Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 4.27.16

NEWS
New Environmental Analysis Delays Kalispell Rail Park Development Federal o cials require further assessment before construction can begin at 43-acre rail site
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
The development of a large indus- trial rail park in Kalispell is temporar- ily delayed until a federal environmen- tal analysis of the site can be completed, according to project leaders.
The Flathead County Economic Development Authority had hoped to break ground on the Glacier Rail Park o White sh Stage Road by March, rid- ing the momentum of a $10 million fed- eral transportation grant that is largely fueling the project and Kalispell’s core area revitalization plan.
Yet after reviewing the rail park plans, federal o cials informed FCEDA this spring that the site must follow standards within the National Environmental Pol- icy Act, which requires an extensive envi- ronmental analysis before any develop- ment can occur using grant funding.
Kim Morisaki, FCEDA’s project man- ager, said the assessment would likely take the entire summer to complete and push back any on-site development of infrastructure by ve to six months.
“I doubt we’ll start before August,” she said.
All federally funded projects are required to follow the NEPA process. The NEPA process includes up to three phases of review depending on the size and scope of a project.
Together, FCEDA and the City of Kalispell completed the rst phase and submitted it with the federal grant application.
“Based on early communications with NEPA, we were optimistic that the rst phase would be su cient,” Morisaki stated. “However, we were recently noti- ed that the second phase is necessary. The second phase is an Environmental Assessment and though time-intensive, it is bene cial to the overall success of the project. We launched phase two in
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March and anticipate it will be a ve to six-month process.”
According to Morisaki, federal o - cials told FCEDA that the site needed a more comprehensive environmen- tal assessment due to the complexity of the plans, which involve constructing a 43-acre industrial rail park with adjacent trail and road development throughout the city’s core area.
“This sets us back six months but in the long run, we’ve been working on this for ve years; what’s another six months in the grand scheme of things,” Morisaki said.
FCEDA continues to seek tenants for the future rail park. CHS Kalispell is moving forward with plans for a consol- idated facility at the site, Morisaki said.
FCEDA has agreed to build a new facil- ity that CHS will lease in the rail park in exchange for three properties: the 3.81- acre fertilizer plant and gas station on Third Avenue Northeast near Smiths; the 1.6-acre grain elevator site on West Center Street; and the 41,000-square- foot gas station and o ce on West Idaho Street. FCEDA will clean up and sell the three properties after the acquisition, according to o cials.
FCEDA must also negotiate a right-of- way purchase for a small piece of prop- erty where a new tra c signal will be installed on U.S. Highway 2.
Although the initial construction of infrastructure at the site is delayed by roughly six months, the project remains on track for its general timeline, Morisaki
said. Estimates are that construction of the actual park will begin in 2017 with CHS relocating to the site in 2018. The rail park is also a linchpin for the city’s core area revitalization plan, and by 2019, a trail system stretching two miles is expected to replace the railroad tracks through downtown.
Last week the Kalispell City Council approved a new economic district in the area encompassing the rail park seek- ing to foster further redevelopment. The council created a Targeted Economic Development District that implements a tax increment nance district, which would help fund infrastructure and other improvements that seek to encourage further development.
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
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APRIL 27, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM