Architect next step for new transfer station
By Steve Herring
Published in News on July 1, 2010 1:46 PM
The Goldsboro-Wayne Transportation Authority will soon begin its search for an architect for the $4.5 million transfer station for its GATEWAY bus system.
Authority Executive Director Alan Stubbs told the board at its meeting Tuesday that a request for quotations is expected to be sent out by August for the transfer station that will be located next to Union Station.
Currently, the station is housed in an old fire station.
The city will be responsible for 10 percent of the project as a local match. If the project costs $4.5 million, the local match will be at least $450,000, Stubbs said.
The city has yet to commit the funding.
"It won't be done if the funding is not forthcoming," Stubbs said. "I think we will see them do it though. It looks like the state will pay one-half of the 20 percent. So the state would pay 10 percent and the city would pay 10 percent and then the federal government would pay 80 percent.
"We have some money that we have to use within the next couple of years. If it is not used you could possibly lose it, the federal money."
That would mean starting over, he said.
In April, the GATEWAY board agreed to a memorandum of understanding with the city and the state Department of Transportation. The memorandum defines each party's responsibilities, primarily the city's and GATEWAY's, relative to the construction of the bus transfer station.
According to the memorandum:
* GATEWAY will be responsible for making application for and obtaining any required funding for the bus transfer station through the Federal Transit Administration and other funding sources
* The city as owner of the Union Station property will lease the site to GATEWAY for a minimum of 40 years at a cost of $1 a year
* The city of Goldsboro will serve as the project manager for the design and construction of the bus transfer station and thus will be responsible for contracting tasks associated with design and construction such as hiring architects, construction management and related issues
* The city will submit invoices to GATEWAY on a monthly basis or as mutually agreed upon for reimbursement of cost
* It will be the responsibility of GATEWAY to submit reimbursements to the city for invoices received in a timely manner
* At the conclusion of the construction of the bus transfer station, the responsibility for maintenance and repair will be that of GATEWAY.
The length of the lease will require the City Council to hold a public hearing.
In other business, Stubbs updated the board on the GATEWAY's office move into a building at 600/602 Madison St. across the street from the transfer station.
Stubbs said he hopes the move can be completed by August.
Currently the GATEWAY offices share space with the transfer station. Once the move is completed, the transfer station will be used only for the buses and passengers.
"It will be more convenient," he said. "We can have more elbow space where we have had as many as three or four people in offices together. We will be able to have individual offices, have privacy and be able to get stuff done much better."
The authority board amended its bylaws to add a conflict of interest clause. The addition was recommended by the state following its most recent compliance review of the authority.
Board members already have signed conflict of interest statements, Stubbs said.
The board also approved an agreement with DOT to request that the state provide $866 to pay its remaining balance on the 35-foot bus GATEWAY recently purchased.
The bus has been paid for and the $866 will reimburse the authority for the additional cost it has paid on the bus.