City Rail Project Stays on Track

Despite more than $7 million in unpaid bills, an ambitious rail project in Placentia will move forward -- even if it means spending city money that residents once were told would be used for a community center.

Voting 4 to 1, the City Council approved a $7.9-million budget for the OnTrac project through February, mostly to finish an intersection upgrade and to quiet train horns along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks through downtown.

Council members said they had no choice but to continue funding the 4-year-old rail project, which has left the city in tough financial straits.

While OnTrac -- a joint power agency -- owes $7.3 million for land it has purchased and for work on the rail line, the city has a deficit of $23 million. Much of the recent OnTrac funding has come from city coffers.

However, the council made one cost-cutting move. The salary of Christopher Becker, executive director of OnTrac and the city’s former public works chief, will be deferred. Becker agreed in March to waive half of his $300,000 annual salary, which earlier had been cut from $450,000 as money for the rail project dwindled.

Becker will now forgo his entire salary but will be repaid if state or federal funding for the rail project materializes. About $14 million in federal funds and an additional $11.8 million from the state were pledged to OnTrac, though the money has not been received.

Councilwoman Constance Underhill, who voted against additional spending for OnTrac, said pouring more money into the project would leave Placentia without reserves or the ability to borrow more for emergencies.

The other council members -- Judy A. Dickinson, Norman Z. Eckenrode, Scott P. Brady and Chris Lowe -- said they had no choice but to continue funding the project. OnTrac already has spent $18 million in grant money and an additional $17 million in city money, and must complete contractual payments to engineers and builders.

Stopping now would jeopardize the entire $460-million project, they said. “We’ve backed ourselves into a tough [position],” Lowe said. “We’re continuing to rob Peter to pay Paul.”

The new budget diverts to the rail project nearly $1 million that candidates pledged during the last election would be used for a community center and to upgrade parks. The rest of the money comes from past grants, reserves or borrowing against anticipated tax receipts.

The city has made drastic moves to deal with its $23-million deficit, including closing City Hall on alternate Fridays and staffing its planning department only three hours a day. The city also has sold parkland and borrowed to keep OnTrac afloat, loans that must be repaid.

Some residents chastised the council for ignoring city needs while putting money in the rail project. The issue has become a political matter, with several OnTrac critics running for council or city treasurer in the November elections.

The project has generated interest beyond Placentia. The district attorney’s office is investigating whether Becker had a conflict of interest when he, acting as the city’s public works director, recommended that he be hired to run the rail project. State law forbids government officials from participating in or voting on matters in which they have a financial interest.

OnTrac was conceived as a way to rebuild 11 intersections along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway line, which bisects Placentia’s downtown and creates traffic and safety problems. About five miles of the track would be pushed below the street to reduce noise and improve traffic. The project was planned as part of a renaissance for Placentia’s downtown, including construction of a Metrolink station.