The Brookhaven Board of Aldermen and mayor were presented with aplan last week to revive the Multi-Modal Transportation facilityproposed for downtown.

While the plans have been scaled back from an estimated $4-to-$5million to about $2 million, we’re not yet convinced the facilityis affordable. Questions raised about the first plan also apply tothe new one:

How much in real dollars will Brookhaven citizens have tocontribute to the project?

How much will it cost to staff and operate the facility once itis completed?

As we did with the first plan, we encourage the alderman toconduct a public meeting with architects, engineers and others toaddress those questions. This would also be a good way to gaugepublic interest in the facility.

We are among those who agree that development is certainlyneeded in the area around the old smoke stack. We, too, would liketo see that area become a showplace for the city, but not untiltaxpayers are brought up to speed on the true expense.

Until city officials can tell taxpayers how much the long-rangeoperational costs can be, this train station should stay on thedrawing board.