Spotswood may lease site to beautify it
BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer
If the town wants to beautify property owned by Conrail, it will have to pay the rail company.

Conrail owns a small piece of land that might go unnoticed were it not the entrance to the east end of Spotswood. Borough officials said the property has become unsightly, and want to clean it up, in part because it is the first thing people see when entering Spotswood from Route 18.

Council President Curtis Stollen said he is upset that Conrail reportedly will not allow the borough to beautify the site with landscaping and a sign welcoming people to Spotswood. According to borough officials, Conrail has said that, in order to beautify the land, the town would have to lease it at an annual cost of $1,200. Officials negotiated that price down to $600 per year, according to Councilwoman Marge Drozd.

"We just want to beautify it," Stollen said. "It is being used commercially, and they are not getting any profit from it. The least they could do with a rail running through town is to let us beautify one little spot."

Stollen said the "pie-shaped" property goes back about 75 feet from Main Street. Commercial truckers use the site to park their vehicles.

"It looks like you are entering an industrial site when you come into town," he said.

The council has publicly discussed the issue at recent meetings, and Drozd said a decision on whether to enter into the $600 lease will likely be made this summer.

According to Drozd, the town has had a hard time making contact with Conrail officials. She said that a while back Conrail sent a representative to meet with borough officials, and the representative acknowledged that the town's idea would greatly improve the site. However, Conrail never got back to Spotswood officials, and about 18 months later, Conrail indicated it would formulate an agreement.

After several more months, Drozd said the borough threatened to get U.S. Congressman Rush Holt involved. It then received a response from Conrail that Spotswood could clean up the land for the initial price of $1,200 a year.

Drozd said the borough then spoke with state Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-18), who said a $600 lease fee would be reasonable, based on his experience.

Stollen said there is nothing the borough can do about the site without Conrail's permission, as it is a private property. He said the roadway there has potholes and gravel, and noted that the rigs and tankers are parked there for free.

"It's a great deal for whomever is using it," he said.

More trucks are parked there on weekends and evenings, he said.

"It's a staging area for someone's trucking business," he said. "How can Conrail let this happen?"

Stollen said Spotswood gets no revenue from Conrail, and he was surprised that the company wanted money in turn for beautifying the land, even though the town would not actually use it.

"We thought it would be $1," he said of the lease.

A message left on Conrail's media hotline was not returned as of press time for this issue Tuesday.