Nesquehoning is moving forward with a land acquisition that was purchased by Lehigh Carbon Community College over two decades ago.

During borough council’s recent monthly meeting, the board authorized Solicitor Robert Yurchak to proceed with the process to acquire the LCCC property, located in the village of Hauto off of Tonoli Road.

Yurchak noted before the vote that the grant shelf life for the property has expired and that this means the borough is not constrained by the grant details that were originally in place from the purchase of that property.

In 2023, council began weighing their options after LCCC’s president approached the borough to ask if it would be interested in the college donating the 40-acre plot that the college had purchased from the Kovatch family in 2004.

At the time, several discussions had taken place, however no move on whether the borough would take ownership occurred.

At that time, council noted that stipulations of the sale between the Kovatch family and LCCC was that if the property was not to be used by the college, then it could not be sold and must be reverted to a nonprofit.

The 40-plus acre tract, located off Tonoli Road in the village of Hauto was given to the LCCC Foundation in February 2004 for educational purposes and serve as an outdoor biological laboratory for students and the public in the area.

Since then, LCCC’s Carbon campus in Nesquehoning was closed, while its Tamaqua campus has grown.

Some options council discussed in 2023 with the possibility of taking over the land could be creating a dog park or other recreational walking area.

The plot, which was formerly a culm bank that had been reclaimed as part of a Growing Greener project, currently has some trails traversing through it that people use for walking or riding.