Cd'A to pursue land purchase
<p>Mayor Steve Widmyer, second from left, and his wife Marie Widmyer ride the Socially Geared Coeur d’Alene bike with friends, family and other city staff down Sherman Avenue in the Fourth of July Parade.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - The Coeur d'Alene City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday night to pursue the purchase of another 2-mile stretch of old railroad right-of-way along the Spokane River.
If the city can successfully close on the deal, the city would then own all of the abandoned railroad bed from roughly City Park to Huetter Road at the western edge of the city limits.
The deal is far from done because the council still must decide on a funding mechanism to pay for the $2.5 million property.
City attorney Mike Gridley presented the proposal to the council Tuesday night, saying he has been in active negotiations with Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad since January.
The railroad and the city finally settled on a price for the property last week, and the city now has 60 days to finalize a purchase and sales agreement. They want to close on the property by December of this year or January 2015.
Gridley told the council that the property was appraised at a little more than $4.3 million last fall, but with the help of U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, they were able to negotiate the price down to $2.5 million.
The city has coveted that piece of property for years, and would like to use it to possibly leverage more public access to the river as the former mill properties redevelop in that area.
The 2-mile stretch of right-of-way is 60 to 200 feet wide in some areas. It stretches from the west end of Riverstone to Huetter Road.
"To be clear, this right-of-way is not on the water," Gridley said. "But it can be exchanged for property on the water."
The old rail bed bisects two parcels of land totaling about 70 acres where the old Stimson Mill operated, posing a problem for developers which would like to purchase the old mill site because it complicates access to the waterfront.
By purchasing the land, Gridley said in an earlier interview, the city could trade the land that bisects those properties and work with developers through a trade for public access to the water.
A dozen citizens testified on the issue with 10 of them strongly in favor of the purchase and two who voted against the city ownership. One of the people opposing the project was representing Stimson Lumber Company, and said if the city purchases the property it could complicate the sale of 40 acres the timber company owns in the area.
During a council discussion on the issue, Councilwoman Kiki Miller said she was uncomfortable being pressured to make a decision based on a pending sale of the property.
Those in favor of the purchase said they think this is a "once in forever" deal, similar to the city's historic purchase of Tubbs Hill.
"I have heard this called a Tubbs Hill moment," said part-time resident Roger Smith, who sat on the city's river-district advisory committee. "I would strongly urge the council to purchase that property."
Gridley agreed, saying there are many interested developers who would love to purchase the property, but the city is currently in first-position in the sale.
Councilman Dan Gookin said he was in favor of purchasing the property, but added that it made sense for the city to purchase the remaining mill property as well.
"I am going to go to the wall on this," Gookin said. "I move that we purchase the trail and the mill site, paid for with a bond that is backed by a public vote."
The council discussed that option, which could raise the price tag to $12.5 million or more, and learned that one of the parcels recently sold and the other parcel is under contract.
Gookin rescinded his motion and another motion was made to allow staff to pursue the purchase and sales agreement with BNSF, and to explore funding options.
Gookin wanted to ensure that there would be more than one funding option explored.
"One of my fears is that this will come back to us with: 'Here is the deal, take it or leave it,'" Gookin said, before voting in favor of the motion.
In other business, the council voted to allow an exception to its open-container laws regulating alcohol in the city limits. A local business called Socially Geared requested the exemption to allow his customers to bring beer and/or wine on pedaling tours in Coeur d'Alene.
After some discussion, the council voted 4-2 to allow recreation transit operators to apply for a permit to allow open containers of alcohol on those rides. Councilmen Woody McEvers and Ron Edinger voted against the exemption.