The Denton County Trans­portation Authority addressed Southeast Denton homeowners’ questions and concerns about the passenger rail line to be constructed starting early next year.

DCTA officials made their presentation during a neighborhood meeting Tuesday night at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center. About 30 residents attended.

The transit authority plans to begin operating a commuter rail line, known as the A-train, by the end of 2010. That line would run between Denton and Carrollton and would link up with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit rail line.

The main focus of the presentation was how DCTA plans to handle noise issues.

Carolyn Phillips, chairwom­an of the Southeast Denton Neighborhood Asso­cia­tion, did not attend due to an emergency, but left a list of questions for DCTA officials. Those questions covered topics such as hours of operation for the authority’s planned bus barn, environmental impact and the protection of historic neighborhood property.

“We’re not in any historically designated areas,” said Dee Leggett, DCTA’s vice president of communications and planning. “It fell outside of our impacted area.”

How much minority participation the DCTA had in the rail construction process was another of Phillips’ questions.

Under DCTA’s $14 million design contract with URS Corp., 23 percent of that money has been designated for minority- or woman-owned businesses certified as “disadvantaged business enterprises.”

Transit authority officials recently met with members of the Denton Black Chamber of Com­merce and plan in November to speak with other business owners to see how they can help the DCTA and how the DCTA can help them, Leggett said.

Several homeowners expressed concern over the imp­act of the actual construction phase.

Jack Rahmes, project manager for North Texas Rail Group, general contractor for the A-train, said one step to decrease noise disruption will be to use smaller equipment “sized for the job,” for work in the neighborhood.

“In our experience in building tracks in places like this, it’s going to be an inconvenience, I know,” Rahmes said. “I apologize for the disruption I know you will suffer.”

Reginald Logan, a neighborhood resident, said “we didn’t ask for the train but we’re getting it.”

But he said he was satisfied with the presentation. His questions for DCTA officials related to property value once the tracks are built.

Leggett said the railway should not cause a decrease in property values.

She, too, was happy with the question and answer session.

“Obviously, there are still areas we need to clarify some things and improve communication,” she said. “As long as we continue to work closely with the association, I think we can work through any issues we have as we move forward.”

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail ad­dress is blewis@dentonrc.com .