By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD – The Borough Council is seeking to have a vacant property cleaned of contamination and redeveloped as a small park.
On Nov. 7, council members passed a resolution supporting the environmental remediation and subsequent redevelopment of the Colaner property, a half-acre property on Throckmorton Street between West Main and South streets in Freehold Borough.
As previously reported by the News Transcript, the Colaner property was once the location of a radiator repair shop and is now an empty lot. The property was abandoned after its owner died and the owner’s family did not claim responsibility or ownership of the property.
According to the resolution, borough officials have determined there has been, or suspects there has been a discharge of substances on the property and are authorized to apply to the Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund (HDSRF) for funding for the assessment, investigation and remediation of the property.
The purpose of applying to the HDSRF is to determine the extent of and remediate any hazardous substances or waste that may be present on the property.
According to Councilman George Schnurr, an underground gasoline storage tank leaked and the contaminants found in the soil were consistent with the leak, which included benzene, toluene and xylene.
Borough officials intend to acquire the property for the purpose of redevelopment and are committed to redeveloping the parcel as a park, according to the resolution. The resolution states that officials believe there is a realistic opportunity to redevelop the property within a three-year period.
The cost of the cleanup will be $132,685 and a $99,500 grant from the state for the remediation and cleanup will cover about 75 percent of the cost, according to Schnurr.
“This property is in our downtown and we can’t have it an abandoned and contaminated mess,” Schnurr said.
As previously reported by the News Transcript, the state will pay for 75 percent of the remediation costs if a site will be used for recreation or conservation.
In other business at the meeting, the council passed a resolution honoring Susan Sweetman, a longtime member of the Freehold Borough Housing Authority who resigned from her position.
According to the resolution, Sweetman served on the housing authority for 25 years. The longtime resident was employed by Monmouth County for 20 years, served as a borough councilwoman and a fire commissioner, and worked as a volunteer for many organizations.
Sweetman currently resides in South Carolina, according to the resolution.
And, the council passed a resolution honoring Boy Scouts Noah Goldstein, Darian Atkinson and Kyle Hart for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.
According to the resolution, Noah, Darian and Kyle are residents of Freehold Township and joined St. Rose of Lima Boy Scout Troop 18 in the borough.
Noah is a graduate of Freehold High School; Darian is a graduate of the Freehold Regional High School District’s Computer Science Academy at Freehold High School; and Kyle is a senior at High Technology High School in Middletown.
For their Eagle Scout projects, Noah built structures that hold therapeutic children’s puppets at 180, Turning Lives Around; Darian built a model of a Revolutionary War field artillery piece at Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Manalapan; and Kyle designed a storage shed for the Hope Lutheran Church, Freehold Township.
