The Lawrence County commissioners missed their first opportunity to buy the former Second Presbyterian Church.

Now they intend to purchase the building from its new owner, Paul Lynch of Paul Lynch Investments, for $25,000 more than they initially had offered the presbytery.

The commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution yesterday to buy the building from Lynch for $275,000. He stands to make $55,000 on the deal.

The church is located behind the courthouse at the corner of Milton and Countyline streets. For years, the county had paid rent to the church for use of its lot for parking during the week, and for storage of the county’s voting machines.



INITIAL OFFERS

The presbytery approached the commissioners in February and asked if the county wanted to buy the church because it was closing, county Controller David Gettings explained.

C. Arnie Morris, an agent for Haines Realty, who handled the sale for the presbytery, noted that at the time, the commissioners said they did not have any interest in it.

“When I presented it to (Lynch), he said he would buy it if he could buy it right now,” Morris said, and the presbytery accepted. Lynch paid $220,000 for the property.

The deal for the eight parcels, which include the three-story church, annexes and parking lot, was consummated around April 30 and the deed was signed May 1. It has not yet been recorded in the county register and recorder’s office.

“That was a good investment on his part,” Morris observed.

He said that after the presbytery accepted Lynch’s offer, the commissioners returned with a counter-offer.

“When they found out Lynch was buying it, they had an interest,” he said.

The commissioners offered $250,000, but it was too late.

“Any way you look at it, the commissioners don’t look too well on this one,” Morris commented.

The church’s original asking price was $200,000.



NEW NEGOTIATIONS

Commissioner Rick DeBlasio said Gettings has been the catalyst with Lynch in negotiating a deal for the county to buy the church from him.

Gettings said Lynch, who is distantly related to his wife, was planning to remodel the church and put attorneys’ offices in there.

“We saw the importance of the building and were trying to secure it,” Gettings said.

“I tried to indicate this would be a good thing for the county,” he continued, explaining that the commissioners and Lynch were going back and forth on the price until they arrived at the $275,000. That includes a couple of years of rent the county would have paid Lynch if it had continued leasing the parking lot and space inside, he said.

Commissioner Dan Vogler said the county otherwise would pay Lynch $13,500 a year in rent.

Steve Craig, commissioner chairman, announced that the board, Gettings, county administrator Jim Gagliano and county solicitor Thomas W. Leslie convened for executive sessions Friday and Monday to discuss the proposed purchase.

Under Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Law, executive sessions are permissible to discuss real estate transactions.

If Lynch were to keep the building, his property taxes for city, county and school would be around $24,000 a year, based on the property’s assessed value of $723,900. Before he bought it, the property was tax-exempt because it was a church. The county’s ownership will mean it will continue as tax-exempt.

The commissioners adopted an ordinance recently to borrow $1.5 million to renovate the county warehouse to create more space for county offices.

Getting said he did a cost analysis and found that the square footage cost at the warehouse would be $196, versus $66 in the church.

The church has 25,000 square feet, while the warehouse has 7,800.

“We’re getting three times the square footage for the same amount of money,” he said, adding, “I thought it was a no-brainer. That building up there is a perfect fit for the county. I’m glad we came to the conclusion that we can make it work.”

He said they plan to close the purchase by the end of June so that the juvenile and adult probation offices can move in there promptly.

Vogler said the commissioners intend to move other county offices that are off site onto the courthouse property.

“We are trying to get all of the county’s departments on campus here,” DeBlasio said, noting that mental health/mental retardation and other agencies are now renting spaces in town.

“I think the purchase of this building gives us a lot of movement.”



PLANNING

Amy McKinney, county planning director, already is looking into funding possibilities to use “green” technology in renovations of the building. She is in the process of initiating an environmental assessment, the commissioners said.

In addition to the sanctuary, which could possibly be used as a courtroom, the building has a balcony, a day-care area, kitchen and a space for public functions. The third floor has a half-size basketball court.

“It’s a very sound, solid structure,” DeBlasio said.

The commissioners said that the building’s contents, such as the organ and pews and other religious items, are part of the purchase. They will decide later what they will do with them.