The Department of Public Works Committee on Tuesday approved renewal of an annual license that allows a mobile club to use railroad right‑of‑way and discussed several maintenance items at county railroad properties, including a sewer connection replacement at Hadley Train Station and planned hatchery roof and furnace work.
The renewal motion — brought by committee member Bruno and seconded by Turner — included an amendment that the license be renewable by mutual agreement and terminable by either party on 30 days’ notice. The chair called the question; committee members voted “aye” and the motion carried.
Dean, a parks and railroad staff member, told the committee the contract carries “no dollar amount” and has not changed in terms. He said staff proposed allowing mutual renewals so the item would not need to return to committee each year unless a party requested otherwise.
On station repairs, Dean reported crews worked with the Town of Hadley to replace a blocked connection after repeated sewer backups at the Hadley Train Station. He said the town performed the connection replacement and that county staff communicated an offer to cover any associated costs from the Railroad Reserve; staff later learned there may be no charge. A cleanout was also installed “right in front of that connection” to reduce future backups, Dean said.
On facilities, Dean and county staff described the planned approach for the hatchery roof: testing by Atlantic (an environmental/testing contractor) found no asbestos or lead‑based paint. Staff said they plan to remove an aging chimney, replace an oil furnace with a high‑efficiency propane unit, remove the fuel tank (aboveground) and proceed with roof replacement; the chimney demolition will be done in‑house. Ed Downey was identified in the discussion as the staff member coordinating those communications.
Staff also reported an approximately $81,000 no‑match grant acquired by Kristen to upgrade HVAC at a county museum project identified in the meeting packet as Upiana Farm (to stabilize temperature and humidity to preserve taxidermy and other specimens). Staff said they expect to confirm HVAC pricing with contractors and move forward soon.
Committee members asked only clarifying questions and did not alter the staff plans beyond the contractual amendment on the railroad license. The committee did not take additional formal votes about the Hadley connection, hatchery work or the museum HVAC beyond informational updates and the contract renewal.
Staff said any county costs for the Hadley Train Station connection repair would come from the Railroad Reserve; no dollar amount was presented for that contingency.