This is so important, Joe Fratesi may come out of retirement for it

Councillors want seasoned leadership on task force to save Huron Central Railway

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Sometimes, you've just got to have a heavy hitter like Joe.

Ward 1 Councillors Steve Butland and Paul Christian are proposing asking former Sault chief administrative officer Joe Fratesi to come out of retirement to help save the Huron Central Railway.

On Monday, City Council will consider the following resolution from the two councillors to create a Huron Central task force headed by the soon-to-retire Butland and Fratesi, who left public life in 2015.

Monday's City Council meeting will be livestreamed by SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.

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Huron Central Railway

Mover: Councillor S. Butland

Seconder: Councillor P. Christian

Whereas City Council passed a resolution on 2017 04 24 supporting the efforts of the Huron Central Railway to secure the funding necessary to enable the railway between Sault Ste. Marie and the CPR connection in Sudbury to continue to provide a short-line freight service; and

Whereas Genessee & Wyoming Canada have recently announced they will suspend operations of the Huron Central Railway between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury by the end of 2018, due to a lack of funding from senior levels of government to maintain the railway; and

Whereas in 2009, in similar circumstances, the City of Sault Ste. Marie facilitated a task force consisting of industry stakeholders and chaired by then-Chief Administrative Officer Joe Fratesi, which was instrumental in enabling the Huron Central Railway to receive significant funding from the federal and provincial governments to rehabilitate the infrastructure along the Sault Ste. Marie-to-Sudbury rail corridor,

Now therefore be it resolved that City Council endorse a new task force, led by Councillor Steve Butland and Joe Fratesi and including all relevant stakeholders to assist the Huron Central Railway to obtain senior government funding to ensure the continued operation of the railway.

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