Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Friday, 03 October 2014 12:24
A possible deal for local governments to buy the abandoned rail line between Coldstream and Kelowna could take more time. The city of Kelowna, which has been spearheading negotiations with C-N Rail, says significant progress has been made, but there are still a few outstanding issues. The city's Planning and Real estate Director Doug Gilchrist says the municipalities have applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency to get a non- binding (net salvage value) market value estimate of the corridor, including the land and assets, to assist in the negotiations. He says it could add several months to the process. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve a continuous, regionally-significant corridor with the potential to provide long-term public benefits for the enhancement of the social, environmental and economic benefit of our residents," says Gilchrist. C-N Rail had originally been asking 50 million dollars for the 49 kilometre rail line. Funding options are still being explored, including partnerships, grants, municipal reserves or borrowing. "Local governments are making every effort to minimize the current tax impact in the interest of securing a land asset that would be valued for generations," adds Gilchrist. The current deadline for a deal is this coming Monday. The municipalities of Kelowna, Lake Country, Coldstream and Vernon, as well as the regional districts of Central Okanagan and North Okanagan, are looking to retain the corridor for public use, perhaps as a biking and walking trail, or for transportation purposes.
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http://www.kelowna.ca/CM/Page4717.aspx
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