Texas State Railroad Authority mulls hiring contractor for grant work
BY LELAND ACKER

Grant administration is creating a financial strain for the Texas State Railroad Authority. The TSRA has been preliminarily approved for a TxDOT grant totaling $12.5 million.

Steve Presley, TSRA president, said grant administration and engineering would cost an estimated $1.5 to $1.7 million, much more than expected. The issue was addressed during a meeting of the TSRA April 23.

"At these costs, we could hire someone to be on the job and handle other agency business as well," Mr. Presley told the board. "This way, we would not have to use Ron Stutes, Gary Traylor or TranSystems for everything. The salary would be more than paid for out of this."

Engineering costs by Tran- Systems have been estimated at $1 million dollars, while grant writer Gary Traylor and TxDOT want to charge three percent for grant administration, which would equal $350,000 a piece.

Blake Starkey of Palestine attended the meeting. Mr. Starkey is the former CEO of the Cartmell Home for the Aged in Palestine, serving from 1981 until his retirement in 2005. Mr. Starkey's resume included railroad work from his service in the U.S. Military and working with the Board of Directors at Cartmell.

"In the military, I spent most of my time as a movements control officer," he said. "The things you are doing now are analogous to the way we did things when Jimmy Carter decimated the military. This is miraculous what you have pulled off."

Mr. Presley presented Mr. Starkey as a possible candidate who could handle grant administration for the city. He said Mr. Starkey is an example of the type of talent that may be available to the TSRA.

"All we're doing is entertaining the concept of whether we can have a contractor who works directly for us," Mr. Presley said.

"Before we hire anyone, we need to see our cash flow and know where it is coming from," Board member Charles Hassell said. "We have got to get a cash flow statement."

The possibility of hiring someone to write and administer grants was further considered at another meeting Tuesday, but details were not available by press time.

Grant writer Steve Kerbow approached Mr. Presley asking for permission to seek an Economic Development Assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The board considered contracting with Mr. Kerbow on future grants, but no action was taken.

Board member Marie Whitehead said a representative from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson's office told her to advise the senator's office whenever such applications were made, so that the senator could lend her support.

"We applied for the $1.5 million EDA grant, which may be used to match the TxDOT grants," Mr. Presley said. He went on to explain that most of the time, agencies do not get the full amount applied for.

Paul Schranck, American Heritage vice president, said the state railroad is having a disappointing month in regards to ridership.

"We have had to cut back to four trains and cut back staff accordingly," he said. "We just don't have the ridership."

Board members Dan Davis, Dale Brown, Wesley Holloway, Mr. Hassell, Bob Goldsberry, Mrs. Whitehead, Mr. Presley and ex officio member Angela Raiborn were present for the meeting.