host posted on December 28, 2009 14:01
By Adam Smith
The North Jefferson News
Local leaders are hoping cooperation may be the key to completing a project that would turn unused rail lines into walking and biking trails.
On Dec. 14, the City of Fultondale became the latest city to pass a resolution to become part of the Five Mile Creek Capital Improvement Cooperative District. The proposed district would unite six north Jefferson County cities in an effort to complete the ongoing Rails to Trails project, a major component of the ongoing Five Mile Creek Greenway regional recreation efforts.
Francesca Gross, who has worked with most of the cities through her work on the greenway, said the cooperative district would function like a municipality. With all
key parties on board, the group would also have the power to buy and sell land and receive the title to 16.47 miles of railway line owned by CSX, extending from Fultondale to Flat Top.
Gross said the Metropolitan Planning Organization has set aside Department of Transportation funds to help with the purchase of the property.
In addition to Fultondale, the cities of Brookside, Graysville, Tarrant and Center Point have all agreed to be part of the district. She said Gardendale has also been invited to join, but the council has not yet discussed the resolution.
If all of the invited cities agree to join the effort, the next step would be a board of directors meeting in which a board president would be elected and bylaws established. Each city would elect a board member to serve on the group. Gross will act as a facilitator.
“The main goal of the project is to get the File Mile Creek Greenway implemented and built,” she said. “It’s continuing that same work, but in a formalized legal group that can receive funds and a [CSX] title.”
Any money obtained by the district will not be used for the individual cities. While the group will have the ability to accept donations and pursue funding, all money must be used in the district for the planning and development of the Rails to Trails project.
Fultondale Mayor Jim Lowery said he was excited by the tone of unity set by the district. He said if the district is a success, it could lead to the cities working together to overcome other obstacles in the future.
“For the neighboring cities, it will be very good because it brings us closer together,” he said. “We [the mayors] all know each other well and it’s good to work on something that crosses some boundaries.”
At the Dec. 14 Fultondale council meeting, Lowery said his city has helped take the lead on Rails to Trails, which was initially a Jefferson County project. He said the county was unable to continue its level of commitment after a series of financial setbacks.
Negotiations to purchase the rail line necessary to complete the project are ongoing, but Gross said the district had to be implemented before the project could move forward.
A bulk of the negotiating has been conducted by the Freshwater Land Trust and the Trust for Public Lands. Fultondale attorney Charlie Waldrep of Waldrep, Stewart & Kendrick, LLC, has been handling much of the proposed district’s legal work pro bono.
“This is very exciting news and it’s a regional effort, which is so rare,” Gross said. “All of these groups have worked together wonderfully. It’s going to be the best thing for northwest Jefferson County.”