(The following story by William L. Spence appeared on The Daily Inter Lake website on February 4.)
KALISPELL, Mont. — Kalispell officials hope to know by April 1 whether there’s any chance of abandoning the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks through town.
The tracks have long been viewed as an obstacle to redeveloping the area between Kalispell Center Mall and Idaho Street.
Removing them also is considered a key step toward the potential expansion of the mall.
A meeting was held last week to discuss this issue. Participants included Mayor Pam Kennedy and City Manager Chris Kukulski; representatives of WestCoast Hospitality Corp., which owns Kalispell Center Mall; and representatives of Cenex Harvest States and Northwest Drywall ? reportedly the last two companies that actually use the tracks for shipping. Burlington Northern Santa Fe officials joined in via telephone.
Kennedy said the meeting was an effort to bring the parties together to discuss options and see what it will take to get the tracks out of there. The focus was on removing the line from the west side of town to the railroad overpass on the east side.
Kennedy, the designated spokeswoman for meeting participants, said the railroad will never initiate a line abandonment.
Consequently, “the first step is having Cenex and Northwest Drywall send them a letter requesting abandonment,” she said. “After that, Burlington would handle it. They told us the process usually takes about a year” from receipt of the letters.
Former customers along the line have already sent in similar letters, she said.
Before the two remaining firms do likewise, though, “they have to be made whole,” Kennedy said. “We have to make sure the needs of all the users continue to be met ? including farmers. If we can’t deal with that, then we’ll abandon the idea.”
In an Inter Lake story last fall, Cenex officials indicated the facility near Center Street and Fifth Street West typically processes about 1 million bushels of wheat per year. The company uses 300 to 350 rail cars annually for storage and transportation, saving farmers about 15 cents per bushel compared to other shipping options.
Kennedy said Northwest Drywall uses about 10 rail cars per year, but that could increase as the business grows.
Both firms are currently analyzing whether their customer and business needs can be met at a different location, she said, or by different means, such as ground transportation. That should narrow down what it would cost.
It’s unclear who would foot the bill.
“That has yet to be determined,” Kennedy said. “If WestCoast is the only one that benefits, then they should be the one who pays.
“But is it?” she asked. “I believe this community would also benefit. We still have a vibrant downtown ? we’re ahead of the game, compared to other communities that let their downtowns deteriorate and then spent 10 years trying to climb back up the hill. If we don’t want to get behind in the game, we need to look for redevelopment and economic development opportunities.”
However, “Kalispell doesn’t have any extra money hanging around,” Kennedy said. “That was made real clear to WestCoast representatives. The city won’t be taking the lead with regard to any relocation efforts.”
Art Coffey, chief executive officer of the Spokane-based hotel and real estate firm, said last September that Kalispell Center Mall could still be expanded with the tracks in place, but removing the line is critical for the facility to remain viable for more than a decade.
If the line is abandoned, further negotiations would be needed before anyone could acquire and use the right of way for other purposes.
At this point, though, the parties are simply trying to narrow down what it will take to initiate the abandonment process.
“We hope to know by April 1 whether there’s something that can be done,” Kennedy said.