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Friday, Sept. 9, 2011 | 3:54 p.m.
Sun Coverage
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada is urging a judge to stay out of the dispute over which company should operate the Las Vegas-area bus system.
First Transit Inc. of Cincinnati sued the RTC on Aug. 19 in Clark County District Court in hopes of breaking a logjam on the RTC board over whether it or incumbent Veolia Transportation Services Inc. of Lombard, Ill., will be awarded the contract. (First Transit currently operates the RTC’s paratransit bus service).
The disputed contract, valued at $83 million per year, is for three years but can be extended twice for two years each.
In its lawsuit, First Transit said the court needs to get involved because the current contract expires Sept. 25.
But Zev Kaplan, an attorney for the RTC, told Judge Rob Bare in a court filing this week that there’s no big rush to resolve the issue since the RTC can extend the current pact on a month-to-month basis through March.
"The RTC has exercised its rights under the existing contract to permit the extension, thereby affording the RTC the opportunity to take appropriate steps to reach a resolution of this matter," Kaplan wrote in a court filing. "The court should deny the request for a writ (court order) or injunctive relief as being neither required nor proper as an exercise of the court’s authority at this time."
Attorneys for Veolia, in the meantime, have filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit – a motion opposed by First Transit.
Veolia, in its filing, agreed with the RTC that the First Transit lawsuit is "undoubtedly premature" and argued Veolia "is a necessary party to these proceedings."
Veolia is represented in the lawsuit by the law firms Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial LLC and Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer & Fiorentino.
First Transit attorneys with the firm Lionel Sawyer & Collins, however, said Veolia’s proposed intervention "would only create needless confusion, delay and increased costs."
They said that’s because the RTC is already defending itself against the lawsuit and -- as the losing bidder by some $50 million -- Veolia has no "legally cognizable interest and no viable grounds for intervention."
Hearings are set for next week on whether Bare will entertain Veolia’s intervention request as well as on First Transit’s request for a court order requiring the RTC to award it the contract.
During its meeting Thursday, with the litigation under way, the RTC board directed its staff to return at the next meeting with more information on how it can proceed and options for splitting the bus system into multiple smaller contracts.
Yesterday the RTC cut the size of the area where paratransit service is available.
The County and thereby the RTC collects mega-millions of dollars in real estate and sales taxes each year in the far southwest of the Las Vegas Valley, yet provides NO BUS SERVICE AT ALL to those taxpayers who live south of Robindale and west of the 15.
Yet the 4 corrupt politicians from Clark County and the City of Las Vegas, on the RTC's Board, want to spend an extra $50 Million of taxpayers money paying their cronies at Veolia to provide bus service.
I consider the Democrat Attorney General, who "advised" the RTC that it must set aside its vote on the bus service contract to be part of the union-pandering crony crew on the RTC Board who want to rip off Clark County's taxpayers and bus riders.
RTC Board Member Chris Giunchigliani's morally corrupt union pandering, at the expense of taxpayers and the handicapped is especially heinous because of her phony public persona of "caring". She makes me want to vomit. I see her face on TV and think "What a puke".
Similarly, I hold in very low regard the 4 RTC Directors from Henderson, Boulder City, North Las Vegas and Mesquite who switched sides and voted to spend taxpayers money fighting against the winning bidder's lawsuit. Those four are pukes AND cowards.
Instead of staying out of the RTC's business, I think the judge should put the RTC into receivership and appoint a Special Master to contract with the low bidder and run the bus system in a way which complies with Federal law, including the equal protection right of residents of the southwestern portion of the Valley to bus service which others receive at taxpayer expense.
I know, wishful thinking.
The RTC needs to have oversight by the State. The County Commissioners are too corrupt to deal with this contract. First Transit is a low class compampany that treats it's employees bad. Veolia isn't any better. Both need to get out of our bus system.
The RTC needs better rules about ridership not just providing service to tax payers from all areas of the valley. When I ride the paratransit most of the old people my age stink of urine and feces. Letting these people on the buses discourages ridership by clean people who need the service. The RTC is more worried about money than contaminating the people who use the service.
Their is no excuse for filth and no excuse to let these two companies continue to gain from our city's need for these services.
The headline should read: "RTC to Judge: Stay Out of Our Corrupt and Dishonest Handling of this Contract and Don't Expose Our Costing Taxpayers $50 Million More." Signed by the union-pandering, foul-mouthed screeching shrew, Chris Giunchiliani.
If people would pay attention to the facts maybe this would be over.
First, it's not a $50 million difference. The option years are just that, option years. And there is no guarantee that if the RTC awards option years that they get those option years at the same cost as the base contract. The contractor can raise the fees in those option years.
Second, the four commissioners who are not awarding the contract are not voting in favor of Veolia. They are the commissioners who are doing their jobs. They want to see proof that First transit claims are real. If they are not real, then First Transit could be putting money into their pockets while costing the taxpayers more money then they are paying now. Those commissioners are trying to make sure the taxpayer doesn't get stuck. What is wrong with that?