Schuylkill County commissioners approve money for building in Pottsville to be used for storage

Amy Marchiano, Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa.
·2 min read

Oct. 4—POTTSVILLE — Schuylkill County will soon be the owner of a building in the city that it will use for records storage.

The commissioners at their meeting Wednesday approved a budget resolution of $381,200 to purchase 306 Prospect St.

The amount includes closing costs for the sale. The money will come from the general fund.

"It's a good location," commissioners Chairman Barron L. "Boots" Hetherington said of the building, which is less than a mile from the courthouse.

The commissioners on June 28 approved acquiring the Pottsville Moving & Storage-owned building for $375,000 via a purchase agreement.

The sale was contingent on an appraisal of equal or higher value of the purchase price and a "clean" environmental assessment.

An appraisal was done June 5 by Frank Gownley, a certified real estate appraiser from Pottsville.

County Administrator Gary R. Bender said that the sale will be closing next Wednesday at the courthouse after the commissioners meeting.

In addition to Bender, attending will be Lisa Mahall, county engineer; Eric Seitzinger, a listing and sales agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Realty Inc., Schuylkill Haven; Linda L. Yeich, president of Northeast Pennsylvania Settlement LLC, who will issue the title insurance; and Tony Benedict, president of Pottsville Moving & Storage.

Yeich is also county treasurer, but her representation in the sale has been cleared by the county solicitor's office.

"It's very big," Bender said of the approximately 28,000-square-foot brick and steel building, which had been part of a moving and storage operation since 1929.

The county could, by the end of the month, start moving items to the new site from a 15,000-square-foot property it was leasing about 2 miles from the courthouse at 224 Bulls Head Road in Norwegian Twp.

The $3,000 per month lease on the Bulls Head Road building was terminated, Bender said.

Officials said earlier that they had been researching potential sites for years in search of more space and that this purchase will save money in the long run and give the county control of the property.

Contact the writer: amarchiano@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6023