Three buildings in the City of Williamsport are close to being transferred from the city to River Valley Transit Authority.

They are Trade and Transit Centres I and II, in the 100 block of Third Street and Church Street Transportation Center, a parking deck with offices at 11 Church St.

City Council, during its final meeting of the year, authorized the transfers by a resolution. The River Valley Transit Authority board was expected to take a vote as well.

80-20 split

It has been determined the properties were purchased using 80% federal funding and 20% city funds, said Solicitor Nicholas Grimes.

The issue was what the city should do with certain properties that were built with Federal Transit Authority (FTA) money?

The properties were owned by the city since the separation of RVTA and the city. The resolution authorizes the city to transfer the three properties.

This was originally going to happen months ago, but with certain issues between the city and FTA, the resolution was pulled back.

Another resolution was passed to read that two of those properties were not being used for essential transit purposes, Grimes said. This resolution pulls back that resolution and transfers the three buildings to RVTA, he said.

With the transfer there are a limited number of considerations for the city. If those properties are not used for transit purposes, as the FTA intends, or they become in disrepair, or they attempt to be sold, then those properties come back to the city.

The reason for that is, as stated, it was not 100 % FTA funds that were used to build those facilities. It was, in fact, 80 %, which means if those properties are ever sold, 80 % of the money has to go back to the FTA, Grimes said.

“That doesn’t matter what the sale price is,” he said.

In the future, he explained, if those assets are sold, or are not used appropriately, then the city has its reversionary interest to where it then can protect its 20 % equity in the properties.

The resolution also allows the city for at least two years to continue to operate those buildings that they are in at a reduced rental price than what they are operating out of currently as part of the consideration for the transfer.

RVTA must vote on the resolution, he said.

Currently, the cost per square foot is $5 to $10 per square foot, but that is less than the $11 per square foot that is now being paid, Grimes said.

Also, as part of that there is a consideration that if the city would ever need it, a certain number of parking spaces could be reserved in the Church Street deck for the city, he said.

The resolution was reviewed by the RVTA solicitor but not approved yet by the board. FTA was in the discussions that all decisions by the city and authority board are in compliance with the FTA’s needs and requirements.

Councilman Eric Beiter, council vice president, offered his appreciation to Grimes and Attorney Christopher Kenyon for the work put into the resolution. Secondly, he thanked those at RVTA and the board for their patience in the process.

“It was a very unique situation that we were all very unfamiliar with and wanted to make sure we had the best equitable solution for RVTA but also the City of Williamsport since these were partially purchased by the city,” he said.

Councilwoman Bonnie Katz said her reading of the resolution is the city will continue to pay rent but under a lower rate. Katz has asked for a breakdown as far as what funds were used for these buildings – and it’s not the first time.

“Is it so hard that you can’t pull up a spreadsheet showing where the funds came from?” she asked. “I have been asking for that for a long time.”

Council President Adam Yoder said it was a “fair question,” adding “that at the end of the day if that is something we are interested in I think RVTA can still get that for us.”

He also said it was important for the public to know the stipulations in the deeds were protective of the equity.