Jun 2, 2015 4 min read

CECIL – Genevieve Miller purchased her property on Locust Street in Muse seven years ago. She resides there with her husband, who has Alzheimer’s disease, and three dogs.

She said her house and gate were hit several times by passing automobiles. As a barrier, she relies on a fence and 17 trees she planted on her property.

A letter she received this week has her fearing new problems.

Canon-McMillan School District solicitors contacted Miller, offering $1,800 for a portion of her property, which she told Cecil Township supervisors she can’t afford to lose.

“I can’t in my right mind sign a paper for them to take my property away,” she said Monday night. “I don’t need this worry. I need some help.”

The school district is planning for the construction of a new Muse Elementary School adjacent to the current school. Muse, Cecil and First Street elementary schools will close, with students transferring to the new building for the 2017-18 school year.

Township supervisors invited the school district to a public meeting in February to answer resident questions. J. Greer Hayden of HHSDR Architects, which is handling design aspects of the project, told those in attendance that the new elementary school would have access points on School and Oak streets, keeping bus and parent traffic separated during arrival and dismissal times.

However, those plans changed after township officials pointed out a potential hazard with sight lines over a hill on Muse-Bishop Road.

Township Supervisor Cindy Fisher said her understanding is that the school district then altered the plan to turn the currently one-way School Street into two-way, thus making it necessary to widen the road.

Dominick DiMatteo, one of four owners of the building that houses the Muse Post Office near School Street, received a letter April 20 from Peacock Keller, Canon-McMillan’s solicitors, authorizing a formal purchase offer of the property. The letter states the property is “desirable and necessary for school purposes” and acquisition would “greatly enhance egress to and egress from” the elementary school.

DiMatteo said he was given just four days to respond. He said a request for an extension was denied.

DiMatteo said the school district wanted to close the post office by the end of May. The U.S. Postal Service has a lease agreement with DiMatteo and his partners through the spring of 2020. The stance of the Postal Service on the closing could not be determined Tuesday.

“Will they take the post office? I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know what’s happening. Whatever they’re going to do, there’s not much I can do about it.”

DiMatteo and his partners have turned the issue over to their attorney.

Under Pennsylvania’s eminent domain law, a governmental power, like a school district, can acquire property even if the owner does not wish to sell.

Township supervisors sympathized with Miller’s plight but instructed her to take her concerns to the school board. Miller said she has not contacted the district.

“I understand the frustration of the residents because we feel the same way, too,” Fisher said. “It’s hard for us to explain to our residents when we, ourselves, don’t know what’s going on.”

Fisher said the township has been kept out of the loop on the new elementary school plans. She said she contacted Superintendent Michael Daniels, who told her the district had officially filed to purchase the post office through eminent domain laws.

Supervisor Elizabeth Cowden advised residents to attend a school board meeting and “raise hell.”

“This is a disgrace, what’s being done to you,” Cowden said.

Canon-McMillan School District released the following statement:

“The original site plan for the Muse Elementary School project was rejected by Cecil Township’s engineering firm. A meeting with township officials, residents, Gateway Engineering and the school district yielded concerns over the sight distance from Oak Street onto Muse-Bishop Road and the added traffic onto School Street. The district has been working cooperatively with the township and Gateway to revise the site plan’s access and egress using School Street. The revisions include widening and straightening the road. In order to accomplish that task the district must purchase property along School Street.”