Lancaster Township looking to repair roof at maintenance building
LANCASTER TWP — The township is looking to repair one of the buildings it purchased last year at 600 Perry Highway as part of its plan for a new municipal campus.
The building, which currently stores township equipment, has had a collapsed roof for months, according to township officials.
At a board of supervisors meeting on Monday night, the board voted to have the township prepare a scope of work and solicit bids for the roof repair project.
Initially, supervisors intended to offer the repair contract directly to Warner Homes without a bid, on the basis it was an “emergency repair” according to the Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code and therefore did not require a traditional bid.
“My understanding is that there was a collapse in the roof that’s causing damage to items inside,” said township solicitor Michele Cromer. “Based on that representation and the photos, it did appear to be an emergency, but if we took time to pursue the formal bidding process, it would take way too long. It sounded like it was a true emergency repair.”
However, after criticism from one township resident, as well as Supervisor Rich Marcotte, the township instead opted to go through the normal bidding process.
“I went over there today and the pictures are identical to when we purchased the property (last year),” said township resident Andrew Metarko. “There’s zero reason for this to be an emergency that this should not be going out for bid. Who is Warner Homes and how did we come up with Warner Homes?”
“Whether it’s an emergency or not seems to be open to interpretation, but I think what bothers me is a supervisor is... if we’re not giving folks who live and work here in our township the opportunity to submit a bid and do that work, as a resident, I can see the frustration,” Marcotte said. “They should at least be the bid and earn tax dollars here in the community.”
During the meeting, Metarko offered to demolish part of the building himself.
The repair is part of the township’s plans to turn the property on Perry Highway into a new municipal center, which would include township administrative offices and the police department, as well as an adjacent park.
Marcotte said when the new municipal building is completed, the current municipal building on Kings Alley would be kept active for community events.
“What we’ve heard from a lot of community members is that parks and recreation and community centers and all of those things are really important,” Marcotte said. “So the hope is to keep this space for public works and keep this for community meetings and rentals. A lot of families are looking for programming things here that they can bring their kids or their families to.”
Later in the meeting, Warner Homes did receive the nod to complete a separate repair project at the Perry Highway site, meant to address the three rental units there, for $6,000.
