Professional and Experienced Staff-Stateside Right Of Way

The Right-of Way Team You Can Rely On

Stateside Right of Way employees have a long working history together. Our team has recently worked together on the $1.2 billion five corridor Metropolitan Transportation Authority (METRO) rail project in Houston, Texas. The team was working under the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) federal rules and guidelines for the preliminary engineering, cost studies, planning, DEIS and FEIS submittals, RAMP process, New Starts, Procedures and Manual writing, Acquisition, Relocation, Eminent Domain, Community Outreach programs and Construction.

The Stateside Right of Way team was requested to provide daily, weekly and monthly reports to Engineering, Planning, Construction, Upper Management and to the METRO Board. The team was asked to present right of way processes and procedures to neighborhood associations, City Council meetings, the University of Houston, Houston Community College, Houston ISD and other agencies, as needed.

Diane Burkhardt Valek, President & Program Manager

Diane Burkhardt, President Diane Burkhardt Valek has over 15 years of right of way experience with her areas of expertise being Federally Funded Projects, LPA Projects and large, high profile projects. She has successfully served as lead on multiple FHWA and FTA projects that required complete compliance for reimbursement to the client. She has served as project oversight on the IH-635 project that involved several complex commercial properties, residential condominiums and contaminated properties. She worked on SH-161 as the acquisition and relocation agent and is very familiar with the issues along that corridor. She also completed the IH-35 corridor TxDOT project as the acquisition lead and title curative agent and successfully negotiated five gas stations, multiple commercial properties and residential properties with a low condemnation rate.

Diane has also proven herself as a leader by taking the initiative in coordinating with the client and having documentation created and provided to the client that will insure compliance with the Federally regulating authority. Her team is currently completing right of way services for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority. Her latest large project completed is a $1.3 billion design build project for the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority as the lead on multiple corridors with over 200 acquisition parcels and 300 displacees while maintaining detailed ROW acquisition, relocation and construction data bases, project office and electronic files, consultant and contract oversight, legal coordination from right of entries to possession of properties, document preparation, Phase I to clean up and compliance, parcel completion and close out, schedules and coordination of meeting for the acquisition of politically sensitive properties, such as: University properties, TxDOT, County, City, neighborhood associations and utility properties. Her teams researched ownership, located owners, prepared all project notifications and project documents as per the Federal Guidelines and maintained data bases for acquisition, survey, environmental, utilities and construction activities.

Her teams worked in the client's office and were responsible for all aspects of the right of way process: detailed multiple alternative route cost estimates, cash-flow forecasts for survey, environmental, legal, demolition, acquisition, relocation, utility relocation and construction. The team chaired ROW meetings that maintained oversight and coordinated legal, survey, engineering, environmental and all pending pre-construction activities. As corridor lead, she presented to the CEO and METRO Board on numerous occasions regarding the project and issues related to it.

Carrie Caloway, Project Director

Carrie Caloway, Project Director Carrie Caloway has an impressive record working on Federally Funded Projects as the Lead Title/Condemnation and Acquisition Agent in addressing large project title, budgeting and specific parcel issues.She is currently completing work for The Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) where she has negotiated complex and high profile parcels. She also completed the Policy and Procedures for The T which required final Board approval. For Houston METRO, she assisted the attorneys across all five corridors of a $1.2 billion project in resolving Eminent Domain, Title, Acquisition, Environmental and Survey issues. She was also requested by upper management of various departments to be allowed to work cross-project with Real Estate, Construction, Schedulers, Environmental Teams, Survey Managers and their sub-consultants, Appraisers, Review Appraisers, In-House Attorneys and General Counsel. She also purchased sensitive residential properties owned by elderly citizens in the homes and in care facilities - maintaining a professional and caring relationship with the owner's immediate and extended families - and properties in probate, foreclosure, bankruptcy and tax auctions.

Donna Tyra, Project Manager

Donna Tyra, is responsible for due diligence, negotiations for acquisition of right-of-way in fee and easements, business and residential relocations and condemantion coordination. She has proven experience providing project coordination, acquisitions, relocations and condemnation support as prescribed by the Uniform Relocation Act. She has worked on TxDOT, City of Denton and the DART projects - major mobility projects in commercially developed areas to construct an extension of the light rail system for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and along the IH-635 corridor for TxDOT.

She has been an acquisition and relocation agent and has proven ability to complete assigned tasks under budget and within a compressed schedule. She is experienced in TxDOT procedures and is extremely knowledgeable of the guidelines set forth in the Uniform Relocation and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended. Her primary experience is completing the relocation of families and businesses on high profile, political projects. Her responsibilities for all of these projects were to complete all points of the acquisition and relocation process - compile the needs assessment reports, secure appraisals, title commitments, negotiations, engineering reviews and revisions, final offers, clear titles, closings, review documents, submit parcel payment requests and assist with billing to the client.

Robyn Montgomery, Project Manager

Robyn Montgomery, Right of Way Agent Mrs. Montgomery comes to Stateside with over eleven years of experience in the Right of Way industry. Mrs. Montgomery began her right of way career as a right of way agent with the Texas Department of Transportation-Fort Worth District. During her tenure with TxDOT, she led the LPA program assisting local public agencies with compliance to Federal Guidelines and State Regulations. Mrs. Montgomery’s role was valuable to local agencies seeking to qualify for financial assistance for Capital Improvement Projects. She also provided local right of way project oversight. Mrs. Montgomery has served as an Eminent Domain condemnation coordinator for multiple TxDOT projects statewide. During her career, Mrs. Montgomery has negotiated many property transactions for various entities. She has an accomplished ability to assist property owners with their questions and concerns relating to the acquisition of their property in a manner that earns their confidence and trust. Her overall expertise allows her to offer innovative solutions while maintaining a mindset for compliance with Federal Guidelines. Her knowledge and skills serve as an asset in expediting possession of property needed to deliver projects.

Right of Way Staff

Shawn Jackson, Right of Way Agent - Mr. Jackson is an Acquisition and Title Agent and has recently completed Right of Way Acquisition for the TXU transmission/gas project in Fort Worth, City of Denton and Right of Way Title for the Lone Star Electric Transmission Line Project from Abilene to Corsicana, Texas.

Matthew Wilbanks, Right of Way Agent - Mr. Wilbanks has completed large and high profile projects where professionalism and discretion have been an intricate part of the success of the project. He has successfully worked on Lone Star Transmission, Oncor, Chesapeake and XTO Energy projects – researching, verifying, and requesting title, coordinating appraisers for appraisals, negotiations, acquisitions and condemnations.

Mark Mendez - Right of Way Agent Mark Mendez, Right of Way Agent – Mr. Mendez has project start up experience for very large projects with Oncor/TXU and Lone Star Transmission. He can easily transition into many roles as large fast paced projects evolve to cover many miles with several processes being started at the same time. He is valued by the clients as knowledgeable, reliable and dedicated to the project. He is an asset to every project and plays a lead role with the clients at Stateside.

Danyelle Tyra & Laura Griffin, Project Management Support