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Four southwest Kansas counties are teaming up with the state to rehabilitate the Cimarron Valley Railroad tracks.
And Ford County is considering joining them.
The Ford County Commission was invited Monday to join Grant, Morton, Stanton and Stevens counties in the Western Kansas Development Organization, which was established to help finance the five-year, $15 million rehabilitation project. The commission did not act on the proposal but promised to consider it.
Gray and Haskell counties have also been invited to join the organization.
WeKanDo wants to help rehabilitate the Cimarron Valley tracks, which are deteriorating, said Topeka attorney John Frieden, who represents the group. The state is contributing $5 million in grants and loans for the project.
WeKanDo will chip in another $5 million over five years, and the railroad would cover the remaining cost.
Most of the state's share would go toward upgrading the tracks from Dodge City to Satanta, which is the railroad's main spur.
As part of its agreement with the state, Cimarron Valley owner The Western Group has said it will not abandon the short-line railroad for 10 years, Frieden said. The company will also earmark 10 percent of its annual gross revenues for maintaining the tracks, and 15 percent of its net revenues for the rehabilitation project.
Frieden said that the four counties in WeKanDo would appreciate support from other southwest Kansas counties.
"What these counties would like for you to consider is, at some level, participating in the rehabilitation of this railroad," he said. "These counties think that it is critical to them."
He said if Ford County officials decide to join WeKanDo, they should determine how much they want to contribute to the rehabilitation project.
The member counties' contributions are based on their current assessed valuation — the value of all property within their boundaries.
Commission Chairman Kim Goodnight said the commission would consider the WeKando proposal when devising the county's budget for fiscal year 2010. But he noted that fitting the project into a workable budget would be tricky, given the state's economic troubles.
"Obviously, we're having a little bit of difficulty — probably along with everybody else — in trying to get that balance between what the state's doing and how it affects us locally," he said.
Commissioner John Swayze said he believed that upgrading the railroad tracks is essential to the area's economic health.
"In the agriculture industry, this thing is pretty darn important," he said.
Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com.
Four southwest Kansas counties are teaming up with the state to rehabilitate the Cimarron Valley Railroad tracks.
And Ford County is considering joining them.
The Ford County Commission was invited Monday to join Grant, Morton, Stanton and Stevens counties in the Western Kansas Development Organization, which was established to help finance the five-year, $15 million rehabilitation project. The commission did not act on the proposal but promised to consider it.
Gray and Haskell counties have also been invited to join the organization.
WeKanDo wants to help rehabilitate the Cimarron Valley tracks, which are deteriorating, said Topeka attorney John Frieden, who represents the group. The state is contributing $5 million in grants and loans for the project.
WeKanDo will chip in another $5 million over five years, and the railroad would cover the remaining cost.
Most of the state's share would go toward upgrading the tracks from Dodge City to Satanta, which is the railroad's main spur.
As part of its agreement with the state, Cimarron Valley owner The Western Group has said it will not abandon the short-line railroad for 10 years, Frieden said. The company will also earmark 10 percent of its annual gross revenues for maintaining the tracks, and 15 percent of its net revenues for the rehabilitation project.
Frieden said that the four counties in WeKanDo would appreciate support from other southwest Kansas counties.
"What these counties would like for you to consider is, at some level, participating in the rehabilitation of this railroad," he said. "These counties think that it is critical to them."
He said if Ford County officials decide to join WeKanDo, they should determine how much they want to contribute to the rehabilitation project.
The member counties' contributions are based on their current assessed valuation — the value of all property within their boundaries.
Commission Chairman Kim Goodnight said the commission would consider the WeKando proposal when devising the county's budget for fiscal year 2010. But he noted that fitting the project into a workable budget would be tricky, given the state's economic troubles.
"Obviously, we're having a little bit of difficulty — probably along with everybody else — in trying to get that balance between what the state's doing and how it affects us locally," he said.
Commissioner John Swayze said he believed that upgrading the railroad tracks is essential to the area's economic health.
"In the agriculture industry, this thing is pretty darn important," he said.
Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com.
