All Aboard!

Beaumont opens new Amtrak station

The new Amtrak station welcomed its first Sunset Limited bound for New Orleans on Friday, Sept 14. The station features a new platform, a covered waiting area, rest rooms and a police substation.

Amtrak completed the construction of the station at 2555 W. Cedar St. in January of this year. It was built to Amtrak’s standard for low-use stops. The Sunshine Limited passes through Beaumont six days a week. On Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, travellers may board the train at 2:05 p.m. and arrive in New Orleans at 9:40 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, passengers board the westbound train from New Orleans at 3:48 p.m. The westbound Sunset Limited continues, making stops in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and arrives in Los Angeles almost two days later at 5:35 a.m.

Mayor Becky Ames was on hand for the official grand opening with other civic and business leaders and hailed the new facility for boosting the city’s image with those arriving by train.

The new station is on a four-acre site that was purchased by the city of Beaumont. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act provided Amtrak with funding for the construction of the station. Beaumont funded the construction of the police substation at a cost of $289,000.

Tickets and reservation for rail travel may be secured through Amtrak’s Web site.

Property Management

Creel Investments and Keller Williams announce partnership

Darren Creel of Creel Investments and his team have joined ranks with Kathy Cleveland at Keller Williams Beaumont to form Keller Williams Rental Services, a residential property management company.

Darren Creel is a former Army military police officer and former Beaumont Police officer who has been investing in real estate since 1993 and formed Creel Investments in 1995.

In October 2009, Kathy Cleveland purchased Keller Williams Realty in Beaumont. Earlier this year, she opened two other offices, one in Port Neches and another in Lumberton. Currently, over 70 agents are licensed and working at any one of the Keller Williams offices. As a company who is constantly expanding, Keller Williams is pleased to now be affiliated with Creel Investments property management.

“In property management, your integrity is all you have going for you at the end of the day. We work hard to ensure that our integrity is as high as possible every single day,” said Creel. Their property management and maintenance team manages more than 800 properties in the Golden Triangle Area.

“When the opportunity came to join a group like Keller Williams with its high standards of customer service and the friendly and capable team that works with Kathy Cleveland, we jumped at the chance,” added Creel.

Creel Investments will continue to work out of its Beaumont office as the main headquarters and also has an office in Port Neches, and has announced the opening of a new office in Lumberton with Keller Williams.

high as possible every single day,” said Creel. Their property management and maintenance team manages more than 800 properties in the Golden Triangle Area.
“When the opportunity came to join a group like Keller Williams with its high standards of customer service and the friendly and capable team that works with Kathy Cleveland, we jumped at the chance,” added Creel.
Creel Investments will continue to work out of its Beaumont office as the main headquarters and also has an office in Port Neches, and has announced the opening of a new office in Lumberton with Keller Williams.

Business Journal editor James Shannon offers a weekly column of business news for readers of The Examiner. For more details, see the editions of the Business journal published monthly in Beaumont, Port Arthur and Greater Orange. Check out the blog at setxbiz.blogspot.com or e-mail james@beaumontbusinessjournal.com.

Rice farmers vs. Keystone pipeline

TransCanada seeks writ in Jefferson County court

Landowners and environmental protestors joined together at the Jefferson County Courthouse on Wednesday, Sept. 12, as attorneys for TransCanada sought a writ of possession on three parcels of land here so construction of the Keystone XL pipeline could begin. A hearing was held before Judge Tom Rugg in County Court at Law No. 1 to decide the narrow issue of the writs.

Houston attorney Thomas Zabel has represented TransCanada in many of these cases where land was taken by eminent domain. He noted that under Texas law, property owners could not challenge taking of land for pipelines.

But a recent Texas Supreme Court decision in the case of Texas Rice Land Partners vs. Denbury Green Pipeline said otherwise. The high court unanimously ruled that the pipeline company had to prove it served a common good before it should be given the right to seize private property. The test of whether the project is indeed a common carrier is legally murky. The Texas Railroad Commission approved TransCanada’s permit to operate a pipeline as a common carrier, yet the agency has stated that it doesn’t review the applications for pipelines and doesn’t have the authority to determine common carrier status or give eminent domain permission to TransCanada.

At the beginning of the hearing, Judge Rugg said, “We have a trio of TransCanada pipeline cases today, and I’m not sure why we’re here,” then he noted, “Common carrier status seemed to be the issue of the day.”

The urgency for the proceeding rests with the writ of possession TransCanada asked the court to issue, which would allow pipeline construction to begin even as landowners continue their legal appeals. Zabel noted TransCanada has posted surety bonds to compensate landowners should they prevail.

Terry Wood, attorney for Texas Rice Land Partners, when asked if those bonds were sufficient to make his clients whole again should a court rule against TransCanada, was quick to respond. “Absolutely not,” he said and questioned procedures that favored “TransCanada’s desire to build their pipeline over the constitutional rights of my client.”

Leeanne Johnson of Orgain, Bell & Tucker represented the other two landowners in court, both linked to prominent Beaumont families — Phelan and Dishman. She strongly disputed TransCanada’s arguments, at one point telling the court that Zabel was being “disingenuous at best.”

Zabel said TransCanada needs those writs so if TransCanada meets resistance when workers show up on the property “the sheriff can say they have a right to be there.”

Based on Johnson’s statement to the court, he might have something to worry about. One of the landowners she represents was identified as the M.A. Phelan Trust. If construction crews show up at the Phelan farm, said Johnson, “Mike Phelan said they are going to stop them.”

Judge Rugg bemoaned the lack of clarity from the higher courts. “I’m left with no guidance from Denbury,” he said, but promised to rule by Sept. 24.