Although Wheatland council's hesitance to take over ownership of the Taylor estate property is infuriating Mayor Tom Stanton, council members Wednesday said they need more information before they can make a decision.

Stanton said he would like to plant trees and other vegetation, stabilize the Shenango River bank, clean up debris left from the 1985 tornado and, maybe, create a walking path on the 40-acre plot at the south end of Church Street, west of the Wheatland Tube plant.

But council is worried about the waste buried at the site and the borough's liability should it become uncovered.

The property was an unpermitted landfill from 1959 into the '70s, where municipal and industrial wastes were dumped.

The state had the site cleaned up in 1999.

The waste, some of which is hazardous to humans, was consolidated on 10 acres and covered with topsoil.

Councilwoman Nita Buczo said she is worried that the borough would have to properly maintain the property and could be liable if the waste is exposed.

"I don't want to go on there if it's contaminated," said street department employee Andrew "Bucky" Clarke. "No one can prove to me it's not contaminated. If you can't take the trees and grass off the property, it's contaminated."

Clarke was referring to state recommendations concerning the area where the waste is contained. Stanton said the state does not want anything removed from the area to avoid erosion of the top soil, which could eventually expose the waste.

"You deal with more contamination with that fire truck than you'll ever have to deal with down there," Stanton said to Clarke, the borough's coordinator of fire service operations.

Although ownership of the site is disputed by the Alvin Taylor estate and the John Maneely Co., parent company of Wheatland Tube, both sides are willing to turn over their rights to the borough, Stanton has said.

Council has already agreed to give up $4,050 in back taxes to make the transition possible -- neither Maneely nor the estate want to be responsible for the taxes -- and the Farrell Area School Board has agreed to give up $15,314.

"It seems like they desperately want us to take it right now," Council President David Cusick said of a recent letter from the state.

But Council will not be act until it feels comfortable, Cusick said.

"We're undecided," he said. "We want to talk about it a little bit. Once you get it, that's it."