BOCC establishes checklist for neighborhoods to apply for railroad quiet zones

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

The Bonner County board of commissioners voted Oct. 29 to adopt a “Checklist of Necessary Actions” for establishing railroad quiet zones at crossings where trains currently sound their horns. The vote is the first in a multi-step process to assess the feasibility of community-funded quiet zones.

In 2020, after years of work, the county instituted its first and only quiet zone at the Kootenai Bay Road crossing in Ponder Point at the request of residents. The community raised the $15,000 needed to fund the safety improvements, which, under the Federal Railroad Association’s laws, have to be instituted to convert a crossing into a quiet zone without undue risk to drivers.

“This first quiet zone was a trial run, and while it was successfully implemented, it has shown the true cost and effort to establish and maintain quiet zones to be considerable,” said Bonner County Road and Bridge Staff Engineer Matt Mulder. “In the five years since, Road and Bridge estimates that the true cost of ongoing maintenance, upgrades, staff and crew time amounts to around $50,000 — including that original $15,000 that the community raised.”

These unanticipated costs include repairs to the safety guards, annual inspections, paperwork and “periodic recertifications” with the FRA. Due to the difficulties stemming from the Kootenai Bay Road quiet zone, the county has been “staunchly opposed” to creating more; however, public interest continues to grow in high-traffic areas like Bottle Bay.

In an effort to shift “the majority of the workload and cost off of the Road and Bridge Department and put it onto the shoulders of the community members that want and benefit from the quiet zones,” Mulder worked with Bottle Bay residents — led by musician and artist Matt Lome — to create the checklist. Under the new framework, applicants will be required to form and volunteer to join an LLC, which will raise all funds necessary to create and maintain the quiet zone. These funds will be kept in an escrow account accessible by the county and must stay above a yet-to-be-determined balance. Based on recommendations from BOCC Commissioner Asia Williams and Chair Brian Domke, the minimum balance will cover anticipated maintenance, engineer wages and the cost of converting a quiet crossing back to its original state should the LLC fail to pay the upkeep. Bonner County will sign a professional service agreement with a consultant engineer, paid by the LLCs, who will create and maintain the crossing indefinitely.

Though the commissioners approved the checklist, they did not resolve the question of whether the residents of Ponder Point will be required to pay for future maintenance of the existing quiet zone. The topic will return to the BOCC at a yet-to-be-determined date. In the meantime, interested parties will continue to work with Mulder to determine whether the cost of retaining a consultant engineer and establishing and maintaining quiet zones with private funds is practical or financially feasible.