Leetsdale officials are preparing to borrow money to try to buy the borough’s Veterans of Foreign Wars’ parking lot.
Council voted 5-1 on March 12 to advertise an ordinance authorizing the borough to borrow $203,000 to acquire the 36 off-street parking spots at 515 Beaver St., the home of Leetsdale VFW Post 3372.
Councilman Benjimen Frederick dissented. Councilman Robert Benedict was absent.
Frederick said the borough should not go into debt trying to buy the lot and instead work out a deal with the VFW.
The ordinance is expected to formally pass next month.
Councilman Scott Zahner, finance committee chair, said money will come from a seven-year loan through HNB with an estimated 4.5% interest rate. Annual payments were estimated at around $33,000.
Actual financial figures were not finalized as of presstime.
Post Cmdr. Bill Davis, who had been outspoken in recent months about wanting to maintain parking lot ownership, declined to comment on the pending offer.
“It’s in the hands of attorneys right now,” Davis said on March 12.
Lawyers for Leetsdale and the VFW have been in negotiations for a few months over the parking lot next to Henle Park, the borough’s major recreation site.
The park’s splash pad is a very popular spot in the summer, attracting numerous residents and families, while the park itself is used year-round by local agencies for outdoor programs and borough events like Easter egg hunts and a pumpkin festival.
The problem is that there is limited on-street parking across from the park along Ferry Street and no on-street parking next to the park on the Beaver Street side.
VFW officials said they have the right to say who can and cannot use their lot.
Davis earlier this year said some park-goers in previous summers would leave trash scattered about the lot.
There are multiple signs in the lot telling visitors that spaces are reserved for VFW members and guests.
Borough officials said they want to take ownership of the lot, pave and maintain it for public use.
The VFW’s position also makes it difficult to access the two Americans with Disabilities compliant parking spaces the borough had installed in October.
Council voted 5-1 on Dec. 11 to pass an ordinance declaring its intention to acquire the lot by eminent domain or “other methods.”
Eminent domain allows governments to take private property even if the owner doesn’t want to sell. State law prohibits its use for private business.
The law states that the taking of private property can be done for public use “in return for just compensation.”
Allegheny County property records list the VFW building as having an assessed value of $197,800 and its land at $76,700. The fair market value would likely be more.
Borough Solicitor Dan Conlon said assessed values often do not reflect fair market value and what may be needed for a potential sale.
The borough recently had the property appraised and the loan amount is for the lot’s appraised value.
Zahner called the pending loan a sign of progress in talks with the VFW.
The loan will also need to be approved by the state Department of Community and Economic Development before funds are available.
Council President Maria Napolitano said after the March meeting she hopes the pending offer will avert a potentially long, drawn-out legal process.
“We are following our solicitor’s advice and we’re doing whatever the next steps in the process are,” she said. “Our arrangement will include a license for the VFW to use the parking lot for their business at any time and have access to it.
“We are looking to beautify the area in time. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
The next council voting meeting is at 7 p.m. on April 9, at the borough building, 373 Beaver St.