The owner of several properties alongSgt. Stanley Hoffman Boulevard in Lehighton is asking the borough to remove a small brick building it owns at the site so the land can be developed.

Landowner Barbara Barilla was represented at Monday night's Lehighton Borough council meeting by Charles McKelvey, who said demolishing the 17-by-23-foot building, located next to Fresenius Medical Care at 168 Sgt. Stanley Hoffman Blvd., could signal an improvement to the area."If we can get that area looking decent and get some content in there that people like, it is going to improve this area considerably," McKelvey said. "With all the traffic going through there, the area really represents Lehighton to anyone going north."A roughly 5,000-square-foot warehouse in back of the borough-owned building would also be developed.While McKelvey didn't specify what type of development he would like to see on the property, his hope is for the area to be "modernized.""We want something that is attractive for the borough," he said. "With that little building gone, it can help potential leasers or buyers do the best they can do there. The building right now is in disrepair."Council member Darryl Arner asked if the removal would come at no cost to the borough, but McKelvey declined, stating that the expenses Barilla is putting into the property are significant and the price tag for knocking the building down, "shouldn't be too much.""We think the borough should be taking it down because they know the history as far as electrical, plumbing and what isgoing on underground,"McKelvey said.The small building in question was used for many purposes over the nearly 60 years the borough owned it, including a stint as a storage spot for bicycles by the police department."It's main use was a pump station, but that ended around 15 years ago," Council President Grant Hunsicker said. "We also used to keep Christmas decorations there for a while, but we had to stop because of the rust."Borough Manager Nicole Beckett said she would work with Bruce Steigerwalt, borough engineer, to check on the feasibility, cost and timeline of taking the building down."My only concern is the same as it was with the old sewer treatment plant," Steigerwalt said. "I'd like to see an environmental assessment done because of possible asbestos issues. I haven't been in there in many years. I'm assuming they took the pumps out after it was done being used as a pump station."Even if the building is demolished, the borough couldn't automatically deed it to Barilla."If we decide to dispose of the property, we have to put it out to bid," borough solicitor James Nanovic said.In other action Monday, council unanimously approved a motion to report delinquent utility accounts to the credit bureau through the Creditech collection agency.Beckett said the step could help landlords who are left to foot the bill if a tenant leaves without satisfying utility costs."We have unpaid accounts that go back not just months, but several years," Beckett said. "We're hoping to collect that through the bureau and not have to write it off. The borough has a set of steps it takes, and it would take a lot for an account to end up with the bureau, but we feel this is a good policy."