ROCKWOOD —
Somerset County commissioners may get a earful during a public hearing Monday on plans for an Amtrak station here, borough Councilman James Harbaugh said.
“We’ve had two meetings,” Harbaugh said. “We didn’t get no place. We are going to try another. There are going to be a lot more people there this time at the fire hall.”
The public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Rockwood Volunteer Fire Department’s social hall, 630 Main St., commissioners announced last week.
Although a feasibility study by Michael Baker Jr. Inc. says the Amtrak stop would create jobs, expand business opportunities and benefit millions of travelers every year, borough leaders are concerned about police protection, more drug problems and traffic, Harbaugh said.
“That’s what everybody is hollering about: Drugs,” Harbaugh said. “There are drugs here now, but that will bring them in more.”
Plans for a shuttle bus to bring skiers and others to Seven Springs Mountain Resort have him worried.
“I can guess that is where the drugs will come from,” Harbaugh said. “I picked up garbage at Seven Springs. I know there are always drugs there.”
Rockwood only has one part-time police officer and has asked county leaders if there would be funding for more police. There has been no answer, he said.
Harbaugh said the proposed location behind Rockwood Mills Shoppes and Opera House is too close to homes. He suggested razing the former train station building and putting the Amtrak stop there, noting that the old station is just outside the borough in Black Township.
“Nobody in the borough could say anything then,” Harbaugh said.
Rockwood Mills owner Judy Pletcher said she isn’t worried about security issues if the station opens behind her business.
“Security was addressed in the feasibility study,” Pletcher said. “I am not concerned.”
When planners were designing the Great Allegheny Passage trail through Rockwood, opponents raised the same concerns about drugs, Pletcher said.
“Everybody knows small towns already have them,” she said. “The trail has brought people who are six-figure income. I don’t see it as a problem.”
The benefits of the Amtrak stop would far outweigh any drawbacks, she said, adding that she plans to attend Monday’s hearing.
“I hope the fire hall is full,” Pletcher said.
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