SPOTSWOOD–After acquiring funds to conduct an inspection, the Borough Council approved a resolution to purchase the vacant property at 474 Main St. for $382,671.
Despite a resolution to purchase the property, Mayor Edward Seely said, “We do not own [the property] until the paperwork is completed; once that is accomplished we will.”
Seely said the borough currently is owned by a private owner. The house located on the property is condemned, abandoned and covered in vegetation. It sits next to a PNC Bank across from the Spotswood Funeral Home.
The council approved a resolution containing the borough’s bill list to purchase the vacant property on Jan. 6 during the council meeting.
After an environmental inspection was conducted last year, Seely said the soil tested clean and there are no tanks buried in the ground.
“The borough has no concrete plans at this time as what to do with the property. Yes, the fire department has expressed interest in a possible new firehouse, but there have been other parties interested in private development,” Seely said.
Resident Dulce Branco-Rivera said, “As far as this house goes I am very disappointed in how it’s been handled. … [No] one ever said anything about the investigation of the property and whether the soil was contaminated or not contaminated until we asked whether it was … but I shouldn’t have to ask all the time, I just shouldn’t.”
Branco-Rivera continued to say, “Two weeks ago when we had a meeting and you knew you were going to go forward with it, why didn’t you just tell us? … There was a lot of discussion at the last meeting about that property and not one person said ‘by the way we’re going to buy it.’ … This is not a transparent government, it’s just not. You get mad because all of these people are OPRA [Open Public Records Act] requesting everything because they want to find out what is going on, but why aren’t they … because you guys don’t tell us.”
For the new year, Branco-Rivera said the governing body needs to be more transparent and not have the residents continue to ask them about matters that affect the borough.
Contact Vashti Harris vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.
