The property at 8264 Ridge Road West has sat vacant for years, but now with the help of funds from the Department of Environmental Conservation and a Brownfield grant, the property will be cleaned up, cleared off and eventually made into a public space.

"The site of the former 104 Collision shop was taken back by the county for taxes and we approached them about taking it over - if we could get a grant from the DEC for clean up. The grant came through so now we can begin the work," Town of Clarkson Supervisor Paul Kimball said. The less than one-acre property is home to a concrete block building, a wood frame building, tractor trailer bodies and a buried gas tank. The property has a paved parking area in the front and a wooded lot in the back. The site was used as a retail gas station from about 1930 to 1970 and served as a vehicle service station for close to 50 years.

A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment was performed in January that found an existing above ground petroleum storage tank and an underground petroleum storage tank and at least one hydraulic lift in the garage. There are various drums, containers and other waste material on the site.

The DEC will perform a collection and analysis of samples of surface soil, subsurface soils and groundwater for the presence of contamination. Additionally, an Interim Remedial Measure (IRM) will be proposed to address the removal of any hazardous materials on the site.

The town received $181,440 from the DEC in a 90/10 grant split. The 10 percent that will be the town's portion will be put up in the form of labor. "We won't have to use any public money for the project," he said. "We hope to start work with our highway department once they wrap up their summer schedule - probably by mid-October."

Kimball said the town's intent is to make a small community park on the site. "We want it to be similar to Sagawa Park (in the Village of Brockport) to be a neighborhood walking park," he said.

The expectation is that the site will be green, mowed space by next summer but Kimball wasn't certain whether a design would be implemented for the "actual" park at that time. "That phase could take us a bit longer but we have some ideas on what we'd like to see there, " he said.

© August 26, 2007 - Westside News Inc.