Greensburg officials questioned over sale of parklet

Greensburg officials are facing push back from a former city mayor after they approved the sale of a parklet last year for $16,800 less than what the city paid for it in 1986.

Scott Brown, who served as mayor in the 1980s, addressed council members in September, asking them to use American Rescue Plan funds to buy back the park. It was sold to City Cribs, a development group, in May 2020 for $1,200. The company said it plans to revitalize the park as a public space along with the former Art-Tech building next door.

Brown, however, questioned why the city chose to sell the property, which it paid $18,000 to acquire. The space was transformed into a park through private donations from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and John Robertshaw Jr., among several sponsors, according to a plaque posted at the park.

“It is doing what it was designed to do, be an open space, a green space open to everybody,” Brown told the Tribune-Review. “By transferring it to private ownership, you lose any assurance that the public would still have total access to that at any time.”

According to city Administrator Kelsye Hantz, city officials decided to sell the property after being approached by City Cribs, owned by Mike and Suzanne Ward. The company had the property appraised by a qualified real estate appraiser, as per a sales agreement obtained by the Tribune-Review.

Appraisal documents provided by Suzanne Ward show that Latrobe-based Kristin Sawinski Appraisals valued the property at $1,100. According to Hantz, the appraisal price meant the city did not have to put it up for public bid because the value was less than the $1,500 threshold that requires public bidding.

The sale was approved by council members conditioned upon the reservation of easements for existing utility improvements and the solicitor’s approval of the deed.

The sale came about one month after City Cribs — which owns several buildings in the city, including the one revitalized to house Wight Elephant and The Trendy Bunny — purchased the former Art-Tech building, located next to the park. They paid $200,000, records show.

“Somebody couldn’t buy that lot and build a building on it because of facilities located in it,” Hantz said. “The mayor and council, whenever they were discussing selling it to City Cribs, that was kind of the thought process. It’s not really an attractive piece of property to anybody but an adjacent property owner.”

According to documents provided by Ward, the former Art-Tech building and park space were previously sold together prior to the city purchasing the park space in 1986.

Parklet plans

According to documents, the city acquired the lot with the stipulation that the premises, initially a parking lot, would not be used as a photography supply store or to develop film, property records show. The Art-Tech building formerly housed a photography supply store.

The space was first purchased by the city to support electrical transmissions of gas-style lighting that was installed along the streets, Brown said.

According to Brown, West Penn Power used the lot for underground storage of the electrical components. As work was finished, city leaders realized the space, almost .05 of an acre, was too small for another building. Instead, the nonprofit Go Greensburg, now the Greensburg Community Development Corporation, decided to build a small park.

According to Brown, who sat on the Go Greensburg board, the organization solicited private donations to pay for construction and to hire a professional architect.

In all, the project cost about $30,000, not including architect fees, funded through private donations, Brown said. He added that the money was used to hire a contractor for the park.

Now, plans for the park show the space remaining open for public use, Ward said. Initial plans include seating that could be utilized by the public along with fire pits, if possible. Mini food pantries currently located in the park would also remain.

“You can go in and grab-and-go and eat in the parklet, or if you’re working at Wight Elephant and you have your packed lunch, come on over,” Ward said.

According to Ward, the former Art-Tech building would be home to RSVP Gifts and More, located in the front half of the building. The back half would host a grab-and-go restaurant, which she declined to name. City Cribs also is looking into adding a rooftop deck to the building that could be utilized for various events, she said.

In response to Brown asking the city to buy back the park, Ward said City Cribs is maintaining the space and keeping it open to the public at no cost to the city.

“I respect that everyone has an opinion but naturally when the status quo is being challenged, there will always be others that cling to the past and want to tear down and be negative and create roadblocks,” Ward said. “This is par for the course in every industry and not entirely unexpected.”

She added, “We’re not interested in going backwards. We’re interested in progress and helping move the city forward in a positive direction and in a collaborative way for all.”

During last month’s city council meeting, Mayor Robert Bell said the city can initiate a conversation with City Cribs.

“They have a purpose for that park, that’s why they came to us. But if that doesn’t work out for them, then we can initiate that discussion,” Bell said.