Port very happy about state loan for rail line purchase
By Kristina Nelson, KCBY NewsCOOS BAY, Ore. - Local State Representative Arnie Roblan called it a great day for Oregon and the South Coast, State Senator Joanne Verger said Oregon could not afford to lose it. MultimediaThey were reacting to Thursday's approval of loans from the state, to the Port of Coos Bay, for the purchase of the Coos Bay Rail Line. A monumental decision designed to help get the South Coast economy back on track, while preserving hundreds of jobs. On Thursday the Oregon Economic and Community Development Commission approved $12.6 million in bridge loans to help the Port purchase the rail line from CORP. Port Communications Director Martin Callery, says the Port's Board of Commissioners will take up ratification to purchase the rail line on Monday at a special public meeting. He says lawyers from CORP and the Port are working on hammering out legal agreements, that will need to be in place before the February 18th deadline to purchase the line. "We're actually purchasing an asset which is the rail line. We will establish a railroad after the purchase and that has to be done through a process administered by the American Association of Railroads. At that point we will register the name of the railroad and do a lot of other paperwork," says Callery. The Port has also been in the process of interviewing engineering firms to help with the rehabilitation of the line once it's purchased by the Port. "We did an RFQ back in December and received a great response from engineering firms with proposals. We narrowed it down to three engineering firms and had them come in for interviews. We will be making a decision, most likely next week on which of those firms we'll be going with. We're already working on a federal level on rehabilitation funds." The public meeting will take place on Monday at 3:30 p.m. in the Port of Commissioners board room. Callery says if everything goes smoothly, the line could be up and running by the first or second quarter of 2010. Most Popular
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February 8, 2012
- Coos Bay / North Bend, Oregon
