After its regular workshop session Dec. 1, members of Coplay Council met in executive session to discuss purchasing the abandoned General Supply property, 1 Bridge St.

“We signed an agreement with General Supply in June with a bunch of stipulations. The seller met all the requirements,” said Councilman Stephen Burker after the meeting. “We were concerned that the site might be contaminated, but it passed Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental inspections.”

Costs for the expensive environmental testing were borne by the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation and the seller, General Supply.

“The borough did not spend any money to get these tests done,” Burker said.

After reviewing the inspections, any contamination can be contained with a macadam surface, according to the information presented to council.

“We intend to put a new public works building down there and a recycling center/drop-off point. Having a macadam surface is what we need to do anyway,” Burker said.

The price stays the same at the original offer of $215,000 for approximately five acres. According to Burker, General Supply has agreed to clean up debris at the site.

“We estimated the cost at ten to fifteen thousand. That’s a big help from the seller,” he said.

The borough intends to close on the property Dec. 23. Council is expected to approve the purchase at its next regular meeting Dec. 8.

“It is a good price for a lot of land in the borough. After we put public works and recycling down there, we’ll have some land left over that the borough can look at using,” Burker said.

Burker invited anyone with questions or concerns to attend council’s next meeting.

“We aren’t trying to hide anything. We want to be open about what we intend to do,” he said.