High-speed rail supporters hope to give Gov. Rick Scott a plan within the next couple of days to save the project, U.S. Rep Kathy Castor, D-Tampa said this morning.
In a conference call with elected officials and news media, Castor said the plan is to create an independent agency of representatives from along the Tampa-Lakeland-Orlando first phase of the project that would handle the federal grant and find a consortium to completely privatize the project, eliminating any financial risk to Florida taxpayers.
“Our goal over the next day or two will be to put a written proposal in front of Gov. Scott that he can review,” she said.
Scott rejected $2.4 billion in federal funds for the $2.7 billion project last Wednesday.
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, who continues to be part of the efforts to preserve the high-speed rail plan in the final weeks of her tenure, said during the conference call that three steps were necessary: