Vermont Business Magazine On Friday, September 16, the Town of Shelburne filed a Motion for Stay, Temporary Restraining Order, Relief from the Court’s June 29, 2016 Option, Order for and Expedited Discovery and Hearing, in United States District Court for the District of Vermont. In a statement released today, the Town said it is seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) ordering Vermont Railway, Inc to cease developing property located at 2087 Shelburne Road. The town said the Court’s decision of June 29, 2016, was based on incomplete information and possibly purposefully false testimony by Barrett Trucking and Vermont Railway, Inc witnesses. The Court in June, without fully settling the issue, gave Vermont Railway the greenlight to continue construction on the salt shed and related facilities off Route 7.
Two days prior [to this filing by the town] the Town said it came into the possession of the August 10, 2016, meeting minutes of the Vermont State Infrastructure Bank, which the town says demonstrates that Barrett Trucking had received a $1,457,883.00 loan “to fund a portion of the construction of a transload intermodal facility located on land owned by Vermont Railway (VTR) in Shelburne Vermont” as well as additional funding from a $2,500,000 loan.
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Dating back to January when the Town of Shelburne originally issued Vermont Railway, Inc a Notice of Violation (NOV), it has been the Town’s suspicion, it stated today, that this is a Barrett Trucking project hiding behind Vermont Railways’ assertion of federal pre-emption. Judge Sessions of the US Federal Court issued its June 29th Decision with findings that included (i) Joseph Barrett had testified that if Barrett Trucking constructs a building on the Property it will freely submit to the Town’s zoning regulation, and (ii) Mr. Wulfson (Vermont Railway president) had testified that the Railway owns the Property and is paying for the construction of the intermodal facility. Consequently, the Court found that the activities on the property were federally preempted at that time, in part, because although Barrett Trucking was to be the facility operator they had no financial interest in the Property and no control over any of the activities on the Property. The minutes of the August 10, 2016 Vermont State Infrastructure Bank meeting, apparently attended by Vermont Agency of Transportation Secretary Chris Cole, suggests that Barrett Trucking has a financial interest in the property which would, potentially, negate the preemption protection granted by the Court.
Gary von Stange, Chair of the Shelburne Selectboard, said, “I couldn’t believe it when this newly discovered information was provided. I don’t know how anyone with a straight face could continue to assert this project is just for the railway. It is clearly in great part a Barrett Trucking project with two parties unfortunately scheming to avoid proper land use regulations. The Town of Shelburne, as it has all along, continues to meet its responsibility to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of its citizenry.”
Selden Houghton from Vermont Railway today sent this response to Vermont Business Magazine: “We are disappointed by the careless and incorrect accusations made by the town in yet another attempt to delay this project which is vital for the upcoming winter season. We remain confident in the correctness of the court’s June 30th decision, and look forward to serving our Vermont community from the new Shelburne Transload Facility this winter.”