Lack of vision for Packerton Yards

Dear Editor,

The Carbon County Commissioners are now planning to sell the Packerton Yards.

Let's get this straight … the commissioners used $350,000 of taxpayer money to purchase this property 11 years ago; used $67,000 of taxpayer money to demolish a building; and used millions of taxpayer money to pay engineers, surveyors and lawyers to create development plans for an industrial park, for railroad access, for Pennsylvania Department of Transportation highway access and to sue Mahoning Township.

Now they want to sell it with an opening bid of $300,000. What a great return on taxpayer investment … not! And for what, to live up to a campaign promise? On the campaign trail several years ago Commissioners Wayne Nothstein and Thomas J. Gerhard promised to get rid of the "white elephant" Packerton Yards. They didn't promise not to spend millions of taxpayer dollars before selling it. Is it any wonder our taxes keep increasing?

A good idea that is already on the books as listed in the Carbon County Comprehensive Plan, approved by the commissioners in the late '90s, outlined a much more realistic goal for the Packerton Yards as a tourist parking area servicing Jim Thorpe and surrounding areas.

Or, what about developing part of the property for a fire training facility to help our volunteer fire departments now that the Lehighton training facility has been demolished. Wouldn't it be better to use this property as a public park rather than sell it off for pennies on the dollar?

After all the taxpayers paid an awful lot of money for it!

Duane A. Dellecker

Lehighton