Mystery
of train depot ownership holds up Porterdale’s purchase of
dilapidated structure
By JAY JONES
Staff Reporter
[email protected]
Porterdale city officials have big plans for the
historic train depot on Hemlock Street, but their plans have hit a
snag. Before they can purchase it and renovate it, they must first
find out who owns it. –Photo by Sue Ann Kuhn-Smith
PORTERDALE — Only one thing is keeping city officials from
purchasing and restoring the historic train depot on Hemlock Street
– the rightful owners.
The city asked local attorney Errol Nichols to research property
records at the Newton County Courthouse to determine who owns the
dilapidated structure. Nothing was turned up after going back 50
years, so Nichols has referred it back to the city, according to
Porterdale City Manager Tom Fox.
“The city wants to acquire it, restore it because of its historical
value and make it available to the public,” Fox said. “The problem
we keep running into is that there’s not a clear ownership of it.”
Fox suspects the owner is either Norfolk-Southern Railroad, The Bibb
Company or Dan River Inc., but like the old building itself, property
records have quietly crumbled over time.
Built between 1890 and 1910, the building sits near the old city jail,
just behind the closed Lil’ Henry’s convenience store. One can see
the old bay window where the loading dock once was. Inside, the
flooring is gone, but the floor joists show the tongue-and-groove
method used in its construction.
Though ownership is in doubt, part of the building has been used by
Porterdale Public Works for years to store equipment and park trucks.
On one side of the building, a faded “Porterdale” sign is barely
visible.
A proponent for saving the depot, Councilwoman Rebecca Roseberry said
the building could be a great asset for Porterdale as a community
meeting area and polling place. Another possibility for the old depot
is to incorporate it with a proposed multi-purpose trail along the
Yellow River that could connect the county’s Turner Lake Recreation
Complex with Porterdale. The depot also sits adjacent to 28 acres of
riverfront property Porterdale purchased last year from Dan River Inc.
for a planned city park.
Roseberry said regardless of what the final plans are for the depot,
the structure is deteriorating and the city will need to act soon to
acquire the depot to save it.
“We better do something soon, or else there won’t be anything left
to save,” Roseberry said.
The matter has now been turned over to Porterdale City Attorney
Timothy Chambers to see what court procedures are available to resolve
the ownership issue.
City seeks grant for renovations
PORTERDALE — City officials will seek a state grant to
renovate the old Porterdale train depot and construct a portion of a
proposed multi-purpose trail that would connect Porterdale with the
Turner Lake Recreation Complex.
In a called session Monday, the Porterdale City Council voted
unanimously to move forward on a Transportation Enhancement Program
grant through the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). The
specially called council meeting was necessary because the deadline
for the grant application is Monday.
The council agreed to hire The Center for Facilitating Community
Preservation and Planning in Covington to prepare the grant
application at a cost of $10,000. Local governments can seek up to $1
million in grant money, but are obligated to pay 20 percent of the
total grant received with the GDOT paying the rest, according to
Porterdale City Manager Tom Fox.
Fox called that 20 percent the crux of the argument for the council
and asked whether they would be willing to pay up to $200,000 if the
grant is awarded to Porterdale. The original grant proposal was just
to build a portion of the proposed trail, but the council included the
train depot in their vote.
“Covington and Newton County are trying to make it a reality,” Fox
said. “If we can get this grant, it would benefit everyone, Newton
County, Covington and Porterdale.”
The amount to be sought would be determined before the grant
application is completed. Fox told the council the trail is estimated
to cost $350,000 per mile, considering right of way purchases,
materials and construction cost. Porterdale applied for the same grant
in 2000 for sidewalk improvements and renovation of the train depot.
At that time, estimates for saving the turn-of-the-century depot were
around $385,000, not including cost to purchase the property, Fox
said.
The proposed trail is coordinated by a citizens’ group, Multi-Use
Trail Advocates for a New Trail System (MUTANTS) and divided into
three phases. Newton County has applied for grant money to fund the
first and second phases going from Turner Lake down to Newton High
School. Fox presented the third phase of 2.5 miles for Porterdale to
fund that runs from Newton High to the Yellow River bridge at Hemlock
and North Broad streets.
Councilman Bobby Hamby questioned why Porterdale would be responsible
for building a trail outside of city limits, including a foot bridge
over the Yellow River. Porterdale Mayor Paul Oeland said he had
concerns over responsibilities Porterdale would have or want to have
over the trail in unincorporated Newton County, leading up to Newton
High.
“It makes no sense for us to build a trail in the county,” Oeland
said.
In the end, the council agreed to move forward with the grant but
directed Fox to focus the grant application only for the stretch of
the trail within Porterdale city limits.
The GDOT will announce the grant recipients in March 2004. Governments
will then have two years to begin the projects. Under GDOT grant
guidelines, the city cannot begin negotiating for purchase of the
train depot until after it has been awarded the grant, Fox said.
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