Published Friday, December 27, 2002
options
Herald Staff Writer
Heartened by the fact that Mercer County commissioners have not yet voted on relocating the office of District Justice Henry J. Russo, Hermitage, at a site Farrell council does not like, Mayor William Morocco said council is examining its options.
Commissioners informed council in a letter dated Dec. 13 they will move Russo's office to 841 Sharon-New Castle Road, the former C's Waffle House building, in Farrell.
The decision was made public with city council's discussion of the letter Monday.
Commissioners, who said they rejected an offer of a site in Hermitage, said they chose the former restaurant building because William E. Gargano, partner in Garfar Inc., which owns the building, offered to sell it to them for half of its appraised value. It is appraised at $260,000.
Commissioners also noted they would have to spend no more than $80,000 to renovate it for court use, and it could be open within two months.
Council wants a new building put up on Roemer Boulevard at Spearman Avenue, across from the Farrell post office. City officials are looking to boost an area of town that has seen little positive change in years.
They and school officials specifically opposed the former restaurant site because of its proximity to the city's only shopping center -- Farrell City Center, which Garfar predominantly owns -- and Farrell Area School District's main building.
Council also does not want to see the former restaurant building dropped from the tax rolls, which would happen if it becomes a county-owned building.
County officials pointed out that the city still would collect employee earned-income taxes, and said the increased police presence would make the area more secure.
While Commissioner Olivia Lazor said earlier this week the county still was negotiating with Gargano, Morocco said the fact that commissioners did not act at their meeting Thursday "gives us a little bit of daylight."
Council members said Monday they want the court built at Spearman and Roemer, or outside the city limits.
Russo's office serves Farrell, Hermitage, Wheatland, West Middlesex and Shenango Township.
Among the options it is considering, Farrell council has talked about approaching Gargano with a better offer, Morocco said.
"I think we would have to go in with something to attract his attention," Morocco said.
It's a move council had talked about upon learning that Gargano had made an offer to the county.
Council did not act before, because some council members feared Farrell Area School Board would not like the move, which would take the property off the tax rolls while the city owned it, and others were not sure what the city would do with the property when there was no immediate plan for development, Morocco said.
Council has solicitor Stephen Mirizio looking into whether there is a basis to file a legal action to stop the commissioners' plans, such as on the loss of tax revenue.
Mirizio also is researching whether there is any precedent for legal action, Morocco said.
Council also could approach Russo with their reasons for not wanting his office to move to the former restaurant, Morocco said.
Russo must approve a new building and has already agreed to the waffle house building, commissioners said.
While commissioners have said cost was the deciding factor in choosing the Gargano offer, Morocco said the cost of building at Spearman and Roemer would not be out of line with what the county plans to pay to move the office of District Justice William L. Fagley, Greenville, to a new site.
The county planned to spend $297,000 to move Fagley's office across town. A sale of Fagley's current office could bring the county's investment down to about $250,000, Mrs. Lazor said.
Morocco said the county had a bare-bones design to build at Spearman and Roemer that would cost $180,000, plus about $80,000 for site preparation because the property is sloped.
"They have Henry Russo's (Hermitage) office to sell here," Morocco said. "We're real close to what they planned to spend in Greenville."
Staff Writer Amanda Smith-Teutsch contributed to this story.