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Pattison Sand wants to lease city of Marquette property to store railcars

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By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

 

Pattison Sand Co. is in discussions with the city of Marquette to lease space in the roundhouse area east of the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre in order to store railcars.

 

Pattison Sand owner Kyle Pattison has proposed storing up to 183 railcars on the empty city property, a move he said could improve the efficiency of moving cars not only for his company but Canadian Pacific Railway (CP).

 

“It also is an opportunity to lower our costs and allow us to put more cars through Clayton easily,” he said at the April 13 Marquette city council meeting. “Depending on how it goes, it could possibly be a profit center where we could put other cars there. Just initially speaking with the CP, there may be some opportunities for CP to use it.”

 

In addition to some surveying, Pattison said the company is already investigating the permitting process and forming a budget of what it would cost to develop the space. Ideally, he’d like to lease the land for at least two or three years. Rent could be based on a per car fee or a flat rate.

 

“As far as the term, I’m open to whatever. It depends on what we end up having for an investment cost,” Pattison told the council. “We’d like the ability to move cars there, however that works best.”

 

Alicia Mullarkey, who’s the director of the nearby Driftless Area Wetlands Centre, questioned how much activity the storage area would generate.

 

“We have a lot of kids and I’m just thinking about what the experience will be like,” she said.

 

“It could be anywhere from zero in a day, or it could be 24 hours in a day. It could go for a week or two without anything, then be busy for a week or two,” responded Pattison.

 

According to Brian Coates, who previously worked for CP and is currently responsible for moving cars in and out of Clayton for Pattison Sand, the company would have used the site at full capacity just twice over the past six months.

 

He said he’d be happy to teach rail safety and awareness to local youth who frequent the Wetlands Centre. Pattison noted a fence or berm could also be constructed to separate the railcar site from activity areas.

 

If the city proceeds with an agreement, Marquette mayor Steve Weipert said no hazardous materials would be stored at the site.

 

“We will have control over what will be stored there,” he assured.

 

The biggest concern for council members, though, was how the railcar storage area could impact an already steady flow of rail traffic across the community’s crossings.

 

“How much more will it be blocking the street?” wondered council member Cindy Halvorson. “We already have an issue.”

 

“That’s a definite concern,” agreed Dave Schneider. “Our main thing we have here in the summer is our tourism. If we get congested, where it backs up, it could have a definite impact on someone wanting to come to Marquette or McGregor.”

 

Pattison said the number of cars moving through Marquette would largely be the same. Having the storage area could actually improve the situation, he and Coates reasoned.

 

“When you drive by the Marquette yard, you can see how congested it is all the time,” said Coates, who noted this is partially attributable to trains from all directions meeting in Marquette.

 

“If they don’t have capacity, what they have to do is move trains across the crossings and keep spinning them around. Some days, you might see the same train go across those crossings four or five times in a 24-hour time period,” he explained.

 

A lot of the back and forth movement across the crossings is due to switching. Crews are forced to hang on to large blocks of cars, potentially 50 to 60 cars in length.

 

“With the construction of this, we’d have the ability to alleviate some of that congestion,” Coates said. “At times throughout the year, we have 100-plus railcars in that yard, so if we’re able to move our inventory from the Marquette yard into the storage yard, that will relieve congestion and CP has the ability to put those trains in their yard tracks versus moving them over the crossings. If we’re able to take 100 to 183 cars out of their yard, now their block sizing is smaller. They’ll have the capacity in their yard to make smaller switch lengths.”

 

Pattison said he understands the city’s frustration with CP. Because Pattison Sand moves a lot of railcars, his company has had more success than many in dealing with the railroad.

 

“Brian works pretty closely with the CP and knows it well,” he stated. “With us having this yard, you’ll have one other person here trying to accomplish what you’re wanting to.”

 

The council made no official decision on the proposal at last week’s meeting, but agreed to continue the discussion. A committee will talk with Pattison regarding the issues noted at the meeting.

 

Utilities discussed

The council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would raise the city’s base water rate from $3 to $4 and base sewer rate from $8.25 to $10. The sewer hike would take place in July, but the water increase wouldn’t occur until January. 

 

“Water has been staying even, but sewer has gone in the red,” said Weipert. “You need to try to break even, or put money aside.”

 

That funding is particularly important when unplanned repairs pop up, the mayor noted. One such instance is the replacement of a sewer main, which the council also improved at last week’s meeting. Vorwald Enterprises, Inc., was selected to do the work for just over $21,000, a cost that does not include materials.

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