Olympics Fever

I've been reading mostly foreign newspapers but this Olympics madness has been making some 'progress' in Boston.

http://www.dotnews.com/2015/city-councillor-calls-four-olympic-ballot-questions

City Councillor calls for four Olympic ballot questions
Gintautas Dumcius, State House News Service
Feb. 2, 2015

A Boston city councilor is calling for the placement of four Olympic questions on the local November 2015 ballot.

City Councilor Josh Zakim, a Back Bay resident who also represents the neighborhoods of Beacon Hill, Fenway, Kenmore, Mission Hill and the West End, filed the order for the non-binding questions on Monday.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and Boston 2024, a non-profit headed by Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish, are pushing for the city to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and the Paralympic Games. Both have said the venture will be financed with private dollars.

Zakim's proposed questions ask whether Boston should host the 2024 games, should the city commit any public money, should the city make any financial guarantees to cover cost overruns for the games, and should the city use eminent domain to take private land on behalf of the games.

--My votes: no, no, no and no.

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http://www.dotnews.com/2015/franklin-park-key-plans-olympics-its-boosters-weigh-impact

Franklin Park key to plans for Olympics; its boosters weigh impact
By Lauren Dezenski
Feb. 4, 2015

A critical component of the Boston 2024 Olympics plan is the virtual takeover of Dorchester’s 485-acre Franklin Park, which would host all equestrian events and require the construction of a temporary, 60,000-seat venue on the city-owned William J. Devine Golf Course, a reconstructed 10,000-seat White Stadium, the use of the golf course for cross country horseback racing, and the fencing off of parts of the park’s wild areas, including Long Crouch Woods.

“Franklin Park offers varied terrain, water, and exceptional viewing areas. The second oldest public golf course in America, currently in need of reinvestment, will be rebuilt after the Games,” according to one Boston 2024 document. “Franklin Park will also house the Modern Pentathlon in a rebuilt White Stadium, scheduled to be significantly improved in the next two years as the home of BPS football, track and field, and the Boston Scholar Athletes program.

According to documents made public last month, to make the Franklin Park arm of the games work, Boston 2024 intends to “pursue omnibus state legislation to coordinate permitting at the local and state levels” to remove legal red tape around use for the highly protected public land. The contours of that legislation are not yet clear.

In 2013, Suffolk Construction owner and key Boston Olympic bid organizer John Fish partnered with the city of Boston to split the upgrade costs of White Stadium renovations – then estimated to cost $45 million. However, according to city of Boston officials, plans to begin renovations at White Stadium are currently on hold due to budget constraints. “The renovation of White Stadium is on hold due to rising costs for the project,” said Laura Oggeri, a spokesperson for Mayor Martin Walsh, in a statement to the Reporter on Jan. 21. This week, Oggeri confirmed that it remains on hold.

-- Ouch. An Olympics facility less than two miles from where I live.

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http://www.dotnews.com/2015/key-columbia-point-property-owners-caught-guard-olympic-village-plans

Key Columbia Point property owners caught off guard by Olympic Village plans
By Bill Forry
Jan. 22, 2015

The owners of some of the key Dorchester properties that would be displaced by a plan to construct a massive 170-acre Athletes Village for the Olympics have not yet been contacted by Boston 2024 organizers, despite the fact that a document released by Olympics boosters yesterday claims that they have “engaged all owners regarding the access and use of this land.”

In a document that was submitted to United States Olympic Committee (USOC) officials last month— and made public on Wednesday— the organizers of Boston 2024 detailed plans to construct a 170 acre Athletes’ Village that will house some 16,500 people during the event.

According to the document, Boston 2024 intends to “lease the property from the University of Massachusetts and would expect that the remaining properties would be acquired by public authority or alternatively financed with a private developer for the planned student housing and residential development post Olympic Games.”

The Boston 2024 submission to the USOC notes that “land control” on Columbia Point could pose a “significant risk to delivery.”

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http://www.dotnews.com/columns/2015/walsh-boston-2024-must-amend-usoc-agreement

Walsh, Boston 2024 must amend USOC agreement
By Bill Forry
Jan. 28, 2015

Last week’s “reveal” by the Boston 2024 committee, the non-profit organization that has led the effort to bring the Summer Games to Boston, was a mixed bag. On the one hand, the presentation offered the most in-depth glimpse to date at what could be a thrilling sports and cultural event— one that would bring Boston into an unprecedented spotlight on the world stage.

Only the most cynical Bostonians — and, yes, we have a large demographic that fits that category — could look upon the prospect of the Games and not admit that parts of this endeavor would be amazing.

But, there are elements of the planning effort that should give even the most wide-eyed boosters real pause.

As first reported in this newspaper, there are glaring holes in the Boston 2024 financial projections. Most notable among these are major transportation improvement projects at JFK-UMass station and Kosciuszko Circle that have not been accounted for in state budget plans to date. Further, the acquisition of privately held land at Columbia Point — a necessity if the proposed Olympic Athletes’ Village is to be built here in Dorchester— has also not been accounted for in the 2024 price tag. And, as we reported online last Thursday, several key landowners here in Dorchester have not even been consulted about their willingness to sell or lease their properties.

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http://www.dotnews.com/2015/attorney-olympics-bid-overstates-state-funding-commitments

Attorney: Olympics bid overstates state funding commitments
Andy Metzger, State House News Service
Feb. 5, 2015

With Olympics boosters touting existing and planned transportation infrastructure in Greater Boston as sufficient to handle the international sporting contest, a transportation advocate says the bid documents significantly overstate the amount of upgrades that are in the works.

The document that Boston 2024 submitted to the U.S. Olympic Committee references the state's five-year capital investment plan before listing as "planned investments" $2.2 billion for the South Coast Rail, $300 million "committed" for the expansion of South Station and $400 million for diesel multiple unit (DMU) train service between Newton and the South Boston Waterfront. The bid also includes $120 million for a new commuter rail station in Allston.

According to Rafael Mares, a senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation who specializes in transportation and environmental justice issues, those projects overstate by about $2.3 billion the state's funding commitment. "These projects aren't all fully committed yet," Mares told the News Service.

The five-year capital investment plan includes about $255 million for bridges and track upgrades for South Coast Rail, $190 million for DMUs, and $200 million for the expansion of South Station. The capital investment plan (CIP) says MassDOT is seeking public-private partnerships to fund the remaining $700 million to $900 million cost of the South Station expansion. State officials have also said private financing would be a component of the plans to construct a new commuter rail station in Allston. Mares said the CIP does not include any money for that planned station, known now as West Station.

-- If you guys are serious about the 2024 Olympics, you fix public transportation. Period.