Complaints about railroad in Boardman ring familiar

If you’re wondering why Board- man Township officials keep complaining about the eyesore that is the former Youngstown & Southern rail line and don’t file a lawsuit against the owner or the operator of the railroad that uses the tracks, it’s because they have no legal standing. Eight years ago, zoning officials, pointing to the deteriorated condition of the ties and the debris along the route, cited the then Y&S Railroad for violating zoning regulations. But the court proceedings were ultimately dropped when it was revealed that Boardman Township lacked the authority to regulate the railroad. It is under federal jurisdiction.

But township officials weren’t ready to throw in the towel. They sent a letter to Tracy Drake, executive director of the Columbiana County Port Authority, which owns the rail line, asking that the tracks be cleaned up to meet zoning codes. Drake responded with a two-line letter that said any named zoning violations are “pre-empted by federal law.”

Township Trustee Thomas Costello had this reaction: “All I am asking is that if you are going to operate in the township, be a good neighbor. Part of that means cleaning up your property.”

Fast forward to last Saturday, when Costello, who had a break in service as a trustee but has returned, offered this observation in a front-page story in The Vindicator about the blighted condition of the tracks:

“It’s an eyesore. All those trains are to be tarped. We’re lucky if half of them are tarped.”

And Drake’s reaction to the latest verbal onslaught by township officials? It’s the railroad company’s responsibility to be a good neighbor.

The president of Indiana Boxcar Corp., which has crews and engines on the rail line, denies that the debris is flying off the cars. The tops are covered with netting, he says. President Powell Felix also contends that his company hauls construction and demolition material to a landfill in Negley and doesn’t create the type of trash township residents and officials have complained about.

“I’m not saying something could never come off,” Felix said. “ ... if it did, we’d be glad to come take care of it, but the cars have not had any significant history on leaving a debris field.”

He had concluded his comments at that point township officials and residents may have been appeased. But, the Indiana Boxcar executive tossed in a dig that is bound to harden the opposition to his train traveling through the township.

In response to complaints about the cars on the sidings being eyesores, Felix said, “The railroad’s been there long before any of those houses were there. If you build or buy a house by the line, expect to see railroad cars.”

Given the controversial history of the Y&S and the fact that most township residents were opposed to its reactivation, that comment will go over like a lead balloon.

volunteer effort

For years, township crews and groups of residents have taken it upon themselves to maintain the section of the line from the Youngstown border south to Mathews Road.

However, Costello and his colleagues in government want the Columbiana County Port Authority and the Indiana Boxcar Corp. to take responsibility for the unsightly condition of the property.

Since the line falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government, they should seek the assistance of the area’s two congressmen, Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican Bill Johnson, in setting up a meeting with the federal Surface Transportation Board.

It’s clear that the complaints from the township will not result in a regular clean-up program paid for by the owner of the line or operator of the railroad.