Palmerton borough council passed a motion that will help initiate the cleanup of two dilapidated properties on Hillside Avenue.

At Thursday’s meeting, borough Manager Rodger Danielson introduced the motion to take ownership of 3 and 4 Hillside Ave. from the Carbon County tax repository. The motion also includes steps to exonerate taxes on the properties.“In pursuing the cleanup of the dilapidated properties on Hillside Avenue, we got CDBG funds to remediate that,” Danielson said. “It is currently in the county depository, and in order for the work to be done, the borough has to take ownership of that property.”In addition, Danielson presented another motion in relation to the dilapidated duplex, requesting that the county and Palmerton School District also take steps to exonerate taxes on the properties.Danielson said that a contractor was already selected to clean up the location, and the borough was prepared to take possession of the properties in order to go forward.The residences had not been occupied for at least five years, Danielson said.“They’ve been in the state they’re in right now for just a very short time,” Danielson said. “Within the last month, they were standing. The wind in early December blew them down. It saved the contractor a lot of money, and a lot of danger.”Danielson said that the next step is to conduct an environmental survey for any dangerous materials, such as asbestos. Following that, the contractor can being the cleanup.