Port submitting railway lease for legal review

DAYTON – The Port of Columbia Board of Commissioners held its regular meeting at 5 p.m. on August 12, 2026, at the Port’s conference room. Commissioners Mike Spring and Johnny Watts were present in person; Scott Hudson joined on Zoom. Executive Director Jennie Dickinson and Economic Development Coordinator Shane Laib were also present.

The commissioners approved the previous meeting’s minutes, the monthly budget report, leases, and a letter to local governments and planning commissions. 

The letter addressed the difficulty in offering enticing parcels zoned industrial or light industrial to businesses interested in locating in Columbia County. 

In the letter, the Port said potential parcels have issues with the availability of services such as sewer and water, or are located in a floodplain. Parcels downwind of populated areas are also sought by industry. Hudson suggested setting up a joint meeting with City, County, and Port representatives to discuss the issue.

Dickinson reported that the building, last leased to Ace Automotive, has had all the scrap metal and tires removed. Tino’s Painting will paint the building for $14,000, making it ready to offer for lease.

Steady progress continues on the Mainstem Malt project at Blue Mountain Station. Planning documents have been submitted to the County for approval, and final funding meetings with the financiers are scheduled.

A draft for the lease with Columbia Rail, the railroad operator, is complete and ready for review by the Port’s lawyer. Additional negotiations are anticipated on some issues; most notably, a significant fare increase in shipping costs for Seneca Foods. The fare increase is due in part to the operator’s ability to make more money storing cars on the rail lines, rather than using them for transportation. 

The price increase would make shipping by truck less expensive than rail for Seneca and future users, including Main Stem Malt. Dickinson said this could impact potential state grants to the port for rail repair. The funding requests prioritized reducing highway truck usage,  providing shipping services to county businesses, and not unused rail car storage. 

Discussions between Seneca, the rail operator, and the Port are ongoing. 

Spring said that if the rail were to be used only for car storage, the Port could do that instead and make money. Hudson said it was “totally unacceptable to have a railroad that would not service the town.” Watts said that was also his stance. 

Columbia Rail has asked the Port to apply for a low-interest, $3.2 million loan for railroad maintenance. The loan application deadline is in September. The Port’s lawyer will review the application for future discussion by the commissioners.

Hudson gave a synopsis of the Rail Tourism Committee meetings he’s attended. The committee, working with consultants, is discussing feasibility studies. Hudson said he could not express how incredible all three consultants were in their respective areas of expertise. Laib also served on the committee and said Columbia Rail seems supportive of using the rail line for tourism.

The discussion turned to Community and Economic Development. The project updates were vague and were referenced by code names. Little information is available until project ventures are announced publicly. One project was described as a “regenerative ag project.”

Chuck Ketterman asked in the final public comment opportunity whether there has been any serious look at competition or competitors to operate the railroad. He also asked about the leasing of the right-of-way. Dickinson said the Port was resuming management of that issue.

The meeting adjourned for an executive session to consider the minimum price at which real estate will be offered for sale or lease.