Sean C. Morgan
State Sen. Fred Girod, who represents Sweet Home, has proposed legislation that would prohibit Linn and Benton county railroads from charging landowners for easements necessary for the landowner to access his property if the railroad receives Connect Oregon funding.
The amendment to Senate Bill 260, which authorizes the fifth iteration of Connect Oregon, would affect only charges after the first of this year.
Albany and Eastern Railroad has been repairing and upgrading its line into Sweet Home along Highway 20 and has billed neighbors along the route a $600 permit fee and an annual $120 maintenance fee, requiring $2 million in insurance coverage. It also has required them to provide insurance coverage that names the railroad for crossings.
Some landowners have protested the fee, and A&E has filed a lawsuit against them to collect the fees.
Funding for A&E’s project has included some $10 million in Connect Oregon funding, which is derived from the Oregon Lottery.
The language of his amendment is “really specific for their railroad,” Girod said. “I told the story to just about everybody here. They just have a hard time believing that people have to pay for their easement after they haven’t paid for decades.”
The railroad can do what it’s doing because it is protected by federal law, Girod said. “We do have some say as to how the money flows.”
Girod is trying to prevent similar charges from happening in Swet Home with this amendment, and this money is the state’s only option to address the issue, he said. This will tell the railroad if takes Connect Oregon money, “you’ll have to recognize people’s easements. It’s a very strong message.”
A&E has a major public relations problem, Girod said, adding that threatening landowners isn’t the way to do it.
These people have had easements for decades and never had to pay, he said.
There’s nothing to limit these kind of charges, Girod said. “I’ve heard 2,500 bucks isn’t out of the question.”
“I’m just not happy with the direction things have taken,” Girod said. A&E took public funds, and if the state hadn’t granted it, this wouldn’t be happening at all.
A&E Spokesman Jared Cornell said every other railroad in the county and country has done and continues to do the exact same thing A&E is doing.
“Really, the only thing it’ll impact is his re-election campaign,” said Cornell of Girod’s effort. “It’s not going to do anything to us. It’s blatantly discriminatory legislation.
“We’re going to continue to do what we’re doing,” Cornell said, and that’s running a railroad as well as updating and maintaining its crossing and maintenance permits.