Alabama Power President, Chairman and CEO Mark Crosswhite addressed the crowd at the “Congressional Forum with U.S. Senator Richard Shelby” at The Club.

Birmingham Mayor William Bell wants to try again for millions of dollars in federal mass transit funds, promising U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., local governments will do their part this time to raise the matching cash.

During Bell’s welcome address at the Birmingham Business Alliance’s “Congressional Forum with U.S. Senator Richard Shelby” at The Club, the mayor admitted that the city and region failed Shelby when he tried in the past to direct mass transit dollars to the Birmingham area. Bell vowed to come through if the senator can secure federal funds again.

“I wanted to make sure Senator Shelby was aware of that and solicit his help,” Bell said in an interview after the forum.

In 1998, Shelby helped secure $87 million to help create a modern and more effective Birmingham-Jefferson County mass transit system that would include light rail. When local governments failed to come up with 20 percent matching funds and a sustainable revenue stream to maintain the system, the money was released to other states.

At the Congressional forum, Senator Shelby questioned whether the infrastructure would be in place for more funding for mass transit in Birmingham-Jefferson County.

“About 15 years ago, I tried hard working with the powers that be to bring back a real transit system here,” Shelby said in an interview. “We could have probably gotten, over time, a billion dollars, step by step.”

Bell said new local leaders, better cooperation and upcoming events like the 2021 World Games have created an opportunity different from a decade ago.

“Once before, he made some moneys available to this region and we failed to capitalize on that,” Bell said. “We’re not going to let that opportunity pass again. Today I just wanted to make sure he was aware and we will follow up with him to make sure we get the kind of support necessary to build a world-class transportation system.”

Shelby said he would be willing to try again but he wants to see the cooperation and ability to provide the matching funds in place first before he goes to bat for the region again on mass transit.

“It’s never too late, but it’s late,” he said. “It’s a question, would they have the infrastructure? And I mean this: They’d have to have a funding stream that would match the federal money. They would have to have a plan that made sense for the growing municipalities around here. They would have to have everybody sign on. If that happened, I am in a position to help. But without a comprehensive plan, we’re just treading water.”

Next steps for possible funding

Bell said he knows the matching dollars are there and he’s willing to put together a state and local coalition to pursue the funds.

“We’ve been analyzing first of all whether there was federal moneys still available, and there are,” he said. “What we’ve got to do is make sure if we’re given the opportunity to tap into those funds that we’ve got the local match necessary to do that and it will require cooperation between the state government and local governments to make that happen.”

The looming 2021 World Games and the potential economic impact on the region could help drive that cooperation, Bell said.

“It will be a catalyst for this effort,” he said. “When you invite people to come to your region, you want to make sure you have all of the amenities to make sure they have an enjoyable time and this is going to be critical.”