15 ways last week’s transit commission meeting was like Festivus
A Metropolitan Transit Commission meeting for the rest of us.
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‘Airing of grievances’ shifts into overdrive during a lively meeting filled with finger-pointing — in debate over CATS’ troubles
Sitting down to Festivus dinner — or was it last week’s Metropolitan Transit Commission meeting? “I’ve got a lot of problems with you people! And now, you’re gonna hear about it!” Frank Costanza said. (Photo illustration by Lindsey Banks/The Charlotte Ledger)
by Tony Mecia
You can be forgiven for not closely following the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC).
It’s a panel of elected leaders and others in the Charlotte region who gather monthly to discuss transit policy. It tends to operate on consensus. The meetings, as you might imagine, are usually snoozy.
But not last week.
As damaging revelations about the Charlotte Area Transit System have emerged over the last few weeks, commission members sparred over who is at fault — and how best to examine and correct CATS’ troubles.
The meeting reminded us of the famous episode of the 1990s sitcom “Seinfeld,” in which George’s father, Frank Costanza (played by the late Jerry Stiller), explains his made-up Dec. 23 holiday, “Festivus”:
At Festivus dinner, you gather your family around and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the last year. … The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I’ve got a lot of problems with you people! And now, you’re gonna hear about it!
At the meeting, officials with the city of Charlotte rebutted claims by former CATS CEO John Lewis in recent media interviews that city purchasing procedures and management contributed to some of the problems — which have included a previously undisclosed light rail derailment and warnings from the state about safety.
Many of the disputes aired last week stem from a disagreement over how best to get to the bottom of CATS’ struggles: County commissioner Leigh Altman and mayors of Mecklenburg’s smaller towns have said an outside investigator should examine CATS. The city says that’s not necessary, as several reviews by government agencies are ongoing — and that the MTC lacks the authority to force an outside inquiry.
In the spirit of Festivus — even though it is only May — we’re sharing 15 quotes from last week’s Metropolitan Transit Commission meeting that would be suitable for the fake holiday’s “airing of grievances” (and also sprinkled in a few memes — why not?):
1. City Council member Ed Driggs on former CATS CEO John Lewis trying to avoid responsibility
It really isn’t clear to me how a long-time CEO could even attempt to contend that he was not responsible for the problems at CATS, and speaking personally, I don’t understand how he thinks his attempts to disclaim responsibility will benefit his reputation.
—City Council member Ed Driggs
2. City Manager Marcus Jones on former CATS CEO John Lewis’ accuracy and management
I do want to be cognizant of the things that Mr. Lewis said, which have a series of inaccuracies with them. … There are state requirements, and there are requirements that are related to the city council that just weren’t followed, and there are a number of audits that we can provide to you that show the history of that — overpayments, vendors not being paid. And that was problematic.
—City Manager Marcus Jones
3. Pineville Mayor Jack Edwards: This was a ‘crap show’ caused by ‘a lot of people’
There’s really no sense of us voting, because it really means nothing. We rubber stamp everything. I’ve been on here for nine years, and there’s never been a conflict on anything. My god, everything is just rolled right along. Suddenly, we have a real crap show that’s hit, and we’re asking for an outside investigation of that because it certainly wasn’t all John Lewis. There’s a lot of people that were involved in what’s gone on.
—Pineville Mayor Jack Edwards
4. Interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle: Unlike previous regime, I’m getting things done quickly. Just sayin’
Mr. Lewis talked about one of his [procurement services requests] for bridge inspections that have been outstanding for 200 days. What I will tell you is that same issue was brought to me. … Within a week, we had deployed inspectors to do those inspections, and today, those inspectors, about four weeks later, [are] about 85% done. So in about 30 days, we’ve actually come close to completing something that Mr. Lewis, I guess, believed was something that couldn’t even be started in 200 days. I don’t know the reasons for that. I don’t know.
—Interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle
5. City Manager Marcus Jones: I’m not saying CATS sabotaged procurement, but…
As this transfer of procurement from CATS to central procurement occurred, it was clear that there wasn’t collaboration between CATS and procurement. There are different ways of saying there wasn’t collaboration. I’m not saying they were sabotage. But it’s clear that CATS wasn’t helpful in this transition.
—City Manager Marcus Jones
6. City Manager Marcus Jones: Finally, after 7 years, I’m getting info out of CATS
Brent [Cagle] and I talk maybe a half a dozen times a day. … I will tell you that as everybody else has talked about CATS tonight, I’m getting more information from CATS than I’ve gotten since I’ve been manager.
—City Manager Marcus Jones
7. Commissioner Leigh Altman: How have we been misled? Let me count the ways.
I feel the need to correct the record. … The city manager needed to backtrack and let us all know that he had in fact been advised of the derailment the day that it happened. City Council was falsely told that the MTC did not vote for an independent third party transit investigator. After CATS representations at the last meeting that we were here, when we were told the trains were safe, NCDOT issued a fresh round of warnings that the rail operations in the ROCC [rail operations control center] were insufficiently staffed. … I’ve heard statements of city officials minimizing the derailment and implying that the seriousness of the situation — [that] all of it, including not maintaining the trains for years — has in some sense been hyped or exaggerated.
—Mecklenburg County commissioner Leigh Altman
8. Commissioner Leigh Altman rejects city’s lone-CATS-CEO theory
We can’t have accountability if we don’t have the information, and it’s not about passing blame. It’s about actually getting to the root of each of the steps of failure, because it wasn’t just Mr. Lewis.
—Mecklenburg County commissioner Leigh Altman
9. Commissioner Leigh Altman: This isn’t how you treat your friends
Trying to parse the interlocal agreement this way the one time that the MTC has diverged from what the city of Charlotte wanted is a surprising way to treat one's partners.
—Mecklenburg County commissioner Leigh Altman
10. City Council member Ed Driggs to commissioner Leigh Altman: This all happened on your watch
That was a masterfully constructed legal argument. I give you a lot of credit for it. I think it’s regrettable that your tone is so prosecutorial. … I would remind you [that] you were the chairman of the MTC last year when all this was going on. You had the authority to remove Mr. Lewis, and I don’t recall that there was a vote to that effect.
—City Council member Ed Driggs
11. Mooresville commission member Bill Thunberg and Charlotte City Attorney Patrick Baker on the need for the MTC
Thunberg: Other than checking a few boxes, you don’t really need the MTC, right?
Baker: That’s not what I said. At all.
Thunberg: That’s what it sounded like.
12. Commissioner Leigh Altman: I represent more residents than anyone else in this room
Everything that I say is based upon the fact that I raised my hand to represent all 1.1 million residents of this community. I represent 870,000 residents of the city of Charlotte, and I represent all the residents of all the towns and all the residents in the ETJ [extraterritorial jurisdiction, or unincorporated Mecklenburg County]. So that’s why I’m here, and that’s why I ask the questions that I ask.
—Mecklenburg County commissioner Leigh Altman
13. Pineville Mayor Jack Edwards says he doesn’t want to ‘head-hunt’
I’m not the kind of person that wants to head hunt, and that is not the issue. The issue is safety. The issue is getting the answers of why things weren’t done, of why we went two years without inspections, I mean, come on. Someone had to see this.
—Pineville Mayor Jack Edwards
14. Council member Ed Driggs on hurtful and nonsensical suggestions
The suggestion that we don’t care as much as everybody else in this room about safety is hurtful to me. And the suggestion that we are trying to exclude you or [are] inviting a power struggle doesn’t make any sense.
—City Council member Ed Driggs
15. Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles: We’re not ‘cutting anybody off at the knees’
You know, I have five brothers and every now and again, I would chase one of them around the house with some kind of weapon that I was hoping to cut them off at the knees. But eventually I stopped. So we’re not cutting anybody off at the knees. We’re going to continue to chase each other around the house until we have a solution on how to make this work better.
—Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles
—
Besides the “airing of grievances,” other components of Festivus include an aluminum pole (instead of a tree) and “feats of strength.”
It might take some feats of strength to correct all the problems at CATS.
Tony Mecia is executive editor of The Charlotte Ledger. He was surprised that all nine seasons of “Seinfeld” are available on Netflix. The Festivus episode is Season 9, Episode 10, “The Strike,” which first aired on Dec. 18, 1997. Another plot line in that episode included George devising a fake charity called “The Human Fund.”
➡️ Watch the action for yourself: Last week’s Metropolitan Transit Commission meeting is available on YouTube. The spicy stuff 🌶 starts around the 54 minute mark, with the spiciest 🌶🌶 beginning near the 1:39 mark.
In case you missed it: Who is City Manager Marcus Jones?
Last week’s edition of Transit Time profiled Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones, whose low-key, under-the-radar style is being tested.
In brief…
Providence Road eyed for improvements: The N.C. Department of Transportation is in the early stages of evaluating the Providence Road corridor in south Charlotte for road improvements, including possible intersection upgrades at Fairview Road, Wendover Road and Sharon Lane. NCDOT engineer Brett Canipe told residents at a meeting in Ballantyne last week: “The whole Providence Road corridor is being evaluated for improvements — it’s a very constrained corridor, [with] a lot of tight real estate conditions.” Any construction would be many years away.
Council members on city manager’s role supervising CATS: Charlotte City Council members on Monday discussed City Manager Marcus Jones’ role in overseeing CATS. Council member Renee Johnson said that in addition to former CEO John Lewis, “I believe that the buck stops with Mr. Jones also.” Council member Malcolm Graham said: “He’s the boss. … I will respect him as the boss, and he has broad shoulders to shoulder a lot of responsibility to do it. But for me, that’s where the accountability for my variety of issues start and stop.” Council member Ed Driggs said managing CATS is just one part of Jones’ job and that he expects the matter to be part of the city’s manager’s annual job evaluation. Last week’s Transit Time newsletter profiled Jones. (Observer)
Management changes at CATS: Interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle told a City Council committee on Monday that he is overhauling the system’s management structure and internal reporting. (Charlotte Business Journal, subscriber-only)
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