City advances plans to sell off properties

COATESVILLE — City Manager Kirby Hudson made a pitch to City Council on Monday night to sell one property in West Brandywine and another in Valley to pay for the city’s many pressing needs.

Hudson said the city has many needs due to agebased deterioration or current unavailability, many of which were addressed by Hudson and fellow department heads Monday night. The list includes a new roof at City Hall, 20 street surveillance cameras, firefighting gear, new police and public works vehicles, phone system upgrades and computer replacements, among others. The proceeds from a property auction would pay for the items and would avoid another tapping of the city’s trust fund.

“There are a whole lot of things we could use, and we’re not talking about luxury items, to keep City Hall going,” Hudson said. “At the same time, we have two pieces of property that aren’t even in our jurisdiction. They aren’t doing anything for us, but we’re paying taxes on them.”

Hudson said the necessary expenditures provide long-term savings, and that the move could make the current Coatesville administration the first to make payments into the trust fund.

“As far as I know, that’s never been done,” Hudson said. “It’s a win-win across the board for everybody.”

Hudson said there were previous efforts to sell the properties, which have been owned by the city for more than a decade, but the potential buyers wanted to construct business entities unwelcome in the townships. The most recent tax tab for the properties exceeded $12,000.

By a 6-0 vote, council approved getting appraisals on the properties, which Hudson expects could fetch about $1 million.

“If we have a need that’s between zero and 12 months out, it behooves the city to come up with revenue from whatever feasible means without going after the trust fund,” council President David Collins said. “We have to come up with those immediate needs to run the administration, rather than hold on to properties, hoping something is going to happen in the future.”

Officials said council will be updated on the appraisal process at its next meeting and will hold a first reading of a necessary ordinance allowing the sale.

Also at Monday’s meeting, officials announced Councilman Jeff Loprinzi has resigned from his 5th Ward post. The resignation was accepted by council, and a replacement must be found within 30 days. Complete information will be posted on the city’s website.