Lewis County legislators hash out concerns with proposed rail purchase

LOWVILLE — Lewis County legislators spent a couple of hours Monday morning discussing the proposed purchase of a pair of rail lines, with potential future costs and lack of landowner involvement continuing to be the biggest concerns.

“I can see getting into taxpayer dollars,” said Legislator Jerry H. King, R-West Leyden. “I’m worried about the costs and who is going to pay for it.”

“This proposal is legally right, but is it morally right?” added Legislator Charles R. Fanning, R-Copenhagen.

Legislators last week tabled until March 6 three resolutions authorizing the purchase of the 10-mile Lowville and Beaver River Railroad line between Croghan and Lowville from the Mohawk, Adirondack and Northern Railroad Corp. for $425,000 and the 17-mile Lowville Industrial Track from Lowville to West Carthage for $1. Under current plans, the corporation, a subsidiary of Genesee Valley Transportation, Batavia, would remove tracks from the donated spur so it could be developed as a recreational trail, but the Lowville-to-Croghan spur would remain intact to allow the Railway Historical Society of Northern New York possibly to operate a scenic railroad from its depot in Croghan.

Legislator Philip C. Hathway, R-Harrisville, at the end of the session indicated he may still submit other written questions on the project. In response to his question on the condition of the railroad’s buildings within the village, county officials plan to get the rail company’s permission for a walk-through before legislators’ March meeting.

Mr. Stanford said Monday afternoon that he fielded several calls after the meeting and believes another meeting would be warranted, but no further work sessions have been scheduled.

Mr. Fanning asked county Trail Coordinator Robert C. Diehl whether he had contacted any of the landowners along the lines. Mr. Diehl said he had not “because we don’t have any corridor” yet.

Legislator Patrick F. Wallace, R-Lowville, said the proposal on the table is simply to take controlling interest of the lines using state money, with any development for trails or other uses to be decided and done later as funding is available.

“The primary purpose right now is to preserve the corridors,” said Mr. Wallace, a retired engineer with the state Department of Transportation.

Legislator Paul M. Stanford, D-Watson, suggested that the rail lines are in disrepair and that work or maintenance done by county employees would constitute a local cost. A study should be done to determine impacts on adjacent landowners and law enforcement, among other things, he said.

“You don’t know that impact until you decide what you’re going to do there,” Mr. Wallace said.

Legislator Richard C. Lucas, R-Barnes Corners, chairman of the legislature’s Economic Development Committee, said development and maintenance of the rail corridors, as with other all-terrain vehicle trails, would be covered with money from grants and ATV permit fees while using volunteer labor. The Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services has expressed an interest in having students assist with the project, he said.

County officials would use a $450,000 state Environmental Protection Fund grant, awarded in 2010, to buy the rail lines and cover legal fees and other ancillary costs.

Acquisition of the lines would be contingent on county costs not exceeding $450,000 and federal Surface Transportation Board approval of “rail banking” the lines, making it easier to return them to use if the need for an operating railroad ever arose again.

The railroad company also would be required to fund an engineering study of the trestles and bridges to ensure their stability before the transaction would take place, said Richard J. Graham, county attorney.

While the railroad would have to initiate an abandonment process on the lines in question, that process would indefinitely be “put into suspended animation” by the rail banking, Mr. Graham said. The only recourse for adjacent landowners claiming property rights on the corridors would then be to challenge the federal government, not the county, he said.

Any organization or municipality would be eligible to buy interest on the corridors from the railroad once it commences abandonment, but the county has already secured funding and had preliminary negotiations with GVT, Mr. Graham said.

“We’re the first one who’s been asked for a date to the prom,” he said.

The project, if undertaken, should not affect the county’s liability insurance costs, given its strong record of risk management, said Lee Pollock, a Rose & Kiernan Insurance Agency representative.