State Sen. Mike Kehoe filed two separate pieces of legislation last week relating to property along the former Rock Island rail line, which is slated for future hiking and biking trail development.
Senate Bill 250 would require those who own property bisected by the rail bed will not have to pay property taxes on the rail bed. Taxation for state, county or local purposes would be exempt for "that portion of privately owned land subject to a railroad easement upon which a railroad right-of-way exists and a state, political subdivision, or qualified organization has assumed responsibility," according to the bill introduction.
The measure asks for all fencing coinciding with the boundary between individual landowner property and the Missouri Rock Island Trail to be maintained by the division of state parks within the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The bill says funds would also be "expended from the state park earnings fund for such purposes, by either repairing and maintaining such fence by and with staff employed by the department or the service of volunteers authorized." It also calls for the state to provide "all necessary supplies and equipment needed to an individual landowner or landowners whose property coincides with the boundary of the trail and who agree to perform the repair or maintenance with such supplies and equipment provided."
In early 2016, Kehoe and state Rep. David Wood, R-Versailles, hosted a series of forums on the proposed trail, which allows a 144-mile stretch of the former Rock Island rail line from Windsor to Beaufort to be transferred to the state of Missouri under the Missouri State Parks division for future development as a hiking and biking trail.
Kehoe said at a forum his office had received a lot of calls with questions and concerns about the project. Meetings were set up to share information and hear from the public about the potential plans for the rail corridor. Those meetings raised a number of concerns, with two of the most prominent related to property taxes on the rail bed and fencing along the rail line.
"I completely understand the concerns and apprehensions of landowners at the prospect of a trail coming across their property," Kehoe told the News Tribune. "This legislation will not alleviate those concerns, but it will ensure that insult is not added to injury by preventing landowners from paying property taxes on a rail bed that they cannot use."
Kehoe added that tax exemption would be for the rail bed portion of the land only.
"It is common sense that no landowner should pay taxes on property they do not own and cannot use," he said.
Kehoe said Senate Bill 251 requires Missouri State Parks to use proper methods in maintaining property it is looking to take over by the end of 2017.
"If the rail bed is going to be turned over to the state, then it is right and appropriate for them to maintain demarcation between public and private property," he said. "The state should make it as easy as they possibly can on the landowners who have already had their normal day-to-day operations interrupted by the trail."
Kehoe said he will continue to look for ways to ease the burden on landowners, whether through more legislation or working with DNR. However, he feels there should be no state funding given to develop a trail.
"As long as I am in the Senate, there will be no state funding to develop the trail. We have too many other areas of need that must be addressed before we even contemplate investing tax dollars into developing this controversial trail," he said.
The Rock Island rail line has not been in operation for more than two decades and was purchased by Ameren in 1999. Operations to remove and salvage rail from the line are expected to be complete by the end of 2017, at which point the property will be transferred to DNR.
In late 2017, the corridor will be rail-banked under the Rails to Trails laws and Ameren will donate its interest to Missouri State Parks, according Greg Harris, executive director of Missouri Rock Island Trail. MoRIT is an organization assisting Ameren's Missouri Central Railroad to Missouri State Parks, working to accelerate trail development and helping communities to maximize their benefits.
Harris said the corridor would be functional immediately as a primitive trail in areas where there are no bridges or other hazards. Conversion to the higher standard of the Katy Trail will be as public and private funding is available, he said.