Sunday, August 20, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006 Trustees will soon decide the building's future. By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR. VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF LIBERTY — Township officials accepted the gift of a building last year and will soon have to decide what to do with the donated property. Former township residents Mr. and Mrs. Raxit Shah donated about 1.16 acres at 114 E. Liberty St. to the township in August 2005. There is a 9,120-square-foot building on the land. The property has been appraised at $800,000. Initially, trustees were hoping to tear down the building and build a fire station at the site. Township Administrator Pat Ungaro said tearing down the building would cost about $10,000. Building the new station, he said, would cost between $1 million and $2 million. Officials hoped the state would kick in some funds for the new station. According to Ungaro, building the fire station is still a possibility, but if no money is found for that venture, trustees may have to explore other options. Ungaro said he has been advised that trustees have two additional options. He said trustees can sell the building or donate it to the Liberty Township Community Improvement Corporation. The CIC in turn could sell the building and use the proceeds as seed money for community development. Here's a proposal Ungaro said the CIC would benefit from selling the building because the group cannot use township money for community improvement ventures. He said the seed money would allow the group to get off the ground. "That building could be critical for CIC to get going," he said. Trustee W. Gary Litch said the township has been responsible for upkeep on the building since assuming ownership. He said trustees will need to decide what to do with the property because keeping it up to par could prove somewhat costly down the line. "We have got to do something with it because it's going to be a drain on us. It's OK right now, but eventually it's going to be a drain on us," he said. Ungaro said the township is looking to acquire some property just west of the township government building on Church Hill Road through eminent domain. That property, he said, would be a good location for a new fire station should trustees decide to sell the donated property or give it to the CIC. jgoodwin@vindy.com