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By ANDREW TUTINO atutino@leader.net
Sunday, January 30, 2000 Page: 18
HAZLETON – If Mayor Louis Barletta has his way, you may someday putt for
birdie on a parcel of land where trash and industrial waste was once buried.
It’s part of a plan to turn 600 acres of land that surrounds the landlocked
city of Hazleton into industrial lots, and possibly a city park and golf
course. One of the parcels offers easy access to the interstate system and
many state routes. Government officials sing its praises, claiming the land
can help the city’s struggle to attract high-paying jobs and create green
spaces in a mostly concrete municipality. Barletta, following through on a
campaign promise, is attempting to further develop projects begun under former
Mayor John Quigley for some of the abandoned coal fields that surround the
city. The mayor held two meetings last week to see what exactly must happen
for the reclamation of the abandoned mine fields that have long plagued the
city. The parcels are the former coal mines located behind the East End Avenue
Firehouse and the Hazleton Shopping Center. Quigley’s administration worked to
have the mines reclaimed and turned into industrial lots and public parks
before he left office in 1996. For four years, parcel development has sat
stagnant. The years prior to that were spent testing and planning and drawing
and spending taxpayer money to make development become reality. Barletta wants
to pick up where Quigley left off. “It is very important,” Barletta said.
“The city is landlocked and we need to convert these areas to usable property
or beautify the property.” Barletta said the site behind the Hazleton
Shopping Center is extremely valuable because it can be viewed from the new
Southwest Beltway. The city hopes to attract business to the deserted lands
lining the beltway. Barletta feels if former mine lands are not reclaimed, it
will be harder to attract industry. The mayor’s two meetings about the project
last week, one with officials in the state Department of Environmental
Protection, and the other with state Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Butler Twp., set the
foundation for a trip to Harrisburg by Barletta this week to secure funding
for the project. “This is something we need to pursue as quickly as we can,”
he said. “The money’s out there and there is money in the community
development budget.” During Quigley’s eight-year tenure, Phase I and Phase II
of the project were completed. Barletta wants to start and complete Phase III
as soon as possible. During the first two phases, the project identified what
portions of the parcels could be developed, and isolated the land that
couldn’t. Quigley said about two-thirds of the land can be developed. Phase
III would be the actual planning and development of the land. “All this takes
time,” Barletta said. “It all depends on the magnitude of the project. I
don’t know if we will do it in small or large pieces. It all depends,” on the
size and scope of the project. Barletta said he wants the city to move forward
on projects like building parks or a municipal golf course behind the Hazleton
Shopping Center. “Some land may be suited for something like that,” Barletta
said. “It could be safe to use for that. The city owns the land and I want to
beautify what is now an eyesore. “I want to turn it into productive land for
the city.” One of the problems with the land behind the Hazleton Shopping
Center is that it once served as the city’s landfill. But despite that
impediment, Barletta and Quigley believe the land can be developed. “Because
of the huge impact on the environment and image, I thought reclamation had to
be a priority,” Quigley said. “We selected the area behind the shopping
center because it had incredibly good access. The site had a lot of potential
but it was a daunting challenge.” Quigley said his administration spent about
$500,000 in community development funding to complete Phase I and II of the
project. Overall, he estimates, the total cost of the project could reach $10
million. Because of the Quigley administration’s early work on the project,
Barletta said, the city is in an excellent position to get the land developed.
“With Phase I and II completed, we are on our way,” Barletta said. “We are
further than just starting. It is a long and expensive project, but will
benefit the city.”