Metra staff must do much better with next recommendation on storage facility
We can’t know yet what Metra’s top brass will recommend on June 12 when they report on a $17 million white elephant in Harvey, but it sure better be more reliable than the proposal they offered when the transit agency bought the buildling three and a half years ago — for $7 million.
On paper, there was much to recommend the purchase at the time. Metra needed a place to store a variety of types of equipment. The former furniture warehouse was central to Metra’s operations, offering the potential for cost savings through bulk purchases and faster delivery. It was easily accessible to I-80 and I-294, and the price at the time was reasonable.
But this month, Metra board members learned that problems with the structure and zoning regulations in Harvey have required $10 million in fixes and upgrades so far — and it may take another $30 million to $40 million overhaul to install a stronger floor, new plumbing and electrical systems, fire and safety improvements, insulation and more.
Paraphrasing Metra directors’ greeting to the news: Phew!
In what can only be characterized as a grand understatement, Metra Executive Director Jim Derwinski told the board, “Absolutely in hindsight, we’ve found that our processes … have to be improved.”
Derwinksi said the agency is familiar with the details of buying railroad equipment, but as this was its first foray into the realm of real estate purchasing, his staff clearly missed some important issues involving the warehouse purchase. The question now is whether they’ve learned enough to offer reliable suggestions about how to proceed.
Understandably, Metra directors expressed varying degrees of frustration about the challenge facing them at a time when they’re already staring into the abyss of a multi-milion-dollar budget deficit in 2026. But the discussion at the May 15 meeting left little doubt that the issue now is whether to sink more money into the Harvey warehouse or look for an alternative elsewhere.
We’re having trouble imagining what kinds of storage needs justify spending up to $40 million more to bring the present structure up to speed. But we’re also having trouble understanding what kinds of needs justify the $17 million already spent on a “solution” the agency was getting by without previously. So, likely the first thing, Metra’s leaders need to offer is a clearer picture of what’s envisioned being stored in this facility, what’s needed to assure the safe, accessible maintenance of that material and equipment, and specifically the cost savings and efficiencies the storage solution would produce.
It seems confounding that those questions weren’t addressed during the 2020 go-round. It’s crystal clear that they need to be better considered when Metra’s leadership reports back in just over two weeks.