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Christian Author simulcast
Best Selling Christian author Beth Moore will be delivering a live spiritual message to an estimated 80,000 women nationwide and local women will have the opportunity to see the popular Bible teacher. Through a partnership between South Point Baptist Church, Lifeway Women’s Events and Church Communication Network, a simulcast will be broadcast on Aug. 1 and 2 at South Point Baptist Church. Tickets are $30 each and includes light refreshments Friday evening and light lunch on Saturday. For more information, contact South Point Baptist Church at (704)825-9516.
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Will neighborhood be railroaded?
By THOMAS LARK
- Thu, Aug 28, 2008
MOUNT HOLLY—Where some see trouble, Mayor Robert Whitt sees opportunities.
Whitt spoke last week about the concerns some Rhyne’s Trace and Rhyne’s Estate neighborhood residents have for the possibility of a Piedmont & Northern railroad being brought back to life as part of a $5 million North Carolina Department of Transportation project.
The railroad, owned by the NCDOT, runs right up against their neighborhoods, located near Mount Holly’s border with North Belmont. A disused rail line, greatly in need of repair, directly abuts the property lines of 10-12 lots on Moses Rhyne Drive in the Rhyne’s Estate neighborhood. The railway lies not 50 feet from the backyard decks of these new homes, which range in price from $280,000 to $425,000, according to contractor Greg Dimmer of Mount Holly.
Whitt said that apparently when the neighborhood was created by Dimmer & Sons Construction, Inc., residents claimed they were told the track was defunct and abandoned, and it would soon be converted into a trail for walking and exercise—an increasingly popular nationwide trend.
But Mount Holly residents have recently spotted railroad maintenance trucks running down the route, skimming along the rails not on tires but on steel wheels, like trains. This, said Whitt, is a sure sign the railroad is thinking of bringing the track back to life—and therein lies a unique chance.
“It looks to me like this is an opportunity for a real economic stimulus to the Mount Holly area,” the mayor said, “by opening up the 36-odd warehouses on this rail line. They all have off-set tracks, known as spurs, going to them.”
Whitt cited another trend gaining national acclaim.
“This could mean tourism in the form of a dinner train,” he said. “This really has the potential to boost our economy.”
Still, Whitt said he appreciated the concerns that residents have.
“I’m sorry that homes were built with that railway in sight,” he said. “But nobody’s pulled up the tracks, so obviously, they haven’t been abandoned. Hey, these same tracks are right within sight of my office.”
True. The track does indeed bisect the town, separating Mount Holly’s downtown neighborhoods from the American & Efird mill facilities and the Food Lion shopping center.
While trains haven’t been on this particular stretch of track in some time, the railroad maintenance trucks have been a regular sight, said Whitt.
But Whitt stressed that, since he’s been mayor (since December, 2005), the city council has never discussed the possibility of making the train track into a greenway:
“That just has not even been talked about. The greenways we’ve talked about are all along the river.”
Residents’ concerns
The mayor added that he does sympathize with the residents of Rhyne’s Estate and Rhyne’s Trace.
“I do empathize with their plight,” he said.
One of them is Sabrina Fulton.
“Many neighbors in Rhyne’s Estate and Rhyne’s Trace are concerned,” said Fulton. “The Dimmers told me that, when they researched the area, there was nothing that stated the tracks would be put into service and that there was discussion to use the tracks as a greenway. There are neighbors that told me they researched the area and found information about the greenway before they built. I believe the Dimmers are correct.”
She said there was no discussion to open the tracks until late last year when Bill Gray, president of Carolina Central Railway, requested opening the tracks.
In his interview, Whitt said he’d met Gray.
“He seems a very knowledgeable and impressive man,” said the mayor.
Fulton said that according to engineer Steve Head of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, following Gray’s request, the NCDOT then requested other bids for re-servicing the tracks.
“No other bids were made,” said Fulton. “I and other neighbors are very concerned with the possibility of reservicing the tracks affecting our quality of life, safety and the continuing development of our neighborhood.”
She added that neighbors are also concerned about the amount of money to be spent on installing the main track that was removed many years ago, among other things.
“And is there really enough ‘possible’ business?” Fulton asked. “Did the General Assembly award $5 million and the Gaston County Commissioners grant $500,000 to Carolina Central Railway based on little information? What about the possible new businesses?”
As a neighborhood, said Fulton, she and her friends are asking the following questions. Whitt responded to three:
•Why would this line bring business that the current CSX or Norfolk Southern would not?
•Would Carolina Central Railway charge higher shipping costs than someone directly on the CSX or Norfolk Southern lines—and still have to pay CSX freight to the interchange and then have CCR charge on top of that?
“No,” said Whitt. “The whole purpose is to beat the competition and thus lower the price. That’s what I was told.”
•What is the expected return on the investment of the $5.5 million? This needs to be quantified for any informed decision is to be made.
•What are the expected additional costs for this (track maintenance, Gaston County tax relief to entice business and more)?
“The track is owned and mainted by the DOT,” said the mayor, “and local municipalities have nothing to do with it.”
•Would $5.5 million be more effectively used in recruiting other businesses to the area, whether they need rail service or not?
“It’s not recruitment money but the DOT’s money,” said Whitt.
“So far, we have spoken with Mr. Head and Mr. Gray,” said Fulton. “Many have e-mailed and/or written local and state representatives. I have some responses. Many have been forwarded to me.
“We are contacting more individuals to determine what we can do,” she said. “There are some that are trying to sell their houses now. But it is not because of the train. For example, one couple is moving, because the husband now works in another state.”
Dimmer’s side: feeling railroaded
“I’m not trying to blame Mount Holly, and they didn’t really say there was or wouldn’t be a train coming through there,” said Dimmer. “It was more the other developer that brought us in (Cedar Croft Homes of Mooresville). They have the other side of the development, Rhyne’s Trace.”
Dimmer said the railway in question has been a dead track since the early 1990s. Dimmer added that he and his company assumed the NCDOT, when it purchased the track in 1991 from CSX, would use it for a commuter trolley service—not for freight transport—with regard to regional growth and the massive amounts of transit to Charlotte.
“We’ve never found any kind of document that states what they bought it for,” Dimmer said. “I’ve talked to my lawyer (Jim Stancil of Mount Holly), and we can’t find this document supposedly floating around. Who knew that the DOT would go into the train business and lease to business clients for freight? Our assumption was that they’d be hauling people in a commuter or trolley system. That’s what we told people buying homes out there.”
About a year ago, the DOT put out a bid for the railway, Dimmer said. It was then that Gray and Central Carolina Railway put in a bid for the project.
“And Mr. Gray—he doesn’t even live in this area,” said Dimmer.
(Gray said Thursday that he’s lived in Charlotte for four years.)
“He’s even talking about the possibility of hauling hazardous waste at 45 miles per hour on 100-car trains on that line,” said Dimmer. “I wouldn’t think there’d be enough business to justify 100 cars. They have to have enough for 100 cars, and that’s ridiculous.”
Echoing Fulton, Dimmer said that the plans he has seen called for the railway being converted into a trailway.
“I thought it would be that,” he said, “a trailway or a trolley—not hauling freight.”
Dimmer expressed resolve.
“We’re trying to fight this thing,” he said. “The DOT is not supposed to be in the freight business. This was very deceptive. I’m not in the business of developing along a working train track. I don’t think this thing will happen. It’s just wishful thinking on Bill Gray’s part.”
Echoing Whitt, he did allow that a dinner train would be a nice possibility.
Dimmer said he’s also contacted Gaston County Manager Jan Withers about the matter.
“My hope would be that—yes, this whole thing will blow over,” Dimmer said. “It’s all been hush-hush. We’re talking about $5 million of our tax money—$4.5 million from the state and $500,000 from the county. Where are my taxes going? Nobody knows the stipulations of Mr. Gray’s deal. We’re frustrated. We feel kind of railroaded and deceived.”
He suggested that, in the event the line does become well and truly active, and trains are once more chugging away down the track, a bordering sound wall and more trees and landscaping features could be put in to reduce the noise. Trains could also pass through at 25 miles per hour or less and not blow their horns.
“That track is deteriorated,” said Dimmer, “and it needs updating, railroad crossings and a whole lot more. I only know that right now, it’s really hindering our sales and upsetting people who live there. We could see these new homes depreciate by up to $60,000 or $70,000 each—easily.
“I’m not trying to blame the city or the state,” he continued. “But we’re local. We’ve been doing business here for more than 30 years, and we need to be appreciated more.
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