Lansford Borough Council wants to see if an offer to take over the former Lehigh and New England train station is good.

The borough owns the 1925 brick building along Dock Street which the railroad ceased using in the 1960s. It operated as a machine shop afterward for 50 years.

The borough hoped to transform the building into a tourism hub and Carbon Career and Technical Institute students did conceptual drawings featuring a market with food stands, a gift shop and museum.

The borough received a grant for its purchase, as well as another grant to start renovations work.

But it also accrued bills — one of which was on its agenda for Thursday’s special meeting.

Resident Christopher Ondrus wanted to know when it was going to end with the bills for the train station, pointing to the $1,314 unpaid electric bill council had before it and additional water and sewer bills in the thousands.

He also pointed out that vandals broke vintage windows after concrete blocks were taken down, and a turned off oil burner and busted lines.

“We’re losing thousands of dollars in tax revenue down there. We’re paying insurance on the building,” Ondrus said. “I’m not against restoring that train station, but please do the taxpayers a favor and find somebody else to take this white elephant over and get it off our backs.

“There were probably good intentions when this all began, but it’s not benefiting us at this point,’ he said.

In January, Councilman Bruce Markovich, who had been driving the restoration efforts, said the Lansford Historical Society was willing to accept a transfer of ownership of the station and reimburse the borough any tax dollars spent on bills, such as the utilities.

Council briefly discussed the original funding and payments made for the train station, some believing that about $75,000 in borough funds were never reimbursed from the original grant.

Council President Joseph Genits said that enough was said about the numbers, and suggested they move on until they have firm answers.

Later, Councilman Jack Soberick asked to go off the agenda after council approved grant payments to Mazella Enterprises, $85,000, and Joe Beer Engineering, $9,580, for work on the train station.

Soberick wanted to know if an offer, or proposal, for the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau to make the borough whole and transfer the train station to Lansford Historical Society was good.

“I think it’s imperative that we send written communication to the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau and the Lansford Historical Society to see if the vacation or visitor bureau is a legitimate, actual offer, or just some street corner BS,” Soberick said.

“If that’s true, then we need to work to make that happen,” he said, “And if the Lansford Historical Society is willing to accept that building.”

Soberick said that Markovich had told council that PMVB would pay, or reimburse, the borough for funds that it expended on the building to date, and the historical society would take it over.

Resident Ronald Peck wanted to know if there was any agreement between the borough and previous train station owner, Kenny Hill. Bartek immediately said yes.

Genits explained that Hill expected the borough to take it and help restore it to benefit the town, and Bartek interjected, “tourism.”

“With the two (organizations) that were mentioned, it still remains the same, the hope there is to restore the train station.” Genits said. “That would fall in line with the No. 9 Mine, too.”

Soberick said they just want to see if the offer is legitimate, and if so, they would move forward with an agreement drafted by the attorneys.

The motion to write to the PMVB and historical society regarding the offer was unanimous, and included Councilwoman Gwyneth Collevechio, who joined the meeting by phone. Markovich was absent.

Genits explained the most recent work done at the train station.

A $94,580 state gaming grant paid for a contractor to gut the building and bring it back to the original train station with nothing inside, Genits said. He inspected the work, which also included new electrical service, he said.

Council also approved paying a $1,314.17 bill for electric to PPL for the train station, per Solicitor Bob Yurchak.

Genits explained that the bill is a result of a mistake made at the time of closing on the sale of the building.

The previous owner had a credit that was going to be applied, but that amount was depleted before this bill was incurred, Yurchak said.