Scenic Railway stays!
According to the paper, a 5-year verbal agreement has been reached between the city and the railroad. There is no mention of the $1 franchise fee, only a few details about the lease. Judging by the tone of the article, I’d guess the fee idea has been shelved.
Updated 1/17/06: After a few more push and shoves, a 5-year lease has finally been signed. According to a reliable source, this all boiled down to more than a few misunderstandings that led to a single council member holding out because of a little bad blood from a previous ‘misunderstanding’.
This one ‘got ugly’ but you gotta love small town politics; it all seems to flesh out in the end, and this issue has definitely inspired me to at least go sit in on a few meetings now and then. After spending the last two days in Atlanta and picking my jaw up off of the floor when my suburban, native-Atlantan sister inquired about moving her family here “to find a sense of community”, I couldn’t help but smile when I arrived again at our train and crossed the tracks back into small town controversy.
Yeah!!!!
Great news. This should help Blue Ridge maintain the charm which is making the area such an attraction for tourists and purchasers of second homes. It is vital for this community to maintain the natural elements which has helped it to become an attraction. Hopefully there is a development plan and committee that can ensure that growth in the short term is balanced by a long range goal the preserves the area.
Hey, that’s great news!
DL
This is great news!!! We are moving to Blue Ridge and heard that the train may stop operating there. The Scenic Railway shows the natural beauty of Blue Ridge.
Thanks for saving the train.
PK
Great news!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My wife and I were at the Town Council meeting last Tuesday night along with several other downtown merchants and it was a hoot. Mayor Greene moved the discussion about the Scenic Railroad from 4th to 1st on the agenda since there were so many of us in the audience. All in all, It took a long time to get to a resolution that should have a no-brainer!! But on the other hand we all could be still living in a urban environment fighting traffic and noise on a daily basis.