FRESNO COUNCIL DECIDES TO CONTRIBUTE $25,000 TO RAIL-CONSOLIDATION STUDY Jim Wasserman THE FRESNO BEE The Fresno City Council decided Tuesday to contribute $25,000 toward a pending $100,000 study of possible rail consolidation in Fresno. With the city's share now assured, the region can investigate moving trains from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad to the Union Pacific Railroad corridor along Freeway 99. Currently, the BNSF line carries 40 trains a day past numerous street crossings, while the UP line, with far fewer crossings, has 22 trains a day. Council Member Ken Steitz contributed $24,000 from his district infrastructure budget, and Council Member Chris Mathys added $1,000 in a move that received unanimous approval. The next step: The Council of Fresno County Governments, or COG, will seek consultants to do the study, which will update a 1993 report that stated consolidation is feasible. The organization also is considering asking Amtrak and California's High Speed Rail Authority to contribute. Fresno County, COG and Fresno each are putting in $25,000, and BNSF and UP are contributing $12,500 each. Also Tuesday, the council voted 6-0, with Dan Ronquillo absent, to direct the City Attorney's Office to draw up a five-year, $1.7 million proposal with Pacific Bell for local phone service. The contract has been held up for several months because a Sacramento-based consultant hired by the city miscalculated Pacific Bell's bid by more than $300,000. During that time, the city staff made an interim agreement with MCI Worldcom for local phone service until June 2001. That angered council members, who said the contract shouldn't have been approved without their consent. Pacific Bell had been the city's longtime local phone-service provider. MCI Worldcom is the city's long-distance carrier. The reporter can be reached at jwasserman@fresnobee.com or 441-6317. THE FRESNO BEE Published Wednesday, October 18, 2000 Section: LOCAL NEWS Page B4 All content © The Fresno Bee and may not be republished without permission. Send comments or questions to newslib@infi.net All archives are stored on a SAVE (tm) newspaper library system from MediaStream Inc., a Knight-Ridder Inc. company.