MINUTES
MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF RAILROAD PASSENGERS
MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP MEETING
ST. JOSEPH DEPOT, ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN
NOVEMBER 12, 2011

Those Signing In:  Hugh Gurney, Barney Whittier, Kathleen W. Newell, Dave Randall, Steve T. Sobel, Jim Wallington, Don Monteith, John Langdon, Jim Hinkins, John DeLora, Rich Vavra-Musser, Kay Chase, Doug Wilson, Ron Leatz, Alan Bond, Dan Platz

Also Present: State Senator John Proos, State Representative Al Pscholka, Mayor Bob Judd, Bob Meyers, Court House Museum

Call to Order:  Vice Chairman Whittier called the meeting to order at 11:50 a.m.

Speaker:  Whittier introduced the day’s speaker, Robert Meyers, Curator at the Court House Museum in Berrien Springs.  Discussing the development of early railroads in Southwest Michigan, Meyers noted that the Michigan Central was the first, reaching Niles in 1848 and New Buffalo in 1849.  Until the line was extended to Chicago, passengers took boats across Lake Michigan to the windy city.  Interested communities then issued bonds for the construction of the present CSX line through St. Joseph and Benton Harbor.  While other heavy rail and interurban lines followed, they were not successful over the long run.  Amtrak and CSX, the first two railroads, are the ones that remain to this day.

Regional Chapter Reports;

            Northern: Rail is drawing a lot of attention in Northern Michigan, Monteith reported.  He recently met again with students and faculty in the railroad program at Michigan Tech.  A graduate of that program will be leading the Alaska-Canada rail project.

The Yellow Dog Mine near the Wisconsin line is scheduled to be opened in 2012 and will be served by an existing rail line.  One of two proposed mines in Marquette County could be served by a rail line presently slated for abandonment.  Monteith is working to preserve existing rail lines in Northern Michigan so that passenger service can be reintroduced in the future.

            Metro Detroit:  Realignment of the junction at West Detroit is scheduled to begin in early 2012, Hinkins announced.  This will cut travel time by 12-15 minutes and eliminate a lot of freight conflict.  Amtrak now plans to provide a part time caretaker for the Pontiac station.  That person will be on hand in the early morning and in the late evening.

In response to a question by Platz, DeLora stated that the current rehabilitation work on the Michigan Central Station in Detroit is largely a public relations ploy.  The building has been totally stripped.  Matty Maroun owns the building, but CP owns the station platform.

Monteith has been informed by Mike Bagwell of the Great Lakes Central Railroad that WALLY service between Howell and Ann Arbor will not happen until after Ann Arbor-Detroit service becomes a reality.

Leatz bemoaned the lack of a rail connection between communities in West Michigan and the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

             Western:  Langdon welcomed the group to West Michigan.  A schedule has been developed to check and supply all Amtrak stations in West Michigan with timetables and other pertinent information.  Horizon equipment is back on the Pere Marquette temporarily. 

St. Joseph will be hosting a major PGA golf tournament over Memorial Day weekend and a push is on for morning trains from Chicago to bring spectators to the event.  A temporary platform could be build adjacent to the platform.  Both the PGA and Amtrak seem interested.  This could prove the value of a morning Pere Marquette out of Chicago every day.

As a way of ironing out any kinks, DeLora suggested operating a morning Pere Marquette to Holland earlier in May during Tulip Time. 

Leatz reported that the Christmas lights on the Dowagiac Depot were lit earlier in the week.  Amtrak’s Dave Kuhn, MDOT’s Therese Cody and numerous state and local officials including State Senator Proos were on hand to view the 1300 lights come ablaze.

The station will be lighted throughout the winter.

             East Central:  Indian Trails has postponed a scheduled meeting because their staff is working on a possible contract with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.  When that meeting is rescheduled, Wallington will urge Indian Trails to operate four of their Michigan Flyer buses via I-96 and U.S. 23 between East Lansing and Ann Arbor.

The Williamston Depot Museum has Christmas cards for sale.  See Wallington for details.

U.S.-Canadian Border: Wilson talked recently with mayors in Port Huron and Sarnia, the Port Huron City Manager, the Blue Water CVB, Ontario regional transportation officials and the local Member in Parliament at Ottawa about restoring cross border passenger rail service.  He feels that this issue is now on the agenda of many officials, with support coming from the governments of Michigan, Ontario and Canada.  The Eastern Border Transportation Coalition is working at the federal level in both the United States and Canada to ease border restrictions.  The Coalition has representatives from Michigan, New York, Ontario and Quebec.  MDOT’s Tim Hoeffner is active in the group and speaks on our behalf.  Legislators on both sides of the border need to hear from their constituents that they want cross border passenger rail transportation.

Mayor Bradley of Sarnia is pushing hard to maintain passenger service in Southwest Ontario.  There is a real possibility that VIA service to Sarnia will be dropped and service to Halifax cut to three days a week.

Route Enhancement Committee:  Gurney reported that the committee met over lunch in Jackson and will meet again at the close of this meeting to finalize recommendations for 2012.  These recommendations will be presented to the Executive Committee at the January meeting for review and approval.

Adjournment:  The meeting adjourned at 12:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:                                  Approved:

 Hugh D. Gurney                                             Robert Tischbein

Secretary                                                         Chair

MINUTES
MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF RAILROAD PASSENGERS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
ST. JOSEPH DEPOT, ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN
NOVEMBER 12, 2011

Members Present:  Barney Whittier, Hugh Gurney, Dave Randall, Kathleen Newell, John Langdon, Jim Wallington, Don Monteith, Kay Chase, Jim Hinkins

Also Present:  John DeLora, Rich Vavra-Musser, Doug Wilson, Ron Leatz, Alan Bond, Carl Biek, Cass County Rail, State Senator John Proos, State Representative Al Pscholka, Mayor Bob Judd, Steve Sobel, Dan Platz.

Call to Order:  Vice Chairman Whittier called the meeting to order at 10:08 a.m.

Secretary’s Report:  The minutes of the Executive Committee meeting and the Monthly Members’ meeting held at Jackson on October 8 were reviewed.  Langdon moved acceptance of the Executive Committee minutes with corrections. The motion was seconded by Randall and approved by the members present.  Newell then moved acceptance of the Members’ Meeting minutes.  The motion was seconded by Chase and approved by the members present.

Treasurer’s Report:  Randall reported that, as of October 31, 2011, the checking account stood at $9,790.86 and the Pratt Fund was valued at $15,071.73. DeLora moved acceptance, seconded by Langdon.  Members present approved the Treasurer’s Report.

Coordinator Reports:

            Public & Governmental Affairs:  Langdon reported that he had attended the Great Lakes International Trade and Transport Hub Summit, held recently at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.  Present were numerous people interested in strengthening trade between Chicago, Montreal and the Port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, including trucking interests and representatives of Customs and Immigration on both sides of the border.  The governor spoke enthusiastically about Chicago-Montreal passenger rail.  The current high level tunnel beneath the Detroit River would be used for passenger rail.

The governor reiterated his support for Chicago-Montreal passenger service at the Michigan Rail Summit, held in Lansing on October 31.  This meeting was well attended, with many interested in rail freight.  Again, emphasis was on building a coalition including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ontario and Quebec.  MARP wants to be part of this collaborative effort and members sat among the various interest groups to point out the value of passenger rail.

Wilson reported that several Southwest Ontario mayors met recently to emphasize the importance of passenger rail to the area.  He and Tischbein plan to meet with Ontario interest groups in the near future.

            Meetings:  Wallington handed out the tentative schedule for 2012.  The next meeting will take place on January 14 at the Williamston Depot in Williamston.  Meetings are planned for Kalamazoo in February, Pontiac in March, Chelsea in April, Grand Rapids in July, Durand in September, St. Louis in October and Essex, Ontario in November.

Hinkins suggested Albion as future meeting site and Leatz suggested a meeting aboard an excursion train operating out of the former House of David property.

            Membership:  Newell reported that she is now on top of where members live geographically and will be contacting the Regional Chairs to contact new members in their respective regions.

            Communications:  Whittier complimented Chase on the first issue of On Track, MARP’s new electronic news letter.  Chase then introduced Randall, who reviewed the Independent Contractor Agreement he had drafted to provide direction for the new editor of The Michigan Passenger, who will produce the newspaper as a paid contractor. Approval of the draft was moved by Langdon, seconded by Randall, and agreed to by the members present.

Chase announced that the proposed editor is Larry Sobczak and that he is working on the Fall issue of The Michigan Passenger which is scheduled to hit the streets before Thanksgiving.  She then moved that the Executive Committee establish an Editorial Committee to assist, advise,  and review the work of the editor.  The motion was seconded by Monteith and passed by those members of the Executive Committee present.  The members of the Editorial Committee will be Wallington, Chase and Gurney.

Welcomes:  State Senator John Proos of St. Joseph and State Representative Al Pscholka welcomed the group to St. Joseph and West Michigan.  Both urged MARP members to develop engaging stories portraying the value of passenger rail as a way of building support among their wary colleagues in the Michigan legislature.  They need concrete examples of why passenger rail is important to their constituents.  Responding to Vavra-Musser’s concern, Proos agreed to push the governor and MDOT to get the Pere Marquette route added to the Midwest Rail Initiative blueprint.

Mayor Bob Judd also welcomed the group and thanked MARP for its advocacy of passenger rail in West Michigan.  He stressed the need for increased funding and for keeping the value of passenger rail before the public.

Adjournment:  The Executive Committee adjourned at 11:30 a.m.

Respectfully submitted:                                  Accepted:

Hugh D. Gurney                                             Robert Tischbein

Secretary                                                         Chair