Peters Township sells former Bower Hill School
The Peters Township Council voted at its Jan. 23 meeting to sell the old Bower Hill School.
The bid was awarded in a 4-to-2 vote to Thomas Robinson, who agreed to pay $25,500 under the condition that the building’s façade be preserved.
In October, the council rejected a $125,300 bid to stabilize the structure and repair its roof. Robinson, who was responsible for the renovation of the one-room schoolhouse on Camp Lane, intends to restore the Bower Hill School to its original state as well, township Manager Paul Lauer said.
“He’s very familiar with this,” Lauer told the council, “and his intention would be to renovate this one-room schoolhouse and restore it to what it would have looked like when it was a one-room schoolhouse.”
Lauer told the council that Robinson also intends to add an addition to the property for a residence and, although it’s not currently zoned to accommodate a childcare facility, has expressed interest in potentially using the property as a daycare center.
Council member Monica Merrell expressed opposition to the decision to sell the property.
“I really hate the idea of doing that, to be honest with you,” she said. “I know (Robinson) has done a really nice job with the classroom down there on Camp Lane, but it’s the last historical building in the township.”
The building, according to Lauer, is in disrepair. The roof is open, he told the council, and part of the brick has begun to fall away from the building.
“That needs to be secured or you’re going to get to a point where you won’t have something that can be saved,” he said.
Council member James Berquist was not present for the vote.
The council also voted to accept bids for the purchase of an aerial fire truck and three police vehicles. The fire truck bid was awarded to Rosenbauer America for $902,991 for a bolted stainless steel truck with a galvanized work box. While Smeal Fire Apparatus Co. came in with a lower bid of $881,631, their offer did not contain the work box or the bolted steel, which provides easier maintenance than welded steel.
The police car bid for two SUVs and one sedan was awarded to Day Ford for $80,190. Both the fire truck and police vehicles were accounted for in the budget.