[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19360-19361]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       MEMORANDUM OF FORT WORTH CITY COUNCIL MEMBER CHUCK SILCOX

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAY GRANGER

                                of texas

                        Thursday, July 28, 2005

  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to enter into the Record the 
following memorandum from Fort Worth City Council Member Chuck Silcox 
to the Mayor of Fort Worth and Council Members dated July 5, 2005. In 
the memorandum, Councilman Silcox indicates his desire for the 
successful implementation of the Trinity River Vision project in Fort 
Worth, Texas.

                                  Memo

                                                     July 5, 2005.
     To: Mayor & Council Members,
     From: Chuck Silcox,
     Re: Trip to Washington, DC, June 21-23.
       On June 21. I flew to Washington, DC for a series of 
     meetings regarding the Trinity River and Highway 121 
     projects. Initially, let me report that the meetings went 
     quite well. My appreciation to Congresswoman Kay Granger and 
     her staff for all they did to arrange the schedule for me. I 
     was accompanied with Reid Rector, Robert Head (Ms. Granger's 
     Deputy Chief of Staff) and Pete Rose.
       Wednesday, June 22, began with a meeting with Congresswoman 
     Granger to discuss the agenda and key issues relative to the 
     Trinity River and Highway 121 projects. This meeting went 
     well, and I left there very comfortable that in the sense 
     that Congresswoman Granger's office will continue to work 
     very closely with us in support of our federal legislative 
     agenda, to include the successful implementation of the 
     Trinity River Plan and the Highway 121 projects. In addition, 
     we also discussed, in general terms, the importance of 
     maintaining the Wright Amendment and the current status of 
     the B-36 project as affected by a lack of funding to retain 
     the B-36 in Fort Worth.
       Following the above meeting, we met with senior staff at 
     the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps was represented 
     by Steve Stockton, Deputy Director of Civil Works, Gary Leow, 
     Director of Civil Works Program Integration Division and John 
     Meador, Civil Works Deputy, Southwestern Division. Several 
     key points were discussed during this meeting:
       1. The Corps staff stressed that while the key underlying 
     need for the TRV was and remains flood control and repair of 
     the levees in the area, this type of project is becoming more 
     and more common in the Corps' work, i.e., combining economic 
     development and flood control issues. In the terms of flood 
     control, Corps staff emphasized that upstream development has 
     significantly affected downstream drainage and flooding 
     issues. In addition, the existing levees have ``settled,'' a 
     condition that also contributes to the flooding potential. 
     The Trinity River project, with its bypass channel, would 
     appropriately address these issues.
       2. Regarding environmental issues associated with the 
     Trinity River development, Corps staff indicated that the 
     initial environmental impact statement is in line and that 
     their initial review does not reveal any significant 
     environmental problems. However, they stated that 
     approximately $25 million has been allocated for dealing with 
     any issues that might arise.
       3. Regarding the location of businesses within the Trinity 
     River project area, Corps staff stated that the only property 
     that would be obtained would be that property necessary for 
     the bypass channel and that no other property would be 
     sought.
       4. Regarding increases in project costs ($360 million to 
     $435 million), it was explained that this is primarily due to 
     ``contingency'' costs being added to insure that 
     unanticipated costs are adequately covered.
       5. These issues and any other relevant issues will be 
     addressed at public meetings currently scheduled for July 26 
     and 27. It is my intent to see that these meetings are 
     publicized so that the public can attend, learn about this 
     project and raise any relevant questions they may have.
       We then met with staff from the Federal Highway 
     Administration to discuss the SH-121 project. Attending for 
     the FHWA were Charles Nottingham, Associate Administrator for 
     Policy and Government Affairs, Sal Deocampo of the Texas 
     Division (by telephone), Ruth Rentch of the Office of 
     Environmental Planning, Jennifer Southwick, a Special 
     Assistant for Policy and Governmental Affairs and Marc Ott 
     (by telephone).

[[Page 19361]]

     As in the case of the meeting with the Corps of Engineers, 
     several key issues were discussed:
       1. The plan for groundbreaking in late 2005 was discussed 
     and it was emphasized that City intended to stay on schedule.
       2. With the revised cost estimates, as all parties 
     investigate opportunities for refinement of the cost 
     estimates, it is the City's strong intent not to compromise 
     the quality of the project.
       3. It was noted that NTTA should, within 90 days, be able 
     to better understand the cost increases for the project. In 
     this regard, it was noted that the City should be in close 
     contact with the NTTA to urge favorable action relative to 
     dealing with any cost increases. Marc Ott indicated that a 
     letter from the Mayor was being forwarded to the NTTA 
     addressing the cost issue.
       4. Relative to these costs issues, FHWA staff indicated 
     that costs cannot be finalized until the Record of Decision 
     has been issued as the Record will play a significant role in 
     final cost determinations. Now that the ROD has been issued, 
     FHWA staff felt that the cost related issues would be 
     resolved as design work progresses.
       These meetings with Congresswoman Granger, the Corps and 
     the FHWA were very informative. As a result of attending 
     these meetings, I am confident that we can successfully 
     address the relevant issues affecting the Trinity River and 
     SH-121 projects.

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