JD Alexander - Real or Rumor?

I was called today with some very odd news. I haven't confirmed the rumor yet, but it was told with some inside knowledge. JD Alexander, our state senator, JD Alexander, who is supposed to be watching out for the little man of the state, has bought or is buying Phoenix Industries in Eloise, FL. Phoenix Industries is a trucking company with close ties to CSX Railroad, as well as in direct line of traffic for the CSX intermodal site! Isn't that a conflict of interest? How can you pass laws and control public funds to CSX, while profiting all the while? To check out Phoenix Industries' website, click below and you will see the CSX connection. http://www.phoenixfl.com/default.asp

Lakeland's Lobbyist?

Lakeland's Lobbyist? When a city hires a lobbyist, they should expect that person or company to first try to influence legislation to help that city. Second, they should expect that person to report back items that will impact that city. Most of all, they should expect that person has no problems putting that city first. For more than six years, Lakeland has employed David Shepp and Florida Strategic Group, LLC. as their lobbyist in Tallahassee. Evidently, they've been happy with the work. They've just rehired FSG: Florida Strategic Group has worked diligently in both Tallahassee and in Washington D.C on behalf of the City and has greatly assisted in advancing Lakeland’s interest, project funding and monitoring of legislation that would impact municipal operations. -- Sep. 17, 2007 recommendation to rehire FSG (pdf) (1) Lobbyists rarely represent a single entity, but they don't represent competing groups. FSG has quite a few clients, including the cities of Lakeland and Winter Haven. (2) Looking back at Limited Liability Company Annual Reports since 2001, FSG was started by Sam Killebrew, the current president of the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce. Shepp was brought in as a partner in 2002. It was in May 2002, that FSG temporarily removed themselves as Winter Haven's registered lobbyists during Winter Haven Mayor Charles Richardson's campaign for Polk County Commission. At that time, Richardson praised FSG's work for Winter Haven, "They've done their job for the city," Killebrew's tenure at the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce has been one where the CSX project was often, and highly, touted on the Chamber's blog. During that same time, Lakeland has always been a step or two behind finding out information from our legislature and state departments. Areas where you'd expect your lobbyist to be "in the know." In light of the fact that Lakeland and Winter Haven are at odds over the CSX deal, and that the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce has been such a strong supporter of the ILC, would we be better served by a lobbyist who works only for our city? • (1) The city did rehire FSG at $54,325 plus certain expenses for work Oct. 2007 to Sep. 31, 2008. (2) According to the Lobbyist Registration Office, Shepp represented Lakeland for "$10,000 to $19,999" for the period of July 1, 2007 to Sep. 30, 2007. During that same time he represented Winter Haven for "$0" He did get "$1 to $9,999" from Winter Haven in January to March 2007. It was $0 again for April to June, 2007. (3) Shepp registered the company with a new business in Lakeland during September 2007 (pdf). However, staff report Killebrew is still at the company. Posted by Chuck Welch on December 15, 2007 10:14 AM Permalink

Gov. Crist Shouldn't Let CSX Railroad Open Government

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/16/bz-gov-crist-shouldnt-let-csx-railroad-open-govern/ Gov. Crist Shouldn't Let CSX Railroad Open Government The Tampa Tribune Published: December 16, 2007 Gov. Charlie Crist, the self-proclaimed "people's governor," says he believes in open government. Yet he's not talking about a $491 million deal the state secretly struck with CSX Transportation that will benefit the railroad and the Orlando area but could adversely affect much of Polk County and communities from Plant City to Alachua. The deal was negotiated in secret, without the knowledge of many state and local lawmakers. People whisper it's a done deal, but it will come up for final review during next year's legislative session. So Crist still has time to prove his open-government bonafides. It's scandalous that people who deserve a say in the matter were not given the opportunity. Yet so far, Crist has ignored a large bloc of Central Florida voters and lawmakers who feel railroaded. Does this deal represent good government? Speak up, Charlie. The governor should call for greater scrutiny of the rail package and an open discussion of other potential routes if he expects to persuade the residents of east Hillsborough and Polk that the CSX deal would be good for them, too. This agitation might have been avoided had Gov. Jeb Bush, the state Department of Transportation and the railroad allowed all of those affected a seat at the table during negotiations two years ago. But then Bush has a penchant for privacy and paternalism. Crist needs to bring the deal into the sunshine. Indeed lawmakers were asleep at the switch when they appropriated the money without knowing the purpose. It makes one wonder what else might be hidden in the state budget. The language said nothing about CSX, Orlando or rail, and it was deftly hidden in an omnibus growth management bill. What irony. Growth management stresses planning, community and regional cooperation. For $150 million, CSX is giving up 61 miles of track for 12 hours of commuter service and shifting most of its freight traffic to a parallel line. But the rail will still run freight on the "A" line five hours a day and will share the line with commuter traffic seven hours daily. For $23 million, CSX will close its Orlando hub and relocate it to Winter Haven. And what about the remaining $318 million? That money will assist CSX with improvements along its "S" line, which runs through Ocala, Wildwood, Dade City, Plant City and Lakeland, and on tracks in Jacksonville and the Panhandle. It would appear the railroad has come up with an innovative way of paying for infrastructure improvements - let taxpayers do it. This is obviously a good deal for Orlando, because it will move freight traffic to the west and help free up congested highways. But it will transfer those traffic woes to Polk and east Hillsborough. Lakeland will see increased rail traffic, although it is unclear how much. And other smaller communities - Auburndale, Bartow, Lake Wales, Mulberry and Plant City - will become even more familiar with 18-wheelers on the highways. Proponents say the hub will be an economic boon for the area. They have visions of an independent Polk County that through economic growth becomes competitive with Tampa and Orlando. And if we really support "going green," they ask, wouldn't we be pushing for more trains? But few people are debating the point publicly, so these arguments are not being heard. The state Department of Transportation and Central Florida businesses and politicians - as well as our silent governor - are acting like this deal is done. But two Polk lawmakers won't allow it to happen without at least having their say. State Rep. Dennis Ross and fellow Lakeland resident Sen. Paula Dockery spent part of their week in Tallahassee asking questions and trying to shed light on the project during transportation hearings. Unfortunately, Sen. Mike Fasano, who heads the Senate committee, isn't keen on finding the answers. He told some Winter Haven opponents of the CSX hub the state doesn't get involved in local zoning issues. He conveniently ignored the fact state money will pay for the project. Shame on him. Fortunately, the House committee is led by Rich Glorioso of Plant City, who is concerned about what increased freight traffic could do to his home town. He should demand answers to such questions as: •What is CSX getting for our money, and why is the plan good for the state and region? •Why should taxpayers be on the hook for the infrastructure needs of a private company? •Why is Winter Haven the best site for the hub, and why the refusal to discuss alternative routes? •How many jobs will be created and when? •How much tax revenue would actually be generated for Winter Haven? •How many freight trains can be expected to go through Lakeland every day? •How many more trucks will be put on highways 60, 98, 17, 27 and Florida's turnpike? Crist has the power to address the people's concerns and open the back-room doors. If this deal is good for the state, it will withstand public scrutiny. It may be that the concerns of Lakeland and other communities can be adequately addressed. But nobody has bothered to make that case to the people of Florida. If Crist doesn't act, he'll show his promises of a more open government were meaningless.

Lawmakers Question CSX Deal

Lawmakers Question CSX Deal By LINDSAY PETERSON, The Tampa Tribune Published: December 14, 2007 TALLAHASSEE - Florida lawmakers got their first chance Thursday to publicly question the state's $491 million deal with CSX Transportation. The state Department of Transportation began negotiating with CSX more than two years ago and this month it signed an agreement with the railroad company to buy 61 miles of track in the Orlando area for commuter rail and help the company expand its freight operations to a massive hub in Polk County. But it's not a done deal, said state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, in a meeting of his Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee. So far the state has only set aside money for the commuter rail and freight expansion project, he said. "We haven't put anything out yet." Two senators at the meeting, Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and Alex Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, sharply questioned the deal, saying the state should take a closer look before it spends half a billion dollars. Diaz de la Portilla asked how the commuter project would relieve truck traffic; how the DOT determined the number of people who would ride the commuter line; and what CSX is contributing to the cost of its rail improvements. "Before we make that kind of expenditure," he said, "we need to know all the details." Fasano said lawmakers will have a chance to debate the expenditure when the Legislature goes into session next spring. But state DOT Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos warned at the meeting that if the Legislature rejects the deal, the state would lose more than $250 million in federal money for construction of a commuter system that Orlando area leaders have been working to get for more than 20 years. "This was built from the bottom up," said a stern state Sen. Daniel Webster, R-Winter Garden, clearly displeased by his colleagues' questions about the CSX deal. "I am a supporter of this project" because of the support it has from the residents and businesses of the Orlando area. Deal's Secrecy Is Issue But the deal wouldn't have become controversial if it hadn't been planned in secret, said Dockery, who isn't on Fasano's committee but was invited to sit in because of her interest in the project. "If this was such a great deal, why was it not done in the open?" she said, as Webster sat nearly with his back to her, looking at her over his shoulder. It's being called a "bottom-up" project, but only the people who would benefit, in the Orlando area, were consulted, she said. The plan essentially would take CSX's cargo trains off the rail line running through Orlando and dump them onto a single freight superhighway that would run through the heart of downtown Lakeland. "I'm upset the state is paying so more freight can come through our town and kill our way of life and we didn't even know it was happening," Dockery said. She and others from outside the Orlando area found out about the state's negotiations with CSX about a year and a half ago, but weren't given details of how many more trains would come through Lakeland. Frustrated by conflicting and evasive answers she said she got from DOT officials about how the deal came together, Dockery said she put in a public records request and received about 20 boxes of documents. She's still going through them, she said. Though Fasano did not come out against the project, he did question how the state would be sure it was getting its money's worth. "At what point do the taxpayers start making money" on the commuter rail system, he asked. Kopelousos didn't know. "Only time will tell," she said. On the $491 million expenditure, including the expansion of CSX's freight operations into the new Polk County hub, she said that for every dollar the state would spend, it would get back three in direct and indirect public benefits. The primary return will be in reduction of road congestion, she said, and the savings of not having to expand highways in Central Florida. But when Diaz de la Portilla asked about the potential drop in truck traffic, Kopelousos said truck traffic could get worse. "Depending on CSX and their vision, that will either help or hurt that," she said. Diaz de la Portilla said when people were trying to persuade South Florida to build its commuter system, Tri-Rail, two decades ago, they said the same thing the DOT is saying now, that it would reduce congestion and save highway construction money. "You hear these kinds of promises," he said, but "they're overblown. ... In 10 years you'll need to build the extra lanes anyway." Unanswered Money Questions Diaz de la Portilla also questioned why the state is giving money to a private rail company that is rich enough to spend $3 billion to buy back its own stock. In its deal with CSX, the state is giving the company nearly $300 million to expand its lines into Polk County and move freight and truck operations to the new Winter Haven hub. Kopelousos said CSX is paying for a portion of those improvements, but when Diaz de la Portilla asked how much, she couldn't answer. "Someone in the department must have an answer," he said. The company has paid $1 billion on improvements from Chicago into Florida, Kopelousos said. "We're not talking about that," Diaz de la Portilla said. "We're talking about our Florida system." Fasano pointed out that CSX lobbyists were in the meeting room. But they didn't offer an answer either. "I highly recommend you get those numbers," he said to Kopelousos. Also Thursday, state Rep. Rich Glorioso, head of the House Infrastructure Committee, questioned Kopelousos at his committee meeting. He said he was most concerned about increased train traffic through Plant City and Lakeland. State Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, criticized the CSX deal not only for its potential effect on his area, but as an example of poor planning. This may not be the best way to bring commuter rail to the state, he said. "We need a comprehensive plan." Also, Ross said Lakeland officials have identified an alternate site for CSX's new hub, in unreclaimed phosphate land southwest of Winter Haven, and alternate rail routes that would bypass Lakeland. Dockery also talked about the new location at Fasano's committee meeting. Afterward, CSX spokesman Gary Sease said the company would cooperate if the state wants to explore a rail relocation, but he said it would be "very difficult." After his meeting, Glorioso said there would be a lot more discussion on the CSX issue as lawmakers approach the 2008 session. Then he went into a meeting with CSX lobbyists who were waiting for him. Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834, or lpeterson@tampatrib.com.

Local Ordinances Aren't Enforceable

Council sees fines as way to keep track of trains Norfolk Southern says Bangor doesn't have jurisdiction. Railroad says feds are regulators. Wednesday, December 12, 2007 By DOUGLAS B. BRILLThe Express-Times BANGOR With increased fines, borough council will tell Norfolk Southern, "Not so fast." The railroad company might tell the borough the same. Council on Monday hiked the fine for trains speeding through the borough's two railroad crossings. The charge for any train speeding across Erdman Avenue or South Main Street is now $500 instead of $25. The borough said it can limit the speed of trains at railroad crossings and has since 1971. But a spokesman for the railroad company said the railways are regulated federally. "They can't" regulate the speed of trains, spokesman Rudy Husband said of local governments. He said the Federal Railroad Administration regulates the trains. "The local ordinances that affect interstate commerce have no enforceability," he said. A Federal Railroad Administration spokesperson could not be reached for comment. Bangor police have clocked trains crossing borough roads at more than 20 mph, police Chief Glenn Kerrigan said. The borough allows trains to cross at 8 mph. Kerrigan said Norfolk Southern is "not being uncooperative with us. They just need to slow down." As to whether the borough can limit the speed of trains, he said, "You're crossing my roadway." Police can use a stopwatch to time the trains, he said. While police can't pull a train over, he said, they can mail a citation to the rail company. Trains travel through the borough most often at night, likely on their way to the Portland Generating Station with coal, borough council President Marino Saveri said. He said council increased fines in response to residents' complaints. Duane Miller, owner of Miller's Paint and Wallpaper, which is near the Erdman Avenue crossing, said he was among those who complained. "The trains are coming through so fast we're afraid someone is going to get killed," he said. Complicating matters, he said, is a signaling system that goes off when no train is on its way. Drivers have caught onto this, he said, and cross the rail lines even when the blinking lights tell them not to. "If anyone is observing down here," he said, "they know it's not safe." Reporter Douglas B. Brill can be reached at 610-759-0508 or by e-mail at dbrill@express-times.com.

Intermodal Cancer Risks

Study confirms cancer risk near UP's Roseville railyard Highly toxic particles make train exhaust worse than diesel truck emissions, scientists say. By Chris Bowman - cbowman@sacbee.com Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, November 29, 2007 Air test results released Wednesday confirm that residents living near the Union Pacific Railroad yard in Roseville face a sharply higher cancer risk from locomotive exhaust than those living along nearby Interstate 80, a stretch traveled by an average 10,000 big rigs a day. The spew from idling locomotives contains 5.5 times more of the most toxic particles than emissions from diesel-powered trucks on freeways, the study said. "The diesel train stuff is much richer in the nastiest material," said Thomas A. Cahill, a retired UC Davis professor of atmospheric physics. The study recommended several ways to lower residents' health risks. Paving the railyard would cut down toxic dust. Planting rows of tall trees along the edges of the yard would filter out a good portion of the exhaust particles, as would the installation of electrostatic air filters in homes. The highly hazardous exhaust particles are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which California has classified as cancer-causing compounds. An extensive health study published last month found a strong link between bronchitis and elevated levels of these air pollutants among preschool children. Cahill said he was alarmed to find airborne particles of benzo-a-pyrene – considered the most hazardous PAH compound – consistently measuring much smaller than those found in truck exhaust. The particles are small enough to reach the deepest recesses of the lungs, where they can cause the greatest harm. "The lung captures these particles with extreme efficiency and retains them," said Cahill, co-leader of the project with his son, Thomas M. Cahill, an assistant professor of environmental toxicology of Arizona State University. The scientists traced the source of these compounds to burned engine oil, which is spewed from the stack as part of the locomotive exhaust. "Now that we know where it comes from, we can talk seriously about mitigation," Cahill said. "It opens up research into making an oil compound or changing the way you handle oil in a train." The samplers also found unexpectedly high levels of toxic metals such as lead. They said the metals likely came from the dirt surfaces of the train yard, where locomotives have been serviced for 100 years. "The dust blown off the railyard is full of all sorts of stuff, even bomb debris from who-knows-what," Cahill said. On April 28, 1973, several 250-pound bombs bound for Vietnam exploded aboard a freight train in the railyard. Live bombs were found buried in the area as late as 1997. The Cahills did the peer-reviewed air sampling and analysis earlier this year on behalf of the Sacramento area chapter of Breathe California, a clean-air advocacy group. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funded the project. One of the reviewers, Ralph Propper, an air pollution researcher at the state Air Resources Board, said he was surprised by the findings. "It's a red flag that the PAHs that we know are the most potent components of diesel exhaust are elevated more than fivefold," Propper said. "It makes you concerned that the overall toxicity of diesel is higher than you suspected." Cahill said his air measurements are consistent with findings from a 2004 air board computer analysis of the train yard exhausts. The study found locomotive exhaust extended about 100 square miles – encompassing most of Roseville, all of Citrus Heights and all of Antelope – and raising the cancer risk for an estimated 165,000 residents. For example, living within 300 feet of the yard's locomotive service and repair center boosts the cancer risk an average 950 chances in a million, the state analysis showed. By comparison, living within 300 feet of I-80 in Roseville increases the cancer risk 50 to 100 chances in a million, according to the air board study. About 100 locomotives occupy the 780-acre yard at any given time, Union Pacific officials said in 2005. About one-quarter of those are part of trains passing through en route to Portland, Reno or Sacramento. Others stop to switch tracks, reassemble cars or crews, refuel or undergo inspection, repair or testing.

$491 Million That Slipped By Under Wraps

$491 Million That Slipped By Under Wraps By DANIEL RUTH Published: Dec 4, 2007 CSX Transportation recently received 491 million reasons to be joyful this holiday season, thanks largely to a former governor who treated his public office as if it were an extension of the Skull and Bones secret society. A few days ago, Florida transportation officials and CSX signed off on a deal, finagled in greater secrecy than the list of covert CIA prisons, that will give the railroad company $491 million in public money to purchase 61 miles of track in the Orlando area. As part of the CSX corporate welfare deal, money also will be provided to upgrade existing rail lines and create a major hub in Polk County, which could effectively reduce Lakeland to a glorified parking lot for the choo-choos. Even though we are in times of economic stress, when teachers, school nurses and other government employees are losing their jobs because of belt-tightening, and though it wreaks of elitist, good ol' boy backroom home cooking to give a private corporation nearly a half-billion dollars of your money, who would be surprised? Royal Me After all, the CSX goody bag began with the handiwork of then-Gov. Jeb Bush, R-The Royal Me, who negotiated the $491 million giveaway in secret, out of the sunshine and without legislative accountability. And why not? This was a governor who always expressed barely disguised disdain for ever having to explain himself, much less to the press and certainly not to those ooey-gooey, icky folks otherwise known as citizens. Or put another way, an almost half-billion-dollar pillaging of the public exchequer somehow managed to pass the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature without most members of that august body having any remote clue what they were voting to approve. Of course, that might have been remedied by reading the appropriations bill beforehand. Due diligence? Let's not get carried away with good government here. No Memory While Bush was serving CSX mimosas on the verandah, the $491 million episode of "Deal or No Deal" was more lost in the halls of the Capitol than Sen. Larry Craig's career. Republican state Sen. Paula Dockery, who represents the Lakeland area, noted the CSX money never came before her committee, which is sort of strange because she serves on the TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE! "Sounds like they were trying to slip something through," surmised Republican state Sen. Alex Villalobos of Miami in an interview with The Tribune's Lindsay Peterson. Gee, senator, do ya think? Indeed, by the reckoning of all of the elected officials who should have known details about forking over $491 million to a private corporation, everybody insists they have no idea how such a massive sellout of the public trust could have occurred. To date, Gov. Charlie Crist has been more shy than a rookie Geisha in weighing in on the CSX windfall. The deal still must pass one more level of Tallahassee scrutiny - that is if anyone bothers to stay awake during next year's legislative session. Wouldn't that be a refreshing development? Keyword: Book of Ruth, to read and comment on Daniel Ruth's blog.

Lack Of Debate On CSX Rail Deal Riles Lawmakers

Lack Of Debate On CSX Rail Deal Riles Lawmakers By LINDSAY PETERSON The Tampa Tribune Published: Nov 28, 2007 TAMPA - Several Florida lawmakers are fuming over a $491 million deal the state is on the verge of signing with railroad company CSX Transportation. They say it passed through the Legislature without most members knowing anything about it, and they want to find out why. The deal would give the rail company nearly half a billion dollars for a section of track in the Orlando area and upgrades on freight lines into a hub planned for Polk County. The Orlando area track would be for commuter rail. "I don't think this is a good deal, but the fact is, I don't really know because I don't have enough information. This never even came up in our committee," said state Sen. Paula Dockery, a Republican from Lakeland and member of the Transportation Committee. The $491 million package will come up for final review in next spring's legislative session, now that CSX Transportation and the Department of Transportation have worked out details of how it will be spent. This time, Dockery and others say they will be ready with questions. They want to know what kind of deal the state is getting. They also want to know how so much money could be allocated to a private company without any legislative scrutiny. "What bothers me is the way this was done, the secrecy," she said. The Department of Transportation "has so much money and so little oversight. We need to look at revamping or adding more oversight &hellip I don't think we should have another project happen like this." State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said he plans to hold hearings before the session starts. He leads the Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee. "I have members with concerns," he said. "We want DOT to explain the dollars they are spending on these railroads." Gov. Charlie Crist has said nothing publicly about the deal, put together under Gov. Jeb Bush's administration. Neither Crist nor his aides have answered several calls from The Tampa Tribune. DOT officials say the three major pieces of the $491 million plan were in the transportation work program the Legislature approved last year. The DOT program is laid out in a massive document sent to lawmakers for approval every year. It's hundreds of pages long, listing every project the agency plans for the next five years. "Sounds like they were trying to slip something through," said state Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, also a member of the Transportation Committee. "I don't remember voting to give CSX anything like that. I think it's outrageous that that kind of money can move around and not be subject to public debate or scrutiny." The deal between the state and CSX could be derailed if the Legislature votes against the money, but many say that's unlikely. Money Was Set Aside The deal goes back several years to efforts among Central Florida officials to build a passenger rail system in the Orlando area. It began to come together in late 2004 when CSX, based in Jacksonville, approached DOT officials with a new plan for the state. The company planned to reroute its freight traffic from a line into Orlando onto a parallel line into Polk County, where CSX also wanted to build a major hub. The shift would open up track in the Orlando area, which CSX said it would sell to the state if the state would pay for track improvements on the line into Polk County. The following spring, in 2005, state lawmakers approved about $3 billion in transportation spending, creating new funding for the DOT to use, money that would be used to pay CSX. Former Senate President Tom Lee, a Republican from Brandon, played a major role in the legislation. But he said no one mentioned anything to him about money going to CSX. "My goal was to meet some long neglected infrastructure needs," he said. "I'm sure there were a lot of people down stream who thought this was an opportunity for them to access these resources. But that certainly wasn't anything I was a part of." As a lawmaker, he said, his role was to allocate the money to the agency - in this case the DOT - that had been entrusted with spending it fairly and responsibly. Then-House Speaker Allan Bense, a Republican from Panama City, also said he doesn't recall any talk of CSX receiving any money that year. "I'm not trying to dodge," he said. "But we see about 3,000 bills in a session &hellip It may have been discussed, I just don't recall." But others remember it clearly. "There was money set aside specifically for categories and one was commuter rail," said former state Rep. Randy Johnson, an Orlando Republican. "I'm not sure it was specifically earmarked for CSX, but we all realized that CSX would have to reroute and that was part of the deal. We realized that and factored it into the number," he said. "We asked the question: What would it take to make this happen, what would it take to get this deal done to bring commuter rail to Central Florida." No Hearings, No Debates The deal may have been discussed among the Central Florida lawmakers whose districts would benefit, Dockery said, but they didn't discuss it with many others in the Legislature. There were no hearings in any of the committees that dealt with the bill. No one discussed it when it came up for a vote on the House or Senate floors. State Sen. Michael Bennett, a Bradenton Republican, led one of those committees, Community Affairs, and helped write the bill that eventually passed. He said he thought the transportation money in the bill was for road improvements. "Who the hell brought CSX to the dance?" he asked. "These railroad companies are for-profit operations. Why is the state giving them money? What did the president of CSX make last year?" Negotiations between the DOT and CSX officials began in late 2005, after the session ended and Bush signed the bill. Bush touted the bill's passage in a news release that listed the major projects it would fund. It included "infrastructure for the rail main line in Central Florida." But it didn't mention the line's owner, CSX. In August 2006, Bush and CSX CEO Michael Ward stood together in Orlando to announce the $491 million "agreement in principle" between the state and CSX, with details to be worked out over the coming months. According to the agreement, the state would pay $150 million to purchase 61 miles of CSX tracks in the Orlando area, $198 million for improvements to a CSX line running through West Central Florida, $52 million for other freight line improvements, $23 million to move a CSX hub from Orlando to Winter Haven and $9 million for roads to the Winter Haven hub. The state would also pay $59 million for rail bridges and overpasses in Alachua, Sumter and Marion counties. The DOT presented the package to the 2007 Legislature in the DOT work program. But like the lawmakers who didn't know they were approving money for CSX in 2005, many members of the 2007 Legislature said they didn't realize CSX projects were in the DOT budget they approved. "You're telling me something I didn't know," said state Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, when told about the state's arrangement with CSX. He's a member of the House Economic Expansion and Infrastructure Council, which deals with transportation issues. State Rep. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, didn't know either. As member of the House Transportation Committee, he "knew there was an opportunity for commuter rail in Orlando, but I don't remember it coming up." Still, when he heard about it, he wasn't surprised. "Anytime you say transportation, I'm never shocked by the number that comes after it." State Sen. Carey Baker, a Republican from Lake County who will lead the Senate Transportation Committee next year, said he understands other members' questions about the CSX deal, though he was "fully apprised of it" last year when he was named chairman. He thinks it's the best way to bring commuter rail to Central Florida. "I'm more than willing to talk about it, but we're not going to start from zero &hellip We don't have time to start all over," he said. The answer may be to require specific legislative approval of high-cost projects in the future, he said. "We don't want to go back to the old days, when the Legislature voted on every road project &hellip But it's not unreasonable for us to take a close look at any large-dollar projects." Also, he said, the DOT needs to do a better job of explaining its projects to lawmakers. "If they had done that, we might not have had these problems." Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834 or lpeterson@tampatrib.com.

Evansville/CSX in Winter Haven

We recently heard from a CSX union member who was upset by the purchase in Winter Haven of the hub site by Evansville Railroad. No one to this point has been able to figure out just why a company would have another company buy a hub for them. What we were told is a tell-tell sign of how CSX may work. It seems Evansville, who is refered to as a shortline, is mostly controlled by CSX. With 3 of the 7 board members on Evansville board being CSX executives and CSX having the option to purchase or call in more than 75% of Evansville stock if CSX wanted to. And Evansville from what we are told is non union. If Evansville stays in control, more than likely, the employees who are now working in the Orlando and Tampa hubs will be offered a transfer to who knows where. If they don't take it, they have effectly resigned. The new employees being non union will be paid less than the original workers and still have to be brought in from other places because most people in Polk County can't run an intermodal hub. If CSX is willing to do this to their own employees, what does this say about the average citizen? I don't know if this is what is happening, but the union men seem to think so!

Rail Plans Rattle Neighbors

From: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5520665 Rail Plans Rattle Neighbors A huge Union Pacific hub north of Brighton doesn’t sit well with rural residents By Jeffrey Leib Denver Post Staff WriterArticle Last Updated: 03/26/2007 06:06:07 AM MDT “We don’t need that here. We can’t live with the noise.” Lucky Zolman, above, who lives adjacent to land where Union Pacific is considering building a large rail yard. (The Denver Post) Along Weld County Road 4 1/4 – Lucky Zolman sputters in frustration when he thinks about Union Pacific Railroad putting a 640-acre switching yard and freight hub a few hundred yards from his home. “We don’t need that here. We can’t live with the noise,” said Zolman, 62, who moved to the quiet dead-end lane 31 years ago. Union Pacific is studying the costs and impacts of relocating its intermodal freight operation, where containers are loaded onto trains from trucks, and its switching yard, where rail cars are switched among trains, from central Denver to a 2 3/4-mile-long and a third-of-a-mile-wide swath of land between Brighton and Fort Lupton. The freight operation is currently located near East 40th Avenue and York Street, and the switching yard is on 36th Street. The Regional Transportation District needs the railroad’s facilities in Denver for its FasTracks commuter- rail lines, including the train to Denver International Airport. RTD has agreed to pay the railroad $10 million for the relocation study and another $30 million to acquire land for the new rail yard. It’s possible RTD also could pay the $100 million or more that Union Pacific is expected to need to build the new freight hub and switching yard. “Our philosophy going into public-private partnerships is that we pay for things that benefit the railroad, and public entities pay for things that benefit communities,” said UP spokeswoman Kathryn Blackwell. Complex’s impact studied If RTD did not need the two Denver rail yards for FasTracks, Union Pacific would not be moving, she added. Vicki Kramer Bilak, whose family has owned land along County Road 4 1/4 for 103 years, said if Union Pacific’s huge complex is constructed just down the lane from her house, the diesel fumes, noise and truck traffic will be intolerable. “It’s too close. There is no way you can liveTed Crim walks near a sign neighbors made to show their displeasure with the plan to build a large rail yard north of Brighton. He lives on the southern end of the proposed project. (Post / Karl Gehring)next to something like that,” she said. UP’s study is looking at possible impacts the rail yard would have on noise, air quality and traffic. Preliminary results will be completed by September. They should indicate whether the project is financially feasible and whether impacts can be mitigated, Blackwell said. Union Pacific opened a new $100 million, 360-acre intermodal freight yard near Dallas about 1 1/2 years ago that is a model for what the railroad would like to operate here, she said. The proposed UP operation in Weld County would be nearly twice as large as the one near Dallas because it would include a major switching yard as well. Intermodal refers to the transfer of freight containersbetween trains and trucks. Rail cars are moved from one train to another at a switching yard. The Texas facility can handle 365,000 over-the-road trailers and containers a year, Union Pacific said. As many as 700 trucks go in and out daily. Fort Lupton is eager for the economic gains the UP rail yard might bring to the small community, said City Administrator Jim Sidebottom. The yard would be “a new state-of-the-art, high-tech” operation, “not dirty and noisy like the old ones,” he said. The city expects that trucking companies, warehouses and manufacturers would locate nearby to serve the rail yard. Ft. Lupton to annex land Still, Fort Lupton also is waiting todetermine the environmental impacts. “We want to know where the traffic is going to go,” Sidebottom said. “I don’t want this going through town.” For the project to proceed, land that Union Pacific needs for the rail yard would be annexed into Fort Lupton, and the city would provide water and other utilities, Sidebottom said. Michael Olds and his wife, Diana, live north and west of where the UP yard would be and have a 3 1/2-acre horse-boarding and -training operation. They live now with the main UP north-south line that brings at least 15 trains a day by their horse pens, but Michael Olds said “industrial activity will compound exponentially” if the rail yard is built. “Why would they want all of this so close to a population center?” he asked. Don Truax, another resident on County Road 4 1/4, lives several houses closer to the proposed rail yard than Bilak and Zolman, and UP has offered to buy his land for the project. “They just came in without asking and said, ‘We want your property,”’ said Truax, who thinks the railroad low-balled him with its offer. “I said, ‘What if I don’t want to sell?”’ Truax said, adding that UP’s agent claimed the railroad has been around since the 1800s and can “condemn” the land of someone who holds out. The railroad does have the power of eminent domain but uses it very sparingly, Blackwell said. “It is absolutely the last thing we ever want to think about,” she said. Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com