Pancake Residents Express Concerns At Town Hall

About two dozen residents of Pancake turned out Monday evening to a town hall meeting held by South Strabane Township Supervisor Chairman Bracken Burns and Vice Chairman Mark Murphy at Billy Bell Park. At issue are concerns from residents over the sale of the Laboratory Elementary School and parking at Billy Bell Park. Supervisors and staff fielded questions about rumors that the park may be for sale and plans for added parking if the adjacent school is sold. Burns told residents that there is no plan to sell Billy Bell Park and that the township had been working with the buyer of the school to address the park’s need for more parking. Burns also addressed issues about the school. He made it quite clear that the township does not own the school and has no control over Trinity School District who owns it nor who they choose to sell it to. He did say that the township will study development plans to make sure that all township zoning laws are adhered to. Residents raised the issue of possibly having a drug rehab center in the building. Supervisors explained that an entity like that is not allowed in an R-4 district. The most recent buyer indicated that they would like to build 16-20 apartments in the building. Residents are concerned about Section 8 subsidized housing. Residents were informed that federal and state law says that subsidized housing can not be banned. Residents asked why the township did not buy the building for a community center and they were told that funding for that use was not available. The original offer to purchase the school from the Trinity School District was denied by the court. The school is now up for auction on October 17.