Former police station to convert back to home
They won’t need a holding cell anymore at the James house, but since the plumbing’s still there, it could be a powder room instead.
After having been used for several years as the Pennridge Regional Police Department’s headquarters, the old farmhouse that was converted into a police station is going to again be a home.
At its Dec. 19 meeting, the West Rockhill Township Board of Supervisors gave its approval to leasing out the township-owned house next to James Memorial Park on Ridge Road.
Board member Jay Keyser said he initially would have preferred the building be used for other purposes, but now has decided it’s better to rent out the building and get income from it.
“I’m not in favor of being a landlord, but I do understand the economics,” Keyser said.
The tenants will pay $1,000 a month rent, plus the utilities.
“It puts us in a better position because there’s somebody living in the house,” board member John Mann said.
The building has been empty for about a year after the police department, which had been using it for about nine years, moved into its new headquarters.
The lease also requires the tenants
to make improvements on the property, Mary Eberle, township solicitor, said.
“They have agreed to do a lot of maintenance DnG D ORW RI wRUN LnVLGH,” board Chairman Donald Duvall said.
The work includes grading outside the house and adding kitchen appliances, re-carpeting and tiling bathroom and kitchen areas on the inside, Greg Lippincott, township manager, said.
Plans to begin using part of the area around the house for additional parking spaces for the park will still be carried out, the board said. Two parking spaces will be reserved for the tenants.
The house and the land on which the park and the across-the-street town- VKLS RIfiFHV VLW wHUH WKH Franklin C Ruth James farm. Franklin James was a former member of the West Rockhill Township Board of Supervisors and the muncipality’s secretary/treasurer.
A family has applied to be the tenants in the home, Lippincott said. The lease is set to begin Jan. 1, 2013.
Under the township’s zoning rules, a commercial business could also have rented the building, Lippincott said.
In other matters at the Dec. 19 meeting:
• 7KH ERDUG JDYH finDO approval to its 2013 budget with a general fund of a little less than $2 million.
“It’s a balanced budget DnG nR WDx LnFUHDVH,” Duvall said.
The last time the tax rate changed in West Rockhill was when the board voted for a tax hike to fund its 2007 budget.
“Six years without a tax LnFUHDVH LV SUHWWy JRRG,” Keyser said.
The property tax rate continues to be 5.25 mills, equal to $210 on a home assessed at $40,000. Each mill equals $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed property value.
Income this year is running less than budgeted, Lippincott said, but expenses were also cut, so the township will end the year with more income than is being spent.
• 7KH ERDUG DJUHHG WR make contributions to Pennridge Community Center and Penn Foundation that had not been included in this year’s budget.
“I don’t believe we can give what we gave last year, or in past years, but I’d like to give some- WKLnJ,” .HyVHU VDLG RI WKH Pennridge Community Center.
At one time, the township contributed $1 per resident per year, Duvall said, but that was cut back in recent years.
The board agreed to give $1,500 to each the Pennridge Community Center and Penn Foundation.
• 7Dx &ROOHFWRU 6uzanne Clarke said there is usually about $4,000 of unpaid property tax bills at year’s end. As of Dec. 19, though, there was still about $27,000 this year, she said.
Some of the money may still be paid by year’s end, Clarke said, but she’s not sure why the delinquency amount seems to be running so much more than usual.
Duvall said it may be a “VLJn RI WKH WLPHV.”