Byesvillevillagereporter.com - Public trails may be unwelcome if they lead to private properties

LORE CITY -- A "Rails to Trails" project proposed by the Guernsey County Community Development Corporation to span an abandoned railroad bed from Lore City to Senecaville is raising the ire of several residents along the proposed path.

"We are concerned about the access this trail gives people to our homes," said Dave Beros, one of approximately 30 landowners who are reportedly opposed to the concept. "We want to stop them (the CDC) from giving people access to our properties."

"We are not very happy with this situation," added Nancy Detweiler, who also lives along the proposed Rails to Trails path. "They will be walking through our front yards, back yards and side yards. We live in the country for a reason."

CDC director Dan Speedy said he believes the non-profit agency should be able to use the railroad bed for economical development after purchasing the land.

"They are trying to stir up controversy where there shouldn't be controversy," he said of the residents who have expressed their concerns to the CDC board, Richland Township trustees, Guernsey County Farm Bureau and county commissioners.

"We are not looking for any controversy. In Columbiana County, approximately 120,000 people utilized a similar trail last year alone. It's all about economic development and tourism money being spent here in Guernsey County instead of someplace else in Ohio.

"The bottom line is these residents don't want the trail and they are trying to dictate what the CDC does with its property," added Speedy.

The CDC is currently finishing a Rails to Trails project that will connect Cambridge with Lore City via a paved path designed for pedestrians, bicyclists or riders on horseback.

Paving is slated to resume later this month, according to Speedy.

The portion from Lore City to Senecaville will then connect the Cambridge area with the Seneca Lake region.

"The idea is people can stay in hotels in Cambridge and then ride their bicycle or walk to Seneca Lake where they could spend the day before returning to Cambridge," said Speedy.

Known as the Muzzy Line (from Lore City to Cumberland), the railroad was last used in 1966. The rails were removed in 1968 and 1969. Since then, residents along the way have been maintaining the strip of land as their own.

Reportedly included in the path today are water well and sewer access points, a corner of one house, part of a front porch and at least one driveway to a home.

"We had the land surveyed to order find out exactly where the railroad bed is located," said Speedy. "Anyone who believes they own a portion of the railroad bed can call us and we will sit down and go over their deed with them to determine ownership.

"Getting the surveys done was the first step. There are issues out there, but we are willing to work with each individual property owner in order to resolve those issues as best we can," Speedy added.

Some of the residents also expressed concern about how the surveys were completed, citing a lack of dialog between the CDC and local residents.

"We found out they were considering doing this project when surveyors started showing up at our doors unannounced," said Beros. "There was no dialog or meetings between the CDC and the property owners. They just started showing up surveying our properties."

Surveyors reportedly started their work late in the summer of 2008.

They recently finished their work following a brief stoppage to determined if they were accessing the land along the proposed trail legally.

Since then, the property boundary markers left by surveyors have raised more questions for those residents along the proposed path.

As a result, the citizens group went to the CDC board with pictures of the properties that will be impacted by the project, including a house and porch in the alleged right-of-way.

The citizens believe they have not received sufficient answers to their questions.

"We are not trying to slander anybody, but we want the facts about this project," said Beros. "There are still too many questions about who owns what."

Speedy said the surveys legally document who owns what property along the rail bed.

"Almost all of the property owners who live along the railroad bed don't own any the railroad bed," said Speedy. "The surveys are complete, and if they don't have a clause in the deed that the property reverts back to the land owner from when the railroad took the property or a deed that shows they purchased the land, there is nothing we can do.

"It's our property," concluded Speedy.

(rstillion@daily-jeff.com)