Site prep work for a $10 million sewer treatment plant upgrade in Jim Thorpe Borough is on hold as the municipality and Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad hash out differences over a daily flagger fee for the duration of the project.

Representatives from the borough’s engineering firm, Entech, said at Thursday night’s council workshop that discussions last year led them to believe the flagger and other fees would not be required by Norfolk Southern Railway or Reading Blue Mountain and Northern despite the project crossing the railroads.Now, however, Reading Blue Mountain and Northern has backtracked, Entech Executive Vice President Robert Weir said, and the estimated cost to the borough for a flagger could reach $400,000 by the project’s completion.“We had discussions with borough solicitor Jim Nanovic on how to approach the railroad and the consensus was that there were no fees required for other projects we did at the plant so we would just keep moving on,” Weir said.On Feb. 21, however, the railroad closed a gate near the Jim Thorpe Market and told the borough to halt the site prep until they submitted an application for flaggers and paid the necessary fees.“I think it’s ridiculous why for this project they want to assess a fee to this borough,” Weir said.Kim Mazur, of Entech, said the firm would be more understanding if the work was taking place on railroad property or an easement, but it is a signal crossing that is affected.Borough Public Works Manager Vince Yaich said a possibility for the enforcement of the flagger fee is that the signal crossing will let someone know a train is coming, but not let the train know if a heavy piece of equipment should break down on the tracks. Two days after site prep work was shut down for the sewer project, the borough paid the railroad around $50,000, part of which covered two months of the flagger fee.That came as a surprise to Entech.“We didn’t know that was happening and it almost undermines any type of negotiations with the railroad,” Weir said.One option the firm had been looking at was suspending the contract for work at the sewer plant, which it has the option to do for up to 90 days, while it got the situation with the railroad settled.The borough’s payment will cover the flagger from March 13 through mid-May.The situation has drawn the ire of several council members, including Vice President Jay Miller.“We’re not even out of the chute yet with this project and we’re looking at up to $400,000 extra,” he said. “That has me concerned. In the last two months, I’ve really learned that the railroad is king here.”Mazur said Entech wants to be a good partner with the borough on the project and didn’t intend to “forget something or screw it up” during the project budgeting process, referring to the flagger fee.“I don’t care what the politics are in this town,” Miller told the firm’s representatives, “I want you to come to council and tell us the way it is.”One positive for the borough is the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is constructing a pedestrian bridge, a project that also requires a railroad flagger.The possibility exists, officials said, for D&L and the borough to share the cost of a flagger on days when work is being done at both sites.“Anything we can do to mitigate some of this cost will be a positive thing for the borough,” council President Greg Strubinger said.