DCTA goes back to Planners on Rail
Three cities rather than eight, as originally envisioned, will have passenger rail service.
DCTA’s consultants to revise rail plan
By Kelly Melhart
Star-Telegram Staff Writer, Sep. 26, 2003
HIGHLAND VILLAGE - Consultants are expected to revise plans that will bring commuter trains to Denton County’s Interstate 35E corridor.
The Denton County Transportation Authority extended a contract Thursday with transportation planners URS Services of Colorado through Dec. 31. Under the extension, URS will look at cutting services in the current plan and will revise revenue projections to account for the Sept. 13 sales tax election.
In that election, eight Denton County communities were asked to fund the authority, also known as the DCTA, with a half-cent sales tax. Only Denton, Highland Village and Lewisville approved the tax. By law, only those communities can receive service.
The DCTA board of directors also extended its contracts with Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons of Dallas for legal services and Fort Worth-based McDonald Transit, which manages the authority.
Each extension expires at the end of the year, which is also when DCTA’s current funds run out. The agency has about $105,000. Most of the money will be spent on the consultants.
“Thirty-five thousand dollars a month will run us the rest of the calendar year,” board member Charles Correll told the others. “However, it’s all zeros after that.”
The DCTA expects to receive about $14 million in sales tax revenue during the first year from Denton, Highland Village and Lewisville. But the agency won’t get money until April.
At its next meeting in October, the board will discuss how to raise the money to carry the authority from December to April.