VALPARAISO | Nobody knows exactly where the property lines are drawn, but the city's Board of Public Works and Safety agreed Thursday to lease 25 feet of railroad right of way next to the new police station.

City Attorney David Hollenbeck said the previous owners of the R.W. Pool building, which the city bought and is renovating as the new police station, leased the strip of right of way from the CSX railroad several years ago so they could clean it up and landscape it as an attractive approach to the building.

Hollenbeck said the right of way was laid down in 1837 and is described as being 50 feet from the center line of the track.

Presumably, at that time there was one track, but, after several years and 13 different railroad line owners, as many as three tracks were laid down. It is back to one track, but, Hollenbeck said, the legal description isn't specific about the boundaries of the 50-foot right of way.

"You can't tell where the south property line of the Pool property is and the north line of the railroad right of way is," he told the board.

Although the exact boundary is "anybody's guess," Hollenbeck said it appears to come within 25 or 30 feel of the Pool property. Continuing the lease will cost the city $478 with an annual increase tied to the rise in the consumer price index. The city also must pay a $750 fee to the railroad to cover the cost of the transfer.

The city will restore and maintain the landscaping. Construction of the station is ahead of schedule and could allow the police to move in by late August.

The Board of Works opened one bid for furnishings for the station and, on Hollenbeck's recommendation, rejected it. New bids will be sought.