A developer who wants to bring a medical facility to Lansford is still committed to the project, despite a recent setback in his bid to demolish an abandoned theater currently on the site.

Joseph Bennett says the project hinges upon finding a site to dump clean fill when he demolishes the former theater and restaurant.In November, Bennett purchased the Palace, located at Patterson and Coal streets.In January, he appeared before borough council and said he intended to demolish the theater, and build a medical facility that would be leased to an unidentified tenant.Without a site to dump in the borough, Bennett said he has considered abandoning the project, but he's still trying to find a way to make the medical center work."I'm a person that's used to running over hurdles. I just found out I have a mile to go, and I thought only had a block," Bennett said this week.The dump site became an issue after a deal to dump the fill on borough-owned land fell through.Council decided in March to reverse an earlier vote allowing Bennett to dump the fill on property they thought the borough owned.The property in question may have been used as a dump site by the borough at one time. But council members decided it wouldn't be a good idea to grant Bennett's request."The property is not ours. (He can) speak to the owner to see if they have any problem dumping there, or they have another site. But I don't think we should be involved with the dumping process on that land," Councilwoman Rose Mary Cannon said at the meeting.Council looked into the deal they made after two former councilmen addressed them and said they didn't own the property.Bennett says finding a dump site in the borough is important to the project. He said local contractors have told him the cost of hauling debris from Lansford out of the borough is prohibitive."I would certainly consider any option that would continue the project, if it were economically feasible," he said. "I certainly believe there is a need for a medical facility in that town."Contacted earlier this week, Bennett said he was frustrated that the borough didn't contact him when they first heard about the issues with the site. Short of that, Bennett said that he would have liked the borough to work on helping him find another site for the debris."If they learned there was a problem, I would expect them to pick up the phone and say 'Mr. Bennett, we have a problem. We gave you permission to dump on our property, but now we learned it's not our property,' " he said.