COSADC to Buy City's Unauthorized Dump

The City of San Angelo Development Corporation board will entertain the purchase of 17.58 acres of land in the midst of new hotel alley.  The area currently houses seven hotels.  The Development Corporation will consider buying the land from the city

The city put the land up for bid in May 2017 with proposals due in mid-July.  Bid documents show the city once had an incinerator on the site and used the land as a dump.

A 2002 Environmental report stated the land had been "transferred to Jack and Wanda Tubb in the early 1980 and subsequently transferred back to the city after discovery of wastes disposed at the site."

Cleanup estimates in 2002 ranged from $162,000 to $244,500 for remediation of a 2 foot layer over 1 acre.  It"s not clear how much household waste dumping the city conducted at the site in the decade after the incinerator closed.

The Development Corporation board and the public deserve to be informed of this property's history under city ownership.  The Development Corporation is a city sponsored entity, as its members are appointed by City Council. 

Apparently, there were no bids from the public solicitation for proposals for the old incinerator site.  Any sale from the city to the Development Corporation should be at arm's length with material disclosures. 

Update 10-2-17:  The Development Corporation board heard about potential environmental concerns.  They did not share the history of the property under city ownership during their approval of property purchase.  City Council will undertake the item on 10-3.  City Council's agenda packet makes no mention of the city's using the land as an unauthorized dump.