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RESOLUTION NO. 90-03 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MOSCOW, IDAHO, OPPOSING THE PROPOSED ABANDONMENT OF TWO UNION PACIFIC RAIL BRANCH LINE SEGMENTS, THE TEKOA BRANCH AND THE PLEASANT VALLEY BRANCH. WHEREAS, since 1970, the Palouse region has lost over one-third of its rail branch lines and this trend is continuing, with the process of piecemeal abandonment threatening to eliminate rail branch line service in our area; and, WHEREAS, if all rail service is lost, it is estimated that local shippers could expect to pay at least an extra one million dollars per year in higher freight costs, county roads would suffer at least one million dollars per year in increased road damage due to heavy truck traffic and the area's economic development potential would be impaired by the loss of a vital mode of transportation; and, WHEREAS, on February 15, 1989, a group of concerned individuals including shippers of grain, lumber, dry peas, and lentils; elected and appointed officials from Whitman County, Latah County, Moscow, and Pullman; representatives of Class I and regional railroads; representatives from the University of Idaho and washington State University; Washington state Department of Transportation, and Idaho Transportation Department officials; the Executive Director of the Washington State Rail Development Commission; along with consultants and other experts in the field met to discuss the deteriorating situation in our region; and, WHEREAS, as a result of discussion at that meeting, a steering committee was formed to identify and work toward the preservation of a core rail structure; and, WHEREAS, although an earlier petition for abandonment was dismissed by the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Union Pacific Railroad has announced its intention to refile for abandonment on 68 miles of rail branch lines in Whitman County, namely the Tekoa Branch (Docket No. AB-33, Sub-No. 58) and the Pleasant Valley branch (Docket No. AB-33, Sub No. 59); and, WHEREAS, the Palouse Region Rail Preservation Steering Committee's core rail structure plan included a short spur which would be affected by the proposed abandonment and, in fact it has been subsequently discovered that the previously identified line segment should be expanded to include the segment from Garfield to Tekoa, along with the 3 to 4 mile segment east of Soltice; and, ---PAGE BREAK--- WHEREAS, there are eleven dry pea and lentil processors (representing a significant amount of the total lentil shipment from our area) located on these branch lines which ship their commodities by rail to Gulf and Great Lakes ports for exportation; and, WHEREAS, abandonment of the aforementioned branch lines will cause these eleven shippers to transship by truck to the closest rail access point, resulting in the need for hundreds of trucks to transport these commodities on county roads which are already in very poor condition, during the times of year when heavy truck traffic is the most damaging; and, WHEREAS, increased transloading costs to shippers could severely impair the industry's competitiveness in world markets; and, WHEREAS, shipments generated for these rail lines have been increasing over the past few years and it is expected that this trend will continue; and, WHEREAS, the Union Pacific Railroad has announced its intention to remove all track within 40 days after the right to abandon has been granted, which would result in a permanent loss of direct branch line rail service to the affected area and may impact the region's desirability to potential shortline operators. NOW THEREFORE be it resolved by the Mayor and City Council of the City of Moscow, Idaho, sitting as the governing board for Moscow, Idaho, as follows: That the Council opposes the proposed abandonment of two Union Pacific rail branch lines, namely the Tekoa Branch (Docket No. AB-33, Sub-No. 58) and the Pleasant Valley Branch (Docket No. AB-33, Sub-No. 59), and requests that an oral hearing be held in our area and with all due respect requests that the United States Interstate Commerce commission deny these abandonments. PASSED by the City Council and APPROVED by the Mayor this 5th day of February, 1990. Paul c. Agidip, Mayor ATTEST: Elaine Russell, City Clerk