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City approves USDOT RAISE application and local match commitment for grade-separated rail crossing study
Summary
The commission approved Resolution 5152 authorizing submission of a USDOT RAISE grant application and committing matching funds to study options for a separated grade crossing; commissioners and residents urged continued pursuit and noted it may require local funding if federal grants do not materialize.
The City Commission voted to approve Resolution 5152 authorizing the city manager to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation's RAISE program and to provide the required local match for a corridor study into a possible separated-grade rail crossing.
City Manager Grant Gager told commissioners the city has applied to the RAISE program in prior years and that the odds of an award remain uncertain, but staff recommended continuing to pursue federal funding while preparing local alternatives in the manager's recommended budget if grants are not forthcoming.
"We will continue to pursue the USDOT RAISE program," Gager said, and told the commission staff will include a local funding option in the manager's recommended budget to make progress on the crossing if federal funds are not awarded.
Public commenters and several commissioners emphasized persistent community interest in a north-side crossing and urged the city to press forward. "We've got to keep trying," said one commissioner, noting the long history and community frustration on the issue. City staff said the grant application will include community impacts and that the city will continue to explore funding alternatives.
The resolution was approved on a roll-call vote (motion carried). No specific schedule for design or construction was approved at the meeting; the action authorized a planning-level study and the grant application process.
