TRAVERSE CITY — A report authored by the Spirit of Traverse City's chief engineer could derail attempts to relocate the city's miniature train to the Grand Traverse County Civic Center.
The county should not take possession of the train for any of its parks, county staffers recommended, based on reports from train engineer Donald Frost and his son, Jeff Frost.
The county's Parks and Recreation Commission will review the recommendation when members meet today at 6 p.m. at the Governmental Center. Parks commissioners will make a recommendation on the train to the county board.
Donald Frost reported that the county would need to eliminate one baseball field at the Civic Center and ban other games when the train runs. His report also listed several topographical problems with that site.
Jason Jones, the county's Parks and Recreation director, and Danny Brown, county facilities director, cited no county benefits to taking on the train. They estimated it would take 10 county workers a total of 117 days to remove train tracks from the city site and install them at the Civic Center at a cost of more than $350,000.
The cost of labor would balloon to $900,000 if the county lengthens the track to one mile, according to their report.
One county commission who wants the train questioned those numbers.
"I would say they are full of beans," said county commissioner and train advocate Larry Fleis. "They must be thinking they are going to lay the transcontinental railroad."
Beyond cost, the report notes the train is not compatible with Civic Center recreational activities or future changes planned for the park.
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