First off let me say that I am probably not super well informed about the present situation on the EBT. That said, are the current owners threatening to scrap it if no one buys it right now? If not, I don't see the crisis and the rush to find a new owner, any owner, questionable or not.
Really the Kovalchick family has been about the best possible ownership scenario for the EBT, it is owned by an otherwise profitable company that does not need to scrap it and therefore has not. Everything may not be in the best shape 60 some odd years down the road, but it is all still there. There is also a well established non profit group (the Friends of the EBT) that seems to have a good relationship with the owners and has made an impressive amount of progress in the restoration, preservation and stabilization of the EBT. Also, as far as I know the current owners own the EBT outright, with no bank loans or creditors.
All in all, this is a pretty good situation for a national treasure/money pit like the EBT. Unless it is in real, immediate danger of being scrapped, I ,m not sure rushing into an ownership change is a good thing. It would seem that any new owner will have to borrow money to buy the property, which will create creditors with the right and obligation to foreclose should the loans ever go bad. Foreclosure on something like the EBT will absolutely, without any shadow of a doubt lead to a mass scrapping event.
As to the present effort to buy the EBT, lead by Mr. Salone. Going by what I can find and read about him on the internet, I think that calling him a "wheeler dealer" is a fair assessment. His bankruptcies god be good bad or indifferent, but it does show that he is willing to take risks and pull that card if needed. He might be the best man on the face of the earth, he might not, I don't know. All that said, I do not think a risk taking wheeler dealer is the best choice for assuming stewardship of something like the EBT, I see a high probability of the finances blowing up in everyone's face and the railroad ceasing to exist as a result.
If the current owners were planning to start scrapping operations immediately and no one else was stepping forward, I would lobby for everyone to open their check books and send donations to Mr. Salone. A risky future is better than no future. However, as I have not seen any indication that the family that has watched over the EBT for 60 years threatening to start killing it, I don't believe a risky, wheeler dealer maybe not fully above board individual is the best play for the EBT's future.
Now, if the friends of the EBT were the ones trying to buy the railroad, that would be a different story. As I see it, a GROUP with a proven track record is what the EBT needs, not an INDIVIDUAL with shaky financial footing.
Jason Midyette
