Enquirer to host town hall forum on railroad sale tonight. Tickets still available
In just about a week, Cincinnati voters will begin casting their early in-person and mail-in ballots on an issue that could define the city for the next half century or longer − whether to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway, the nation's only municipally owned railroad.
Tonight, Cincinnatians will have a chance to get their most pressing questions about the proposed $1.6 billion deal answered at a town hall forum at Cincinnati's Union Terminal hosted by The Enquirer. The forum will begin promptly at 7 p.m. in the 300-seat Reakirt Auditorium. No signage, noisemakers or campaign materials will be allowed in the auditorium or rotunda. The event is open to the public, but attendees must have a ticket to gain entry. Tickets can be obtain here. While the event is free, Union Terminal does charge $6 for parking.
There is no shortage of passion or opinions about the sale. Nearly 200 people have already registered to attend the forum and scores of questions have been submitted to The Enquirer by readers to ask our panel, which features proponents and opponents of the sale, a state lawmaker and a railroad industry history and attorney. Panelists include Mayor Aftab Pureval, Paul Muething, president of the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees, Adam Koehler, a member of the Save Our Rail group, Tom Brinkman, a former state lawmaker who recently brought a lawsuit against the railway board, State Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, who represents Ohio’s 24th House District, and Alfred Nippert, Jr., a retired attorney who consulted on the acquisition of short-lines and serves on the board of directors for the Lebanon, Mason and Monroe Railroad and a member of the American Association of Private Rail Car Owners and the Railroad Passenger Car Alliance.
The Enquirer invited Norfolk Southern Corp. to be part of the forum, but the company declined.
The Enquirer surveyed forum registrants (183 as of 8 a.m.), almost all of whom identified themselves as registered voters in the city, and found most remain undecided on the issue. Registrants who favored the issue and those who were against it were roughly equal in number. So, tonight's forum could have a big impact on many voters' decision-making.
The Cincinnati Southern Railway Board is asking voters in November to approve the sale of the 143-year-old city-owned railroad. It’s a deal Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and city council members say is a better deal for citizens than leasing it.
The railway board would use the $1.6 billion in proceeds from the sale to create a trust fund. Investment proceeds from the trust, estimated to be anywhere from $50-$70 million, would be given to the city to spend on current infrastructure projects. The current railroad lease brings in $25 million annually.
Tonight's forum will cover a variety of topics including the strategic importance and value of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, future of the railroad industry, lease negotiations with Norfolk Southern, the railroad trust fund/investments, infrastructure spending plan and public input/transparency, among others. Enquirer Opinion and Engagement Editor Kevin S. Aldridge will moderate the discussion, and City Hall reporter Sharon Coolidge will field questions from the audience.
Readers can still submit questions for tonight's forum by sending an email to kaldridge@enquirer.com. Those not attending the forum can view it on Cincinnati.com and our forum partner Cincinnati CitiCable at a date to be determined.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Enquirer to host town hall forum on railroad sale tonight
