Status, anyone??

Both still standing, last I saw.

Wow- thanks for the info.

It's probably just a rumor...but I heard BNSF is turning it into an indoor swimming pool.

Bahahaha! That just made my day.

I do what I can, Ashley, I do what I can...

Last time I was in the depot was about a year ago, with a hazmat suit on. There was some water in the basement so maybe the rumors are true!

I don't suppose the city/BNSF would want to turn it over to a non-profit group.
I think it would be a fun place to turn into a Theatre for the Barn Players. I even have some ideas on making it so the trains are less noticable as they go by.

Oil booms come & go. Commodity prices rise and fall. Travelers can be fickle in choosing vacation destinations. Healthy local economies last indefinitely and are built by those using their imaginations.

http://mind42.com/pub/min...74&rel=url

The link above opens a decision tree outlining multiple visions for the BNSF depot and the resources available to deliver them. It can be modified, in case you'd like to offer additional suggestions. Better yet, you can build your own.

The City Council and Custer County Commission will soon hear a progress report from MCDARP and will be called upon to make decisions re: the depot and its future. This train's about to leave the station. We should all be on-board.

That is cool. I love dragging stuff around on screen. Yes, it is complicated but what in life isn't?

Yeah I figure such a stink watoes made to down thatto to not have it torn down that something should probably be done with it. Since that was kinda the plan.

To not have it torn down. Stupid phone.

I figure such a stink watoes made to down thatto

WTH?

I was trying to say that I figure such a stink was made to not have it torn down. But my phone is stupid.

@Amorette - I figured mindmapping would be right down your alley. Have fun.

@Ashley - I've been following your posts. You've got all the fire in the belly required to make Miles City a better place to live. You're not thin-skinned and you don't back down. You probably don't need my assistance but, if you want a bounce, contact me offline.

I suspected a phone glitch. Either that or a seizure. I don't use a phone keyboard. It is too tiny for my old eyes.

Exalted Buckaroo- thanks I may take you up on that!

Amorette, you make me smile.

p.s. I actually am epileptic/.

You probably drive too.

Spring is in the air, and Miles City is poised at the beginning of a new era in economic development. At the same time, Phase I, or the "Due Diligence phase", of the Miles City Depot Acquisition and Restoration Project nears conclusion, and as Exalted Buckaroo says, the city council, county commissioners and folks of the community will be presented with some decisions on the direction the project takes from here.

In 2009, the mayor negotiated a Stay of Demolition with BNSF to delay the destruction of the building and the MCDARP task force to partner with the City and BNSF to explore alternatives to demolition of the depot under City Resolution 3285. The County Commissioners joined the effort with County Resolution 2010-18. Not long after, the Board of the Miles City Area Economic Development Council also pledged their support, along with many other business and service groups and individuals in the community. Senators Baucus, Tester, and Representative Rehberg along with other local and state representatives and agencies have also supported our efforts with encouragement and guidance.

Negotiations with BNSF, as you might expect, have been complex, time consuming and often, extremely delicate; and while it might appear otherwise to some in the community, ongoing. When the MCDARP team becomes impatient or discouraged, we remind ourselves of the twenty some years, and many setbacks, it took to bring the 1st Avenue project in Billings to fruition and...We just get back to work.

Phase I has been largely concerned with determining the structural integrity and environmental safety of the building and grounds, while forming strategies to protect the municipality from financial liability and risk. Our goal has been to demonstrate the viability of the Miles City Depot and surrounding area as a platform for local economic development through restoration and historic preservation. In support of that goal, the MCDARP team has also worked to explore the financial aspects of making restoration of the depot a reality, in the form of cost assessments, funding opportunities and tax incentives. We have written successful grants, and have been extremely thankful for local donations in funding environmental and engineering studies and even honored with an award by the State Historic Preservation Office.

We want to thank all of the local contractors who have donated their in-kind services to MCDARP, working to inform the team and public of safety issues, evaluating the building and providing estimates for the cost of stabilizing the building. Their cheerful participation has been invaluable. We would also like to thank Operation Life Saver, Holy Rosary Hospital, East Main Animal Clinic and the many other organizations and individuals that have given their time, supplies and professional advice in support of MCDARP. We have been blessed by, and are thankful for the local concern and helping hands that came to the rescue of the feral cats living on the premises.

Most of all we want to thank all of the great people in the community that have given us encouraging words, asked thoughtful questions and provided helpful suggestions. We have been honored to hear from many wonderful people that have shared their stories and memories of the depot, the many touching stories that make that have given the depot a home in the heart of this community, and will be preserved as part of this project.

Special thanks go out to the students in Dee Sutter's advanced art class that competed in the Spring of 2010 to design a logo for MCDARP, displayed at the top of this post. The winner, Mimi Lunde, working from the business case we presented to the class, captured the elegance of the building, beautifully conveying the purpose of the project goals.

Over the next few weeks MCDARP will be reporting to the governing bodies of the project. As we do so, our report to the City Council, the County Commissioners and the Board of MCAEDC will also shared on the Miles City Depot Acquisition and Restoration facebook page. If you haven't yet - join us there!

We would like to invite you to join the ongoing discussion as the City, County and MCAEDC work to evaluate the options and make decisions necessary to begin the next Phase of MCDARP. We look forward to continuing this joint effort.

[This message has been edited by Connie Muggli (2/15/2012)]

[This message has been edited by Connie Muggli (2/15/2012)]

[This message has been edited by Connie Muggli (2/15/2012)]

Thanks for the information, Connie! That's excellent to hear! And for using your real name this time!

What a lot of people don't realize is just because they haven't seen something obvious going on, that whatever project, be it a pool or a depot restoration or a rec center or whatever, nothing is happening. Odds are, a dedicated group of people is slowly slogging through all the dull preliminary work it takes to make something big and cool happen.

Grants take MONTHS to write and MONTHS to hear back on. Studies take MONTHS to perform and MONTHS to be analyzed. Big corporations do not do anything on a human time scale. RID #1 has been in the works for a decade and will FINALLY come to fruition this spring, for an example.

Rather than assume something is abandoned or the people doing the project are 'lazy,' be patient or try, politely, to contact someone who might be involved. Patience, grasshopper.

Careful AshleyDawn - until you know of which you speak - don't. It is always better to have the facts and be respected, than to state an assumption and be embarrassed.

Anyway and meanwhile, myself or any MCDARP team member would be happy to answer your questions and hear your suggestions for potential uses for the depot.

Connie- I know exactly that of which I speak. We both do. You're just being a coward about your previous comments. Its apalling to see someone in your position do this.

Then again, if I were you, I would probably be equally embarrassed of my previous comments and not want to own up to them, either.

Ashley, enough. Please. This is not contributing anything helpful to the conversation.

I think shedding light on that was a contribution to others- to say the least. But I will stop. I said what I needed to.