Fontoura concedes that maintaining positive sentiments about the project – which once again has been virtually dormant since December – is not always easy.
“There is so much promise for the region, but it is getting much more difficult to still believe in it,” said Fontoura, a Democrat who was first elected sheriff in 1990. “I’m incredibly hopeful that it is still going to work, but the frustration – well, I can’t even explain it anymore. It seems too far along, and there is too much of a commitment for it not to happen. It would be one of the worst things ever if we don’t complete the thing – just a catastrophe. I just hope I’m still alive when it opens.”
This guy is smoking the good stuff:
Look, it’s a big operation. We’re talking about a couple of billion dollars going in there. There are going to be 9,000 to 12,000 full-time employees. It will be a great thing for the state, and it will be a destination for the whole country – and maybe the world – to this location. It’s hard, but it’s going to get done, hopefully.”