Texas Transit Association

The Denton County Transportation Authority on Wednesday hired its first executive director, whom board members described as a seasoned veteran in mass transit.

John Hedrick, currently capital facilities coordinator for VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio, is scheduled to begin working for the Denton County authority May 10.

Article I:
DCTA hires Hedrick as director
By: Nicole Bywater 04/26/2004 Lewisville Leader

The Denton County Transportation Authority has hired its first executive director to lead its efforts - a job previously done only by contracted consultants and volunteers. The new director, John Hedrick, 59, has worked the last five years at San Antonio’s VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority and will begin May 10.

“It’s a great day for those of us who have worked so intensely to get where we are today,” said board chairman Charles Emery. “We’ve stretched volunteers just about as far as you can stretch them. We’re fortunate to have found Mr. Hedrick and to have all of the experience he brings. I think it’s a great fit right now.”

Hedrick made a quick visit to the region yesterday in attending the DCTA board meeting where his contract was officially approved. Details of this contract were unavailable on Friday.

He was previously executive director and general manager of the West Virginia State Rail Authority from 1993 to 1999. Emery said his experience in developing light rail systems and in working with government institutions will greatly benefit the authority, as well as continue the reputation the authority has built up.

“He has a great personality for the environment we’ll be working in,” Emery said. “He’s a person who’s respectful of the various bureaucracies and knows how to work within those, all the way up to the federal funding levels.”

DCTA’s main goal is to provide service from Denton to Carrollton, which would connect Denton County cities with Dallas Area Rapid Transit lines that are scheduled to be put in place in Carrollton.

The rail system must still go through several planning steps, including an alternative analysis that requires environmental studies and the designing of engineering plans before construction can begin.

Besides completing the alternative analysis, Hedrick said the other biggest challenge to the DCTA will be taking on the existing bus networks to ensure a smooth transition there. But his first goal is to become intimate with all the details of what has already been done.

“I’m eager to get the rail project going,” Hedrick said. “The board has done a remarkable job in a short period of time to get to where they are today.”

Hedrick praised the board’s work in clearing the hurdles of getting the organization in place and in September’s election to fund it. The half-cent sales tax increase was approved by voters in Lewisville, Denton and Highland Village and is expected to generate about $14 million per year. The measure failed in Flower Mound, Corinth and the smaller cities of Shady Shores, Copper Canyon and Double Oak.

Having a rail system gives residents more options and freedom in mobility, Hedrick said. He remembers going to school in New York City, where a person could live without a car because of the transportation systems.

“I’m by no means anti-car, I just like having options,” he said. “While the automobile gives you freedom, you can also become reliant on it. Rail gives you the ability to go places without needing to depend on a car.”

The search for an executive director began in November, when the board hired San Francisco transportation consultant Carmen Clark to lead the group’s search. The new position will replace Fort Worth-based McDonald Transit, which has managed the transit. The process worked well to dwindle down the number of candidates from 60 resumes to three interviews, Emery said.

Hedrick’s interest in trains began at an early age. He grew up in Pennsylvania, living in a home that backed up to an interurban rail line where he was fascinated by the trains, he said. Voters in San Antonio turned down a light rail plan in 2000, a project Hedrick would have been involved in.

“I follow the news on what’s going on in transit and watched DCTA with particular interest, especially after the sales tax passed,” Hedrick said. “When I saw a news item that they were looking for executive director, their stated interests seemed to be a perfect match with my experience.”

As the authority continues to grow, more employees are expected to be added. In addition, the offices will also be moving offices from Denton to an office building in Lewisville, located on the east side of Interstate 35E at the Corporate Drive exit. Congressman Michael Burgess, R-Highland Village, also has his local office in that office building. Emery said the move could happen as early as May 1.

“These changes are all for the good,” Emery said. “We really just think that Mr. Hedrick, with his background in rail, can take this ball and run with it.”

Article II:

Denton transit agency hires chief
San Antonio official has experience with rail operations
By JOSH BAUGH / Denton Record-Chronicle April 21, 2004

DENTON –

Joe Roy, the Denton representative on the authority’s board of directors, said Mr. Hedrick is the right person to lead the agency.

“He’s a seasoned professional, and he’s coming just at the right point where we need him to lead us through this funding maze and legislation maze, and I think he’ll be just the right person for us,” Mr. Roy said. “He was previously an executive director for another rail transit authority on the East Coast, and we think he would be a good fit for Denton County.”

Mr. Hedrick, 59, has spent most of his career in mass transit, after developing a love of railroads as a boy. During his childhood in Sellersville, Pa., Mr. Hedrick lived in a home that bumped up against an interurban rail line.

“That kind of instilled an interest in transportation and transit, particularly rail, in those formative years,” he said. Mr. Hedrick filled out his résumé with several transit positions throughout the South and the East.

He also owned and operated a restaurant in Atlanta and was an associate broker for a realty company in Monroe, Ga.

Mr. Hedrick’s salary at VIA was unavailable Wednesday. DCTA board members will meet today to determine what Mr. Hedrick’s salary with the Denton County authority will be.

Charles Emery, chairman of the DCTA board, said Mr. Hedrick will do well in his new position because he is familiar with federal and state funding options for mass transit.

“I think obviously we were looking for an individual tenured in the field of transportation, particularly rail, but certainly someone who had good knowledge of bus systems, too,” Mr. Emery said.

The transit authority selected Mr. Hedrick after reviewing about 60 résumés and interviewing three candidates, Mr. Roy said.

The authority used a California-based transit consultant who helped narrow the field of applicants, he said.

A selection review committee, composed of some of the DCTA board members, conducted the interviews and recommended to the full board that Mr. Hedrick be hired.

Todd Hemingson, vice president of planning and development for VIA, said it was a bittersweet moment when he learned that Mr. Hedrick would be leaving San Antonio.

“He has the right background to do a good job,” Mr. Hemingson said. “He has a lot of rail experience.”

Mr. Hedrick faced an organizational shakeup at VIA during his tenure there, officials said.

Voters in San Antonio turned down a referendum for a light rail line in 2000, a project Mr. Hedrick would have been involved with.

Mr. Hemingson said Mr. Hedrick is a well-rounded person.

“He’s thoughtful, he seeks to establish a good team environment, he works well with others, and he has an ability to reach out to other partners to forge a consensus and move forward with things,” Mr. Hemingson said.