Maryville council members on July 22 directed town staff to send a certified letter to the owner of an abandoned gas station on U.S. 30 after receiving photos showing broken doors, trash and signs of neglect.
Council members said the boarded building near Geno's presents an eyesore at a principal town entrance and raised potential environmental concerns over abandoned underground storage tanks. Councilman Pettit said he and staff met with a developer interested in the site but said the asking price was too high and the developer did not want to remove underground tanks.
President Bella asked town manager Michael Griffin and attorney Joe Svetnoff (staff referenced in the meeting) to prepare a "very strongly worded certified letter" to the property owner and to pursue necessary enforcement. Police said they would increase patrol presence and staff said officers responded to calls earlier in the day. Griffin said staff would take appropriate action on building and property maintenance and would coordinate with police as needed.
No formal code-enforcement order or timeline was announced at the meeting; council members asked staff to handle communications with the property owner and pursue remediation steps that may include reporting to state or federal environmental authorities if necessary.