The long-abandoned Middleburgh Skinner’s is gone.
Crews demolished the Route 30 building Monday; by mid-afternoon, all that was left was a hole.
Next, said Schoharie County Treasurer Mary Ann Wollaber-Bryan, who negotiated a deal for clean-up at the site, DEC will do test digs today, Thursday, then on Monday, state contractor Precision Environmental is scheduled to begin excavating and disposing of the contaminated soil under the former car dealership.
That work is expected to take at least a week.
The site was contaminated by an oil spill when it was flooded out by Hurricane Irene in 2011.
The county eventually foreclosed on the property for non-payment of taxes, but has been unable to sell it because of the contamination.
In July, after years of conversations with DEC, Ms. Wollaber-Bryan said they’d reached an agreement: Carver Laraway would demolish the building with DEC handling the last piece of clean-up at no additional cost.
Plus, DEC will forgive a $50,000 clean-up lien on the property.
Once the work is done, the county will transfer ownership of the site to Mr. Laraway.
With the availability of Village of Middleburgh water and sewer and situated at the gateway to Middleburgh, the property is viewed as prime for development.
Getting it back on the tax rolls, Ms. Wollaber-Bryan said, will be a “win-win.”