By Molly Parker
mparker@scbiznews.com
Published May 12, 2009

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey sent a scathing letter to Orangeburg County’s economic development arm today after finding out that county had requested millions of dollars to expand rail access in his city.

Orangeburg County, in conjunction with S.C. Public Railways, filed a request for $278 million to implement a controversial rail plan in North Charleston aimed at providing CSX and Norfolk Southern equitable access to the Port of Charleston’s customers.

Related story: Orangeburg County seeks $278 million for railroad plan in North Charleston

Orangeburg County officials believe dual access is also necessary for the success of Jafza International’s planned logistics park near Santee.

“I am requesting a copy of the proposal from you so we may study your plans for my community,” Summey wrote in a letter to Gregg Robinson, executive director of the Orangeburg County Development Commission.

Last week, Summey said he was not consulted about the funding request made on behalf of Orangeburg County to members of the S.C. congressional delegation.

Summey said that, after receiving a call on the matter from the Business Journal and subsequently reading the story about this proposal on Monday, he “began to doubt the possibility of Orangeburg County’s willingness to openly communicate with a fellow governmental entity.”

Earlier this afternoon, the city of North Charleston provided the Business Journal with a PDF copy of Summey’s letter to Robinson, plus another letter Summey sent to U.S. Rep. James Clyburn in which he asks to speak to the U.S. House majority whip about the request.

Mayor Summey’s letter to the Orangeburg County Development Commission
Mayor Summey’s letter to Jim Clyburn

“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,” Summey wrote in the letter to Robinson.

Summey said that he understands the importance of the Jafza project to Orangeburg County but that he “cannot understand how funding can be requested for railways that are over 60 miles away.

“Our community should not be the whipping boy of Orangeburg County’s pursuit of prosperity.”

In Monday’s story, Robinson called the federal proposal “a regional concept to a statewide problem” and referred questions about its details to S.C. Public Railways President Jeff McWhorter.

McWhorter, whose agency is a division of the S.C. Department of Commerce, said the proposal sought money for the construction of two intermodal facilities in North Charleston, one on the former Navy base atop land currently owned by the Clemson University Restoration Institute – and another on the Macalloy Property situated on the southern end of the base.

It also included a request for funds to build several rail overpasses in North Charleston and money for Public Railways to purchase a CSX rail line that runs into Orangeburg County, adjacent to Jafza’s property.

McWhorter said it was his belief that federal funds would be allocated for one intermodal facility or the other, but not likely both. He believes the only way to provide dual 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, in his letter to Clyburn, lobbies for an alternative plan off the southern end of the base, which includes the Macalloy property adjacent to a CSX line and the Promenade property in Charleston, where local developer Robert Clement has proposed a rail yard servicing Norfolk Southern.

Summey wrote: “North Charleston has come a long way since the Navy base closed. … 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.”

Reach Molly Parker at 843-849-3144.