After calling railroad study a "flop", DM&E boss Schieffer now wants to talk

DM&E wants public meeting

Friday, May 19, 2006
Jeffrey Pieters, Rochester Post-Bulletin

Kevin Schieffer, head of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad, is attempting to set up a public meeting in Rochester Wednesday with local leaders who are opposing his railroad's proposed revitalization project.

In a letter sent Friday to leaders of the Rochester Coalition, a consortium of local groups opposing the railroad project, Schieffer said he wants to hear Rochester's solution to mitigate the effects of DM&E's proposed $2.5 billion upgrade.

"You have said many times that you do not oppose the project if we enter into an agreement with you, but I have seen no proposed agreement," Schieffer wrote.

"After all these years of demanding an agreement and rejecting those that have been offered to you, we would ask to hear your proposal for dealing with these perceived problems," Schieffer wrote.

The letter was sent to Mayo CEO Dr. Glenn Forbes, Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede and Olmsted County Board Chairman Ken Brown -- all leaders in the coalition that includes Mayo, the city and county governments, and the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce.

Officials were uncertain how they intend to respond to Schieffer's invitation.

"I don't know what to make of that," Brede said. "I guess we'll have to, as a coalition, talk about this.

"The experience of (an April 13 meeting in) Sioux Falls, and the experience of folks who have gone back several years is that these things never seem to work," Brede said.

"My inclination, without talking to Dr. Forbes, Ken Brown or (city council president) Dennis Hanson, is we ought to honor his request ... and we should see if we can meet with him."

The public setting that Schieffer proposes irked Brown, who accused the railroad CEO of grandstanding.

"If he wanted honest negotiations, he'd sit down with decision-makers -- not in a public forum -- and hammer out an agreement," Brown said. "Negotiations are private things between all the principals."

Mayo spokesman Chris Gade suggested that, if Schieffer wants a public discussion, he also should be ready to release details of DM&E's loan application. The railroad is seeking a $2.5 billion federal loan for its project, and a locally funded economic study suggests the railroad wouldn't have sufficient revenues to repay the loan.

"We feel that this would be a wonderful opportunity for Kevin to share with the Rochester community his loan application," Gade said. "It would be interesting for the public to know why Kevin feels this project is viable."

(The article is here. For more on the DM&E issue on Vox Verax, go here.)