Lancaster supervisors advance plan for new municipal campus
LANCASTER TWP — During a meeting on Monday, Sept. 22, supervisors moved forward with a plan to build out a new municipal campus in coming years.
In August, the township entered into a sales agreement for a 13-acre property located at 600 Perry Highway, which initially was valued at $1 million by an independent third-party.
The execution of that agreement is contingent on three conditions: a second appraisal, an environmental review and property inspections for each of the three buildings on the property the township seeks to renovate.
As part of what will be a multiyear process, officials are searching for funding opportunities, most notably state grants.
Supervisors unanimously approved the submission of an application for a $1 million Local Share Account grant.
While the application window opened in September, officials will not learn the outcome of their request for months. The grants, which do not require a funding match from the township, are awarded by the Commonwealth Financing Authority and administered by the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development.
Township manager Mary Hess stressed any grant funding would go toward constructing a new community center or renovating existing facilities, not toward buying the property itself.
Additionally, supervisors passed a resolution appointing chairman Greg Kessler as signatory for all documents concerning the purchase of the property at 600 Perry Highway.
At Monday’s meeting, Hess told residents earlier this month she had made all the necessary contacts to complete the second appraisal, as well as reaching out to Butler County for a phase one study and arranging for a Cranberry Township inspector to conduct a final inspection.
She confirmed, if everything goes according to plan, officials would be on track to finalize the purchase as early as October.
“As long as those contingencies are met, we can sign the agreement and move forward with the sale,” Hess said.
In other business, supervisors approved the advertisement of a budget meeting to be held at 4 p.m. on Oct. 15.
