City officials OK $500,000 state grant for railroad museum

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - City council members showed their continued support of a railroad museum in Williams when they accepted a $500,000 grant from the state of Arizona during their Dec. 17 meeting.

City of Williams staff and Arizona State Railroad Museum CEO Al Richmond worked with the Northern Arizona Council of Governments (NACOG) and the state of Arizona to develop the grant for the city. The grant goes toward artifact acquisitions and will become available in fiscal year 2018.

The city of Williams is the formal named party in the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) and is bound by the terms of the agreement. The IGA requires the city to pay a $5,000 administrative fee and 5.7 percent match of any money spent. The fee must be paid within 30 days of the final execution of the agreement and the match will be paid over the life of the grant as funds are expended.

City Manager Brandon Buchanan expressed concerns about the financial liability the city would have with this IGA. He was concerned about the potential financial impact if the railroad museum construction was not accepted and funded by the Theme Park Board, and the artifacts were not displayed within three years.

"Anything we spend in these three years technically we'd be asked to pay back," Buchanan said.

Councilman Craig Fritsinger, who is also on the Theme Park Board, said he expects a decision to be made in February or March, but it is entirely up to that independent board.

Buchanan said he would not be in favor of the grant unless the city was in control of the expenditure of the money.

"Neither Keith (Buonocore, city of Williams finance director) or I will approve any expenditure of new funds, besides the possible exception of restoration of the car now used as the bridge, until the museum project has been accepted and funded by the Theme Park Board," Buchanan said.

Councilman Jim Wurgler said he didn't see a problem with the IGA as long as the city retained control of the spending.

"I see here that we are not committed to funding this agreement," he said. "We don't have to pay it until it gets spent. I don't see the risk here at this point in terms of not proceeding, we're not agreeing to spending any of this money."

Council members discussed the grant terms and the potential liability to the city and voted 4-2 in favor of the IGA, with Frank McNelly and Bernie Hiemenz dissenting.

Richmond has worked for some time to create a railroad museum in Williams. In June of 2014 the museum completed a railroad exhibit in Glassburn Park. Primary funding for the exhibit came from the museum's Transportation Enhancement Grants managed by Arizona Department of Transportation and the city.

The exhibit includes five 4-by-8 foot interpretive sign panels that cover different aspects of Williams' history, including logging, ranching, mining, Route 66, the Grand Canyon and the railroad industry.

The exhibit was the third community project with a railroad theme. The two gateway arches and the exhibit are the result of a long-standing partnership between the Arizona State Railroad Museum and the city of Williams.

The city's various departments provided much of the labor. Staffing and project management were cooperative efforts by the city and museum.

The projects also involved businesses and individuals. The BNSF Railway, Grand Canyon Railway, APS, Southwest Industrial Rigging, the Williams-Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce and individuals generously contributed funds and services in one or more of the projects.