REUNIONS

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A site that played a key role in Wyoming Valley coal mining history is off next week&#8217;s back-tax auction because the California-based owner has paid its debt, Luzerne County records show.The nonprofit Earth Conservancy had planned to bid on the two parcels totaling 112 acres in Ashley and Hanover Township so the site would be in safekeeping, possibly for use as a future public park about the Ashley Planes that once operated there.Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Ashley Planes was a series of rail inclines and steam engine-powered equipment that moved millions of tons of coal from the Wyoming Valley to the top of the Wilkes-Barre Mountain in Mountain Top over a century for shipment to Philadelphia and other East Coast markets.Mike Dziak, Earth Conservancy&#8217;s executive director, said he learned last week that the Reading Company had paid approximately $17,100 in taxes dating back to 2012 so the properties would not be auctioned in the popular free-and-clear sale Aug. 27.The properties did not sell at a previous first-stage upset sale requiring bidders to pay all taxes owed and accept any liens attached to their purchases.Reading Company representatives could not be reached for comment on why the company allowed the taxes to fall behind or its future plans for the site.Dziak and other area officials had repeatedly tried to convince the Reading Company to lease or sell the land so they could create the Ashley Planes Heritage Park featuring trails and interpretative kiosks.The Reading Company&#8217;s refusal to negotiate put the plans on hold, prompting a new county administration to scrap the project and sacrifice more than $1 million in state grants that would have funded the park.In light of this cancellation, Earth Conservancy gave up plans to donate hundreds of acres also needed for the park, opting instead to sell its land to the Pennsylvania Game Commission so it could remain undisturbed and available for public use.Dziak said he has no idea if the state or other entities will revive the historic park plans or if the Reading Company will ever consider selling.&#8220;We&#8217;ll just have to wait and see,&#8221; he said.The Reading Company property runs from Ashley and along state Route 309 and contains ruins of the Ashley Planes operation, a swimming hole and waterfalls.The company is linked to Reading International, which is involved in movie theaters and other ventures. The entity ended up with the Ashley Planes site and other former railroad property holdings through past mergers and acquisitions, records show.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Jennifer Learn-Andesjandes@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</shirttailMeta></div>

Historic Ashley Planes site off Luzerne County tax auction roster