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WEST PITTSTON RIVERBANK CONTROVERSY

Ken Stackhouse: ‘I’m not buying the water company building’

Susquehanna Ave. building and property subject of petition in West Pittston

By Jack Smiles jsmiles@psdispatch.com
Times Leader Staff Writer

While a petition circulating in West Pittston asks residents to support an “effort to block any zoning requests that would allow establishing commercial businesses on our riverbank” and to “urge our leaders to act to preserve the Conservation-I status of all property along the banks of the Susquehanna River” doesn’t mention any specific property, the petitioners do admit they started the petition in response to a proposed sale of an old utility building and adjacent riverbank property to Ken Stackhouse.

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The former water company building on Susquehanna Avenue in West Pittston.

Photos by Jack Smiles

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The building, on Susquehanna Avenue at Ann Street, has been abandoned for about three years and was little used for a decade before that. For more than 50 years it was an office and garage of the Pennsylvania Gas and Water Company. Now it is owned by UGI which bought the gas division of PG&W.

The idea to circulate the petition sprang from a series of meetings of a group of West Pittston residents. While the group does not have any official status, they call themselves the West Pittston Betterment Society and meet regularly and keep an agenda. Among the group’s projects is the restoration of the chapel at the West Pittston cemetery.

When the group – which includes, but is not limited to, Mickey Melberger, who acts a chairman; Jim Stevenson, Bill Yeomans, John Markarian and Ray Judge – learned that Stackhouse was considering buying the property they decided to circulate the petition. Judge and his wife Linda wrote the petition and did most of the legwork. As of Thursday they had more than 150 signatures.

In a letter that appears today on page 14, Stackhouse accused the group of lying about his intentions when they knocked on doors with the petition. He said the petitioners told residents he, Stackhouse, wanted to put a “big commercial operation” on the site. Stackhouse insists he wanted to use the building for storage only.

Stackhouse owns Stackhouse Auto Electric at Wyoming Avenue, a site which he is giving to the borough for a park in exchange for a section of Fourth Street.

Judge said he did not tell residents when he went door-to-door that Stackhouse wanted to put a business in the building. “I never said, let’s stop Ken Stackhouse,” Judge said. Judge did say, if asked, he told residents Stackhouse was going to use the building for storage. “But I did say anything is possible if the zoning is changed and I let them draw their own conclusions.”

In a phone interview Stackhouse angrily stood by his letter but added, unequivocally, that he is not buying the building. He did not say why he changed his mind, except that it had nothing to do with the petition.

Don Brominski, a spokesman for UGI, said the utility does have a tentative agreement of sale, but did not know to whom. Brominski also said the utility is not involved in applying for a use variance.

Stackhouse, or another buyer, would have to apply for a use variance, which would require a public hearing, to use the property for anything other than the limited uses allowed under C-I status, which includes a greenhouse or park.

Stackhouse said Judge and others who would oppose a use variance want things both ways, are missing an opportunity and may have another agenda. In his letter Stackhouse said Judge has been complaining to council about the condition of the building which has graffiti, broken windows, weed overgrowth and dumped garbage behind it, while at the same time circulating a petition to stop use by someone who would clean up and repair the building.

In a phone call Stackhouse said because the UGI property in question includes the land on the riverbank across from seven homes between Ann and Elm streets, which those homeowners have been maintaining at their own expense, Judge might be hoping to claim the property through adverse possession, a legal term which allows, under strict conditions, a party to claim ownership of an abandoned property which said party upkeeps over a period of time.

Judge said he has not been “complaining” to council or the zoning officer. “I went to two council meetings in a year and raised a concern, not a complaint, about the condition of the property and I talked to the zoning officer once.”

Judge said he had never heard of “adverse possession” before three weeks ago when a relative mentioned it and that he got a legal opinion which says he wouldn’t have a case.

Judge and Melberger, who also lives on Susquehanna Avenue though not in the block in question, admitted it may sound odd that they would be concerned about the condition of the property while at the same time trying to stop a use variance that would allow Stackhouse to use it and fix it up.

But both men said they have nothing against Stackhouse, but are concerned that an allowed use variance would set a precedent for future requests which could ruin the pristine condition of the riverbank. They said the West Pittston riverbank – with the exception of two grandfathered in funeral home parking lots and two sewer authority pumping stations – is non-commercial for its entire length and they believe it should stay that way.