20200309City of Idaho Falls Comment.pdf

CxaRles H. MoNreruce
ATTORNEY AT LAW
426 NW I62ND STREET
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 9AI 77
(206) s46- I 936
FAX: [phone]
6lUarch 2020
RECEIVED
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Ms. Cynthia T. Brown
Chief, Section of Administration
Surface Transportation Board
395 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20423
Dear Ms. Brown:
Re: Eastem Idaho Railroad - Abandonment Exemption -in Bonneville Counry, ID, AB 1252 (Sub_no. lX) '
(l) statement of willingness IFEE WAIVER REeL]ESTEDI
(2) Fee waiver request for firing of Statement of willingness;
(3) Request for public Use Condition
This letter and attachment are for filing on behalf of the City of ldaho Falls(Idaho), hereinafter referred to as ..City.,,
summary: city supports issuance of a Notice of Interim Trail use for the entireline at issue in this proceeding, and prans to negotiate to acquire said rine,including the historic railroad bridge across the Snake River at sportsman park, fortrail use as part of the city's comprehensive trail system.
Background: city is a unit of local govemment within the state of Idaho. Theentire rail line (approximately 0.76 mile) proposed for abandonment in thisproceeding is within the city. city concurs with the Notice of Exemption filed byEastern Idaho Railroad insofar as it represents that the line at issue in thisproceeding has had no users in the past two years (City understands the period ofnon-use began prior to 2014), that the property is suitable for public use (trail),and that the city is interested in acquiring the property, incruding the bridge.
- . The City conducted an extensive study of means to enhance pedestrian andbicycle transportation within the City and neighboring communities as part of its'oConnecting our Community" project. A corip.ehensive report (and Appendices)
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dated November 2014 ansmg from that study may be found at the following webaddress
Suffice it to say that the line at issue here encompasses a railroad bridge over theSnake River. The City wishes to obtain the line and bridge for trail purposes inorder to link the downtown to Sportsman park (a very popular local destination),and for other ffail connectivity purposes.Indeed, development ofthe bridge andapproaches is one of the ten priorify projects identified in the aforementionedConnecting Our Community study, and is discussed therein as "Project 8.,,Amongother things, the study concluded that "[t]his project would provide another loophail connecting to Downtown Idatro Falls, improve access to Sportsman park,rmprove the Greenbelt Trail behind the library, ard provide additional access to theGreenbelt Trail system for users east of Yellowstone Highway ,,Report, p. C-17.In short,the City's interests in acqlrlnng this for public purposes are based on acomprehensive sfudy and are of long duration.
2.
Pursuanr to 49 c.F.R. 1002.2(e)(l),City requests a waiver of the fee for filing astatement of willingness. City qualifies for the waiver: City is a unit of localgovemment, and is not acting m a corporate or govenrment subsidizedhansportation company capacrty.
l' Statement of willineness. Based on research to date, it appears to the Citythat the right of way is federally-granted. To ensure the right ori"y is transferredintact, the city expects to seek to acquire it pursuant to 16 u.s.c. rz47(d). TheCity accordingly is providing (as an attachment to this letter) a.,statement ofwillingness" (49 c.F.R. rr5z.2g) for filing in this pro"eeaiog.
:. . pursuant to 49C.F.R. tt52.2il(a)e),Citymakes the following four representations in support of the public use condition setforth in (i) below:
(i) condition requested. city requests the following condition on any effectiveabandonment providing authorization: EIRR may not dispose of the line othertfan for public pu{poses and use for a period of t8o days after the effective date ofthe abandonment authorization.
- (ii) Public importance. As explained in the section entitled,,Background,, in thisletter, the city has long identified the line in question as an important componentof its Connecting our Community project to establish a comprehensive andconnected non-motorized transportation infrastructure in Idaho Falls, serving its
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downtown, University of Idahe--Idaho Falls, local neighborhoods, and adjacentcommunities. Indeed, acquisition ofthis project is one ofthe ciB,s top tenpriorities in that regard.
(iii) Timeperiod. 180 days.
(iv) Justification of time period. Negotiation of rail use agreements typicallytake more than 180 days. see srB gx parte 753, served Dec.4,zorg,slip op. at4-5.
4' Further comments. The city reserves the right to make further comments asit deems appropriate, and otherwise supports prompt issuance of a Notice ofInterim Trail use (NITU) in this proceeding, which we understand is a resultacceptable to, and anticipated by, EIRR.
certificate of Service. The undersigned hereby certifies service on cotrnsel forEIRR (Ivfr. wimbish) on 6 March zo2o by email and by usps, posrage pre-paid, athis address and email as set forth in the cc. below.
Charles H. Montange
Counsel for City of Idaho Falls
Att. (Statement of Willingness)
cc. Randall Fife, Esq.
City Attorney, City of Idaho Falls
P.O. Box 50220
Idalro Falls, Idaho B34OZ (datt.)
Robert A. Wimbish, Esq.
Fletcher & Sippel LLC
29 North WackerDrive, Suite g0O
Chicago, Illinois 60606-2832
(by USPS, first class, and
Email to rwim bish@fl etcher-sippel. com) (w/att. )
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Before the Surface Transportation Board
Eastern fdaho Railroad - )
Abandonment Exemption - )
In Bonnevill_e County, ID )
AB-L252 (Sub.no. 1x)
STATEMENT OF WTILINGNESS TO ASSUME
ETNANCIAL RESPONSIBTLITY
rn order to establish interim trail use and railbankingunder 16 U.S.C. 1,247 (d) and 49 C.F.R. LL52.2g, The Ciry of ldahoEal1s ("cj-ty" or "rnterim Trai] user,,) is willing to assume fulLresponsibility for management of, for any lega1 liabilityarising out of the transfer or use of (unless the user is immunefrom liability, in which case it need onry indemnify therailroad against any potential liability), and for the paymentof any and all taxes that may be r-evied or assessed against theright-of-way owned by Eastern Idaho Railroad (..EfRR,,) andoperated by same. The property, known as the ord Butte Mainr,ine, extends from the beginning of abandonment at rai-rroadmilepost 184.14, near the yelr-owstone Highway, to the end ofabandonment at railroad milepost 1g4.90, near Broadway, adistance of approximately 0.76 miles, in the city of rdahoFall-s, Bonneville county, rD. The right of way is part of a rineof railroad proposed for abandonment in srB docket AB-1,2s2 (sub-no. l-X) .
A map of
attached. 1
the property depicting the right of way is
City acknowledges
the user's contj-nuing
that use of the right of wayto meet its responsibilities
j-s subject to
described
1 The map is the same used by EfRR in connection with its notj-ceof exemption in AB-1252.
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above and subject to possible future reconstruction andreacti'vation of the right of way for rail service. A copy ofthis statement is being served on the railroad on the same dateit is being served on the Board.
Name : Charles H. MontangeTitle: Attorney for The City of Idaho FallsAddress: Law Offices of Charles H. Montange,426 NVI 162d St., Seattle, [{A ggL77
Email : c.mon tanqeGfr ontier. com
Of counsel: Randa1l D. Fife, Esq.City Attorney
Law Department, City of fdaho FallsP.O. Box 50220Idaho Fa1ls, Idaho 93402Tel: 208-6LZ-9t77Eax: 208-612-8175Email: rfifeGidahof allsida ho. qov
Attachments: Map (Appendix A, as supplied by EIRR)
cc. Robert A. [IimbishEletcher & Sippel LLC
29 North Wacker Drive, Suite BOOChicago, IlIinoj_s 60606-2g32(by USPS, flrst c1ass, andEmail to rwimbish f letcher-s 1.Counsel for EfRR cc. Robert A.lilimbish
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