BY ROBERT SWIFT (HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF)
Published: September 21, 2010
HARRISBURG – The estimated cost of ridding the former Scranton State School for the Deaf campus of environmental problems and rehabilitating selected buildings is between $25 million and $30 million, a state official told a House panel Monday.
The high remediation costs are a major reason why the state and neighboring Marywood University agreed on a $500,000 sale price for the 10-acre Green Ridge property, said Bradley Swartz, chief of the Department of General Services land management division.
Mr. Swartz appeared before the State Government Committee, which is considering a Senate-approved bill authorizing the property sale to Marywood for $500,000, as well as other property transfers across the state.
Panel Chairwoman Babette Josephs, D-182, Philadelphia, said she held the information meeting before any vote is taken on the legislation so members would have the chance to ask officials questions about the various transactions. She noted that senators made numerous changes to the bill, which originated in the House. A copy of last month’s Times-Tribune article about the former deaf school property sale was included in the members’ information packets.
Several committee members questioned why competitive bidding wasn’t scheduled for the state-owned property.
Mr. Swartz anticipates Marywood will demolish some buildings on the campus and rehabilitate others, starting with the structural shell, if the property sale is completed. But environmental cleanup work to deal with asbestos and lead paint problems will still be needed before any buildings are demolished, he said.
The $500,000 sale price is based on the value of the underlying land, not the buildings, some of which date to the 19th century, said Mr. Swartz. He said the sale price falls within the range of the department’s early estimates of the property’s appraised value.
The best way to determine fair market value is through the open market, said Rep. Glenn Grell, R-87, Mechanicsburg, a panel member.
But Mr. Swartz said other considerations, such as not having a property use at odds with the surrounding residential neighborhood, are a factor in the sale.
The state is spending $1 million annually on security and maintenance for the campus, which is under lease to the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, Mr. Swartz said. WPSD is moving its Scranton operations to the Lourdesmont school in South Abington Twp.
Sen. Robert Mellow, D-22, Peckville, inserted the Marywood sale provision into the legislation before the Senate recessed in June. Mellow aide Colleen DeFrank told the panel that word of the Marywood sale eased fears in the community about the future of the property.
Rep. Mike Peifer, R-139, Honesdale, said he is concerned the additions will delay passage of the bill, which started out authorizing a property swap between the Canaan Bible Chapel and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in Wayne County.
Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com