Texas Department of Transportation Commission Meeting

Lufkin City Hall
City Council Chambers
300 East Shepherd
Lufkin, Texas 75901

Thursday, February 28, 2002

COMMISSION MEMBERS:

JOHN W. JOHNSON, Chairman
ROBERT L. NICHOLS
RIC WILLIAMSON

STAFF:

MICHAEL W. BEHRENS, Executive Director
RICHARD MONROE, General Counsel
HELEN HAVELKA, Executive Assistant to the Deputy Executive Director
 

PROCEEDINGS

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Good morning. It is 9:05 a.m. and this meeting of the Texas Transportation Commission is called to order. Welcome to our February meeting. It is a delight to be in East Texas on a glorious day and it's even more wonderful to see so many shining faces. I don't think we've had a standing-room-only crowd for one of our sessions and it's encouraging to see that.

Please note for the record that public notice of this meeting containing all items of the agenda was filed with the office of the Secretary of State at 11:47 a.m. on February the 20th. As you are aware, it's the commission's practice to hold some of our monthly meetings outside of Austin at different locations around the state. It provides an opportunity for us to become acquainted with the interests, the challenges, and the people of the various regions of our great state, and I'm sure that by the time that the visit is over, we'll be better informed about this area and hopefully you will have a better sense of what business is transpired or conducted at the transportation level of state government.

Before we go into our regular business, we will hear from some local officials this morning, but if anyone else in the audience would like to address the commission, we would like and request that you fill out a card at the registration table in the lobby. If it is an agenda item that you wish to comment on, we would ask that you fill out a yellow card; and if it is not an agenda item, we would take your comments at the end of the meeting and for that we would request that you fill out a blue card. It's a traditional part of our commission meetings that before we get started into the business of the day that my fellow commissioners be provided an opportunity to make a comment and so, Robert Nichols? Mr. Nichols?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Oh, thanks. First I'd like to thank everybody who is here who has come a long way. There's -- I see a lot of faces in the room who I know did a lot of driving to get here. We appreciate that. I'd like to thank the City of Lufkin for hosting us and allowing us to use your chamber, city council chamber. It's a beautiful council chamber. It's a gorgeous day. I mean, I'm just tickled to death that we're having a meeting up in East Texas where I live. I'm one county north and get a chance to show everybody why we're so proud of East Texas. I look forward to the delegation presentations and that's about it. Mr. Chairman?

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Great. Commissioner Ric Williamson.

COMMISSIONERWILLIAMSON: We're just proud to be here in Lufkin, Texas, and appreciate all the hospitality we've seen last night and this morning and thank you for having us and we hope that we'll all exchange information and learn from each other today in a way that will make us all better public servants.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Thank you. At this time I would like to introduce some members of the TxDOT administration who are here. Mike Behrens is on the dais. He is our executive director and also Steve Simmons who is the deputy executive director. Steve, if you would stand and be recognized. And then Amadeo Saenz, who is the assistant executive director for engineering operations. We have, as you know, an extraordinarily capable and able staff and we are proud of these people and it's a pleasure to work with them. We also have a few delegations here and we're delighted that, on these trips that we can visit with the locals and find out just where their priorities are and what makes the various regions of our state so great and what their important needs are from a transportation standpoint.

I'd like to get started by asking Lufkin Mayor Louis Bronaugh, Nacogdoches Mayor Roy Blake, Jr., and Polk County Judge John Thompson if they had anything that they would like to say to the group that is gathered here. Mayor? To echo the words of my colleagues, thank you so much for the hospitality that the entire area has shown the commission.

MAYOR BRONAUGH: Thank you for coming. Thank you very much. My comments are short. I'll be followed by Mayor Blake of Nacogdoches and Judge Thompson from Polk County. First I would like to welcome each of you to our community. We sincerely appreciate your visit to East Texas and the privilege to host your monthly meeting in our city council, city council chambers here in Lufkin. We hope you will enjoy your stay in Lufkin and look forward to your return and visit again in the future. We are grateful to have the opportunity to express our transportation needs for Lufkin, Angelina County, and East Texas. We have many unique transportation needs in our area and hope that we can provide some insight and information that will be beneficial in your task.

I would like to make a brief comment about I-69 and defer the primary address on I-69 to County Judge Helen Walker, and we would like to commend the district office here in Lufkin for their expedient efforts to lead the state in the I-69 preparations and for their leadership to establish the standard and example for others to follow in the initial process of this massive project. We also pledge our continued efforts to seek federal funds through the legislative process to help with the funding of the project.

East Texas has many specific transportation needs. An impact that separates us from the remainder of the state. First, the forest products industry is unique to our area, and the multitude of logging traffic, truck traffic bringing materials to market and manufacturing locations create an accelerated depreciation to our transportation network. Second, the recent activity in gas and oil exploration here in East Texas has also added to the highway maintenance schedule. Third, our lake and tourism activity provides an initial impact beyond our local population.

On a local note, we would seek your continued support of the US 59 near-term improvements. Those proposed improvements are critical to handling of the volume of through traffic to address our continued growth. We also ask for your continued support to help fund the east-west corridor. Your recent additions to the trunk system which impacted this corridor are most appreciated. We thank you for the recent completion of a new grade crossing and intersection exchange at US 69 and North Loop 287. Those improvements were to improve the safety flow, safety, and assisting appropriate local traffic flow.

We would request your consideration to assist the City of Lufkin in improvements to Kurth Drive, which is US Business 69 here in Lufkin. We have recently completed an update to the city's comprehensive plan and have identified some opportunities for growth incentives and aesthetic improvements to this corridor of Lufkin. We would like to address our thanks to the Lufkin District office for appointing a representative to serve on the comprehensive plan update steering committee.

Again please let me welcome you to Lufkin and our city hall and express our deep gratitude for your presence. Thank you very much.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Mayor Blake?

MAYOR BLAKE: Commissioner Johnson, Chairman Johnson, Commissioners Nichols and Williamson, I want to again welcome you to our part of the state. Commissioner Nichols is, as he mentioned, is from this area. So he knows why we are so proud of this part of the State of Texas; and in visiting with you-all this morning, I know that you appreciate the beauty and pristine nature of our part of the state and can see why we are so proud of our area of the state. I again also want to thank Mayor Bronaugh and the City of Lufkin for hosting, being such a gracious host, and I know it's taken well care of you-all during your stay here. So I appreciate my friend Mayor Bronaugh for his efforts there.

This is my first time to make a presentation before the Department of Transportation. It's also my first time, or in a long time to be on this side of the podium. As a newly elected mayor, I was just now getting used to being in the seats that y'all are in. So I can appreciate now even more when the citizens come and ask of us as mayors and commissioners and tell us of their needs and requests and so I appreciate the opportunity to be here before you this morning.

I want to begin by using a term that we're all familiar with, that we hear a lot more of lately but we're used to it in Deep East Texas as we fondly call this part of the state, regionalism. That is a term that I've heard used in the Department of Transportation; I've heard Governor Perry use the term. We've used the term and are accustomed to the concept of regionalism for a long time. Obviously through our council of government, the Deep East Texas Council of Government, a regional approach. Also the Deep East Texas Development Association, of which I am a former president, recently the president of that association. It's a twelve-county association that has been dealing with tourism and economic development and transportation on a regional basis for over forty years. So we are used to working as a team not only for our own individual city and county but also for the twelve-county region.

I want to also begin by telling you that our transportation needs in Nacogdoches and Nacogdoches County are, I'm sure, similar to all of the needs of cities and counties and communities and regions all across this great State of Texas, and your problems are also the same, and that is there's always more need than there are resources. So I think it's important that we do be able to come before you and tell you of our needs so that you are aware of them and can help us in the future.

I want to also take this time to thank you for the improvements that you -- that TxDOT has made in our community over the last years. We have made -- there has been a lot of progress made to our transportation system there. We want to thank you for that. Some of the things that we want you to be part of our story, that we want to tell today deal with some near-term improvements in Nacogdoches. We know that they are not only important to Nacogdoches but they are critical to safe and reliable traffic movement on US 59 in our region but also on the state as a whole.

Every day automobiles, hazardous laden vehicles, heavy trucking, NAFTA trade-related trucking from points south of the City of Houston move over 30,000 vehicles into a one-lane traffic light and onto a one-lane cloverleaf circle at the south loop. This traffic arrangement creates congestion, safety concern, and is choking off a vital artery to state and national trade. Our strongest appeal to you today is to address the critical near-term improvement project at our south loop and US 59, and remedy the hourglass effect it creates on task in all eastern Texas. With this ever-increasing NAFTA trade with Mexico and with the continued growth of Houston to the south, this problem will only get worse.

We are pleased to hear the important forward thinking of the concept of the Trans Texas Corridor and especially as it pertains to Nacogdoches County and our rural region. I was present yesterday and heard Governor Perry talk about the Trans Texas Corridor, and we spoke briefly about it this morning, and it is more than just a political speech or political stance, and it is not only a vision for the future. It is Texas' and the Department of Transportation's vision, and I applaud you for your addressing that and our forward thinking in that area.

The Trans Texas Corridor would address one of the overdue needs of Nacogdoches as it has the possibility of creating an east-west artery for trade and commerce for our community. Nacogdoches is the only city with over 20,000 in population in all of eastern Texas from Oklahoma south to the Gulf of Mexico without an east-west trunk system or national highway system designated or east-west interstate. We are the only city over 20,000 population without a major east-west roadway to connect to commerce in an adjoining state and that would connect our industry with the rest of the State of Texas.

We are not naive enough to believe that the Trans Texas Corridor will create a major four-lane highway overnight. We do know, however, that the longer it takes before we receive a major east-west corridor, the longer we will continue to fall outside major transportation needs connecting Nacogdoches to commerce and growth in Texas. That is why we feel it is important that funding for projects like the short-term improvements on US 59 and funding to accelerate construction of Interstate 69 as part of the Trans Texas Corridor are so important.

We also have several local projects that have an overall impact on Nacogdoches and Nacogdoches County. Our loop, Loop 224, is mostly a four-lane loop. There are, however, some sections on the east side that are still two-lane, and one area in particular is close to where we will be building a new elementary school, and we feel that with the traffic congestion, because of the school being located there, that's something that we feel like that we need to start addressing that now. Several sections of our loop need grade separations for safety and transportation enhancement. One such location is the intersection of FM 2609 near Nacogdoches High School. Other locations needing grade separations on the loop include Highway 7 East, FM 1878 on the east loop, and FM 2609 on the west loop. All of these locations need grade separations in the short-term. Two existing grade separations that need U-turn access because of their proximity to heavy trucking traffic are State Highway 7 and State Highway 21, and both are on our west loop. Trucking and automobile traffic at these existing grade separations need to be improved through U-turn access. Two local farm-to-market roads that desperately need horizontal and vertical improvements include FM 204 that heads northwestward to State Highway 175 in Dallas and also a location for a new 950 megawatt power plant near Sacul and the Cushing area that our economic development group is working on as we speak. FM 225, as it makes its way to Lake Nacogdoches, Douglass, and Cushing, these two stretches of county highways are locally considered as two of the most dangerous roadway sections within this region of East Texas and because of their narrow right of way, and a combination of blind hills and short curves.

We in rural East Texas face a unique transportation need that are often second to the urbanized regions of the state. Mayor Bronaugh touched on it earlier. It is unique in the respect that our industries here in rural East Texas communities are the very ones providing most of the goods and services to those urbanized areas. Many of the engineering standards used to determine allocations of highway funds are tied to traffic counts and not delivery of goods and services. So we would -- and you are aware of that, we know, but we would like for you to give that consideration in your -- some of the funding formulas. We service recreation needs, we service oil and gas needs, we service their building needs, and we service their power needs, their food needs and their educational needs, and we serve their transportation needs to and from urban areas and along the NAFTA trade route. That is why we recommend that future funding, future allocation formulas give additional weight to the transportation arteries in rural East Texas because they are vital to the entire State of Texas. We can see where the Trans Texas Corridor concept will address those rural and urban needs, but we have a more immediate need for funding that gives way to our unique needs; too, that rural micropolitan areas such as Nacogdoches and Lufkin be allowed to join together in a regional approach and create designations similar to that of a metropolitan planning organization that serves urban areas so that we apply for funding to study our future transportation needs.

We want to make one more -- take one more privilege this morning and express our appreciation for an excellent district engineer, Dennis Cooley, and his excellent supporting staff. I had the privilege of working with Dennis over the last couple of years and I can tell you he is a  -- truly a stand-up guy, as you well know, and has done a lot for his area that he serves. And I know Dennis is here today, but we would say that even if he wasn't. He's truly a good guy and we are just very -- we feel privileged to have him as our leader here. We want to again thank each of you for allowing us to appear before you today and listening to our request. We appreciate the delicate job that you have of balancing the numerous requests from people all over the State of Texas to handle their transportation needs. You're doing a great job. I've enjoyed working and meeting with you and I look forward to working with you-all in the future. Thank you very much for your time.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Do you have a question?

COMMISSIONERWILLIAMSON: Thank you, Chairman. I just had the pleasure of meeting the mayor earlier. Are you kin to former Senator Blake?

MAYOR BLAKE: Yes, sir. Well, should I answer that? Yes, sir, that's my father. That's my answer.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: I wish to tell you and the citizens in the audience I had the pleasure of serving him as a senator, and he was one of the finest public servants I ever met in Austin, Texas.

MAYOR BLAKE: Well, I appreciate that very much. It's -- you know, to hear that about your father makes me feel very good and proud. Thank you very much.

MR. THOMPSON: Good morning, Chairman Johnson, Commissioner Nichols, Commissioner Williamson. I'm John Thompson. I'm the county judge of Polk County which is located just south of here on Highway 59. Director Behrens, good to see you again this morning. I trust that the hospitality has met or exceeded your expectations since I've been in East Texas. I have a couple of letters that I want to present to you this morning, one from Senator Todd Staples and the other from Judy Hawley, the vice chair of transportation in reference to the presentation I'm going to make.

I am required by another hat that I wear as legislative chair of the County Judge and Commissioner Association of Texas, I would be verbally and physically -- or physically abused if I were not to mention that if the subject of motor fuel tax comes up in the next session, we would certainly love to be at the table. Having said that, we'll move on in our presentation

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Y'all like to have a piece of that?

MR. THOMPSON: Yes, sir. Short answer is yes, sir.

We have a group here, a coalition that we call the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition made up of mayors, county judges, city councilmen, commissioners, and county commissioners, chambers of commerce and private business in both Louisiana and Texas; and we have some of those folks present today. I'd ask that they stand up. I even had one, the guy that represents the Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce, Elton Pody, who is here with us but all of y'all stand up with us here a minute that are along this corridor. We have a few people here. And we had a meeting in Leesville, Louisiana, the other day that Representative Ellis will visit with you a little bit about. But the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway System has been conceived to meet the transportation needs of this region's military facilities and deploying combat commitment through military courts. We for many years relied on rail system for movement of commercial freight. It served us well but it's reaching its designed capacity and in some cases exceeding that capacity.

Fort Hood is home to 50,000 personnel and seven miles of motor pools filled with combat power that must be able to deploy effectively to perform missions around the world. In 2001 a new STRAHNET was established between Fort Hood and Corpus Christi, however, such designation doesn't guarantee funding. I want to assure this commission that we will be seeking funds to assist you in helping bring that up to the four-lane standards which you've set. Thanks to the action taken by this commission in 2001, work to provide four lanes on State Highway 195 south of Fort Hood is under way. We will work with the commission through the environmental hearings scheduled for this summer to keep this important roadway on schedule for completion in 2009. The linkage between Fort Hood and Interstate 35 is the first priority of the Army and of the Gulf Coast coalition.

The port of Beaumont has been the positional port of deployment for Fort Hood and remains an important element for its deployments, US 190 from the Texas trunk system and as such is designed for four-lane divided status. A four-lane US 190 and Texas 30 linking to US 69 and 287 will provide an excellent deployment route to the port of Beaumont. We urge the commission to elevate the priority of this portion of the Texas trunk system as it establishes new priorities later this year.

The Senate Bill 907, the legislature has asked TxDOT to look at the military deployment routes in the interim, and we think that a US 190 Texas 30 route could be a part of the solution, as well as a part of the Trans Texas Corridor. Rolling traffic does not know where state jurisdictional lines begin and end. The No. 1 priority for the governor of Louisiana of this military advisory board is expanding Louisiana to four lanes between England Air Park outside of Alexandria and Leesville in Fort Polk. Next is to reach the airport at Beaumont. We propose a four-lane route via Louisiana 8, Texas 63 and US 96.

Fort Bliss is a candidate as the U.S. Army recognizes itself in the 21st century. An efficient deployment route could increase the attractiveness for Fort Bliss for such missions. By using less traffic forces of Interstate 10, we could connect with a north-south route, which also serves Fort Hood in our proposed system. The Federal Highway Administration recognizes that congestion is a growing possibility for the interstate traffic passing through Texas. The route we've identified along US 190 addresses this concern. Such improved four-lane divided, east-west corridor could relieve traffic, which has its origin and destination outside Texas. This traffic is currently contributing to the congestion in our major metropolitan areas simply because it's in the way. This route would avoid the federal clean air nonattainment areas in both Texas and Louisiana. The state's implementation plan was submitted by TNRCC and approved by EPA, was conditioned on the identification of additional 50 tons of NOx production per day. We believe that the diversion of this interstate traffic which provides no economic benefit to those nonattainment regions could provide a portion of those additional emission reductions.

After seeing the governor's plan and looking at it ahead of time before we met there yesterday, we applaud the governor's visionary Trans Texas Corridor plan and we offer our support. We would urge the commission to provide for free access for organized military convoys for their infrequent but strategic importance in their transits from their port, forts to the port.

No corridor is constructed all at once. We would submit that the first priority is to provide the relief to the Interstate 35 congestion on a parallel north-south route which would tie at Highway 195 and improve US 181 and link Fort Hood to the strategic port of Corpus Christi.

We also applaud the Trans Texas Corridor plan for its recognition of the need for a new east-west corridor across Texas. The route, however, passes through the Hill Country and reintroduces through traffic onto I-10 at the Louisiana border. We believe that a straight route running parallel to US 190 from Sonora north of the Hill Country and then south of Fort Hood to East Texas would provide an easier and less costly alternative.

We have several pictures of the Hill Country. I think most are self-explanatory. This is part of the Hill Country that the conceptual route runs through. The land is more populated; it's more expensive to run through, to run a road through. This is a 2,000 acre development north of Highway 306 consisting of 1,000 homesites, lot price around $40,000 apiece. One of the Hill Country developer brochures says some land's just born to be better. Being from East Texas, I don't believe that. But I do believe it. I just believe he's incorrect about which is more important.

Considering the intermodal nature of the proposed Trans Texas Corridor, we see this as a major hurdle. Another major hurdle will be the environmental considerations in the Hill Country which could be considerable considering the major -- the impact of the transportation corridor. Again, we believe that a route to the north of the Hill Country paralleling US 190 would be an easier and less costly alternative. The terrain along the route would be lower construction costs, lower right of way costs, lower impact on existing residential and visitor related activities, as well as minimize environmental opposition.

The current east-west Trans Texas Corridor route brings Texas flow back to Interstate 10 and the Texas Louisiana border. We believe that TxDOT should partner with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to develop a new east-west route that crosses the central portion of both states, avoiding the major metropolitan areas and the Clean Air Act nonattainment regions.

The Louisiana DOT does not believe it's feasible to add lanes through the I-10 route through its state. I might say that they were in attendance at our meeting in Leesville earlier this week. The 20-mile passage through the Atchafalaya River basin was a major engineering feat at its time and it would be extremely difficult to expand today.

And here we are on a Louisiana Saturday night and a Sunday morning, too, with the state of Louisiana struggling to keep up with existing traffic load on I-10. When I-10 was originally constructed, the route was to link New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Beaumont, Houston, and San Antonio to the east-west interstate system. Doing it meant crossing wetlands, waterways, and the Texas Hill Country. The need for a regional linkage has been met. Future corridors serving long-haul interstate traffic not originating or heading for those cities should avoid sensitive areas like the Hill Country and the Louisiana coastal wetlands.

Population and growth in both Texas and Louisiana has been far from uniform. The Gulf Coast Strategic Highway System provides transportation infrastructure for slow growth counties in both states. While the Trans Texas Corridor will provide express routes for long-haul freight and other through traffic, I would strongly recommend or urge TxDOT to continue doing traditional frontage roads on Texas highways as the highways are upgraded to freeway standards. This is the vital serving needs of the local and promoting economic development.

Currently there's no east-west route for 200 miles between I-10 and I-20. Economic growth occurs at the east-west/north-south transportation crossroads. The proposed east-west corridor will provide such points throughout Central and East Texas and Central Louisiana where the routes cross Interstates 35, 45, 69, and 49. Such a route will tend to even out the population growth in both states, in some growth where it can be more easily accommodated both from a workforce and an environmental perspective.

In summary, the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway System connects three Army forts to two strategic Texas ports. It provides relief routes for interstate traffic at points outside of the nonattainment areas and provides economic opportunity for growth outside of the nonattainment areas.

Finally let me say that we support the Trans Texas -- again say that we support the Trans Texas Corridor plan and that we believe construction of three corridors would be a huge step forward. We support the north-south route parallel to 35 to relieve congestion and serve Fort Hood; we support an east-west corridor between I-10 and I-20 to provide a relief route and serve for deployments from Fort Hood and Fort Polk; and we support the I-69 corridor and in particular the concept of an express route running parallel to an improved highway serving local and regional traffic. These three corridors would have a major impact upon the movement of freight and military convoys across Texas.

I know that I'm not used to talking this fast, but I was told that I need to get this in in a short period of time. We certainly covered a lot of ground, but we as a state have a lot of ground to cover. I want you to know that we stand ready to work with you, to be supportive of you. We'd like to be, again, at the table when these things are discussed. I would like to echo what Mayor Blake said. We are proud of our staff at TxDOT here in this Lufkin District. They are extremely helpful. They worked with us on our projects with great enthusiasm, I might say, and also got a letter I'll give to you that I gave to the governor yesterday which is a copy of this and a letter saying that we support his plan, and quite frankly we look very much forward to working with you in the future and hopefully we can work something out. Thank you for your time; thank you for coming to East Texas.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Thank you. We appreciate that.

MR. THOMPSON: Be glad to answer any questions. I do have -- sir?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: I said we appreciate the straight approach.

MR. THOMPSON: Thank you. I'd like to introduce State Representative Dan Ellis who has a couple of comments and also with that ask for the opportunity for Representative Jim McReynolds to say a few words. Thank you very much.

REP. ELLIS: Good morning, Mr.  Chairman, Commissioners, Director Behrens. Good to be here. There for a second I thought he was going to say he wanted some time for rebuttal after I got finished. He scared me just a little bit. It's good to have y'all in East Texas. Commissioner Nichols, I know you're excited about being this close to home and we're excited to have you here. I was asked to kind of get up after the presentation. I don't have a fancy Power Point presentation. On what they pay us, we can't afford those things, but I wanted to visit with you just a little bit about some of the issues that we are seeing here in East Texas.

I first appeared before the TxDOT commission in 1996 as a chamber president promoting a little project that at that time we called the Highway 190 Coalition. You probably remember some of what we brought to you. I came to you again in 1997, two weeks after being elected to the Texas house, which was real interesting. Somewhere in between election and actually taking office, I ended up with a presentation in my lap, and we enjoyed that. Being before you several times since then, before grant committees and so forth with special interests specifically for District 18, which is the legislative district just south of here in Lufkin. This time I'm here talking to you about the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition.

We have sat in on several meetings. We've had a couple of meetings that I've actually sat in with representatives from the State of Louisiana, and what we're seeing, I think, is we're seeing a real coalition and a real formation of the idea of a joint project to address the concerns that Judge John Thompson just talked about with the east-west corridor. The 190 Coalition was pushing that 190 idea basically on the idea of better access for better local citizens, better access for economic development, but I think we've got a little bit of a new head of steam here.

As we understand it, missions are changing between with the new STRAHNET missions, the military bases are changing, and the transportation between Fort Hood and Fort Polk are probably going to be more important than they've ever been before, and I don't think we can stress that enough right now.

The governor's highway plan is a plan that I'd certainly look forward to working on and supporting, and if you have a copy of that map, if you're real familiar with it, you remember that somewhere up above on the north side of Houston it's calling for basically a loop around the Houston SIP area or nonattainment area, and my new legislative district contains two counties that fall within the Houston SIP. So obviously we're concerned about that and about what we can do that deal with those problems of nonattainment in Houston, and I think this route is certainly supportive of what we need to do with the Houston nonattainment area, another good reason for me to support this project.

With the military's application of the new STRAHNET, the Beaumont port's going to become more necessary than ever for transportation of troops out of the Gulf Coast, and I think that this plan really supports them very well. One of the things that Judge John Thompson pointed out was in visiting with the Louisiana officials, they pretty much guaranteed us that nothing would happen on Interstate 10 as far as expansion across the Atchafalaya basin, and I think it's going to be even more necessary that we come up with a plan to help relieve some of that traffic.

I had to be in Biloxi, Mississippi, last weekend at a conference, and we spent an hour and fifteen minutes both directions stuck in traffic just this side of Baton Rouge on Interstate 10. It was quite an experience to run into a traffic jam at 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon on an interstate highway, but it's definitely real and it's definitely there.

I think that all the factors that we've talked about, the military access, the Highway 190 Coalition or former Highway 190 Coalition, they and the Houston SIP really promote this project of the Gulf Coast strategic coalition very well.

I would also like to put in a plug for I-69. That's something else that I've been involved with for a number of years and it's something that I think is absolutely vital not only to the growth of our area, the continued growth of our area but the growth of this state and the growth of this country. As we see the NAFTA traffic increasing through our area, we find more and more problems that involve safety of our children, safety of our locals, and just the transportation needs for the State of Texas. So we'd like to promote that every way we could.

And I also had it on my agenda, I wanted to brag about this local staff that we have here a little bit. Dennis Cooley, Harry Thompson, Herbert Bickley, Tom Hunter of the Lufkin District are absolutely incredible. I can't brag about them enough. I have had -- Dennis Cooley has actually came into my district on numerous occasions and we've ridden around and looked at problems together, and I am not sure that every state rep in this state has that kind of association with their district engineer. Harry Thompson and I have been friends for twenty years. Harry was the local engineer when I was street superintendent for my hometown and so we developed a great relationship there. These guys are absolutely wonderful. We can't brag about them enough. They are vital to our area. Not only do they represent you well but I think that they understand our issues and our concerns.

Once again thank y'all for being here. I do appreciate you. Anything we can do, please let us know from our end and I look forward to working with you in the future. Thanks a lot.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Thank you. Representative Jim McReynolds?

REP. McREYNOLDS: Thank you. I'm just kind of the follow-up batter here and you've heard it all and what can I say except, Ric, when I saw the governor appointed you to this, I was thrilled because I watched you as a puppy in the legislature on that tax funding business. There won't be a file at TxDOT that you don't look through directly, and we're proud to have a grassland man in East Texas, too. Welcome to East Texas.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Thank you.

REP. McREYNOLDS: John, it's great to have a River Oaks man who has got a heart of a country boy, but we enjoy you. And Robert, for your vision in thinking about things like our little county roads and bridges over here and your great idea that you've come up with and the commission that you worked on, thank you so very much for the effort. I know y'all get the same compensation I do. You get an attaboy ever now and then, generally get kicked in the teeth when you're separating dollars out for staff programs and such as that, but you will get your business expenses compensated.

About all I could add here is when Rick was laying out the big card program yesterday, I got to thinking about, what if old Sam Houston could be reincarnated this afternoon to be standing here looking at what a dream. I mean, after all, as a historian, I can tell you where our highways came from. We had Indians, in this little part of the world, the Caddo Indians and things like the El Camino Real followed those old Indian trails.

I was at a lunch one day and heard Pitser Garrison talk about he can remember the sand highways from Lufkin to Houston and then, golly, look where we are now. One of the neat things about your agency is that you have to do your planning in a nonstatic mode. You've got to dream not only the present but you've got to dream out into the future, and we don't know what our funding sources are from time to time, but I more than anything else wanted to stand up -- I'm not going to brag on the locals. Dennis does have problems. He does not dip snuff. I tried to teach him to do that, but I haven't been able to teach him to do that and one of these days I will.

Well, God love you for being here. We're awfully proud that you're demonstrating that the capital of Texas is not in Elgin. There is an East Texas and God love you today.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: I know that Senator Todd Staples is out of the state but is Kelley Stripling here and would she like to enter anything for the record?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: You wouldn't dare follow that, would you?

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Well, thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for all those informative presentations and also those comments. Dennis Cooley's name has been mentioned several times and as you are aware, TxDOT's divided statewide into 25 districts, and Dennis is the district engineer for the Lufkin District and does an extraordinary job, and I would like to ask him to come forward and give us an overview of what's going on in the Lufkin area. Dennis, welcome. Thank you and your fellow employees of the Lufkin District for a wonderful dinner last night.

MR. COOLEY: Well, we're just proud that y'all would come out and let us provide you with that hospitality and we really do appreciate the attendance by all the commission members as well as the administration, and I feel like that kind of touch really means a lot to the people of the department. You know, sometimes we, the different layers that we are, the little man, so to speak, doesn't ever get to see some of the people who are making some of the key decisions that really affect their lives and I think getting to take that opportunity like last night where they can look at you face to face and maybe converse a little bit, talk about something that may be on their mind, we really appreciate y'all for that.

I guess I'm ready. I don't know if this is good or bad. We tried to get a facility where everybody could be comfortable and have plenty of room and looks like we've got a packed house, and I know part of that is for the Green Carpet route and the I-69 Alliance, and a lot of that is East Texas issues. So just as a positive thing back to the commission as well as to the people who are here, that East Texas is very interested in transportation and we do have a lot of transportation issues.

Anyway, let me begin by thanking you for taking the time to bring this commission meeting to the Lufkin District. I'd also like to express our appreciation for the current and past TxDOT administration, for their leadership and support. We feel our current direction of planning, designing, maintaining, constructing the transportation system of the state is what's desired and is expected of the people of Texas. I'd like to acknowledge the hard work of all the employees of the Lufkin District as well. Their commitment to providing the best transportation system for the traveling public. They are continually striving to find more efficient ways to do our business. They stretch our resources to sustain an aged transportation system here in the Lufkin District and they have made tremendous improvements over the last few years, and I really appreciate their efforts.

The Lufkin District was established in 1925. Initially the primary purpose of the system was to convey people and goods through East Texas from town to town and across the district lines. Further growth stemmed from the need to move agricultural goods from rural areas to urban markets. This was accomplished by the conversion of many county roads into the farm-to-market system. Extensive use adjoining concrete pavement on major routes provided some of the best roads in Texas. For secondary roads, though, local materials were used to get the farmer out of the mud at a minimal cost. Most of these materials were of low quality but were adequate at the time. Typically only sufficient right of way to construct 18 to 20 foot roadways were acquired.

Lufkin District highways on average do not have a lot of traffic, especially when you compare them to some of our other districts. But much of our traffic carry heavy loads, from the eighteen-wheelers passing through to local agriculture, industrial, oil field, and timber trucks whom often will exceed the load limits of those roads which they are using.

Oil field and timber loads present a special opportunity for the Lufkin District. Oil field locations and logging sites can occur anywhere at almost any time. Most of the roads used to reach these locations are older, narrower farm-to-market roads, which are designed and built in the Fifties and Sixties to accommodate the local farmer and rancher. The design loads of these roads are not sufficient to withstand the loads of today.

Logging is one of the major Deep East Texas industries that constantly place heavy loads on our system. Log trucks are a common site delivering their products to local mills, which in turn produce wood products that are many times loaded on trucks and hauled through the district in route to their ultimate destination.

The Lufkin District also hosts a tremendous amount of recreational traffic. Four national forests: Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine, and Sam Houston along with Lake Livingston, Toledo Bend Reservoir, Sam Rayburn Reservoir provide major attractions for the camping and fishing enthusiast. Since a majority of these activities occur during the weekend, these traffic volumes are usually not captured. The Lufkin District has been a leader in the use of LIDAR, or light detection and ranging. This is used to acquire large volumes of elevation and positional data on projects with short time lines, very large study areas, or right of way access problems. With this technology the district has experienced substantial cost savings over conventional data collection methods, considerable time savings, and better public relations.

On November 15th, 2000, the Lufkin District received the bronze award in the year 2000 NQI Making a Difference bronze award for the Breaking the Mold category for making use of this exciting technology on the US 59 corridor master plan.

We are excited about the opportunity to participate in the development in future construction of I-69 and the governor's Trans Texas Corridor. With the need to upgrade US 59 to meet growing traffic needs and the knowledge of the proposal to build I-69, the district began looking at numerous projects along US 59. These projects were developed with the philosophy of being environmentally sensitive, securing public consensus and going above and beyond the required procedures so when I-69 became a reality, our work could readily be incorporated into I-69. We feel we have been successful in our endeavor and will have one of the first sections in the state ready for construction when funds become available.

With the past traffic growth trends of the US 59 corridor, it is expected that the current traffic volumes on US 59 will continue to grow even with the completion of I-69 and the relief it will bring. We realize I-69 is a long-term project, or I guess the governor's Trans Texas Corridor. There are still numerous improvements, which need to be made to the existing US 59 in order for it to function adequately now and in the future.

I'd like to mention two of these important improvements. First is a direct connector south of Lufkin, which we currently have construction authorization for. This project will prevent the need for northbound US 59 traffic from making a merge and then a weave movement with local traffic as it progresses northward. It will also address safety as it addresses traffic onto and off of the system. The second is a direct connector south of Nacogdoches which we only have long-range planning authority for. This project is vital for efficient movement of traffic. Currently all northbound US 59 traffic must move through a signalized intersection, then make a partial cloverleaf turn to proceed northbound. The construction of a direct connector in this area would facilitate a smooth, constant flow of US 59 traffic northward and eliminate the need for traffic to stop or substantially reduce their speed. Also as part of this project, we will be constructing a safer and freer movement of southbound traffic.

Another project I'd like to mention is the extension of Loop 500 around Center. This new location project would effectively eliminate the need for truck traffic from driving through downtown Center. The City of Center and the economic development corporation which committed to levity $400,000 in the past for this much needed project. We in the district also believe in the validity of this project and anticipate submitting this as a possible commission discretionary project in the future.

There are numerous other projects which we could mention, including those where we have a need to rehab, widen, add shoulders, add capacity, or improve operations to existing roadways. Many are complicated by limited right of way, existing roadbeds which, as previously mentioned, are not sufficient to carry today's loads, and the absence of local materials that can be efficiently used in the construction of highways. All road-building materials must be trucked or railed into the district, which all too often results in the repairing of one roadway to the demise of others. We realize we will have to address these projects with district funds that some may -- but some may eventually find their way to Austin for administration or commission consideration.

We have in the past and will in the future aggressively pursue all funding avenues to enhance the system to the benefit of our users, including those programs where we must compete on a statewide basis. An example of this is the securing of hazardous elimination program, or the HES funding over the years. Typically the district has fared well in this area, but during the FY 2005 program call, the district received a notable 38 percent of the statewide available funds.

In closing I would again like to express my appreciation to the commission for coming to the district and the leadership provided by the Austin administration. The Lufkin District is committed to providing the best transportation system with the resources we have. We play safety and preservation of the system as top priorities while being diligent to look for new and innovative ways to enhance our transportation system. We strive to say yes, be responsive and forthright to our customers' requests, while being persistent and never forgetting we are the stewards of the public trust. Thank you.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Dennis, thank you for that very informative report. We're going to take a brief recess so to allow our delegations from the Green Carpet Memorial and also I-69, but before we do that, I did want to recognize two very distinguished people in our audience who have served not only this agency but our entire state with great distinction. Luther DeBerry. Mr.  DeBerry, are you here? Would you please stand?

[APPLAUSE]

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Mr.  DeBerry, former engineering director of the Department of Transportation. I guess it was the state highway department then, but you're an inspiration to us all. And then Mr.  J.  L. Beaird, who was the Lufkin area, the district engineer here for many, many years. Mr. Beaird?

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: He was sitting right over there.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Well, he's -- we missed not having him here, but he has also served not only this area but the state with great distinction, and I just wanted everybody to know them and to recognize them. As I mentioned, we are going to take a brief recess. The batting order as Representative McReynolds so appropriately called it, we'll have the East Texas Gulf Highway Association next and then the I-69 coalition will follow them and so in order for them to get set up, we'll take a five minute recess. Thank you.

(Short recess taken.)

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Our next report this morning comes from Northeast Texas. The fine ladies and gentlemen who I call the "Green Button Brigade" and we're delighted that they're here representing the East Texas Gulf Highway Association and I believe Don Wall will get us started, and in your group I know you brought a rookie mayor from Pittsburg to be here.

[Laughter].

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: So Don, if you will, the floor's yours.

MR. WALL: Thank you very much, Chairman. Yes, that's my mentor, and if I could have the longevity that mayor has, we'll be doing quite well. My name is Don Wall. I'm president of the East Texas Gulf Highway Association, and good morning, Chairman Johnson, Commissioner Nichols and Commission Williamson. This is a pleasure to have our first presentation to Commission Williamson. And Director Behrens, nice to see you today. I want to thank also Mayor Louis Bronaugh for the great hospitality they've extended us here in Lufkin and we are very pleased to be here and address you today.

We do have a good delegation here today, but in the essence of time, so we can be very prompt and out of your way of your busy schedule, I would not -- instead of calling on a lot of people present, I'd like for our elected officials who came all the way down the Green Carpet to stand up, commissioners, mayors, county judges and all. And then the rest of the East Texas group, would you stand up? Isn't that great?

[APPLAUSE]

MR. WALL: It makes it very easy and a pleasure to come and address you today with such a distinguished group behind me.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Who's minding the store?

MR. WALL: Huh?

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Who's left to mind the store?

MR. WALL: In Paris Mr.  Freeman said he left one. But thank you again for meeting in Lufkin. Lufkin is one of the original members of the East Texas Gulf Highway Association. The East Texas Gulf Highway Association was founded in 1964 with the goal of developing a network of highways connecting the Gulf Coast with the Oklahoma border and all the cities in between. The East Texas Gulf Highway Association designated this network of highways as the Green Carpet Memorial Route, indicative of the rich scenery through the East Texas Pineywoods, and a Memorial, a memory of the many people who had dedicated to the development of this highway. We'll wait and do his postmortem, Mayor Abernathy here.

The Green Carpet Memorial Route is part of the major NAFTA corridor that begins in Monterrey, Mexico, and goes through the United States to Winnipeg County. The Green Carpet is also the route that has been designated for I-69 from Lufkin south. So, we're on the same corridor and we'll split here in Lufkin. On this route you can travel from, on four-lane highway from Mexico to Canada with the exception of 46 miles between Paris and Mount Pleasant and six miles between Kilgore and Gladewater. Our delegation petition before you this year addresses these incomplete sections.

The East Texas Gulf Highway Association has actively supported the Texas Good Roads Association and we have lobbied both in Austin and Washington for more highway construction dollars. We actively pushed for the passage of Proposition 15 throughout East Texas, understanding the funding issues for TxDOT. We have tried to break our project into a manageable  -- in manageable pieces.

Priority 1 is for a nine-mile segment beginning at Loop 286 in Paris and going to an existing four-lane road in Pattonville. This section of US 271 has been selected as a high-priority project in TEA-21 with $1.6 million earmarked for this development. The traffic counts are up significantly to 7600 vehicles a day and as often is the case with increased traffic, the accident rate is considerably higher than the average statewide. This section of US 271 is part of the Texas truck system and the National Highway System. The Paris District, under the direction of engineer Jim Freeman, is prepared to complete the construction plans of this segment and proceed to bidding as soon as possible.

Priority 2 is in the Atlanta District. Priority 2 runs from the Franklin County line south to FM 1734. The Atlanta District is working on a schematic and identification of right of way. Our current request to you on this segment is to upgrade the priority status to allow the acquisition of right of way for corridor preservation. Priority 1 funding has been received by the Atlanta District to replace six bridges on this section in fiscal year 2005, and we desire a continued development of this project to a four-lane divided facility. This segment, as the segment in our first priority, is part of the East Texas trunk system and on the National Highway System. The East Texas Gulf Highway Association has been working closely with Bill Ratliff, district engineer in Atlanta, to bring this system to current TxDOT standards and we look forward to building it to a desired four-lane roadway.

Now let me, may I address Proposition No. 3. It's a short two-lane roadway from US Highway 271 just south of Gladewater to Interstate 20 in Kilgore. This short section of the Green Carpet Memorial Route is currently a rural two-lane with no shoulders and a dramatically rolling terrain. It is a dangerous highway. The accident rate per 100 million vehicle miles is 100 percent above the statewide average. That means that the accident rate on State Highway 135 is twice as high as any other highways in the State of Texas.

The East Texas Gulf Highway Association has been working very closely with the Tyler District under the direction of district engineer Mary Owens. The district is proceeding with the development of several necessary reports for the development of environmental assessment and public involvement. There has been a tremendous public support for this project. The good part is that the Tyler District is willing to spend $8 million of its designated allocation funds to improve State Highway 135 if the commission will fund the remaining $13 million to complete the State Highway 135 corridor. This leveraging proposal will serve both parties, the Tyler District and the commission will win by sharing the funding levels, and this leveraging should be very acceptable, we hope, to you.

The East Texas Gulf Coast Highway Association is extremely pleased to have the support and cooperation of three districts involved in these projects. With the higher-than-average accident rates on these projects, the increased average daily traffic counts, and the tremendous truck traffic, there is justification for the approval of these three projects. But putting safety issues aside, there are other extremely important considerations for the development of the Green Carpet Memorial Route. All the areas directly affected by these roadways are highly developed industrial and manufacturing areas. To support these industries and the primary jobs created by these industries, we must have adequate highways. The development of these highway projects is critical and essential for the economic development in Northeast Texas. These projects can also have a positive environmental impact by keeping the truck traffic out of the congestion of metropolitan areas that are struggling with air quality issues. Not only is it beneficial to the environment but also construction can be accomplished at a considerable cost savings.

We are most appreciative of all the work that TxDOT has done over the years on the Green Carpet Memorial Route, including the part of the Green Carpet Memorial Route that services this Lufkin area. And we thank you for that, but we most sincerely ask for your serious consideration and action on the completion of these, along with the most vital corridor. Thank you very much for letting me have this presentation.

At this time I'd like to call on Mayor Abernathy, mayor of Pittsburg, Texas, for some remarks.

MAYOR ABERNATHY: Thank you, Mr.  Wall. I don't know what I'm doing here. I seem to get to be a permanent fixture. Chairman Johnson, Commissioners Nichols and Williamson, Executive Director Behrens. We appreciate the opportunity to make our presentation in Lufkin instead of Austin, and I'm sure you're glad to get out of Austin for a few days, and I understand your whole commission has started about five or six years ago, the commission started holding hearings out in different areas of Texas, and we appreciate you hearing what we have to say today in Lufkin, Texas, and we thank the City of Lufkin for providing the facility. As you know, DeWitt, a former commissioner of the Texas commission, was born and raised in Pittsburg, Texas, and he and I were very personal friends. Now, this is my 48th year as mayor of Pittsburg, Texas.

I became a road hand in '84, I received the Russell Perry Award in '96, and I've been a member in support of the Good Roads Transportation Association fifteen years and I am a supporter of TxDOT. This is my 38th year to make a presentation supporting the Green Carpet Memorial Route, and there's only three of us that are living that started the East Texas Gulf Highway Association in 1964, and Landon Arthur, one of the three that was to be here this morning, he became ill and couldn't make it and the other is Charles Ebberly of Mount Pleasant. So I thought when we started this 38 years ago, we'd have it completed before I died, but I don't know whether that's going to happen or not.

[Laughter].

MAYOR ABERNATHY: But anyway, I endorse everything that Mr.  Wall has presented, and one thing the legislature of Texas needs to do is to change the collection of the fuel tax to the source because that would generate $100 million for the highway department. Of course, the education gets 25 percent of it. So that would provide them with $25 million, and they need to do that. Thirteen states have already done it.

So today on the NAFTA agreement and with Texas being the fastest growing state, there's more traffic on our highways than ever before. The East Texas Gulf Highway Association, as I said, was organized in '64, and its primary objective was to have a four-lane highway, as Mr.  Wall said, from the Gulf Coast and down in Mexico, up to the Oklahoma south border, and then you could go through the turnpike and tie back in at Kansas City on I-35 and then proceed on to Winnipeg, Canada, and that would relieve some of the load on I-35.

Now, I know you're trying to increase the lanes on I-35, but it's going to cost millions of dollars and take many years to do it. Through the help of this commission in the past years, the Green Carpet Memorial Route is complete, as Mr.  Wall said, except for about forty-two miles from Mount Pleasant to Paris, Texas, and six and a half miles between US 271 just west of Gladewater to I-20, and that's being worked on, thank goodness.

In the year 1996 I got the district engineer, assistant district engineer -- executive director, pardon me, to contact the Paris District and request that that district between Mount Pleasant-Paris be divided into segments so we could eventually get that completed as finances were available. Now, in 1999 and 2000 and 2001, the entrance to Paris was supposed to be changed and wasn't. Ten miles down to Pattonville where you own the old right of way of the past Mount Pleasant railroad was supposed to be made four lane. That wasn't done. And the federal government was to build a new bridge across Sulphur River where flooding occurs on the old road now, and that hasn't been done. So we hope this year we're going to see some progress made in these areas.

Five years ago Congressman Max Sandlin from our district got a million and a half dollars appropriated for improving the road from Mount Pleasant to Paris, and today we're requesting the commission to provide the funds to the Paris, Atlanta, and Tyler districts to try to complete the Green Carpet route.

If you have any question, I'll try to answer them. I thank you again for holding this hearing in Lufkin and presenting me to make this presentation. If you have any questions, well, fire away and I'll take a shot at them.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: No way.

[Laughter]

MAYOR ABERNATHY: Thank you.

MR. WALL: At this time I'd like to call on Mount Pleasant Mayor Jerry Boatner for remark.

MAYOR BOATNER: Members of the commission, Mr.  Behrens, good morning. Our lieutenant governor and our State Senator Bill Ratliff is not able to be here. He had, in fact, planned to be here because of the unique location along the Green Carpet route. He has been called to business in Austin, and I would like to simply agree to a brief statement from him.

MAYOR ABERNATHY: And he has supported us all along.

MAYOR BOATNER: Absolutely. Dear Mr.  Chairman and Commissioners, it had been my intention to appear at this Lufkin commission in support of the Green Carpet route delegation. Unfortunately I am required to be in Austin and am unable to be present. The people of East Texas, from Paris to Houston, have been diligently pursuing the improvements along the Green Carpet route for decades, and the end is in sight. I urge you to be -- to seriously consider expediting the last few segments of this route as a reliever to other NAFTA corridors and as a benefit to people of East Texas. Thank you for allowing this statement to be delivered and thank you for your attention to this request. Yours very truly, Bill Ratliff, lieutenant governor of Texas.

We just appreciate the progress that has been made and we urge you to continue the incremental growth. We appreciate all your efforts. Thank you.

MR. WALL: Now I have pleasure to call on  -- from our county judge, Chuck Superville, for his remarks.

MR. SUPERVILLE: Thank you, Don, and thank you, Commissioners, for this privilege to be heard to speak to such a body as the Texas Department of Transportation commissioners. I also want to thank all the folks of the Green Carpet for allowing me to stand up here and just say a few brief words. The main reason that I'm here is I spoke with our representative Mark Holman just the other evening. He has been called away to pressing business in Florida and asked me to stand up here and convey to each of you that he fully supports the goals of the Green Carpet Memorial Route folks and that this commission please look favorably upon the requests that were made here this morning. I just wanted to add that as the county judge I was noticing all the photographs and I remember each one of those accidents that has occurred. I hear about them firsthand and I would just join with what everyone else here has said that if you could look favorably upon this project, I think that the State of Texas and our community would benefit a great deal.

My perception as county judge is that this corridor, this very long corridor is almost completed, and I think that a big bang for the buck would be earned for relatively small investment, and great return would be realized by the community if we could complete this project.

I will tell you that I have a great deal of sympathy for what all of you are going through. As county judge I understand demands that are made and placed on the budget far exceed the resources that you have. So I think the main difference is that you have a whole lot more zeros behind your budget than I do and probably have a lot more demands. We really do appreciate all the work that you do. We understand what a hard job you have, and we thank you for hearing us today.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Thank you.

MR. WALL: That concludes our formal presentation. We appreciate the opportunity to appear before you again this year and at this time I'd like again for all the Green Carpet group to stand as we in unison salute each one as a tremendous job that all of y'all are doing.

[APPLAUSE]

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Robert, any observations, questions?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Good to see y'all again this year. No, I didn't have any observations. I appreciate all of you coming to be here today with regard to that. I know a lot of you have to leave your work to do that. Appreciate it.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: You know, it really does make a difference when you come and express through your spokespersons your commitment to projects. I think a lot of times I think back to my legislative years and I know Mr.  McReynolds and Mr.  Ellis and Mr.  Allen and other perhaps past legislators see it also. Sometimes it doesn't appear that it makes a difference, but it really does make a difference and it influences how legislators view, and commissioners, view life. So don't stop. Then when we get through with the Green Carpet route, start on a parallel road plan; and the corridor through East Texas, start pressing for it. Together we'll get this stuff done.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Thanks. As by now I'm sure you recognize that we don't make instantaneous decisions on these matters.

[Laughter].

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: But you know, I want to echo what my colleagues have said. I appreciate so much your diligence, one, and your persistence, two. It does make a difference, and it ultimately is going to get done and hopefully sooner rather than later. Mayor Abernathy, it's always a pleasure. You're an inspiration to us all.

MAYOR ABERNATHY: Thank you.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: May you have continued good health and may the citizens of Pittsburg continue to benefit from your leadership. It's always good to have you here.

MAYOR ABERNATHY: Thank you.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: With that we'll take a brief recess so the "Green Button Brigade" can get back. The I-69 coalition will follow.

(Short recess taken.)

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: We will reconvene our meeting with the report from the Alliance for Interstate 69. It's a pleasure to have them here today and I believe serving as their moderator, coordinator, agent in charge is the very capable county judge from Victoria County, Helen Walker. Thank you for being here.

JUDGE WALKER: Thank you.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: We look forward to the presentation.

JUDGE WALKER: Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Johnson, Commissioner Nichols, Commissioner Williamson and Director Behrens and other distinguished guests and audience. I'm Helen Walker, chairman for the I-69 Texas. It's my pleasure to come before the commission again today to update you on the activities of the alliance and suggest additional ways that we might partner for the development of I-69. It's great to be in the territory of Mr.  Isaacs Dinine who has provided us with a prop; Mayor Louis Bronaugh of Lufkin who has devoted many, many years to the building of this trade route and has given untold tremendous effort in its behalf for more than nine years. I'm personally indebted to Mr.  Louis for his guidance and leadership and Judge John Thompson, who I call his son, but we won't go further into that.

By way of introduction or review, the alliance was introduced in 1993 under the chairmanship of Mayor Bronaugh. Since that time the coalition which consists of public and private sector leaders from 34 counties in East and South Texas has consistently advocated for the development of Interstate 69, and we are very proud that for nine years, 34 counties, multiple cities within those counties, and public and private parties have pledged to support every square yard of concrete or asphalt or whatever they can add to the development of I-69. I would like to ask those members of the I-69 Alliance to stand at this time. And thank them for being here today.

The alliance has worked at all levels of government to garner support for the project. We are fortunate to have a strong legislative delegation representing 48 house districts and eight state senate districts. Likewise in Washington, I-69 project has benefitted from support of the I-69 Texas congressional delegation which includes fourteen house members and both Texas senators.

Finally, we've developed a positive working relationship with TxDOT, both at the district level and in Austin. While the alliance and project proponents have invested much time and effort advancing the concept of I-69 as the most direct trade route linking the industrial centers of North America, the reality is the State of Texas cannot further afford delay in constructing I-69. Currently 75 percent of all U.S.-borne truck traffic -- trade with Mexico travels through Texas, placing a tremendous burden on Texas' infrastructure. Furthermore 49 percent of the total U.S. truck-borne trade crosses the Texas-Mexico border between Laredo and the lower Rio Grande Valley, the termini of I-69.

While I-35 is a major artery for trade crossing in Laredo, we have all seen the tremendous strain that I-35 is under. Furthermore, there is no interstate roadway connecting the ten bridges of the lower Rio Grande Valley. Mexico currently has an ever-increasing number of trade agreements with European nations making access of this significant trade factor to the ports of Texas of prime importance. To do that we must build Interstate 69.

Under the fiscal year '02 federal transportation appropriations bill, Texas will receive $12 million for border inspection facilities. Many of these facilities will tie directly into the I-69 corridor. While border security is of paramount concern in the wake of September 11th, we must ensure continued safety and security of goods and people beyond the borders along our highway system. As you can see from this graphic, Texas and the northeast quadrant states lead the country in truck-borne trade with Mexico, and I-69 corridor provides the most direct route. Facilitating this trade should not be the burden of individual states like Texas but a national investment that yields national economic gain through enhanced international trade.

Seeking federal funding for the development of I-69 has been a primary objective with the alliance. We've worked in concert with the multistate I-69 midcontinent highway coalition to secure funding. Over the years Texas has been the beneficiary of this process, and fiscal year '02 Texas will receive $3.4 million for other environmental studies of the I-69 corridor, as well as development of several specific projects in the lower Rio Grande Valley. This is in addition to the $12 million for the border facilities.

Based on our multiyear effort in Washington, one thing is clear. TxDOT support of federal partner project funding is critical to the project. We must ensure that we continue to work as partners to advance I-69, agreeing on goals that we can jointly pursue to advance the project. In parallel to our efforts in Washington to secure appropriations for I-69, the alliance has been an active participant in securing additional state resources fo TxDOT. Our approach has been to join with other transportation interests within the state to increase the overall size of the transportation funding.

I believe the creation of the Texas Mobility Fund is a collective victory that will provide TxDOT with new means to aggressively address the transportation needs of the state. We are proud to participate in that effort during the last legislative session, and you can count on us to continue to fight to secure additional transportation resources during the next legislative session.

Finally, we're pleased to seek the Texas UTP approved by the commission in September, sustains 111 projects along I-69 corridor totalling $2.37 billion. Through the project management database available on the alliance web site at WWW.I69texas.org. We are able to identify each project along I-69 corridor that's in the UTP and determine the level of priority projects, cost and so forth. The ability to track I-69 corridor projects in the UTP is an invaluable tool to the alliance because we view that progress on any project along I-69 route is yet to be -- contributes ultimately to the conclusion of I-69.

We recognize that the specific route of I-69 is yet to be determined based on the studies. Some of these studies may take up to five years to complete. Nevertheless, the I-69 corridor has progressed to the point that we now have fourteen segments of independent utility that by definition merit development individually. We recognize that TxDOT has certain protocol requirements it must complete in the planning and development stage. We're not asking this process be compromised in any way. However, we are asking tha TxDOT use the project financing and development tools to aggressively advance each SIU on its own time line. By the same tone that we consider work in any -- in the corridor project to contribute to the ultimate development of I-69, so, too, do we support the development of each SIUs to interstate standard.

There's several additional things occurring that we hope will bring focus to the effort and accelerate I-69's development. First, the general engineering consultant has been contracted with to coordinate the environment and location studies on each of the SIU's. However, because the funding slowdown has not been contracted with each of the engineering firms selected to conduct the studies, we view this as a critical step in continuing the development and encourage the commission and TxDOT to expedite that process as possible.

When we came before the commission in February 2001, we applauded the selection of the general engineering contractor and the engineering firms as real progress. We hoped that we would have preliminary results from the studies on some of the SIU's to provide us input for reauthorization for federal transportation legislation. While debate on that legislation has begun in Washington, we still need to get the engineer's contract and the studies under way as soon as possible.

Recently we've learned about the I-69 committee that TxDOT has formed. We're encouraged by this proactive step and want to offer our support to that effort. We believe that the committee can serve as the focal point for the state's effort to develop I-69. As we look at the road ahead, there are several opportunities for TxDOT and the alliance to working partnership in order to yield greater resources for I-69 and accelerate the project's completion in Texas.

First, we want to work with TxDOT to identify projects along the I-69 corridor that are currently in the UTP that merit federal appropriations. These are projects that likely would fall in prior to Level 2 of the UTP. They've progressed through TxDOT planning process and address a regional or local need. If we can secure federal appropriations to advance any of those projects, we in essence provide relief sooner to the local communities along the corridor and come one step closer to building I-69 in Texas.

Second, we would encourage TxDOT to ensure that projects along US 77, 281, and 59 are designed to meet interstate standards. With limited transportation resources, there's no sense in having to reconstruct a segment years from now.

Finally, we want to work with TxDOT to take stock of and credit for the work it has already done to improve the I-69 corridor and that is very, very considerable. TxDOT district offices have reported there is work that has been done to prepare for I-69. For instance, TxDOT had the foresight to acquire enough right of way along US 77 and US 281 to construct an interstate facility. Actions like these indicate a level of support that Texas has for meeting the growing demands for interstate caliber access to lower Rio Grande Valley as can be provided by I-69.

By cataloging what the state has already done to prepare, we strengthen our case for federal funding. We can go to Washington and demonstrate the State of Texas has been investing its funds in development of the corridor, but in order to complete the project in a timely fashion, there must be a significant increase in federal funding. We can make the case that Texas recognizes the need for I-69 and isn't going to sit back and wait.

There is current demand along the corridor that warrants Texas' investment. This demand is expected to increase steadily with the full implementation of NAFTA and future trade agreements with Latin America. We need the federal government to ensure that America's infrastructure keeps pace with the demand placed on it by a growing economy fueled by international trade.

Recently Governor Perry announced plans for the development of the Trans Texas Corridor. We applaud the governor and TxDOT for looking at ways to aggressively build and maintain the state's infrastructure, which serves as the backbone of the economy. Utilizing the newly created Texas Mobility Fund total equity regional mobility authority, and other financing mechanisms, we believe that TxDOT can rapidly advance critical infrastructure corridors throughout the state.

We are pleased that the Trans Texas Corridor concept was presented earlier this month embodies the I-69 corridor. We believe the development of I-69 and I-35 supports the objectives of the Trans Texas border. Work on these national high-priority corridors should continue while the Trans Texas Corridor plan is developed.

We recognize the specific routing of the Trans Texas Corridor is still to be determined. In many cases it can follow along sections of US 77, 281, and 59. However, in other more populous areas for local development purposes, we envision a scenario in which I-69 regional follow US 59; for example, near Lufkin, and the Trans Texas Corridor is developed as the I-69 Express.

According to the conceptual maps released by TxDOT, the current proposal would route the Trans Texas Corridor approximately five miles east of US 59. The I-69 regional spur would then serve local and interregional commerce and transport while the I-69 Express would serve the truly long-haul movement of goods that aren't destined for Texas. As such, the I-69 strategy of upgrading US 77, 281, and 59 is not inconsistent with the Trans Texas Corridor. In some cases they could be the same facility and in other regions of the state they would be complimentary facilities.

We look forward to working with TxDOT as you develop a plan by this summer to construct the Trans Texas Corridor, and we all realize what a huge job that is that the governor gave you. We are optimistic about the opportunities before us to advance I-69 in Texas. We want to continue to partner with the commission and TxDOT to secure resources and garner the support necessary to complete I-69.

I appreciate the opportunity to come before you today on behalf of the Alliance for I-69 Texas. We have furnished each commission member with a notebook that highlights the presentation. We also have copies for you of letters from Judy Hawley, vice chair of the house transportation committee, in support of the project, and a copy of the letter, which we were able to deliver yesterday to the governor supporting the Trans Texas Corridor. We would be happy to answer any questions and we thank you for your continued assistance.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Thank you. Robert, do you have any observations, questions?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Good to see you, Judge,  --

JUDGE WALKER: Thank you.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: -- in East Texas. I particularly wanted to thank y'all and the people who have worked on Interstate 69 for the work that you've done at the national level. I know y'all have spent a lot of time and effort working in Congress and with members of the legislature up there for parts of this and your work is paying off and is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

JUDGE WALKER: Thank you.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Ric, did you have any?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Oh, I totally agree with Mr.  Nichols' remarks. We appreciate all the hard work and you know, in order for the corridor to work, it's going to take a partnership of state, local, regional, business, nonprofit. I mean, every Texan has got to participate in this to make it work, but we can do that and we can make it work; and to the extent that every Texan participants, we can make it work faster. I mean, I think the reality for me as a new member, I don't see a lot of financial help coming from the federal government for a while, and I don't complain about that. I just don't see that coming, but you know, we're Texas. We don't need to wait around. We need to get moving and we can do it ourselves if we can figure out how to make it work.

JUDGE WALKER: Thank you, and we appreciate the opportunity to assist you in any way that you-all see fit and in the meantime, though, we will keep working to try to get some more funds. Thank you.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Did anyone else from the alliance want to make a comment? If there are none, we'll take a brief recess so those people that need to excuse themselves may do so and we'll -- this one will be brief. So if we can get into the other parts of our meeting.

(Recess taken).

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: We'll reconvene our meeting, and the first order of business is to approve the minutes of the commission meeting in January. Is there a motion to that effect?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: So moved.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All approve by saying aye? (Chorus of ayes) Thank you. Mr.  Behrens, it's a pleasure to turn over the rest of the agenda to you.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Thank you, Mr.  Chairman. We'll begin with Item No. 4, which is our aviation order. Mr.  Fulton?

MR. FULTON: Okay. Mike, Commissioners, for the record my name is David Fulton, director of the TxDOT Aviation Division . This requests grant funding approval for eight airport improvement projects. Total estimated cost of all requests as shown in Exhibit A is approximately $1.9 million, approximately $1 million federal, $700,000 state, and $200,000 in local funds. A public hearing was held on February the 11th of this year and no comments were received. We would recommend approval of this minute order.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Any questions?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Y'all do great work. I know I've said that before.

MR. FULTON: Well, thank you, sir. Appreciate that.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I'm going to say it again. I move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signal by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Thank you.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Item No. 5, Margot Massey will present three minute orders pertaining to public transportation.

MS. MASSEY: Good morning. I'm Margot Massey, director of the Public Transportation Division. I hope y'all made use of Brazos Transit System's service here in Lufkin. The first item we have is toll credits for the City of Lubbock. This is for their Park and Ride project. They received federal earmarked funds for that and have requested toll credits in the amount of $247,000. We recommend your approval.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: And I see that this capital investment is alternatively fueled.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Therefore?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Therefore our hats are off to both the department and Lubbock and I move.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Thank you.

MS. MASSEY: Well, if you like that one, you're going to love this one. The second item we have is our annual program of projects for the Section 5310 federal program. This is services for elderly and disabled persons. You may recall that last January you enacted administrative rules to enhance local planning and foster cooperative efforts at the local level, and I think with this program of projects, you see the results of that effort, that we have a lot fewer players and some very innovative practices that are coming to bear. This is for just under $5 million in federal funds. We recommend your approval.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: So move.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MS. MASSEY: This third item you have seen before. And it was explained in the cover sheet. We had an interesting turn of circumstances. We are asking to cancel the minute order that you approved in November and this time grant final approval to award $20,000 to the Texas Transit Association for the annual conference. We recommend your approval.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So instead of $30,000, it's $50,000?

MS. MASSEY: Yes, sir.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So it went up?

MS. MASSEY: Yes, sir.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I'm going to go ahead and move because I think y'all have already got this thing scheduled but I think when we discussed it before when it was at $30,000, I was kind of questioning whether or not we should be expending that much money for these associations. I'm supportive of the conference, I participate in the conference, setting up ways to educate them and help, but I feel like those different groups should be pulling in some of that themselves and handling some of that themselves.

MS. MASSEY: Yes, sir.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I think they're probably very capable.

MS. MASSEY: And we have conveyed that message to the association folks and will be working with them to see if we can make that happen.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I did move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Thank you, Margot.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: We'll move to Item 6, our proposed administrative rules for adoption. Richard Monroe will present the first two.

MR. MONROE: Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Richard Monroe. I am general counsel for the department. The first minute order before you proposes the ways in which we will allow private participation in highway construction projects. In the past the department has been somewhat reluctant to do this. However, we feel that these rules, which leave us in control of standards and progress will accomplish what the department needs to do, as well as inject some help, perhaps some additional funding into the highway system. I would recommend your approval of the minute order.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Questions?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: So move.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MR. MONROE: The next minute order believe it or not, I am pretending to be Diana Isabel today. Sorry about that. The next minute order would propose certain changes in job application procedures, particularly to modify them to allow job applicants to submit applications electronically and to adjust certain classifications in these rules to match the new groups as determined by the state legislature. I would recommend your approval of this minute order.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Thank you, Richard.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: We have Item 6(a)3 which are proposed rules for abandonment of rail lines.

MR. RANDALL: Good morning, Commissioners. My name's Jim Randall, director of the planning and program division. The minute order we bring before you today proposes new Sections 15.140 to 15.145 to be codified under Title 43, Texas Administrative Code, Part 1 concerning the abandonment of a rail line by rural rail transportation district. Senate Bill 406, Section 3 passed by the 77th legislature provides that under Article 65505, Section 5(r), a rural rail transportation district created under that article may not abandon another rail line district with respect to which state funds have been loaned or granted unless the abandonment has been approved by the commission, as being consistent with the policies of that article. The proposed new sections establish the policies and procedures by which a rural route transportation district may apply for and obtain approval to abandon a rail line in the district. The order presented for your consideration authorizes this consideration of the proposed rules for adoption in the Texas Register for the purpose of receiving public comments. The staff recommends approval of this minute order.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Yes, sir. Questions from Mr.  Nichols.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: That does include, when you're talking about the rail line, that includes the right of way, if we were to purchase the grant more than for the right of way?

MR. RANDALL: Yes, sir, any involvement that we have state funds involved.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: And this is a proposed rule. So I know we'll get industry comments and county comments, but have we, in helping developed these rules, did y'all spend some time working with some of the rail districts?

MR. RANDALL: I believe we probably talked with NETEX. That's the rail district that probably would be under -- would fall under these proposed rules. They are the only rail district out there right now that has state funds granted to them for their line.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: With the legislature passing that bill last session, conceivably as we move on, it will affect more.

MR. RANDALL: Yes, sir.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So you did have some coordination?

MR. RANDALL: Yes, sir.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: That's really the only question I have.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Did you have anything?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: None.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Is there a motion?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Item 6(b)1, rules for final adoption.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Is this our final rules?

MS. NOBLE: These are finally. Good morning. For the record my name is Dianna Noble, director of the Environmental Affairs Division. Item 6(b)1 is for the repeal of two MOUs and, and 2.25, an MOU with the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. The new MOU like the old one addresses air quality and water quality issues and establishes coordination and cooperative efforts between TxDOT and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. TxDOT and TNRCC held a joint public hearing on November 27th. No comments were received. At the December 13th commission meeting, the final adoption of the new MOU was deferred by the commission due to concerns regarding the state implementation plan and coordination between TxDOT and TNRCC. By letter dated January 23rd, 2002, Mr.  Mike Behrens, the executive director for TxDOT, wrote Mr.  Jeff Saitas, executive director for TNRCC, requesting the formation of an interagency task force to address increased consultation and coordination on the state implementation plan. By letter dated February 15th, 2002, Mr. Saitas agreed to that suggestion. I recommend approval of this minute order.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Any questions?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: I have some. Are you comfortable that the goal you set for the department five months ago creating better lines of communication will be established now?

MS. NOBLE: Yes, I do. We've already initiated those discussions informally awaiting the concurrence from the commission to form that interagency task group.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: My compliments for your work on this. I so move.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying eye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Thank you, Dianna.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Item 6(b)2, we have proposed -- I'm sorry, final rules for adoption, employment practices.

MR. MONROE: Commissioner, if you approve this minute order, we will finalize your new rules, hopefully new and improved, concerning employee training and education. These rules are required by chapter in the government code. The notable changes would be that we make sure that any school attended is an accredited college, and we've done various pieces of cleanup and perhaps most significantly of all, we've reduced the length of the rule by 25 percent. I would recommend your approval of this minute order.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Does this mean we can't get our law degree now to be on TxDOT?

MR. MONROE: I'll see what I can do.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: I move.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I'll second; congratulate you by cutting the rule by 25 percent.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: That's an attaboy.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Perhaps we ought to have a goal to cut them all by 25 percent.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Or cut 25 percent of them?

MR. MONROE: That's certainly something we shoot for.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: There's a motion and second. All signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Thank you, Richard.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: We have Jerry Dike presenting rules for final adoption, 6.b.(3) vehicles, title and registration rules.

MR. DIKE: Thank you, Mike. Commissioners, my name is Jerry Dike, director of Vehicle Titles and Registration Division and this minute order adopts amendments 17.1 through 3 and 17.21, 22, and 17.52. It implements several bills passed by the 77th legislature this past session. The commission in December proposed these amendments. We did publish those in the Texas Register. We received some comments, written comments. We concurred with those comments and these rules have been revised accordingly. We recommend your approval of the minute order.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: I have a question.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Question?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Does any of this address the complaints the, I think the three commissioners have received individually about the amount of time it takes to transfer the ownership of an automobile dealership between two parties?

MR. DIKE: No, sir. Dealer, dealership?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Right.

MR. DIKE: No, sir.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Is there anything we can do administratively to address those complaints of those guys?

MR. DIKE: Now, this -- I don't know if this falls under our area or the motor vehicle division, Ric.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Motor vehicle.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: So I can't get him to do that? We'll have to get Brett to do it? Could you try to do it so we could --

[Laughter]

MR. DIKE: I'll be glad to help, yes, sir. Be glad to.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Thank you.

MR. DIKE: Yes, sir.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Jerry, you mentioned that you had received some public comment.

MR. DIKE: Yes, sir.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Were there several comments along the same lines noticed?

MR. DIKE: Yes, sir. We received one set of comments from a dealer association and they had four very substantial comments. We agreed completely with the comments.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Excellent. Is there a motion?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion passes.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Item 6(b)4 for final adoption of rules. John Zimmerman will present.

MR. ZIMMERMAN: For the record my name is John Zimmerman. I'm a director for the acquisition of the Right of Way Division. I'd like to present for your consideration this minute order which provides for the final adoption of amendments to rules in various sections of Title 43, Chapter 21 with regard to the relocation benefits and procedures required by both state and federal law. The commission by Minute Order 108733 on December 31, 2001, proposed these amendments. There were no comments received, and no changes have been made to the proposed amendments. And we recommend your adoption of this minute order to adopt the amendments.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Any questions?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: So move.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Thank you, John.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Item 6(b)5 which will be presented by Richard concerning the final rules for advertisements on Texas Highways.

MR. MONROE: If you approve this minute order, commissioners, we can finalize your rules concerning our acceptance of advertising in Texas Highways magazine. Interestingly enough, no comments were received on the proposed rules. Therefore they remain as published in the Texas Register and as previously approved by the commission, and I would recommend your approval of this minute order.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I have a question.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Question?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Do you have the sheet that shows the fiscal impact?

MR. MONROE: No, I do not.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I don't have it in front of me this meeting, but I remember reading it. And I think it's probably worthy of note in that the Texas Highway magazine, which we love, and the state, I think, has a lot of regard for for the people to subscribe has been operating in a deficit of $300,000 to $400,000 or something of that for quite a number of years, and what this will do will turn it around so that it not only carries its own but actually carries a little bit extra and that the advertisements that are going to be in it will be, in effect, somewhat minimized and also tasteful and have something to do with the State of Texas.

MR. MONROE: Yes, sir.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Other than that I just thought that was important to point out.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Well, do we know  -- I know last time we talked about this, Richard, we raised the matter of political advertising on this thing. Did we go ahead and approve that?

MR. MONROE: No, sir, that is not included in these, in this minute order or in the proposed rules.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Well, didn't Doris want to be able to get political advertising?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: No, sir, I don't believe she did.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I don't think so.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Maybe that was a different -- so I’ll move or second.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Well, I'll second then.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MR. MONROE: Thank you.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Item 6(b)6 for final adoption of the Texas Turnpike Authority rules, Phil Russell.

MR. RUSSELL: Good morning. My name's Phillip Russell and I'm the director of the Texas Turnpike Authority Division. In December the commission proposed the adoption of the repeal of Chapter 50 concerning Texas Turnpike Authority management, Section 53.60 through 53.71 concerning disadvantaged business enterprise and historically underutilized business procedures, and Section 53.90 through 53.94 concerning contract workforce. With the passage of Senate Bill 342, these rules are either no longer needed or are duplicated in existing TxDOT rules. No comments were received. The staff recommends approval

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Any questions?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I so move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Item 7 concerns environmental mitigation in Harris County and again John Zimmerman will present these rules.

MR. ZIMMERMAN: Again for the record, I'm John Zimmerman for the Right of Way Division. This minute order relates to facilitating the requirements of part of the environmental document and approval for this IH-610 improvement project in Houston by finding that approximately 8 tenths of an acre of existing state right of way, which is next to Houston's Memorial Park, is surplus due to the redesign of this project. So this surplus property is then available to be exchanged for about three tenths of an acre out of this same park that we meet for these highway revisions so the surplus right of way would then be going back to the park to mitigate the impact of taking park land. We're actually getting a little bit more back because of the way the redesign of the ramps worked out. But this is needed for this environmental approval and we recommend the adoption of this minute order.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: John, I have a question. We mentioned these being a part of Memorial Park, and my notes say that these are on the west side of Interstate 610 which I didn't think was part of the park, on city property.

MR. ZIMMERMAN: Well, the way the park land, as I understand it works, it actually extends on both sides of what we would think of as Memorial Park is basically on one side. It is connected by  -- there are some trails that connected it underneath. So it's actually associated with it and has common ownership.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Thank you. Is there a motion?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Thank you, John.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Item 8 will be presented by Amadeo Saenz. This is our statewide transportation enhancement program authorizing some additional funding.

MR. SAENZ: Thank you, Mr.  Behrens. Good morning, commissioners. For the record my name is Amadeo Saenz. I'm director for engineering operations. The minute order before you today is the direction for funding for the 2001 enhancement program. This is the fifth program and was initiated on January 8th, 2001, and closed on June 18th of 2001. The department received 348 project nominations of which 315 were deemed eligible, totaling $528 million. The projects were evaluated by the local district staff, TPEC, and the design division. The ratings were furnished to the commission for further consideration during the project selection process.

In our January meeting, the commission, by Minute Order 108766, dated January 31st, 2002, selected 107 projects at a cost of $143,053,671 for funding of that program. There is additional money, and before you today is a list of ten additional projects for a total of $11,946,154. A list of the projects is included in Exhibit A of this minute order. The staff recommends approval of this minute order.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: We have several who have signed up to speak on this agenda item. Just a footnote what Amadeo has brought to us. I'd like to give you a rundown of the numbers that are involved in the overall step grant process that we face this year. There were 348 project nominations - 315 of these were deemed to be eligible for consideration.

The total amount requested of the 348 was in excess of $550 million, and the eligible project total was $456 million. As he observed at our previous meeting in January, 107 projects were approved in the tune of about $143 million, and with the projects, the ten additional ones today, it will total $117 million for approximately $155 million, and I think the reason I bring those numbers forward is by any measure, you can see that on a project basis or a dollar basis, we were able to fund about one in every three, whether it was one in every three projects or one out of every three dollars that were requested. Every project was -- they were all excellent submittals.

I think each of the commissioners labored over these decisions. Unfortunately when we had our hearing on December the 11th, Commission Williamson was iced in in North Texas. It was a dreary day to be traveling, but Commissioner Nichols and I were -- had the benefit of listening to presentations from many, many parties who had submitted the projects, and it reinforced in our minds just how extraordinary these project requests were, and the unfortunate thing is we just don't have the resources to fund them all and so therefore, the challenge of figuring out which ones to fund and which ones to not.

So I know those that were submitted that are not funded, those people are disappointed and as are we, and to those that are funded, our congratulations because they are the extraordinary of the extraordinary. So having that as sort of a footnote to what Amadeo has mentioned, I also wanted to add that we will have a list published. There will be a list outside here of the projects that will be passed today, and you may also get a list from the public information office in Austin by requesting one either by telephone or by e-mail and they will get one to you. And Amadeo, I'm going to ask you to, if you would read off the project so everyone will know the ones that we are -- will be voting on and then I will ask the people who have requested to perhaps make a comment to do so and then we'll have our vote.

MR. SAENZ: Yes, sir. Stratford Main Street project, the High Plains Bison Visitor Center, Knox City Pedestrian and Bicycle Trail, Bay Trails Phase III, Grand Prairie Lone Star Hike and Bike Trail, Ninth Street Pedestrian and Streetscape Enhancements, the BI-20 East Transportation Corridor Enhancement Project, the Selma Stage Stop Station and Visitor Center, Burlington Rock Island Railroad Depot, and Pershing Square Pedestrian Facility. Ten projects for a total of $11,946,104.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Representative Ray Allen, would you like to say something?

REPRESENTATIVE ALLEN: Yes.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Welcome.

REPRESENTATIVE ALLEN: Thank you, Mr.  Chairman and Commissioners. I wanted to tell you that I started for Lufkin this morning without knowing the outcome of your deliberations, and I came to express my gratitude to the members of the commission for your accessibility throughout this process. And I especially wanted to commend your staff starting with Mike and the other people with whom my office has had contact.

This was a very new process for me, very educational. The process itself helped me gain some perspective about the difficulty of the job that you do. This meeting helped me gain even more perspective as I listened to a mayor who started trying to get funding from the commission when Ric Williamson were students at Abilene Cooper High School. In fact, he was working on the project before we got to high school, Ric. So I just wanted to say that as a legislator I appreciate the complexity and the difficulty and the diligence that this commission staff puts into these commission programs and I wanted to say that as publicly as I could because I mean that from the bottom of my heart. It's been very helpful.

The information, by the way, that you provided to me helped me to understand the process, the criteria by which you judge these various kinds of requests, and that is extremely helpful to me, both in this, this phase of this project and for the future, and I appreciate it.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Thank you for saying that.

REPRESENTATIVE ALLEN: Thank you.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Tyner Little from Nueces County.

MR. LITTLE: Good morning, Commissioner, Chairmen, Director. Thank you for having me. I enjoy being able to be here in Lufkin. It's been about fifteen years, but it's unfortunate we don't get to hear Nueces County on the list, or at least I missed it but --

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Bay Trails Phase III is.

MR. LITTLE: Bay Trails?

The particular item that Judge Borchard sent me here on, unfortunately when the judge has three or four places to be, I get one of those, and so I'm here to talk about the South Texas Regional Transportation Center, and back in the November meeting, Tony Fletcher, port commissioner there, came and spoke briefly, to y'all very briefly and I just wanted to tell you a little bit about it and if there's any way you can, you know, sway a decision.

First of all, we initially requested an enormous amount of money, as you recall. Since we were not funded in that original round, we reduced that somewhat, but one thing, if at all, that I can report to you that has changed: Two days ago the Texas Historic Commission granted $1.9 million to this project and additionally for a $2.85 million project on this particular goal. So that's one thing that you didn't know at the time when you made your decision.

As you recall, to refresh your memory a little bit about this project, never before have I seen so many interagency -- so much interagency cooperation. Just, the local delegation, Representative Capello, Judy Hawley, Congressman Ortiz, Senator Truan, Gene Seaman, everybody. Those letters should have been in your packet or would have been in your packet on this project. But not only that but on the local level, the cities, the mayor, the chief of police, all the constables, the sheriff. We were talking about all of South Texas on this regional transportation center. In fact, the TOC, the transportation operations center was the first to sign off on the idea, and I know it's not the typical kind of project that you see. It's not a hike and bike trail, it's not a -- but we personally felt that this was such an innovative and a great way to really enhance the transportation of South Texas.

And in doing that, just to refresh your memory -- and I'll cut it short  -- we had Metrocom, which is the joint dispatch operations of the region getting law enforcement fire from Point A to Point B on the transportation system in our region. We had EOC, evacuation in a hurricane, chemical spills, the local emergency planning committee. All these entities would be located in this one, in this one location. So --

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: And the location is the courthouse?

MR. LITTLE: That's correct.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: And a lot of this money would be used to restore that courthouse?

MR. LITTLE: Well, actually with the Texas Historic Commission funding that we received two days ago, basically the approach of this project and what we're going to come and ask for today is $2.5 million, and what it would do -- and certainly I don't know that, you know, we want to get into restoring, you know, buildings. This is transportation enhancement and that's why we directed it at enhancing the transportation system. So what we're looking at is, you know, totally renovating, combining with the THC money to renovate the --

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: I'm not trying to trap you. We've always been told that the building had -- needed significant restoration investment for it to work as a transportation center.

MR. LITTLE: Well, this approach, and I guess what I'm here to talk about today or to tell you today, this focuses on the south wing of the building and stabilizes the rest of the building, and the south wing of the building would be used -- we couldn't fit all those entities, but what we are looking at doing is, I guess the most, the most regional approach, what we have going is Metrocom dispatching fire, even the RTA and the buses would work out of this, is locating them in the south wing of the building. And the rest of the building would stay there.

Already now that the THC has come forward, there's lots and lots of support. You know, moving this project forward and so really this is a Phase 1 approach. Given this, I mean, you know, we're going to start and, you know, really move this thing forward. So this smaller approach and asking for $2.5 million today gets us the south wing and gets us Metrocom located in the south wing and gets somebody occupying the building.

There's -- just to tell you what the county has done up to this point, the county has invested, you know, a lot of time obviously, but we've identified about a million dollars of cash and in-kind contributions to go towards this project. So you know, we thought we were dead in the water a couple of days ago. We didn't make the first THC round but now back at home in South Texas, everybody really is looking positive at this particular project, and you know, we didn't know it was going to happen Tuesday, and I think Judge Borchard is still there trying to evaluate everything that occurred there, but there's quite a lot of talk at home about saving this important building and it's, you know, it has to do with saving the building.

It's been unoccupied for twenty-five years, but if I might say one thing, that the committee, THC, recognizes two days ago was the importance of that building to the State of Texas, and frankly some of my notes, I don't know that, you know, if we don't pull all this together, I don't know that that building's going to be there. But they did identify that as one of the, you know, important historic buildings in the State of Texas. And they also identified that, you know, it was an important user to go into the building, talking about the South Texas Regional Transportation Center. And they also noted the importance of the interagency partnerships that were formed over this, and there's a few locals in here but you know, South Texas politics is very interesting, especially in Nueces County, but never have I seen everybody come together like this before.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Well, Tyner, I think that's extremely important. Unfortunately, you know, the timing of this is, the way the system played out and the process played out wasn't the best. But I think community support is going to be vital for this to work and you know, hopefully there will be future programs like this, reauthorization which will come before Congress this next session will yield, whether it will or won't because it's been a very popular program, but as I mentioned, you know, the numbers that I said, we don't have the funding to do everything. But in my mind the community support of a project of this magnitude, and I think it started out at $11 million was the request, somewhere in that --

MR. LITTLE: 11.9, yes.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Yeah, somewhere in that neighborhood, closer to $12 is going to be vital because we need partners. You need partners to pull off something like that.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Yeah. Ray Allen, Representative Allen could tell you a good story. The project in his district has been before us I think five or six years.

MR. LITTLE: Well, this was eight times before the THC.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: And finally the citizens that he represented, represents, made a significant commitment a while back to lower the amount the state had to put into it, which makes it more attractive for us. And with 500 projects and a limited amount of money, the more aggressive partners become, the more aggressive we can become.

MR. LITTLE: That's right. And just a note I wanted to be sure and convey, that it's $2.5, the request at this point. So sincerely appreciate all your hard work.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Also, the Corpus Christi/Nueces County delegation is a good delegation and we're particularly appreciative of Ms.  Luna. She's been a good partner for us.

MR. LITTLE: I know she's been on phone the last couple of days.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: And I hope you'll convey to her that we have heard and we understand how focused she is and there may yet be some things that we can help Corpus Christi with.

MR. LITTLE: Thank you very much for your consideration. Thanks. I've got a flight and a drive but I'm going to enjoy the tall trees. Thank you for your consideration.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Safe journey. Cathy Holste from the children's museum, Brazos Valley? Are you here?

MS. HOLSTE: I am.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Welcome.

MS. HOLSTE: Thank you very much. I have a decidedly low-tech presentation after some of the ones we saw this morning but if you can -- there's two different -- thank you. There's two sets. Sorry. Good morning, Chairman Johnson, Commissioner Nichols, Commissioner Williamson, Director Behrens. Thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you this morning.

My name is Cathy Holste, and I am the president of the board of the directors of the children's museum of the Brazos Valley located in Bryan, Texas, and I'm here this morning with my fellow board member Pat Hiler We traveled over from Bryan this morning to present to you again our appeal for some of the community enhancement funds. I want to start by telling you how much we do appreciate the community enhancement funding that our area has received in the past. I know that the Bush Library, the Carnegie Library and also the recently funded Coulter Historical Center, all are recipients of that type of funding and of course have done wonders to improve and enhance the tourism and interest in our area in general.

I for one was really encouraged about your comments. I think, Commissioner Williamson, you were the one who encouraged the Green Carpet group and commended them on their perseverance because we are, in fact, here again to present a revised version of our original proposal that came to you from the City of Bryan and the children's museum as partners. That, of course, was presented last summer.

In our new proposal that we're bringing before you today, we are focusing on just the portion of that original larger project that we call the outdoor transportation courtyard at the children's museum. This, the city agrees with us, is the nucleus of this project, and it is what we and the city both believe will be, when it's completed, a very pedestrian-friendly center, kind of like a center city for our historic part of our downtown Bryan area.

One of the diagrams that I brought to you today, and it's a little bit difficult to see, but it's this one that I wanted to refer to you. This is the museum itself. This is an old historic building, an old city hall building. It is directly south of what is our public library, and the building in red towards the back of this diagram is the Carnegie Library. Of course, of extreme historical significance in our community and so what we are attempting to do is enhance this area and make it kind of a focal point for our city and our project.

Just a little bit about the children's museum itself. We are just a four-year-old organization that has grown extremely rapidly and been very successful in those years. We are, as all children's museums are, a hands-on learning environment for kids, and the term "museum" sometimes throws people a little bit, but I imagine you've seen these highly interactive types of museums where the whole goal is discovery type learning. That's our focus there at the museum, and we have found in just our four years that we have served not only our Bryan-College Station area but certainly the entire Brazos Valley area: Madison County, Robertson County, Grimes. In fact, a seven county area around us.

We have -- we draw our clientele, our visitors from a wide area. We are uniquely positioned in our community, both because of our location in downtown Bryan. We are a historical building. Right in between our building -- all my little marks on this, on mine anyway have kind of disappeared. I hope you can still see my little crosshatches to show you the location of the Union Pacific railroad line. It's between our building and the Carnegie, and that railroad line has become a focal point for our museum. The kids pretty much drop everything and run to the windows on that side of the building when there's a train coming by. Of course, that's always a fascination, I think, for -- well, for people of all ages.

We've tried to build on that by designating our courtyard  -- which you cannot see on this larger drawing because it lies behind the building, but that's what the other schematic is -- by emphasizing the railroad theme for that courtyard. So we are hoping, of course, to build on that and teach the kids a little bit about the history of the railroad in particular in our area. We also do benefit, we feel, from our position in association with the Carnegie Library, and the public library with the Carnegie Library has become a genealogical research focal point and so with our emphasis on children, we feel this is an excellent fit with all the other educational facilities in that area.

This is, as I said, in downtown Bryan which is undergoing kind of a renaissance during this period of time and we're very delighted to be a large part of that. It's also located in the lower socioeconomic portion of Bryan and so we're developing quite a few programs that are enabling us to serve this part of the population which we're very excited about.

The purpose of this transportation courtyard, which is the other schematic that you have there, is to first of all focus on the various forms of transportation that were influential in the development of Bryan. That would be, as I mentioned, of course, the railroad and the trolly system which originally linked the far-off university down there in College Station to the big City of Bryan. We have an exhibit plan to emphasize the air traffic in the area, the development of the airports. There is a fire truck/bulldozer to emphasize the land movement and earth development, that type of thing.

A second goal of our project is for the education of the visitors. It's not simply -- a children's museum does provide a place to play but always with the focus upon the education of what's going to have to come as a result of that play that the children are doing and so we are -- we already have funding from the Summerlin Foundation in the amount of, I believe it's $7,500 for our signage in that outdoor courtyard to, in fact, establish some of the historical facts. All the exhibits will be interactive.

A second emphasis in that education besides the history is also safety. We, within the courtyard itself, we plan to emphasize pedestrian, automobile, and train safety. And the expanded feature of the project itself, which is a link over across the railroad line over to the Carnegie area, will allow people to make that transition in safety. So that's another important emphasis here.

Ultimately, of course, all of this we hope will serve to increase tourism in our area. We -- I think the latest statistics that I've read say that about 2 million nonresident visitors per year come to the Bryan-College Station area and in a survey that was recently done, the downtown Bryan area was third on the list of what pulls those visitors in; the first being, of course, Texas A&M university itself, the Bush Library and then the old downtown historic Bryan area. So we're real excited about being a part of the Renaissance of Bryan and particularly that we can have this transportation-related theme as an outdoor space for our kids.

Having said that, I believe in the packet that you received was the revised budget, strongly revised because we did pare back from the original larger project to just this nucleus, and I would like to point out to you as you look at that budget, that the city has supported our efforts in sponsoring us, of course, and has also growed a 30 percent match of funding so that we hope that our amount in the amount of about $380,000 might be doable at this point. So do you have any questions for me?

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Well, thank you for the presentation. You know, one of the things that we weigh often is, there's a change in scope of a project, and we basically considered mostly the original scopes, but what gets our attention is leverage. Obviously if the community comes with more funding for the original project, to me at least that's a sign of more commitment. So you know, this is sort of a good message/bad message. We appreciate the funding, but I think there is a change in the scope of the project here. But I appreciate your coming.

MS. HOLSTE: Thank you. I'd be happy to answer any other questions about budget or --

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Anything? Thank you.

MS. HOLSTE: All right. Thank you very much for your time.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Ken Fauwhn from Robstown, or representing Robstown. Welcome.

MR. FAUWHN: Thank you, Commissioners, for the opportunity to speak to you on behalf of the City of Robstown. I'm Ken Fauwhn, executive director for the Robstown Area Development Commission. I came here to talk to you about Centennial Plaza and the downtown Streetscape project. I evidently had a premonition about the funding announcements this morning. So I'll shorten my comments and again thank you for the opportunity and the things that you're doing in the area. Our Centennial Plaza will be a place, when we get it done, that will enhance the current improvements in Robstown that are going on right now.

As I was doing -- I'll direct your attention to the newspaper because I've got a final request about that as you leave here today. As I was doing my final preparation yesterday for this, I picked up the weekly newspaper dated today, distributed yesterday, and it showed that since we met with you in December that a lot of things have changed. The lights came back on last Thursday night on Main Street, and as I read on, I was soberly reminded that there's a lot of ways to spend our money because we also lost a teenager in the area to a tragic accident last week.

When you leave here today, take this paper with you because part of my comments were going to be about the fact that our downtown Streetscape project was going to be a place to reflect, a place for kids to go after they visit the fire department and look at the restored fire truck like the one in the foyer out here, have a picnic, a place for visitors to stop and rest.

If you see any confused faces in the audience while I'm selling you on Streetscape project, they're getting sold on Nueces County bond elections because my budget's slow, too. If you'll take that newspaper with you today and at your first opportunity read it from cover to cover, you'll see that -- you'll see that our lights came on and we've got lots of improvements going on in Robstown, many of which you're helping us with. FM 1889 project is under construction, we've got a museum in progress, we've got fiestas going on. Long-awaited improvements that we were dreaming about are becoming a reality. The district's working for us on economic development and when you get to the very back section, take a look at Mr.  Willoughby's memories of Waylon Jennings and the owner of the recently passed Snapka's Drive-in because like me, I'm sure y'all went through the teenage years and they will be fond memories front and back.

We're going to -- what you've created with this opportunity is another ally in the field. We realize that there are a lot of ways to spend our money and this was the first time Robstown had presented an effort like this. They've done a lot of work. My personal recommendation to them when I went back the last time was that we find some partners to help us fund this project. You have created the opportunity for us to go do that, and if you should present the opportunity with some more funds, then we'll be back to make a second request.

Thank you again for your -- all you do for us and the opportunity to be here.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Thank you for waiting so long. And you also, ma'am.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Charles Eads from Selma.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Alabama?

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: I think it's Selma, Texas.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: I think we're closer to Selma, Alabama here.

MR. EADS: Morning, gentlemen. I don't have the standard handout but I'd like to give you a portrait done by Bob Dean who is the Texas Rangers designated artist. So I've got one for each of y'all and also a T-shirt with the Heritage Day's festival. I have two of these so far. So that's -- there's one for each of y'all down here. That's my only handout today.

Good morning, commissioners. I'm a little reluctant to make a presentation because you might take the project off the list, but I'll take that chance anyway.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: That's a possibility.

[Laughter].

MR. EADS: Could I get Mayor Abernathy to help me out? My name is Charles Eads and I'm from Selma. I'm also on the city council and chair of the historical preservation committee. In my paid life I'm the Bexar County purchasing agent. I come before you today requesting your favorable action of funding the Selma Stage Stop and Tourism Center through the TEA-21 enhancement program. Selma, although small according to 2000 census but 7,088 residents is one of the fastest growing cities in South Texas.

Our half-mile city limits are essentially located between New Braunfels and San Antonio. I-35 has been great to us. We're home to Retama racetrack, a new 20,000 seat amphitheater owned by Clear Channel, and the Forum Shopping Center, the third largest shopping center in Texas. However, our future is also embedded in our past.

In 1849 Harrison and Brown established a stagecoach line which was one of the first commercial transportation systems in Texas. In 1852 a stagecoach stop was built in Selma. This site is now a state archeological landmark. We're asking TxDOT to join us in preserving and restoring this stage stop. The City of Selma has shown our commitment to this submission by increasing our matching funds from 20 to 30 percent. We are committed to funding $427,329.27 of this project and ask that you award us $997,000 to make it complete.

Since our original submission last June, the city has purchased or has had donated from our citizens an additional 51 acres to enhance this project. Our desire is to link this community with the main point of origin, the Selma Stage Stop. The additional acreage and 150-year-old wagon master's homestead that we've acquired recently located adjacent to the stage stop site and runs along the Civil Oak Creek.

Our proposed master plan is to add a community library, community center, and additional hiking and biking and horse trails, all within walking distance of our Selma Stage Stop and Visitors Center. The unique aspect of our stage stop is not only has this small structure survived for 150 years, almost as long as the Republic of Texas; it's still standing, by the way. But that is on the historic El Camino Real, which was mentioned this morning.

We ask that TxDOT join the City of Selma in taking its long-term commitment to restore part of the true spirit of Texas pioneer transportation, a place that will make a long-lasting memory in the thousands of travelers and tourists and utilized the great rails of transportation in Texas, our Texas highways. Our stage stop belongs to the people in the great State of Texas and is the last remaining remnant of our earliest transportation.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Good enough.

MR. FAUWHN: Sir?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Good enough.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: I think the commitment of an additional 51 acres from your neighbors is very significant. That's gratifying to see, you know, area support like that.

MR. FAUWHN: We've just received nine acres from the Retama partners, as an example of a commercial venture, part of Retama racetrack, and we're getting permission for the hike and bike trail, which is Phase 3 on the Civil Oak Creek on the other side. We haven't done that yet. We bought a twelve acre site, and the homestead was bought back in 1853. We just got that two months ago.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Well as the chairman says and back to his comments to you, when the scope doesn't change and the local match goes up and additional community support comes in, well, that's the kind of stuff that I think makes the commission feel good about how it distributes its funds.

MR. FAUWHN: Gentlemen, this is a Texas treasure. It just happened to be located in Selma.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Is there -- we have a presentation. Is there a motion to approve the enhancement list that has been submitted by Mr.  Saenz?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: So move.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Thank you.

MR. FAUWHN: I won't take my T-shirts back then.

[Laughter]

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: We'll go to Item 9, our transportation planning. Jim Randall will present seven minute orders under the title.

MR. RANDALL: Chairman, in the transportation planning programming … Item 9(a). This minute order provides for the appointment of two members to the port authority advisory committee. Senate Bill 370 was passed in 1997 during the 75th legislative session, which created this committee. The committee's purpose is to provide for a forum for the exchange of information between the commission, the department, and committee members representing the port industry in Texas and others who have an interest in the Texas water ports.

There are five members who are appointed to the committee in staggered terms. Since two members' terms expire on December 31st, 2001, a member representing the port of Houston and a member representing ports located south of the Matagorda County line, need to be appointed to the committee for terms that expire on December 31st, 2004. Wade M. Battles has been recommended to represent the port of Houston and Mr. Besteiro represent ports south of the Matagorda County line. The candidates are recommended for your approval.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Any questions?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Have they been contacted to see if they would serve in that position?

MR. RANDALL: They haven't been contacted, but the list, they were submitted.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So there's a strong indication?

MR. RANDALL: Yes, sir. They submitted applications.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Mr.  Besteiro currently serves.

MR. RANDALL: Yes, sir, that would be a reappointment.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: And Commissioner Battles is represented by the Port of Houston. So I assume they're cognizant of those.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Yeah, I so move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: I second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Thank you.

MR. RANDALL: Item 9(b), in accordance in Section 201.602 of the Texas Transportation Code, the Texas Transportation Commission conducted a public hearing on November 15th, 2001 to receive testimony concerning the highway project selection process and the relative importance of the various criteria in which the commission bases its project selection decisions. The presentation included a prestructured Unified Transportation Program which reduces the number of categories from 34 to 12.

The restructured UTP helps to simplify the process by using less confusing terminology and delivers highway improvement projects that focus on complete and continuous quarters. Six participants provided oral comments at the hearing. Written comments were accepted through January 9th, 2002 and ten were received. Exhibit A contains those summary of comments and responses to the oral and written comments received as a result of the public hearing and the metropolitan planning organization educational outreach presentations.

Following the comment period the department received one comment from the Transportation Excellence for the 21st Century Coalition, also known as

TEX-21, who requested that the department extend the time for public comment on the revisions to the UTP to at least July 31st, 2002. The minute order before you today establishes that the proposed project selection process consistent with agency goals to manage, develop, and preserve the state's transportation system in a safe, effective, environmentally sensitive manner and authorize the project selection process as shown in Exhibit B for developing the UTP. We recommend approval of this minute order.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Any questions?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I didn't have any questions. Mine were comments. I just wanted to congratulate your staff and the administration for the work that has gone on related to this that evolves from a period of years of comments and studies by a lot of cities, comptroller's office and so on, and I think everyone gets a little nervous when there's a change of this nature because they're not quite sure as the end result, but I think the benefits far outweigh the concern by consolidating these things, and we're going to be really going to, like, a two-year transition on funding for these categories.

MR. RANDALL: Yes, sir.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: For these categories and it's going to be putting a task force group together on some of these corridor priorities.

MR. RANDALL: Yes, sir. We'll have six task forces.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: And I think there's going to be a lot of emphasis on how that works. So my hat's off to you.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: My hat also is off to Robert. I guess my only, my only clarion call to you is let's keep making them more simple, not -- let's don't start here and then start back making them more complicated. You guys are  -- two of my colleagues are engineers. 99.999 forever percent of this state are not engineers, and the more we can communicate in language that citizens and taxpayers understand, the better off we'll be over the long haul. So like Nichols, 25 percent less rules, the rules that are there 25 percent fewer words and use words that normal Texans understand.

MR. RANDALL: Yes, sir, we'll do that.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: It's a great step, though. It's a huge step.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Echo those remarks. You know, it occurs to me, though, that as we -- this is sort of an evolutionary process. It's one that's a living document almost, and so it is subject to be amended or molded even further. I also want to really reinforce what Ric was saying. I think from everybody's standpoint, this becoming a simpler, more concise document is in everybody's best interest. The more complex things are, the fewer people that go to the trouble to even try to understand them, and I think that's a wonderful step.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: You know what's important? We're going to be spending from $5 to $15 billion of construction money in the next fifteen years that didn't anybody anticipate and you know, we're going to be building railroads, not just roads, and it's important for us to lay the groundwork now by documents that normal -- that's the wrong word. Nonengineering Texans will understand and use those words in everything that we do to communicate what we're doing. It's just, you know, the entire state's got to be behind this effort and it's a lot easier to get behind us and work with us and make this happen if everybody understands what it is we're doing. I just do feel strongly about that.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: I believe Mr.  Nichols motioned.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: And I second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MR. RANDALL: Thank you. Item No. 9.c . This item that we bring before you today authorizes the replacement of a bridge in Fannin County at Davis Creek on County Road 3105 south of Bonham. A significant detour approximately 5.5 miles has resulted due to the restriction of heavy loaded vehicles such as school buses and wreckage trucks. The project was inadvertently omitted from the 2002 Unified Transportation Program and since the bridge is critically deficient, it needs to be replaced. The estimated cost of the bridge is $147,700, which includes 10 percent local participation by the county. With your approval of this minute order, we will proceed with the replacement to be funded of this bridge for Priority 1, Category 6(b) of the 2002 UTP. We recommend approval of this minute order.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MR. RANDALL: Okay, sir. Item No. 9.d. This minute order authorizes the annual bank balance allocation programs as part of the 2003 Unified Transportation Program. The minute order has been passed today which approves the project selection process and also approves the formulas for these programs for the 2003 UTP. The staff recommended program funding levels were used as a basis to calculate the allocations for each district. Since fiscal year 2006 will be the third year of the next federal transportation bill, program levels or projections based on estimated future revenues. We recommend approval of this minute order.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Questions?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I did not have a question. I had a comment. The hazard elimination program just for the public's information is being substantially increased?

MR. RANDALL: Yes, sir.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Which is a very good program because it concentrates on spots around the state that we see unusual circumstances of accidents, and it puts that money into those spots in a much faster manner than it would normally. Other than that, I didn't see much change, but with that I'll so move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MR. RANDALL: Thank you. Item 9(e), this minute order approves the allocation portion of the first program call for the Border Colonia Access Program. In order to initiate the program, the administration agreed to a first program call of $50 million, with $25 million being distributed based on the population and the remaining to be distributed on a project-by-project basis. On January 18th, 2002, the program call was issued; the applications were received by February 15th, 2002. The projects for each county were then ranked according to the colonia population. The condition of the road, the presence of a school bus route, the access of the colonia to the region and the number of people living along the project.

The minute order presented for your consideration approves the projects as described in Exhibit A for the allocation portion of the first program call. The commission will distribute the remaining portion of the first program call to individual counties on a project-by-project basis at a later date. Agreements between the department and the counties will be executed after the Texas Public Finance Authority has issued the bonds. Staff recommends approval of this minute order.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Questions or comments?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MR. RANDALL: Okay, sir. Item 9(f). We bring you the second quarter program for disadvantaged counties to adjust matching fund requirements. In your books is Exhibit A that lists the projects and staff's recommended adjustments for each one of them. The adjustments are based on the equations approved in earlier proposals. There are 22 projects in eight counties and reduction participation for these projects is $433,057. We recommend approval of this minute order.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: So move.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MR. RANDALL: Finally Item 9(g). The minute order presented for your consideration authorize $14,950,000 in federal discretionary funds as approved by the Federal Highway Administration. These funds will be used exclusively for the development of the projects listed in Exhibit A. The department annually submits projects to the FHWA for funding consideration.

For the year 2002 the department has been notified that six projects identified in Exhibit A will receive federal funding. The type of funding received includes discretionary, interstate maintenance discretionary, public lands discretionary, and general provisions. In order to remain eligible to receive these funds, the department must obligate the funds by September 30th, 2002, to meet FHWA's requirement. We recommend approval of the projects identified for the 2002 federal discretionary program.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Questions, comments?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MR. RANDALL: Thank you, sir.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Item 10 we have a SIB loan application. Phil Russell will present this application from the City of Round Rock.

MR. RUSSELL: Phillip Russell, director of the Texas Turnpike Authority Division. The minute order I bring to you this afternoon seeks preliminary approval of an additional loan to the Round Rock System Development Corporation in the amount of $15 million to fund the acquisition of right of way and the relocation of utilities needed to conduct State Highway 45 within the city limits. This $15 million is in addition to an earlier $16 million loan on the same project which could be handled either as a separate loan or as an amendment to the earlier loan. With your approval the Finance Division will begin negotiating the terms with the applicant. We recommend your approval.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Questions?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I have.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Go ahead, Robert.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: James Bass isn't here, is he?

MR. RUSSELL: I'm the James Bass stand-in today.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: That's what I was thinking.

MR. RUSSELL: A little shorter version but hopefully I'll be able to give you an answer.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: My question is on the 4(b) sales tax from the development corporation, they are totally empowered to go and just borrow money and use those future revenues to pay that back through their city depository and I mean, we've got a great working relationship with Round Rock on this. My concern comes a little bit in that all of a sudden we're going to have $30 million of the state infrastructure money tied up with the City of Round Rock, and I know their sales tax would pay for it, but are they borrowing that from us instead of through their normal depository because our interest rates are cheaper?

Some of those of you that have heard me, that's why usually I'm saying this to James Bass. I just want to make absolutely sure that when we look at our interest rates and the terms that we are not competing against normal banking interests by having an unusually low interest rate. That was not our intention

MR. RUSSELL: I don't think they are playing the interest game. I think their past loan was 4.6 percent, four and a half percent. I think James is very, very sensitive to that. In fact, he's had some of those preliminary discussions that we'll want to sit down with the market rate, see what they are now, what they were back in July of 2000. I think he has a pretty good handle on that.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Okay.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Maybe we're just easier than those.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I so move.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Well, I have the same -- I'm going to put my banking hat on very briefly and that is, I love Round Rock and I love Williamson County and they are wonderful partners to work with on transportation challenges. They have come forward in a major way to participate with us in trying to deal with a critical need for additional surface infrastructure there, but putting on my banking hat, you know, no banker wants to have too many of his assets tied up, you know, under one credit or to one borrower and I sort of, I think it's similar to what Robert's saying, although he's sensitive to interest rate loans. I just think we, you know, need to be cognizant of that fact.

MR. RUSSELL: Yes, sir.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: And what's an appropriate amount or limit, I have no earthly idea but I would think that every banker in the room would share that same sentiment.

MR. RUSSELL: I believe James indicated to me that even if this loan was approved, the SIB would still have approximately $125 million to be loaned out. So there's still a pretty good balance.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Well, I mean this totals I believe $31 million to Round Rock.

MR. RUSSELL: Yes, sir.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: We have $28 million loaned to the City of Laredo on one of their bridges. So, I mean, we have loaned this amount of -- that total amount of funds to a given political subdivision before. So I mean, but I just think the -- if we get too far north of here that we're violating a banking principle that we need to be aware of.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: This is a two-step process. So this is not a final vote. Basically it's for comments to the point where y'all will carry it forward. So I guess even though you're behind the podium and we're talking to you, I guess we're also talking to our executive director in expressing concern which will be brought up.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: We'll make sure that we discuss with James and include this in further negotiations we have with the City of Round Rock and put those other options out there to look at.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: Yeah. There may be some other options because even though we've got $125 left, I know there's a lot of people out there lining up for it and it won't last. It will eventually recycle but it won't be there forever.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: I believe Mr. Nichols moved.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I did move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Thank you, Phil.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: All right. Thomas Bohuslav will present our contracts.

MR. BOHUSLAV: Morning, commissioners. My name is Thomas Bohuslav, selector of the Construction Division. MO 11(a)1 is consideration for the reward or rejection of highway maintenance contracts let on February 6, 2002, with engineers’ estimated costs are $300,000 or more. We had nine projects. Staff recommends award of all projects in the exhibit.

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MR. BOHUSLAV: 11(a)2 is consideration for the reward or rejection of highway construction contracts let on February 5th and 6th, 2002. We had 42 projects and you see we had an average number of bidders of 5.95 and that's because we had one project with 29 bidders, very small project in the Odessa District. You'll also note that this month that we had zero projects where we had multiple or single bidders, multiple bidders over 20 percent and single bidders greater than 10 percent over the insurance estimate and we underran almost all projects. So the contractors are hungry.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Thomas, in your quick mathematical, brilliant mind, if you took the one project out that had the 29 bidders, would we still average about 5 per --

MR. BOHUSLAV: Probably -- I think we'd be back around 4 or so probably.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: But still it's nice to see --

MR. BOHUSLAV: That's still good competition.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: -- that enthusiasm and of course, the underwriting -- or underbidding, underestimating. Great. Do we have a motion for approval?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Thank you, Thomas.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Amadeo will present Item 11(b) contract claim.

MR. SAENZ: Good afternoon, commissioners. For the record I'm Amadeo Saenz. The minute order before you for this item approves a claim settlement for the contract by Texas Traffic Control Systems Incorporated by project STP 2000(108)HES, which was for work in various counties in the Atlanta District. On January 15th of this year the TxDOT's contract claim committee considered the claim, met with the contractor and the district staff, and made a recommendation for settlement to the contractor. The contractor has accepted. The committee considers this to be a fair and reasonable settlement of the claim and recommends your approval.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Questions?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: So move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries.

MR. SAENZ: Thank you.

DIRECTOR BEHRENS: Commissioners under Item 12 you have the routine minute orders listed. They were duly posted and I would recommend approval of those minute orders. If any of you have any questions, we'll be glad to try to answer that.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Any questions?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: You say he did?

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Is there a motion?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I'll so move.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. Is there any other business that needs to come before the commission? We had one speaker for our open comment period. Richard Mueller?

MR. MUELLER: Yes, sir.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Texas 2002 Transportation Summit in Irving. Welcome, Mr.  Mueller. We're glad that you're here.

MR. MUELLER: Thank you very much, commissioners, and I am here on behalf of the City of Irving and I wanted to just invite you and everyone else in the room to the Texas Transportation Summit that would be scheduled, is scheduled now for August 14th, 15th, and 16th. This will be the fifth annual Texas Transportation Summit. Those of y'all who have been in the past know that this has grown every year. Last year we had the keynote speaker as Governor Perry, Senator Hutchison and Secretary of Transportation Mineta. This year looks like it's going to be even better. We have a golf tournament scheduled for the first time. That will be on Tuesday afternoon before it begins. That will be August 13th. That will be at the TPC course where the Byron Nelson is held, and the green fees will be under $100 bucks. So sign up, golfers. And the work during the session will be excellent.

We already, here it is only February and we already have Senator Hutchison confirmed. We also have Tom P. Track, a congressman from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and he is a subcommittee chair on house surface transportation committee, a key player in the reauthorization of TEA-21. He is confirmed. We have -- I think that we will get Hal Rogers, who is a key player on the house authorization committee. Also a key player in the TEA-21 reauthorization. And we'll have a number of other folks. We have TEX-21 congressional caucus scheduled. We are also reinviting Secretary Mineta, Governor Perry and also Secretary Mineta’s counterparts from Mexico and Canada, Pedro Cirasola from -- he's the secretary of communications and transportation for Mexico and David Colanette, who is the minister of transport for Canada so he can address the issue of increasing security really for the entire continent while we're increasing trade. So this ought to be a dynamite presentation. Put it on your calendar August 14th, 15th, and 16th. Thank y'all very much.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Thank you. Does that qualify for advertising in Texas Highways?

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: Pretty close.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Is there any other business that needs to come before the commission?

COMMISSIONER NICHOLS: I move we adjourn.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON: I second.

CHAIRMAN JOHNSON: Before we vote, once again thanks to everyone who has been so hospitable to the commission. All in favor signify by saying aye. (Chorus of ayes) Motion carries. For the record please note it's 12:35.

(Proceedings adjourned).

STATE OF TEXAS

COUNTY OF ANGELINA

I, DANA R. SMELLEY, Certified Shorthand Reporter in and for the State of Texas, do hereby certify that I reported the Texas Transportation Commission Meeting in the aforementioned heading on the 28^th day of February, 2002, and that the foregoing pages constitute a true and correct transcript of my shorthand notes, to the best of my ability, taken at said time and place.

Witness my hand and seal of office this the 14^th day of March 2002.

_______________________________________

DANA R. SMELLEY, Certified Shorthand Reporter in and for the State of Texas CSR # 4086, Expires 12-31-03