Journal report a much different story about the activity of the Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority, which has set a deadline of October 26, 2015, for applications.
Daniel Rothberg of the Sun reported in High-speed rail panel to select operator by Nov. 30:
The Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority held its first meeting Tuesday evening and established a delayed timeline for selecting an applicant to construct a high-speed rail system from Southern Nevada to Southern California.
The board, created in May by Senate Bill 457 and charged with selecting a private developer to operate the rail system, was originally required to make its selection by Thursday. Instead, it might not select a franchisee until November.
The board will accept high-speed rail applications until Oct. 26 and set a new selection deadline for Nov. 30.
The board got off to a delayed start because appointees to the rail authority were not named until early September, said Regional Transportation Commission legal counsel David Clyde, so it is now adhering to the legislative intent.
In considering applications, the board is required to weigh four criteria: the completion of environmental studies, the level of private investment, pending regulatory permits, and how far the applicant is from beginning construction.
The franchisee is expected to be XpressWest, a high-speed rail project that would initially run from Las Vegas to Victorville and eventually link to Los Angeles. Despite a number of setbacks in recent years, the project appears to have found new backing. Earlier this month, the Las Vegas-based project announced a $100 million investment from a consortium of state-owned Chinese companies and said construction could begin by September 2016.
And in the Record Journal, Richard Velotta reports in Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority sets framework for choosing operator:
The newly appointed five-member board zipped through its agenda in 25 minutes Tuesday, appointing a chairman and establishing a process to select a franchisee to build a steel-wheels-on-rails train system connecting Southern Nevada with Southern California along the Interstate 15 corridor. Ten people attended what someday may be considered a historic meeting.
Board members unanimously selected George Smith, executive vice president of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, to lead the group through June 2017. Board members also requested the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada to supply support staff resources for the new entity. Board member Tina Quigley is the general manager of the RTC.
Board members slid past the only potential point of contention on the agenda — that the authority's enabling legislation, Senate Bill 457, signed into law by Gov. Brian Sandoval in May, says the board must select a franchisee by Thursday.
Without acknowledging the deadline, the board approved posting a public notice soliciting applications for a franchisee immediately, putting an Oct. 26 deadline on submissions. Board members now expect to select a franchisee by Nov. 30.
If the Minnesota-based group has a ball to take elsewhere, Mayor Brede and the Dayton administration can find out soon enough. If the group isn't willing to share the proposal that's due to the Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority next Monday, perhaps a month isn't too long to learn if the group actually put up.
Perhaps the Nevada rail authority could simply list applicants next Tuesday, and so either stifle or stoke this drama.
Here's the Notice for Applications for Franchisee of the Nevada High-Speed Rail System:
• PUBLIC NOTICE •
The Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) is requesting applications for a franchisee to construct and operate the Nevada High-Speed Rail System. The Authority will be accepting applications from now through October 26, 2015. A franchisee will then be selected by the Authority in accordance with Senate Bill 457 and using the following criteria:
1. The extent to which environmental studies have been completed by or on behalf of a potential franchisee;
2. Confirmation by a potential franchisee of the level of private investment that has been made or committed for the Nevada High-Speed Rail System;
3. A review of the readiness of a potential franchisee for the Nevada High-Speed Rail System to engage in construction of that System; and
4. Pending or completed permit applications to implement the Nevada High-Speed Rail System. Applications should address all of the criteria stated in SB 457, include contact information for the applying individual or entity and be submitted electronically to [email protected]. A proper application should also include all relevant documents and other supporting material such as past experience and references that further enhance the application.
Please direct any applications, questions or comments to David Clyde via email at [email protected]; telephone at (702) 676-1561; and in person or mail at 600 S. Grand Central Parkway, Ste. 350, Las Vegas, NV 89106. Attention: Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority.
We haven't found any news about the Minnesota group in the Nevada press. Was a representative of the group at the September 29 meeting?
Here's what a search of "Las Vegas" on the group's website reveals:
Meanwhile, we're still curious about the group's associated EB-5 visa center touting the long-dead EdCampus concept in Chaska that we last reported on October 7 in What's up with EB-5 visa center's current project? EdCampus seems dead for years.
Photo: A concept from the North American High Speed Rail Group's website.
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Loving your work, Sally Jo. If Rochester's leaders vetted the corridor projects as well as citizens do, we might actually get something worthwhile to hitch our taxpayer money to. Jim Henson would be thrilled to see how many Muppets are in operation, and in positions of power, across this nation.
Posted by: Mary Hartman | Oct 23, 2015 at 01:11 PM