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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20101026Vol I Nampa Hearing.pdfORIGINAL.BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY FOR APPROVAL TO ABANDON AN .85 MILE SECTION OF ITS STODDARD INDUSTRIAL LEAD IN NAMPA, IDAHO CASE NO. UPR-R-10-01 BEFORE COMMISSIONER MACK REDFORD (Presiding) COMMISSIONER MARSHA SMITH .PLACE:Nampa City Hall Building 411 Third Street South Nampa, Idaho DATE:October 13, 2010 VOLUME I - Pages 1 - 46 . CSB REPORTING Constance S. Bucy, CSR No. 187 23876 Applewood Way * Wilder, Idaho 83676 (208) 890-5198 * (208) 337-4807 Email csbCfheritagewifi.com ~..i:o("-lN0" -03(,...to 1 APPEARANCES.2 3 For the Staff:Neil Price,Esq. 4 Deputy Attorney General 472 West Washington 5 Boise,Idaho 83720-0074 6 7 8 9 10 11 12.13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24.25 CSB REPORTING APPEARANCES(208 )890-5198 . . . 17 18 19 1 I N D E X 2 3 WITNESS EXAMINATION BY PAGE 4 LaRi ta Schandorff ( Public) Statement Mr. Price (Cross) 3 6 5 6 Ellis Hire (Staff)7 14 Mr. Price (Direct) Commissioner Redford 7 Clair Bowman (Public)Statement Mr. Price (Cross) 17 19 8 9 Rodney Ashby (Public)2 " 2.. 24 Statement Mr. Price (Cross) Commissioner Smith 10 11 Philip Weitz (Public)25 32 Statement Commissioner Smith 12 Brett Lolley (Public)Statement Commissioner Smith Mr. Price (Cross) 35 42 4413 14 15 16 EXHIBITS NUMBER DESCRI PTION PAGE 20 FOR THE STAFF: 21 22 23 24 25 1.Exhibi t sponsored by Ellis Hire (six pages) Identified Admi tted r 4-. CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 APPEARANCES . . . 1 NAMPA, IDAHO, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010, 7:00 P. M. 2 3 4 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: This is the time 5 and place for a hearing in the matter of the proposed 6 abandonment of a section of Union Pacific Railroad 7 Company's rail line from milepost 0.9 to milepost 1.75, a 8 total distance of 0.85 miles in Canyon County, Idaho. 9 The Case No. is UPR-R-10-01. The time is 7: 00 0' clock 10 p.m., October 13, 2010, at the Nampa City Hall in Nampa, 11 Idaho. 12 13 14 My name is Mack Redford.I'm a Commissioner of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission and I am Chairman for this hearing. Also joining me tonight 15 is Marsha Smith, Idaho Public Utilities Commissioner. 16 Jim Kempton, a Commissioner of the Idaho Public Utilities 17 Commission and the third member of the Commission, will 18 not be in attendance this evening. 19 Proceedings in this case are being 20 conducted in accordance with Commission jurisdiction 21 under Title 61, Idaho Code, and the Commission Rules of 22 Procedure under the Idaho Administrative Procedures Act, 23 section 31-01-01. The Commission has further 24 jurisdiction over this matter under Idaho Code section 25 62-424 and Idaho Governor's Executive Order No. 98-89 CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 1 COLLOQUY . . . 1 dated June 12, 1998. 2 If the Commission finds that the 3 abandonment of the aforementioned rail line would be 4 adverse to the public interest , it may represent the 5 State of Idaho before the Federal Surface Transportation 6 Board in their abandonment proceedings. Additionally, 7 the Commission shall approve all state agency submissions 8 to the Surface Transportation Board prior to transmittal 9 to that board.I wanted you to know that we are not the 10 final determiners of whether the rail will be abandoned 11 and if we should find that it is not within the interests 12 of the state, then we would protest any decision by the 13 Surface Transportation Board to allow the abandonment. 14 If you were all participants -- oh, excuse 15 me, this hearing is a public hearing to gather 16 information relative to the proposed rail abandonment. 17 All participants who request to testify must identify 18 themselves before testifying and must identify those they 19 are representing; that is, if you're here on behalf of 20 another entity, you must notify us who that entity is. 21 Commissioner Smith will administer the oath to all 22 witnesses and Mr. Neil Price, Deputy Attorney General, 23 will request certain other information from you. 24 Right now from the audience are there any 25 questions that you might have as to the procedure which CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 2 COLLOQUY . . . 1 I've just outlined? Hearing none, there's been a witness 2 list signed by several people. Generally, we go in the 3 order that the persons have signed, but I understand we 4 have one lady, LaRi ta Schandorff, here of Nampa who has 5 some time constraints and would like to testify first. 6 In addition, if there are any of the staff 7 of Union Pacific or the Public Utilities Commission Staff 8 by Mr. Neil Price, they may ask you additional questions, 9 so we'll go right ahead into the first witness and if 10 you i II come forward to the podium here and Mr. Price wiJl 11 take your oath or, no, Commissioner Smith will take your 12 oath, excuse me. 13 14 LARITA SCHANDORFF, 15 appearing as a public witness, having been duly sworn, 16 was examined and testified as follows: 17 18 COMMISSIONER REDFORD:I f would you just 19 please state your full name and your address. 20 THE WITNESS: LaRita Schandorff, 1108 21 South Stanford, Nampa, Idaho. 22 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Could you spell 23 that last name, please? 24 THE WITNESS: S-c-h-a-n-d-o-r-f-f. 25 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Let me ask the CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 3 SCHANDORFF Public . . . 10 1 audience, can you hear Mrs. Schandorff? It might be 2 helpful to move that forward. Thank you. You may go 3 ahead and give your testimony, please. 4 THE WITNESS: Thank you for the 5 opportuni ty to testify at this public hearing. I 6 represent the Nampa Bicycle and Pedestrian Ci ti zens 7 Advisory Group. We would welcome the opportunity to 8 transform this underutilized transportation corridor into 9 a productive part of our community network of pathways and trails.I appreciate and recognize the efficiency of 11 moving goods and services through the railroad system; 12 however, when industry changes take place and there's no 13 longer a use for a line, it presents a great opportunity 14 to create something that will continue to benefit the 15 economic growth of a city through a different means. 16 All of the persons who have submitted 17 testimony here have described in a personal way how all 18 this change would yield economic health and quality of 19 life benefits. As has been pointed out in other 20 testimony, this corridor is a critical piece in linking 21 the south side of our city to the north side providing 22 families safe access to downtown and also would provide a 23 vital link for students in two neighborhoods to an 24 elementary school that is adjacent to this corridor. 25 Thank you for your consideration and I CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 4 SCHANDORFF Public . . . 1 have other comments from other members of our group to 2 submi t to the Commission. 3 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Okay, go ahead. 4 COMMISSIONER SMITH: So is that other 5 testimony you referred to or written comments you're 6 going to present to us? 7 THE WITNESS: Both. I assumed that I 8 would be speaking following the city officials and so I 9 was referring to their testimony that's going to be 10 heard. 11 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Okay. 12 THE WITNESS: But also I i m referring to 13 the testimony that is written here that I'm presenting in 14 wri tten form on behalf of other people. Should I give 15 that to you now? 16 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Certainly. Mr. 17 Price, do you have any questions for this lady? 18 MR. PRICE: I have a couple of 19 questions. 20 THE WITNESS: Yes. 21 22 23 24 25 CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 5 SCHANDORFF Public . . . 1 2 3 BY MR. PRICE: 4 Q CROSS-EXAMINATION Okay; so this is a 1.2 mile section of the Correct. Does the city have any plans for the 8 adj acent property? I assume that there i s a trail nearby 5 rail line? 6 A 9 or a bicycle path nearby. 10 7 Q Their testimony will speak to that. I 11 will allow them to address that. They will go into A 12 detail. 13 14 then. 15 16 much. MR. PRICE: I'll go ahead and ask them, COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you very 17 (The witness left the stand.) 18 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: The next person I 19 will -- would you like to call a witness, Mr. Hire, 20 first? 21 MR. PRICE: Yes, the Commission Staff 22 would call Mr. Ellis Hire. 23 24 25 CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 6 SCHANDORFF (X) Public . . . 20 1 ELLIS HIRE, 2 produced as a witness at the instance of the Staff, 3 having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified 4 as follows: 5 6 DIRECT EXAMINATION 7 8 BY MR. PRICE: 9 Q Mr. Hire, could you go ahead and state 10 your name and spell your last for the record? 11 A Ellis Hire, H-i-r-e. 12 Q And by whom and in what capacity are you 13 employed? 14 A I i m employed by the Idaho Public Utili ties 15 Commission as a rail safety inspector. 16 Q Okay, and Mr. Hire, have you had an 17 opportuni ty to work on Case No., Commission Docket No., 18 UPR-R-10-1? 19 A I have. Q And did you conduct an investigation into 21 the proposed abandonment at issue in this case? 22 A I did. My part of it was to kind of walk 23 the line, look at the line, see if there was any shippers 24 on the line and to notify them of the upcoming 25 abandonment proposal. CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 7 HIRE (Di)Staff . . . 1 Q And who did you speak to?Which shippers 2 did you speak to? 3 A I spoke with Mr. Brett Lolley with Seminis 4 Seed Company which is a Monsanto company. They produce 5 vegetable-type seeds there. I talked with 6 Mrs. Christensen of Quintex Corporation which is a 7 plastic molding inj ection company, and Mr. Weitz, I hope 8 I pronounced that right, Phil, which is TVM Recycling. 9 Q Could you talk a little bit about -- I 10 know Mr. Weitz, you just alluded to Mr. Weitz is present 11 here today, could you talk a little bit about what your 12 investigation revealed regarding Seminis? 13 A In regard to Seminis Seeds, Mr. Bret 14 Lolley, some years back, three or four years back, the 15 railroad stopped delivering rail cars to him to ship 16 seeds out of his Nampa facility. The reason that they 17 gave at that time was that the crossing on Second Street 18 was in need of repair and was out of tolerance and gauge, 19 so they wanted some, according to him, $260,000 to bring 20 the line back up into specs, and as a result of that, 21 what they did is they worked with the railroad at that 22 time and got an alternate shipping point out in Kuna, so 23 presently what they have to do is they have to load 24 trucks at their plant in Nampa and transload them out to 25 Kuna where the railroad built a temporary loading dock CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 8 HIRE (Di)Staff . . . 1 for them out there, a ramp which, according to him, was 2 unsafe, so they haul their own portable ramp out there to 3 load. 4 It has cost them, according to him, of 5 course, extra money in trucking fees, labor, forklifts 6 and such to do that. They would really like the loads 7 where they're at. It would be ideal for them to load 8 right there in their plant. The rail line, which there's 9 a picture of there and a gate and I think it's picture 10 No. 4 -- 11 Q Okay, I'll go ahead and stop you right 12 there. Maybe it would be helpful for the Commissioners 13 to go ahead and -- you prepared a map and you've taken 14 some photos of the area; is that correct? 15 A I did. 16 MR. PRICE: Okay, there's a packet for 17 you. 18 (Mr. Price distributing documents.) 19 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Are you going to have 20 this marked as an exhibit? 21 MR. PRICE: Yes. 22 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Okay, we'll mark 23 this as Staff's Exhibit NO.1. 24 (Staff Exhibit No. 1 was marked for 25 identification. ) CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 9 HIRE (Di)Staff . . . 1 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: You may go ahead. 2 THE WITNESS: Okay, looking at photo No. 4 3 there, you can see that the rail line, the spur off of 4 that Stoddard lead, industrial lead, goes right into 5 their seed plant there which, according to them, of 6 course, would make it ideal to load their seed from that 7 point.I have some stats from them.In the last three 8 years that they've been trans loading out to Kuna, in 9 2008, nine rail cars out of Kuna at over a million pounds 10 of seed.In 2009, they shipped out 15 rail cars from the 11 Kuna location at 1.6 million pounds of seed.In 2010, so 12 far this year, they've sent out 16 rail cars at 1.4 13 million pounds of seed, so they're moving quite a bit of 14 product out of there and that's all coming from their 15 Nampa plant and being trans loaded by truck out to Kuna so 16 that they can, of course, get rail car service out there. 17 Q BY MR. PRICE: And just to clear up for 18 the record, Mr. Hire, does the railroad pay Seminis or 19 reimburse them for the cost of shipping or trans loading 20 to Kuna? 21 A No, they do not. 22 Q Okay, and do you know when or if Seminis 23 had rail service and when that was? 24 A He didn i t specifically give me a year when 25 the last rail service they had out of their plant was, so CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 10 HIRE (Di)Staff . . . 1 I really don't know that. 2 Q But they did have it at one time? 3 A They did have it at one time, but I know 4 it's been at least by the load sheets that he sent me, I 5 know that it's been at least since before 2008. 6 Q Okay. All right; so you also spoke with 7 the owner of Quintex; correct? 8 A I did. Mrs. Christensen is the president 9 of Quintex and I spoke with her on the phone yesterday. 10 She would have liked to have been here tonight, but her 11 husband had surgery today, so she felt she better stay 12 wi th him and if you look at picture, it should be 13 picture, No. 3 in front of you there, it will show that 14 lead, spur line off the industrial lead into their 15 facili ty, the back of their facility there, and if you 16 notice looking at the picture over the top of the 17 building, they have a silo tank there that they actually 18 load their resin beads into that they have shipped into 19 them to do this plastic inj ection molding. Their primary 20 product there is Orbit sprinklers, you know, the 21 landscaping and sprinkler service and they do some other 22 odd things. 23 What she was telling me is they have 24 hadn't rail service there for at least eight years and 25 that wasn't a cause of the railroad. Back then, I guess, CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 11 HIRE (Di)Staff . . . 1 according to her what happened is a lot of this plastic 2 molding inj ection, of course, was out sourced to China, so 3 they got -- their business went down quite a ways and 4 they started getting smaller loads by truck. She was 5 telling me that now the business is starting to pick up a 6 little bit and that if she can get her resin beads to 7 fill that silo by rail, it's cheaper for her to buy them 8 by bulk and, of course, she buys them from allover the 9 country, wherever they're the cheapest. 10 She was concerned with her property value. 11 They paid for that spur, as did all the other shippers on 12 tha t line. They had to pay for those spurs themselves 13 and, of course, their property value with railroad access 14 is probably going to be worth more than it is without it, 15 so that was her concern, also, was the property value 16 issue. 17 Q Did they also have to pay for a loading 18 dock to be installed? 19 A No, they haven't -- like I said, 20 everything has been done by truck for several years now. 21 She says that they'd like to maintain what they have if 22 business comes back to them and comes up, then she can 23 get cheaper loads of resin by rail car in bulk, it iS 24 cheaper. 25 Q Okay, and so you personally have been out . CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 12 HIRE (Di)Staff . . . 1 to the area, obviously, you took these photos; correct? 2 A I have. 3 Q Do you have any general observations as to 4 the condition of the line? 5 A Well, Second Street South has had a bad 6 crossing for about the last year and we've been, of 7 course, putting pressure on the railroad to get that 8 corrected. The pavement was all broke up around the 9 tracks, the rails themselves, so I think it was the 30th 10 of July they told me they were going to fix it and I went 11 out there and looked at it and they had actually paved 12 over the crossing right over the top of the rails which I 13 think is picture 1 there, and so a couple of days later I 14 went back out there and I noticed they started taking 15 some rail out, too, but that may have been as a derail in 16 case somebody tried to push a car down it, but they did 17 take some rail out, and, again, Mrs. Christensen from 18 Quintex was kind of upset about that when I talked to her 19 on the phone yesterday that they had in a sense abandoned 20 the line before anybody got a chance to say anything at 21 hearing about it. 22 Q So you i ve spoken with Seminis and you've 23 spoken with Quintex and you said you've spoken with 24 representatives of TVM. To your knowledge, has any of 25 these shippers, have they had any personal contact with CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 13 HIRE (Di)Staff . . . 1 Union Pacific? 2 A As far as I know, Quintex has not. Bret 3 Lolley from Seminis Seed Company told me that he had some 4 e-mail correspondence with them about three years ago 5 about it which he was going to give me access to and send 6 to me, but he never got to that point. 7 MR. PRICE: Okay, I know we have other 8 wi tnesses here today who can speak to some of the other 9 stuff. I don't have any further questions. 10 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Commissioner Smith, 11 do you have any questions? 12 COMMISSIONER SMITH: No, not at this time. 13 Thank you. 14 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: I have a couple of 15 questions. 16 THE WITNESS: Sure. 17 18 EXAMINATION 19 20 BY COMMISSIONER REDFORD: 21 Q If you'll look at picture No.1, I think 22 you testified that you viewed the over pavement of the 23 rail? 24 A Yes. 25 Q Do you know, did Union Pacific ever get CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 14 HIRE (Com)Staff . . . 1 approval from or contact anyone at the Public Utili ties 2 Commission about in effect disabling this line? 3 No. After the fact, we got an e-mail fromA 4 Bill Entz of Union Pacific. He's out of Salt Lake. He's 5 a track proj ect manager who had sent an e-mail and said 6 that it had been paved through, which I've seen them 7 paved through like this before. Saint Anthony we had a 8 bad one that they paved through, but they afterwards took 9 a locomotive and cut grooves in it which made ita really 10 nice crossing, so I really thought maybe that's what they 11 were going to do with it, but they never did. They just 12 started taking the rail out. 13 Q So when you go to picture No.2, you see 14 that there's a section of rail that's been taken out and 15 you testified that one of the reasons may have been to 16 keep unauthorized rail off that section of the track? 17 A That's true, and also what the picture 18 doesn't show is on the north side of this paved-over 19 crossing, about where I'm standing, there's another piece 20 of rail removed. 21 So in fact without notice or withoutQ 22 approval by anyone, is it your testimony that effectively 23 Union Pacific has abandoned the rail line? 24 A Yes. 25 Have you ever spoken with anybody at UnionQ CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 15 HIRE (Com)Staff . . . 1 Pacific about this precipitous action by disabling the 2 rail? 3 A I have not. 4 Is it generally the custom that railQ 5 companies when they're going to alter or take out a 6 section of rail, do they notify you? 7 No, there's no procedure right now forA 8 them to do that. Like I said, up in Saint Anthony I had 9 seen one paved over like this before and they had 10 actually just simply cut through it with a heavy 11 locomotive. 12 So would it be fair to state that yourQ 13 testimony is that notwithstanding the abandonment 14 procedure as required by the law, the rail company has 15 simply disabled the line regardless? 16 They have.A 17 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you. I have 18 no further questions. Do you have any questions? 19 COMMISSIONER SMITH: I don't. 20 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you, Mr. 21 Hire, I appreciate your testimony. 22 (The witness left the stand.) 23 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: The next person 24 we'll call will be Clair Bowman, City of Nampa. 25 CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 16 HIRE (Com)Staff . . . 1 CLAI R BOWMAN, 2 appearing as a public witness, having been duly sworn, 3 was examined and testified as follows: 4 5 THE WITNESS: Hi, name is Clair Bowman. I 6 am a senior transportation planner for the City of Nampa. 7 I am in charge of a proj ect to rebuild Amity Avenue 8 through the -- across where this Stoddard industrial lead 9 crosses Amity and we have to know soon whether that line 10 will be abandoned or not because our design is proceeding 11 at this very moment for that. I have prepared written 12 testimony on behalf of the City of Nampa that I have 13 14 gi ven to counsel and I will just mention a couple of items out of that testimony here that are most relevant, 15 I believe, to my portion. I believe one or two other 16 city staff members will be mentioning other portions as 17 welL. 18 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you. 19 THE WITNESS: This line has already had an 20 abandonment south of milepost 1.75. There were 21 approximately two-and-a-quarter miles that were abandoned 22 in 1993. That was Interstate Commerce Commission Docket 23 AB3, Sub No. 79. In 1994, that ground was turned over to 24 the City of Nampa through a rails to trails project, 25 including more than half of the right of way under the CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 17 BOWMAN Public . . . 1 section that is currently being appealed for abandonment. 2 The City of Nampa actually holds fee simple title to the 3 right of way from mile post 1.35, approximately, 1.3, 4 down to milepost 1.75, so that's an interesting twist to 5 the whole situation, I believe, that is not -- does not 6 have precedent as far as I can find anywhere else. 7 The only other commentary I would make 8 would be on the benefit to the public good.I understand 9 and I appreciate the industrial uses that are potential 10 along this line.I'm a bit chagrined at actions that 11 would preclude using that rail line before proper 12 notification to the PUC, but there is another portion of 13 folks who would benefit from the abandonment of this line 14 and that's the folks who live adj acent to this line. It 15 currently -- the property is currently not well 16 maintained unless the city parks department or code 17 enforcement folks contact Union Pacific and encourage 18 I saw vehicles out there one time thisthem to go out. 19 It is not a nice place tosummer taking care of weeds. 20 be, nor to live adj acent to. 21 If you go further south where the trail 22 has already been placed, created by the City of Nampa, it 23 is a very nice environment. Lots of folks benefit from 24 I would encourage you to keep in mind the totalthat. 25 public good and not just that of the industrial users as CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 18 BOWMAN Public . . . 1 you make your decision. Apart from that, that's all I 2 have that is unique to my perspective. 3 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Mr. Price? 4 5 CROSS-EXAMINATION 6 7 BY MR. PRICE: 8 Q Yeah, Mr. Bowman, I just have one 9 question. I spoke to an earlier witness and asked her 10 regarding whether this section of the line that's 11 proposed to be abandoned would if there was any gaps 12 in the proposed trail that they want to do. Do you know 13 whether the city has any plans to connect this rail line 14 that's proposed to be abandoned to its trail system or to 15 its bicycle trail system? 16 A The answer to that is absolutely yes. I 17 believe that Rodney Ashby from the planning and zoning 18 department will speak much more directly to that and to a 19 pathway plan that he has shown here. 20 MR. PRICE: All right. I don't have any 21 other questions. 22 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Commissioner Smith? 23 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Not even a question, 24 but just a comment. I've been doing railroad cases since 25 the '8 Os. Their MO is to drive the shippers off the CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 19 BOWMAN (X) Public . . . 1 ranch, stop maintaining it and then abandon it, which I 2 think is exactly what they've done here, and because the 3 Interstate Commerce Commission no longer exists and the 4 Surface Transportation Board is just a small little 5 office wi thin the Department of Transportation, I 6 believe, in the federal government, it's a non-regulatory 7 agency, if you know what I mean, so I don't think you 8 have any worries over your proj ect.It's very difficult 9 to stop an abandonment when the costs to bring the line 10 up to where it could provide service are qui te expensive, 11 the shippers are few, and I think the people who maintain 12 the roads may not agree with you, because all that 13 shipping goes onto the streets with all the things 14 associated with truck traffic on our roads, so it is a 15 trade-off, but from my personal experience, it would be 16 very difficult to stop this abandonment. 17 COMMISSIONER REDFORD:I have no 18 questions. Thank you, sir. 19 (The witness left the stand.) 20 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Next witness would 21 be Rodney Ashby. 22 23 24 25 CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 20 BOWMAN (X) Public . . . 1 RODNEY ASHBY, 2 appearing as a public witness, having been duly sworn, 3 was examined and testified as follows: 4 5 THE WITNESS: Rodney Ashby, city planner, 6 long-range planner, for the City of Nampa, and my primary 7 responsibili ties are for the comprehensive plan, the 8 comprehensi ve plan that is put together by the citizens 9 of Nampa and then approved by the city council.I did 10 bring a map showing our proposed trail system that is 11 included in that comprehensive plan and on the back of 12 this I'll indicate the comprehensive plan future land use 13 map, what we foresee as the future of Nampa and the 14 development that takes place. Maybe I should bring it up 15 a little closer so you can see it. The piece we're 16 talking about is right here. 17 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Could you describe 18 that for the court reporter? 19 THE WITNESS: Yes. I better look at it, 20 too, so the piece of railroad under consideration this 21 evening starts about at Iowa Avenue and goes up to about 22 Second Street, and so I just kind of indicated on the map 23 that location and shown that it, of course, has not been 24 developed as a pathway, but it is a part of the City of 25 Nampa's desire for a future pathway, and just one maj or CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 21 ASHBY Public . . . 1 point that I want to make is not only is it on the 2 comprehensi ve plan for a pathway, but it connects a 3 significant piece which is the downtown of Nampa, and I'm 4 going to flip this over and show you the downtown Nampa 5 as, of course, a commercial development that is very 6 important to our development in the future. 7 Let me show you, so given this is just a 8 maj or network that we have for pathways and then we are 9 currently under the development of a bike and pathway 10 plan for the entire City of Nampa, this piece is critical 11 to that development. I i II show you why; so this is the 12 piece right here that we i re under discussion and 13 basically, we already have a significant piece that's 14 been developed as a pathway up to about Iowa Avenue which 15 is that point there, and then Second Street South comes 16 in around here, so we have a few, a couple of places 17 where we've indicated as industrial. Existing industrial 18 already occurs there, as has been testified to tonight, 19 but we have also significant pieces of this that are 20 residential in nature, so the gray here on the map is 21 industrial, light industrial, and then the orange and the 22 purple, the orange is residential and then the purple is 23 multi-family residential, and so we just feel that -- 24 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Would you move over 25 to the podium? CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 22 ASHBY Public . . . 1 THE WITNESS: Oh, excuse me. We feel that 2 because of the nature of the downtown being commercial, 3 providing jobs, and then the residential along that line 4 which a lot exists already, it provides a maj or 5 connection for bicyclists, pedestrians and this is a way 6 to get to mixed use development providing a 7 transportation route to that downtown core that we are 8 trying to revitalize in the City of Nampa right now, and 9 it is essential for that development of our downtown for 10 it to be connected, not only through vehicle 11 transportation, but also through pedestrian and through 12 bicycle transportation and so we feel that this is a 13 significant opportunity to do just that.I think that i s 14 all. 15 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you. Mr. 16 Price? 17 18 CROSS-EXAMINATION 19 20 BY MR. PRICE: 21 Yes, Mr. Ashby, I'm pretty sure you're theQ 22 right person now, so this pathway, does it discontinue 23 where the proposed abandonment is and reroute around that 24 area or how would you describe it? 25 We only have a section that's alreadyA CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 23 ASHBY (X) Public . . . 1 developed and it does discontinue. Once it gets into 2 downtown Nampa, it doesn't start up currently, but in our 3 plans for the future, we do have routes that we've 4 identified as the primary routes for bicyclists and the 5 pedestrians to take which would connect, this section 6 that we're discussing tonight would connect, to those 7 primary routes. 8 MR. PRICE: Okay, that's all I have. 9 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Commissioner Smith? 10 11 EXAMINATION 12 13 BY COMMISSIONER SMITH: 14 Q So is it your hope that the light 15 industrial gray areas that you pointed to along the 16 abandonment will someday also be residential? 17 It's not my hope, no. In fact, the futureA 18 land use map indicates that they would not be that way. 19 Just one other question, are you relatedQ 20 to Ben and Vicky Ashby? 21 No, not that I know of.A 22 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Thanks. 23 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you. That 24 will be all. 25 (The witness left the stand.) CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 24 ASHBY (Com)Public . . . 1 2 COMMISSIONER REDFORD:Phil Weitz. 3 PHILIP WEITZ, 4 appearing as a public witness, having been duly sworn, 5 was examined and testified as follows: 10 6 7 8 9 BY MR. PRICE: Q 11 your last name. 12 13 14 A EXAMINATION Go ahead and state your name and spell My name is Philip Weitz, W-e- i -t- z, representing TVM Recycling. Q Okay, Mr. Weitz, I believe you've spoken 15 wi th Mr. Hire, our investigator; correct? 16 A Yes. Okay, and he spoke to you about the 18 proposed abandonment at issue in this case; correct? 17 Q 19 You're going to have to go ahead and answer out loud. 20 The court reporter can't -- 21 A All right. So you spoke with Mr. Hire, our Yes, yes, I did. Okay, and he talked to you about the 22 Q 23 investigator? 24 A 25 Q CSB REPORTING ( 2 0 8 ) 8 90 - 51 9 8 25 WEITZ Public . . . 10 1 railroad's plans to abandon this line; is that correct? 2 Yes.A 3 Q How long have you been in business along 4 this line? 5 We've been there a little over 20 years,A 6 20, 21, 22, 23 years and, of course, the reason it is 7 there is because the rail was there. We wouldn't locate 8 a recycling plant anyplace other than rail because it i s 9 necessary. Q Okay. 11 A Now, they've refused, the railroad has 12 refused, to deliver us cars for probably, I will say, six 13 years, so we have to transload everything from that 14 yard -- excuse me, not everything, just the No. 1 iron 15 and motors and things like that that go to steel mills 16 because that's the way they want it and we get an extra 17 price for delivering it by rail. We-- 18 Q I'm sorry, how often do you trans load to 19 another location? 20 Oh, we put out 150 ton three or four daysA 21 ago and we take it to our yard in Caldwell, have to 22 redump it and then reload it. 23 Does the railroad reimburse you forQ 24 that? 25 A Oh, certainly not. CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 26 WEITZPublic . . . 1 Q Have you contacted the railroad? 2 I have attempted to contact the railroadA 3 for eight or ten years and I've called the PUC.I went 4 to see the Nampa Highway District to try to get them to 5 make, I guess to make, the crossing on Second Street 6 usable.It was usable, but they decided -- I think their 7 whole plan is they wanted to abandon this line and this 8 has been their plan for the last eight or ten years. 9 Q When was the last time that you had 10 contact with Union Pacific? 11 Well, we ship probably, oh, I'm going toA 12 guess, 30,000 ton of iron every year between Payette and 13 Caldwell and Nampa. Of course, the Nampa stuff has to go 14 to Caldwell and we order everything on-line. When you 15 try to get cars for Nampa, there's no way you can get 16 ahold of a Union Pacific representative and have them 17 speak to you that I know of. 18 When was the last time you attempted toQ 19 contact them? 20 Well, I wrote a letter to Omaha, I have it 21 here, in figuring that they were going to abandon it and 22 he called back and he said their plan was to abandon it 23 and in my letter -- 24 Who was this person that you're speakingQ 25 of? Can you identify them? CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 27 WEITZ Public . . . 10 11 1 A In the letter? I spoke with Mark Jensen, 2 Union Pacific Railroad, in Omaha. 3 What was that regarding?Q 4 Well, we had to buy the line which goesA 5 through the yard. 6 Okay.Q 7 Now, if they were going to abandon it, IA 8 wanted them to do it and then I wanted the land because I 9 own both sides of the rail -- Q Okay. A -- and then I would reconfigure the scrap 12 yard and make it into a different thing. We're at a 13 competi ti ve disadvantage because we can't use rail, but 14 we can't help that. 15 Did they quote you a price for how much itQ 16 would cost to continue service on the rail line? 17 Well, the only person I spoke with thatA 18 would even talk about it were the employees that work 19 across the street on Second Street. They said -- they 20 were speaking, I think, of putting arms and everything on 21 Second Street. They said $200,000.I'll guarantee you 22 we fixed it in Caldwell.I could go in there and in a 23 day with my people have the crossing in that road, no 24 problem at all. 25 When you say "across the street," who areQ CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 28 WEITZ Public . . . 1 you referring to? To the employees at the rail yard 2 nearby? 3 A The old round house right across the 4 street from us on the north side of Second. 5 Q And are those Union Pacific employees? 6 Yes.In fact, the one that measured theA 7 track that i s out of line supposedly on Second Street an 8 inch or inch-and-a half, he's the one that said it didn't 9 meet federal standards, so they shut it. 10 Q When say it's off by an inch, an 11 inch-and-a-half, do you mean the width of the rails? 12 Yes, I measured both sides.I think it'sA 13 fi ve foot, two inches, that's the outside of the rail, 14 and I was unable -- they've covered it over now, but the 15 one time I did it, it was an inch-and-a-half out. 16 Q Have you had any independent estimates 17 regarding how much it would cost to bring it back into 18 use? 19 No, we had to fix our own rail in CaldwellA 20 to keep hauling and we had to build our rail in Payette. 21 The railroad is not interested in smaller shippers. 22 That's not just their line. 23 When is the last time you had rail serviceQ 24 on the line specifically? 25 I'm going to guess that the David JosephA CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 29 WEITZ Public .1 Company who buys for the steel mill at Nucor in Utah, 2 they would send their cars in.I'd say it's probably 3 been six years. 4 Q Okay. 5 A I could be wrong,but it's been at least 6 six years. 7 Q And to your knowledge,when was the paving 8 done over the Second Street intersection? 9 A Oh,just two or three months ago. 10 Q Okay;so 11 A I went to the city shops and they wouldn't 12 talk to me and I called the PUC and they told me that.13 they didn't handle that and I've been trying for years. 14 They just covered it over.I was there when they took 15 the rail out and they said that since the signs were 16 down,for their liability,they had to take a piece of 17 rail out so no one would push a car on Second Street. 18 Q Okay;so in your estimation,how much line 19 would it require to serve you? 20 A For me? 21 Q Yes. 22 A Forty feet. 23 Q Forty feet,and that's from the main 24 line?.25 A No,that's right across the road. CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 30 WEITZ Public . . . 10 11 1 Q Okay. 2 In fact, if they will bring me the cars,A 3 I'll take them across the road with our loaders and load 4 them and take them back with flaggers and the whole 5 works. 6 Did you have to invest in anyQ 7 infrastructure in order to receive service when you had 8 it six years ago? 9 Pardon me?A Q Did you have to build a loading dock? A Well, we load with cranes and magnets.It 12 was already there. 13 14 Q Okay. A We bought that from the railroad, so we 15 have our own private siting. 16 Q And do you have an estimate of how much 17 cost it is for you to transload? 18 It costs us about $15.00 a ton.A 19 $15.00 a ton, and you have to --Q 20 To load it, take it to Caldwell, dump itA 21 and reload it. 22 Okay.Q 23 For a period of years there, for a year orA 24 two, we hauled with trucks and now Nucor, those trucks 25 went to Utah and Nucor Steel now limits you to one day a CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 31 WEITZ Public . . . 1 week with trucks and $10.00 a ton less. They want it by 2 rail. That's just the way they're designed. 3 Have you spoken with any of the otherQ 4 nearby shippers? I'm speaking of Quintex and Seminis. 5 I have not.A 6 MR. PRICE: Okay. I don't have anything 7 further. 8 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Commissioner Smith? 9 10 EXAMINATION 11 12 BY COMMI SS IONER SMITH: 13 I think your statement got interrupted byQ 14 Mr. Price's questions, so was there anything that he 15 didn't ask that you intended to let us know about? 16 THE WITNESS: Well, no. The only thing is 17 it appears this meeting is more for aesthetics than for 18 economics. As I watch the people, they're already 19 di vi ding up the body it appears to me, but, no, it's just 20 the way it was. 21 With regard to wanting to because you ownQ 22 both sides -- 23 I own both sides of the track. From, whereA 24 the track is on -- it goes through us right after Second 25 Street, we own over to 21st, 22nd or whatever it is. CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 32 WEITZ (Com) Public . . . 1 Q So have you looked into whether or not you 2 already own it? Sometimes the railroad just had an 3 easement over people's property and there are 4 reversionary rights that go to the adj acent landholders. 5 I don't know that.I own the land that'sA 6 just a little park now up there.I wouldn't move the 7 scrap yard over to that. I would utilize the ground and 8 then reconfigure the yard where we could handle it 9 better. 1,0 I'm just telling you that --Q 11 Oh, I see.A 12 -- when the railroad was put in, in someQ 13 places it owned the ground 14 A Yes. 15 -- and in other places it did not and itQ 16 only had an easement and that the landowners have rights, 17 reversionary rights, and that was if the railroad is not 18 going to use it, it goes back to the landowners, the 19 adj acent landowners. 20 I doubt it in this case because I boughtA 21 both pieces from the railroad. I bought everything from 22 the railroad, the land and the siting. 23 Q Well, you ought to check it out -- 24 A Okay, I will. 25 -- because it could be one way or it couldQ CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 33 WEITZ (Com) Public . . . 1 be the other way. 2 A Yes. 3 Do you remember who it was you talked toQ 4 at the Public Utilities Commission? 5 I spoke with a woman about the crossingA 6 and she said we don't -- and I think that's right, they 7 weren't involved with the crossing. That was for the 8 Nampa Highway District, I guess, and the Nampa Highway 9 District said they didn't do it either. 10 That would be our responsibility to lookQ 11 into, but I appreciate your sharing that with us. 12 Maybe I didn't explain myself very well toA 13 your people, but I'll challenge anyone to call Union 14 Pacific Railroad and get a freight rate or anything done 15 and speak to a human being. 16 You won't get any argument from me.Q 17 They're a bigger bureaucracy than the federal government. 18 A It's worse than the government. 19 It is, I agree.COMMISSIONER SMITH: 20 Thank you. 21 THE WITNESS: You bet. Thank you. 22 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you, Mr. 23 Weitz. 24 (The witness left the stand.) 25 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Our final witness CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 34 WEITZ (Com) Public . . . 1 will be Bruce Wiley. 2 MR. WILEY: No, I was just asked to sign 3 that. 4 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Oh, okay. Is there 5 anyone else here that would like to testify who has not 6 signed up? You, sir, in the back of the room, come right 7 up. 8 MR. LOLLEY: Thank you. 910 WITNESS, 11 appearing as a public witness, having been duly sworn, 12 was examined and testified as follows: 13 14 THE WITNESS: My name is Bret Lolley, 15 L-o-l-l-e-y. 16 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: And it's Bret? 17 THE WITNESS: Bret. 18 MR. PRICE: Who do you represent, Mr. 19 Lolley? 20 THE WITNESS: Seminis Vegetable Seeds, and 21 I walked in right as we were starting, so I didn't sign 22 anything. We're actually known as Monsanto Vegetable 23 Seeds or Monsanto Company, Vegetable Seeds Division, and 24 I'm sorry I didn't get here earlier, Mr. Hire. I just 25 wanted to reiterate some of the things that Mr. Hire CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 35 LOLLEY Public . . . 1 spoke about. He did mention the volume that we are 2 shipping out of the plant and if I could kind of take a 3 step back, I, too, don't have the actual date when we 4 were no longer provided service from Union Pacific 5 because many of the people that were at our production 6 facili ty at that time have since retired, but the best we 7 can tell based on the testimony of some of the people in 8 our plant is around 2005 there was a rail car in our site 9 that was a refrigerated rail car, that the refrigeration 10 system actually caught on fire while it had our product 11 inside and their insurance actually had to settle and pay 12 for the value of the seed which actually turned out to be 13 high value bean seed that was getting shipped to the 14 eastern seaboard and then was going on a container back 15 over to what we call the European union and market, so it 16 was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. That was the 17 last car we were able to get into the plant. 18 Just to reiterate our volumes, I looked at 19 the numbers and actually, we had two rail cars that were 20 not included, so I ran a pivot table of everything that 21 we have shipped in the last three shipping seasons. 22 We're getting ready to go into our next shipping season, 23 so 2010 basically covers up to this recent May, I 24 believe, is our last rail car, but we totaled about just . 25 short of 4.5 million pounds of seed and, again, we have CSB REPORTING (20S) 890-5198 36 LOLLEY Public . . . 1 to trans load that from our facility on flatbed trucks. 2 It takes three flatbed trucks per rail car, so if you can 3 imagine, the cost is about $125 per truckload on a round 4 trip basis, so it's $375 just to move the product over to 5 Kuna. We have to rent a field forklift because the site 6 in Kuna , there's no base under it. We've had to put in 7 pi t run as well as road pack over the top just to keep 8 the forklifts from sinking. 9 Field forklift, last time we rented it, 10 it was $750 a month and it costs too much to deliver and 11 pick up, so it's not cost effective to deliver and then 12 pick up and deliver and pick up. We seldom, and I'll 13 concur with Mr. Weitz, we seldom know when the cars are 14 going to show up when we order them on our on-line system 15 and I'll get to that point a little later about the lack 16 of oversight, so anyway, grand scheme, depending on the 17 number of cars we're shipping, we incur between 5 and 18 $7,000 extra cost just to do the trans loading versus 19 shipping directly from our site like we used to. 20 Most of that is from the forklift rental 21 and the shipment of the seed. The forklifts and our 22 mobile ramp that we have, their ramp -- they didn't build 23 it for us, Ellis, it's been out there for years. I 24 forgot to mention that. It's a very, very old ramp and 25 we have very strict safety standards. You're not allowed CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 37 LOLLEY Public . . . 1 to get on that unless it's load rated and I think it 2 would fall if you stood on it, so we move our mobile ramp 3 out there, so there's an idea for cost. 4 As far as a history of where we're at, we 5 moved into that site -- we used to have a site back in -- 6 we started in 1934 in Nampa and we moved to that site in 7 the mid '50s.I can't guarantee when it was, whether it 8 was' 55 or '57, and so we've been in that area for a 9 long, long time and have continued to expand our market 10 and we serve growers from the northwest corner of the 11 Treasure Valley and actually, as of now, we're even using 12 that facility to process the seed that we're contracting 13 clear over into the Magic Valley, so we run historically 14 between 12 to 15 million kilos of seed through that 15 facility, so it's a vital part of what we call the large 16 seeds industry, so it's very, very important that we 17 continue to have the rail line. 18 I guess up to this point we'd all given up 19 on that rail line actually being active and I did find an 20 e-mail that I had from -- it was actually forwarded to me 21 from one of my coworkers who was trying to work with me 22 to try to get the information.I asked for a quote on 23 the repair and actually, I was told the only way that we 24 would be able to continue to have service or to get that 25 service back is to pay for the repair on the entire line, CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 38 LOLLEY Public . . . 1 Stoddard line, ourselves and so at first thinking that 2 we're a big company, we're sure we can come up with some 3 money if it was cost effective.I was thinking in the 4 realm of 20-$30,000. Payback is there if you consider 5 we're spending 7,000 a year. I was given this: The 6 crossing repair cost estimate was $130,900 to repair the 7 crossings. Vegetation removal is $45,000.Install 250 8 ties, $28, 750. They would need 12 cars of ballast at 9 $7,800 for a total of $212,454. 10 In addition to that, they also mentioned 11 there are three very busy road crossings on this Stoddard 12 line at Second Street South, Amity and Sherman and they 13 don't have any protection other than cross bucks, so 14 they're talking about how -- in fact, he says in here 15 crossings need to be upgraded to flashers and/or gates. 16 We have no estimate for this cost. Past experience would 17 suggest flashers and/or gates would also be very 18 expensive, and then he's asking me the operating status 19 of this facility and how many cars in and out they're 20 anticipating, so I gave him the information that I had 21 submitted. 22 This e-mail was dated back on April 21st 23 of 2008, so you can imagine the costs have probably 24 increased quite a bit. I can testify to the fact we 25 walked the entire Stoddard lead, myself and two CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 39 LOLLEY Public . . . 1 supervisors at the time, and as far as vegetation 2 removal, we found three limbs that were overhanging all 3 over 10 feet and they were all less than two inches in 4 diameter, so I actually responded back to him and told 5 him that I would remove all the vegetation for $15,000 in 6 kind of a deal and he didn't take it. That's the 7 information on the cost estimates. 8 I also wanted to bring up we have had 9 issues with the oversight from Union Pacific in ordering 10 It's an on-line system. You order the carsthe cars. 11 on-line. They will not guarantee a delivery time, 12 deli very date. When they do actually get it there, they 13 will not acknowledge that it's actually been placed; yet 14 if you do not load it and get it out wi thin two days, I 15 believe you get a demurrage charge. 16 Loading out at the Kuna site has been a 17 challenge. We have to have our employees make sure that 18 when they drive home they're checking on the car numbers 19 and letting us know or we have neighbors out there that 20 actually will contact us that we have to pay a fee, a 21 very slight fee, but they're helping us, actually letting 22 us know when the cars are there. We had a car with a 23 forklift inside it half loaded taken by Union Pacific 24 this last winter and it made it all the way to Nebraska 25 before we were done loading it. Apparently, there's a CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 40 LOLLEY Public . . . 1 rule in Union Pacific if you leave some cardboard out of 2 the doors, it's a signal to them that you're not done 3 loading it, I'd never heard of this rule, but we had not 4 released the car, but somehow they took it, so these are 5 the issues we face when we're located so far away from 6 where we're trying to load out. 7 I know I'm crying a lot about this, but 8 it's become a maj or headache to try to get it out and our 9 rail shipments actually have increased quite a bit over 10 the last three years. As prices become more competi ti ve 11 in the vegetable seed industry, the shippers pay the cost 12 for the shipping and if we can get more business and 13 bring more money for the company and for this area, we'll 14 do it by rail, especially with the market still being 15 strong in the eastern seaboard as well as that's where we 16 ship a lot of our product over to Europe and Africa and 17 the Middle East, and finally, I wanted to just mention 18 that all this other stuff being considered, it's also 19 twice as slow to load the rail car. 20 We have to depend on -- we have to 21 coordinate the driver for the actual seeds that go in the 22 flatbeds. We have to take two of our personnel out to 23 the rail site in Kuna to load. In the past we would load 24 directly out of our packaging facility, pull it right off 25 onto a pallet and put it right into a rail car and we CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 41 LOLLEY Public . . . 1 could load three rail cars in a day. We're lucky to get 2 one rail car loaded in one day right now, and as far as 3 property value, you're right, it is very important to 4 have that there, not only from a future sale to another 5 company if ever that would happen, but also when our 6 company analyzes whether they want to keep the facility. 7 I mean, we are a landlocked facility around in the middle 8 of a residential area, but we continue to thrive in that 9 area and do very well, but one of the big problems we 10 face is the fact we cannot ship out of rail and if this 11 becomes a bigger demand, then they would look at either 12 closing the facility and moving it to another area 13 outside of town or into another county or whatever that 14 would be, they would definitely be looking for something 15 that would have rail access, so do you guys have any 16 questions for me? I've just gone on and on, I'm sorry. 17 18 20 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Commissioner Smith? 19 EXAMINATION 21 BY COMMISSIONER SMITH: 22 That was what I wanted to ask you about, IQ 23 assume your company is always in the process of 24 reassessing whether you should move -- 25 Uh-huh.A CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 42 LOLLEY (Com)Public . . . 1 Q -- and since land values are pretty 2 depressed right now, it might be a good time to move. 3 A Land value actually plays very little bit. 4 Right now this valley is very, very valuable for the 5 sweet corn production area that it has and that's one of 6 our main crops and what we plan on improving quite a bit. 7 Syngenta left a few years ago and one of the main reasons 8 that they left and went up to Pasco, Rogers Brothers 9 Seed, was because of the lack of rail access, that and 10 the fact that the changes in the planning and zoning and 11 the conditional use permits using agricultural zoning 12 made it much more difficult for them to actually contract 13 their corn, so they left and they created a gigantic 14 super facility in the Pasco area with rail access and 15 that's where they condition all of their seed, process 16 and pack all of their seed. 17 We, however, would li ke to stay in this 18 area because it has a better climate we believe than that 19 Washington area, as well as with Sygenta leaving, it has 20 opened up quite a bit of ground for us to do our 21 contracting with better growers in the area, so that's 22 about it. 23 Q Well, good luck with that, but I wouldn't 24 plan on having rail access. 25 A You know, I'm not, and I will say I have CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 43 LOLLEY (Com) Public . . . 1 worked for the last three-and-half-years to try to get 2 another site to load since we couldn't get access and 3 Union Pacific is putting in, I just got an e-mail today 4 from Sandy Lindstrom in Portland, they're actually 5 putting in a portable dock off of Second Street, so we 6 should be able to at least avoid the rental of the field 7 forklift from what I hear because it should be paved I'm 8 hoping. 9 MR. PRICE: I just have one question for 10 purposes of the record. 11 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Go ahead. 12 13 CROSS-EXAMINATION 14 15 BY MR. PRICE: 16 Q Does Union Pacific reimburse your company 17 for the cost of trans loading? 18 A No, they don't. 19 MR. PRICE: Okay. 20 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you very 21 much, sir. 22 THE WITNESS: Thank you. 23 (The witness left the stand.) 24 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Is there anyone 25 else that would like to testify? Seeing no hands, this CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 44 LOLLEY (X) Public . . . 1 will conclude the hearing. I'm sorry to inform you, 2 again, that this -- we are to have a hearing and someone 3 mentioned it was kind of a sham hearing, but if we do 4 find the rail abandonment would be adverse to the public 5 interest that we can on our own behalf represent the 6 State of Idaho in a protest before the government agency, 7 but I want to thank you all for coming out and showing 8 your public and community spirit. 9 If there's nothing else to come before the 10 Commission, we'll be at ease and the hearing will be 11 concl uded. Thank you. 12 (Staff Exhibit No. 1 was admitted into 13 evidence. ) 14 (The Hearing adjourned at 8:01 p.m.) 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 CSB REPORTING (208) 890-5198 45 COLLOQUY . . . 1 AUTHENTICATION 6 Union Pacific Railroad Company for approval to abandon an 2 3 4 This is to certify that the foregoing 5 proceedings held in the matter of the application of 7 .85 mile section of its Stoddard industrial lead in 8 Nampa, Idaho, commencing at 7:00 p.m, on Wednesday, 9 October 13, 2010, at the Nampa City Hall Building, 411 10 Third Street South, Nampa, Idaho, is a true and correct 11 transcript of said proceedings and the original thereof 12 for the file of the Commission. 13 14 15 16 -~~~ CONSTANCE S. BUCY Certified Shorthand Reporter 17 18 19 20 \\\\11"111111,",,\,\ ~ ~NCê "" ........ ~C: ",!.,UqlJ~lli d "/"... " 0' ""OT '" . tP'" f () /"- Ai;'\ c %-:' ..';0-~ Loa ~ -. ~. \ iJ\, VbL\V / -..,. ~ l"Ill~ ..',.... .: ..,. *t ~ /;;.1111\\1\\\\\ . 0 ....1/ '~ .V' '-//11. 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