Peters Council sells former Bower Hill School
McMURRAY – Peters Township Council voted at Monday night’s meeting to sell the old Bower Hill School.
The bid was awarded in a 4-2 vote to Thomas Robinson, who agreed to pay $25,500 under the condition that the building’s façade be preserved.
In October, council rejected a $125,300 bid to stabilize the structure and repair its roof and decided instead to sell the building it acquired in 2013.
Robinson, who was responsible for the renovation of the one-room schoolhouse on Camp Lane, intends to restore the Bower Hill School to its original state as well, township manager Paul Lauer said. The Bower Hill and Camp Lane schools are two of three original schools still standing in Peters. The third is on East McMurray Road.
“He’s very familiar with this,” Lauer told the council, “and his intention would be to renovate this one-room schoolhouse and restore it to what it would have looked like when it was a one-room schoolhouse.”
Lauer told the council Robinson also intends to add an addition to the property for a residence and, although it’s not currently zoned to accommodate a child care facility, has expressed interest in potentially using the property as a day care center.
Councilwoman Monica Merrell expressed opposition to the decision to sell the property.
“I really hate the idea of doing that, to be honest with you,” she said. “I know (Robinson) has done a really nice job with the classroom down there on Camp Lane, but it’s the last historical building in the township.”
The building, according to Lauer, is in disrepair. The roof is open, he told the council, and part of the brick has begun to fall away from the building.
“That needs to be secured or you’re going to get to a point where you won’t have something that can be saved,” he said.
Council member James Berquist was not present for the vote.
Council also voted to award contracts for the purchase of an aerial fire truck and three police vehicles. The fire truck bid was awarded to Rosenbauer America for $902,991 for a bolted stainless steel truck with a galvanized work box. While Smeal Fire Apparatus Co. came in with a lower bid of $881,631, its offer did not contain the work box or the bolted steel, which provides easier maintenance than welded steel.
The police car bid for two sport utility vehicles and one sedan was awarded to Day Ford for $80,190. Both the fire truck and police vehicles were included in the budget.