When he’s not performing his official duties as Fredericksburg’s vice mayor, Chuck Fry delivers packages for UPS.
But Frye took the time during Tuesday’s City Council meeting to offer his services as a real estate agent.
“I wish the CEO of your company would buy one of the houses on Railroad Avenue and move his family there,” Rep. Frye (4th District) told Randy Marcus, director of state relations for CSX Transportation, who was at the meeting Tuesday to provide an update on the railroad company’s efforts to investigate and resolve the issues that led to the July derailment of a five-car train near the Cobblestone Square Apartments.
“Move there and see what it’s like to live there and see it happening right in front of your family.”
Similar sentiments were echoed in lawmakers’ tough questioning of Marcus, who detailed major changes the railroad is making as a result of the investigation.
About 10 days after the derailment, a new derailment device was installed on the south side of the Interstate 3 overpass near the CSX rail yard, away from residential and private property, Marcus said.
Marcus said the old derailment device near Cobblestone is covered with a “big pile of rocks” until a new signal switch can be installed and integrated into CSX’s system.
“There’s no way something could go off the tracks and have an impact on the community there,” he added.
Marcus said CSX engineers analyzed the sound barrier when it was built 20 years ago and found no proximity issues.
“They definitely should have realised that the derailment device was too close to the sound barrier,” he said.
Mayor Kelly Devine asked Marcus whether CSX would support a separate, independent investigation into the derailment by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), a measure pushed for last week by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-7th District).
“We will follow that investigation,” Marcus said.
This response did not satisfy Councilman John Gerlach (District 2), who contended that CSX has a legal obligation to respond to and comply with such an investigation.
“You dodged the question,” Gerlach said. “Do you actively support Congressman Spanberger’s call for further investigation?”
“It is not my place to say whether any additional investigation is necessary,” Marcus responded. “We believe we have identified the issue and have addressed it internally.”
“So the answer is ‘no,’ fine,” Gerlach said.
City wants to ‘stay in the race’ for data centers
Mayor Kelly Devine is an avid sports fan, and that history is influencing the framing of the city’s current plans to build a data center.
“Taking this step doesn’t commit us to anything, but it does keep us in the game,” Devine said Tuesday night about partnering with the city’s economic development office to fund a $200,000 feasibility study to be conducted by Dominion Energy. “If we don’t stay in the game now, we lose. We’re not going to be a part of any discussions going forward.”
Hours earlier, during a City Council work session, EDA Chairwoman Beth Black suggested the board would be open to funding the study entirely out of its own budget, rather than with taxpayer money.
“It will be a pain, but we believe it’s what’s best for the region at this time,” Black said in response to Gerlach’s question about how the use of EDA funds would affect the area’s ability to pursue other economic activity.
Karrie Roberts, president of the Fredericksburg Neighborhood Coalition, told city council members that data centers have become core infrastructure for our community and should be viewed as such, citing a recent Parks Associates report that found the average American home has an average of 16 internet-connected devices.
“They’re no longer a nice-to-have,” Roberts said. “We have to have them.”
Roberts also said Dominion has told major data center developers and local electric cooperatives that the time it takes to complete a project from the engineering stage, or “flip the switch,” has increased to seven years because of a long queue of such projects.
“I think what we’re focused on is taking the next step,” Devine said.
But not everyone agreed with the mayor’s support: In public comments, some residents voiced their opposition to the data center and to how quickly the process was being moved.
City resident Eric Bonds urged council members to find a “different kind of economic development” that doesn’t exacerbate climate change.
“The rapid growth of data centers we are seeing today is completely inconsistent with the safe and secure environment we want for our children and grandchildren to enjoy,” Bonds said.
Councilman Tim Duffy (Ward 3) relayed the overall sentiment expressed at a recent meeting of the Clean and Green Committee, of which he serves.
“There’s definitely some concern within the city that using this much energy doesn’t align with our climate goals,” Duffy said.
