Roosevelt starts cleanup of Route 571 gas station
Borough will remove tanks and stabilize dilapidated building
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

ROOSEVELT - The tanks at the borough-owned gas station on Route 571 are being removed this week at a cost of $20,730.

Borough Administrator William Schmeling said that T. Slack Environmental Co., of Kenilworth, is doing the work. Further work on the site might be required if the removal of the tanks reveals contamination, he said.

The work is being paid for by a bond ordinance in the amount of $30,000, which is coming from the borough's capital improvement fund, according to Schmeling.

The nearly 3-acre site was abandoned many years ago. The building on the lot is unsafe, with broken windows, a collapsed roof and doors that have been broken several times, according to Schmeling. He said he has talked to borough employees about stabilizing the building.

Mayor Elsbeth "Beth" Battel said she visited the site recently and saw that the side door of the building is hanging open. She called the situation "very dangerous," especially at night, as there is a pit inside the gas station.

Councilwoman Pat Moser said she found the vandalism issue at the site very disturbing.

"I don't like vandals," she said.

Moser said it costs a lot of time and money to repair what vandals have wrecked.

"Someone, somewhere knows who is doing all this stuff," she said.

According to Councilman Jeff Ellentuck, a member of the borough's fire department said that someone had dumped dirt at the gas station site. A truck apparently dumped the dirt in the middle of the day, Ellentuck said, but no one who saw the truck took down its license plate number.