Authority has trouble acquiring property
REDSTONE TWP. – The Colonial Joint Sewage Authority is facing some problems acquiring the property they need for a project of new sewerage lines and a treatment plant. Although secretary Larry Williams said it was his understanding that when the project began the property owners agreed to sell their property to the authority for the prices determined by appraisal, board member Raymond Paris reported that some owners said they should receive almost twice the amount of the appraised value.
“At our last meeting we discussed the option of condemning the properties if we could not reach an agreement after the appraisal,” said Paris. “Then, we would pay them the amount of the appraised value.”
He added that if the project were delayed because property owners demanded prices the authority could not pay, it would affect a lot of people.
“We have a community project here and this will affect everyone,” said Paris.
The board asked the advice of its solicitor, Jack Purcell, who said that condemning the properties may not be cost effective either.
“I would prefer not to condemn three or four pieces if we can avoid it,” said Purcell. “That is not an inexpensive process.”
He suggested that he could send a letter to property owners making an offer and giving them a deadline to accept or decline.
Purcell that if they did decide to condemn the properties, it would only delay the project if someone challenged it.
Williams pointed out that the board had taken a loan of $35,000 for property acquisitions and rights of way, which he said would not be enough to cover costs if property owners raised prices. He said he felt that if that was the case, they should repay the loan and start the project over because it would not progress effectively the way it is going.
“I’m making a motion to satisfy this loan and let the board go get money. If we get funded by PENNVEST we should just start from scratch,” said Williams.
He said that there was an agreement between the authority and property owners that the owners would accept the appraised value because it was a community project, and the authority did not have the money to pay so much more.
However, Purcell reminded him that PENNVEST was scheduled to meet on May 7 to decide if they would fund the project, and said that perhaps they should wait for the results of that meeting before making a decision.
“We are not sure yet that we won’t be able to do this for that $35,000,” said Purcell. “We may still be able to do it for that money, and until we know what is going to happen on May 7 I don’t think we should do anything at this point.”
Williams retracted his motion, but said he was “very disgusted with the price gouging.”
Marie Statakis Hartman of Widmer Engineering said that if the property owners received notification that they must accept an offer or face condemnation, they may agree and move forward.
After their discussion, the board decided to table making a decision until after PENNVEST meets and they know if they are going to fund the project.