Council hires firm to do reappraisal of industrial land

FARRELL, Pa. -- City council wants another appraisal of the value of 84 acres of industrial land the city owns in Hermitage.
Council voted Monday to hire Nicklas, King, McConahy of Cranberry Township to do the appraisal at a cost of $3,500.
Farrell got the land at the corner of Ohio Street and State Line Road as part of a Sharon Steel Corp. bankruptcy settlement after the company filed for its second bankruptcy in 1992 and has been trying to sell it ever since.
LaVon Saternow, city manager, said the city had one appraisal done and an offer to buy the land from the Shenango Valley Industrial Development Corp. Council members, however, felt the appraisal was too low in comparison to the selling price of other industrial land in the Shenango Valley.
She declined to reveal the earlier appraisal or the bid offer from SVIDC.
Council has been reviewing the issue in executive sessions for the past couple of months and finally decided to seek a new appraisal, she said, explaining the city wants to get the best deal it can for the property.
The land is in Hermitage and any development there would benefit the city of Hermitage through tax revenue, but Farrell would get none of that long-term benefit, she explained.