R2026-192 Resolution Authorizing the City of Decatur to Engage Deutsche Bahn Engineering, Consulting, and Operations North America, Inc. (DB E.C.O. North America, Inc.) For Technical Services for Environmental Analysis and Mitigation Related to the

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Workstream 3 —Community and Safety Impact Analysis Objective: Document the community safety, emergency access, and environmental impacts of projected operational changes at a level of specificity sufficient to support STB comments and OEA environmental review participation. • Inventory at-grade crossings in the City of Decatur directly affected by projected changes in train operations; document current conditions including gate-down duration,vehicle delay, and emergency access constraints • Map emergency response corridors—fire, EMS,and police and quantify the impact of projected crossing blockage changes on response times to critical facilities,with particular attention to Decatur Memorial Hospital access routes • Quantify the impact of projected crossing blockage changes on Decatur Public Transportation System (DPTS)bus routes and schedule reliability, including delay accumulation at affected crossings and any resulting missed transfers on DPTS's pulse-based schedule;specifically assess effects on DPTS's student transportation service provided under its agreement with Decatur Public Schools • Assess noise and vibration impacts for residential and sensitive-use areas adjacent to affected rail corridors under projected merger traffic conditions,compared to current baseline—limit scope to corridors where merger-attributable changes are material • Document the impact of projected crossing,noise, and operational changes on populations with limited transportation options including low-income households, households without vehicle access, and populations with mobility constraints—near affected corridors,for use in STB comments and mitigation negotiations;the City's 2022 Brush College Road/Faries Parkway grade separation grant application includes baseline data(transportation and housing cost burden,vehicle access, disability,and poverty rate)for the two census tracts nearest the corridor,which may serve as a starting point • Identify and evaluate merger-attributable mitigation measures at priority crossings: grade separation concepts, signal upgrades,and quiet zone design scoped to crossings where the merger-induced change in impact is material, not a comprehensive crossing program • Assess CRISI and Railroad Crossing Elimination program eligibility for a defined priority list of Decatur crossings;estimate federal and nonfederal match requirements for each Note:Scope is limited to impacts attributable to the merger or materially exacerbated by it. A comprehensive city-wide crossing improvement program or long-range transportation plan update is outside this scope. Note also that the federal executive orders and agency guidance that formerly directed environmental justice review in proceedings of this kind were rescinded beginning in 2025; this workstream's community-impact documentation should stand on its own evidentiary basis for the City's mitigation case rather than reference a formal EJ mandate. Workstream 4— Mitigation Analysis and STB Filing Support Objective: Translate the findings of Workstreams 1-3 into a documented mitigation request package and technical support for the City's STB merits comment filing. This is the primary client-facing workstream — all prior analysis exists to support it. • Evaluate any concepts NS has informally raised in preliminary government-relations conversations(including a possible CRISI siding partnership and grade separation design engineering contribution)against the documented scale of Decatur's merger-attributable harms;note that no formal mitigation offer has been made by NS,and characterize what a mitigation package commensurate with documented impacts would need to include • Develop a Decatur Mitigation Term Sheet: a prioritized list of infrastructure commitments,operational commitments,workforce and economic development commitments, and monitoring and adaptive mitigation 13