NORWICH – Chenango County doesn’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to getting the New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad route from Chenango Forks to Sherburne back up and running.
“We don’t have any business prospects now nor existing businesses that need it, except up Sherburne way, where the railroad is still operating,” Maureen Carpenter, president of Commerce Chenango, told members of the Chenango County Planning Board Tuesday.
As a member of the Planning Board, and its newly-elected secretary/treasurer, Carpenter offered her report along with other board members who represent the county in its planning endeavors. She said Commerce Chenango, previously known as the Chenango County Chamber of Commerce, is concerned about the lack of rail service locally because it has been targeting biodeisel and ethanol companies to locate here.
“We have a large agricultural presence. There are hundreds of acres of farm land that could be used to plant willow, corn, soybeans and other alternative energy products,” she said.
Rail service is a key selling feature for the city of Norwich’s Borden Avenue industrial park, Norwich Mayor Joseph Mauriano said recently. Water and sewer utilities are ready to be hooked up at the former Great American warehouse site, and businesses have inquired about the buildings there. “That’s a big area that can be developed. One of the avenues for doing that is railroad access,” the Mayor said.
Despite a request from the railway’s owner, Carpenter said the state’s legislature had no plans to provide the nearly $400,000 needed to repair the line that was damaged in the June 2006 flood.
Town of Norwich Planning Board Chairman Ted Guinn noted that $400,000 “isn’t a lot of money” for the value of the transportation service in Chenango County. “It will be difficult to attract business,” he said. Planning Board Chairman Kenneth Ryan of Oxford said, “It’ll be tough to give it up, but if you can’t support it ...”
Carpenter said she wasn’t sure whether the railroad’s right-of-ways along the defunct route would revert back to the respective land owners or not. She said a representative from the Chenango Greenway Conservancy has approached Commerce Chenango about possibly converting the rails into pedestrian trails.
In his report, City of Norwich Planning and Development specialist Todd Dreyer said two retailers have expressed an interest in opening for business downtown: a bicycle shop on Mechanic Street and a bistro on Broad Street. Three retailers could be closing soon, however: “J&J Trains and Hobbies” on American Avenue, “Silvernail’s” florist shop on Broad Street and the “New To You” consignment shop on Broad Street.
Town of Norwich Supervisor David C. Law said few officials attended a preliminary meeting for gathering data for the upcoming Census 2010. “It was the most discouraging turn out at a meeting that I’ve ever attended,” he said. “It seems like no one cared.”
The meeting, requested by Southern Tier East and Empire State Development, was not well publicized, board members said. The board directed the county planning department to more broadly disseminate the census’ importance to town supervisors.
“Each one of us is worth $2,200 per year in federal and state reimbursements,” Guinn said. “Every head counts.”
The Planning Board also discussed the need to better enforce existing junk yard and junk storage regulations. North Norwich Planning Board member Sally C. Chirlin said such ordinances “will do as good a job as the supervisor and town board want them to do.”