By Stephanie Hartle
Allied News Staff Writer
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP
May 14, 2008 07:58 pm
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Springfield Township Supervisors decided – not unanimously – to relinquish their efforts to claim $700,000 paid more than a decade ago by outlet mall developer Prime Retail and accept a $75,000 donation from Prime.
The township was entrusted in 1998 with the funds, which Prime Retail paid to establish the Route 208 corridor and bridge as a Transportation Development District with PennDOT. The designation and funds enabled PennDOT to replace the bridge. Excess funds were placed in an escrow account, to be used eventually for long-term road improvements – such as those completed in the fall on the bridge and Interstate 79 ramps.
The one string attached to use of the escrow funds was that the work had to be completed in the first four years of a Transportation Improvement Program created by PennDOT and Mercer County.
It was not completed in that time frame, however, and the money went unclaimed and accrued interest in escrow.
The issue of claiming the money had been bandied back and forth at the supervisors’ mid-December meeting, and at that time they decided to set up a meeting with Prime Retail to discuss a deal.
Last week, the supervisors finally came to their decision.
“We’ve met, we’ve got (township solicitor Ray Bogaty’s) opinion, we sat down and negotiated, and it is what it is,” said supervisor Donald Bonner. “I think it’s time we accept it and move on. We’ve got no more options.”
“We’ve got one,” chimed in supervisor Randall Magee, who has opposed returning the funds to Prime. He feels the township should take the matter to court and fight to keep the funds.
In December he said, “It just bites me that Prime wants to claim (the money)” after the township took such good care of it up to that point. He felt strongly then that the township had a right to claim the funds for that reason, and because he believed the funds had also been accepted as payment to the township in lieu of taxes at the time.
“Unless we go to court – and that’s going to be a long, drawn-out procedure – I don’t think we have any options,” said Judy Hassler, chair of the board of supervisors.
“It’s money that we never had,” Bonner pointed out. “After reading (the original agreement between Prime and the township) and rereading it, I don’t think we have a leg to stand on.
“It’s pretty clear that the money should be returned.”
Bogaty, who wasn’t present at last week’s meeting, told supervisors the same thing at the December meeting. Prior to that meeting, he had reviewed the original agreement, shared it with a colleague and also consulted the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and could find for the township no legal right to the money.
But, “The fact is, we did care for it, we did oversee it, we did make it grow,” Bonner said.
Supervisors have discussed the possibility of Prime Retail choosing to donate the money to the township. They felt it would be of benefit to Prime and to the township: It could be used to maintain Veterans and Tower roads, which are frequently used by mall employees and visitors; and to upgrade the township’s sewage lift station, which would have to be done if Prime Outlets ever chose to expand the development. Prime owns additional undeveloped property adjacent to the outlet mall.
The mall’s manager said Prime Retail was likely to use the money to maintain the mall.
Bonner made a motion to cede the funds back to Prime Retail, and to accept a donation offer from Prime in the amount of $75,000. He and Supervisor Judy Hassler voted in favor, while Magee opposed it.
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