Train lot donated to town

by Jazz Clark
After years of waiting, the Town of Bath has secured the deed to the land behind the former train depot owned by CSX Transportation.

Acceptance of the donated deed was signed at the Tuesday, February 5 meeting of the Bath Town Council.
“It’s been four years since I sat in the governor’s office and he asked me what I wanted,” Mayor Susan Webster said. “I said I wanted this.

He called CSX, and here we are.”

The 2.1 acres of usable land on the east side of U.S. 522 has a few limitations on use. The parcel can only be used for commercial or industrial projects, not for residences or recreation.

The land has been cleaned up enough for commercial use, but not to the standards set for other uses by the Environmental Protection Agency, it was said.

With the property acquired, the council will have land for a cash match on a grant to rehabilitate the train depot nearby.

“It’s a great piece of land,” said Bill Clark, Morgan County’s economic development director. “We need more on the north end of town, and this is part of the big picture of Bath.”

As soon as the deed is actually in their hands, the council plans to annex the land into Town of Bath. Currently the lot is outside of town limits.

One plan for the area is to take down the fencing and use that material around the water department’s tanks.

The lot could even serve the community as a parking lot.

“We’ve never had property where we could do something like that before,” Webster said.

A small rectangle of land in the middle of the property is still owned by Westvaco.