Mayor Mason Offers Lear Property Update

ZANESVILE, Ohio-The Lear Property saga is hitting a new milestone. 

The city of Zanesville was recently presented with the deed to the derelict property. Mayor Don Mason says the city is starting its two phase project of determining the usability and toxicity of the property. 

“City forces went out last week and we actually started cleaning some of the vegetation. I felt bad for the people who live in the area and businesses who have conducted business in the area. They’ve had to put up with such terrible growth, so we’ve had city crews out there last week cleaning it up.”

Vegetation cleanup is part of the surface clean up which will include deducing which rubble piles have asbestos in them. After the surface cleanup the city will move into a subsurface clean up. 

“As we start this project it’s important to know that we’re also going to be looking at subsurface. I’m not gonna be satisfied until we can do a subsurface analysis to determine what areas have contamination and what that contamination is. It stands to reason that after thirty-five years of remediation that site won’t be as harmful as it was in 1985, but we want to establish beyond any doubt that this is a good site.”

Mason also wants to warn that trespassing in the site could be very dangerous.