Manager Transition Blamed for No News on Wachovia Building

In just over a month Hatboro officials will open bids for purchase of the long-empty building. But, on Monday, instead of a status update from CresaPartners, the company marketing the site, the borough council was met with unanswered questions.

As of two weeks ago, representatives from CresaPartners were expected to be on hand for Monday’s meeting. But, as Council President Marianne Reymer pointed out when questioned, the borough is experiencing “growing pains” as a result of , which took effect on March 16. Because of transitioning in a new part-time interim manager, Reymer said arranging for CresaPartners to attend Monday’s meeting “didn’t get done.”

“The bids are due in … 34 days from now and we don’t know what’s going on,” Councilman John Zygmont said. “We need a time frame to get some of these things understood and done.”

The earliest Cresa could give a presentation is April 11 – the council’s next scheduled meeting – and bids are due by May 2.

Resident Ron Battis, who addresses the council at every meeting, tore into the governing body and called the council “totally dysfunctional.”

“We’ve been farting around with this thing an awful long time,” Battis said angrily. “You knew Cresa wasn’t coming and you should’ve either said, ‘Cresa get in here, or Cresa you’re out of here.’ " 

In related business, the council intends to see that an approximate $180,000 grant already in hand for sprucing up the Wachovia Bank parking lot’s curbing, paving and landscaping is put to use. If not used by the end of the year the grant will expire, Councilman Bill Tompkins said.

“We’re getting tight from a timing standpoint,” Tompkins said.

The council voted to authorize the engineer to provide bid specifications consistent with the grant. The matter will be considered further at the April 11 meeting.

The borough plans to keep the parking lot even after the building is sold, Tompkins said.

In other business, the council voted to apply for a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $189,156 for various improvements to Bank Street, including pavement resurfacing, curbing on both sides of the street, street trees, street lighting and a sidewalk on one side of the street. Bank Street connects East Lehman Avenue to the Bank Street public parking facility.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the council formally appointed William McCauley of Keystone Municipal Services as its interim borough manager, interim borough secretary and interim open records officer. 

Following the meeting, the council went into executive session to discuss personnel as it had done at the previous meeting. Reymer said she could not disclose any further information about Hatboro Detective Sgt. John Becker, the officer who the council voted to indefinitely on March 14.