Dear MARP Members,

Please plan to attend the regular monthly meeting of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers. This month we are meeting in the historic Standish Depot on Saturday, April 19, beginning at 10 a.m. The Standish Depot is located at the intersection of M-61 and US-23, in Standish MI, north of Bay City.

We have invited the Honorable Jim Barcia, representing District 31 (Arenac, Bay, Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola) in the Michigan legislature. Senator Barcia sits on the Appropriations Committee and is the Minority Vice-Chair of the Transportation subcommittee. He formerly served in the U.S. Congress, where he was a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In the current session of the Michigan legislature, he introduced SB 385 to require utilities to provide a percentage of the power they produce from renewable sources such as wind and solar. Click here for an agenda.

The meeting is informal and will cover a variety of topics of interest to those of us advocating for passenger train and intercity bus service in Michigan. Following the business portion of the meeting, we will adjourn to a nearby restaurant for a chance to converse and socialize.

If you would like to carpool with another member from your area, please send an email to marprail@yahoo.com

I look forward to seeing you in Standish,

John DeLora
Chair, MARP

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ABOUT THE STANDISH DEPOT:
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Standish Depot was constructed in 1889 after farmers from the surrounding area provided stones for the exterior of the building. The Standish Depot served for many decades as a transportation hub and community gathering space. Using federal transportation enhancement dollars, the station was rehabilitated and dedicated on July 24, 2007 as the Standish Historic Depot Welcome Center for the Arenac County Heritage Route.

Photographs and history of the depot can be found at the website:
http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9620_11154_40513-172258–,00.html