Steps to get Y-town passenger train service!

[irishbobcat]

please get letters and resolutions from chambers of commerce, businesses, service groups, colleges/tech schools, seniors organizations, disabled groups and get them sent to all of the state legislators in the Mahoning Valley as well as to Tim Ryan.

Attached is a sample resolution. Thanks for any help you can provide!

KJP

Kenneth Prendergast
Executive Director (Interim)
All Aboard Ohio!
12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505
Cleveland, OH 44107-2189
(216) 288-4883 cell
(216) 986-6064 office
kenprendergast@ allaboardohio. org
www.allaboardohio. org


SAMPLE

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF OHIO HUB
RAIL CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT

Requesting the support of the Ohio Congressional delegation and Ohio General Assembly for federal and state funding to advance program-level, first-tier Environmental Impact Statements for Ohio Hub rail corridors, to increase passenger and freight rail capacity, and to fully fund the federal-state passenger rail investment program patterned on the 80/20 federal highway program with a dedicated source of funding.

BE IT RESOLVED BY______________________________________________:

WHEREAS, The Ohio Rail Development Commission and the Ohio Department of Transportation have completed an analysis of constructing and operating a regional interstate passenger rail system serving Ohio and the Midwest, known as the Ohio Hub; and

WHEREAS, The Ohio Hub study concluded that the construction and operation of the rail system will create a significant economic stimulus, that the economic benefits justify the investment, that construction is economically feasible and justifiable, assuming an 80% federal construction match, and that the project will not be a burden on the State's annual budget, and

WHEREAS, The economic stimulus created during the nine-year construction phase will be widely diffused across the entire industrial structure of Ohio's economy and will create 7,100 short-term jobs, which will generate a $1.84 billion increase in household earning related to construction, manufacturing, health care, retail trade, and professional, financial, and insurance services; and

WHEREAS, Over the long term the operation of the Ohio Hub will do all of the following: create 16,700 permanent jobs which is equivalent to more than 500,000 person years of work; raise the region's income by over $1 billion over the life of the project; generate more than $3 billion in development activity near stations; increase land values and create the potential for communities to develop new retail, office and residential development near the passenger rail stations; create an annual $80 million impact on state tourism by generating 320,000 new overnight trips; increase Cleveland Hopkins Airport traffic by 5% and create a $.5 to $1 billion economic benefit; create a potential benefit for freight rail operations in the range of $3 to $6 billion; and generate an annual fuel savings of approximately 9.4 million gallons of fuel; and

WHEREAS, If, as in the case of highway projects, Ohio provides just 20% of the capital costs, a $1 billion investment in the Ohio Hub will leverage a $17 billion return; and

WHEREAS, The Ohio Hub study concludes that in the year 2025, with full implementation of the interstate rail system, it is estimated that over 9.3 million riders will use a 110-mph passenger rail service and on the basis of criteria established by the Federal Railroad Administration the proposed interstate passenger rail system is considered feasible; and

WHEREAS, If the Ohio Hub were fully funded it would take approximately seven years to plan, design and construct the rail corridor capacity improvements needed for reliable, fast, frequent service with passenger train speeds up to 110-MPH as defined in the Ohio Hub Plan; and

WHEREAS, The first two project development phases will advance the rail corridors through the required steps under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and will resolve decisions regarding project location, capital improvements, community priorities and environmental impacts, and

WHEREAS, The first step in NEPA compliance will provide federal recognition of the Ohio Hub as a funding ready program of capacity improvement projects, will take 18 to 24 months to complete and result in a program level or first tier Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for each Ohio Hub corridor or set of corridors; and

WHEREAS, PEIS documentation will identify and preserve critical railroad rights-of-way and facilities for Ohio's future long-term railroad capacity needs and will define the capital and operating needs for corridor start-up services; and

WHEREAS, A variety of national reports have also identified an urgent need to invest in the U.S. transportation system, and

WHEREAS, The Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, in its report to the 109th Congress, states that the U.S. has significant transportation needs, that we need to invest at least $225 billion annually over the next 50 years to upgrade the existing system, and that currently we are spending less than 40 percent of what is needed today," and

WHEREAS, The American Association of Railroads, National Rail Freight Infrastructure Capacity and Investment Study states that an investment of $148 billion for railroad infrastructure expansion over the next 28 years is required to keep pace with economic growth to meet the U.S. Department of Transportation forecast, and

WHEREAS, The Passenger Rail Working Group, in its report to the 109th Congress recommends that a new Intercity Passenger Rail Program be included in the next federal transportation authorization bill and recommends initial funding of $5 billion annually for intercity passenger rail, and

WHEREAS, The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, states that public policy must improve the capacity, productivity and security of the freight-rail system as an integral part of the national freight transportation system and that intercity passenger rail also serves a vital public purpose as surely as the interstate highway system or national aviation network and that what is needed is a strong federal funding partnership for investing in rail, and

WHEREAS, The proposed Ohio Hub improvements would increase capacity for growing volumes of freight, remove railroad bottlenecks and improve operational fluidity while having a positive affect on highway capacity, shipping rates and business expansion; and

WHEREAS, The Ohio Hub would strengthen Ohio's competitiveness by: improving the State's position as a strategic distribution and logistics center, slowing the growth of congestion, increasing the reliability of energy-efficient rail operations and instituting modern intercity passenger rail service as an integral part of a national interstate passenger rail network; and

WHEREAS, If Ohio and the nation are to effectively address urgent issues such as mobility, stimulating the economy, creating jobs, conserving energy, and improving air quality then rail must be viewed as an essential transportation investment; now therefore be it

RESOLVED That we, the members of ___________________________, do hereby request the Ohio Congressional delegation and Ohio General Assembly support the Ohio Rail Development Commission's 2009 federal funding requests to complete program level, first tier Environmental Impact Statements for Ohio Hub rail corridors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we, the members of ___________________________, call upon the Ohio Congressional delegation to provide the new federal Passenger Rail Investment Act of 2008 with long-term funding necessary to finance the Ohio Hub rail capacity improvements and that the federal government provide 80% of the capital costs necessary to build the system; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this Resolution will be sent to the Governor of Ohio, each member of the Ohio Congressional delegation, members of the Ohio General Assembly in our affected area, the Ohio Rail Development Commission, and Ohio news media.

END