Luzerne County’s Redevelopment Authority still has no definitive timetable on when it will seek purchase offers to buy or lease its rail line.
The authority board approved a $20,000 contract in December with Trenton, N.J.-based Strauss & Associates/Planners to document county rail line assets and help prepare the public request for proposals.
On Tuesday, the authority agreed to increase the contract cap to $40,000 and authorized a $19,952.45 payment to the consultant for work performed to date.
Authority Board Chairman Scott Linde said the consultant’s ongoing work identifying all authority holdings is “absolutely necessary.”
“If we don’t have a clear title, nobody is going to bid on it,” Linde said.
Authority Executive Director Margaret Thomas said Strauss is expected to complete its work in three to four weeks.
An entity must also be retained to determine a valuation figure once all holdings are identified, authority members said.
Linde said the pace is slow, but proceeding with a request-for-proposals before verifying all assets could “do a lot more damage.”
Although initially resistant to private ownership of its rail line, the authority’s board members decided that offers should be considered, but only through a public process open to all interested entities.
Reading & Northern Railroad Chairman and CEO Andy M. Muller Jr. made an unsolicited $10 million offer to purchase the county line in October, stating he would increase freight service and introduce passenger train excursions from Wilkes-Barre to Pittston.
County Council litigation
Meanwhile, discovery continues in the litigation County Council filed against the authority in July.
Letters show the county wants the authority to turn over the railroad so it can be sold to recoup $3.28 million loaned to the authority for the rail line. While the delinquent loan was cited as a reason for the county litigation, it appears to be part of a broader effort to privatize the track, with the hope of adding passenger rail excursions while expanding commercial use.
Other business
In other business on Tuesday, the authority voted to keep Linde as chairman and Stephen Phillips as vice chair. The remaining board member officers: John Pekarovsky, secretary/treasurer, and Erik Laskosky, assistant secretary/treasurer.
Newly appointed Kelly Mulhern, the remaining board member, will serve as the authority board representative on the county’s Blighted Property Review Committee.
Some County Council members are trying to revive that committee after more than six years of inactivity. The committee had planned to allow municipalities to submit applications to certify properties as blighted, opening the door for potential further action.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
