North Charleston’s mayor says Orangeburg County officials should have talked to him before they requested a quarter-billion dollars to run trains through the northern end of the former Navy base.

But Orangeburg County Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson says he was a “little surprised” to receive a letter Tuesday from North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey criticizing the county’s request for $278 million from the federal government to expand rail access within his city.

Summey, in a letter that appeared on the Charleston Regional Business Journal Web site, said the money was requested without his knowledge, leaving him to question Orangeburg County’s “willingness to openly communicate with a fellow governmental entity.”

“Our community should not be a whipping boy of Orangeburg County’s pursuit of prosperity,” Summey wrote. “I have learned over the course of my 20-plus years of public life that it is important to communicate with folks in order to accomplish important tasks.”

Orangeburg County wants money to build a rail line to serve the Jafza project, a planned 1,324-acre industrial and distribution park near Santee. The county wants the federal money to build an intermodal facility on the base’s southern end, several rail overpasses in North Charleston and a line into Orangeburg County.

Summey wants the lines to run through the southern end of the Navy base so it won’t interfere with Noisette project, a public-private partnership started the late 1990s to revitalize the Noisette area. Orangeburg County has asked for the trains to pass through the northern end.

Robinson said dialogue has been open among all stakeholders.

“Orangeburg by no means is trying to usurp anybody’s authority at all ... in the development of North Charleston,” he said.

The public, day-long Orangeburg County Economic Development Summit held last year was just one effort at open dialogue with all, Robinson said. Summey did not attend the summit.

“I welcome the opportunity to sit down with the mayor and all the stakeholders,” Robinson said. “We are doing everything we can to bring about public discourse and put in discussions about rail-related solutions to the development of the global corridor of South Carolina.”

Summey also sent a letter to U.S. House Majority Whip James Clyburn’s office saying that the funding proposal for rail improvements would “dramatically impact” the city.

He said the proposed rail plan would, “explicitly violate a memorandum of understanding between the state of South Carolina and the City of North Charleston.”

“An alternate plan has been developed, which provides rail yards for both Class 1 carriers,” Summey said in the letter, which was also reported by Charleston Regional Business Journal.

A call placed to Clyburn Tuesday was not immediately returned.

Robinson said he was not aware of any memorandum of understanding between the state and North Charleston, but said he has talked with North Charleston economic development officials.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us acquire federal stimulus monies to create jobs in a needed area,” he said.

The county wants the money to build two intermodal facilities in North Charleston, one on the former Navy base atop land owned by the Clemson University Restoration Institute and the other on the Macalloy Property situated on the southern end of the base.

The county also wants the money to build several rail overpasses in North Charleston and money for S.C. Public Railways to purchase a CSX rail line that runs adjacent to Jafza’s property in Santee. That way Norfolk-Southern would have equal access to the line.

The Journal reports that rail officials believe the only way to provide access to both Class 1 railroads is through the northern end of the former Navy base, where the S.C. State Ports Authority is building a new terminal.

Summey disagrees.

“North Charleston has come a long way since the Navy base closed,” he wrote. “Help North Charleston continue to advance the quality of life that we are accustomed to, not destroy it by imposing massive rail yards on an up-and-coming community.”

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551. Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Molly Parker contributed to this report.

You must be logged in to comment.