Spiritwood rail-4Jamestown (CSi) The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corporation (JSDC) Executive Committee is recommending that the Board of Directors invest an additional $970,000 for automated rail switches in the Spiritwood Energy Park Association.

The request for the JSDC funding stems from the SEPA Board of Directors.

The JSDC Executive Committee has scheduled a special meeting for 9 a.m. Wednesday

The additional investment is necessary to install heated and automated switches between the rail loop around the SEPA property and the BNSF mainline.

The railroad announced in November that without automated switches, it will not serve the SEPA rail loop.

BNSF has set a March 31 deadline for payment for the automated switch.

If the investment is approved, the JSDC ownership share would go up to 75 percent, from 70 percent.

A  funding option is borrowing $500,000 from Stutsman County, with other options including a possible loan from the Bank of North Dakota. A bill authorizing loans for railroad switch projects is currently before the Legislature.

The Dakota Spirit AgEnergy, ethanol plant at the SEPA industrial park, anticipates starting some production in March or April this year.