About 40 Fresno business owners and employees rallied against California's proposed high-speed rail project Tuesday at the former Klein's Truck Stop.

The Central Valley Tea Party organized the event, which drew dozens of other opponents, in advance of meetings the state High-Speed Rail Authority is holding today and Thursday in Fresno.

Tea Party activist Steve Brandau said that 106 business owners along the path of the high-speed trains have signed and sent letters to the Fresno City Council and the Fresno County Board of Supervisors opposing the project.

"Our chief concern is that there's no viable funding stream for this project," Brandau said. The organization's message to Gov. Jerry Brown and the state's rail authority, he added, is "What part of 'We are broke' don't you understand?"

A large sign at the rally proclaimed, "100 Businesses against High Speed Rail," and declared that rail money would be better spent on water, roads and jails.

"Roads are torn up in many locations and there is no money to fix them," said Brandau, who owns a carpet-cleaning business. "There would be money ... if we weren't dedicated to this nonsense project."

Several business owners, including Susan Romo of Romo's Towing on Golden State Boulevard and Norm Nelson of Thermo King on South Railroad Avenue -- both near the Union Pacific Railroad freight line that the high-speed tracks will follow through the city -- said they first learned that their companies would be affected by the high-speed line from Tea Party representatives. They added that they never were contacted by the state rail authority.

"We think it's criminal on the part of the high-speed rail authority not to come and level with these people," Brandau said.

Since last fall, however, at least six meetings have been held in Fresno by the city or the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation to let owners in the high-speed rail corridor know what is happening with the project, said Michael Lukens, a spokesman for the city. Two of the meetings were in September, two in February, one in March and one in April. Rail authority representatives were involved in the September and February meetings.

Mayor Ashley Swearengin said in a statement issued Tuesday: "The city has been working with the High Speed Rail Authority, local property owners and the Economic Development Corporation to, first of all, adjust the right of way to avoid as many businesses as possible and, second of all, make sure businesses are seamlessly re-located within the area if they are impacted.

"Each of these businesses matters to our city, and we are working hard to keep them here."

The rail authority weighed in with a rebuttal late Tuesday afternoon.

"It is unfortunate that those who oppose the high-speed rail project started fear-mongering about a process that hasn't even started," said Lisa Marie Burcar, a spokeswoman for the authority. "The authority has taken all the appropriate steps necessary to notify identified property owners who might be in the project's proposed alignment."

Burcar said formal notices were sent out two weeks ago, after a final environmental report for the Merced-Fresno section was released. "Property owners will have ample time and opportunity to work with the authority throughout the process," she added.

Shawn Shiralian, who owns the 20-acre site that houses the EZ Trip Truck Stop -- formerly Klein's -- and other businesses, said he has been to several of the meetings but has yet to hear details from the rail authority about his land.