By Travis Mounts
TSnews
CHENEY – A 120-day purchase agreement has been agreed to between the City of Cheney and the owners of two blocks of Santa Fe in the downtown area.
The city has agreed to spend $100,000 to purchase two blocks of Santa Fe from Alan and Jeff Young. The area in question runs east of Main Street to Garfield.
The city already owns the stretch of Santa Fe that runs west from Main Street to Lake Road on the city’s west edge. City administrator Danielle Young said that the one-block stretch from Garfield to Washington is considered a service road and not a street, and is currently owned by Watco Companies, LLC, based in Pittsburg, Kan.
Similar roads in other towns are still owned by rail companies, or have since been sold. For years, Santa Fe in Cheney technically was considered private property owned by the railroad but was open to public traffic. Cities were not able to maintain these roads, and in many cases maintenance of the roads became minimal. Cheney has maintained Santa Fe west of Main Street, and will be able to do the same for the two blocks east of Main Street once the transaction is complete.
