Selectman blasts HRRC for depot delays

NORTH CANAAN — What appears to be a lack of communication is expected to cause significant delay in the final phase of the historic Canaan Union Station rebuilding project. At the March 4 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Selectman Charlie Perotti had uncharacteristically strong words for the Housatonic Railroad Co. (HRRC). He blamed them for a delay that could set the project back months, explaining that a relatively simple document, a forced account agreement that allows a right-of-way over a grade crossing to a parking lot south of the depot, is all that is needed, yet a year has gone by since it was requested.Perotti is the liaison between the town, the railroad, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) —which needs to approve the project — and the Connecticut Railroad Historical Association, which has owned the depot since January 2003. It has been a long, often frustrating decade of planning and fundraising. A wing destroyed by fire in 2001 has been rebuilt with grants and cash and in-kind donations. Much of the work to restore it as a business center, and add a railroad museum, is done. A federal appropriation of $1.3 million, administered by the state DOT, remains to pay for interior and exterior finish work and landscaping. That work was on track to go out to bid this month.A very frustrated Perotti said last week he was toning down his remarks because the meeting was being videotaped. He had seen a letter that morning, dated March 2, from Housatonic Railroad Company General Counsel Edward Rodriguez, who wrote that the railroad had always been supportive of the rebuilding, and that they had been advised a few weeks prior that they were to receive revised plans for review, but they had not yet arrived.Perotti was able to speak by phone with Rodriguez that afternoon.“I told him if I didn’t get something here this evening, I was going to go to the press and put it on their shoulders that they’re the ones who are holding this project up,” Perotti said. “The state will not move forward until they get this forced account agreement. I spoke with [DOT engineer] Tom Burgess for more than an hour today. He said the railroad has had the documents since May of last year.”He went on to say he had seen the plans needed for review on the desk of Matthew Boardman, at the engineering office in the HRRC North Canaan headquarters, and was told they would be sent to the legal office in Old Lyme.As part of the project, HRRC will conduct a $69,000 upgrade to that crossing that will bring it up to standards for vehicular traffic. The crossing is on a spur that curves along the north side of the depot. The agreement is required by the federal government in order for it to reimburse the railroad company.HRRC disputes claimsRodriguez spoke with The Lakeville Journal at length last week. He disputed much of what Perotti said, including a promise to provide an explanation in time for the March 4 board meeting.He said it was his understanding that it was Perotti who would be sending the plans to his office. There was the issue of a meeting planned for January to finalize the plans. Perotti this week produced emails that included one from Dec. 17 to all parties involved. All responded except for HRRC and the meeting did not take place. The email contacts used by the DOT include Boardman and HRRC owner John Hanlon.Rodriguez said they responded and that they were told the meeting was canceled.“We didn’t cancel, and we are not in the habit of ignoring the DOT,” he said.More to the point is the understanding of exactly what is needed from the HRRC.Another email, from Burgess, dated July 26, 2012, and directed to all parties, states, “This element of the project must progress. Lack of a force account agreement and estimate will delay the authorization of federal funds. Please coordinate getting the HRRC tasks, estimate and agreement in place.”Perotti said the railroad plans to install drainage along a 50-foot-wide DOT easement on the south side of the depot, along the unused east/west rail line. Use of that property was given to the Connecticut Railroad Historical Association for parking and the planned drainage work is not a matter of contention.While Perotti said HRRC is incorrect in including the drainage as part of what is needed to move forward, Rodriguez said the drainage is “intimately connected with the crossing.”“The only reason to have a vehicular grade crossing is to access the parking lot,” Rodriguez said. “The way we work with the DOT is to have everything in place. There is also a pedestrian crossing there. Before we are willing to sign an agreement, we have to resolve all the issues regarding the parking area.”He also said during the conversation that Boardman had brought the plans to the Old Lyme office, but that he was advised by Burgess that other engineering submissions were still missing.He reiterated from his March 2 letter the three areas that need review by HRRC: the building, the grade crossings and the easements DOT will give the town in conjunction with the depot use. Among the concerns are that the building footprint not be expanded to impede clearance for trains passing by, and that the passenger platforms are preserved for future use.The plan on record does not change the footprint and the Connecticut Railroad Historical Association has always sought to preserve the platform, which was spared in the fire, as part of an authentic restoration.A failure to communicatePerotti said earlier this week the problems seemed to center on a lack of communication between the two railroad offices that included emails not being forwarded to Rodriguez. He also said there are two different departments of the DOT involved. Railroads normally work with DOTRail, which owns the railroad easement and regulates use. The DOT’s engineering division is overseeing the depot project.“The drainage easement is between the railroad and DOTRail. It has nothing to do with what is needed for this project. Neither does the crossing on Main Street. This agreement is a simple form, according to Tom Burgess. It’s just a paragraph or so stating that they are willing to enter into an agreement with the town to use the crossing.”In the meantime, Perotti said, the Connecticut Railroad Historical Association continues to hold fundraisers to pay its bills. There are at least two parties interested in leasing space there, including a planned restaurant.“They would be much-needed paying tenants, but we don’t know how long they are going to wait, not to mention that the cost of building materials is going up and this project is not going to get any cheaper to do.”