The money to pay for a government study of a high-speed rail line from Chattanooga to Atlanta is still $1.1 million short.
"I'm confident we're going to get it," said Joe Ferguson, director of special projects for Chattanooga's Enterprise Center. "It's just a matter of what comes from where."
About $3.9 million from local communities is needed as a match to federal funds for an environmental impact study on the high-speed rail. Chattanooga put in $1.3 million while Ferguson said the Georgia Department of Transportation has put in $1.5 million. That leaves $1.1 million to collect.
The total amount of the grant is $13.8 million.
Ferguson said the $1.3 million could be given back to the city, if the rest of the money is not collected.
"That's not an option at this point," he said. "We're going to get that $1.1 million."
But several elected leaders in North Georgia say they are not willing to fund the study and say they never pledged money in the first place.
Proponents of the high-speed rail system went to several counties along Interstate 75 between Atlanta and Chattanooga last year to get pledges.
Dalton Mayor David Pennington said those searching for money should look somewhere else. No officials have talked to Dalton leaders about the project in a year, he said.
If high-speed rail proponents want money, they should ask the Georgia Department of Transportation, he said.
"They should use DOT money," he said. "The DOT collects millions of dollars from us."
Gordon County Commission Chairman Alvin Long said his county wouldn't put up any money either. He doesn't understand why no one has talked about putting a high-speed rail station in his county, even though it lies halfway between Chattanooga and Atlanta.
"We think this should be the only place for a stop," he said.
The only talk he has heard so far is about putting train stops in other communities such as Dalton and Catoosa County.
Ferguson said the $1.1 million might be raised from other private and public sources. He said he did not want to give the names of any private donors for fear they could back out.
He also said there were still some players closer to Atlanta who could pony up dollars, but he would not name them either.
BY THE NUMBERS
* $13.8 million: Grant money awarded for maglev environmental impact statement study
* $3.9 million: Matching money needed from state and local officials
* $1.5 million: Funds from Georgia Department of Transportation
* $1.3 million: Funds from Chattanooga put in the project
Source: Enterprise Center