Fresh Loaf

In his weekly installment of “This Whole World’s Gone to Pot,” the AJC’s resident conservative columnist Jim Wooten — who plans to ease into retirement soon — proposes a ridiculous way to solve congestion on the Downtown Connector.

Crowds headed to a Braves game and a soccer match between Mexico and Venezuela at the Georgia Dome clogged the always-trouble Downtown Connector for miles up I-75, I-85 and Ga. 400. Fix it. Find a private-sector company to double-deck the Downtown Connector. Make both toll roads.

Just be prepared for that private-sector company to stipulate in its contract that the city or state can’t compete — or in other words, improve transportation — near the double-decker road “product.” That means MARTA, intown roads, and even intercity rail. (One concept for a proposed high-speed rail line from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Chattanooga, Tenn., had a train running along the I-75/85 median.)

Privatization — especially road privatization — could make sense in some cases. But it has its pitfalls.

(UPDATE: Griftdrift has his own analysis of Wooten’s Friday column.)

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State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, a 2010 Republican candidate for governor, sat down with Fox5’s Paul Yates in one of the station’s series of interviews with gubernatorial hopefuls. The commenters at Peach Pundit are debating Oxendine’s position that the government is responsible for providing water to its citizenry.

But it was “The Ox’s” comment that cash-strapped MARTA needs to be “reworked” — and that the state should examine the pros and cons of privatizing the system — that caught my eye.

(Hat tip to Jim Galloway and Jason Shepard at Peach Pundit)

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In this week’s paper, CL takes a look at privatized roads, an increasingly popular practice in which a for-profit company takes control of or builds a new road, raises tolls, and usually makes a jaw-dropping windfall from the agreement. States love ‘em because they get a big bag o’ cash upfront that they can in turn invest in other projects. Sounds attractive but they’re rife with risk.

We received word from a trusted tipster that Perdue would meet with executives from Cintra, a Spanish company considered a global leader in privatized roads, during an upcoming jaunt to Europe sponsored by the state’s Department of Economic Development. At press time, department officials weren’t able to confirm if that was the case.

Now they can. From the governor’s office:

The Madrid portion of the trip includes a number of transportation-related meetings, including a visit with executives from Cintra, a Spanish company that is a world leader in developing transportation infrastructure. The delegation will also tour two Spanish public/private road projects and meet with SEOPAN, the Spanish Transportation Association. Governor Perdue will also call on a number of Spanish companies in the region.

Full release follows after the jump.

(more…)

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What current Georgia governor is leavin’ on a jet plane at the end of the month for the sandy beaches of Spain? Sources say the state’s jovial chief executive is being joined by Dick Anderson, the executive director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. We’re sure it’ll be a nice couple days of handshakes and back slaps, maybe a bullfight or two.

But the interesting item apparently on their agenda? A sit-down with executives from Cintra, a Spanish company that’s considered the tops when it comes to privatized roads. (That’s when a company gives a big bag o’ cash to the state and either takes over operations of a well-traveled road or builds a new one, sets tolls, and reaps the revenue.)

Maybe the firm would just handle the HOV-to-HOT lane conversion of which the AJC’s Ariel Hart broke the news today. Regardless, it wouldn’t be a new topic for this current state governor. Sources say this particular resident of West Paces Ferry braved the wild winds during Hurricane Ike to visit Dallas, Texas, a city that recently dipped its toes in the “privatized road” morass. Word is that this outgoing bigwig from the executive branch is eager to end his two terms with a bang — and toss a life preserver to the state that’s nearly $1.6 billion in the hole.

But at what cost, Gov. Punny Serdoo?

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Atlanta entrusted one of mankind’s most vital resources to a private French company called United Water way back during the glorious days of Mayor Bill Campbell. It didn’t work out too well.

The rabble rousers at the Fulton County Taxpayers Association have been pushing Mayor Shirley Franklin to take a walk down memory lane and reconsider doing business with the company. They say it would save taxpayers $20 million annually.

If ever there were an example of peace of mind being worth paying for, this is it.

Franklin politely told them no:

In the past several weeks I have received a series of letters requesting that the city renew a relationship with United Water, a private French company that ran the City’s water operations in the late 1990’s through 2002. This request first appeared in a mailing from the Fulton County Taxpayers Association. I write now to explain we are not interested in pursuing your recommendation.

Whew. View the organization’s response to Franklin here.

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The American Prospect has an astounding special issue out — that’s available online with bonus articles — about the world’s growing freshwater crisis. The pieces range from the general — the grave threat we face from the dwindling of our most basic resource — to the specific — the oh-so-successful bottled-water industry.

And as is wont with any special issue documenting the missteps of man, Atlanta gets a mention. In a piece about the dangers of privatizing water systems, Wenonah Hunter, executive director of the Food and Water Watch in Washington, D.C., reminds us how well such an experiment worked out for Atlanta in the late 1990s.

Sadly, [French water and wastewater company] Suez and the other water corporations have had a similar record in the United States. United Water, a Suez subsidiary, began a 20-year, $428 million contract in 1999 to operate and manage Atlanta’s water and sewer system. At the time, United Water bragged that “Atlanta for us will be a reference worldwide, a kind of showcase.”

Instead, a fiasco ensued. The company overstated the amount of money it could save the city and underestimated the work needed to maintain and operate the system. In Atlanta, the company cut costs by firing almost 400 employees — half of the utilities staff. United Water tried to add $80 million to the contract and then, after the city refused, inflated billable costs, even billing the city for work it hadn’t performed. It raised sewer rates an average of 12 percent every year it had the contract.

There were other problems, as well. In 2003, the city’s deputy water commissioner told The Atlanta Journal- Constitution, “My biggest concern is a lot of people have lost confidence in the water itself. Over the past year, we’ve had so many boil water advisories and dis-colored water around the system.” Finally fed up with United Water, Atlanta terminated the contract later that year.

Well, better late than never.

Our days of rest are approaching and it’s doubtful the New York Times Magazine will be as cool as it was last week. If you want to bone up on an important issue, I recommend the articles.

(Photo from The American Prospect)

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