Montour Trail-Letter

Volume 12, Issue 1

January/February, 2001

An exciting new chapter in the history of the Montour Trail has begun. After ten months of behind-the- scenes negotiations and intense meetings, the Montour Trail Council has purchased 72 acres of property from the bankrupt Montour Railroad. These 72 acres parallel the Montour Trail from mile 0 at Montour Road to the Enlow tunnel at mile 7.3. This property, which varies in width from 30 to 200 feet, can now be preserved.

This purchase will prevent further removal of forest cover or disturbance of wetlands and will be key to the well-being of the Montour Trail in the Airport area. It forms the backbone of the proposed Montour Greenway, and it will protect a significant portion of the natural areas remaining along Montour Run. The purchase of the property for $185,000 was finalized on Wednesday, November 22, 2000. In addition, a new partnership with the Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) has been established. The ALT, who will be the eventual owner of the property, has agreed to assist us financially with the acquisition. The financial plan and the ALT relationship will be explained later in this article.

A little history is probably required to help you understand this purchase. The Montour Trail Council and Allegheny County purchased the Montour Railroad property, fee-simple, about ten years ago, except for miles 0 to 7.3. At that time the Montour Railroad was only willing to give us a 16 foot easement for the first 7.3 miles. Duquesne Light already had pur- chased an easement through this section. When the property came up for sale originally out of bankruptcy court, we felt no need to pursue the property due to our existing easement. This arrangement was fine until January, 2000.

In the last months of 1999 the Hollow Oak Land Trust (HOLT) had been quietly negotiating to purchase the property. The Montour Trail Council has an excellent working relationship with HOLT and we supported them in their pursuit of the property. Well the HOLT organization is involved with preserving some other very substantial properties and decided in December of 1999 not to pursue this acquisition. The option on the property expired in January of 2000. In the back of our minds we thought no one else would want to purchase this property. We were shocked into reality in early January.

An individual representing a general contractor took a 45 day option on the property. We actually thought that the property in the Montour Run corridor was lost forever. However, the Montour Trail Council decided not to wait and went into action. We had zero dollars for this acquisition, but we were able to put together a financial plan in a short time for $200,000 (An additional $15,000 was required for legal, survey, and transfer fees.) HOLT had a DCNR 50/50 match land trust grant of $100,000, that they would be willing to transfer. However, the MTC, not being a land trust, could not directly accept the grant. Thus a letter was sent to the ALT asking them to assist us with the acquisition. The ALT board voted to purchase the property and accept the grant transfer. A request for $100,000 was then submitted to the Allegheny County Regional Asset District (RAD) board to match the DCNR grant. (On 11/29/2000 we were awarded $99,000 by the RAD board.) However, due to the urgency of purchasing the property quickly, the MTC decided to pursue an additional temporary funding avenue. A request was sent to the Allegheny Trail Alliance (ATA) for a swing loan of $200,000. The ATA not only agreed to lend the MTC the money, but provided it interest free for 90 days. Thus the financial plan had been put in place, but we had one serious problem. The general contractor kept renewing his option on the property. A renewal occurred in late February, another in April, and then another in July. This process was very frustrating to us. Especially, since for legal reasons, we could not publicly comment on the situation. Finally, in late August, the other respective buyer let his option on the property expire.

The MTC quickly sent a purchase offer to the Montour Railroad. The sales agreement was signed on 9/7/2000, the bankruptcy court approved the offer on 10/27/2000, and the acquisition was final on 11/22/2000. We have some work ahead of us in transferring the property to the ALT and establishing a management agreement with them. But, we now have been able to preserve this precious beautiful property for all current and future Montour Trail users.

I would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their help in making this acquisition possible: - Dick Wilson - MTC 's Legal Counsel; Fred Owen - DCNR; Susan Gold & Andy Loza - ALT; Steve Schotting & Janet Thorne - HOLT; Linda Boxx - ATA; Allegheny County RAD Board; Stan Sattinger - MTC Board Member.

In summation , I would like to especially thank Dick Wilson, who expertly lead us through this arduous process. Finally, thanks to the MTC Board whose guidance, patience, and support was substantial. What a joy it has been to work with such a dedicated, giving, and fun-loving group of individuals.