3 if you live, work or visit downtown, you know that the streetcar is coming. construction of the tracks if you live, work, or visit downtown, you know that the streetcar is coming. construction of the tracks and power lines is finished and the first cars are being tested. at the same time, the operational plan is being worked out in preparation for the september launch of service. good morning and welcome to local 12 "newsmakers." i'm dan hurley.

preparations are moving forward, leading this process from inside city hall is council woman amy murray who chairs the transportation and regional cooperation committee. that it's a big -- >> it's a big -- >> amy, welcome back. >> thank you. it's nice to be here. >> i think it's important to point out that you weren't -- when you were running for this -- >> yes -- >> -- running for council, you were not a supporter. when you were first elected and that whole struggle was going on about whether to stop this, call a halt to it, you were opposed to this. but once it went forward, you said -- what? >> so once it went forward and i was appointed chair of major transportation committee so the streetcar is under my committee and council had already voted for it to go forward, i said we need to do what we can to make sure it's on time, on budget and as successful as possible. for the last two years we have been having monthly meetings at

streetcar, how is it doing, what can we do to help, is it on time? is it on budget in the. >> is it on time? >> it is on time. >> is there some concern about obviously the initial car or cars, elements have been the rolling stock has been delivered. but is there some concern about some of the stock isn't being delivered on time? >> so, we have two of the streetcars here already and, the remaining three should be coming in january or february. so, our biggest concern was that first one to make sure that it was completed and done and that we received it because that would back up everything else. and the problem is, if you start late, then that's just taxpayer dollars. so, you know, in a project this size, it's easy to put -- for things to get delayed. i'm glad that we have been able to keep it on time. you will be seeing the remaining three streetcars in the next couple of months. >> you will be able to get those into service quickly enough. >> we will. >> because testing has to be done on each.

so the service revenue date isn't until september 15. that's when people can actually ride it. people are already seeing the streetcar around cincinnati and the first two that we have, but on it. so you will be seeing them months. >> ok. and what about -- you said on time. what about on budget? >> so for the construction cost for me, when i didn't vote for the streetcar, it was the finances and it really worried worried me and when i took over the budget part i was worried and said we need to do whatever we can to keep it in the budget scope. we just finished the construction phase. that did stay within the financial scope. it was helpful because some of the things in the contingency, we had a certain contingency. some of that really should have been in the regular cost of the streetcar so we were kind of handicapped to start with a little bit. >> what do you mean? it was in the contingency -- there's always -- >> well, things that probably

begin with were not put in the budget. so, we had to take it out of contingency immediately so -- >> oh, i see what you mean. >> so i think immediately we had to take $4 million out of contingency for things that should have been there in the first place. two years ago it was worrysome. when you take that much early on, you worry with -- we don't note don'tknow what issues we could have but the construction crew and team we have worked with have done a great job and they got that in on budget. >> in terms of the rails being in the ground, the overhead wires, it it's interesting with the historian's point of view, with the overhead wires, they are so less intrusive. it's a very different system. >> the biggest comments i get, when people think about the streetcar they think about the san francisco trolly. so when they first saw the

what it looked like. and second, were wires. they aren't as noticeable but we still get some complaints. >> you know, san francisco car, we used to have those kinds of cars in cincinnati, as well. >> mm-hmm. >> but those take something under the street, a huge cable that moves all the time and you have to have a cable house. in that sense they are similar to incline houses which we used to have. so, yeah, streetcars are very different. 50 years ago people would have understood those differences. but anyway -- so, on time, on budget, basically. >> yes. >> now let's talk about the operation. you -- this past week you announced sort of the operational schedule. when they would operate. >> yes. >> what is that? >> so, it's funny because every part of the streetcar takes so much discussion. and so we finally a agreed on alternative 5:00 for the hours. >> alternative 5:00.

we talked with restaurants, coffee shops, bars, businesses. we wanted to make sure we had the right mix of hours. monday through friday the a.m. we wanted to do that to make sure that if there also an early morning crowd that wants to use it, because we are testing it to make sure where are the peak periods. it starts at 6:30. monday through thursday it will end at midnight. friday and saturday, it will go until 1:00 a.m. and then, so, saturday and sunday are a little bit different hours. saturday starts at 8:00 and goes until 5:00 and sunday starts at 9:00 and goes until 11:00. >> saturday starts at 8:00 and goes to 1:00. >> sorry, 1:00 in the morning. not in the afternoon. 1:00 in the morning. >> and what about -- and once you get this operating for a while. >> yes. >> then you can make adjustments in that timing as you see when it's used. right? >> exactly. we have a contract with transdeb who is operating the streetcar.

that's not consideredd a major change in service hours. so, the streetcar when people come on, there's a little -- there will be data collected with every person that comes on. so we will know exactly -- >> just like all modern businesses data data data. >> i like to be data based and fact based and that's what we have been doing the last two years. we will know how many people are accordingly. >> i'm sure you are talking about what the revenue mix is here between the fare box, between advertising, whatever else can go on here? >> and that's been a whole topic in itself because you want to encourage and have people ride it but we also need to make revenue from the streetcar. so what we have looked at that will probably be the right mix, is $1 for a two-hour ride. that way we wanted people if they go somewhere to have lunch

come back and it's $2 for all day. so that's very reasonable. but, looking at what other cities have done like atlanta was free for the first year. and so we feel like this will give us the best, you know, that special point where you have ridership and dollars. and, for each rider, though, we only get about .62 cents because we'll have some passes that work with metro, we'll have special discounts whether it's senior riders or students. so, probably the amount generated comes out to about .62. >> and what percentage of the cost of operations does that cover? >> so, operations will be about $4.2 million a year and fare revenue is estimated at $675,000. this is one of the areas that's still -- i'm not sure of because, you know, it's all educated guesses but looking at what other systems have done, originally it was saying we would have 4,000 riders a year, or a day. we have cut that back to 3,000.

the numbers and we recently had a firm that looked at all the financials and they said looking at other streetcars, that's probably too high of a target. if you think about 3,000 riders each and every day of the year. so, today when it's raining, you know, i think during the summer we might have different ridership numbers. >> during the summer, or i mean, on a rainy day, if i have a lunch meeting up in o.t.r. >> yes. >> i might not ride my red bike. i might be more tempted to get on streetcar. it might drive some people to the streetcar. >> and we'll see that. so when i look at data of other cities and their ridership early on, because we are counting on this revenue, so i want to make sure we hit that number so -- >> there is a gap there. what other sources of revenue are there? >> ad sales, naming rights that we are working on right now. if local 12 wants to put their will he go on streetcar. >> on the streetcar itself. >> yeah. we'll have naming rights of streetcar line and then

stop advertising also. so there's 18 station stops. >> and that's very popular in other cities because if you get a restaurant in that area, wanting people to know where to get off -- >> there are station stops. now. and then we have a special tax increment savings plan that we are working with with builders in the area. so, if you build along the streetcar line, there's a special tax incentive that they receive that they put 7.5% toward the streetcar operation cost. and part of that is it's people that are on the line, the property's going up, they are going to have more business. so, to get them involved. and that's been successful but that will take a few years to come on because it's based on property taxes. >> and one of the parts of that -- it's not just residential properties. it's the business propertys. >> yes. >> and in some cases -- i know that if you just -- just look at the time in the last, say, two years, a year and a half, of new

center down on the banks, when they announced why they chose that particular site as opposed to going some place else in the region, once they decided they were going to come to r.m.s.a., they cite the streetcar. the streetcar was also pushed as an economic development tool and, you know, they can pay for a little bit of that, you know. >> exactly. g.e. was before this payment plan went into place. unfortunately they aren't capturing that amount. but other people will. so, you know we try -- and we raised parking meter rates and added some meters in over the rhine and central business district to offset some of the cost. and hail foundation has agreed to some. i wish we didn't need it, but -- >> well that's why they are

we are less than a minute now. what keeps you up at night? >> it's still the operating cost. it's that 3,000 person ridership. if we have that gap how do we manage it because we promised not to go to the general fund. that worries me once we get advertising dollars to become solid. right now, it's not solid. it's tentative. once we get solid dollars i'll feel better about it. >> ok. well thank you. thank you for the work and thank you for being here this morning. and, looking forward to it. a lot of us have our pass from last christmas. >> we will probably have other specials coming out, too. >> oh, good. thank you. stay tuned. cincinnati loves its murals and the one that got everything started 32 years ago, the homage to cincinnatus, was accomplished last center. that was documented by local artists.

>> that mural has also fascinated people. what's real and what's not? which windows are real windows, which ones are just painted into the mural? and it was something that has always caused a lot of

so, i think it's fun. because this is what art is supposed to do. it's supposed to stir people. to think and to feel and to inquire. art works, the incredible arts organization that matches professional artists with student apprentices, completed its 100th mural this summer. 32 years ago, before artworks existed, the kroger company, as part of its 100th anniversary, commissioned famed muralist richard hass, to transform a blank wall facing central parkway into a huge mural of lucicus cincinnatus, the farmer who was twice called from his plow to defend republic and twice surrendered his dictatorial powers to return to private life. last summer, kroger funded the restoration of the mural and a

artworks documented the process. here's another segment of their documentary. growing with cincinnati. >> i am joined this morning by two members of the documentary

at u.c. and has been an apprentice with artworks for seven years and peter van hyning who is -- who manages the public art effort at artworks and has been there as a professional overseeing it. so, welcome to "newsmakers" and, kyra, you and i stumbled into each other because you were doing a tour for leadership cincinnati group. >> mm-hmm. >> and somebody asked the question -- well, does anybody know the story of cincinnatus? and of course i shot my mouth off and ended up in this video. right? >> yeah, you answered every question and luckily we found you as a local historian. effort. >> it's been really fun. so, where do we stand right now? what's the shape of the video and what do you still need to do? >> well, right now we are looking to get our audio professionally mastered. we are looking to fulfill some contractual obligations with the

this film, and we are looking to get this into as many film festivals as possible. >> because especially since it's done by young people. >> yes. >> which, peter is the exact point about artworks. you bring professionals together. had you ever done a documentary? did you ever have a video documentary teamworking before? >> you know, there might have been one many years ago, but as far as i know, this is the first actual film effort that has been done by apprentices at artworks. this year there was another video project done by the creative enterprise pillar of the organization but this was the first to do a documentary or artistically oriented film. >> kyra has been here a while but others i met were younger, high school students i think.

apprentices, did they think they were going to be painting murals or did they think they were documentary? different things. >> i think that we ask all the kids that apply to the program what they are most interested in. so, the ones that ended up on this particular crew either had film making. this. so, that was what we took into consideration when selecting who project. >> have you been on a lot of the other projects -- i don't want to get into the details, but what was different about this art form? about the documentary art form. and putting this together. what did you learn from this? >> well, i have a lot of history with mural making. this is my very first time dealing in videographer so i wanted to learn something more. i have been with the organization for several years. i thought let me try something refreshing, learn something new. and here we are. i didn't know that it would take

that i signed up and, i am just very happy with what we accomplished and with the team i've accomplished it with. >> was it interesting to be watching, observing, the restoration project as somebody who has made murals and artworks makes a lot of murals, to see this process of re-doing that, because it wasn't just copying it. it was a little bit different than that. >> yes. it was very different. from my perspective, having experience in mural making, there was a lot of similarities. but there was also a lot of differences. and i have learned a lot and it was very -- it was very interesting watching. because it's like i was watching myself out there. the many years i have been a part of -- i've never actually sat and witnessed someone make a mural. i've just been a part of it. it was a great perspective for me. >> yeah. being on the other side of the camera changes things a lot, i can tell you that. >> it does. >> good and bad ways. i mean but it's nice that you

one of the things that -- one of the points that is made in the documentary and i forget who made it, but, that as artworks creates these murals, this was sort of looking down the road, because they will weather and they will need to be either point. so -- for the organization, it was actually a nice interaction and learning process, too, i >> yeah. it was -- yes. you are right. the program started in 2008 and already, you know, some of them are -- we are touching things up on a few of them already. this is definitely a learning process to see, yes, how an entire mural is completely transformed through restoration and, yeah, that was -- it was pretty eye opening. >> one of the things that came out to me was that coming back, there was real discussion about well, here's the way we did it 30-plus years ago. but -- i don't think that's

we could do the capitals on those columns differently. we could make cincinnatus a little different. and there was a -- still a creative part to this, not just, you know, repainting it. which i found kind of interesting. >> well, after looking at this mural for 32 years, you look at it every day for 32 years, you might look at it and say you know what? i'd change this, i'll change that and mind you the lead artist, the originator is richard hass. he's not a cincinnati native. so coming back to cincinnati and looking at all these other statues of cincinnatus, that's what made him say when this is restored i think i will do it differently. >> i think he also thought of it as a living breathing piece all these 30 years. since he was the original creator, he felt like he had all the authority in the world to make whatever changes he might want to. it's just interesting that he thinks of it as a constantly,

can be changed. >> so as a mural maker, have you sometimes -- not because you are 30 years away from having made that mural -- that can't be -- but you finish a mural and you sit back and you say maybe a year later, hmmm, if i had done it this year i might have done something different -- sort of the artistic process do you say -- and of course you are working on these huge walls. i mean, you got to have scaffolding, you can't just go up and re-touch it a little bit. >> yeah, i think about it all the time. it's funny, we were at one specific dedication where some of my fellows said you know what? if only we had a ladder i'd change this. and i look at my personal work that way. but as an artist, sometimes it's about stopping when you are satisfied, because you never really know when you are truly finished. so it's always a living process. >> and we like to have a pretty thorough review process throughout the summer, too, make sure that we don't have to do that. we want to get it right the

>> but with art, "right" is -- >> there's lots of rights. >> subjective. yeah. >> there's lots of rights. so, what's the hope that, if you can get this film finished and audio professionally mastered and all that, and then submit it to some festivals, what's the hope? what do you think this could do for artworks? what could this do for the students? what could -- what would that do? >> i don't know. i'm just now thinking about that. that hadn't even occurred to me. it could be very exciting. >> yeah, our goal is to get it into as many festivals as possible. >> and you already got it submitted. >> yeah we got it into two festivals already. we are excited about that accomplishment. i'm cincinnati born and raised. so any time a positive light is shined on cincinnati, i feel empowered. so our goal is really not to just empower the crew and artworks but to empower cincinnati and show them what we are doing in our art culture and

and how it's impacting -- >> it's one thing for the festivals. what about distribution? how will people get a chance to see this when it's all finished? how will they get a chance to see it? >> one idea i had is also putting it on one of the local television stations at some point, too. i think it would be great -- >> we might be interesting. >> to locally broadcast it. >> you would have trouble getting that on channel 9 or channel 5. because i'm in that. >> and there's a station down on central parkway maybe -- >> yeah. but, yeah, ok. so getting it on some local station. some accessible -- because i think it's really important. when do students, potential students, maybe apply to be apprentices for this many could go year? is that coming up soon? >> in march. yep. >> so if somebody sees this and

interested in being an apprentice, you go to artworks. >> artworkscincinnatus.org. -- artworks cincinnati.org. >> the way you are getting the funds to get into the festivals and get finished is you have it on kick starter. >> yes. >> i want to let people know how to find that. and, officially this sunday morning, this morning is the last day for this, but, it's ok. kickstarter.com just search on kickstarter for help us submit our documentary to film festivals. that's the search, and it will find it right away and you can make a contribution and anything that goes over the goal -- can just go into next year's work. >> that's right. >> very good. thank you. congratulations. and win a lot of awards and, insist that you get to go to the festival. >> thank you. >> ok. thank you for making "newsmakers" a part of your sunday morning. we end with a final look at the work this summer from the

cincinnati.

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