Packerton Yards is still up for sale.

On Thursday, the Carbon County Commissioners anticipated opening bids for the sale of the property, which straddles Mahoning Township and LehightonAnd for the second time, no bids were there to open.One bid for the site, submitted by Northface Development LLC of Palmerton, was submitted before the deadline, but was withdrawn on Wednesday.Robert Crampsie, county controller, said that it was very unusual that a bid was pulled twice once during the first time the land was bid and now."I've never seen this in 23 years," he told the commissioners.Under the county code, the county is required to advertise for bids for the sale twice before it can look into other options.Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that they will look to see if anyone comes forward with an offer, noting that he is firm with the $300,000 price tag."It still is for sale," Commissioner William O'Gurek said."At this point, we would be welcome to discussions with anyone, and if no one steps forward to inquire about it, then we may have to consider giving a contract to a Realtor firm to try and sell it for us."The commissioners first tried to sell the property in September, with bids being opened Oct. 2, but only one bid was submitted by the deadline and was withdrawn before it could be opened.At the time, they discussed the issues that come with the property, including getting approval for any development project from Mahoning Township supervisors, as well as environmental safety requirements that the commissioners placed on the property.On Oct. 30, the board again voted to advertise for bids in the hope of finding a buyer.The history of the county-owned Packerton Yards dates back nearly a decade when the county purchased the property from Joseph and Elizabeth Zaprazny for $352,576.25.At that time, commissioners were O'Gurek, Nothstein and Charles Getz.Nothstein cast the sole "no" vote for the purchase.Over the course of the next eight years, the county spent $1.54 million on the property. Expenses included land appraisals, engineering fees, environmental studies, well drilling, building demolition, easements, consultant services, legal services and land development.Of that $1.5 million, the county received $621,700 in reimbursements from state and federal grants to help offset the costs. They also secured nearly $5 million in other state and federal grants for the industrialization of the land once all roadblocks were cleared.But Mahoning Township denied the project, and the supervisors decision was upheld in both Carbon County Court of Common Pleas and Commonwealth Court.These decisions effectively ended the future for the county developing the site.Nearly all of the $5 million has been returned because it could not be transferred to other uses within the county.