Agenda - Council - 02/24/1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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or increased train speeds.) There is sufficient discretion at the state level to allocate funding to projects tn a short time period if unobllgated funds are available. Other public programs that warrant investigation as sources of demonstration project funding are (1) the federal regional commissions, (2) city and county governments, and (3) discretionary funds that may be available to federal agencies. It is recognized that local governments along the corridor have limited financial capabilities. About 80 percent of the communities have populations of under 5,000 people. For such communities, a $5,000 expenditure is a substantial budget item. Conse- quently, a financial contribution by the local government is not a condi- tion for project implementation. On the other hand, the Board has stated that local government concurrence in closing selected crossings is a substantive contribution. Closing crossings will reduce grade crossing hazards and offset the increased costs that will result from installatiOn of gates and grade crossings predictors at other crossings. On the private-sector side, the obvious funding source is BurlingtOn Northern, Inc. Certain funding traditions and responsibilities suggest that the railroad is a likely source of funding in several project areas, These areas are grade crossing maintenance and changes in railroad facilities that benefit railroad operations, The railroad also has expressed its willingness to provide the local share of the 'cost to close crossings as part of the demonstration projeCtS. To date, the Board has been tremendously successful in securing commitments to fund implementation of demonstration projects. At the time the projects were selected, several were already scheduled for 3O