County Task Force Information

HURON COUNTY

Huron County Railroad Safety Task Force meetings are currently being held at:

Mr. Jason Roblin, Director Huron County EMA
EMA Office
255-B Shady Lane Drive
Norwalk, Ohio 44857
419-663-5772 

Recent articles about Huron County:

Crossing dispute may derail paving plan

Saturday, September 23, 2000

NEW LONDON

Arguments over a railroad crossing could derail plans to pave a Huron County roadway.

"This is the worst track in the world," a New London motorist called out to county, township and railroad officials, who were haggling Friday over raising one set of rails at a Chenango Road crossing.

"Close it," said Steven Wait, president and chief operating officer of Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Co., Brewster, Ohio. "You want to save some money? Close the crossing. Better yet, build a bridge over it."

Huron County officials say they notified the railroad in December about a Chenango Road paving project that is now underway. Railroad officials allegedly ignored letters, phone calls and New London Township legislation regarding the project.

They caught the attention of railroad officials last week when the county threatened to pave over the railroad tracks.

That could cause a train derailment and criminal charges in federal court, said William Owens, a local attorney hired by Wheeling and Lake Erie.

The argument over the tracks could be costing taxpayers $4,000 per day to pay for a paving crew idled in the middle of the project since Sept. 14, said Carl Essex, administrative assistant to the Huron County Engineer.

It could also place the paving contract in jeopardy, said Huron County Assistant Prosecutor Daivia Kasper.

The main set of tracks to the south sits 6-8 inches above a siding, which is used to park trains every night.

Because the crossing is so uneven, an unsuspecting motorist could easily drive over it too quickly and go airborne, causing an accident, Huron County Engineer Larry McGlinchy said.

"This has been a safety hazard for quite awhile," McGlinchy said.

The railroad has no money for raising the tracks the requested four inches on one rail and two inches on the other, Wait said.

The county is willing to help with the work to reduce cost.

"What we found out is, you're good railroad people, but you're not good asphalt people," Essex said. "We do asphalt every day. We take care of your asphalt; you take care of the ties."

When installing the ties was estimated at $32,000, McGlinchy said he would find someone else to do the work.

"Safety counts for something," Wait countered. "When your crew was working near the tracks last week, they should have had a flagman."

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which regulates railroad crossing safety, allegedly has never had a problem with the Chenango Road crossing, Wait said.

The group talked about finishing the paving up to about 2 feet from the tracks in both directions, and then finishing the job in six weeks when the rails are raised.

If the engineers cannot negotiate a solution, then the lawyers will take the issue before Judge Earl R. McGimpsey in Huron County Common Pleas Court.

Sandusky Register May 12, 2000

Huron Co. to take rail fight to feds 
Friday May 12, 2000
By CAROL HARPER
Staff Writer

NORWALK -- A railroad representative warned Tuesday in Columbus that state laws to increase fines for blocked crossings would be struck down in court, according to a Huron County commissioner.

"Well, then," Huron County Commissioner Amy Hookway said. "It is my feeling that we now need to cover ourselves on the federal level."

Hookway attended the debate in the Ohio House of Representatives over Senate Bill 207, which has already passed the Senate.

Commissioners opposed a proposed amendment exempting railroads from fines for "every conceivable reason why a crossing would be blocked," Hookway said.

The amendment died for lack of a sponsor, she said.

From January through April 30 the Huron County Sheriff's office documented 40 complaints of blocked crossings.

"Which, by the way, is a huge improvement over last year," Hookway said. Sixteen of the blocked crossings were in designated "no parking zones." Fifteen of them were on Section Line Road 30, where a $1.5 million overpass under construction should be completed in June or July.

Fines for blocked crossings need to be available as a tool, commissioners said, even though they hope they never have to levy them. They intend to contact Federal legislators for support.

In the meantime, local officials are pointing to the Section Line 30 overpass as a sign the relationships with the railroad are mending.

"Most of the time we hope to be on the same side of an issue because we want a good, healthy railroad," Hookway said.

Got us a convoy: The county fleet equals 65 vehicles, excluding highway department machinery. Commissioners requested a study of how necessary each of the vehicles is to its assigned department.

"Just because we have 65 vehicles doesn't mean 65 vehicles is the number we need to maintain," Hookway said.

Four of the vehicles racked up more than 200,000 miles; and 30 show more than 100,000, County Mechanic Lon Burton reported.

Courthouse cost: Cost of a new courthouse for the Sixth District Court of Appeals in Toledo increased almost 10 percent from $6.5 million to $7.2 million. Huron County must chip in 6.52 percent of the total cost.

"How can a project grow 10 percent and we can't do anything about it?" Commissioner Terry Boose asked.

Phone bills: A 50-cent surcharge added monthly to telephone bills for maintenance and operation of 911 systems also progressed through debates in the state legislature Tuesday, Boose said.

Nine Ohio counties do not have 911 systems and legally may add the surcharge to pay for new systems. However, counties that needed to replace their 911 equipment or software because of Y2K problems could not raise money through the surcharge, said Boose.

Commissioners may give the old 911 equipment -- which could not handle the Y2K switch because of the main computer -- to a small county that does not have 911.

Vinton County officials feel they can make the equipment work for their more than 11,000 residents by spending $60,000.

None of the old equipment was compatible with the new system purchased for Huron County, Commissioners said, so it is useless here.

U.S. 20 bridge: Bridge work on U.S. 20 west of Ohio 601 may be completed by early next week if guardrails are delivered and installed, Commissioners said.

Power moves over railroad crossing rights
Sandusky Register
May 17,2000
By CAROL HARPER
Staff Writer

NORWALK -- Farmers petitioned Huron County Commissioners on Tuesday to close parts of Wurtz and Daniels roads because of impasses on agreements with the railroads over the use of the crossings.

Three crossings were to close as part of the agreement between state, local and railroad officials to build the Section Line 30 overpass. Section Line 30 is the only one already closed.

Landowners asked for the remaining two crossings, at Wurtz and Daniels roads, to remain open for agricultural use because they own land on both sides of the tracks, Commissioner Terry Boose said.

If the crossings do not close, then the county must pay back the money CSX Transportation Inc. paid for their closure, Boose said.

The railroad allegedly wants the farmers to maintain the crossings and buy $1 million in liability insurance payable to the railroad, Boose said. Railroad officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

"I don't know of any other (agricultural) crossings that are maintained by the local people instead of the railroad," Boose said. "Usually the railroad wants to maintain the crossings themselves."

In a counter move to the farmers' initiative, 12 landowners petitioned Norwich Township trustees to close the roads so railroad crews cannot use them to get to the tracks.

According to a letter from the township's board of trustees, Wurtz Road would close from Egypt Road to the railroad right of way on the north and from the driveway of Christopher and Roberta Mahl, 2561 Wurtz Road, to the railroad right of way on the south.

Similarly, Daniels Road would be decommissioned from the railroad's southern right of way to Town Line Road 12.

Ownership of the land would revert to the landowners, the letter stated.

The process includes vacating the roads, public viewing, and public hearings.