(The following story by Tom Knapp appeared on the Intelligencer Journal website on January 3.)
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — With new plans in hand for renovations to its railroad station and platforms, Elizabethtown Borough needs only two more things.
One is a stack of approvals from state and federal agencies that have oversight on the project.
The other is about $4 million.
Borough manager Pete Whipple told council the new plans — which were revised to accommodate federal accessibility standards — have been submitted to Amtrak for approval. Once Amtrak OKs them, he said, they will go before the state Department of Transportation, the federal Railroad Administration and the federal Transit Administration for review.
Whipple said he doesn’t anticipate any hitches in the review process. However, funding remains a problem.
The project was estimated to cost $2.5 million in 2005, he said, but costly changes to the plan since then have more than doubled the price. The borough has about $1.5 million of the $5.5 million estimate in hand.
“This is a federal unfunded mandate,” Whipple said. “It’s not a new law, but a new interpretation of an existing law … and it’s futile to argue any more.”
The borough is seeking grants and other funding sources at the local, state and federal levels, he said.
“It’s too much to borrow … and place that burden on the general fund and taxpayers for the next 20 years,” Whipple said.
Whipple recently reported to council that ridership from the Elizabethtown station shot up from 62,526 in fiscal year 2006 to 74,091 in fiscal year 2007 — an 18.5 percent increase.
However, Whipple said, the platforms are badly in need of repair, and the parking lot is inadequate for the station’s needs.
The historic station house off High Street, meanwhile, has been boarded up for nearly three decades.
Once renovated, borough officials hope to use the space for a variety of commercial enterprises such as a restaurant, florist and dry cleaner, as well as a transportation hub including a bus stop, taxi stand, bicycle rack and automated ticket booth, plus access to a high-speed rail line and shuttle service to Harrisburg International Airport.
U.S. Rep. Joseph Pitts visited the station in December and told borough officials he would explore avenues for federal funding on their behalf.