(rshsdepot) Fort Morgan, CO

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From The Fort Morgan Times:
 
Original story and photo at:
_http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/news/2009/jan/12/grant-rr-depot-denied/_ 
(http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/news/2009/jan/12/grant-rr-depot-denied/) 
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Grant for RR depot denied

By JOHN LA PORTE, Times News Editor
Monday, January 12, 2009 
 
 
A $100,000 grant to upgrade the Fort Morgan railroad depot has been denied,  
but city officials are seeking other funding avenues.
 
The City of Fort Morgan’s request for a $100,000 grant to renovate an old  
railroad depot into an intermodal facility serving bus lines and Amtrak has been 
 denied.
 
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) developed a list of 116  
projects representing $1.16 billion in construction projects. Only 16 projects  
were recommended for federal stimulus funding.
 
Fort Morgan had requested that funding be provided in 2010.
 
The city had submitted the grant request jointly with Amtrak, said Pat  
Merrill, city manager.
 
“I’m disappointed in it,” Mayor Jack Darnell said of the failure of the  
project to make the list.
 
The renovation would have helped the economy, and having an Amtrak stop  “
kind of puts us on the map, too,” he said.
 
“I was informed by CDOT that it probably fits better with historic  
preservation,” Merrill said of the grant request.
 
He said city staff would work on that funding avenue.
 
Any renovation would need to address some Americans with Disabilities Act  
(ADA) issues, Merrill noted.
 
“That’s something we need to stay on top of,” Darnell said of ADA  
requirements.
 
Amtrak warned in mid-2007 that ADA rules would prohibit it, starting in  
2010, from stopping at stations that did not meet requirements.
 
ADA rules include such provisions as maximum slopes of ramps for  handicapped 
access (Amtrak cars are equipped with such ramps that swing down to  
platforms), tactile surfaces near the edge of platforms (so visually handicapped  can 
feel them) and restroom accomodations for handicapped.
 
Fort Morgan’s depot lacks those, and the station is rather Spartan, with  
small restrooms that would need work to bring them up to ADA standards and a  
sparsely furnished waiting room.
 
Also, the heating system and insulation are inefficient, and trying to heat  
the building is prohibitively expensive. The Fort Morgan Area Chamber of  
Commerce tried to use the station for an office for awhile but abandoned the  plan 
due to high heating costs.
 
Use of the Fort Morgan Amtrak stop is not all that high, about seven  
passengers a day.
 
— Contact John La Porte at _news_@_fmtimes.com_ (mailto:news@fmtimes.com) .
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1829
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org