The much debated Salem Road cut-off railroad crossing is now up for possible closure.
In a three to two vote, county commissioners decided Tuesday night to file the application to close the busy short-road crossing near Havana.
Commissioner Brenda Holt made the motion to start the application process to close the crossing contingent on the passing of the City of Midway’s vote to close Joyner Road in that city on Wednesday night.
Commissioner Derrick Price seconded the motion. The motion carried with Holt, Price and Chairman Ed Dixon voting for the issue and commissioners Doug Croley and Eugene Lamb voting against the issue.
Both Croley and Lamb asked to hold off the decision pending an approval by the City of Midway council to close Joyner Road.
The Salem Road cut-off crossing became an issue in June when it was brought before the commission as one of the two possible closures needed as a swap-out to open one new crossing in Midway. CSX has a policy that requires the closing of two or more existing crossings in a community in order to get a new crossing
The new crossing and subsequent road would connect property owned by Premier Homes Corporation to State Road 268 (High Bridge Road).
Currently the property and adjacent developed property has only one access, Palmer Road. This area in Midway is part of the large residential growth spurt that has occurred over the past several years and is enclosed by Interstate 10 on the north side and the CSX railroad on the south side.
The same closing was before the board back in 2005, but at that time Midway did not vote to close Joyner Road and the county dropped the issue.
Larry Ganus provided the board with 52 new signatures on a petition asking that the crossing not be closed. The board had received over 550 in June from a similar petition.
The closing still hinges on what the City of Midway does about their closing, Holt stated at the meeting.
Residents learned at a community forum last week in Havana that the process to close a crossing would take as long as two to three years and would include a number of community public meetings.
In addition, the closing of a crossing will have to be reviewed by the Florida Department of Transportation and must meet a number of criteria to be closed.
In other business, commissioners voted four to one to build a new Boys and Girls Club facility in Quincy.
The 4,400-square-foot facility, which is slated for Martin Luther King Blvd. next to the now closed Gadsden Nursing Home, will have a price tag of $566,000. The price tag includes turn-key operation including property, engineering and building.
Commissioners Holt, Lamb, Dixon and Price voted for the measure.
Commissioner Croley was the lone vote against the measure, stating he did not like the way in which the funding of the facility was handled.
According to County Manager Marlon Brown, the funds – which had been approved by the board back in March – would come from the current gas surtax.
At issue is a $1.2 million fund (from the 2007-2008 budget) that was to build a Boys and Girls Club facility in Quincy and Chattahoochee as well as expanding the current Supervisor of Elections’ office.
Brown said that the county would need $200,000 for the supervisor’s expansion, which now leaves about $433,000 for a Chattahoochee facility.
Croley complained that he did not remember voting on the funding measure as stated.
Later in the meeting Brown stated that there would have to be a budget amendment brought back for the expenditure.
The commission does not have a planned meeting again until August 19.