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Acquiring Rail Corridors:
Chapter 2: Assembling Your Team
Assessing Your Capacity
At this point, you already know a great deal about your agency's abilities. Take some time to consider what has worked to get you this far.
- What tasks were easiest for you to accomplish? In what areas did your agency experience its greatest successes? What were your particular areas of expertise?
- Where did you have the most trouble? Could you have benefited from professional assistance in certain areas?
- What individuals have been most valuable to your efforts so far? Were one or two people responsible for your success, or did you rely on a team effort?
Consider the answers to these questions very carefully. You must understand your agency's strengths and weaknesses.
Once you've reviewed how things have gone so far, take the time to look forward at the issues you will face over the course of your acquisition. Remember, every phase of the conversion process presents new challenges and requires different skills. If you represent a government agency, it is quite possible that your agency will have an easier time addressing the challenges of acquisition than it did in generating public support for the rail-trail. On the other hand, a nonprofit citizen group may have greater difficulty in handling the highly specialized tasks associated with acquisition than they did in generating public support.
Some of the most important tasks which you will need to accomplish during the acquisition process include:
- Property research;
- Community relations work with adjacent landowners and the community at large;
- Corridor inventory and field assessments;
- Research into the railroad's interests and options;
- Obtaining financing; and
- Environmental assessments.
Think about the acquisition tasks that you are about to face. What sorts of skills and expertise will be needed to complete these tasks? Do you have staff members who can complete them? If so, which tasks? Are there volunteers, board members, or others affiliated with your organization upon whom you can call for pro bono assistance?
Completing this mental exercise can be quite revealing. Don't be surprised if you learn that you don't have enough "in-house" talent to complete every task. If your rail-trail project is like most, there is probably a wide range of agencies and organizations interested in working with you to create the rail-trail. Look to these organizations for assistance.
Involve Your "Stakeholders"
Successful rail-trails are the product of a cooperative public/private effort. Ask yourself, "What groups stand to gain from converting the corridor to trail use?"
Potential stakeholders include local parks, recreation, transportation or public works departments, local elected officials, chambers of commerce and local businesses, local conservation and environmental organizations, local recreation clubs, and perhaps, local or regional utilities.
Some of these stakeholders are obvious, but others may seem like unlikely partners. However, you may find that the local public works department, or electric or water company would be willing to help finance the acquisition in exchange for the right to lay a new sewer, water main or electric line within the corridor. If there is any possibility that the corridor could benefit some organization, especially one that may have funds available to assist with corridor acquisition, make sure to involve them in the acquisition process.
Consult with each stakeholder group to ensure that its interests are addressed during negotiations, as well as to assure ultimate public acceptance of your agreement. While most stakeholders should not be directly involved in the negotiations, they must be "in the loop" and informed of progress. You may want to ask each stakeholder organization to nominate a representative who is familiar with real estate transactions to serve on an advisory body. In addition, identify key individuals on the staffs of these organizations who may have the requisite knowledge to serve as members of your project team.
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Technical Assistance from the National Park Service
For most people, the National Park Service conjures up images of the Everglades or Yellowstone National Park or the Grand Canyon. While it's true that much of the Park Service's mission is to manage some of this country's most beautiful places, there are programs within the Park Service dedicated to assisting local projects just like yours.
The Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program of the National Park Service supports a community-based approach to conservation, helping citizens in communities across the country develop local greenway, river, and trail projects.
With staff in offices across the country, RTCA is an excellent resource for rail-trail developers. RTCA staff can:
- Explain the rail abandonment process and how to railbank a corridor;
- Recommend strategies to build a trail constituency;
- Suggest sources of funding;
- Help run public meetings to gather support for the trail; and
- Share the experiences of other trail activists and agencies across the country.
To receive RTCA assistance, you must apply to a RTCA office. Any state or local agency, as well as any nonprofit citizen's group supported by a state or local agency, is eligible for RTCA assistance. Since the selection process is competitive, your project must offer numerous opportunities for public involvement and have the potential to garner broad public and private support.
To date, the RTCA program has assisted California's High Sierra Rail-Trail, Nebraska's Cowboy Trail, Utah's Historic Union Pacific Rail-Trail, Oklahoma's Old Frisco Trail, Pennsylvania's Youghiogheny River Trail and many other rail-trails.
For more information about the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, contact:
Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program
National Park Service
1849 C Street, NW, Rm. 3606
Washington, DC 20240
202-565-1200
For the office nearest you, see the list of RTCA offices in Appendix B.
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What Experts Will You Need?
As your rail-trail project moves forward, you will need team members with a wide variety of talents, from visionaries who first suggest converting an abandoned corridor to a trail to rail-trail professionals, such as appraisers, attorneys, and land acquisition agents. Here are some of the roles you will need to fill in order to succeed:
Project Manager
While rail-trail negotiations require a cooperative effort, few cooperative efforts succeed without proper leadership. Directing all aspects of the acquisition process is a little like trying to hold 10 ping pong balls under water with one hand tied behind your back.
By the time your project has gotten to this stage, it may be quite clear to all involved who should direct the process. Generally speaking, the project manager should not only be the person who is most familiar with all aspects of the rail-trail project, but also an individual who has the time, skills and professional background to ensure that all of the necessary talents are brought to bear on the issue.
If you've volunteered (or been nominated) to serve as project leader, congratulations! If your agency still isn't sure who is the right person to fill this role, here are some traits that most successful project managers have: a vision for the project; political savvy; perseverance; patience; familiarity with bureaucracies; an understanding of the project's history; an attention to detail; and the ability to recruit others as well as to delegate. Remember, the project manager's most important responsibility is to ensure that all stakeholders and members of the project team understand and complete each of their responsibilities. Timelines and task deadlines will become crucial during the acquisition process. The project manager must ensure that everything happens when it is supposed to happen.
A project manager doesn't have to know how to complete all tasks associated with the negotiations; she just has to know how to use the experts and the other talent needed to get the job done.
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RTC's Trail Conservancy
In 1993, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy formed the Trail Conservancy to undertake complex corridor acquisitions. RTC's Trail Conservancy operates by serving as a short-term intermediary between railroad companies and trail groups or public agencies. Many organizations and agencies, including state and local government agencies, railroad companies, and local trail groups have benefited from the Trail Conservancy's assistance. RTC's Trail Conservancy develops strategies that capitalize on the unique circumstances of each acquisition, using the following techniques: line buys, donation financing, agency acquisitions, and direct loans.
Contact RTC for more information about whether the Trails Conservancy can assist your particular rail-trail project.
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Lead Negotiator
This person is a "deal-maker," with experience in structuring and closing deals. Relevant experience could include a background as a negotiator, an attorney, or a business leader. Although some counties rely on staff attorneys or park directors to handle real estate negotiations, other public agencies contract out land acquisition tasks to private, professional negotiators. Ideally, the lead negotiator will have experience in acquiring railroad property.
In the non-profit sector, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) and Trust for Public Land (TPL) offer significant experience with rail corridor acquisition and can often recommend an expert, if they are unable to assist with the acquisition directly. You might also be able to call upon a member of a local land trust to fill this role.
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The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) works nationwide to protect land as parks, trails, recreation areas and wilderness. With over 20 years of experience, TPL has been a national leader in the acquisition and preservation of public open space. TPL's staff of attorneys, real estate professionals and planners has played a key role in the creation of rail-trails around the country, including Connecticut's Farmington Canal Greenway, California's Bizz Johnson Trail, and Florida's West Orange Greenway.
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Attorney
Over the course of your negotiations, you will need the answers to numerous legal questions, ranging from the railroad's regulatory obligations to the quality of the railroad's title. Although you may be able to answer some of these questions yourself, an attorney can assist in the process. If neither your agency nor your partner agencies have an attorney on staff, find an individual who is not only skilled in real estate transactions but who is also familiar with the region, its residents, and your agency. Since it is unlikely you will be able to locate a local attorney who is knowledgeable about railroad issues, your attorney should work in partnership with either state or national railroad experts. To start, your attorney can contact the railroad division of your state Department of Transportation. Even if these personnel are unable or unwilling to offer significant assistance, they can help direct your attorney to additional resources, including private firms that specialize in rail issues.
Appraiser
Determining the value of railroad corridors is a difficult undertaking due to their non-standard shapes and characteristics. Hiring an appraiser skilled in corridor appraisals to research the corridor and provide you with an estimate of its value is highly recommended. Since rail corridor appraisals are subjective undertakings, you may want to hold off on hiring an appraiser until you have had the opportunity to discuss the appraisal process with the railroad's representatives. Your appraiser's qualifications and certifications can become an important negotiating point.
Surveyor
Railroad corridors are long and narrow (and often not well marked) parcels of land. To understand exactly what you are acquiring in a transaction with a railroad, you may need a surveyor to examine the property and indicate its actual boundaries.
Corridor surveys are expensive undertakings. If you are unsure whether you need a complete survey, a partial survey, or no survey at all, seek guidance from officials within the rail division of your state Department of Transportation, or from other public officials (for example, a representative from a local transit agency) who have more experience with rail corridor acquisitions. Several states require public agencies to complete a survey before acquiring property.
Environmental Engineer
Although railroad corridors pose relatively few environmental problems, an environmental engineer should conduct an environmental assessment of your corridor. Environmental assessments are a necessary tool in uncovering environmental hazards as well as establishing that you have acted with "due diligence" to uncover environmental problems. Exercising due diligence can protect you from liability for hidden environmental hazards that may surface at a later date.
Historic Preservation Specialist
When abandoning a corridor, railroads are required to disclose the existence of historic property on the corridor. They must also consult with the appropriate State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) before selling the property. Don't rely exclusively on the railroad's disclosures, however, since the railroad may have only conducted a cursory review of the historic significance of the corridor and its associated structures.
A member of your local historic preservation society or an architect, engineer or lawyer specializing in historic preservation should walk the corridor and consult newspapers and other historic documents to help you understand the historic significance of the rail corridor and its structures. This knowledge could greatly assist your efforts to build support for your project. Priceless remnants of America's heritage add value to many rail-trail projects.
Spokesperson
Political consensus building and public relations work are two of the most important pieces of any acquisition effort. Although many project leaders feel comfortable assuming the role of public spokesperson for their project, your team may decide to select a particular individual to handle your public outreach work. The spokesperson must be kept abreast of all developments throughout the acquisition process, so she can accurately and intelligently report on any events of particular importance. Remember, however, that your spokesperson will be communicating primarily with the public, not with railroad representatives.
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Fielding the Best Team
As you read through this list of roles, you may have made up your mind about how you will fill each of them. While it is quite useful and frequently far less expensive to rely on "in-house" talent, don't be afraid to juggle team responsibilities or to seek outside assistance. If your ultimate goal is to acquire the rail corridor as quickly as possible for as little as possible, you and every potential member of the project team must continually evaluate whether additional assistance is needed.
Acquiring a rail corridor is a long term process. You will almost certainly discover that your team needs additional expertise in a particular situation, just as you are likely to learn that certain members of the project team may have hidden talents. By relying on both "in-house" talent and outside experts, you will be able to assemble the best team.
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