OLEAN — A land swap request was set aside Tuesday over concerns of precedent and pollution.

The Common Council indefinitely tabled a resolution to swap Hysol Park for a paper street space at the north end of Maple Street. The deal would be with Silence Dogood LLC, a company owned by SolEpoxy CEO Jeff Belt.

The park property has long been owned by SolEpoxy and former plant owner Dexter/Hysol, and still carries the Hysol name. The city leases the 3.24-acre property for $1 a year. The paper street — a term for a right of way corridor owned by the city but undeveloped as a road — is adjacent to the SolEpoxy properties, also owned by Silence Dogood.

Several council members questioned the wisdom of acquiring the park property due to its proximity to brownfields and the potential for contamination at the site, citing a study that did not delve into the park’s industrial history.

“No information came back from the one boring in Hysol Park,” said council President John Crawford, D-Ward 5, referencing an environmental study provided by Belt, which noted significant contamination at various other sites in the immediate area from more than a century of industrial uses ranging from oil refineries to fertilizer production. Contaminates found in the nearby sites included arsenic, chromium, lead and petrochemicals, which can cause serious health problems.

Crawford recommended Belt perform more research into the possible contamination before considering moving forward with the property swap.

JR Bennion, R-Ward 1, said, “I would be very surprised if Hysol Park was not contaminated. Me, personally, I’ve got zero interest in even moving forward because it’s contaminated — unless it’s going to be remediated before we own it.”

Vernon Robinson Jr., I-Ward 6, asked, “Why are we using it as a park?” It was a sentiment shared by other council members.

Also of concern was a longstanding norm to deny the sale of paper streets.

Bennion said he previously attempted to acquire a paper street — a dead-end section of Delaware Avenue on which he owns property — but he was turned down with the understanding it was city policy to not sell paper streets. He said if the council allowed the transfer, then all previous requests for paper streets should be reevaluated.

He said the request “reeks of favoritism,” noting Belt’s contributions to the community.

Belt funded several studies for the city government, including the initial Walkable Olean project and the Lincoln Park pavilion project. He also purchased the former Marra building and others along the 100 block of West State Street from the city Urban Renewal Agency, a quasi-government agency controlled by the city government.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, the council received a preliminary report on an audit by the Office of the State Comptroller, indicating several fiscal controls should be put into place.

The auditors, who officials said have been working in city hall for several months now, recommended making regular adjustment entries to keep books up to date, rather than upward of 200 adjustments at the end of a fiscal year; providing monthly budget reports on large capital projects to ensure more council oversight on spending to avoid project overruns like that seen on the Walkable Olean Phase 1 project on North Union Street which led to over a million dollars in judgements and settlements levied on the city; and creating written policies and procedures in the auditor’s office.

City Auditor Lens Martial said he supported the recommendations and was already making changes to comply.

The report, which is not yet public, is expected to be released after a corrective action plan is submitted to the OSC — as is the norm for such audits.

Bennion noted the recommendations were similar to those conducted by outside auditors hired by the city to review the books annually, but the city needs to increase travel and training resources for the auditor’s office. Finance Chair Sonya McCall, D-Ward 4, asked the mayor to put together a plan and what funding would be needed to improve the office for the next meeting on June 24.

Crawford also suggested getting a complete update on the budgets and schedules of the three largest capital projects — the East State Street project, the South Union Gateway project, and the splash park at War Vets Park — at the same meeting.