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Williamsport City Council has accepted a bid from a developer to sell the condemned City Hall building at 245 West Fourth Street, the Sun-Gazette reported last weekend.
The bid by John Basalyga was for $455,000 -- less than the $555,500 bid made by Basalyga in March of 2023.
For five years, the city has conducted this debate with little regard for determining estimates or projections of how much it would cost taxpayers to retrofit the existing "temporary" sites where our city government's offices are located so that they can function as permanent locations.
We have seen this matter stalled and then voted on with little discussion of the estimate for what a new City Hall -- either by purchasing and remodeling one existing building or construction of one new building -- would cost.
As we said in August of 2021, "the can was kicked down the road."
"The building has only gotten worse," our editorial on Aug. 10, 2021 noted -- before five more years of neglect and deterioration. "Now it is clear that a solid roof is needed to protect the rest of the building before more money is spent on other maintenance projects, including rehabilitating the recent water-damaged sections of City Hall. How long that will take is unclear."
More than a year ago, we still were concerned about the inability of our city to confront the burdens these decisions would place on taxpayers.
"Of course, with the cost of living and other excessive taxes and spending at the federal and state levels, any set of scenarios where the city could take on anywhere from $28 million to $65 million in additional expenses is troubling," we said in our March 1, 2025 editorial.
Even in ultimately accepting the sale of the building, City Council's two years of inaction cost the city about a $100,000 in potential revenue.
With this decision, more decisions will have to be made. We hope we see more focus on the financial strain on the city's taxpayers and more dedication to openly, clearly finding the most affordable options.