.
Announcement regarding Proposed Administrative Complex:
Lackawaxen Township Board of Supervisors, Brian Stuart, Fred Gelderman, and Rich Krochta announced in late May that the township is shelving the proposed $1.6 million administrative complex. Instead, supervisors approved an agreement-for-sale and an option-to-buy contract for two lots totaling 32 acres near 590 and the Cuckoo’s nest.

This acquisition changes the township’s recently adopted plan to raze the existing municipal complex on Township Road, off Route 59,0 and invest $1.6 million to build a new township building. Supervisors Brian Stuart, Fred Gelderman, and Rich Krochta believe that the riding arena on one of the parcels is suitable for immediate use as a garage and township road vehicle storage facility. Mechanics would not have to work outside.

These lots are suitable for a future township building and garage complex and should cost a lot less than $1.6 million. Stuart explained that in the past month a rare opportunity arose for the township. Two adjacent parcels came up for sale. The properties are part of an Urban-Shook family farmstead that the family no longer needs. One parcel is a four-acre lot owned by the Urban family and one is a 28-acre lot owned by the Shook family.  

Rather than going on the open market to sell the land, the families offered the township the properties for $500,000, according to Stuart. The deal is contingent on Pennsylvania doing an appraisal to determine that the selling price is not too high.

Supervisors approved the initiatives at a regular township meeting held at the township building on Township Road last week.

Since the township does not own additional land besides the small parcel where the outmoded township administrative building and garage are now located, supervisors had limited options to expand.

Lackawaxen Solicitor Tony Waldron said that Delaware Township in the past two years structured a similar land deal that used public and private funding. Delaware dedicated their parcel for recreation that is open to the public. Delaware had previously already invested in a new township administrative center open to the public at another location.

Stuart noted that if Lackawaxen supervisors complete the real-estate transaction, the Urban-Shook land would not go to developers for a residential housing project. Stuart and supervisors Fred Gelderman and Rich Krochta thanked the Urban-Shook family since they could easily have flipped their properties to private developers.

Supervisors have a long-term plan to replace the Lackawaxen Township Building/Road Maintenance Garage building? Experts and our staff tell us it is too expensive to repair our aging building. This building has served us well, but is a converted chicken coop that is almost 50 years old. It is in severe disrepair. It is costly to operate. It is inadequate for today’s space needs.

Lackawaxen is one of the fastest growing townships in Pennsylvania. In the 1960s, we had no sewage permit law, no zoning ordinance and no building code to administer. The township population has grown over seven fold since the 1960s. This has vastly increased our need for sewage, zoning, building code administrative services, computerized services, and record keeping. More federal and state regulations and mandates vastly increases our record keeping and administrative follow ups. We must addressing our growing population of property owners and their permit needs. Administering all the regulations has necessitated a significant increase in our staffing. Our annual budget growth is just one indication of the complexity of our work. We are doing the work that is equivalent to a sizeable company and we do it with a small and efficient staff aided by expert technical advisors.

As our population grew, we have experienced much larger meeting attendance needs and there is an expanded need for public meeting room space to allow interaction with our citizens, as well as to provide adequate space for administrative/maintenance operations. Our citizens and property owners have made it clear that our current space is inadequate.

Just as important, rising fuel costs is now a reality we can no longer ignore. Continuing to operate in a poorly insulated, energy inefficient building would have disastrous financial consequences to our taxpayers and us down the road, if we don’t take action now. The economic reality is that it is more cost effective to build from the ground up and not try to retro fit. Also, it is more cost effective to build now than later when inflation, world economic challenges, and political climate may make it more potentially more expensive to build. Experts say that there is no immediate end in sight of fuel cost increases. Prudent planning requires us to take action now. That is why we are asking for your support now.  

Our current building is the township’s administrative hub. We provide a wide range of services for you, the citizens and property owners. Our staff provides triple the services it did years ago in the same space. Growing demand for our services is putting stress on our staff working in inadequate facilities. We need to keep up with growth and provide a place where we can properly service growing community needs.  

Here are specific reasons to move our administrative center and garage:

• Our roof leaks badly and needs replacement. Our building and garage have severely deteriorated. Maintenance costs are high and we expect will get much higher each year.

• Our building is not insulated for year-round use. Our furnace is a dinosaur, converted from an old coal stove. Our heating bills are rising out of control as fuel costs spiral upwards. We spent more than 40 percent more in 2008 on fuel than in 2007. If we don’t do something soon, those costs could increase every year.

• We have outgrown our garage and maintenance area. Our Dept of Public Works prides itself on keeping roads clear in winter.

• We have more road miles to maintain than any other Pike township. We now can’t house all our vehicles in the garage. Parking and working on vehicles outside is an eyesore to neighbors. It also shortens the life our vehicles. We must shelter our trucks from the weather when not in use to extend their useful life.

• Our crews need a proper place to work to maintain the equipment to assure that our residents and business people can get to and from work in any weather. Our men have to work in very cramped quarters inside. They are working more outside than ever before, but they can’t work outside in mid-winter or rainy weather. Therefore, we now have to outsource some of the work, which is costly and takes longer. These working conditions are not fair to our road crew, hamper efficiency, and is not cost effective.