Lon,
Absolutely no one here is casting any aspersions on the Kovalchick family or having anything to say about them other than good and great things. Operating the EBT for the last 55 years has no doubt cost the family well over $10 million and who among us has that sort of cash to spend on a railroad. Three generations of the family have taken time from their main business to keep the railroad going.
No one can fault them to trying to find a way out short of tearing up the railroad for scrap, and scrapping the equipment.
They have been trying to find this solution for year (apparently) and at the moment Mr. Salone and his EBT Preservation Association, seem to be their vehicle of choice. Unfortunately, Mr. Salone seems to have created issues with some of the employees and comes with quite a bit of public baggage in his previous business dealings.
The property sale in Mt.Union, is a good business deal for the family. they get to keep the mineral rights, and everything on the surface as well as use of everything on the surface, and the EBT Preservation Association bought only the LAND. What ever the family received for the LAND in terms of $$, I hope repays them for a small portion of what they have invested over the years for OUR enjoyment.
What was pointed out in the original post is that the EBT Preservation Association apparently purchased the LAND in Mt. Union from the family and promptly turned around and placed a one year, $600,000 mortgage on the property which in effect gives the EBT preservation association $600,000 in cash to do with as it sees fit for until April, 2014. If that money is paid back to the bank, all is well that ends well. If it is not paid back, it will be interesting to see how everything plays out then. In either case, the railroad equipment and surface property is still under the control of the family, and thus the situation there is no different than it was before.
East Broad Top Preservation Association has a $600,000 Mortgage due in April 2014
