Newtown Borough Council voted earlier this month to pause eminent domain proceedings against the Newtown Fire Association after a dispute over the lease for the borough’s police station.
The council, which had been preparing to move forward with eminent domain, voted earlier this month to approve a six-month lease extension for the building at 22 Liberty Street.
The borough will pay the fire association $3,200 per month. The previous lease expired Aug. 13.
The council and the fire association have until mid-February to reach a new agreement.
The dispute stems from a proposed rent increase by the fire association.
In March, the fire association presented new lease terms that borough officials considered fiscally irresponsible.
“For over 25 years, we have leased 22 Liberty Street to the borough for use as a police station at a rent far below market value,” said Bill Wise, secretary of the fire association’s executive board. “The rent we proposed wasn’t for profit. It’s to buy radios. It’s to replace aging equipment, to maintain fire engines and the facilities that house them.”
In July, Council President Emily Heinz said the borough had commissioned a professional appraisal of the property by Indian Valley Appraisal Company.
The appraisal assessed the property’s fair market value as “significantly below the NFA’s interpretation of value presented in their lease proposal,” Heinz said at the time.
Borough officials said they offered to purchase the property outright in April, but the fire association declined and maintained its original lease proposal without room for negotiation.
Heinz said she believes the recent actions by both sides will move negotiations forward.
The police station is located in the borough’s historic district and was built in 1889 as part of a row of brick houses.
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