Lycoming Mall in Muncy Township. SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

A vote on an agreement between the county and FamVest LLC, the developer planning to purchase the Lycoming Mall, is on the agenda for the Lycoming County commissioners’ June 8 meeting.

Representatives from the company are slated to attend the meeting to address their plans for the Muncy Township site. Closing on the property is expected on June 16, according to commissioner Scott Metzger, who made the announcement at this week’s commissioners meeting.

Metzger urged anyone who has questions about the project to attend the meeting which will be at 10 a.m. in the Commissioners Board Room, first floor Executive Plaza, 330 Pine St.

Last year, the commissioners agreed to commit to loaning $5 million toward the purchase price of $15.5 million for the site. The county’s funds would come from Act 13 funds, which are derived from gas well impact fees.

“This is Act 13 money. And we’ve protected it in two ways by taking a first lien on the land and secondly, by requiring personal guarantees,” said commissioner Rick Mirabito.

The way this first lien works is that the bank and the county are sharing it, Mirabito explained.

This means that the real estate is collateral for the loan. If the loan from the bank “goes south,” Mirabito said, the bank can’t just sell the land and take the money and use it to pay off its loan.

“We’re taking a responsible position on a loan of significant public money,” he said.

“We have all belief that the project will succeed, but if, somehow, it doesn’t succeed, we will be able to recover the public money that we are loaning. We’re doing it to basically try to kickstart the development there,” Mirabito said.

Initial reports stated that the developers are planning to demolish a portion of the main mall building. That would create an approximately 6.8-acre parcel which could eventually be developed for mixed-use retail/restaurant/office space.

The remaining portion of the existing mall structure could be a mixed-use work/live/play site.

“It’ll actually be a very exciting redevelopment of a mall which could serve for other malls,” Mirabito said.

In other actions, the commissioners approved a resolution for the DeSalvo’s Restaurant addition and renovation project which will utilize pass-through funds from the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). In conjunction with this, the commissioners approved a statement of compliance with the RACP requirements for the project.

The commissioners also approved two county policies, one for compensation and the other for payment on-call; a renewal agreement with Independent Dialysis Group; an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) amendments to subrecipient agreements with Hughesville-Wolf Authority and with the West Branch Regional Authority; a second amendment to a subrecipient monitoring agreement with Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity for 2020 Pennsylvania Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) funds; an amendment to a subrecipient monitoring agreement with the Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity for 2021 PHARE funds; a subrecipient monitoring agreement with Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity for 2022 PHARE funds; an agreement with Diakon Family Life Services for a specialized in-home treatment program; and a municipal waste disposal capacity agreement with Mifflin and Juniata counties that allows waste from those counties to be brought to the Lycoming County landfill, if necessary.

Three agencies were approved to receive a portion of ARPA funds from the county. They are the American Legion Post 268 Home Association of PA, $43,405 for non-profit assistance; River Valley Internet, $300,000 for broadband; and Hughesville Borough Authority, $250,000 for water and sewer.

Full-time replacements under personnel items approved include Debra Pietrovito, executive secretary in the courts, $18.75 per hour; Brittany Mitch, correctional officer I at the prison, $20 per hour; Edward Reeves, assistant public defender, $60,500; Rachel Andreas, clerk IV in the assessment office, $17.01 per hour; Andrea Hammond, clerk III in the assessment office, $16.17 per hour; and Melissa Miller, administrative specialist in the courts, $17.96 per hour.

The commissioners approved James Schriner as a master firearms instructor in the Adult Probation Office. This is a new part-time position at $30 per hour.