The Brookhaven Police Department will see anew revenue source in the upcoming fiscal year due to an agreementreached between the city and Amtrak concerning the upkeep of therecently opened Godbold Transportation Center.

    Amtrak will pay the city a caretaker fee of $600 a month. For thatfee, the city will ensure the center is open from 30 minutes beforeuntil 30 minutes after scheduled stops by passenger trains.

    The police department will oversee the opening and closing of thebuilding.

    “The trains run 365 days a year,” said Mayor Les Bumgarner.”Somebody has to be there, even on Christmas. Policemen are theonly city workers with that kind of schedule.”

    Police Chief Pap Henderson said currently, the facility is openfrom 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. until 4:30p.m.    

      According to Henderson andBumgarner, an officer will be in the building during those twohours a day the building is open. At present, Henderson himself isin the building during those hours.

    Bumgarner said police presence should provide a sense of safety atthe building for waiting passengers.

    The annual revenue of $7,200 provided by the caretaker fee will beadded to the police department’s equipment budget for the 2011-12fiscal year, said City Clerk Mike Jinks.

    That will put more money in the police department budget beyond theoriginal appropriations request Henderson made for 2011-12 year andput the police department’s total budget at $2,636,750.

    Some city residents, however, deem the city’s management of thetrain station inadequate so far.

    Daron Smith, a longtime Brookhaven resident, unexpectedly needed togo to New Orleans Monday morning. He went to the train station andwas surprised to discover when he arrived that the building waslocked and that he could not purchase a ticket.

    Smith made inquiries and discovered the hours the building is openand that, despite a large sign in the building that says “Tickets,”Amtrak does not sell tickets on site.

    According to Amtrak’s website, tickets can only be purchased atstations staffed by Amtrak. The Jackson Amtrak station offers aticket office. Larger stations also have ticket kiosks wheretickets may be picked up or purchased by a debit or creditcard.

    Bumgarner explained that Amtrak used to staff all stations at whichits trains stopped. However, it no longer does that.

    Smith said he understands the city cannot make Amtrak sell ticketsat the building, but believes the city could be more helpful.

    “There are three sets of double doors,” Smith said. “But there’s nosign saying the hours. There is no information there telling anyonehow to get a ticket. If the city is going to blow a bunch of moneyon a train station, it looks like they would do something to helpus get a ticket.”

    City leaders have mulled an idea that would increase the facility’shours of availability. In several recent city board meetings,Bumgarner has suggested that a police precinct could be placed inthe center.

    “That would give us a downtown precinct,” Bumgarner said.

    Much would have to be done before that would be feasible, Hendersonsaid.

    “You’ve got no communication in that building,” Henderson said. “Atminimum you would have to have a telephone line in there.”

    He further said that decisions regarding whether the precinct wouldbe open 24 hours a day or only during normal business hours wouldneed to be made.

    The agreement between the city and Amtrak comes after Amtrakinitially requested to sign a 20-year lease on the building. Theterms of that lease were deemed unacceptable by the city board.

    “The city is not going to lease that building,” Jinks said.

    The caretaker fee might make the transportation center slightlyprofitable for the city.

    “A lot of people are concerned that the station costs us money,”Bumgarner said.

    He explained that balancing the cost of utilities at the buildingwith the revenue generated “we should break even or make a littlebit.”

    Given the options, Bumgarner is satisfied with the arrangement.

    “I felt like it was the best deal we could come up with,” the mayorsaid.