By Diane Petryk
Beware of organizations bearing gifts. That’s what Union County Commissioner Preston Boop warns as there’s increasing talk of the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority “gifting” the multi-million-dollar Rail Trail project to the county.
County Commissioner John Mathias, a proponent of the Rail Trail personally, said Thursday that LARA board chairman Trey Casimir “asked on a number of occasions if we could help.”
County Commissioner John Showers said Casimir asked him if he would support increasing the county’s involvement with LARA in general.
In October, the LARA board gave its executive director, Kevin Drewencki, directions to put out feelers to county officials concerning the trail, said board member Tom Zorn.
“It’s a money-intensive project and not a lot of income is going to be generated by it,” Zorn said.
On Wednesday, Casimir refused to divulge the amount LARA owes on loans. Drewencki refused to allow LARA’s proposed 2010 budget to be examined. He said it would be available for public inspection at the board’s next meeting, 8:30 a.m. Dec. 17, when it will be voted on, not before.
The Rail Trail is nearly a dozen miles of old rail bed right-of-way between Lewisburg and Mifflinburg and then across the West Branch of the Susquehanna River to Montandon, that LARA’s nine-member board decided to buy and develop into a hiking and biking path. The county helped there, bequeathing $150,000 of its state “growing green” grant money for the purchase.
Otherwise, the authority provides recreational opportunities just within the boundaries of Lewisburg and East Buffalo Township, the municipalities that participate in it. Those include a pool, skating rink, in-line skate park; activities, such as a triathalon; and classes, like gymnastics. Its operating budget for all that is just over $600,000 a year, Drewencki said.
The Rail Trail is a more expensive proposition. While at first glance people think it’s a simple matter to build a path, Zorn said strings attached to state grants say it must be built to road building standards.
Each mile costs more than $125,000 to engineer, he said. Then it must be maintained, and that includes restroom facilities, benches and such.
The costs will never end. “Weeds and trees grow quickly, and you need specialized equipment to take care of vegetation along the sides,” he explained.
Buffalo Township resident Don Fogle said the trail will go near his business in East Buffalo Township, Fogle Forest Products, and he is concerned about liability, trespassers and the like. He also does not want his county tax dollars to pay for any of it, but he’s resigned to it.
“Showers made up his mind he’s going to do this thing, and he’ll figure out the details afterward,” he said.
LARA has $3.7 million in federal “Smart Transportation” grant money for the construction. Fogle said it was supposed to be for Routes 15 and 45, but Showers worked in Harrisburg to see that was diverted to the trail.
The grant money can’t be used until the trail design is complete, said Union County Planning Director Shawn McLaughlin. Everyone is hoping a $500,000 state grant comes through for designing, but there’s competition. Meanwhile, there’s a deadline on the construction grant. It must be out to bid by September 2010.
Fogle said the state may be holding up things because “LARA never has been a very financially responsible organization.”
He said he attended all of LARA’s public meetings, and the authority is “always saying it’s poor, broke, and has no resources.”
“That may be why they are looking to the county. The state would see the county as more responsible,” Fogle said.
Drewencki indicated LARA dipped into a $400,000 line of credit with Sovereign Bank to cover some of the design fees.
Boop said he recently saw Mathias, Showers, LARA Treasurer Jim Buck and McLaughlin huddled in Showers’ office. Boop said he knows it was about LARA “looking for a bailout.”
“See if they’re going to lie to cover their tracks,” Boop said.
Buck said Wednesday he was not in such a meeting and does not believe it took place.
McLaughlin acknowledged it, saying it was about helping LARA with grants.
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Media Law counsel Melissa Melewsky said if such a meeting took place, it was in violation of the state’s Open Meeting’s Law because a quorum of the county commission was present, and it was unannounced.
“Anytime a quorum of the county commission is discussing agency business, it has to happen in a public meeting,” she said. “One on one is fine. With a quorum, the Sunshine Law applies.”
“I was not invited, and I was not notified,” Boop said.
McLaughlin said such meetings are common, with one, two or three commissioners.
He said he often meets with commissioners and representatives of other groups within the county, helping them with grant proposals.
“Normally, it’s my call,” he said.
With LARA, however, the county commissioners made a point to vote on his involvement. He got permission to manage LARA’s grants on a 2-1 vote, with Boop opposed.
Boop said, “The county has things they’re mandated to do. We have 26 bridges in poor condition, and we don’t have the money to fix them, or to provide all the social services the county is required to provide.
“It doesn’t make sense to be funding recreational services we’re not required to provide.”
He added that he thinks, out of a population of 43,000, “you’d be lucky if you get a couple hundred that’ll be using the trail.”
On the other hand, Showers said the trail will not only connect two communities, it will stimulate business for bicycle shops to the restaurants and ice cream shops and other businesses along the way. It will be an amenity that helps large employers attract employees to the area, he added, and it will provide jobs.
Mathias said he would not be in favor of the county taking over the trail if it was going to adversely affect county finances.
“If and when they (the LARA board) make a formal proposal, we’ll consider it,” he said.
Showers said he thinks the trail should continue to be funded by grants and private contributions, but said if it were under the county auspices, that would “give credibility in fundraising.”
“I think it can be designed and built without using any county tax dollars,” he added.
Boop said: “These guys will tell you they aren’t going to spend any county money, but if the county becomes owner of this trail, it will be inevitable.”
