CENTER TWP — The township once again will explore leasing its property for natural gas drilling.

The supervisors said Wednesday night that Rex Energy is interested in leasing about 22 acres of township property. The lease would be a nonsurface oil and gas lease.

“We received a letter on behalf of Rex Energy,” said chairman Ed Latuska. “They are wanting to enter into a lease with the township.”

It’s not the first time the township believed it had interest in its land. The township opened bids for natural gas drilling lease in February but Rex Energy never followed through.

“We went down this road earlier this year,” Latuska said. “We advertised a meeting in February, and they didn’t show up.”

The township will have to re-advertise and seek bids again. Board members favor that, but they want confirmation from the natural gas driller that it is interested and ready for the process.

Board members estimated Rex Energy is offering about $2,500 per acre for an upfront fee.

“This could bring in $55,000 to the township,” said Supervisor Andrew Erie.

The township also expects it could get about 15 percent on royalties if gas is actually produced.

The supervisors also discussed possibly relocating the township offices at 419 Sunset Drive to the maintenance building on Henricks Road.

The township will have a committee of two supervisors and the township secretary explore the costs involved with the proposal and the feasibility of using the building for public access.

Supervisor Ken Frenchak made the motion, even though he has doubts about the feasibility of the idea.

“We have to make sure this will still be feasible 5, 10, 15 years down the road,” he said.

The supervisors estimated the township spends about $8,400 a year maintaining its Sunset Drive property. The building recently was appraised for about $125,000.

Frenchak said the idea of moving the offices has been around for a while and that he would like to see solid figures on what it would take to move.

Erie listed the move as one of his goals while campaigning for office in November.

Former supervisor Ron Flatt, who was at the meeting, advised the board not to pursue a move, citing safety concerns.

“The building was never designed for dual use,” he said of the maintenance building. “This would degrade both operations.”

Flatt feared the safety concerns with having the public so close to the heavy machinery used by the public works department.

Frenchak said he agreed with Flatt, but wanted to stay open minded until the board can look into it further.

“We’ve had all kinds of numbers thrown out,” he said. “Let’s move ahead with this and see what the real numbers are before we put it to bed.”