BY KATHY WILLIAMS
HERALD DEMOCRAT
Grayson County Regional Mobility Authority board members learned Wednesday they fared better than most toll road entities in Texas following regular and special sessions of the Legislature.
The board also voted Wednesday to recommend Grayson County Commissioners Court approve the North Texas Regional Airport and its fire department's budgets.
The combined budget, at $1.75 million, is down more than 40 percent from last year's and will require about $600,000 in funding from Grayson County's General Fund. That figure holds unless commissioners subtract or add funding.
Grayson County Regional Mobility Authority is responsible for transportation projects like toll roads, airports and rail, that state, federal and local governments don't usually build, Mike Shahan, the entity's director explained Wednesday afternoon.
The board also put its stamp of approval on the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Planning Organization's proposal to request $28 million in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act TIGER money to rebuild U.S. Highway 75 from Travis Street in Sherman to FM 84 in Denison. The grant, if funded, would allow a 10-inch deep resurfacing that would save $40 million in maintenance costs over 30 years, said Robert Wood, transportation director for S-D MPO. Total cost will be $32 million, with $28 million being construction.
Following an executive session, the board approved a legal settlement, with undisclosed conditions, with Victor Miller, who holds leases on several airport buildings. And they agreed to lease space to Avatar Investments LP.
Brian Cassidy, a lawyer who represents GCRMA and other Texas RMAs, reported on the Texas Legislature's transportation activities. During the regular legislative session, almost no transportation-related bills passed. That was because introduction of the voter identification bill and strategies to defeat it pushed many other issues beyond deadlines for consideration.
Jerdy Gary, chairman of GCRMA Board of Directors, introduced Cassidy as an expert on transportation whose advice state senators and representatives seek on structuring legislation.
"The regular session was a tremendous disappointment," Cassidy said. "RMAs had an ambitious agenda and reason to be hopeful ... there were a number of bills that passed out of the Senate, but they kind of hung around in committee and were finally voted out to the House calendar, but fell in behind the voter ID bill."
The issues that didn't pass in the regular session, but that Gov. Rick Perry included on the special session agenda included authorization of Proposition 12 funds; reauthorization of comprehensive development agreements (agreements entities like RMAs can enter with private companies for projects like construction and operation of toll roads;) and extending the TxDOT Sunset date.
"Some of the issues we will probably have to address here in the future are transportation remodeling funds ... procedures to expedite environmental review of projects; primacy -- or first option or first right of refusal -- whether a local entity can develop that project or TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) can develop that project," Cassidy said. He said another issue of interest was the possibility of a local option tax. There were several versions of the bill to give local entities the right to seek permission from local voters to levy a tax, like extra gasoline tax, or a fee on drivers licenses renewal or license plate renewals to fund local projects, primarily rail projects.
During the special session, legislators had three bills before them and passed two. Legislators passed one measure to authorize issuance of $2 billion of the $5 billion in bond authority voters approved two years ago. Half of the bond money may be used for toll projects and the other half must be used for non-toll projects, Cassidy said.
The second bill extended the sunset process for TxDOT to 2011. Each agency in the state must undergo periodic review by the Legislature before it can continue to exist. If this extension had not passed, TxDOT would cease to exist Sept. 1, but allowed about a year or so to wind down its operations.
The third item on the special session agenda, reauthorization of comprehensive development agreement (CDA) authority, did not pass.
"So where does that leave you?" Cassidy said. "Fortunately with Rep. (Larry) Phillips involvement, and he's done remarkable work on y'all's behalf ... because of some grandfathering, even though the concessions aspect of public-private partnerships (CDA) expires this year, for a project in Grayson County that authority extends to 2011, so you do have a window of time should you choose to use that authority. As I said there's a billion in the state infrastructure fund that can be used for that."
GCRMA recently got $10 million from TxDOT for engineering and design of a toll road to extend from where the North Texas Toll Road ends at the south Grayson County line. The toll road would hook back into the State Highway 289 extension from State Highway 56 to U.S. Highway 82 and from there north to above FM 84 and then east to U.S. Highway 75.
Phillips congratulated the RMA board on its effectiveness.
"I think the message is getting out, not just in the state, but in the region that y'all are accomplishing what you were created for and that's mobility in the region and especially at the airport, not just you, but what I call the legacy airport board like Ellis (Olmstead,)" Phillips said. "We're always talking about this airport is a diamond in the rough, well, that diamond is starting to sparkle. That's exciting."
He said the state transportation commission and other leadership respects the GCRMA board and North Texas Regional Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration also respected the work enough to grant stimulus dollars (with some TxDOT funding) for almost $10 million in upgrades to the runway and taxiway. Shahan reported later in the meeting that federal recovery act money funded $8.9 million project, $5.9 million is funded 100 percent and the $2.3 million taxiway is funded at 95 percent. The bids came in low and the contract went to R.K. Hall.
In other business, the board entered into an agreement to lease land to Grayson County Department of Juvenile Service. The juvenile detention center will build a multi-use building for its boot camp there.
The board adopted a large hangar lease policy that scores prospective tenants on their business plan, credit worthiness, and "fit" with the economic goals of the airport.
Shahan updated board members on the Airport Zoning Commission's activities. The commission decided rather than duplicate the work of the Master Plan which will be conducted next year, it will wait until then and save about half of the cost. TxDOT will pay for some of the Master Plan work, but not the zoning ordinance work.
The board also hired Estrada Hinojosa and Co. to perform financial services.