Planning staff proposed pursuing Empire State Development strategic planning/feasibility funding for a roughly $100,000 study to evaluate future uses of a 40-mile county-owned rail right-of-way, including continued rail leases, transfer to another owner, conversion for trail use, or long-term holding.

Ethan, staff member, reviewed the county's history with the corridor: "Back in 2019, I believe it was, the county had started the abandonment process, but since that process was halted due to some regulatory issues with the northern leg of the railway... We abandoned that process of abandonment, and we've now entered into a really productive relationship with Rev Rail." He said the study would evaluate multiple 5-, 10- and 15-year horizons and present a handful of alternatives weighing regulatory, financial, maintenance, and economic implications.

The proposed study was scoped at about $100,000, with 25% of funds for regulatory review (rail law and Surface Transportation Board rules), 25% for a desktop engineering evaluation of built assets, and 50% for stakeholder engagement and economic-impact analysis. Ethan cautioned the engineering portion would be preliminary and would not include full structural evaluation of every asset, which would be cost-prohibitive.

The county's Administrator provided recent cost context: "Right now, the lease payment is a $100,000 a year. Last year, as you recall, we had to pay 600,000 plus. I think it's a $673,000 in repairs to the rail line." The Administrator added that the county is required under its agreements to maintain the line at Class 3 standards and that the Department of Public Works purchased a rail 'sidecar' inspection vehicle to enable better inspections and earlier detection of problems.

Committee members discussed whether Rev Rail's operations could coexist with other uses and noted successful conversions to multiuse trails in nearby Essex County as a potential model. No formal motion or committee decision to fund or apply for the Empire State Development grant was recorded; the item remained a staff recommendation for future board consideration.