Village Demands Old Amoco Clean Up ASAP

The Village will clean up the old Fort Salonga Road Amoco station itself and leave the owners with the bill if they don't come forward within a week, Northport Village Trustees agreed Tuesday.

Located prominently at the intersection of Fort Salonga Road and Laurel, the gas station has been decommissioned for quite some time and the property completely abandoned and unsupervised for about a year. Broken windows and doors have made the property both an eyesore and a hazard, said officials.

Village Administrator Gene Guido said that he has tried to remedy the situation for some time though it's not clear who owns the property.

"We sent registered letters and everything," Guido said at the Village Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday. "...Whoever owned the building is in the process of losing it, but they haven't awarded it to anybody."

Village Board members agreed that the property should be cleaned up as soon as possible, ideally by the first weeks of September, though debated whether or not the property presented an immediate danger to the public.

"We had the same discussion with the Cow Harbor Inn," said Mayor George Doll, "it was whether you're going to feel bad if somebody gets hurt there tomorrow or you wait the two weeks and get it done. The only difference was that they were in contact with the owners then."

Village Attorney Jim Matthews advised the board to follow a non-emergency procedure that will allow the village to recoup money spent on the cleanup. According to the procedure, Gene Guido must prepare a written report, present it to the Mayor and to the owner and then give the owner notice of a meeting where he or she may give their point of view.

"Once that's done they get five days notice to cure, and if they don't do it, we can go ahead," said Matthews. "Then we'll have the right to assess [the cost of the cleanup] against the property."

A meeting between the owner and at least three trustees was tentatively set for Tuesday, Aug. 21 at 4:30 p.m. If the owner does not show, the Village may begin the process of boarding up the windows, securing the doors, and white washing the building.