The Glencoe Park District has paid nearly $40,000 to remove two old underground storage tanks at the Takiff Center, and more money may have to be spent to complete the project.
The 1,000-gallon storage tanks were found Nov. 9 as crews were in the initial stages of renovating the Takiff Center maintenance yard, which is adjacent to the main building, according to Park and Maintenance Director Chris Leiner. He added the area was under construction as part of a project to add more than 60 parking spaces at the Takiff Center, which serves as the Park District’s headquarters.
“It is an older site, and you never know what you can expect on an older site,” Executive Director Lisa Sheppard said.
The tanks were found were under asphalt in the driveway, which was being replaced as part of the project, Leiner said.
He believed the storage tanks were used to hold gasoline or heating oil sometime before 1972.
“In a community of this age, a lot of houses had heating oil tanks and a lot of municipalities used to have underground gas tanks,” Leiner said.
A 1989 survey of the land did not indicate the tanks were in place, Park District documents noted.
Leiner said the tanks were removed Dec. 11 under the supervision of the state fire marshal, and the Park District is waiting on a report from an environmental firm – expected the week of Dec. 18 – to see if any gas or heating oil seeped into the soil.
Leiner said soil around the area where the tanks were discovered has been removed, and more may be removed if heating oil or gas is discovered. In the meantime, the area where the tanks were found has been covered in stone, he said.
Leiner said the project has already cost between $36,000 and $40,000, and could cost more if additional soil needs to be removed.
If the soil has been contaminated, the Park District will file a claim with its insurance company to recoup the costs beyond the money that has already been spent, he said.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
