Property Manager Organizing Clean Up Of Concord Railroad Tracks

CONCORD, NH — It has been an eyesore at the gateway to the city of Concord for many years: Homeless camps, trash and debris, needles, fires, furniture, and everything else, along the Storrs Street railroad tracks between Exit 13 and 14 on Interstate 93.

Nearly everyone in New Hampshire's capital has wondered why it has not been cleaned up and cleared out yet.

About eight years ago, the northern part of Storrs Street was in a similar state. Homeless camps, debris, fires, chaos, and crime, with multiple owners of different properties failing to come together to tend to their property while everyone else in the community dealt with the fallout. The city, however, finally stepped in and bought parcels between South Commercial and Storrs streets. It worked with Pan Am, the owner of the railroad, to bulldoze brush and posted no trespassing and no camping signs.

Since that time, while there have been fires at the abandoned New Hampshire Department of Transportation building, as well as other issues and crime along the corridor, the campers are gone. There are also long-term plans to extend Storrs Street on both the north and south ends of the street.

But to get to the point that it was cleared of campers, debris, and brush, it took initiative — something that has been lacking on the southern tier of the street … until now.

Kathie Slowe has been the property manager of Brixmor, the company that owns the Capitol Shopping Center property that runs adjacent to the tracks, for about two years.

During that time, she's seen a lot. And she has heard a lot, too, from her clients. Slowe meets regularly with tenants at the property — a Market Basket which, according to city officials, is one of the busiest and most profitable stores, via square footage, in the chain, as well as two department stores, a fabric and craft store, a state liquor and wine outlet, pizza shop, and more. The company is also working with new businesses to develop a section of its parking lot at Pleasant Street Extension with a new restaurant, 110 Grill, and a Starbucks.

There have always been problems on Storrs Street. But beginning last summer, she began seeing "a significant increase in the homeless population back there." And complaints, from tenants and customers, began to escalate.

"There were some overdoses in stores," Slowe said. "People were cooking meth in bathrooms. There were break-ins, thefts … people were throwing up, up and down the sidewalk, and harassing customers. It was not good; the tenants were getting pretty upset."

Slowe reached out to Pan Am and the city and, she said, everyone. And, Slowe said, everyone seemed to have a reason to not to work toward fixing the problems. Pan Am felt it was criminal trespassing and illegal dumping, requiring the city to act; the city believed the tracks were private property and it was up to the railroad to act.

Slowe said Brixmor was not technically responsible for any of the problems — but its tenants were bearing the brunt of the chaos. Brixmor's property "ends at the pavement," she said. But everything else, is owned by Pan Am. Next to Pan Am, it is the state of New Hampshire's land.

"It's not our land," she said. "It's not our problem. Everyone wanted to work on it but no one wanted to take the lead. (So) I thought, 'OK, we'll take the lead.'"

In recent weeks, Slowe has been working to collect all of the interests in and around the affected area of the city to fix the problems.

It started with reaching out to all of the stakeholders to get on the same page about what needed to be done. That began with warning the campers that change and clearing were coming. Homeless advocates, she said, began working with some of the campers to find shelters. As of mid-March, she believed, only about four campers remain.

"They know that it is coming," she said. "They've been aware for months. Hopefully, by the time we do this, we aren't going to have to ask anyone to leave that day — they will be in alternative housing. It's not like this hasn't happened before in other locations."

Pan Am has already placed "no trespassing" signs along the tracks and all the campers have been given three weeks to vacate. If they are not gone by that time, they will be summoned to court, she said.

"There will be nowhere to hide," she said, "and the railroad will be in a better position to keep on top of it."

From there, it was coordination of cleanup efforts — a pretty broad group, it turns out, that was willing to help.

Slowe began reaching out to Brixmor vendors first. The company, she said, will be paying to haul all of the trash. She also has commitments from Pan Am for a crew, the Concord General Services will be assisting in clearing the brush, and the city prosecutor will be working with the diversion program to find people who need to fulfill community service hours to help. A number of restaurants, including Sal's Pizza and the Draft on South Main Street, have offered to feed people while Market Basket is also donating cleanup supplies like trash bags.

Slowe hoped at least 50 people, if not more, from community partners, will be assisting.

"We have really brought in a whole group of people to do this," Slowe said. "Hopefully, it's going to be a success."

Slowe also hoped homeless advocates would work with the former campers to assist in the cleanup.

The first wave of the cleanup will take place in early April when the NH Harm Reduction Coalition will come in with its crew to clean up used needles and other biohazards before volunteers arrived in the middle of the month to assist in cleaning up the rest of the debris. The needles and biohazards are "a big issue," she said, that needed to be addressed immediately.

"They know how to pick them up safely," she said. "The needles can't just be put in a dumpster."

Pan Am, she noted, had agreed to assist that team with personal protection equipment. Across the 300-yard stretch of cleanup, from the utility transfer station to the south, Slowe expected it would take the hazard team about a day to do the biohazard work. The upper section — between the power station and Market Basket, should be cleaned up quickly. South of that will, however, be the real problem, due to the number of camps.

After that, the trash and debris will be cleared.

"The estimate, right now, is that there is 30 tons of trash back there," Slowe said. "There's a lot back there and a lot that is going to need to be moved."

After the trash is cleared, it will be the brush and trees. Slowe is expecting a team of people to come in with chainsaws and chippers to clear most of the growth along the tracks so it will look as clear as the work done on the northern section of Storrs Street many years ago. The mulch will be left to suffocate any future brush growth.

Slowe has also established a volunteer signup link online if anyone in the community is interested in helping. That link can be found here. A liability form will also need to be signed by anyone involved in the effort, Slowe said.

Tentatively, the cleanup dates have been set for April 13, 14, and 15.

"We will need as many volunteers as we can get," she laughed. "You don't have a project (like this) until the community becomes involved. That was the piece that was missing and that we're providing."

Slowe said she had empathy for every one of the campers who was being removed from the property. Housing, substance abuse, and other issues were all big problems. At the same time, action had to be taken — and Brixmor's tenants, customers, the downtown, and city, as a whole, will be a lot better off.

Currently, there is no landscaping plan or fencing plan but Slowe hoped something would be done later.

Brixmor only has about a foot from their pavement to Pan Am's property — which makes it difficult to put up fencing. But, in order to keep the campers out after all the clearing is completed, something will have to be done, she said. Signage, too, would be good.

Over the years, a number of city interests, including the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, have discussed how to promote the gateway to the community in a better manner. Slowe said, hopefully, someone will take up the mantle and run with that aspect of the effort.

"Something," she said, "to make it a little more attractive."

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