LE CLAIRE, Iowa — The City of LeClaire has accepted its settlement from Canadian Pacific for agreeing to the railway merger, but for a lower amount than its neighbors.
On Tuesday, Sept. 6, the city council voted unanimously to accept a $750,000 settlement agreeing to the railroad merger between Canadian Pacific Railway and the Kansas City Southern Railway Company.
LeClaire's deal pales in comparison to the agreements the company made with other Iowa cities, such as Davenport's $10 million and Bettendorf and Muscatine's $3 million. Camanche, which was offered a similarly lower amount of $200,000, rejected its offer.
Although every city council voted to accept the money, members of the public weren't as united, with one speaking out at the meeting alongside pictures from a 2020 Canadian Pacific train derailment.
"We know the disruption it could cause. We had a train derailment a couple years ago," Mayor Dennis Gerard said as resident Debbie Smith displayed pictures of overturned train cars on a post board.
That derailment saw many train cars overturning, forcing U.S. Route 67 to close down for the day.
RELATED: Radio chatter between Canadian Pacific train and dispatch suggests broken rail caused derailment
Canadian Pacific Spokesperson Andy Cummings then took questions at the meeting; in particular, one question about what the new train traffic would be carrying.
"A single railcar carries about 27,000 gallons (of crude oil)," he said.
Reportedly, this information was unknown to the mayor, who asked the question, prior to the meeting.
Cummings also added that other freight would be moved along the railway as well, including auto parts.
Smith then asked how much money it would cost the city to add arms to the railway crossings; an addition that would be required as part of the merger. Mayor Gerard responded by saying that the city did not know that yet.
"We didn't have that until we had the consultant's report. Now we do. So, we just got it, like, Thursday or Friday so we hadn't had a chance to go through it in detail," he said.
"So the Council's going to make a decision tonight, are you saying, and they have not read this report yet?" Smith asked in return.
"That is true, yes," Mayor Gerard answered.
Other LeClaire residents expressed frustration with a lack of communication from the city after it has been conversing with the railway companies for over a year.
Shortly after, the city council unanimously approved the deal.
"We are pleased LeClaire accepted the agreement. This is part of CP's commitment to do right by the communities where we live, work and operate," said Cummings.
The next city on the docket to vote on a Canadian Pacific deal is Princeton, Iowa, which is holding a public hearing on Thursday, Sept. 15.