LEOMINSTER — A dispute over a sliver of land used for parking and storage by a power equipment business and purchased in 2023 by the City of Leominster for the Twin Cities Rail Trail has spilled over into social media.
The owners of Schofield Power Equipment on Summer Street claim they were kept in the dark about plans for the property that abuts their building. The business has been using the land to store equipment.
“We received a letter the city on Monday (Jan. 13). The city gave us two weeks to agree to its terms to lease the property,” said Shawna Schofield, the granddaughter of the company founder. “We have until Feb. 1.”
“It was never their land,” said Mayor Dean Mazzarella in response to a query by the Telegram & Gazette. “They never got permission to use the land, they just took it over.”
Mazzarella acknowledged the company was sent the letter but pointed out that a sentence prompted the company owners to call the city with questions and concerns.
“We have no issue with tweaking the agreement,” Mazzarella said.
The back-and-forth has been prominent on social media, with the Schofield Facebook page rife with comments from residents and customers blasting the city.
The land, less than two-tenths of an acre, belonged to CSX, a rail transportation company, until the city purchased it. It is part of the Twin Cities Rail Trail project, a biking and walking trail linking Leominster with Fitchburg. The property will be landscaped and serve as a portal to downtown.
“There will be benches, sitting areas along the trail, for people to tie their shoes, take a rest,” Mazzarella said.
While the business has been on the property since 1981, the company only had a lease with the railroad during the last few years, Mazzarella said. The lease was negotiated in 2021, after the city surveyed the property in preparation for the purchase. The survey showed the business had encroached on the land, including the railroad tracks.
“The trains were still running when we moved in,” Schofield said, adding they landscaped the parcel when the tracks were pulled up. The family attempted to purchase the tract but said the railroad told them it was not for sale.
At issue is less than two-tenths of an acre of land, the property the Schofield business now uses, as opposed to the tenth of an acre the city is willing to lease back. That sliver could cost the business $7,000 a year if it opts to sign the city’s contract.
“It may not seem as if we’re losing a lot, but we’re losing accessibility to our property for contractors, landscaping trucks and trailers, for the 18-wheelers delivering equipment, for our contractors,” Schofield said. “When it’s busy in the spring and fall, the parking lot is beyond packed.”
The mayor pointed to a commercial parking lot across from the business, suggesting that when it gets busy, employees could park in that lot. Mazzarella said he offered to knock the price of leasing those spaces off the proffered contract.
Mazzarella said the city does not want to force anyone out of business. However, Schofield claims the family was advised to clear out the portion of the property that now belongs to the city or face losing their business license. The contract prohibits the storage of hazardous material on the city-owned portion of the property and also requires the company purchase liability insurance.
“They are doing well,” Mazzarella said, noting the city spent $137,000 in the last two years and $417,000 over the last decade at the business. “They get more business from the city than any other small businesses in the city.”
According to city documents, the 5-mile rail trail was conceived in 2004 as a way to transform and use the abandoned railroad corridor. Then-U.S. Congressman John Oliver secured $4 million in federal funds to build the trail. A series of public hearings followed in 2016.
Design work was completed in 2018, with 2020 seeing the City Council enter into lease agreements with abutters. A ribbon cutting for phase 1 of the project was held in 2022.
The timeline offered by the mayor indicates the city did converse with the Schofield family about the plans and revised it to accommodate concerns they expressed. The city bought the tract in August 2023 for $1.2 million, purchasing a total of 3.4 acres from Carter Park on Mill Street to a point 75 feet south of Mechanic Street.
However, the Schofield family claims their attempts to be involved in the project were ignored.
“We weren’t alerted to public meetings, we weren’t in the loop,” Schofield said. “The city did not want us to know what was going on.”
The family, acknowledging the success of their business, said they could be in the market for a new location. However, the cost of relocating and preparing a property for their business is prohibitive.