Objections: Reps. file to close half of trail

Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter | Sep 23, 20150

A proposal backed by ninth district state representatives Joe Schmick and Mary Dye to close a section of the John Wayne Trail has brought a string of opposition in Tekoa.

Legislation to be introduced for the 2016 legislative session would vacate 135 miles of the former railroad right-of-way which has been turned into a bike, horse and foot trail and turn it over to adjoining landowners with a permanent easement to the state.

The section in question stretches from the Columbia River at Beverly to Malden with a 50-foot buffer on each side.

“The state hasn’t put any money to it,” said Rep. Schmick of the section of trail. “In my mind, it’s not going to be improved. Landowners are tired of trash, garbage, it’s a fire hazard and lack of use. There are very few people using that across the basin into our county.”

The non-motorized John Wayne Trail was once part of the railroad connection linking the industrial midwest to Seattle. Closed in 1980, the old Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific right-of-way was sold to the state, with the first segment of trail opening in 1984.

The trail ends at the state line northeast of Tekoa.

Schmick said that the segment proposed for closing has not been enhanced in the 34 years since the trail was instituted while other parts have.

“From Ellensburg on, that part has been improved, a pretty part of the trail so people want to use it more,” he said.

Last Tuesday, Sept. 15, Tekoa’s city council passed a resolution to cite their objection to the proposed closure:

“We fail to see any reason worthy to take the highly unusual and extreme step of closing a Trail/State Park without a study of use, public hearings or any open discussion for trail enthusiast to comment at.”

The matter of closing the trail piece arrives at a time when townspeople in Tekoa have organized to promote the trail and seek funding to open the closed train trestle that looms over the town.

The Tekoa effort was kickstarted last December when a group of men hung Christmas lights along the top of the trestle.

The town meeting Monday night at Tekoa city hall to discuss the situation brought an estimated 30 people.

Richard Lathim, Dye’s opponent for the November election, was among those in attendance.

“I was a bit surprised at the process of this, or lack of process,” he said of the proposed legislation, noting that the public should have been given some notice for input.

“It seemed like a lack of really representing the people... the actions they took were for a small group of people. It doesn’t bode well for open government.”

Landscapes

The John Wayne Trail’s topography and use varies through miles of forests and mountains to the dry flatlands of the section which may close.

“I’ve gotten just as much e-mail from property owners saying ‘how long/why aren’t you closing this’ as we have from people wanting to keep it open,” Schmick said.

“Why would you want to throw out 130 miles of trail because it’s not as nice as the other part of the trail?” said Ted Blaszak, Tekoa city council member and President of the Tekoa Trail Association. “You’re throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”

Dye meeting

This summer, two Tekoa residents rode bikes from the trail’s start near North Bend to Tekoa, arriving on Slippery Gulch Saturday. The ride was part of the trestle effort and to scout an idea for a bicycle challenge ride to Tekoa.

“Could he close the unpopular section of I-5?” Blaszak said of Schmick. “If they close it, we wouldn’t be the end of the John Wayne Trail, we would be the end of certain segments that was formerly named the John Wayne Trail.”

Rep. Dye is scheduled to be in Tekoa Sept. 30 at 10 a.m. at city hall to meet with town representatives.

While the section of trail from Malden to Tekoa would remain open, the segment going into Malden would be closed under the proposed legislation.

Former long-time Malden mayor Ted Maxwell suggested that the trail’s economic benefit to his town is limited.

“It’s a benefit to the churches who put on lunches for the John Wayne Trail riders every June,” he said.“But as far as anything essential, it’s not.”

He pointed to meetings held four years ago in Malden about a State Parks proposal to put up a kiosk and parking area at the trailhead.

“We’ve held meetings on this subject. The farmers would like it closed up. There’s four-wheelers, motorcycles. People trespass and do things they shouldn’t do. Fences get tore up, there’s fire danger. (Landowners) have a lot to say about that sort of thing.”

Ted Maxwell became a city council representative last week after his wife, Fran, was appointed the new mayor.

New mayor Fran Maxwell is seeking more information.

“I kind of agree with most everything Ted said, but I intend to contact representatives Schmick and Dye. I’ve met Rep. Schmick. He’s a pretty reasonable, fiscally-minded person, and I don’t think he’d do this out of the blue. I want to learn as much about this as possible, and then bring it to my council.”

Comparison

Another former railroad bed-turned trail is the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail, connecting Pullman and Moscow, for which its maintenance and upkeep is paid for by five entities which each contribute $7,500 per year and make up a Palouse Trail Committee, which oversees it.

Rep. Schmick cited this as an example of trail maintained by not only the state.

“I will listen to the people in Tekoa, and I will challenge them,” he said. “Have they talked to the landowners, have they offered to keep it clean? We’ll have to find those answers.”

The shutdown proposal came as a surprise to the Washington State Parks Department which oversees the John Wayne Trail.

“Our interest is working with the legislature to find out what the concerns are that led to the proviso,” said Virginia Painter, Communications Director for Washington State Parks. “We’re seeing if we can do some problem-solving together.”

Malden’s Ted Maxwell suggests another purpose entirely for the trail.

“The highest and best use would be to put it back in trackage,” he said. “If you sat in the Old Spaghetti Factory in Spokane and look out the window, you see a coal train, oil train, grain train, the trackage is very crowded. I think we ought to lease trail back to the railroad and bring some goods to market.”

At 253 miles long, the John Wayne Trail is the longest rail-to-trail conversion in the United States.

“Schmick is closing something for generations,” said Blaszak. “Why would he want that to be his legacy?”