Commissioners to support REDI grant for rails

CREEDE— Over the last few years, commissioners in Mineral County have been in discussions with Valley officials in surrounding towns to consider the purchase of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. It was in April of last year when reports of the line being up for sale began to spread around the towns of South Fork and Creede that commissioners began to consider the repercussions of the line being available. One of the main concerns was that the line between South Fork and Creede, which was owned by Don Shank and a board of directors, would be used for rail car storage.
Shank attended a meeting to discuss the sale of his line and implored local officials to not consider adverse abandonment. Later the following year, in a statement released to the South Fork Tines on Monday, April 11, 2016 Shank confirmed the reports that the line may be up for sale. “My health in not good and I can’t run the line alone,” said Shank. Since the release of his official statement the line has been closed and local officials have been working together to find a way to afford the purchase of the rail.
Shank maintained his promise to commissioners and surrounding officials that he would not sell to anyone wanting to use the line for anything besides a tourism train. When the line closed, several surrounding organizations and local businesses took the brunt of the closure, losing what additional tourism the train brought to the area. Officials have worked long and hard to come up with a solution to not only keep the storage hounds at bay, but to heal the wounds of not having the train run during the summer months.
On Tuesday, May 16 commissioners discussed an email request for support from Rio Grande County Administrator Roni Wisdom, asking Mineral County to make a resolution of their full support. Commissioners listened to a recommendation from County Administrator Janelle Kukuk that a resolution not be made as of yet until they could decide how they want to proceed with their due diligence. In the email, Wisdom explained that the support resolution would be included in a Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) grant application.
Kukuk explained that she wanted commissioners to have the details of their due diligence in the resolution in order to clarify their part in the process in purchasing the lines. Due diligence for Mineral County would include rail assessments to determine rail condition, value and an appraisal of the entire line leading up to Wagon Wheel Gap.
In addition to the assessments conducted by an engineer of the county’s choosing, they would also be responsible for title work and environmental considerations. Commissioner Scott Lamb spoke up and said that he also wanted the acknowledgment stating that Mineral County gave their full support to be rewritten. Kukuk agreed and said that she would have everything finished in time for the June 2 meeting.
The purchase would be completed through a partnership of officials that include Rio Grande County, the Town of South Fork, Mineral County and the City of Creede.


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