Your Opinion: Why landowners oppose Rock Island trail

Dear Editior:

So why is the majority of the landowners against the Rock Island trail?

Let me explain a few major issues. Currently landowners have a railroad only easement over the property they own and pay property taxes on. MoParks plans to force an additional trail easement over the existing railroad easement by the national rails-to-trails law. It will by law still remain an active railroad thus nullifying landowners original easement that stated the use of the land would return to them if the railroad ceased.

Landowners must sue the federal government for this new forced trail easement. The attorneys may receive 33 percent and taxes will easily take another 35 percent of the settlements for landowners for the devaluation of their property. This has been reported to be estimated at $100 million to $200 million of which less than one third will go to the landowners.

Land is a farmer's "401k"; so imagine if you were forced to cash in over half of your retirement plan and then only receive less than one-third of it! MoParks will quite paying the property taxes in five years on the land they will own in the towns, but private landowners will have to continue to pay.

Railroads in Missouri are required by statute 389-650.1 to build, maintain, and are liable for double the damages if cattle escape. By definition the Katy and the Rock Island are both active railroad corridors.

Yet MoParks; who is managing the railroad corridor currently as a trail, is only providing materials at this time! Ameren is also still unsure of the amount of tax credit they will receive for donating the value of an "active operational railroad corridor"; remember this is over a lot of land they don't even own. Both the litigation and Ameren's tax credit will be paid by the taxpayer.

It is time that MoParks and the state of Missouri take some responsibilities for their decisions and offer to pay for the landowners attorney fees and taxes incurred from this process! It is just as discerning that MoParks has not been building the fences and assuming the liabilities of the fences on the Katy or the 47 miles of the Rock Island. So while some want to believe it is a free trail; the landowners who don't want the trail are the only ones that seem to be actually paying for it!