Council to advertise sale of borough-owned lot at 15 Maple Terrace, solicitor says

Borough Solicitor John McLean told the council the borough will ask for authorization to advertise the sale of a vacant lot at 15 Maple Terrace that abuts a ServiceMaster property.

“The borough code would require, would not allow us to sell just directly to mister Neef. We would have to basically put the property out for bid,” McLean said, describing the legal requirement for a public advertisement and sale to the highest bidder at fair market value.

Context: The solicitor said 15 Maple Terrace is owned by the borough and the adjacent 17 Maple Terrace is owned by the county redevelopment authority. A nearby business owner, identified in the meeting as Bob Neef of ServiceMaster, asked whether the borough would sell the lot to him. McLean said the borough must advertise the sale and may reject bids that do not meet fair market value.

Valuation approach: McLean recommended obtaining a realtor’s statement of value to establish a fair price rather than commissioning a costly full appraisal: “We're not required to get a full blown appraisal, but...a statement of value from a realtor as to what they think it would be.” He said the borough could reject all bids if none meet fair market value.

Site constraints and likely buyer: Council members noted the lot is undersized and may be most valuable to an adjoining property owner. The solicitor said potential buyers may need zoning approvals and that construction costs could limit the pool of purchasers. Council will be asked to authorize advertisement for bids at a future meeting; no sale was approved at this meeting.