Port Canaveral hopes to fast-track Air Force station rail

Port Canaveral commissioners want to fast-track a proposal for a cargo rail line through the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously agreed to work with a private organization that proposes developing such a rail line as part of a larger project involving up to 2,000 acres of Air Force property.

Commissioners, however, in a 3-2 vote, also left open the possibility of continuing to pursue a controversial proposed rail route over the Banana River.

The public-private partnership the port will explore related to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station route would seek to persuade the U.S. Air Force to allow access to enable a rail connection from the port to the mainland.

Port officials say they need a rail link from the port to help expand their cargo business, because importers and exporters want that option.

The port's potential partners — the Renuart & Larkin Group and Mid Atlantic Railway Services — are proposing an agreement with the Air Force to lease up to 2,000 acres at the 16,000-acre-plus Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Some of that land would be used for an industrial park and office park along Phillips Parkway at the Air Force station, under the proposal.

The proposal also calls for about 500 acres of Air Force land north of the port's channel, in what's known as the Middle Turning Basin area, to be used by the port to expand its cargo operations.

Preliminary plans call for the rail route to parallel the existing six-lane Phillips Parkway, cross over the NASA Causeway East onto Kennedy Space Center, follow NASA Parkway East and link with existing KSC tracks. The 16 miles of new track would be about evenly split between Air Force and KSC property.

"We feel like there is a great opportunity to work together," Renuart & Larkin Group principal Gene Renuart, a retired Air Force general, told port commissioners.

Commissioners directed port staff to "enter into serious discussion" with the group on how to structure a relationship to submit a joint application to the Air Force for what's known as an enhanced use lease, then report back to the commission next month.

Separately, port commissioners voted 3-2 to continue working on a separate cargo rail proposal to build 11 miles of track over the Banana River and through the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge that would connect with 17 miles of existing Kennedy Space Center rail, eventually linking with the Florida East Coast Railway rail line west of U.S. 1 on the mainland.

Commission Vice Chair John "Hank" Evans proposed trying to take the Banana River route out of the picture because much of the community is against it.

"This is a festering sore that we really need to take off," Evans said. Residents "are going to be opposed to this forever, and we might as well just end it now," instead using trucks to transport cargo from the port to the mainland if necessary.

Commission Chairman Jerry Allender joined Evans in voting to try to take the Banana River route off the table from an existing proposal submitted to the federal Surface Transportation Board.

Commission Secretary/Treasurer Tom Weinberg and Commissioners Bruce Deardoff and Wayne Justice voted against trying to eliminate that route from consideration.

Justice said it was "premature" to do this before the Surface Transportation Board environmental review is completed.

The route across the Banana River and through the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has generated community opposition due to various environmental and quality-of-life concerns.

A route following the State Road 528 corridor also is under study by the Surface Transportation Board, as is a route through the Air Force station.

Renuart presented port commissioners with his group's proposal for the Air Force station route, detailing its advantages. He said his group has been discussing its plan with the Air Force for more than two years, and wants the port to join the team.

Renuart said it would be less costly than other options, could go into operation quicker, would have less potential environmental impact and would face less community opposition. It also would provide revenue to the military for use at local Air Force and Navy facilities in return for the use of underutilized land at the Air Force station.

"We know that our route has pluses and minuses," Renuart said.

"This is not without risk," Renuart said, noting that there would be "substantial issues" to overcome related to access to the Air Force station.

Allender said he is optimistic about working with Renuart's team.

"I have a great feeling that it will be successful," Allender said. "You can't win the race unless you go on the track and you run."

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 and dberman@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByDaveBerman and on Facebook at facebook.com/dave.berman.54