LEWISBURG – A local rail authority is still embroiled in litigation related to a new operating contract. Nearly a year after the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority received proposals from three rail operators, the board is still no closer to awarding a new contract.
In July, the JRA attempted to vote to award the contract to Carload Express of Pittsburgh, but the motion failed to get the required majority. At issue is whether nine votes, which constitutes a majority of the board of 16, is the number needed to pass a motion since six board members recused themselves from the bid process.
The JRA filed a suit in Clinton County asking a judge to uphold their determination that the vote was valid. In March, the JRA and the two remaining bidders, Carload Express and North Shore Railroad of Northumberland, held a mediation session related to the litigation.
At their meeting Wednesday, the JRA board voted to invite the operators to yet another mediation session. Jeff Stover, executive director of the JRA tells WKOK the mediation is an effort to resolve the litigation, “in an amicable manner, with a goal to saving time and expense in the litigation.”
The new seven-year, $250 million contract is scheduled to begin July 1, 2017.
