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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Hollidaysburg Borough Council approved an extension to the purchase agreement deadline with the owners of Stowell Farm, moving the agreement's expiration date from Dec. 31 to June 30, 2024.
The borough wants to buy 7.8 acres of the 68-acre plot to construct a stormwater basin and has a $110,760 purchase agreement with BC Holdings LLC, the company that owns the land.
Council had authorized the borough to apply for a COVID-19 ARPA H20 PA Water Supply, Sanitary Sewer and Stormwater Projects Grant offered by the Department of Community and Economic Development to pay for the project.
Former Borough Manager and Finance Director James Gehret said during the council's meeting in March that "the agreement is only good if we receive the grant from the DCED" and that he thought the project would cost "a little over $1 million."
Borough Council solicitor Nathan Karn said that when the council entered into the agreement in March, it had expected to hear if it had been awarded the grant by July.
On Tuesday, a number of H2O grants were approved, among them $690,000 for Gaysport and Penn Farms stormwater improvements in Hollidaysburg Borough. Borough officials said Thursday they were unsure if the sought-after grant money was included in this allotment.
Karn said the council advised Gehret that it would be interested in buying the land regardless of the grant's outcome. He explained that there would need to be a subdivision plan that goes through the planning commission before coming to the council for approval to remove the 7.8 acres from the current property to transfer it to the borough.
"It's not going to be done by the end of the month," Karn said. "Additionally, the cost to buy the property is part of the grant, although council can use their own funds if that's what they end up choosing to do."
He added that BC Holdings wants to sell the remaining acreage -- if not to Jeff Long, who is interested in purchasing 31 acres to build 75 single-story rental cottages and a retention pond, then to a different developer. Karn said that BC Holdings requested that, if Long backs out, any potential purchaser be granted access to the stormwater basin the borough constructs.
"I asked for clarification regarding that -- specifically that we're building it for a certain purpose, to contain a certain amount of water -- and if that was to happen, would the property owner understand the expectation or requirement would be, that if council would agree to that, that expense of redesigning and the construction to fix it would be on the developer," Karn said.
He gave the example that if the stormwater basin the borough constructs has a capacity of 10,000 gallons, and the developer needs to discharge 5,000 gallons, then the developer would need to provide plans to the borough's engineer to redesign the basin to hold 15,000 gallons at the developer's expense.
"The extension would be until June 30," Karn said. "That doesn't mean we can't close sooner than June 30. I can tell you probably the earliest we can close is sometime in February."
Several residents spoke during the meeting's public comment section to voice their support of purchasing the land for a stormwater basin.
"This land is intended for the construction of the stormwater facility that will provide much needed protection to the Gaysport citizens against the increasingly frequent and severe flooding that we have been experiencing," Elda Boose said.
Girard Nale told the council that Hollidaysburg citizens as a whole deserve the project to be realized.
"If you buy it now and have the opportunity, you'll get it at a reasonable price," Nale said. "Later, if you have to fight for it, it'll probably cost as much in legal fees that you're going to pay for the property now."
A petition to rezone Stowell Farm from Traditional Neighborhood Development to General Residential was brought before the Blair County Planning Commission by BC Holdings LLC on Dec. 12.
Planning Director David McFarland said that the petition wasn't consistent with the county's "current planning practices" and needs "additional review and work."
Chairman William Hall agreed, saying that several issues needed to be addressed if BC Holdings wanted to develop that section of Stowell Farm.
"Gaysport's (flooding concerns) need to be addressed before it gets very far down the road," Hall said.
BC Holdings LLC had previously brought its petition to the commission on Oct. 26, seeking its opinion.
The commission was against the change then, too, with Hall saying that it would make the farm "inconsistent with the county's comprehensive plan."
In a letter sent from BCPC Community Planner MacKenzie Caron to Hollidaysburg Director of Planning, Zoning and Code Enforcement Andrew Holodnik, Caron conceded that while TND might not be the best zoning designation for the land, rezoning it to R2 "would allow for less developmental restriction in an area that we feel requires stringent provisions and diligence when reviewing potential developmental impacts on the surrounding communities."
Andrea Cohen, co-trustee and manager of the property for BC Holdings, disagreed, saying rezoning it to R2 would mean lower density and lower impact.
The planning commission is only an advisory body.
Holodnik said that the public hearing for the rezoning petition was moved to Jan. 11.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.