Rail-biking business at risk by Greenway Trail expansion

The City of Concord has a chance to acquire a stretch of railroad tracks running from Horseshoe Pond north to Boscawen, providing a key section of the Merrimack River Greenway Trail. It’s a deal years in the making.

The city has long partnered with the organization behind the project to help it move forward, including the potential purchase of this 5.7-mile stretch. This section would connect the Greenway Trail with the Northern Rail Trail, part of an effort to create a statewide rail trail network.

However, the purchase would jeopardize the future of a popular recreation business called the Scenic Railriders, which uses four-wheeled pedaled cars that cruise on the tracks.

Gary LeBlanc, who launched the rail-biking business in 2019, has organized a campaign for councilors to reject the sale or reshape it.

“I get what they’re trying to do. They’re trying to connect the Greenway to the Northern Rail Trail and we’re the piece in the middle. I’m totally for that,” he said. “But why can’t we have both?”

The Concord City Council will debate buying the railroad land a recent meeting, along with considering a new contract for city firefighters and a price increase at the city’s golf course to help pay for its new clubhouse.

For years, LeBlanc looked across New England for a stretch of track to locate his business. With few sets of unused rails left, he said, moving isn’t an option.

“If they pull up this track I’m operating on, I’m done. I’m out of business,” he said.

In addition to the personal loss, he said the closure of his business would be a loss to the city: The thousands of customers that he brings in each year largely come from outside the region, drawing new visitors to Concord.

LeBlanc doesn’t see why rail bikes and a rail trail can’t coexist for a few miles. A letter-writing campaign to city leaders backed his plea.

On its website, the Merrimack River Greenway Trail states that the corridor simply isn’t wide enough to safely include both. Because the project has received federal grants, it has to meet specific design and safety standards.

Even if the city kept the rails in place, that solution might drive up the sale cost. CSX, the railroad company that owns it now, has salvage rights over the track materials under the purchase agreement, and their claim is baked into the sale price. If the city wanted to keep the tracks, it would likely have to compensate CSX.

LeBlanc said he is open to helping pay for this purchase, and noted that keeping him as a tenant on the tracks would bring revenue into the city. But when he reached out to City Hall about his concerns, he said he was turned away repeatedly.

“I’m willing to talk about contributing to some of the costs,” he said. “I know I can make it work, if somebody would just talk to me.”

With a previous attempt at this sale having stalled when CSX bought it a few years ago, further delays could also be a blow to the Greenway Trail, which supporters emphasize would expand opportunities for both recreation and transportation in the region that are free to use.

The purchase price for the stretch of the railroad tracks comes out to $535,000. Councilors would have to approve an additional $143,000 on top of previous spending to cover it. That money would mean $105,000 in a taxpayer bond and the remaining $38,000 drawn from recreational impact fees.

Firefighter contract

The city and the union representing its firefighters have reached an agreement for a new, three-year contract, about a month after the previous one expired.

Covering 72 positions, the proposal makes moves towards changes in the pay scale that firefighters sought. Changing from a 16- to a 10-step scale, means employees will hit the top of the pay scale faster. The agreement would also provide a 4% raise for its first two years and a 3.5% raise for its third year.

The previous two-year contract included 4% annual raises. City police officers and the fire officers’ union, who had prolonged negotiations with the city last winter, received 5% annual raises. City police officers are on an even more consolidated, seven-step wage scale.

The new agreement would mean $720,000 in added costs for each of the first two years and just under $700,000 the third year. While the city budget includes some cushion for new contracts, according to City Manager Tom Aspell, there isn’t money in the current spending plan to cover this agreement, which is something the council will have to contend with at a future meeting.

Golf course rates

When Aspell proposed his plan for a new clubhouse at the golf course, he promised that taxpayers wouldn’t have to chip in during the first year of debt payments. Raising prices at the course was part of that math.

Now, those proposed increases, with the Golf Course Advisory Committee’s stamp of approval, are before the council for a green light. Including a roughly 16% increase in greens fees and an 8% increase in season pass costs for next year, the changes would up course revenue by about $190,000 next year, according to a city report. There’s also a new, $50 capital fee for non-resident season pass holders.

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