Tomorrow, the bistate Gateway Development Commission has a formal meeting with the commissioners participating remotely by telephone and the public entirely excluded, only able to watch on video.
No live public comments will be allowed, only prerecorded video statements and advance written statements. Those are not the same thing, especially as the resolutions to be voted on are not even available until shortly before the meeting.
Since commissioners can call in, let the public also call in. Or since the GDC staff will be in-person, have the public also in-person.
Another way for the public to understand what is happening is in the monthly reports prepared to track the project’s progress on construction and costs. These are called Project Management Oversight Contractor reports. There are also Quarterly Progress Reports prepared by the sponsor on all change orders exceeding $100,000.
These records should be published for all to read as soon as they are completed, not limited to the GDC and other government entities, like the Federal Transit Administration, which is supplying billions.
GDC CEO Tom Prendergast says that he doesn’t mind the PMOC reports being published, but it should be done by the FTA. OK, then the FTA should publish them.
Marc Molinaro, the former congressman and Dutchess County executive, was confirmed by the Senate last month to lead the FTA. Molinaro should direct that the FTA immediately put on the internet every PMOC and Quarterly Progress Report for every project in the country.
The FTA should establish a comprehensive document library of each monthly report for each project and every month add the new one. It’s our money. Let’s see how it is being spent.
