Mansura's Railroad Depot Museum project still on track

    Mansura’s railroad museum project is still on track and work may begin later this year, Mayor Kenneth Pickett said.

    Prior to the Town Council’s Feb. 8 meeting, Pickett said he had signed paperwork on the grant-funded project and is looking forward to the project becoming a reality.

    “This has been a nine-year project so far,” Pickett said. “I am looking forward to work finally starting on the project.”

Pickett said the old depot will become  a railroad museum and will include artifacts concerning the history of Mansura and other parish communities.

    Wayne Coco, architect for the project, said the paperwork has to be approved by DOTD, who will assign a date to advertise and accept bids on the contract. It is hoped that will be sometime this summer.

    Coco said the $275,000 federal grant is administered by the state under an old transportation enhancement program. Mansura will have to put up a small amount of matching funds once the project begins.

    Coco said the project will probably have to be done in phases because the grant will not cover all costs to renovate the entire site. 

He said the main area of the depot, interior and exterior, will be completed in Phase 1. The freight area will probably have to be addressed in another project.

    The existing building was constructed in 1924 to replace the Louisiana Railroad & Navigation Co.’s wooden depot, which had been built near the location in 1902. Louisiana & Arkansas Railroad bought LR&N in 1928 and merged with Kansas City Southern in 1932. KCS closed the depot in 1973 and donated the site and building to the town for use as a museum.

 

    During the meeting, the council handled another depot-related issue.

    The Town Council agreed to continue leasing the more recently added on warehouse area at the site to Rachel Oil for $25 a month, with the lease to be renewed annually.

    Glenn Rachel told council members that he stores only new barrels at the depot site. There are no petroleum products, chemicals or used barrels stored there.

    At some point in the past five or more years, the town stopped collecting the monthly rent. Rachel agreed to pay $1,500 in back rent for the past five years and said he would pay the annul lease in one payment, rather than each month.

    Rachel Oil will also be responsible for maintaining appropriate liability insurance for the storage site as a condition of the annual lease.

In discussing the matter, it was noted that the storage area is not part of the historical depot building, but was added on later. It has a solid wall separating it from the depot.

    “This lease agreement will not affect the museum project,” Pickett said.