JONESBORO, Maine — The site of the former Schoppee’s Garage on Route 1 in Jonesboro is being turned into a community park.
Because of site contamination, the town of Jonesboro submitted a Remedial Response Plan and Voluntary Response Action Plan application to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection Oct. 22, 2014.
“The approximately one-acre site, now owned by the Town of Jonesboro, was operated as a service station and gas station from ca. 1936 to 1998. The site includes an abandoned garage that contains automotive service supplies and equipment, several containers of apparent used motor oil, a 275-gallon above-ground storage tank and two antique automobiles,” the remedial action plan document, prepared by GEI Consultants, reads.
Other items to be cleaned up on the site, according to the report, include an propane shed and various types of propane tanks.
“The grounds surrounding the garage contain scrap metal, two fuel storage tanks (apparently empty), a 55-gallon drum and other debris,” the application says.
Contamination at the site is now cleaned up, said Jonesboro Town Clerk Wendy Schoppee, who is also the daughter-in-law of the former garage owner.
The garage has been demolished and wooden posts mark its former outline and the location of the former doorway.
“That’s the first phase. It’s complete,” she said. “We’re trying to get a grant from the DOT for beautification.”
Future plans for the site include adding parking, space for a farmers market, a small boat ramp and a platform for fishing which will also serve as a scenic lookout, she said.
The project should be finished by the end of 2015 or, at the latest, the summer of 2016, Schoppee said.