|
|
EDITORIAL:
Freeholders Not Honest About Train Line Reactivation
By Joe Renna, Independent candidate for Freeholder
[www.joerenna.com]
An elected official has access to information that the general public does not. They are on the front lines of negotiations. They have the power to make decisions on behalf of the people and have an obligation to inform the people of what is going on. And so lies the problem with Union County.
The county government does not operate with the public's interest in mind. If they did then the fiasco surrounding the negotiations to reactivate the freight line would not exist.The county government is a secret society in existence for their own benefit. This is evident when I went looking for information on this train deal. Over the last ten years the County has only offered a few press quotes on the subject that are generic and meaningless. I did find some very interesting articles generated by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. The organization is an alliance of public interest, transit advocacy, planning and environmental organizations working to reverse deepening automobile dependence and sprawl development in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut metropolitan region. They have an excellent web site and a well prepared newsletter called Mobilizing the Region (MTR).
The MTR has documented the development of this project starting from the Staten Island Railroad to the Howland Hook Container Terminal and now the Rahway Valley Line. This issue is nothing new but only came to light when the work crews started to clear and repair the train track and right of way. My research shows that the County not only has been negotiating all along but has been "the projects sponsor" and "lead agency".
The July 1 rally in Roselle Park was attended by mayors and counsel persons from towns in which the rail line is located. Not one of these elected officials were informed of the plan or included in the negotiations. These towns will bear the brunt of the effects of the train line and they have no say in the decisions being made by the county officials. It smacks of taxation without representation. These municipal officials were also elected. They have a responsibility to their constituents and they were denied their due process. As elected officials they too should have access to information that is not readily available to the public. It is bad enough to keep the public in the dark about government operations, which is par for the course in Union County, but to keep the information from the local officials is unconscionable.
This issue has less to do about the train and more to do about the Union County Freeholders' abuse of the public trust. For they did not only hold back information but actually released misinformation. The Freeholders and County Manager contradicted themselves to a point that they are no longer credible. Their statements and actions are so converse that it is impossible to know if there is truth in anything they say in the future.
Now the municipalities are battling to stop the reactivation of the train line. They have been met with a smug response from the County. Much of the waste in the County can be attributed to incompetence but the details of this issue are so calculated that they reek of corruption.
It is difficult to gather all the facts when one of the major players have not been forthright. Based on the facts I did find, the reactivation of the Rahway Valley Railroad will not be beneficial to the County of Union as presented by the its Freeholders.
Using statements by the other involved parties, such as, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYEDC), the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and CSX and Norfolk Southern (NS), the companies designated to provide the rail service from Northern New Jersey to New York City, I found their plans for the rail line to be much different then those of the Freeholders.
I gathered most of my information from the NYCEDC press releases and the MTR Bulletin. Granted these are very big proponents of the plan and they are not shy in representing their advocacy of increasing rail service throughout the region.
But even an article in the MTR issue #324 of July 2, 2001 states, "The Port Authority project, which involves both a north- and south-bound connector, is seen as a preferable alternative to the less expensive repair of existing SIRR tracks to Cranford Junction for two reasons. The Chemical Coastline route would direct trains through a primarily industrial area of Union County, reducing unpopular residential grade crossings, and would allow more efficient passage of double-stacked containers.
It seems there is an alternative that has been talked about. And if you go back to the August 21, 1998, Issue #186 of MTR the County expressed a totally different stance on the subject. One that is more in line with the municipalities stand today.
It read:"The Manager of Union County has proposed that the County withdraw as the lead agency on the New Jersey side of the project, citing concerns that "quality of life will be adversely affected" by service on the line. The Manager, in a letter to NJ Transportation Commissioner John Haley, says: "We do not see any balancing benefits which could offset the tremendous negative impacts of the usage being planned by the new rail operators (CSX/NS)."
The article continued to say that the County also wavered on the project the previous year when new freeholders were elected, apparently thinking the bad outweighs the good.
What has changed between 1998 and 1994 when, according to NYCEDC, "Union County (became)
actively engaged in rehabilitating the tracks. "The idea that all this was going on and has been going on without any input from the affected communities is outrageous. What deal has the County of Union made that made this plan a benefit for the county?
A NYCEDC press release from Friday, May 1, 1998 stated that. "Howland Hook Container Terminal Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Carmine F. Ragucci said, "Reactivating Howland Hook's direct rail connection to continental North America is a critical component in Howland Hook's viability as a world class container port. This allows our service to extend to major destinations in the Mid West and the West Coast of the United States, as well as Canada. The services and routes that will be offered by CSX and NS should allow for the efficient flow of imports and exports in both the East/West and North/South directions, allowing Howland Hook to continue to flourish and grow, thereby creating hundreds of additional jobs."
This is all well and good but this is not consistent with the County of Union's desire for shortline service. The reactivation of the Rahway Valley tracks must be viewed in the context of the Howland Hook Terminal project. This is a project of grand proportions, of substantial benefit at the local, state and regional levels, of the double-stacked containers going to Canada.
The reason this freight line ceased operating in 1992 was because the number of local businesses and industry along the route had dwindled. This was detailed in an opinion piece by Michael J. Kelly in the June 25, 2003 issue of the Independent Press. Kelly described how major companies in Summit that can utilize the train service no longer exist and that their properties changed from industry to residential. For instance, Stephen-Miller Lumber Yard is closed and will be converted to condos, Celanese-Tecona's announced that they are moving out of New Jersey, The Carter Bell Manufacturing Company is also converting to condos. I agree with the point that Kelly makes that, as a shortline service, this project makes no economic sense.
Is there more to this story? Definitely. Will we get the information form out own elected County Freeholders? Probably not. They have already told the public that "There is no intention of restoring any rail service along these lines." While the restoration of the tracks were under way!
The fear is that the damage has been done. The quality of life that the Freeholders were talking about protecting in 1998 will be jeopardized. These are the same freeholders running for reelection this year. If anyone wants to affect a change then it is your duty to vote and, more importantly, to get others to vote. The machine that is in power has unlimited resources that almost guarantees them re-election but the voters who want change can succeed with a grass roots campaign of spreading the word.
Joe Renna is an Independent running for Union County Freeholder in November. Find out more about him at his website www.JoeRenna.com.
|
|
|
