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Letter to the Editor 2/5/2010
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EDITOR: Do you have a clue as to who is going to benefit from the latest questionable decision by the county commissioners to pull the Penn State Extension Program, Master Gardener Program and 4-H offices, as well as the district justice, out of the school district owned building in Towanda Borough's First Ward? They also plan to move the Literacy Program to this new location and the Veteran's Representative. Has the school district asked them to move out?
I do not remember coverage of a county announcement of this possibility, so that program directors and taxpayers could consider all implications of the situation and question publicly what appears to inflict a very heavy blow to all of these programs and the County's Veterans' Representative office by moving them to an unsuitable area with very limited parking and questionable handicapped accessibility.
The commissioners recently purchased the old building on the corner of Main and State streets and feel that location is much better for all of these program? County employees are now working on the proposed location and I have seen no costs announced for the extensive renovations that must be carried out to accommodate approximately 10-12 employees, plus the public that uses their services.
If you are not familiar with the location and condition of that building, do a drive-by and see what you think and then drive down Main Street south to the former Towanda Township school building and see if you think that location is more feasible for such an endeavor.
They say that by selling the old Towanda Township school (now empty and owed by the county), the building will go back on the tax rolls. Well, only the county tax rolls, as well as Towanda Township if the buyer is not another tax exempt entity.
If this is true, what is the purpose behind all of this, and again, who is going to benefit from such maneuvers? As a Towanda Borough taxpayer, I am upset that county, once again, is taking another property from our tax base, which is overrun now with tax exempt entities on the books and is leaving the Towanda Area School District with another empty school building.
The legal notice that the county is holding an auction on Saturday, Feb. 13, for items including the entire kitchen contents of the former school building on Main Street south, and the notice that they are accepting bids for the purchase of the property at 10 a.m. on Feb. 25. If any taxpayers are as concerned about this as I am, contact all the county commissioners at once and demand a full explanation as to how they came to justify what appears to be a poor decision.
Jo Rockwell
Towanda
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Review first reported the County Commissioner's decision to vacate the First Ward building in a Page 1 story on Nov. 20.
8 posted comments
I can't believe the price they paid for a junk location and building (needs $100's of thousands in renovations).