Six years ago, King County and Port of Seattle officials gathered in front of the Wilburton railroad trestle in Bellevue to announce what they said was a historic purchase. They were buying a rail corridor along the Eastside from BNSF Railway to convert it to “the granddaddy of all trails,” as then King County Executive Ron Sims called it. They also hoped to run commuter trains on the tracks someday. Officials for the two local governments fist-bumped on that May 2008 day as the sale papers were signed. The deal cost taxpayers $81 million. Except there was a huge red flag in those papers — a sizable legal caveat that was glossed over in pitching the deal to the public: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2023794538_westneat08xml.html
June 10, 2014