OLEAN — The owner of Hysol Park said he has proof that — despite allegations levied by Common Council members — the land below the facility is not contaminated with industrial pollution.

As members of the Common Council tabled a measure on June 10 to swap Hysol Park for a paper street — a city right-of-way meant for a never-built street — several council members said they believed it likely the property was contaminated with industrial pollution like other sites in the area that required remediation under the state Brownfield Cleanup Program. However, Jeff Belt, president of SolExpoxy — which owns the limited liability company that owns the park — spoke out against the insinuations and offered documents compiled by contractors that show the site is safe.

In a series of reports compiled 15 years ago for the inclusion of the SolEpoxy campus in the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program, no pollution was uncovered at the site, nor was any historic industrialization of the lot reported. A test boring, which stopped after 12 feet due to equipment stoppage — most other borings for the rest of the properties were between 24 and 33 feet — showed no pollution in the samples taken. Surface testing also showed no pollution.

Belt hired Day Environmental Engineering, of Rochester, and Phillips Lytle attorneys of Buffalo to bring the parcels into the state brownfield program, noting their experience with the heavily-polluted sites at Kodak Park in Rochester and the former Bethlehem Steel facilities in the Buffalo area.

The reports, provided by Belt to the Times Herald, also indicate that the property was never industrialized. Maps produced by the Sanborn Map Company — a firm that produced and regularly updated maps for fire insurance companies from the 1860s to the 1970s — show no buildings or rail spurs on the site through multiple revisions. The maps, which as presented in the reports date from 1886 to 1969, show that no structures were built on the site, while buildings to the west of the park were shown being built, expanding, and eventually being demolished.

Aerial photographs dating back to 1939 also show no buildings on the site, with what appears to be a ball diamond visible.

“It’s been a baseball field for about 100 years,” Belt said.

The center and west ends of the parcel, however, saw several developments — Olean Fibre Forming Co. and other companies used a building now located where the parking lot is, and rail spurs were also recorded. Remediation on those portions of the parcel was certified in 2019, and that land is not included in Belt’s proposed land swap.

The reports had also been made available to the city for several years, Belt said, adding he and Mayor Bill Aiello and council President John Crawford walked the park in 2022 to discuss converting it into a football field for younger sports teams.

Belt said he would like to help the city out, but it has not maintained the terms of its original lease.

“The city has not paid their $1 a year lease to SolEpoxy, ever,” Belt said, noting the agreement was set with Henkel. That could potentially open up the company to liability if anyone is hurt in the park, he added, and he wished to transfer the property to the city for some time. “This has been going on for nigh on to 10 years.”

Belt also took offense to an insinuation that he was seeking special favor from the council by proposing the trade, noting he worried a direct gift of the park would be a violation of state law on donations — hence a trade of property was suggested.

The interest in the paper street trade also comes from logistics. The paper street site adjacent to the main SolEpoxy property would be a better choice for a parking lot than the current lot, Belt said, adding employees have been hurt by slipping while crossing the street in wintertime.

“If the city does not want Hysol Park, no problem,” Belt said. “We can make other plans for it. And if I’m honest, I (would) work with the city — providing designers and planning consultants — to enhance and possibly enlarge park space. There could be better locations for a park. I’m not trying to force a deal that’s not in the city’s interest.”

He encouraged the council to make a decision one way or the other.

“I don’t think SolEpoxy can remain the owner of Hysol Park indefinitely,” he said. “It’s too risky for a business like ours.”