Adamstown Sells Main Street House

BY DONNA WETHERHOLD

Correspondent

Adamstown Borough Council members were happy to hear at their June 3 meeting that they are no longer in the rental business.

Several hours prior to the meeting, a single-family home owned by the borough was sold at auction for $82,000. The house, at 59 E. Main St., was purchased by the borough in 2008 and had been leased to the Adamstown YMCA.

The auction price was $35,500 less than the $117,500 the borough paid for the property six years ago.

Council President Randy Good said the purchaser, Daniel Stoltzfus of New Holland, plans to renovate and re-sell the property. Settlement will be made on or before Aug. 3.

In other business, public works superintendent Mike Palm brought council up to date on plans to extend the sanitary sewer line along Stoudtburg Road before the road is resurfaced.

The line will serve three properties - two antiques businesses and one private residence - along the road. All have had issues with their current on-site systems. Cost to each property owner will be about $3,700 for required equipment, $3,813 in tapping fees and the cost of excavation and installation.

Sewer line installation is expected to begin the week of June 23, and property owners will have 18 months after completion to connect to the line.

Roadwork is scheduled to begin after the sewer line work is completed, sometime after July 4. The work will be done by Martin Limestone Inc., doing business as Burkholder Paving, at a cost of $120,603.

Council also discussed the next step in a yearlong issue involving a fence, on a property at 323 W. Main St., that does not meet zoning requirements.

The zoning hearing board's decision in August 2013 required the property owner, Angela Celentano, to lower a portion of the fence by 2 feet and to install gates on both sides of the fence for emergency and maintenance access.

No action has been taken by the property owner since then, and council will direct its solicitor to send a letter to Celentano informing her she has 30 days to comply with the zoning board's decision.

If she does not, the borough will file a complaint with the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas.

Council also agreed to:

Hire Michael Burkholder of Adamstown to work on a part-time, temporary basis with the public works department.

Require employees and family members covered by the borough's health insurance to pay $25 in addition to the current $50 biweekly contribution toward their health insurance coverage if they use tobacco.

Look into resurfacing streets in Phase I of Stoudtburg Village.

Send a letter to the state Department of Transportation in support of a grant request from West Cocalico Township for repairs to a bridge on Sportsman Road.

Council also heard that several interested parties have toured the 1975 N. Reading Road property that the borough owns jointly with East and West Cocalico townships and Denver borough.

Sealed bids must be submitted by Thursday, and results will be sent to the three municipalities the next day. A joint meeting of the four municipalities will be held on June 24, and a decision to accept or reject bids will be made by July 2.

Adamstown plans to make a decision on the bids at its July 1 meeting.

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