ALLENTOWN – The resolution to a longstanding problem in Allentown appears to be at hand.
During the June 13 meeting of the mayor and Borough Council, Joe McGrath, Allentown’s code and zoning official, reported that demolition work was expected to begin on June 14 at a vacant gas station at 148 S. Main St. He said the gas station has been inactive since about 2002.
McGrath said underground gas tanks were removed under the supervision of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
“Unfortunately, a gas supply company allegedly filled the well monitoring pits with gas after the tanks were removed, thinking this was where regularly scheduled deliveries were to be dropped,” he said.
McGrath said the property owner ignored enforcement requirements of the DEP and the site remained vacant and in disrepair. He said no one was monitoring the wells when he became Allentown’s zoning and code enforcement officer in July 2016.
“I tracked down the appropriate state officials as well as the owner and researched the legal and procedural history as best I could. I learned the owner had sued the gasoline supply company for the improper filling of the monitoring wells, but the owner claims he lost the money he was supposed to use to clean up the site in bad investments,” McGrath said.
McGrath said he issued summonses to the property owner requiring him to appear in municipal court regarding the condition of the above-ground structure at the site.
The Monmouth County Engineering Department offered to provide assistance in writing a 100 percent grant which will be used to evaluate the contamination below ground, he said.
“We are in the grant writing phase now and this process will allow us to determine the extent of the contamination and the possible cleanup costs,” McGrath said. “Once that has been established, the situation and its possible resolutions will be evaluated and a decision will be made as to how to proceed.
“In the meantime, the municipal court process produced an agreement in which the owner is to take down the abandoned structure and grade the property. That process has been approved by the Building Department and the mayor and council.
“It is important to note that no borough funds other than my time have been expended on this private property. It was part of the abandoned property list assigned to me by the mayor and council when I was hired and is a resolution to a long overdue problem in Allentown.” McGrath said.