County Commission won't budge on rails-to-trails
HUNTSVILLE | A request from a representative of Trust for Public Lands — the conservation group leading efforts to transform the abandoned Tennessee Railroad into a recreational trail — won’t get an opportunity to appeal his case to Scott County Commission.
That was the decision of county commissioners Monday evening, when Scott County Mayor Jerried Jeffers informed them near the end of their monthly session that a TPL representative had stopped by his office two weeks ago and requested to be placed on the agenda for commissioners’ October meeting.
TPL, a national conservation group with offices in San Francisco and Denver, has signed on to assist Oak Ridge-based Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning in its efforts to procure the abandoned Oneida-to-Devonia railroad bed from R.J. Corman. A contractor working on Corman’s behalf, National Salvage, is in the final stages of ripping up the steel rails and wooden timbers from the railbed on the section of rail from S.R. 116 in Anderson County to the railroad’s terminus at Fork Mountain. The groups — working with a group of Scott County residents called the Echoes of Tennessee Rail Foundation — hope to build a 41-mile recreational trail for hikers and bicyclists under federal protocols spelled out by Congress in the 1980s.
But that plan has met stiff resistance from residents who own property along the railroad right-of-way, leading County Commission to unanimously pass a resolution of non-support earlier this year. The Town of Huntsville is also on record in opposition to the project. Both government entities have said they’re siding with property owners who are opposed to the recreational trail.
Although the opposition of local governments carries no weight in the efforts of TCWP and TPL to acquire the land from R.J. Corman, it could influence whether the state government chooses to get involved. There have been whispers of the railroad corridor being turned into a linear state park, not unlike what was done with the nearby Cumberland Trail, a hiking trail that traverses a portion of southeastern Scott County along its route from Cumberland Gap to near Lookout Mountain outside Chattanooga. However, it’s not clear whether the state would override the wishes of local governments. In fact, if past precedents hold, state Sen. Ken Yager would base his position on the project on whatever stance County Commission takes.
Jeffers did not divulge details of his meeting with TPL’s state director, Noel Durant, except to say that he felt Durant “maybe wants to change your minds on the resolution of non-support you have in place.”
That appeared to be a nonstarter with County Commission. Kenny Chadwell, who represents the 4th District of Helenwood, said he felt the previous resolution makes the county’s stance on the issue concrete.
“We’ve already done a resolution of non-support. We have no ballgame in that,” Chadwell said. “If someone wants to do a study, they should do a study.”
Chadwell was referring to Jeffers’ indications that Durant would seek County Commission’s support to engage in a study on how the rails-to-trails project would benefit Scott County.
Sheila Buttram, a 3rd District commissioner who owns property along the railroad in the Paint Rock community, went a step further by making a motion that Durant not be placed on the agenda. However, that was deemed unnecessary, and commissioners simply took no action on the request.
Earlier in the meeting, Ralph Trieschmann — who owns Timber Rock Lodge in Oneida and has spearheaded the Echoes of Tennessee Rail Foundation efforts — provided commissioners with an update. He said TPL continues its negotiations with R.J. Corman and appears to be nearing a positive outcome, while adding that his organization has purchased barriers and no-trespassing signs to place at railroad access points in an attempt to deter trespassers who are riding ATVs and other four-wheel-drive vehicles on the old railbed.