By LAUREN L. DILLARD
Of the News-Register
Yamhill County has taken the next step toward examining the feasibility of a rail line that would connect Yamhill, Polk and Washington counties. It has issued a request for proposals soliciting bids on a professional study.
"We've advertised the request for proposals, so we have people now calling," said County Commissioner Leslie Lewis. She said several consultants seem interested in submitting a bid.
Newberg businessman Matt Simek led a fundraising campaign with a target of $35,000, and eventually succeeded in meeting his target.
The county, the cities of McMinnville and Newberg and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde all contributed, as did other private and public sector organizations, including some associated with the wine industry. The county is in the process of creating a committee of donor interests to oversee the study, according to County Transit Coordinator Tonya Saunders.
The county RFP is unusual in one major respect.
Normal practice is to establish a specific work program and see how much bidders want to carry it out. In this case, the county is establishing a specific price and seeing how much work bidders are willing to do for that.
The committee will look for the contractor who can do the most for the $35,000 it has at its disposal.
Simek's original vision was a strictly tourist-oriented system.
However, the RFP broadens that to consider commuter and freight potential as well. It asks contractors to look at "development of passenger rail services and for improving freight rail services," and does not limit the passenger component to tourist-oriented traffic.
That's fine with Simek. He believes improved freight service could prove a boon for Cascade Steel, SP Newsprint and local vineyards, thus help make a new rail system economically viable. "Now is the time to start preparing and doing it," Simek said.
The consultant who lands the contract will be required to conduct a mile-by-mile review of existing trackage to determine condition, ownership and lease or purchase availability.
He will also be charged with determining what it would take to bring all of the line up to FRA Class 2, 3 and 4 standards, and "determine the feasibility of operating passenger rail services in Yamhill County, based on the projected expenses and revenues."
The county has scheduled a pre-bid meeting for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Room 32 at the courthouse. It is open to interested members of the public as well as prospective bidders.
Lewis hopes the committee can settle on a contractor by the end of September, and that the work can be completed within 90 days of that.
The feasibility study aims to look 10 to 20 years into the future, Simek said. "If we start now in paving the way, and start with a good plan now, then by the time we need it we will have good stuff in place," he said.
