Rep. Ayotte named to Rail Advisory Task Force

    AUGUSTA — State Rep. Bernard Ayotte (R-Caswell), has been appointed to the new Aroostook Rail Advisory Task Force, which will oversee the prospective acquisition of 233 miles of track slated for abandonment by the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd. (MMA).     Gov. Baldacci created the task force by executive order on April 13. Two days later, House Speaker Hannah Pingree named Rep. Ayotte to the panel, along with State Rep. Josh Tardy (R-Newport), leader of the House Republicans. Representative Peter Edgecomb (R-Caribou) was appointed as an alternate. He will be able to attend task force meetings, which will be public.
    “I’m very pleased to be part of a group that will play a key role in the negotiations over the rail line,” said Rep. Ayotte, who spoke out forcefully during the legislative session about the importance of maintaining the rail service. “The many companies that depend on that line would be devastated without it. We’re talking about a lifeline for the Aroostook County economy and a critical asset for the economy of the entire state. More than 1,700 jobs could be lost if that line goes down.”
    On June 8, voters will pass judgment on a $57.8 million bond package containing $7 million to buy the rail line. If the bond issue is approved, the state would provide an additional $7 million from the Budget Stabilization Fund to acquire the line, which serves about five million acres of forest, 90 percent of which is harvested by the forest products industry. Major shippers along the route include Fraser Papers, Irving Woodlands, Louisiana Pacific Corp., McCain Foods and Seven Islands Co.
    According to the governor’s executive order, the Aroostook Rail Advisory Task Force will play a central role in ensuring transparency of the acquisition process and in the issuance of a request for proposals to secure a third party operator to run the line. The task force will work with the state on a number of important steps, including making sure that the state receives clear title to the land and track without assuming the financial obligations of the MMA. The panel will also make certain that the state receives a credit for previous state grants to be applied to the purchase price.
    Other task force duties involve seeking cooperation and contributions from shippers; assuring an assessment of current track conditions and the application for any available federal funding; and making sure that the acquisition will be conditioned on the inclusion of permanent trackage rights from the MMA to the north and south ends of the lines to allow access to the interconnections at St. Leonard Station, southeast of Madawaska and Brownville Junction.
    The Maine Department of Transportation will provide staff support for the 13-member task force, which will meet at times and places called by the chair, who will be appointed by the governor. Other appointees include two state senators; two representatives of businesses that use the rail line; one representative of a statewide business organization; and three representatives of economic development or business associations in Aroostook County.
    Members of the task force will serve without compensation.