To the Editor:

I think The Times Record is doing the citizens of Brunswick and the state of Maine a disservice by not covering the complete story of the proposed Amtrak maintenance facility.

I have yet to hear how the Bouchard/Hennessey Drive residents’ lawsuit against the facility is proceeding before the Surface Transportation Board in Washington.

I attended the original meeting in Brunswick regarding this matter on June 23, 2011, which was chaired by state Sen. Stan Gerzofsky. Many of the affected residents were there, as well.

At the meeting, Patricia Quinn, director of the Northern New England Rail Passenger Authority, advised that the Surface Transportation Board, not the town of Brunswick or the state, has sole jurisdiction over the proposed maintenance facility.

So, surely the affected residents have retained counsel and brought their case to the Surface Transportation Board — and if not, why not? The Surface Transportation Board appears to be the proper forum in which to decide the issue.

The Times Record readers deserve to know the full story, not just the bickering and complaining of people who bought property next to an active rail line betting that the line would never prosper. The “war of abuse” may be fought in the pages of The Times Record, but the matter of the maintenance facility surely won’t be settled there.

Mike Banas
Brunswick