Cecil Township Divests From ABB Property

Cecil Township Supervisors voted to terminate their agreement to purchase an industrial site on Muse Bishop Road. The ABB property was purchased by the township in 2017 for $10 with the township being responsible for the first $450,000 in remediation costs. That site is 87 acres and the site of a former coal mine and chemical factory. Controversy immediately arose over the history of the property and the proposed clean up. The township was intending to use the property to build a new public works maintenance facility but property and plans languished for several years with the board not interested in proceeding with those plans. Supervisor Chairwoman Cindy Fisher says the board determined that the township was not the right entity to try and develop the site and they decided to move on. Supervisor Tom Casciola was the lone vote against the separation agreement stating that the township has already spent $258,000 on the site that it will not get back. A new buyer for the property has emerged and according to Casciola, a small business park is going to be developed. Casciola stated that the township’s ownership of the property would not have generated tax revenue, but the new development will. At least that will recoup some of the money spent by the township on the site. The new owner will have to comply with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to assure the property is remediated correctly.