By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
City council members on Jan. 24 asked City Manager John Sheedy to approach Amtrak officials to see if the train company might provide some amenities for travelers at its Del Rio station.
Councilman Jesus Lopez asked for discussion and possible action on opening the city council constituent office, located in the city’s transportation center, 100 W. Ogden St., for travelers arriving and departing via Amtrak, which stops several times a week just outside the office.
“I brought this item up for the simple reason I experienced this firsthand, with my sister-in-law and my nephew. When I see a transportation building that the city made, for transportation, that means trains, buses, taxis, whatever kind of transportation needs for our constituents. When I saw that there’s no waiting room anymore for any of those services, especially the train, the train that still goes through Del Rio, and I was there, there was weather, it was windy, raining, the train came, people getting wet, getting their feet wet, nowhere to protect them, nowhere to wait,” Lopez said.
“As I came on the council and became aware of the areas, I noticed there was a constituent office there at the transportation center, and that office is right there behind the double doors where they depart and arrive (for the train), so I saw no issues or concerns, possibly, maybe, to give those passengers an area for waiting while the train arrives and departs, and it’s a convenience for the citizens. It’s a convenience for those who come to Del Rio on a train,” he added.
Lopez said the office wouldn’t have to be open all day, every day; only during those times Amtrak visits the Del Rio station.
He said the waiting area would also be beneficial if the train is delayed. He said on the day he was at the transportation center with his relatives, the train was delayed for five hours, “and when I went back to check, there was a girl sitting outside on her suitcase, and she’d been sitting there since mid-morning, waiting for the train.”
Lopez said he would also like to give City Manager John Sheedy the authorization to approach Amtrak about possibly assisting with hiring someone to man the waiting area.
Mayor Al Arreola then recognized Mayor Pro-tem Steven Webb, who said he wished to make a comment.
“First off, that is not a transportation building. That is a city building. The bus (company) and everybody pulled out of that building years ago. I don’t know why. The city took it over. Right now it has (city) media on one end. We have local transportation on the other end. We’re fixing to open the (small business) incubator, and we have the council’s constituent office,” Webb said.
He said he uses the office frequently.
“The other thing is, that building is not secure all the way through. The end that has media, they can lock their end, but the rest of the building, from the new incubator office all the way through … the doors don’t lock. So by opening that building, even for a short time, you’re going to have people wandering around, and they’ll have availability, from the local transportation end all the way through, and if it’s open, there’s no telling who will get in there. We have transients, we have people that sleep around the train station at night,” Webb continued.
“It’s not our responsibility to provide for the railroad. The railroad needs to be approached to put up lights or awnings or whatever it is for the people that ride the train,” he added.
Webb continued, “We can’t open that building to the public. Who’s going to pay the overtime for the guy to come down and open up the building? And if the train’s five hours late, that’s five hours of overtime to pay for somebody to come in there and open the building, and he can’t watch everybody and what direction they’re going to go in. It’s not safe; it’s not warranted, it’s been going on for years the way it’s been going on, and it’s worked.
“Like I said, the railroad is who has to be convinced to do something for the people. They took over the property outside . . . It’s their responsibility; it’s not ours,” Webb said.
Lopez said he wasn’t talking about opening the entire building, only the constituent office, the hallway and the restroom. He also said a lock could be added to doors that lead to the rest of the building.
Webb pushed back.
“Are you going to pay $500 per lock?” he asked.
“Are you sure they’re $500 per lock?” Lopez asked.
“I’m not going to approve $500 per lock. Right now, it’s secure. Right now, we don’t have to worry about opening up at night and allowing anyone in that building. We know it’s secure when we leave at 5 or 6 or whenever. I’ve been down there at 9 o’clock, and I know it’s secure when I walk out the door,” Webb said.
“I just want to add, we haven’t mentioned liability here. We also have to consider that, because that would fall under the city,” Councilwoman Alexandra Falcon Calderon added.
Lopez reiterated he wasn’t talking about the entire building, only a limited area in and around the constituent office.
After the council members finished speaking, Arreola said, “I think it would be wise for John to, as Mayor Pro-tem Webb mentioned, the platforms that they’re building are pretty wide, they could be some structures that they’re going to put together for the purposes that you’re saying. It’s something that John can investigate and find out for us, and bring it back to us.
“There’s pros and cons to this, as right now it’s only Amtrak that goes through Del Rio . . . Right now, as I said, I think we should have John investigate what Amtrak is doing, and he can bring it back to us and inform us,” Arreola said.
Councilman J.P. Sanchez said he had a question for Sheedy.
“How many times does Amtrak actually stop in Del Rio? Is it once a day? Once a week? Twice a week? Do we have a schedule?” Sanchez asked.
“Yes, sir, it’s the Sunset Route, and I believe it’s scheduled for three times a week, Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, and the arrival time shows to be 1:02 a.m. in Del Rio. That’s the scheduled arrival time,” Sheedy replied.
“Mr. Sheedy, how many citizens utilize Amtrak?” Sanchez asked.
“We tried to work with Amtrak to see if we could get ticket counts or something, so we really don’t have good numbers on that,” Sheedy replied.
“I’d like to know that number, because if I’m going to approve and invest in something like that, I want it to go to the betterment of more citizens, not just a small group of people. I’ve lived here for over 60 years, and I’ve never used Amtrak. That’s not putting anybody else down, but if you’ve got to get someplace right now, you’re going to take a vehicle or a plane, but if you come back with the other information, if you could include something like that, I would appreciate it. It would help me make my decision,” Sanchez said.
Councilwoman Ernestina “Tina” Martinez, too, said she would like for Sheedy to contact Amtrak.
“Maybe they can provide some kind of services because they’re the ones benefitting from the travelers, and I do know of some people who travel almost every year on Amtrak, but we do need to provide something for the citizens, so please talk to Amtrak, and maybe you can come to some kind of an agreement to where they can provide some kind of shelter or something while people are waiting for the train to come in,” Martinez said.
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