Palmerton has agreed to take possession of eight properties in the borough.

After a near hourlong executive session, borough council, on a 6-0 vote, agreed to the measure. Council President Terry Costenbader was absent.As part of its decision, council made three motions: to ratify to have the borough manager and borough solicitor file the deeds to HH Liquidated; to exonerate all taxes based on the eight properties; and to ask Carbon County and Palmerton Area School District for the exoneration of those properties.After the meeting, borough Manager Rodger Danielson said"They've been under abandonment for the last eight to 10 years, and the borough has tried to obtain them through bankruptcy court, " Danielson said. "We're trying to obtain them as a final means of bankruptcy measures."Of the properties, Danielson said three are located in the West End section of the borough; most visibly of which is the hillside along Mauch Chunk Road between Mauch Chunk up to the back of the properties on Princeton Avenues.Other properties in the West End include a property between Princeton and Edgemont Avenue, as well as one small parcel between Ridge Street and the Park Creek along Mauch Chunk Road, he said. Three other properties are located between an alleyway and Aquashicola Creek, Danielson said."It's to be protective of the flood project we did in the early 2000s," he said. "They have very little real estate value, but have value to the borough."Also on Thursday, council briefly discussed the status of the vacant lot at 910 Edgemont Avenue.Danielson announced that the borough received no bids for the property, which the borough took over ownership of last November.As a result, Borough Council will have to mull its options, according to borough Manager Rodger Danielson.Before that, the property had been abandoned for many years, and cited various times, Danielson said.