Pine County transfers Soo Line corridor to regional rail authority; board approves private easement

The Pine County Board of Commissioners voted on Jan. 7 to transfer the county-owned Soo Line rail corridor to the Pine County Regional Railroad Authority and approved one permanent easement for a private property owner to cross the corridor.

County Administrator Dave Menke told the board the county established a regional rail authority in 1990 and recommended a quitclaim conveyance of the Soo Line corridor to the rail authority so one entity would hold ownership and the rail-use ordinance would uniformly apply. "The Pine County established a Regional Railroad Authority in 1990," Menke said during the meeting.

The board voted on the transfer by roll call; all five commissioners present voted in favor. County staff said County Attorney Reese Fredericksen had reviewed the proposed deed and advised the board that the transfer made sense because the rail authority adopts and enforces the corridor use ordinance while ownership remained split.

Land Department staff and the board discussed a related set of requests for crossing permits and an individual request for a permanent easement. The land commissioner presented a list of 14 existing crossing locations for which long-term special permits had been proposed; staff said the permits in the ordinance could be short-term (one year or less) or long-term (multi-year) and that existing informal crossing practices predated county ownership.

After extended discussion about whether to issue long-term permits, require easements, or keep short-term permits in the near term, commissioners agreed not to adopt long, multi-decade permits immediately. Instead, they left authority for short-term permits with the land commissioner under the existing ordinance while staff researches a long-term approach that could favor formal easements in situations where permanent vehicle access is required.

Separately, the board considered a request from property owners (the Sandstrf6m family) to record a permanent easement across the Soo Line to ensure legal access to their parcel. The land department provided an appraisal value for the proposed easement at $500 and said the property owners had completed a survey to define the easement.

Commissioner Nelson moved to grant the Sandstrf6m easement; Commissioner Ludwig seconded. The board approved the easement by unanimous roll-call vote.

Board members and staff noted the corridor currently receives frequent recreational use, particularly all-terrain vehicle traffic, and that maintenance partnerships with local trail groups are in place. Staff and commissioners said formalizing access through recorded easements would remove future ambiguity for buyers and mortgage lenders.

The board recessed the county meeting, convened the rail authority (the governing membership overlaps the county board), confirmed the rail authority officers consistent with the county structure, considered the crossing-permit list under the rail ordinance, and then reconvened the regular county meeting.

The county did not adopt a blanket multi-decade permit program for all crossings at this meeting; the land commissioner will continue to issue short-term permits while county staff study a long-term easement policy.

Votes at a glance - Transfer of the Soo Line rail corridor to the Pine County Regional Railroad Authority: passed by roll-call vote (5-0). - Sandstrf6m permanent easement across the Soo Line corridor: passed by roll-call vote (5-0).

What happens next County staff will return with recommendations on whether to convert more crossing arrangements to recorded easements and with proposed permit language addressing transfer on sale, minimum construction standards for vehicle crossings, and whether fees or construction conditions should apply.