The former Lycoming Mall in Muncy Township. SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

Ever since the former Lycoming Mall property was purchased last year by developers, rumors have circulated about what the possible uses of the property could be.

What information that has come out, that part of the property could be used for housing, has set off unsubstantiated claims that the units would be for low-income persons or for illegal immigrants. Speculation was heightened when the Lycoming County Water and Sewer Authority (LCWSA) signed a non-disclosure agreement with the developers, FamVest, in order for the two entities to discuss water and sewer needs for the property.

At the authority’s meeting this week, Terri Lauchle, Muncy Township resident, questioned why three right-to-know requests she had filed for more information about what was planned for the property were denied.

Citing an article in the Sun-Gazette, Lauchle said that the authority’s solicitor had said, “even though you have this agreement, because you are a public utility, that if a right-to-know was put in, you would have to disclose some of the information, but then you would also have to let the developers know.”

The former mall property is located in Muncy Township, Lauchle said what happens at the site could affect the people in the municipality.

“A lot of people there — the residents — are concerned,” she said.

Lauchle filed the documents to try to get more information last month. All were denied.

“I’m just here to ask, what as residents for this public utility, do we need to ask? What is it that I’m missing,” she said.

The first request, with Lauchle asked for any and all development plans but didn’t specify the Lycoming Mall, according to Christine Weigle, LCWSA’s executive director

“That kind of request is too broad for us to answer so it did get denied,” Weigle said.

Lauchle, in the second right-to-know request, was specific to the Lycoming Mall, but not specific enough for the authority to respond.

The third request was denied in part, Weigle said, because the one question was still too broad. “But the second question, I believe you asked for plans, which we don’t have. Despite having a nondisclosure agreement, you’re asking for things we don’t have. We don’t know,” Weigle said.

“Nobody’s given us any plans from FamVest to give to you. We don’t have any plans,” she reiterated.

“Then what is the nondisclosure agreement that you can’t state if you don’t know anything,” Lauchle asked.

Weigle noted that the developers had not “come forth with anything since we signed it.”

“If it were any development whatsoever, they might ask for a nondisclosure, because as they’re trying to attract a company in… they may have a company come in that says, ‘I need a million gallons of water,'” Weigle said.

“That’s something that, if you’re a developer, and you’re trying to bring a business into a community, there are certain things about a specific business that they may not want disclose — it’s competitive, it’s confidential — but there are sometimes water and sewer needs that surround their manufacturing or their production lines, whatever that might be. We may be having conversations with them about that. As of right now, from what I understand from FamVest — that’s who you’re talking about. But FamVest has not given us any of those,” Weigle said.

“We have in fact signed a nondisclosure agreement. What we’ve been talking about is sewer and water lines around the mall. We are not privy to any pre-planning that they’re doing. We’re not privy to how they intend to use the site. Muncy Township zoning regulations are going to say what they can or can’t put there, not LCWSA. We’re not going to be the first to get that information,” Weigle added.

She urged Lauchle and the rest of the group of concerned township residents to talk to the developer.

“They’re the people you need to talk to, or the township, in terms of zoning, how it’s going to be used. We don’t dictate or mandate how a parcel gets used. We just need to have a conversation about what kind of capacity we have from a water and sewer infrastructure standpoint — can we accommodate their needs. We don’t have any of that yet,” Weigle said.

Because the mall already has infrastructure in terms of water and sewer lines, that would not be part of the conversation with the developers.

“Sometimes we know that in advance of a township or municipality, because they’re starting with a blank palette. But in the case of Lycoming Mall, we’re probably going to be the last to see those lands because there’s already a certain amount of capacity designated for that post parcel. So we’re not trying to be difficult. We don’t have it,” Weigle said

“They can have a mixed-use there, the infrastructure is already on the site. So it’s now about where those lines exist, if they need to move them and what the infrastructure would look like later. We’ve not been privy to a set of plans; we’ve not been privy to, you know, a store, a complex, developer or builder. We don’t have any of that. You can ask every month and, if we had it, we would be obligated to give it to you,” Weigle said.

“But per the right-to-know requirement, us denying two and three on your last one was actually answering your question. But the way the right-to-know is written, we are denying it because we don’t have anything,” she said.

In other business, the board approved a proposal from Buchart Horn Architects to provide architectural and engineering services to evaluate the front entrance to LCSWA’s office on Old Cement Road. Cost of the services is $6,800.

Due to freezing and thawing, there has been settlement at the entrance to the building, creating a gap between the sidewalk and the curbing there.

“Before we start making modifications to that, we need to make sure that we understand what our options are, what our future plans are,” Weigle said.

There has been some discussion that, in the future, the authority might want to add a payment window or a drive-thru window. The safety and security at the building is another issue that would need to be addressed, she said.

“Anything that we do out front, whether it’s changing the doors or changing the curbing, we want to make sure we have a longer term plan for it,” Weigle said.

The authority has been at the current location since 2018 and Weigle indicated that the hope was that the settlement was finished.

Specifically, Buchart Horn would conceptually look at the front of the building to review the settlement, the entryway, the sidewalk and the curb to find an effective means to address that, taking into account future plans the authority might have.

They would then provide the authority with sketches to review and evaluate including a cost analysis of the alternatives, Weigle said.

The board also approved the Heidelberg agreement/pipeline easement amendment in its current form contingent upon final review of the authority’s solicitor. The agreement will cost LCWSA $2.3 million to be paid over a five-year period.

The terms of the agreement have not changed. It identifies that the authority would be allowed to keep the existing outfall location in its current agreement and recognizes the volume of material that Heidelberg will no longer be able to mine and sell, Weigle said.

The next meeting of the authority will be at 6 p.m. April 10 at their office at 380 Old Cement Road.