Find Insider Deals for items perfect around the house and on the goSparta residents attend a Georgia Public Service Commission hearing on whether a railroad company can use eminent domain to condemn property in their community, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Atlanta. – A hearing on Tuesday raised questions about a railroad company’s use of eminent domain in one of Georgia’s poorest areas.to legally condemn nine properties in Sparta, Georgia.
The law requires the company to show that the railroad will serve a public use and needs the line for business. Although Sandersville brought five potential customers to the hearing, they have not shown signed contracts with the customers or the CSX railroad, lawyers representing property owners said. A spokesperson for Sandersville said the owner has reached “agreements” with potential customers.
Maurer added that Sandersville hasn’t produced information on “basic issues” such as costs and expected loads. He also said that the company never contested a 50-page report produced by a railroad consultant that disputed the economic feasibility of the project. “There are markets that Veal Farms can’t reach,” Highsmith said. “There are markets that Southern Chips cannot reach economically without access to the CSX mainline in East Georgia."
Quarry or not, Blaine Smith said nothing could convince him to willingly give up the part of his land. The property in Sparta has been in his family for several generations. The couple might move back to Sparta full time, but they also want to protect their land for future generations of Black farmers – a small slice of an already declining population of farmers.