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This Friday and Saturday a short piece of track will be laid on the Samoa roundhouse grounds to put the passenger cars on. It will be on the pavement so no movement of soils will be done. To be clear, it will not connect to the NWP mainline yet. That connection will be a ways off.
Also electrical work will be started on Saturday for the buildings.
Like always volunteers are always welcome.
Sorry about the infrequent blogging. I like to do my electronic stuff and blogging from a easy chair in the living room. Unfortunately, that is the time my cats decide it is their time to have my complete and undivided attention. This means I then must lean back in my chair, putting the laptop or project out of reach.
Then we have work around the house or whatever.
Things seem to be good with the baby so far.
Filed under: Eureka, Humboldt, NCRA, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Railroad, THA, bicycle, harbor, trails
Video to come later.
No Wifi access, so I can’t do my usual live bloging. I’m slow at texting and thus won’t do many twittering.
NCRA counsel isn’t here, so discussions/replies can’t be done at this meeting.
EPIC
DEIR: wants more time to review, complaining that due to holidays people won’t have time to review it. Wants it to be extended 30 days.
Lady from Fortuna, doesn’t understand why NCRA did the lease for thirty years, when the current gravel mining permit will last for about three more years.
Pat Wiggins: Here as part to get a repayment of money owed to the Harbor District. Says chapter 9 is possible of NCRA, and thus ROW sold piece meal. Suggested that NCRA’s land/ROW be transferred to the Harbor district, so they can develop the trail, and tourist train.
Chairman Hemphill said they are identifying more sources of revenue.
Had just received an entire history of of Marcus, THA history, trail vs railroad, passenger cars, life the universe and everything.
Hank Sims left after that, must of got what he wanted, or something better happened.
Trail update, should have route for public review in January, for Eureka to Arcata. In four weeks should have clear idea of routes. Very happy and helpful to have meeting with John Williams yesterday. Meeting with THA today.
The securities vote is so they can explore various methods to increase revenues.
ICE-T funds only for Cloverdale south, not anywhere north. Quiet zone funding would only be around the city of Novato.
Caltrans, Rep says funds was for the entire line.
Chairman McDonald further defined that the funds was originally sought, for the Northern line.
Financial information, was disapproved by the board due to lack of accrual statements
? NCRA is currently undergoing yearly audit. Note board members were disapproving on the lack reports, rather than information presented.
SMART forgave NCRA’s loan for repair of Haystack bridge, due to NCRA’s work on shared portion of the line.
Draft EIR. Note comment period was already extended one week to make it to end of year. No approval of further extension of comment period.
Revenues of 800,000 per year, expenses of 1 million per year. 1/3 of revenue is car leases, part id property/crossing leases. Needs to complete repairs, and start running trains.
Sonoma county is the one doing the financial books.
Quaker hill project?
Tom McDonald’s report used by Pat Higgins, and SMART wasn’t complete, was intended to be an internal report as a call to action.
Operator’s report.
Supports THA efforts. THA is a possible source of income for NCRA. Needs money to repair track. Need to prioritize money for Northern project. Also supports efforts to put trail along side rail. Spent three hours yesterday, walking along track with trails person.
Suggestions for revenue. Consider suspending stipends until such time board is more solvent. Principal effort is to lift FRA order 21.
McDonald, wanted to correct that he was only over per deim is staying in Humboldt, during county fair time, and not by much. Thus the hotel didn’t offer government discount at that time. Same with Meyers. Atkins said she hasn’t submitted her expenses yet. She wouldn’t be able to be on the board, if expenses weren’t reimbursed.
Next meeting at Novato, hoping for that city council chambers.
No presentations by Dave at this meeting.
Filed under: Uncategorized
FACT CHECK – Palin’s Book Goes Rogue on Some Facts – NYTimes.com.
Glad she lost.
Filed under: Eureka, Humboldt, NCRA, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Railroad, THA, bicycle, trails
NORTH COAST RAILROAD AUTHORITY (NCRA)
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
Wednesday, November 18, 2009~ 10:30 a.m.
Eureka City Council Chambers
531 “K” Street
Eureka
Humboldt County
Amended DRAFT AGENDA
AGENDA NOTE
All items appearing on the agenda are subject to action by the Board of Directors. Staff recommendations
are subject to action by the Board of
Directors. Staff recommendations are subject to change by the Board.
A. CALL TO ORDER
B. ROLL CALL
C. AGENDA APPROVAL
D. PUBLIC COMMENT
Comments will be limited to three minutes per person and not more than ten minutes per subject, so that everyone can
be heard. “Public comment” time is limited to matters under the jurisdiction of the Authority that may not have been
considered by the Authority previously and are not on the agenda. No action will be taken. Members of the public may
also comment during specific agenda items when recognized by the Chair.
E. PRESENTATIONS
1. Tourist Train Update – Timber Heritage Association – Marcus Brown
2. Arcata Rail-With-Trail Project – City of Arcata – Karen Diemer
F. CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
1. Discussion and Possible Approval of Sutter Securities Engagement Letter –
Potential Capital Financing Programs
2. Adoption of Resolution 2009-09 of the Board of Directors of NCRA
Authorizing NCRA to Work Jointly with SMART to Obtain ISTEA Funding and
Delegate the Executive Director Authority to Take Necessary Acts
2
3. Discussion and Possible Appointment to NCRA Committees
Appointment of Director to the following NCRA Committees:
a. Property Committee
b. Finance Committee
G. CONSENT CALENDAR
1. Approval of Minutes – Regular Board Meeting – October 14, 2009
2. Approval of Minutes – Property Committee – November 6, 2009
3. Acceptance of Financial Statements – October 2009
4. Approval of Warrants Issued – Agency 787010 – October 2009
5. Approval of Warrants Issued – TCRP 787101 – October 2009
6. Approval of Cal Card Statement – October 2009
H. COMMITTEE REPORTS
1. Property Committee – Director Kelley
I. STAFF REPORTS
1. Executive Director – Mitch Stogner
a. SMART/NCRA Operating Agreement Discussions
b. Haystack Loan Forgiveness
c. DEIR Status Update
J. OPERATOR REPORT
1. NWP Co. – John Williams
K. MATTERS FROM THE BOARD
Things have been going well for us. St. Joesph delivery area looks really nice. We did the tour last night. Wifi was free and good coverage in the areas I’ve tested.
We can already tell he is going to be a handful when he is born. He refuses to cooperate in the nonstress tests. He moves around, kicks the heartrate monitor, or not moving. So testing time seems to lengthing.
We are also doing the birthing class. I’m thinking if these videos were played in jr high and high school, the birth rate would go down.
Filed under: Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino, NCRA, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Railroad, Sonoma
November 10, 2009
To All Interested Parties:
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the North Coast Railroad Authority Project (SCH 2007072052) has been issued for public comments. Since the March 9, 2009 DEIR was circulated, new information that is considered significant has been made available. In accordance with CEQA 15088.5, the March 9, 2009 DEIR is being revised and recirculated to provide the public with the opportunity to comment on the revisions. Because the new information affected numerous sections throughout the document, the entire DEIR is being recirculated.
Previous comments on the March 9, 2009 DEIR will still be considered part of the public record, but written responses to these comments will not be included in the final EIR. The public is therefore advised to submit new comments on the revised DEIR.
The following provides a summary of the primary areas where the March 9, 2009 DEIR was revised:
• Since the March 9, 2009 DEIR was circulated, the NCRA Board approved its final Trail Guidelines. These guidelines are significantly different than the draft Northwestern Pacific Railroad Company (NWP Co.) Trail Guidelines that were used in the March 9, 2009 Public Safety analysis. The final NCRA Trail Guidelines are available on the NCRA web page.
• The March 9, 2009 DEIR identified BMPs as mitigation measures, but did not include a copy of them in the document. It was originally felt that since the agencies would be reviewing the BMPs prior to operations, it was not critical that they be included in the DEIR. NCRA has finalized its BMPs and these are now included in Appendix A of the revised DEIR.
• NCRA’s current operator is NWP Co.; however, since it is feasible that a different operator could at some point operate on the rail line, the revised DEIR includes or references NCRA’s plans and procedures instead of NWP Co. specific plans and procedures. It is understood that any operator will be required to follow NCRA’s plans and procedures.
• Detailed discussion was included in the cumulative section regarding the operating agreement between NCRA and SMART. Many of these details are still being discussed; therefore, they have been removed from the cumulative section. The combined operations of the passenger and freight trains will be in compliance with FRA safety regulations.
• The NCRA Rehabilitation of the rail line from Lombard to Windsor was included as a cumulative project.
This document represents the revised DEIR which is currently being recirculated for public review and comment.
Publication of this DEIR marks the beginning of a 45-day public review period, during which written comments may be submitted to the NCRA at the following address:
Written comments may be submitted to the following addresses:
North Coast Railroad Authority
419 Talmage Road, Suite M
Ukiah, CA 95482
mitch.stogner@northcoastrailroad.org
To conserve resources, this DEIR is being distributed primarily on computer disk. The DEIR will be available as of November 11, 2009 at the North Coast Railroad Authority website at www.northcoastrailroad.org. The review period for this DEIR is November 10, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
Copies of the DEIR (hard copy of the Executive Summary and a CD for computer viewing of the remainder of the document) may also be reviewed at the following libraries:
Marin Civic Center Library
3501 Civic Center Drive #427
San Rafael, CA 94903
Sonoma County Library
211 E Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Mendocino County Library
105 N. Main Street
Ukiah, CA 95482
Humboldt County Library
1313 Third St
Eureka CA 95501
Filed under: Humboldt, Marin, Napa Valley, North Coast Railroad, Railroad, Samoa
THA finishes lower boiler shop roof!
Lower boiler shop roof finished Nov 2009, Samoa, CA
Various retired teachers volunteering their time.
Some retired teachers rack up an incredible number of hours focused mainly on one special interest. A good example of that kind of dedication is Mike Kellogg, retired social science teacher at Eureka High School. A man of many talents, he has given most of his 1,150 reported volunteer hours this past year for the Timber Heritage Association.
SF Gate: Bill Provines – fireman on novel train – dies
Bill Provines, the last surviving employee of the famous “crookedest railroad in the world” that once climbed Mount Tamalpais, died Friday at his home in Novato of heart failure. He was 101.
Vacaville The Reporter: Rail cars arrive for refurbishment
Drivers crossing the Wichels Causeway on and off Mare Island on Wednesday were privy to a recent rarity on the island: A train chugging across, whistle blowing.
Wednesday marked the first installment of Mare Island newcomer business Alstom’s plans to refurbish 66 Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains. The initial three passenger cars to grace newly aligned track leading into Alstom’s Building 599 warehouse were towed by Alstom venture partner, San Francisco Bay Railroad.
I’m pretty sure it was a horn, not a whistle blowing. Thanks to Shawn for providing this one.
Link to video, embedded didn’t seem to work for me.
Here is a quick timelapse video of the recent joining of the P&SR Caboose #1 onto it’s newly rebuilt trucks. More video of the event coming soon.
NVR: Devlin extension gets rolling
For the next several weeks, trucks will build a section of a bridge over railroad tracks north of Green Island Road, using soil from a hill near Napa County Airport.
Green Island road is south of, and runs along the tracks leading to NWP/NCRA. Should provide another vantage point for railfans.
1948 U.S. Railroad Atlas Thanks to those who have posted this online.
Filed under: NCRA, Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Railroad, SMART, Sonoma, bicycle, trails, transit
Marinscope Newspapers > Novato Advance > News > NCRA, SMART release timeline for trains.
Construction work is finished on the railroad tracks that will carry freight trains through Novato. Now the tracks need to be inspected, and then freight trains are expected to start rolling by March 2010.
Meanwhile, planning and design work is under way for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter train, and construction work should start in 2011.
The Harbor District is the main one with no results until after the pools close at 8pm. The Marina Center I guess is a forgone conclusion by the opposition, Democracy Now and Humboldt Paykeeper( Baykeeper) haven’t even twittered the event. Not even a live blogging by Heraldo and sidekicks.
Thanks to the Marina Center for keeping the community informed on this one.
Dear Marina Center Supporters,
Thank you for your continued support of the Marina Center project. Tonight at 6 pm the Eureka City Council will consider the approval of the Coast Development Permit, which would allow environmental clean up on the Balloon Track to move forward. Hopefully this will be the last time for a while that this matter before them.
It is more important than ever to have our supporters attend the City Council meeting and let them know, without a doubt, that you want this property cleaned up.
The worst case scenario for Eureka, if this is passed, is that the property will be cleaner. Debris and garbage will be removed, storm water will no longer run into the bay and we get 11 acres of restored wetlands as well as provide 40 badly needed, good paying jobs.
We have been sued for not cleaning up this property and now are being threatened with a lawsuit by the same people because we want to clean it up.
Please come show your support for the clean up of the Balloon Track for the Marina Center Project.
We hope to see you tonight.
Thank you,
I hate waiting for results.
9:23pm: Well elections website has crashed. Hank got results. Wilson, and Marks so far.
10:19pm: ok elections website is back up
Measure A in Mendocino looks to be rejected. That was the former Masonite plant in Ukiah redevelopment. Maybe it can be now developed with industry that will use the railroad.
Final election night results:
MIKE WILSON 2,680
DAN HAUSER 1,023RICHARD MARKS 1,268
JOHN ASH 957
SUSAN PENN 447
TS article on election results. While I’m disappointed on Wilson winning, I’m happy that Marks won, just because he has an open mind on things, and Heraldo’s pick in that race was last.
TS article, Eureka approves Marina Center costal development permit 4-1. Amazing it wasn’t 3-2.
Other news, is Maine rejected gay marriage. Not one time has the issue of gay marriage come up to a vote, has it been allowed. Thirty one times to zip. Every time it was because of courts, or legislators.
