Bingen pursues lease of railroad land for parking

Prodded by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway officials, the city of Bingen is considering leasing a strip of land along Depot Street to maintain parking in the area.

BNSF owns all the property on the south side of Depot Street, which runs parallel to the railroad tracks between Maple Street and Walnut Street.

"The railroad came to us about concerns over parking on the south side of Depot Street. The city is in the process of trying to address those concerns," explained Bingen City Administrator Jan Brending. "It's a safety issue, and the railroad has concerns about having people park inappropriately next to the tracks."

Brending said the area the city is considering leasing from the railroad is about 350 feet long. It stretches from the old warehouse building near the corner of Ash Street and Depot Street east to Maple Street. Leasing the land would allow the city to keep the area open for parking.

"The goal is to maintain what parking is down there. We don't have a specific number of parking spaces, but employees from a variety of businesses park there," Brending said.

Brending added that the railroad is expected to set aside the remainder of Depot Street for other parking uses. From the Amtrak depot west to Walnut Street would remain reserved for parking for BNSF vehicles, while from the Amtrak depot east to the Ash Street/Depot Street warehouse (across from the SDS shipping dock area) would probably be reserved for parking for Amtrak passengers.

Bingen Mayor Betty Barnes pointed out that the city would benefit from being able to control the land though a lease agreement with the railroad.

"If we don't lease it, BNSF will mark it as `no parking' and the parking will go away," Barnes said. "Of course, BNSF would have to enforce that. But we have some major businesses there that use Depot Street for parking. Losing the parking area would create a mess."

Brending agreed.

"Having control of this property would be beneficial to the city. We can clean things up and add more parking just by how it is arranged," she said. "If we don't do this, other parties could lease the area and it wouldn't be available to the city."

The issue turned into a key discussion topic at the Bingen City Council's April 19 meeting.

Brending advised the council members that the exact cost to lease the strip of Depot Street land was still unclear. Railroad officials said the most it would be was $1,800 a year, but also advised the city that the figure was negotiable.

"It's very likely we could lease this property. The issue is not knowing what it would cost," said Brending.

There is also a fee to apply for the lease. Mayor Barnes told the council members that it would cost $600 to apply to lease the land from the railroad. The $600 would be non-refundable, even if a lease agreement with BNSF cannot be reached or if the city decides not to move forward.

"Right now, our main concern is, do we even file an application," Barnes noted.

Council member Clinton Bryan questioned the need to pursue the lease. He pointed out that the gravel areas cannot be striped, and wondered how parking spaces would be marked if the city took control of the strip along Depot Street.

Brending said the city would need to purchase wheel stops rather than use striping.

Bryan said that purchasing wheel stops for dozens of cars could be expensive.

"We're looking at quite a cost," he said.

To help defray some of the city's expenses in providing the parking area, council member Catherine Kiewit suggested that the city consider reserving Depot Street for those willing to pay for a parking permit.

"Either way, we need to have the parking," said council member Sandi Dickey.

Kiewit said the city needed more information and supported applying for the lease.

"I think it's worth finding out the cost so we can make the proper decision," Kiewit said.

"I recommend we pay the $600. It's a community development project," agreed council member Guillermo Fisch.

The council then voted 3-1 to accept applying for the lease agreement.

Bryan voted against the idea, while council members Dickey, Fisch, and Kiewit voted in favor.

"I just don't like the idea of the application fee being non-refundable," Clinton explained.

"I don't like the non-refundable application part of it, but that parking is vital to us," Barnes said.

Barnes explained that BNSF has other parties it could lease to, but is giving the city the first chance at it.

"They have people waiting in the wings to lease the property," Barnes said.

Bryan said that could be a ploy.

"That's an old used car salesman's trick to say `we've got someone else waiting,'" Bryan said.

However, Barnes said she believed the benefits of having the area available to the city outweighed the risk of losing $600.

"It would be better if we were in control," Barnes said. "It would be to Bingen's benefit."