Allegheny Land Trust preservation project still trying to drum up support from Penn Hills officials
Before an advocate approached them publicly, Penn Hills Council had no intentions of endorsing Allegheny Land Trust’s preservation plans for the now-vacant 148 acres at the defunct Churchill Valley Country Club.
Now, it’s a possibility.
With the exception of Deputy Mayor Catherine Sapp, who did not respond to a request for comment, all council members and the mayor have said they would sign an endorsement letter if that’s what the majority wants.
Since May 2019, Allegheny Land Trust has planned to purchase the acreage from Zokaites Properties LP, who has owned the property since 2013, in order to convert the 148 acres of hills, meadows and golf cart paths into a place where surrounding residents can enjoy the outdoors.
The price tag for the property is $3 million. Since last year, ALT has worked to drum up support from the community in order to raise the money. So far, $1.15 million has been raised. The organization, which is based in Sewickley and already owns and manages approximately 2,000 acres in the region, has until March 2021 to raise the money.
But for more than a year, requests for Penn Hills elected officials to endorse the project have failed.
The reason?
“It’s because (state Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills) said he’s not in support of it,” said Penn Hills Councilman Jim Getsy. “It’s being held up because of this political roadblock.”
Getsy, 81, a Democrat, said he would sign his own endorsement letter. But he doubted if other council members would sign on the dotted line.
“They’d be politically doomed if they did,” he said.
Getsy was the only person who addressed Emily Golling, of Penn Hills, after she asked for council’s letter of support during a regularly scheduled council meeting on Aug. 17.
The mayor and other members did not comment on Golling’s request during the meeting. Only in interviews with a reporter after the meeting did they say they would sign a letter of support if a majority agreed to it.
Golling, who is unaffiliated with ALT but an advocate of the project, and other supporters believe a show of support by Penn Hills officials would help the organization’s chances at securing needed grant money.
Tom Dougherty, ALT’s vice president of development and external affairs, said the organization has around $2 million in grant requests still pending from county and state programs. He expects to hear the results of those requests by December.
If ALT fails to raise the money by March, the deal could fall through, unless Zokaites authorizes another extension. The original deadline was March 2020.
The organization’s success in raising the funds does not necessarily depend upon Penn Hills’ endorsement, but it would certainly help, Dougherty said.
“We always work with members of the community and, hopefully, a coalition of public officials to help a project come to fruition,” Dougherty said. “So we cast a net as broadly as possible. And it goes without saying, the broader the net and the more support you have, the more likely you are to be successful.”
To date, Allegheny Land project has garnered support from two state-level politicians — state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills and state Rep. Summer Lee, D-Braddock — six government entities and 14 local organizations, according to documents provided by Golling.
Additionally, 520 individuals have donated around $130,000 toward the project.
To Golling, who manages a social media page that supports the project, it seems most people support the project.
“Everybody but Penn Hills,” she said of municipal officials.
Golling wrote a letter to state Rep. DeLuca, in June 2019. His response a month later was clear: “I cannot, in good conscience, endorse a proposal for a nearly 150-acre parcel of prime, developable land that will take it from the tax rolls when that income is so desperately needed in Penn Hills. … Green space will provide no tax revenue to Penn Hills but will definitely require tax dollars for municipal services, particularly police protection.”
Penn Hills’ portion of the land amounts to 40 acres. Of that land, only seven are developable and they happen to be where the old country club building sat, Golling said.
“After owning the property over six years, (Zokaites Properties LP) deemed it nonprofitable to develop, which is why it sits,” Golling wrote in a response letter to DeLuca.
Zokaites Properties LP bought the property months after the club closed in 2013. The Wexford-based development company is known for its high-end homes and commercial developments.
The club was started in 1931 and at one time had more than 1,000 members before it closed.
An oil and gas company in 2015 solicited nearby property owners to sign leases to allow gas drilling to take place there. Penn Hills and Churchill residents’ opposition to the prospect of oil and gas exploration led officials from both communities to place restrictions on fracking, a process for extracting gas and oil from rock using high-pressure water, sand and chemicals.
The clubhouse was demolished in 2016.
Zokaites was not immediately available to comment.
When she struck out with DeLuca, Golling sent a similar letter to Calabrese, who she said never responded to her. ALT also sent a letter in April 2019 notifying the municipality of its intention of applying for state grants for the project. Dougherty said it is ALT’s practice to use that opportunity to ask for support. Then, in August 2019, ALT sponsored a public event at the Penn Hills Library to inform the community of its plans on the property.
Dougherty said it was well attended by community members and elected officials.
“We just never got a formal letter of support,” he said.
Planning Commissioner Brent Rambo, like Councilman Getsy, suspects something political.
“Everybody is afraid to touch it, or to get involved because they don’t wanna get burnt,” Rambo said. “DeLuca runs this town, pulls the strings. Almost everybody but John Petrucci and Jim Getsy are in some way tied to him.”
Rambo also serves as the chairman of the municipality’s Republican Committee.
DeLuca does not deny his opposition to the project — he maintains his position that the 40 acres that sits in Penn Hills should be developed so property taxes can continue to be collected. But he rejects the notion his position has had any influence on council.
“I haven’t lobbied against it. I just told (ALT) I wasn’t supporting it. I’m not trying to tell (council) what I’m gonna do. That’s their business, not mine,” he said.
DeLuca said he has heard from some Penn Hills residents who oppose the project. However, he could not produce letters or petitions outlining the opposition. He said he’s received phone calls.
Calabrese calls the idea that DeLuca would have any influence over her and council “silly.” She said she has heard an equal amount of people who love ALT’s project and who are opposed to it because they don’t want to see the tax revenue vanish.
Personally, Calabrese thinks the project is a grand idea, she said. But since she’s heard arguments for and against, she’s remained neutral. If council desires to write a letter, so be it, the mayor said.
“But the bottom line is this: whether we write a letter of support or not has zero impact,” she said. “It’s a private deal, so our support doesn’t influence grants whatsoever.”
Though both Pecora and Petrucci said they would sign a letter, they expressed concerns with public safety, saying there could be issues if ALT relies solely on volunteers to upkeep the property.
“I don’t want to see it turn into something where potential crime happens,” Petrucci said.
Dougherty said ALT’s plan is to use its staff for basic maintenance to the property.
“We’d manage the basics – mow along cart paths, maintain parking lots, get bridges up to safety standards,” he said.
Anything above and beyond that, he said, would be relied upon by volunteers and corporate sponsors.
Both Pecora and Petrucci declined to speak to comments regarding DeLuca’s alleged influence on council members.
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