May 25, 2009

Mr. Ron Emrich

Executive Director

Preservation New Jersey, Inc.

20 South Warren Street

Trenton, NJ 08608

Dear Mr. Emrich:

Thank you for sharing the press release from your organization, Preservation New Jersey, Inc. I am pleased to see that Preservation New Jersey, Inc. has recently become aware of this issue.  I have been patiently working on the matter of the Camden Amboy railroad in Robbinsville since it was first brought to my attention in April, 2006, I note for your information, a full three years ago.

After reviewing your press release, it appears that you are not fully versed on the facts of the matter.  Your closing sentence in the press release, “Furthermore, Mercer County has previously expressed interest in preserving portions of the right-of-way, and abandonment would therefore present an opportunity for the Townships of Robbinsville and Hamilton, Mercer County, and local interested parties to work together to craft a solution that both supports local open space needs and provides an excellent opportunity for heritage tourism and education by protecting this one-of-a-kind historic resource”, belies your true concern about the preservation of the resource.  Had Preservation New Jersey, Inc. cared to discuss this issue with the Township to fully understand the cooperative effort under Robbinsville’s lead that has thus far occurred, before issuing a press release fraught with inaccuracies and groundless claims, perhaps you could have actually done something tangible to help us balance preservation of the railroad right of way with economic development.

I can only conclude that someone has misguided you on this issue, and it is not terribly difficult to narrow the list down to a few.  I would like to provide you with information that would have been available to you had you asked, and which will educate you on the facts of this matter.

First, not that it is of any great importance to the matter, you should be aware that the rail line in Robbinsville has not been used in over a decade – not the two year timeframe cited in your press release.  If you cared to go look at the site before writing about it, you would have seen very large caliper trees growing in between the rail road ties, and would have been able to deduce that far more than two years have elapsed.

Also for your information, Conrail’s first communication with Mercer County regarding abandonment of the rail line came in a March 28, 2006 letter from Conrail to the Mercer County Planning Board.  That letter was faxed to my Business Administrator on April 4, 2006.  The Township immediately took action to address the abandonment issue.  The Township scheduled and has had meetings with Conrail, Mercer County; NJDEP at the Deputy Commissioner level, as well as the Director of Watershed Management and the Head of SHPO; NJDOT at the Commissioner level, the State Office of Smart Growth, and Hamilton Township.

Contrary to your claims that “...the Township of Robbinsville has indicated interest in acquiring significant portions of the land for sale to developers as part of plans to create a redevelopment zone along Route 130…”, I have been very clear that the Township is not interested in purchasing any of the property except those portions that may be suitable for open space preservation.

A vast majority of residents in Robbinsville want to see commercial development on Route 130 as evidenced by the last three elections for Council and Mayor where in each election voters overwhelmingly elected candidates whose primary stated goal, if elected, was to spur economic growth on Route 130 to stabilize property taxes for residents.  I could also show you polling data that indicates the same.  The latest poll, conducted by a nationally known pollster in April of this year shows that 83% of respondents agreed with the statement, The Mayor should continue to attract more commercial ratables to Robbinsville Township in order to better stabilize local property taxes.   

Back in April, 2006 my primary concern was to make sure that commercial properties on Route 130 adjacent to the rail road would indeed be assured access to Route 130 across the railroad.  My Business Administrator and the Chairman of our Economic Development Committee had several discussions with and then met with NJDEP on September 7, 2006 during which Dorothy Guzzo, then the head of the NJDEP State Historic Preservation Office, indicated that perpendicular crossings for access from Route 130 were allowable.  We have those assurances in a letter from NJDEP dated 11/13/06.

I have also been very clear from Day One that preservation of specific areas of the rail line including the freight station were also my goal with regards to the rail road.  I have made countless assurances to NJDEP, Conrail, Mercer County, NJDOT, local historic groups, and assorted railroad enthusiasts that I would like to see a rails to trails facility where it make sense, including through Windsor, and in the vicinity of the freight station. 

Where it does not make sense for a trail is where the tracks are literally only several yards away from the road (Route 130).  To place a trail that close to a major state highway would be hazardous and no one would walk there. I have talked about this in numerous public forums, and I often cite the walkways built by the developer along Route 130 in front of the Hamilton Marketplace, just several miles down the road.  They are an elaborate expanse of paved walkways with several bridges.  They look nice, but I have never seen one person walking on those walkways.

Along the stretches of the rail line that are close to Route 130, I have proposed that whoever the developer(s) may be, that they construct a trail on the back end of their property to provide a continuous walkway from Windsor to the southern end of Town with connections to Town Center and the recently preserved farmland on Church Street in Windsor (Herman-Updike Farm)

We have also enthusiastically discussed having educational signage and interpretative displays along the trail sections.  The problem has been and continues to be, none of the government entities have the money to purchase the right of way from Conrail, and/or create the trail.

I take great exception to the blatant inaccuracies of your press release and your wanton disregard for even attempting to gather information, or more importantly, given your purported mission, to try to help us in our efforts to preserve this resource.

I have a more immediate concern, one that does not prioritize a stretch of land, rather one that concerns the health and welfare of our residents.  I have a resident who lives in Windsor and has been coming to Township Council Meetings for the past several years alerting us of dangers on the rail road right of way.  There are numerous large sinkholes along the right of way where the ballast has eroded which creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes in the summer, and health hazards all year long.  Mercer County has been kind enough to spray every year for the mosquito problem.  The resident has told us that some of these holes are so large, that children “swim” in them during the summer, and play around them all year long as well.  This situation is a tragedy waiting to happen, and I have raised this issue many times to Conrail’s representative demanding that they maintain the right of way.

Those “historic rail bridges” you refer to in your press release create another hazard.  One in particular, again brought to our attention by the same resident, is crumbling and chunks of concrete randomly fall to the trail below the bridge.  As you would no doubt understand this too is an area attractive to children looking for a place to play, and they routinely are on and about a crumbling bridge

I have asked Conrail to donate the property to the Township.  I have asked Mercer County for funds – none available.  This past December, I met with SHPO to ask them for assistance and to identify any possible grant money that may be available.  Their only suggestion was to go ask NJDOT because NJDEP had no funds available.  In February I met with the NJDOT Commissioner and his staff to ask this question, I got the same answer, no money available.

I have made it very clear to everyone over the last six months that this untenable situation has been going on far too long, and must be resolved.  I can not allow a safety hazard to exist in my Town, and I would like to move forward with economic development and with creating a recreational trail in the Town.  I have offered in all of these meetings to apply some open space funds from the Town for these efforts where it is appropriate.  I am looking for some partners.  Your website states you are a, “Nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and promoting New Jersey's historic resources, communities, and landscapes”.  I would ask that instead of issuing faulty press releases that do nothing tangible to protect historic resources, you become a partner in helping to develop a solution. 

I can be reached at 609-918-0002.

Sincerely,

Dave Fried

Mayor