Cameron City Council moves forward with railroad safety zone
Cameron City Council continued work toward a safety zone for the railroad during a meeting on Monday.
Economic Development Director Ginger Watkins talked with the council about applying for a RAISE Grant for funding for the railroad quiet zone project during the meeting.
“I come before you today to ask permission to move forward with a grant application,” she said. “This is a unique grant in the world of grants. It would be a 100 percent grant. Those just don’t happen. This one is for a rural community with a high degree of poverty.”
Watkins said this is for several different things. It will be a safety improvement project.
“We have lots of railroad crossings in our community that impact lots of residents,” she said. “The majority of our population has to cross a railroad track at some point during their day. The quiet zone builds improvements and safety measures into each of those crossings.”
She said this is about public safety.
“When I moved here I knew that I was going to cross a railroad track every single day,” she said. “This is an opportunity to create the quality of life is a great thing to do for the future growth of our city. Now is the time, things are happening downtown that will bring people to our community. People are investing in our community and have exciting things they want to do here.”
Watkins said there are between 40 and 47 trains that come through Cameron on a daily basis with whistles blowing.
The grant is through the U.S. Department of Transportation. The city will work with the Central Texas Council of Governments to submit the grant.
The council also approved renovations to the original hangar at the Cameron Municipal Airpark for the Morgan Aviation Museum. These funds are provided through at TxDOT Ramp Grant the city received last year.
In other business the council also: approved an Easter Egg Hunt on April 17 at 12th Street Park; approved a base bid from Matous Construction in Belton for $1.3 million to do Phase 2 Improvements to the Water Treatment Plant; and made appointments to the Tourism Board of Micah Holcombe and Franci Denio.