290 East Toll Plan Postponed

Last night, CAMPO was set to consider the plan from CTRMA to use toll revenues from 183-A to back the financing to turn 290 East into a toll road. KLBJ-AM covers this story as “290-East Toll Proposal Booted From CAMPO Meeting.” You can see the entire story at www.590klbj.com.

The lecture hall at the Joe C. Thompson Center was filled with members of the public who objected to the plan. The main CAMPO board advocate against the plan was Travis County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt. She had gotten covenants of agreement passed last year, which prohibited sending toll revenue from one area to another area. She rightly pointed out that this plan violated this agreement, plus, according to the covenants, this proposal needed a two-third vote and additional public meetings.

Interesting comments from Cynthia Long, Williamson County Commissioner and CAMPO Vice Chair, who seemed to think the plan should have gone forward and had been publicized enough. She said, “It was on the agency tonight for a vote. This has been in a public meeting. We had a Finance Committee meeting where this was publicly discussed. We had a CAMPO workshop last week where this was publicly discussed.”

However, when the KLBJ reporter asked Commissioner Long if a vote by CAMPO would potentially violate the board’s own covenants, she said,
“I have no idea. I mean, I’m not an expert on the covenants. That’s a question for someone else who is.”

Interviewed separately, Eckhardt said, “I’m extremely familiar with the covenants and there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that the proposal falls under the covenant. It requires a two-thirds vote. . . . there is going to be the other issue that they [183-A and 290 East] are separated by 14 miles . . .”