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<\/p>\nSCOTT TWP. \u2014 For 25 years, Herb Grayek has enjoyed scenic views and open space on his family\u2019s property.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the peace and quiet,\u201d he said last week amid a field of green grass with groves of trees on both sides.<\/p>\n
But a low rumble and clanging in the distance portend the project Grayek says threatens to disturb his\u00a0serene surroundings.<\/p>\n
Core5 at North Scranton is moving ahead with plans to build several large warehouses in the township \u2014 2,000 feet from Grayek\u2019s 60-acre property off Koehler Hill Road. It\u2019s a project he and other residents are concerned about, but township officials say is economically beneficial.<\/p>\n
The Atlanta, Georgia-based developer is building two 50-foot-high warehouses \u2014 one 1.2 million square feet and a second nearly 700,000 square feet \u2014 on about 306 acres of land on Bushkill Hill Mountain off Interstate 81 and Montdale Road, near the Benton Twp. border. The warehouses have a combined footprint of nearly 1.9 million square feet.\n<\/p>\n
The developer is clearing the site to prepare for construction of the warehouses and a road that will connect them to Montdale Road, township Manager Carl Ferraro said. Township officials expect the developer will begin construction of a bridge crossing the south branch of Tunkhannock Creek later in the fall.<\/p>\n
Supervisor Chairman Michael Giannetta said the warehouses are located in the township\u2019s industrial zone, which he said is an isolated area far from residential properties.<\/p>\n
Giannetta said the warehouses have a economic benefit, as they would pay an estimated $57,000 in taxes to the township and $900,000 to the Lakeland School District yearly. Supervisors rejected Core5\u2019s request for a tax abatement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to encourage commercial development in our township,\u201d Giannetta said. Supervisors haven\u2019t raised taxes since 2002 as a result of development, including the Scott Technology Park, he said.\n<\/p>\n
The warehouses won\u2019t carry any toxic materials or garbage, or emit pollution, Giannetta said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, this is the least obtrusive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Water, pollution, traffic concerns remain<\/p>\n
Grayek and other residents of Scott and Benton townships and other municipalities formed the grassroots organization Protect Rural Lackawanna, to fight development. Their main concerns with the project are pollution and traffic.<\/p>\n
Residents also are concerned about the site\u2019s water use and its impact particularly in Benton Twp., where property owners use well water.<\/p>\n
Benton Twp. residents Michael Abballe and his wife, Megan Herring, fear more traffic\u00a0outside their home on Route 438 once the warehouses are completed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see it all the time,\u201d Herring said. \u201cLike the tractor-trailers, they\u2019re too big for a lot of these roads. They can\u2019t stay in their lane. They\u2019re always going in the middle. It\u2019s dangerous with all the blind curves and everything that\u2019s around here.\u201d<\/p>\n
A number of accidents over the years have occurred on Routes 438 and 107, with the intersection of those two roads being particularly dangerous, Herring and Abballe said.<\/p>\n
Grayek first noticed work to clear the site starting in August. He and others don\u2019t like that the work starts early in the morning, with noise from the construction site as early as 6 a.m., he said.<\/p>\n
His main concerns are light, sound, water and air pollution. Grayek said there will be loading docks with diesel trucks coming out onto Montdale Road, adding to potential pollution. He also worries about its proximity to Lakeland High School.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis township \u2026 they didn\u2019t care that this was being polluted,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no warehouse ordinance. They can pull out as much water as they want from wells. They could pollute as much light as they want. They could run 50 diesel generators 24\/7, no limits.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From left, Michael Abballe, his wife Megan Herring, holding their son Frankie, 2, Herb Grayek, of Scott Twp., and Renee Czubowicz, of North Abington Twp., stand for a photograph on the property of Herb Grayek overlooking land currently being developed in Scott Twp. Thursday, October 22, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
A swath of land in the distance undergoes developement near the property of Scott Township resident Herb Grayek Thursday, October 22, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
Show Caption<\/p>\n
1 of 2<\/p>\n
From left, Michael Abballe, his wife Megan Herring, holding their son Frankie, 2, Herb Grayek, of Scott Twp., and Renee Czubowicz, of North Abington Twp., stand for a photograph on the property of Herb Grayek overlooking land currently being developed in Scott Twp. Thursday, October 22, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n