About this blog

My name is Bill Hirt and I'm a candidate to be a Representative from the 48th district in the Washington State legislature. My candidacy stems from concern the legislature is not properly overseeing the WSDOT and Sound Transit East Link light rail program. I believe East Link will be a disaster for the entire eastside. ST will spend 5-6 billion on a transportation project that will increase, not decrease cross-lake congestion, violates federal environmental laws, devastates a beautiful part of residential Bellevue, creates havoc in Bellevue's central business district, and does absolutely nothing to alleviate congestion on 1-90 and 405. The only winners with East Link are the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington and their labor unions.

This blog is an attempt to get more public awareness of these concerns. Many of the articles are from 3 years of failed efforts to persuade the Bellevue City Council, King County Council, east side legislators, media, and other organizations to stop this debacle. I have no illusions about being elected. My hope is voters from throughout the east side will read of my candidacy and visit this Web site. If they don't find them persuasive I know at least I tried.

Friday, May 23, 2025

Terri Mestas Doesn't Get ST"s Real Problem,

The previous post concluded the video of the May 8th Sound Transit Boards System Expansion Committee meeting exposed their “real problem”:  They don’t recognize the folly of the ST3 transit system expansions.  This post details how the meeting video of Terri Mestas, Capital Delivery Deputy CEO presentation, Reports to the Committee, typifies the problem. 

Her presentation detailed why Sound Transit needed a “Multiple Award Task Order Contract” (MATOC). That MATOC “provided access to experts to support a collection of projects or tasks”.  That it was “an essential tool for large programs, streamlined approach for an agency to procure a wide range of services with flexibility, efficiency, and competition. Ensuring that the agency gets the best value, time, and cost to the owner and industry”..  

The presentation continued with the MATOC, “eliminated the need for the announcement of individual contracts", and a chart depicting the savings.  That MATOC had the capacity to provide $500M for environmental service, $1B for Design assistance, and $1B for “Project Management/Construction Management Services. 

The Sound Transit contact would include Multi-year On-Call contracts for 5 base years and 2 one-year extensions. That the funding needed was already included in Sound Transit’s long-range budget.

The presentation was a clear indication Terri Mestas felt Sound Transit needed outside support.  She had been hired last March as a “Megaproject manager” for $600,000.  Per Seattle Times Traffic Lab, “by an immediate need by “nonspecialists” members of the transit board for a leader capable of steering the nation’s biggest transit expansion”.  

This for a Sound Transit Board whose 2025 budget for $957,5 million funding a 1572-position staff continued the years of staff funding and years and millions spent on transit advisory groups (TAG) and other outside consultants. Yet Mestas clearly believes Sound Transit needs to pay MATOC, potentially hundreds of millions, for advice on how to implement the remaining parts of ST3 transit system expansion.

Another example of those responsible for reducing the area’s congestion not recognizing the folly of attempting to do it with ST3.

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)