ROYAL CITY - The Port of Royal Slope commissioners' regular meeting this afternoon may some day be seen as the most important ever.

After dealing with the sale of a 4-acre parcel of land, the commissioners will open bids from potential operators of the Royal Slope Railroad.

The meeting will start at 4 p.m. at the PORS offices at 4975 Road 13.5 SW.

The process will include certification that all bids were sealed and received before 4:30 p.m. And they must be opened in public.

Afterward, PORS commissioners will evaluate the bids and schedule interviews. That process must be completed by Sept. 8.

The interviews will be done some time between Sept. 9-18.

The announcement of a railroad operator, if there is one, will be made on Sept. 22, Port Executive Director Cathy Potter said.

Potter has her fingers crossed. No bids had arrived before yesterday, but it's not unusual for bids of any nature to arrive at the last minute. She expects two.

"They could be in the mail today or Tuesday (the deadline day)," Potter said.

Two companies asked for and received requests for proposal from the PORS. Potter said one of them has been intently waiting for months for a chance to submit a proposal.

One of the companies is U.S. Rail Partners, which has its offices in Davenport. It operates the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad and others.

The other request for proposal went to Frontier Rail, with offices in Burbank. It operates the Toppenish-White Swan short line and railroads in California, Potter said.