Lycoming County Commissioner comments on the Bush house
The Bush House in Muncy Township. SUN-GAZETTE/Dave Kennedy
Since the open house last weekend held by FAMvest, developers at The District at Lycoming Valley (formerly the Lycoming Mall), to bring the public up to speed on what is going on with the project, the social media universe has been buzzing about what they revealed about their plans for the Bush House, which was also acquired by the group. It was announced that unless there is a buyer for the house, it will be razed for other development.
Lycoming County Commissioner Mark Mussina weighed in on the topic at today’s commissioners’ meeting.
“We thought it was a really good meeting last Sunday down at the new Bass Pro location-there was way more attendance than we expected,” he said.
The attendance at the event had been estimated at over 500 people.
“The community’s, in general, extremely positive about where we’re going forward. Kind of the talk of the week, then became about the Bush House, and its future. And I just wanted to just mention a couple brief things without emotion or anxiety or anything like that,” Mussina said.
Admitting that he tends to be nostalgic, he pointed out that “there’s also a realism that comes into it, and as ornate and as you know, wonderful, as the Bush House is, it has become a place that was impossible for the family to financially maintain.”
“They could not run a business out of it that made money just with the taxes and the maintenance and the upkeep. I’ve heard a number that it’s in need of a million dollars worth of repair. Whether that’s true or not, that’s just what I’ve heard,” he said.
“So you know, as people do when they have things they can’t afford, they sold…It’s kind of, I don’t know, the unfortunate evolution of time and, you know, when you sell something, you’re allowed to put limitations into deeds. It’s a legal process,” he said.
That process would allow the seller to tell the buyer what can and can’t be done with the property. The issue that has set social media on fire is that the Bush family has said they thought they had an implicit deal that the property would not be razed. FAMvest representatives revealed at last week’s meeting that they purchased the property with the idea that it would be torn down to make way for development.
“I know it’s a beautiful structure for our area, but you know, time moves on,” Mussina said.
He noted another aspect of the controversy playing out online is that people don’t seem to understand the limitations of what government can and can’t do.
“I saw one that said, Why? Why are the commissioners allowing this? Why is Joe Hamm allowing this? Why is Gene Yaw allowing this? We don’t have a role in it. We don’t,” he said.
“It’s not like parenthood, where there’s this belief that there’s somebody who can just put their foot down and say, it’s not happening…we are a nation of laws, and there’s checks and balances, and each municipality has their rules and regulations, and as long as the rules and regulations are followed, we can’t step in and say, you know, I know you’ve done everything right, but I don’t like that. So, you know, we don’t have that ability. Joe Hamm doesn’t have that ability. Gene Yaw doesn’t have that ability. Josh Shapiro doesn’t have that ability. There are, there are rules and regulations that we follow, and as long as they’re followed, you know, that’s why the rules and regulations are put into place…kind of in the world of it is what it is. I know there’s going to be a part of the plan is that the mall is going to be demolished, at least part of the mall, maybe eventually, at the end of the day, all the mall, we don’t know, it’s kind of a developing situation. And for those of us, of my generation, of our generation. You know, that’s going to be a very sad day, because all of us have dozens of stories about the mall and how much time we spent there, but at the point now in society, the mall can’t make money because society’s changed, and it’s just it’s become an albatross,” he said.
Mussina noted that he’s thankful that progress is being made with FAMvest bringing new businesses to the site.
“I like to mention, sometimes, what if they didn’t come what would happen to that property over the years? It would become more and more blighted and dilapidated, and who would be watching it and who would be maintaining it, and the crime and it would just become kind of a cesspool if nobody took care of it,” he said.
“If nobody really owned it, nobody would take care of it, and it would cost money to maintain with no money coming in. So in situations like this, I think we should be grateful for these people that are, because if they didn’t show up, it would not stay stagnant. It would get worse and worse and worse. So anyway…I know it’s not the last time we’re going to hear about what’s going on down at The District and the old mall area,” he continued.
“We hope that more and more news continues to be positive. And you know, when you talk through the streets, and whether we’re, you know, in the grocery store or basketball games or wherever, the feedback I have got has been incredibly positive, and they’re excited, and especially the younger generation that sees what’s coming,” he added.