Calumet Montana Refining and BNSF Railway approached the city in December about a proposal to expand the railroad from one to three tracks from Calumet to about the Stockman Bank area, at West Bank Park.

The track addition was discussed previously but didn’t progress and would be needed regardless of the expansion being funded by Calumet’s recent $1.44 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, according to city staff.

The proposed project is an estimated 18-24 months, expanding that stretch from one to three tracks, eliminating one switch per day to increase business efficiency, reduce truck traffic and potentially eliminate the 11 p.m. horn downtown, according to information provided by Calumet and BNSF to the city.

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Calumet and BSNF are also proposing to close or control the 4th Street Northeast crossing.

Chris Gaub, city public works director, told City Commissioners during their Jan. 21 work session that no decisions had been made but staff wanted to update them on the proposal.

He said city staff meet with Calumet and BNSF this month to discuss the city’s concerns since closing the 4th Street Northeast would limit access to public property and the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which is a bit isolated.

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BNSF property cuts off a city street and under a 1960/1975 agreement, the city is supposed to control public access at the 4th Street Northeast crossing and BNSF is allowed to close it with 30 days notice, according to the city.

Gaub said neither the city or BNSF had been controlling the 4th Street Northeast crossing, which provides access to the wastewater treatment plant, septic receiving station, emergency/spill response access for the fire department, a sewer main and West Bank Park and the River’s Edge Trail, as well as the 4th of July fireworks staging area.

A gravel road that runs from West Bank Park to the 4th Street Northeast crossing is primarily on BSNF property, Gaub said, but provides access for city employees for park maintenance.

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If the road is shifted, Gaub said the city has concerns regarding playground safety, proximity to the restrooms, a powerline, water service line and irrigation lines.

The city’s concerns for the crossing closure in West Bank Park include whether there’s adequate space for a new access road, playground and bathroom safety and access and River’s Edge Trail access.

Just beyond the railroad crossing is a small parking lot with access to the River’s Edge Trail.

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The crossing is also used for spill/outfall response access and monitoring environmental wells at the wastewater treatment plant, and private utility access for power and gas around Calumet, there’s a storm drain outfall in West Bank Park as well.

Gaub said there’s roughly 50 trips a day over the 4th Street Northeast crossing for city employees, chemical deliveries, plant maintenance and Republic Services stops at the plant several times a day to empty solid waste.

There’s also a septic receiving station at the plant with 12 permitted users. The station is open daily year-round with an average of four trips per day and there’s no alternative location in Cascade County, Gaub said.

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A city storm drain outfall at 16th Avenue Northwest would be expensive to extend or move and it’s uncertain if there’s enough space for the new tracks and a new access road, according to staff. That could also require involvement from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The city pays an annual fee for utility lines that encroach on BNSF property and the crossing provides emergency response access to the area, he said.

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Gaub walked commissioners through the options being discussed, all of which are expensive for the city though price estimates are notional:

• install a gate with access control such as sound/chimes and/or a key pad for an estimated $2 million. It’s the lowest cost option, retains park space and emergency access but there’s the risk of railcars blocking the gate and lose public parking for the trail
• construct a new road from West Bank Park to the wastewater treatment plant for an estimated $5 million, which retains public vehicle access to the park, but is costly to address floodplain issues, adjusting the stormwater outfall, build strong enough to handle heavy trucks, park would lose land and change the character of the district
• combination of the two for an estimated $7 million to use the gate for emergency and construction access and the road for daily use by employees, sanitation, septage customers, mail delivery, etc.

Mayor Cory Reeves asked who is responsible for the railroad arms on Central Avenue West and why the city would have to fund a gate on 4th Street Northwest. Gaub said he didn’t know the answer but staff would discuss it with BNSF and Calumet.

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City Manager Greg Doyon said that 4th Street Northeast is a city road and different than railroad crossings on state roads, but that would be a discussion.

Commissioner Susan Wolff said that whatever solutions they consider, “whatever decision we make, let’s be thinking about the future if there’s further expansion or something, because that’s economic development.”

Commissioner Joe McKenney said that “some problems are just good to have, aren’t they? This is a problem that Calumet is expanding. This is a good problem and I like good problems.”

He said he wanted to consider “the good an industry like Calumet does the community and the tax base.”

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He said that Calumet and Montana Renewables were assessed about $3 million in city taxes last year.

A single family home, McKenney said, paid about $812 in city taxes, so Calumet was paying the same taxes as 3,777 homes.

He did not mention that Calumet has pending appeals before the Montana Tax Appeal Board for their 2022 and 2023 taxes and is seeking to have the entire Montana Renewables facility deemed tax exempt. For the 2023 tax appeal, city finance staff said that the city hasn’t received about $1 million per year until the case is settled. Those figures don’t include the impact to Cascade County or the Great Falls Public Schools district.

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In 2022, commissioners approved a 10-year tax abatement to Calumet that staff estimated at the time would be a loss of $2.77 million in property tax revenue.

“We need more industry,” McKenney said that they the city should be good neighbors to Calumet and BNSF.

He said that Calumet needs three rails and “it just seems to me that choke point just needs more oversight than what it has now,” whether that was an automated or manned gate.

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Commissioner Shannon Wilson said that having less late night train horns would be helpful and asked if there was opportunity to further reduce train horns, which are a concern to residents.

The Council of Councils, which includes representatives from each of the city’s neighborhood councils, is discussing a quiet zone proposal for trains during the Jan. 28 meeting.

Wilson asked if BNSF would work with the city or had indicated they’d close the 4th Street Northeast crossing as allowed in the 1960/1975 agreement.

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Gaub said that it had been a collaborative discussion and that BNSF could close the crossing with 30-days notice, but he didn’t think the company would take that action.

Doyon said that the city obviously needs access to the wastewater treatment plant and the best access is at the 4th Street Northeast crossing, so the discussion is to look at making that a safe access to get to the plant.

“Being a good neighbor kinda cuts multiple ways here,” Doyon said.

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Doyon said he hoped both BNSF and Calumet would be mindful of their impact to the area, park and public use.

He said his concern was what would happen if there was a train track switch and an emergency at the wastewater treatment plant at the same time and how responders would be able to access the area.

A controlled crossing or a new road through the park are both significant expenses to the city, Doyon said.

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The commission’s role, Doyon said, is to come up with a way to address the cost, possibly by building into city utility bills, and the loss of public access.

It’s a situation with limited options and a big price tag, Doyon said, and “I’m not sure how we’re going to pay.”